Chapter 112
Chapter 112
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 112
Chapter Title: South Continent Expedition (2)
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The expedition departed from the West Continent to the southeast and pierced straight through the perilous seas to reach the South Continent.
Normally, they would have followed safe routes, passing through the center of the world before barely arriving at their destination.
But thanks to fighting the yokai horde and taking a shortcut, what should have been a voyage of several years was shortened to nine months.
Far in the distance, land came into view—the South Continent.
Damcheong gathered clouds to conceal the Provisions Mountains Great Peng.
It was to avoid the gaze of mortals.
At last, the northern coast welcomed the South Continent expedition.
But it didn't look good.
The coastline was literally a field of devastation.
Seoran, sharing vision with the great peng, muttered.
“What is that? The work of a great yokai?”
Damcheong, reading a book beside her, asked.
“What's wrong?”
“Damcheong, take a look at this.”
Damcheong peered outside with his dragon eye and said.
“Ah, it looks like a tsunami hit.”
“A tsunami? Not a great yokai?”
“Look closely again. Isn't the proportion of earth spirit energy unusually high among the heaven and earth spiritual energies? It means a natural disaster occurred because the harmony of the five elements was disrupted.”
“Does that happen?”
“Yes, when heaven and earth are filled with spiritual energy of a specific attribute, it can cause heavenly calamities. If it's water spirit energy, floods or tsunamis; if earth spirit energy, earthquakes or droughts. Something like that. In this case, it seems an earthquake struck, and its aftermath caused the tsunami.”
“You're quite knowledgeable about the weather.”
“Who am I? The spirit among spirits that commands winds, rains, and thunderclouds—the dragon. Weather is my specialty. Anything else you're curious about?”
Seoran asked.
“Can you do weather forecasts, by any chance?”
“Of course, once the Ruyi Pearl is complete...”
Damcheong unconsciously stroked his lower abdomen.
The exact spot where the Ruyi Pearl had melted into him.
For some reason, his emotions seemed complicated.
Seoran tactfully changed the subject.
“Anyway, the scale of the disaster must have been tremendous. No harbor or anything is intact, and there must be significant casualties in the city. This is on the level where even capital sects would actively step in for disaster relief.”
“Indeed, the situation is serious.”
“Let's hurry down and help with the recovery. If we look carefully, there should be cultivators from South Continent sects around.”
Snapping out of his thoughts, Damcheong asked.
“Are you doing this out of pity for the mortals?”
“It's not just emotional reasons. To find the Flame Immortal Sect, we inevitably need to make contact with local South Continent sects. Helping with disaster relief and leaving a good first impression will greatly aid in achieving our expedition's goal.”
“Very pragmatic. Good, let's hurry down.”
The expedition headed to the ground, leaving the Provisions Mountains Great Peng hidden in the clouds.
*****
Yang Libai, a Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Great Mountain Sect, was fed up.
He hated a world plagued daily by typhoons, droughts, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis—never a peaceful day.
He loathed the natural disaster that had swallowed his happy family and childhood memories in an instant.
He was sick of heaven's uncontrollable rampages.
He had heard that an earthquake and tsunami last night had swept away an entire port city in the blink of an eye.
Yang Libai had been urgently dispatched for recovery efforts.
And he had witnessed it clearly.
The merciless natural disaster had taken everything again this time.
His beloved lover, grandchildren and elders, carpenters who built bridges and buildings, women gathering at the washing area, fishermen, merchants calling out to customers, young people full of dreams—all vanished with the seawater.
It was a sickening sight.
Yang Libai issued mechanical orders to his subordinates.
Clear the debris and search for survivors.
Treat the injured and bury the bodies.
Stabilize public sentiment and rebuild the city.
Instill hope in the people.
The last order was utterly futile.
Even he himself didn't believe it.
He couldn't even remember the last time he had held onto hope.
At that moment, the ground suddenly began to shake.
“Aftershock! Hurry and protect the survivors!”
At his subordinate's voice, Yang Libai hurriedly turned his head.
The ruins of half-collapsed buildings from the previous earthquake and tsunami were摇摇欲坠, shaking precariously.
There were likely still unrescued survivors beneath the collapsing debris.
Yang Libai reflexively cast a barrier spell.
But even as he did, he instinctively knew.
No matter what he did, he couldn't save everyone.
Protecting so many buildings was impossible even for him, a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Even if his lower-realm subordinates helped, he doubted how many they could save.
In the midst of despair, Yang Libai swiftly formed hand seals and completed the barrier.
At that instant, a miracle occurred.
Two massive waves of spiritual power emanated from the sky.
And they saved the entire city.
The first wave forcefully pressed down the quaking earth from the aftershock, calming it.
Then, the second wave turned into a fierce gust, blowing only the collapsed building debris out to sea.
Yang Libai unconsciously looked up at the sky.
Two girls, wrapped in radiant five-colored clouds, were slowly descending to the ground.
They looked just like gods.
*****
Rescue operations and treatment of the severely injured were quickly completed.
Thanks to Seoran, Damcheong, and the expedition members.
Having resolved the two most urgent issues, Yang Libai greeted the South Continent expedition that had aided in disaster relief.
Yang Libai first introduced himself.
“I apologize for the late introduction amid the chaos. I am Yang Libai, a Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Great Mountain Sect. Once again, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for saving so many lives.”
Seoran spoke on behalf of the group.
“No need. We just did what needed to be done. I am Ryu Seoran of the Black Bamboo Sect. It's not the best circumstances, but nice to meet you anyway.”
“Black Bamboo Sect... Black Bamboo Sect... I'm sorry, I've never heard of it. Given Senior Ryu and your companions' prowess, it can't be a minor sect... My limited knowledge shames me.”
“No, it's natural you wouldn't know.”
“Ah, you're from the mysterious sect beyond the mountains, known only by rumors. But how did you arrive so quickly? The support request was sent just before dawn?”
Seoran asked with a puzzled expression.
“What support request?”
Yang Libai was slightly flustered too.
“Pardon? No...”
After a brief comedic misunderstanding, the two cleared it up.
Understanding the full story, Yang Libai was impressed.
“You crossed the dangerous seas to the South Continent just to find the Flame Immortal Sect? Truly astonishing. Now I understand the feat you performed earlier.”
“You're too kind. Anyway, as I mentioned, we're from the West Continent and have no connections here. We're ignorant of even minor customs, cultivation world common sense, or cultural differences. Could we perhaps receive help from you and the Great Mountain Sect on these matters?”
“Hmm, that's a complicated issue. I'm truly sorry, but I don't have the authority to unilaterally decide on diplomacy with other sects. For now, I'll invite you to the Great Mountain Sect. You'll need to discuss with our diplomacy department and get a firm answer.”
Seoran waved it off.
“No need to apologize; it's the proper procedure. I understand.”
Yang Libai replied with a much brighter face.
“Thank you for understanding. In return, I can explain minor things like cultivation world common sense or South Continent customs anytime. Feel free to ask any questions on the way back to the sect.”
“Got it. And until we leave, we'll help with recovery efforts too. It'd feel wrong to just stand by during a disaster.”
“You will? Thank you so much.”
The expedition rebuilt the port city alongside the Great Mountain Sect.
Black Bamboo Sect and Gold Forge Sect cultivators mingled with Great Mountain Sect cultivators, building small bonds.
They also gathered information about the South Continent.
Indeed, the South Continent cultivation world was completely different from the West Continent.
*****
In the South Continent, the existence of the cultivation world was no secret.
Even mortals knew in detail what cultivators were and what spells entailed.
It was worlds apart from the West Continent and East Continent, where only royalty and high officials knew of it.
The reason other continents kept the cultivation world secret from most mortals was simple.
It helped maintain social stability.
Knowledge of cultivators, spells, or yokai only bred fear without benefiting mortals' lives.
In the South Continent, however, things were different.
This land suffered abnormally frequent natural disasters: typhoons, droughts, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis.
They had no time to worry about yokai.
Mortals couldn't live peacefully in a world that flipped upside down daily.
Ultimately, the South Continent cultivation world decided to widely disseminate information about cultivators to mortals.
For social stability, as well.
As a result, South Continent mortals revered cultivators like guardian deities and served them with utmost devotion.