Gu Tian appeared and carried Ye Qiu away, triggering all kinds of speculation from the Heaven-rank powerhouses in the Ancestral Land, though many of them couldn’t figure out the real reason behind it.

The impact of this battle caused by Ye Qiu was still fermenting, especially for the Supreme Saint.

When Ye Qiu’s teleportation array was blocked by the Heaven-rank expert Zhu Tian, the Supreme Saint heard about it indirectly. No matter what, he was still a high-ranking figure of the Taiyi Divine Sect, and also a Supreme Saint with the potential to become a Heaven-rank powerhouse. So the Heaven-rank experts within the Taiyi Divine Sect did not deliberately conceal Gu Tian’s appearance and the fact that he rescued Ye Qiu from the hands of the Donghua Sect powerhouse and the Shadow powerhouse.

Hearing that there were so many things he didn’t know behind all this, the Supreme Saint was astonished. No wonder the clash between the Heaven-rank powerhouses had seemed so accidental—turns out, at the root of it all, it was because of Ye Qiu.

But in any case, Ye Qiu wasn’t dead—he was still alive—and for the Supreme Saint, this was something that had to be resolved.

Moreover, this time, it wasn’t just him who wanted to kill Ye Qiu; the Donghua Sect and the Shadow also wanted to get rid of Ye Qiu.

Although the killing of Ye Qiu was never put explicitly on the table, everyone in the Taiyi Divine Sect, the Donghua Sect, and even the Shadow knew one thing: once they ran into Ye Qiu, they had to kill him.

Unknowingly, Ye Qiu had been placed on the must-kill list of these three major forces. In the Ancestral Land, this was extremely rare; only those of great treachery and great evil would receive such treatment, yet Ye Qiu alone was enjoying it.

Because of him, a Saint of the Donghua Sect died, and they almost went to a bloody war with the Shadow.

Because of him, the Shadow was framed and scapegoated, losing many people and carrying the blame for Ye Qiu.

Because of him, the Supreme Saint’s disciple Zhou Lie died.

All these reasons made the three major forces aim their spearheads at a mere Return-to-Ruin–realm Martial Artist. In the eyes of others, this was rather unbelievable—after all, a Return-to-Ruin–realm Martial Artist who could stir up such a huge storm and offend all three forces was exceedingly rare.

It could even be said he was one in a billion.

Everyone who learned this news couldn’t help but feel depressed on Ye Qiu’s behalf. Once Ye Qiu showed his face in the Eastern Wasteland, people from these three forces would probably come after him very quickly. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Some were worried for Ye Qiu—such as Li Jin. From the grapevine he’d heard that Ye Qiu was still alive, but given the current situation, he felt it was far from optimistic, and that Ye Qiu would be in extreme danger.

Others sneered, perhaps out of jealousy. Ye Qiu, with Return-to-Ruin strength, had defeated a half-step Saint and even killed ordinary Saints. In the eyes of some younger disciples, this was far too great a threat. If Ye Qiu could be jointly killed by these three major forces, that would be perfect—at least on the future martial path, there would be one less powerful competitor.

A figure walked down from the noisy tavern. This person’s face was pale, as if accompanied by illness all year long, without a trace of blood.

Yet he was very low-key and did not attract the attention of those around him. From his appearance to his departure, everything was quiet; he did not disturb a single person.

If Ye Qiu were here, he would definitely recognize this man.

Cain!

Strictly speaking, Cain had only just woken up not long ago. After arriving in the Ancestral Land, he had been in constant slumber; only in sleep would his injuries slowly recover.

Fortunately, when Cain appeared in the Ancestral Land, he fell into an abyss. The dark and damp environment was nothing short of heaven for him, and no one disturbed him. He slept for a very long time, and only recently did he come to a city where humans lived.

Cain discovered that the Martial Artists here were extremely powerful. Some people’s auras even made him feel oppressive. Fortunately, he gave off a sickly impression, and some Martial Artists couldn’t be bothered with him, regarding Cain as a small fry.

Cain never revealed his abilities from beginning to end. He was afraid that people here would treat him as a heretic, so he disguised himself as an ordinary person—just like now.

What surprised Cain was that during these days wandering around the city, he heard a name—a name that made him lose focus again and again.

Because he felt that the man called Ye Fentian was very likely the Ye Qiu he knew.

Ye Qiu’s other name, Dugu Fentian, was something he knew.

But he didn’t show any reaction. Whenever others talked about Ye Qiu, he would eavesdrop for a while longer. Until he heard that Ye Qiu knew Alchemy, was an elder of the Pill Tower, and was a figure who had risen recently, he could practically confirm that Ye Fentian was Ye Qiu.

This delighted Cain greatly. He wanted to find Ye Qiu as quickly as possible. Although he didn’t know how Ye Qiu had come to the Ancestral Land, being able to hear news of Ye Qiu here was a good thing for him.

Cain went to the battlefield and saw that man called Ye Fentian. Although it wasn’t Ye Qiu’s original face, from his mannerisms and bearing, he could still see a hint of Ye Qiu’s shadow. Cain decided to reveal himself later.

However, the sudden turn of events caused him to lose the chance to recognize Ye Qiu, because Ye Qiu disappeared and there was no way to even start looking. Moreover, the Taiyi Divine Sect, the Shadow, and the Donghua Sect were all searching for Ye Qiu. Ye Qiu definitely wouldn’t show himself easily, which made it very difficult for him to see Ye Qiu again.

Since it was temporarily impossible to find Ye Qiu, Cain changed his plan. His strength was too weak right now; even if he did find Ye Qiu, he wouldn’t be able to help much.

Especially since Cain knew Ye Qiu would have even more potential enemies. This was still under the condition that his identity hadn’t been exposed; once exposed, he would be the enemy of the whole world.

Cain decided to increase his strength. He believed Ye Qiu would not stay dormant. When the day came that Ye Qiu returned like a king, he would then appear, and at the very least, he could share part of the pressure for Ye Qiu.

Cain left, heading all the way north.

He had heard that the Northern Wasteland was an uninhabited land of nothing but ice fields, containing great opportunities and great dangers.

Cain was not afraid of the cold, and he vaguely felt that the Northern Wasteland was his blessed land, so he went straight for the Northern Wasteland.

...

Ye Qiu walked out of the dense jungle and came to the foot of a mountain, where he found a small mountain village.

After entering the small mountain village and asking around, Ye Qiu learned that he was already at the border between the Eastern Wasteland and the Southern Wasteland.

Ye Qiu couldn’t help scratching his head—he had actually deviated so far from the Eastern Wasteland. Thinking of Gu Tian’s warning earlier, Ye Qiu could understand it as Gu Tian helping him, deliberately sending him to a more distant place to avoid being discovered.

In any case, there was no way there would be people from the Taiyi Divine Sect here, and even the hostile Donghua Sect and the Shadow couldn’t possibly guess that he would be here.

Judging from Gu Tian’s words, the Eastern Wasteland was somewhat dangerous for him right now and not suitable for a return.

So where should he go next?

Ye Qiu glanced toward the direction of the Southern Wasteland. Since he was already so close to the Southern Wasteland, it seemed he could only head there.

He’d heard that the Southern Wasteland was a world of ancient beasts, just as humans basically gathered in the Eastern Wasteland, while ancient beasts all gathered in the Southern Wasteland.

Thinking of the ancient beasts, a smile appeared at the corner of Ye Qiu’s mouth. The image of the Beast God surfaced in his mind. If he entered the Southern Wasteland, would he be able to see the Beast God again?