darknovel Chapter 29 The Kingdom of Cloud Peak
Chapter 29 The Kingdom of Cloud Peak
Early morning, the sun rises.
Dou Changsheng exhaled a breath of stale air and slowly began to retract his fist.
He swallowed another small yellow pill, and this time the medicine worked well, increasing his strength by twenty levels.
We must take the initiative; we can no longer sit idly by and wait to be defeated. Our own strength is fundamental; everything else is meaningless.
Dou Changsheng did not become complacent because of the changes in the situation and his rapidly rising status in the past two days. On the contrary, Dou Changsheng was very clear-headed and knew that everything he had now was just a castle on the beach, which would all collapse as soon as the sea washed over it.
The situation is not optimistic; Lang County might really rebel.
The situation is escalating step by step and can be described as getting out of control. Last night, the play that Constable Wang put on and the blood letter that he produced at the end all seemed normal, but Dou Changsheng's wisdom from his two lifetimes told him that everything was going too smoothly.
It was as if an invisible hand was gently pushing from the darkness, accelerating the evolution of the situation and plunging Lang County into an abyss. Dou Changsheng suspected that the Black Ice Guard had arrived and was lurking in Lang County. Among those who signed the blood oath last night were people recruited by the Black Ice Guard.
The purpose of Black Ice is to create chaos.
If Lang County were to descend into chaos, it would be a great boon for the Qin state.
Lang County is very remote, but it is located in the rear of the Chu Kingdom. The chaos in Lang County has begun to spread to all directions. Not only will it deplete the vitality of the Chu Kingdom, but it will also prevent other counties from farming. As a result, the supply of faith power and food will be greatly reduced, which will weaken the strength of the Chu Kingdom from all sides.
What started as a power struggle between the Golden Guard and the Cui family eventually escalated into a conflict between two nations. Once caught in such a vortex, there was no chance of survival, and they were forced to flee to distant lands.
Humans could no longer stay there and had no choice but to go to their race's land to make a living.
If given a choice, no one would willingly leave their homeland, much less live in a land of other races. How humans treat demons is how other races will treat you.
Although the stupid system was a bit idiotic, it was still his cheat code. Dou Changsheng knew the reason why it hadn't reacted for the past two days: the system was related to demons and monsters, and he had to make contact with them.
There is one mission now, but the ferocious tiger is too dangerous, and Dou Changsheng doesn't want to get involved. So, whether to come or go, it's still most convenient to go to Manager Li's place.
Becoming a secretary in Lang County has many advantages. He can access the county's library, which not only provides access to a wealth of local intelligence but also broadens his horizons—something Dou Changsheng lacks.
I have read the information about Dahuanglin. Dahuanglin is located 30 li east of Fenglaikou. Fenglaikou is a major transportation route. If you want to go to the county, you have to go through Fenglaikou.
Fenglaikou is important not only to Lang County, but also to the neighboring Lin County. Both counties are surrounded by mountains and rivers, which completely isolates them and eliminates the possibility of external development. As a result, both counties are remote and poor.
This is a bad thing, but it is also a good thing. Just as the county government discussed, if troops are stationed at Fenglaikou, the exit can be closed and the area completely sealed off. If Linxian is captured, the two counties can be united and live their own lives behind closed doors.
This is why Dou Changsheng suspected that the Black Ice Guard had come from elsewhere. Other places did not have such a favorable geographical advantage. Even if a rebellion were to break out, the well-connected environment would make it easy for the Great Chu to mobilize troops to surround and suppress the rebellion, preventing it from causing any significant disturbance.
The lush trees of Dahuanglin prevent sunlight from reaching the area, creating a dark and damp environment that is ideal for the growth of yellow grass mushrooms. However, the area is also home to a large number of grass rabbits.
This is a palm-sized, green-furred animal. It is not very harmful, but there are just too many of them. After being nurtured by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, it is easy for them to become spirits. Not to mention herbivorous animals, even plants that become spirits cannot resist the urge to eat people as long as they smell blood.
The Great Yellow Forest is rich in yellow grass mushrooms, which are one of the ingredients for small yellow pills, large yellow pills, and yellow dragon pills, making them quite valuable. The Great Yellow Forest is very valuable, so Lang County has organized more than one campaign to suppress the demons in the Great Yellow Forest, but each campaign only works for a short period of time.
There will always be grass rabbits that turn into demons and start preying on humans. Once they have eaten humans once, they will be unable to control themselves and will continue to hunt humans.
Damaging the environment of the Huanglin Forest will curb the reproduction of grass rabbits, but it will also cause a sharp decline in the production of yellow grass mushrooms. Over time, the county will no longer take the initiative to eradicate them. In recent years, Baicaoge and Lingzhitang have taken over instead.
After reviewing the materials, Dou Changsheng's first impression was that something was wrong.
Even if a grass rabbit becomes a demon, it won't happen every year. We can easily hunt it down regularly. Even if there are demons, we can spend some money to hire some wandering martial arts practitioners from the county. With three or five seventh-rank cultivators, how could we possibly fail to take them down?
The reason why Dahuanglin was abandoned was never because of the ferocity of demons, but because of deliberate indulgence. Someone had selfish motives. Originally, the yellow grass mushroom was produced in the county, but now it has become the private property of Baicaoge and Lingzhitang.
Even though the cost was considerable, with people dying every time they harvested, they still monopolized the supply, continuously providing Xiaohuangdan to Baicaoge and Lingzhitang.
Dou Changsheng tapped his fingers lightly on the table, thump thump thump!
A crisp sound rang out, and Dou Changsheng pondered seriously. There was another problem here, which was that after the rise of Baicaoge and Lingzhitang, a special professional herb gatherer was born.
These people are all unfortunate. Every time they risk their lives, they painstakingly harvest yellow grass mushrooms, only to be exploited and sold at low prices by Lingzhitang and Baicaoge.
Therefore, the herb gatherers had to band together to fight against Lingzhi Hall and Baicao Pavilion, and a leader was chosen among them, known as the "Desperate Saburo".
Wu San, the daredevil, is quite a name; even Dou Changsheng has heard of him.
He united the herb gatherers, and they have transformed into a gang. They are brave, daring, and loyal, making them very popular among the poor and highly respected.
For example, the resettlement allowance was secured by Wu San for the herb gatherers. Otherwise, given the ruthlessness of Baicaoge and Lingzhitang, if you couldn't bring back the yellow grass mushrooms, and you got injured, crippled, or died, it would be your own bad luck, and they wouldn't give you a single penny.
They recognize the mushrooms, not the people.
Dou Changsheng was eager to increase his strength in order to save his own life.
One cannot take risks to increase strength; this order cannot be reversed. Therefore, by using the name of the advisor, not only did he collect a large amount of intelligence, but he also obtained a lot of inside information from many old people in the county government. Only after confirming the general danger of the Great Yellow Forest did he have the idea of going to the Great Yellow Forest.
Normal cultivation cannot rapidly increase one's strength in a short period of time; only by utilizing the system can this be achieved.
Of course, this negates the idea of taking shortcuts. If one were to actually swallow a Yellow Dragon Pill, not only would one achieve great strength, but one might even be able to advance further. However, that would have too great an impact on one's foundation, and the hope of breaking through to the middle three ranks in the future would be slim.
Dou Changsheng hadn't forgotten that his talent wasn't that great. As for the idea of eating people, it never crossed his mind. In his previous life, Dou Changsheng had received a good education and his values weren't warped. Even if he were reborn, his values would be fixed and couldn't be reshaped.
Dou Changsheng has his own principles and his own persistence.
Being afraid of death doesn't mean you'll cross all lines and become a cannibalistic monster.
With a creak, the door was pushed open, and a young man walked in, quickly approaching Dou Changsheng and saying, "Uncle..."
"Officer Wang is here."
Dou Changsheng's spirits lifted, and he immediately got up and walked outside. Naturally, Dou Changsheng wanted to take precautions before heading to Dahuang Forest, and this was Captain Wang.
This Constable Wang's strength has been confirmed; he is a powerful expert at the seventh-grade Gangqi realm.
He was at the same level as Fang Ziyu, the deceased commander of the Golden Jade Guard, so of course he was at the same level. In reality, his combat strength was definitely inferior. Even if Dou Changsheng thought that the other party was a fraud, it was obvious that someone from the capital was superior to someone from a remote county.
The three Golden Jade Guards who just died ignominiously were only able to fight because of the sixth-grade forbidden talisman. Otherwise, they would still have been able to put up a fight. This fully illustrates the importance of surprise attacks.
With equal strength and the advantage of having the first move, the probability of winning is extremely high.
Head Constable Wang wasn't alone; he brought five constables with him, each of whom was quite capable and had already reached the rank of celestial officer. If County Lieutenant Lin hadn't already left with his men, Dou Changsheng would have wanted to take County Lieutenant Lin with him as well.
When Constable Wang and his men saw Dou Changsheng, they immediately clasped their hands in greeting and said, "Master Dou!"
With a respectful attitude and humble demeanor, Dou Changsheng showed no airs of a seventh-rank martial artist. To be honest, if they hadn't been on the same side because of the Golden Jade Guards, Dou Changsheng wouldn't have dared to go to the Great Yellow Forest with them. He was afraid of being betrayed.
Dou Changsheng walked towards the door, asking Constable Wang as he did so, "Are you familiar with the Great Yellow Forest?"
Officer Wang nodded and said, "I'm familiar with it."
"Back when I was a constable, I participated in the battle to exterminate the demon in the Great Yellow Forest."
Unexpectedly, Officer Wang turned out to be one of the people involved back then, and couldn't help but ask, "Why did the county abandon the Great Yellow Forest?"
Officer Wang said with a wry smile, "This really isn't a problem with the county; it's a problem with Dahuanglin."
"The rampant presence of grass rabbits in the Great Yellow Forest is not caused by the natural environment, but by a powerful demon residing within it."
"With at least several hundred years of cultivation, it has been dormant in the Great Yellow Forest. Its demonic aura has begun to permeate all directions, causing the grass rabbits to mutate and their reproductive capacity to increase dramatically. It is precisely because of this great demon that the grass rabbits are prone to becoming spirits."
"Every year, some grass rabbits become demons. Fortunately, the spiritual energy in the Great Yellow Forest is not abundant, which limits the number of demons that become spirits. They start fighting each other, so their numbers cannot grow. Those mutated grass rabbits that leave the Great Yellow Forest cannot continue to survive."
"Otherwise, the Great Yellow Forest wouldn't be so peaceful; it would have long since become a forbidden area in Lang County, and even a threat to Lang County."
"Back then, the goal of exorcising the demon was to solve all the problems once and for all. After all, the value of the yellow grass mushroom was not low, and everyone wanted to take advantage of it. But after going deep into the core of the Great Yellow Forest, we learned the truth. From then on, the county abandoned the Great Yellow Forest."
"Everyone who was involved back then has been silenced. If it weren't for you, Master Dou, I would never have spoken up, even until my death."
"This time, as long as Master Dou doesn't go to the core of the Great Yellow Forest, there shouldn't be any major incidents. That great demon was injured after all, and it has been behaving itself for so many years without ever exposing any danger, so the county has turned a blind eye."
Knowing what Dou Changsheng was about to ask, Officer Wang preemptively answered, finally sighing, "The Great Wilderness reveres the ancestor of all demons; now is the era of the demon race."
"Even in the land of humans, there are too many demons. They are endless. We usually ignore peaceful demons like these, since our energy is limited. We are already exhausted just dealing with man-eating demons."
The situation in Dahuang Forest is even more complicated. Many things are not recorded. It is obvious that someone deliberately erased that great demon. The reason is very simple: if many people knew about it, they would definitely be uneasy, which would affect their evaluation and hinder their promotion.
Dou Changsheng hesitated for a moment, after all, the Great Yellow Forest was more dangerous than he had imagined, but in the end he did not give up. Time was very tight. The Golden Jade Guard was like a mountain pressing down on his shoulders. Dou Changsheng had to quickly increase his strength, and all the preparations he had made for the Great Yellow Forest would be wasted if he gave up.
Although he was heading to the Great Yellow Forest, Dou Changsheng did not intend to go to the core area. Dou Changsheng wanted to see the demons and see if he could activate the system to generate a mission, rather than solve the problem for Manager Li.
Therefore, this harmless demon is not a bad thing at all, but rather a good thing.
That's the logic, of course. Dou Changsheng definitely won't go to see him; he'll just verify the system.
After boarding the carriage, the group headed towards the Great Yellow Forest. Just as they reached the edge of the forest, the sky suddenly darkened, a huge shadow continued to expand, and the sunlight gradually disappeared. This astonishing scene caused panic.
Suddenly, the horses went berserk. No matter how the coachman whipped them, they couldn't calm down and started pulling the carriage wildly. Upon seeing this, Dou Changsheng decisively chose to abandon the carriage. Continuing on would lead them to who-knows-where. What if they stumbled into the core of the Great Yellow Forest and encountered a powerful demon?
After leaping down, it landed steadily on the ground, looked up at the sky, and could see the sunlight disappearing little by little, as if it were being swallowed up by a monster.
One moment it was sunny and bright, the next it was pitch black, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.
Such an astonishing phenomenon was enough to make the horses go berserk. Even Dou Changsheng's heart began to race with unease, and he couldn't help but start to wonder: had some powerful beings engaged in a battle, and he had unintentionally been drawn into the battlefield, or had some other major event occurred?
I can't see it clearly, I can't see it at all.
A childish voice rang out: "This is Yunpeng passing through."
"Legend has it that there was a country called the Kingdom of Cloud Peak."
"Establishing a nation atop the clouds, with no fixed abode, roaming the world."
"If you are lucky enough, you will be able to see the roc passing by. Everyone who sees this wonder will be blessed with good fortune."
"Of course, good luck is fake. After all, the Cloud Kingdom is also known as the commercial city, and countless people go there and leave every day."
"Xiang Ji, the Prime Minister."
"This time, I'm heading to the Cloud Peak Kingdom to find the method to defeat ten thousand men."
"Destroy Qin!"