Talisman Emperor
Page 685Chapter 685 A Place Of Exile
Rumble!
Surging black colored and muddy waves were like furious dragons that roiled and roared, and they emitted rumbling that was like the sound of thunder. Stones were launched into the sky as the violent waves struck the banks, and it was extremely dangerous.
A bone hawk that possessed an exceedingly hideous appearance flew past the banks of the river, and it was crushed by the enormous wave that suddenly rose up, causing it to fall into the river and vanish in the blink of an eye.
This enormous river was extremely dangerous. Its water was muddy and extremely violent, causing all living beings to not dare approach it.
However, at this moment, there was a black figure floating at the center of the river like duckweed that drifted aimlessly, and when one looked carefully, it was surprisingly the figure of a person!
His entire body was drenched, his skin damaged, and his flesh that had split apart was washed by the river water to the point of being extremely pale. The color of blood couldn’t be seen from him at all, and he faintly revealed pieces of shattered bones. There was practically not a single intact part on his entire body, and his injuries were terrifyingly heavy.
Chen Xi had entirely not expected that after the tiny cauldron tore space open and fled with him, it would actually be an exceedingly rapid and ferocious river waiting for him. He utterly had no time to make any reaction before he was washed far away by the river, and he was like a piece of rotten wood that flowed randomly without control.
It wasn’t just that, he was struck countless times by rocks all along the way, and his body that was heavily and damaged since the beginning was on the verge of shattering. Even his internal organs were injured from the violent shaking.
Presently, his entire body was riddled with holes and covered in injuries. The veins within his body were damaged while his Blackhole World had shattered into nothingness. His entire body was like a ball of damaged cotton, and his vitality had dried up, causing him to lack the strength to even more a single finger!
Am I…going to die? But I’m…not willing to go!
Chen Xi tried to open his eyes with all his strength, yet he noticed that even his eyelids were so heavy and were impossible to open. His consciousness was sometimes clear and sometimes hazy, and he was like a person that was on the verge of death and seemed as if he would die in the next moment.
Bang!
In the next moment, his head directly collided with a rock. The intense pain felt as if it bore into his heart, and then his vision went black as he fell unconscious.
…
“Xiao Yan, be careful. This River of Hell is too rapid, don’t get too close.”
“Uncle Meng Wei, you don’t have to worry, I’ll be fine.”
“Hehe, Uncle Meng Wei, I’m going to be the number one figure in the tribe, so I’m naturally afraid of nothing!”
This was a desolate place that neighbored a vast black colored river. It was covered in stones of all shapes and sizes, completely barren, and exceedingly poor. Even the weather here was dark and humid.
The sky seemed to be formed from a layer of thick ash, causing of sources of light to be blocked out. It caused this entire place to be covered in a dark grey color, and it was utterly impossible to see sunlight here.
From afar, a large and a small figure approached this large river.
The large figure was a stalwart middle aged man with dense brows, large eyes, and a wide forehead. He wore simple beast skin that revealed muscles that were hard like rocks, and he held a pitch black and low quality bow made from the horn of a beast.
At the side of the stalwart middle aged man was a young girl with soft jet black hair that hung loosely on her shoulders, and her large eyes were clear and bright. She similarly wore beast skin clothes, and she revealed a pair of slender and white arms and legs.
Even though she wore crude beast skin clothes, it was still impossible to conceal the beauty and cuteness of the young girl, and her young features revealed a strand of stubborn wildness.
The young girl carried a wooden barrel that was even taller than her, yet didn’t seem to find it strenuous at all. She seemed to be very relaxed as she walked at the side of the river before squatting down to fetch water.
“Xiao Yan, let me do it.” The stalwart middle aged man, Meng Wei, swept the rapid and fierce river with his gaze, and a wisp of worry appeared in his eyes.
“There’s no need. Priest Grandpa said that I should take care of my own affairs.” Xiao Yan shook her head with a firm attitude.
Meng Wei sighed in his heart. Xiao Yan was a child the Priest brought up by himself, and she had been sensible and intelligent since a young age. On the other hand, the Lord Priest was sick now, and he was on the verge of passing away.
This little girl Xiao Yan had heard from someone that if the water of the River of Hell was used to boil medicine, it could extend one’s lifespan and restore one’s vitality. From that day onward, she would come to the River of Hell to fetch water every single day to boil medicine for the Priest.
Unfortunately, the little girl would never know that the Priest wasn’t sick, but had been heavily injured by someone. The Priest had suffered a lethal injury, and he could only live for a few more days.
“Uncle Meng Wei, look, quickly! There! There seems to be a person!” Right at this moment, Xiao Yan suddenly cried out in surprise, and she jolted awake Meng Wei who was in deep thought.
His gaze focused as he swiftly swept his gaze towards the center of the river. Sure enough, he saw a figure was floating within the river like a piece of rotten wood.
…
This was an extremely strange group of around 100 plus people. Most of them were young men and young women, while the older were around 12 or 13, and the younger were just eight or nine.
Even though they were young, all of them had robust figures and powerful physiques, and although they wore simply beast skin clothes, it was still impossible to conceal the exuberant heroic spirit they emitted.
Moreover, they moved very swiftly like a well-trained army. Some made fires and cooked, some stood on watch, some repaired weapons, some trained…. None of them were playing.
One should normally be lively at their ages, yet they were doing things that should be done by adults now, and they didn’t reveal the slightest impatience. It was truly a wonder as to what they’d experienced to allow them to become so sensible and obedient.
On the other hand, there were merely 10 plus adults in the group. All of them were extremely capable with gazes that revealed cold, fierce, and vigilant sheens as they guarded the surroundings and looked afar the beast skin tent at the center of the campsite.
The beast skin tent was filled with the dense smell of medicine. The air within was smokey and extremely pungent, and there was an old man laid down on a soft and tattered beast skin at the center.
This old man’s bones were thick and large, yet he was exceedingly thin, as if he was just bones covered in skin. His face and hands were covered in wrinkled that were like ravines, and his gaze was dim and muddy, causing him to seem extremely aged.
“How long can the food last?” The old man spoke with a low and hoarse voice that was even accompanied with a wave of rapid gasping for breath, and it caused others to be very worried that he would breathe his last breath in the next moment.
“Priest, Chieftain Meng Wei and I have hunted many bone hawks all along the way, and coupled with our current food, it’s roughly able to last for a month.” A young woman spoke respectfully. Her figure was tall and slender with breathtaking curves, and her jet black hair was tied up into a ponytail to reveal an icy cold and gorgeous appearance. Moreover, her tone and expression revealed a straightforward feeling.
“A month? It’s too little…” The old man sighed deeply as a wisp of worry appeared in his muddy eyes. After a long time, he asked with a hoarse voice once more. “How many people do we have left?”
“13 infants, 76 youths, and 9 guards of the clan,” replied the young woman.
“Another three guards have died?” The worry in the old man’s eyes grew even denser, and it caused the atmosphere within the tent to become oppressive and low.
The young woman puckered her lips and didn’t know how to answer the old man because her heart felt extremely heavy as well.
“All of you have done well. These children are the hope of our clan. So what even if we sacrifice these people for their sakes?” The old man muttered with a voice that revealed dense sorrow.
“Lord Priest, we…. Can we really walk out of this place of exile?” The young woman raised her head up abruptly and looked at the old man on the bed while revealed a rare wisp of a lost feeling.
“Mo Ya, do you still remember the prophecy inscribed beneath the clan?” The old man asked with a low voice.
“For the sake of the hope of our clan, you and Meng Wei must live on. Bring those children out to see the world, the place our Ancestors once lived.” A wisp of recollection appeared on the wrinkled face of the old man.
“I’ll surely succeed!” Mo Ya puckered her lips and bit her teeth tightly, and then she suddenly stared blankly as she said, “Lord Priest, what about you? Could it be that you won’t be going with us?”
“Me?” The old man suddenly started laughing, and he revealed a wisp of melancholy. “I’ve lived my entire life here and guarded here my entire lifetime. In the end, I could only watch idly by as a calamity broke through the seal and re-emerged into the world. I’m…ashamed to face our Ancestors!”
“Then…” Mo Ya frowned and intended to say something. Right at this moment, the flap of the tent was lifted open, and a tall and stalwart middle aged man walked in. It was Meng Wei.
“Lord Priest, I picked this person up at the side of the River of Hell.” Meng Wei spoke as he lightly placed the person on his back onto the ground, and his movements were gentle and careful.
It was because he was extremely worried that he would break this person apart if he used slight force. After all, this fellows’ injuries were too horrible, his skin and flesh were split apart to the point even his bones were exposed, and it was simply too horrifying to look at.
If it wasn’t for him having detected that this person still carried a trace of vitality, he would have almost thought he’d rescued a corpse.
“It’s only a corpse, why waste your strength to bring it back?” Mo Ya swept the young man on the ground that didn’t move in the slightest, and she frowned as she spoke.
“He still has a trace of vitality.” Meng Wei explained with a low voice.
“The River of Hell?” On the bed, the face of the old man that was covered with wrinkles revealed a wisp of surprise, and he suddenly struggled to get up before pointing at the young man on the ground as he said with an anxious voice, “Quickly tear off a piece of his clothes and let me have a look.”
Meng Wei did as he was told. Only now did he notice the clothes worn by this young man were extremely strange, and it was completely different to the beast skin he wore. The clothes were soft, smooth, and carried a trace of a strange defensive force.
“As expected, this is a treasure that can only be obtained in the outside world!” The old man sized up the cloth in his hand before a wisp of indescribable excitement surged out into his muddy eyes. “These clothes are refined from various spirit materials and have layer upon layer of formations set up on it. It ought to be called ‘treasured clothes’!”
Spirit materials? Treasured clothes?
Meng Wei and Mo Ya glanced at each other, and both of them were confused. For generations and generations, their ancestors had lived on this land that was in complete darkness. They used beast skin as clothes, the meat of various ferocious monsters as food, and it was extremely difficult for them to imagine what were spirit materials and what treasured clothes were.
But they were able to faintly discern from the priest’s reaction that this young man who lay on the ground like a corpse seemed…to be from the outside world?
“Quickly! No matter what, you must save him and ask him exactly how he arrived at the Ninth Hell that’s said to have no way out!” The old man suddenly became excited, and his low and hoarse voice revealed excitement and joy that was impossible to conceal.