Hei Gou was used to Xue Wei leading the way for the two of them, but this time things were different. Xue Wei was utterly obsessed with making his body get used to passively using the Azure Dragon Scripture’s Qi flows. The group had left the Vermilion Forest and were walking on the roads that ran through the Vermilion Forest Kingdom.
"Have you never wondered why Primordial Beasts are so strong?" Tianyi asked. Xue Wei wondered for a bit before he understood the crux of the problem.
Primordial Beasts were stronger than humans of the same age. Even Hei Gou, who was considered a very average beast, had strength equivalent to a Sky Warrior after only five years of cultivation. This alone was a shocking feat, but for Primordial Beasts, it was indeed nothing.
"They can cultivate constantly. After their core is created, they will be able to cultivate at any moment in time – even in their sleep, their bodies cultivate without conscious input."
"It is also possible for humans to imitate this, but it requires diligent practice. That is your goal!"
Tianyi was placed in a very plain leather scabbard by Xue Wei's waist. It looked very ordinary and even a bit shabby, but Tianyi's voice continued to echo in Xue Wei's head.
The priestess and Hei Gou were chatting with one another, though they were unsure of what exactly they should talk about, so their conversation was about simple things such as the weather or the dusty road. Even a discussion about a capital neither had seen before was brought up to avoid uncomfortable silence.
Xue Wei was completely ignorant of the discomfort his two companions were feeling. He was getting better and better at making his body refine the Qi on its own, but he still needed some more time to fully internalize it.
As they walked down the dusty road, they were the targets of quite a few bandit groups, but none of them could truly pose any threat to the trio.
The priestess had never before cultivated, as she had not been allowed to cultivate by the villagers out of fear for her getting too strong, so she was no help and spent most of her time on the sidelines providing either aid or compliment every time they were done with a fight
The group stopped in a few villages along the way, and stayed in a few inns to cleanse themselves and get a proper night of rest every once in a while. Although they did not have much money, they could get by with what they salvaged after every encounter with a group of bandits.
Although they were far from being considered wealthy, they had enough money to stay a few nights at the inns, and even more so buy a few simple meals.
The priestess had not taken anything with her from the temple in the Thousand Mist Village. Although she had many gold and silver coins she had forgotten them in the rush to leave. She also owned ornaments that were made from gold, jade, and gemstones, but it would be far too unhandy to bring those with her since she did not have a storage ring or spatial treasure of some kind. In the end it would be troublesome to return to the village for the coins and thus she was incredibly poor.
It had also been impossible for Xue Wei and Hei Gou to take any of the weapons and items from the villagers they had killed, and since the villagers did not use coins to sustain their village, they had not found any valuables either. All they had to live off were the coins they had taken from bandits that they had encountered on the way to the Vermilion Forest.
While they weren’t wealthy enough to purchase medicinal plants or pills to aid them in cultivation, they could at least afford to live comfortably
Day after day went by on the road. They would set out during the morning and look for a place to rest during the night. Sometimes, they would stay in an inn, in a town, or a village if they came across one, but many a time they had to camp overnight under the moonlight in the Vermilion Forest.
As they traveled, Xue Wei became increasingly proficient at his new cultivation method. In fact, it came almost naturally to him, and even Tianyi praised him for that.
"When I was trying to learn it, it took me a full five years to reach the point you are at now! You are a natural at this!" the sword praised him. "You’re almost as good as a Primordial Beast at it already. I don't know how you did it, but it is indeed a feat you can be proud about!"
As Xue Wei got better and better, he started to notice the tense and awkward atmosphere between Hei Gou and Jiang Fengmian.
"So, miss Jiang, what are your plans when you reach the capital?" Xue Wei asked in an attempt to elevate the mood.
"I intend to join a temple," she said with certainty in her voice. "I wish to become a real priestess and take care of those in need. I know that I am now too old to begin cultivating, so my worth on the battlefield is useless."
"But there should be temples in the capital, considering the size of the faction backing up the diviners, priests, and monks across the entire continent. They ought to have branches in every kingdom. So if I join them, I might be able to do something good."
"My entire life has been about harming others. I killed my mother, and I destroyed the future of many men in the village. It is time that I atone for these sins."
Her voice was low but filled with a determination so unwavering that it surprised Xue Wei.
He knew that she had decided to end the curse on the villagers. Although she had been hated by these villagers day in and day out, she still felt guilty for their deaths and wished to repent.
It was true that it was partly her fault for allowing Xue Wei and Hei Gou to escape, but truthfully, the only other option was to have her become a cold corpse in the forest somewhere alongside the villagers.
"A priestess, huh?" Hei Gou was the first one to speak. He nodded his head. "You will make a good priestess. You do care about others enough."
Xue Wei was surprised to hear that coming from Hei Gou. Had these two really gotten to know each other so much that he could tell her personality from this alone?
Jiang Fengmian stopped in her tracks and looked at Xue Wei and Hei Gou. Her usually stoic and expressionless face was suddenly filled with a gentle smile, and a few tears were in her eyes.
"I, Jiang Fengmian, swear that I shall never mention the matters about Bai Tianyi, Xue Wei, or Hei Gou to anyone. Should I fail to keep this oath, let the Nine Heavenly Tribulations smite me down and destroy my soul forever!"
Xue Wei and Hei Gou had stopped and were looking at her with confusion, yet when they heard her vow, their eyes widened in surprise.
"How fierce!" Xue Wei could not help but grin. "No hesitation!" Hei Gou said with praise as well.
"She is a woman of character," Tianyi agreed. The sword strangely gave off a vibe someone nodding their head would give you.
"I am forever grateful to you," Jiang Fengmian said. "You took me from hell and are giving me the option of a new future. When you should have questioned whether or not I would bring you into a trap, you trusted me. When we fled, Hei Gou showed me his true form with no hesitation."
"I do not care about race; I do not care about the world. All that matters to me is to live a peaceful life where I can tend to other poor and unfortunate souls. Thanks to you, I have the chance to do so now. The least I can do is show my conviction. It would be bad if I could not even do this little bit!"
Jiang Fengmian had never been one to speak a lot, but now the floodgates had opened, alongside the tears that trickled down her cheeks.
"A new future..." she muttered to herself and looked up into the clear blue sky above her. "No longer captive and forced to make people suffer. This is freedom!"
Her voice was so loud, her demeanor like a tormented person finally finding freedom. As if she had been captured in a dark room for a long time and finally saw the sky again.
Xue Wei and Hei Gou could easily understand her feelings. Although their past was not as tragic as hers, they too had experienced their share of unfair treatment, and they also felt that they had finally found freedom. They felt that their steps were lighter, and together the trio started walking again towards the capital.
The group was no longer awkward. There was laughter amongst them, and they spoke about their past. Since the priestess had sworn never to mention Xue Wei and Hei Gou to anyone, the two decided to tell her about their history, which shocked her.
First, she was indignant, but then she understood that there was nothing she could do. She was just too weak. She was only one woman, and she was not even a cultivator, but she felt sorry for them, who had gone through such horrid experiences, being forced to flee to a low ranked country to find a bit of peace of mind – and that in vain, as well.
The three became friends on the road. They shared everything with each other, and Jiang Fengmian was very energetic. As she said, they were the first friends she had ever made.
Together on the road, four weeks went by as their journey continued. During this time, Xue Wei, who was now cultivating every moment of the day, broke through to the Sky Warrior rank at record speed.
He reached the first layer of the Sky Warrior rank the day before they arrived at the capital. His face was filled with a dumb smile, but both Jiang Fengmian and Hei Gou knew why.
Xue Wei had struggled to cultivate before. But now it was going so rapidly that he himself could not catch up. He feared that the quality of his Qi would drop, but that could not be further from the truth. The purity remained unchanged, and his cultivation base grew even when he slept.
This sudden change in his efficiency of Qi refinement boosted his cultivation base through multiple breakthroughs, and it was also because of his newfound cultivation method that he was not obstructed when he crossed over from the Earth Warrior realm into the first layer of the Sky Warrior rank.
That morning, the group woke up in a small suburban village next to the capital. They had arrived late afternoon the day before, but they decided to spend a night in the village and set out the next morning instead of rushing to the capital.
They had heard much gossip while traveling. The most prevalent topic were the falling stars. Although they were quite curious about it, Xue Wei, Hei Gou, and Jiang Fengmian quickly figured out that it had happened when they were in the Vermilion Forest, and neither of the three thought it had anything to do with them so they did not pay too much attention to it.
What they did pay attention to were the rumors from the Flowing Blood Prairie and the Heping Kingdom about a newly emerged Primordial Beast called The Crimson Devil.
Unfortunately, news about the Crimson Devil had now died out. It had been exciting some weeks or months prior, but now that he had been missing for some time, the rumor faded away into obscurity.
Xue Wei and Hei Gou did not intend to attract attention, so they did not ask questions about the topic either.
Noticing that they could get no vital information from this place, they went back to their lodgings.
The following day, the three gathered in the restaurant where they had some congee before they checked out, paid their fee, and moved towards the capital. It was time for them to deliver Jiang Fengmian to the temple so that she could begin her new life.