Da Qian's northern lands comprised six provinces: Ming, Tai, Cang, Yuan, Ding, and Bing.
Ming, Tai, and Cang were all border provinces, traditionally serving as the front lines against external threats. Converging with these three provinces was Ding Province, a crucial location in the Great Ancestor of Da Qian's pacification of the northern territories.
Its name, Ding Province, signified the intention to pacify the north. Therefore, Ding Province was also a place where Da Qian stationed heavy troops.
On the border intersecting with the three provinces, countless black, carved wooden stakes were deeply embedded in the earth. These black stakes resembled coffins, each adorned with bizarre carvings. They stood like guardians, firmly isolating the scarlet lands from the border.
A certain strange power flowed through them. Even with his eyes closed, Jiang Wen could sense the turmoil within.
This power constantly emanated a tempting aura, as if beckoning Jiang Wen to open his heart and embrace these strange forces.
As for the carvings on the wooden stakes, Jiang Wen recognized them at a glance as the Four Heavenly Sovereigns of the Orthodox Gods Sect, their unique appearances unforgettable no matter where they were seen.
But why were these wooden stakes appearing on the border of Ding Province? And who had hammered them here? Why were the divine images of the Four Heavenly Sovereigns of the Orthodox Gods Sect painted on them?
Jiang Wen was filled with doubt. He did not rashly touch that strange power. His intuition told him that contact would lead to eternal damnation.
Looking at the scene before him, the red earth stretched along the border of Ding Province, the interplay of verdant green and scarlet red appearing exceptionally eerie. Even Jiang Wen had rarely seen such a magical scene existing between heaven and earth.
He tried to ask Yan Gongli, hoping to learn something from her.
"Do you know what these black stakes, resembling coffins, are?" Jiang Wen asked, but he didn't receive Yan Gongli's answer. Her face was flushed red, and a fragile expression appeared on her face. Her small mouth was slightly open, desperately gasping for air like a fish out of water.
Seeing Yan Gongli's distressed appearance, Jiang Wen knew she must be ill. His divine sense scanned her body, and accompanied by her delicate body trembling slightly, he discovered that Yan Gongli's condition was not optimistic.
Scarlet threads had invaded her body. Tiny threads were found within her internal organs. These things seemed to be alive, growing within Yan Gongli's body, slowly corroding her internal organs and flesh.
This situation was the same as the scarlet earth not far away, both being contaminated by scarlet threads.
Seeing Yan Gongli's discomfort, he could only retreat backward.
Only after retreating twenty or thirty miles, and no longer seeing the scarlet earth, could Jiang Wen feel the power of corrosion fading.
"Ziyun, build a dwelling," Jiang Wen said to Ziyun.
Ziyun hummed softly, and countless vines crawled up from the ground. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ They slowly intertwined, forming a unique treehouse.
Pushing open the door of the treehouse, there was even a bed thoughtfully prepared by Ziyun. Taking out bedding and other items from his storage bag, he placed Yan Gongli down on the bed.
Looking at her flushed and uncomfortable face, Jiang Wen gently stroked it with the back of his hand. He carefully sent his mana into Yan Gongli's body, the pure mana washing away the scarlet threads.
After Yan Gongli's condition had improved somewhat, Jiang Wen took out a few pills and gave them to her. Then he looked at Ziyun and said, "Gongli has been severely contaminated by the power of corrosion. Although I have adjusted her condition, she is still a mortal body, and I am afraid she will be unable to move for a short time. I would like you to stay and take care of her, and I will go to those three provinces to see the situation."
"Are you going alone?" Ziyun asked.
"Yes," Jiang Wen nodded. "Don't worry, I will come back safely. Give her one of these pills every day, and she will fully recover in fifteen days. If you encounter any unsolvable trouble, use this escape talisman to return to the temple. As for this communication talisman, I will send you a message when I come out, and I will definitely be able to find you then."
Ziyun took the jade bottle containing the pills and a few talismans, and nodded to Jiang Wen, "Go, I'll take care of things here."
"Then I can rest assured," Jiang Wen said, smiling as he looked at Yan Gongli on the bed, and walked out of the wooden house with some worry.
"Remember, don't be brave if you encounter trouble. Run if you can't beat them, survival is the most important thing," Jiang Wen instructed Ziyun.
"Don't worry, I will. Take this little person, she can also help you if needed."
A small doll popped out of Ziyun's hand. It looked like a chibi version of Ziyun, and was extremely cute.
When Jiang Wen took her, the little doll was still bouncing in his hand, and then said loudly to Jiang Wen, "I am Little Ziyun, you can also call me Ziyun."
Listening to the little doll's words, Jiang Wen subconsciously looked at Ziyun. The aloof girl shook her head and pointed to the doll, "I didn't say it, she also has her own consciousness."
The place was as quiet as ever, as if no one had ever been there.
At this moment, Jiang Wen had already reached the border. A distance of twenty or thirty miles was just a breath to him.
Looking at the vast scarlet earth, Jiang Wen took a breath and stepped into it.
The moment he stepped on the scarlet earth, he felt countless strange forces rushing towards him. It was like the endless seawater in the deep sea, squeezing his body from all directions.
Jiang Wen circulated his mana, repelling those strange forces around his body. His golden core had now been formed, and the three dantians had become a universe of their own. The circulation was endless, long and far-reaching.
It would be difficult for these strange forces to erode him even in ten thousand years.
Stepping on the scarlet earth, the place where his feet landed showed a verdant green color. Vigorous grass took root and sprouted, slowly growing tender leaves. However, after Jiang Wen left, the tender leaves that had just grown in the footprints were instantly corroded by the scarlet threads, turning back into the vast blood-colored earth.
Walking along the road, the only colors before him were scarlet and scarlet. A golden-red light shone from the blood-like sky, the radiance emitted by the light tree in the distance.
Jiang Wen passed a hillside and saw the dwellings covered in scarlet in the distance. A large tree grew in front of the dwellings, and the tree was covered with withered heads.
Corpses that had long been dried hung and swayed on it, like a wishing tree that Jiang Wen had once seen in a temple, which was truly terrifying.
The scarlet earth under his feet made a cracking sound. It was the crisp sound of bones covering the ground, accompanying Jiang Wen like strange music as he moved forward.
Until he saw the fleshy tumors in the dwellings, a mass of flesh composed of countless faces, a bloody monster.
"Hehehe."
"Hahaha."
The fleshy tumor opened countless eyes, looking at Jiang Wen and revealing a laughing sound.
This harsh laughter was enough to drive a normal person crazy, but Jiang Wen just held the Po Wang Sword expressionlessly, his eyes coldly looking at the fleshy tumor.
