Chapter 371: Chapter 369: The Blood-Stained Road
The first leg of the Celestial Refining Path was the Yellow Sand Ancient Road.
It stretched on and on, seemingly without end.
Walking alone, facing the winds that whipped up the yellow sands, would have made the journey a lonely and tedious affair.
But now, with the addition of Suu Luo, a peerlessly beautiful Female Asura, Jiang Jichen suddenly felt the journey had become much more vivid.
She was like a splash of fresh green on the endless sandy path, a stunning and captivating sight.
As they grew more familiar, Suu Luo proved to be very spirited, finding novelty in everything!
She even chirped with excitement at the sight of the wind-swept sand, looking like a curious child.
Jiang Jichen’s expression was a little strange.
He felt that Suu Luo was like a little bird that had been trapped in a cage since birth. One day, it suddenly escaped and took flight into the vast, boundless sky.
Only then did it discover how vast the sky was, how colorful the world could be.
’Could it be? Is Suu Luo the daughter of some bigwig from the Asura Realm, and she secretly ran away from home?’
Jiang Jichen knew that although the people of the Asura Realm were incredibly warlike and bloodthirsty, they generally began participating in war after the age of ten.
They grew through combat—the losers died, and the victors grew stronger.
As such, the mortality rate for an Asura training in the outside world was astronomical—not even one in ten would survive.
However, some powerful figures, wanting their children to have a better chance at survival, would only let them out to train after they had grown sufficiently strong. Even then, they would have experts secretly following to protect them.
Before then, the children of these powerful figures were kept inside a Cultivation Palace, forbidden from leaving until they were strong enough.
And Suu Luo looked exactly like someone who had just escaped from a Cultivation Palace.
The reason he suspected Suu Luo was the daughter of a powerful figure was that he could sense a power within her that even he found daunting.
If she were to face a fatal threat, that power could unseal itself.
That power was immense. It could absolutely... kill him in an instant!
At that moment, Suu Luo was up ahead, shouting excitedly.
"Look! The shape of that strange peak is so weird! It looks like two eggs, don’t you think, Brother Jichen?"
"Mhm."
"Wow, there’s a cave over there! A cave! How interesting! Right, Brother Jichen?"
"Yes."
"Huh? What’s that? Two mountains! They’re so tall and perky and connected together. They’re so pretty! What do you think, Brother Jichen?"
"You’re right."
....
This kind of conversation repeated itself endlessly.
Jiang Jichen no longer had the mood to appreciate her as a stunning and captivating sight.
He could only feel dark lines forming on his forehead.
He suddenly just wanted some peace and quiet.
He wouldn’t mind if the journey was a bit lonelier; walking alone would be fine too!
’Suu Luo, you’re an Asura, aren’t you?’
’Can you please not ask such childish questions?’
’Could you please have even a little of the Asura thirst for battle and slaughter?’
Jiang Jichen screamed internally, so tormented by Suu Luo’s questions that he was left speechless.
In the end, all he could do was nod mechanically.
He found Suu Luo’s questions so dreadful that he would rather go have a huge battle instead.
But no matter how torturous it was...
...the journey continued. Suu Luo remained excited, and Jiang Jichen remained on the verge of going insane.
They traveled quickly, encountering a few people from the Six Paths Realm along the way.
However, any of the people from the Six Paths Realm who appeared on the Yellow Sand Ancient Road weren’t very strong.
Of course, this was only relative to Jiang Jichen.
The moment Jiang Jichen saw these people, he would get excited and immediately charge them.
If he didn’t kill them, he would at least cripple them.
He was doing it purely to vent his frustration.
As a result, Suu Luo never had a chance to make a move.
In fact, Suu Luo’s gaze was filled with reverence as she looked at Jiang Jichen.
"Brother Jichen, you’re so brave! Are you protecting me?"
Suu Luo cooed from the sidelines while Jiang Jichen was in the middle of a fight.
Jiang Jichen was speechless, on the verge of snapping.
’Suu Luo, could there possibly be an Asura as naive and innocent as you?’
’Please, can’t you be a little more mature? Act a little more like an Asura?’
Jiang Jichen responded with a roar, blowing apart a ferocious Giant Bear Beastman that had intended to hunt them for food with a single punch.
After venting, Jiang Jichen’s mood improved slightly, and he stopped actively seeking out fights.
They traveled for over ten thousand li on this section of the Yellow Sand Ancient Road.
Along the way, they encountered various groups of Cultivators. Some were being chased by Beastmen, some were being devoured by the Undead, some were being hunted by the Dark Races of the Demon Realm, and some were being slaughtered by Asuras.
Of course, there were also chaotic brawls where Beastmen, Undead, Dark Races, and Asura fought amongst themselves.
Through it all, Jiang Jichen never intervened, walking past with indifference.
No matter how those Human Race Cultivators pleaded for help, he remained unmoved.
He only acted against those who insisted on attacking him first. Whether they were Beastmen, Undead, of the Dark Race, or Asura, Jiang Jichen blew them apart with a single punch. None could withstand a single exchange.
This was a blood-soaked path, where one had to constantly fight and kill just to move forward.
One could constantly see the corpses of Cultivators, Beastmen, the Dark Race, Asura, and Undead Creatures. Of course, the corpses of Human Race Cultivators were the most numerous.
But no one retreated, nor could they. The only way was forward.
The cruelty of life and death was on full, vivid display along this road.
Gradually, Suu Luo could no longer bring herself to smile.
After witnessing scenes of flying blood and flesh, her state of mind was bound to change.
However, when she saw Jiang Jichen ruthlessly slaying other Asuras, she did not try to stop him. Her expression didn’t even flicker.
After all, Asuras have a casual view of life and death.
Even though Suu Luo was a very innocent and naive Asura, she was still innately indifferent to matters of life and death.
After traversing over ten thousand li of the Yellow Sand Ancient Road, Jiang Jichen and Suu Luo finally set foot upon the Bluestone Ancient Road.
The Bluestone Ancient Road, the middle section of the Celestial Refining Path.
The beings who could make it to this section of the ancient road were all, naturally, incomparably powerful.
They were the absolute experts of the Foundation Establishment Realm, each possessing extraordinary methods.
After traversing the bloody path of the Yellow Sand Ancient Road, Suu Luo had changed.
She was no longer the girl who asked childish questions. She had matured a great deal, and her entire aura had transformed.
When silent, she once again looked like a peerless beauty, embodying an air of both combat-readiness and cold indifference.
She held a fatal attraction for men, an allure that made them want to conquer and possess her.
But Jiang Jichen didn’t see her that way. Suu Luo’s questions were just too outrageous. He figured it would be best if they went their separate ways as soon as they entered the rear mountains of the Academy.
Therefore, Jiang Jichen increased his pace.
To his surprise, however, Suu Luo kept up with him, not falling a single step behind.
Suu Luo’s Cultivation wasn’t high, but she displayed far too many miraculous abilities.
However, Jiang Jichen didn’t press the matter or investigate further. After all, everyone had their secrets.
However, not long after the two of them entered the Bluestone Ancient Road, they heard the sounds of fighting up ahead.
There were far fewer people on the Bluestone Ancient Road than on the Yellow Sand Ancient Road, so the sound of a fight naturally drew attention.
Jiang Jichen and Suu Luo didn’t stop. There was only one path forward, and they couldn’t just halt their progress because of a fight.
Soon, they arrived at the section of the bluestone path where the fight was taking place.
But to Jiang Jichen’s great surprise, he saw a group of acquaintances.
It was the group from the Heavenly Sword Academy, and among them were none other than Shii Xiaoyu, Qingya, Ouyang Xue, Luuo Xue, and Fang Yunyi!
They were currently surrounded by a group of exceptionally strong Cultivators from the Six Paths Realm, and their situation was perilous!
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