Chapter 252: Chapter 251: The Legend Comes True
The legend the Elder Witch Priest once spoke of had come true. When the battle of the Chosen Ones was won and the Enlightenment Fruit was picked, the Spirit Charm of the Northern Boundary would be restored, and the ice and snow would melt.
Lava from the Northern Boundary Mountain covered nearly every corner of the Northern Boundary. In some places, pools of lava formed, churning with ice and frigid water, SIZZLING as they let off steam.
The streams formed from the vast melting ice and snow were like a god’s chisel, breaking open the frozen earth and carving rivers between the mountains.
Countless living beings died in the devastating cataclysm, buried within the earth to become its nutrients.
After the violent eruption, the Dragon Vein entered a low point, nearly on its last breath and just a step away from complete collapse. But an invisible life force rose from the ruins. Spirit Charm pouring in from Blue Star nourished it, and it was predicted that in a few thousand years, it might once again be able to generate Spirit Charm for the Northern Boundary on its own.
Before returning to North Border City, Jiang Qiu first got dressed. The Dragon Horns on his head receded, the gold-patterned black Dragon Scales on his skin vanished, and his Dragon Eyes faded. His body returned to its human form, no different from before, save for a faint, almost imperceptible air of draconic pride.
He possessed two pure bloodlines, so it was only natural that he had two forms.
Before leaving the Northern Boundary with Zhu Weiyi, he and Tang Guang flew off separately toward the North Snow Tribe and the East Shore Tribe, intending to make some arrangements.
...
Half a year had passed from the beginning of the battle of the Chosen Ones to its end. This time, it had been completely different from those of the past, over ten thousand times more intense than any recorded in history. It was almost equivalent to the original legend—the sundering of the Northern Boundary.
Back then, the sky had grown dark and the sun and moon vanished. The torches of the North Snow Tribe were like tiny, insignificant fireflies in a storm, noticed by no one.
Leader [Hunt] was already sixty years of age. He was old now, and though his body remained strong, there were signs of decline in all aspects.
Having survived the disaster that nearly wiped out the North Snow Tribe, he had prayed for the remaining clansmen to rebuild. When Jiang Qiu headed south to the Northern Boundary Mountain, he had prayed for him to achieve ultimate victory.
They were a remnant tribe with fewer than two hundred of their own people, relying on the hundred-plus women attracted by the Chosen One, Jiang Qiu, to carry on their line. They were like a lone boat in a rushing torrent; any stronger wind or wave would have capsized them.
And that day did indeed come. An apocalyptic gloom obscured the heavens. The tribe’s Warriors dared not venture out to hunt, and the pregnant women who had only recently settled in the tribe huddled fearfully inside the North Snow Tower.
Thunder rumbled in the sky and a Gale howled. Suddenly, a world-ending light shot up from the south. Crimson lava spread out like a great flash before raining down from the sky. Some of it smashed onto the ruins of the North Snow Tribe, and a few chunks of molten rock were about to hit the North Snow Tower itself!
Fortunately, the Little Ice Realm Array that Jiang Qiu had left behind activated. A resilient, massive shield of ice blocked the lava, repeatedly cycling between melting and reforming.
After exhausting the last of the Little Ice Realm Array’s Spirit Charm reserves, the North Snow Tribe tenaciously survived.
Light peeked through the clouds. A fine rain showered the still-burning ruins of the North Snow Tribe as the Warriors rolled up their sleeves and began to dig through the debris.
The women held the infants who had survived the disaster, nursing them.
An unprecedented situation lay before them. The heavy Snow in the sky gradually receded. Hot and cold air clashed all around them, and the temperature quietly changed. On the ground, melted snow mixed with wood debris, converging into streams that flowed through the streets.
"Elder Witch Priest, the legend came true. It seems... all things will be reborn."
[Hunt] raised his hands and gazed at the horizon, his cloudy eyes reflecting a speck of light. "I just don’t know if it was [Hill] who won the final victory..."
Every time the battle of the Chosen Ones ended, the Chosen Ones would leave this world and return to their own Ancestral Realms.
The Ancestral Realm was the world of their birth, the place where their Souls belonged. It was said that beyond the Northern Boundary, there were worlds as vast as a sea of stars, which had existed even before the Celestial Profound Great Realm shattered.
A shattered world, like a drifting dandelion seed, would search the void for a complete world worthy of entrusting itself to. It would attach, establish a unique connection, and it was through this connection that the Chosen Ones came.
However, the ancestors had not left behind any more information. They didn’t know why the Northern Boundary was able to connect with so many different worlds. For tens of thousands of years, none of the Chosen Ones who came here to train were from the same world.
But what was always the same was that they would all eventually leave.
’Perhaps [Hill] is the same as the others... he’s returned to his Ancestral Realm...’
"Leader! Leader! Someone’s flying in the sky!"
Suddenly, a childish cry came from behind him. A one-year-old infant, fists clenched, was sprinting toward them, their flushed face beaming with an excited smile.
That’s right—the newborn babies in the tribe were already a year old, able to walk, jump, and talk.
The moment he heard the voice, Leader [Hunt] froze for a second. "Flying?"
Following the direction of the pointed finger, he looked up and saw a figure actually flying in from the horizon. Even the fine, cold rain condensing in the sky seemed to avoid his body.
In an instant, his pupils widened. A tingling sensation welled up in his nose, and his eyes grew moist. He bent down and placed a hand solemnly on the child’s shoulder. "Quick, go tell the others to come back! We will welcome the return of [Hill]!"
...
After all the developments over the past year, the population of the North Snow Tribe had reached five hundred, with newborn infants accounting for more than half. Although they were still far from their peak of several hundred thousand, the current trend was promising.
Jiang Qiu let out a sigh of relief upon confirming that no one in the tribe had died from the Northern Boundary Mountain’s eruption. Facing the tribe’s devout and pleasantly surprised gazes, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly. "The seal on the Northern Boundary has been broken. Spirit Charm from my world will flow continuously into the Northern Boundary until this world’s Dragon Vein can generate Spirit Charm on its own."
"From now on, you too will be able to absorb Spirit Charm, break through to the Jade Sinew Realm, and advance to even higher Realms."
"Before I leave, I will bequeath a portion of my Cultivation Techniques. I hope that you will be able to grow strong and that the North Snow Tribe will rise to prominence once more."
The clansmen gathered behind Leader [Hunt] all stared with wide eyes, some of them trembling uncontrollably. They gazed up at Jiang Qiu, who stood on the Altar, and their very Souls seemed to thrum with the power of his words.
In all of history, this was the first time a Chosen One had returned to visit them—and it was the Chosen One who had won the entire competition!
He was even willing to leave behind Cultivation Techniques!
"Oh, one more thing," Jiang Qiu added. "The Chosen One from the East Shore Tribe, [Fan], is an acquaintance of mine. Your two tribes can strengthen your ties. It would also be best to connect with other tribes that are friendly toward North Snow."
At this, Jiang Qiu glanced at the women in the tribe whose eyes flickered. Many of them had come from the Stone Forest Tribe, the one that [BaKi] had infiltrated in disguise. He didn’t say anything more.
After giving a few more instructions, he was about to leave when a childish voice suddenly piped up. "Lord [Hill], what Realm of Cultivation do I have to reach to leave the Northern Boundary and see your world?"
As soon as he spoke, the other children his age froze in place, and the adults’ hearts jolted. ’How could anyone possibly leave the Northern Boundary?’
Jiang Qiu narrowed his eyes and looked over. It was a small, red-faced boy, clenching his fists with a stubborn expression, his eyes like stars. He felt a faint sense of familiarity. "You want to go to my world?"
"Yes. My father’s name was [Pile]. Before he left with you for the Northern Boundary Mountain, he told me that during his bloodline test, he almost lasted until the Witch Fragrance burned out. Maybe it was fate, but he always hoped to awaken his bloodline, just like a Chosen One."
"I also want to see why the Chosen Ones from the Great Realms are so different from us."
A brilliant light shone in the child’s clear eyes. His father had been a peerless genius, yet because he was born in the same era as Jiang Qiu, his light had been dimmed.
He had not yet undergone the bloodline test, but he, too, wanted to chase after Jiang Qiu’s shadow and see the world beyond.
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