6 Beimang

The Luo Family of Great Xia, a time-honored aristocratic family, was annihilated overnight by the Four Symbols Sect and the Blood God Sect, leaving not a single soul alive. This incident blasted through the world in a matter of days and took everyone by storm.

Although Zhao Changhe had already heard several people mentioning a "chaotic world," things hadn't completely descended into chaos. At present, rebellious civilians were rising up, bandits roamed, Alien Clans watched greedily, and influential families each dominated their own territories, with ambitious figures ready to strike... However, there was still ostensibly a unified empire, Great Xia, which signified the end of a dynasty, not yet a free-for-all battle for supremacy.

Now, it was common to claim a mountain as one's own domain, but a public declaration of rebellion had yet to emerge. The situation remained at the level of "bandits" and "Demon Sects."

The defining watershed between this situation and a true chaotic world typically began with actions like killing officials, revolting, and capturing cities—signaling the complete erosion of Imperial authority.

The Luo Family wasn't the most powerful force, but had a long-standing heritage and was considered a reputable family. They also had a unique feature—the Luo Family was rumored to be connected to the Royal Family.

Zhao Changhe had heard from Yue Hongling upon his arrival in these esteemed lands. Although the exact nature of the connection was unclear, it likely wasn't just a rumor. Considering the urgency of Sect Hierarch Tang rushing over, severely ill and without waiting for reinforcements to save them, it was somewhat of a testament.

Now, this local aristocratic family related to the Royal Family had been wiped out by the Demon Sect in one fell swoop, which was akin to a slap in the face of the Royal Family and seemed to foreshadow that the prelude to chaotic times was about to unfold entirely, with a storm brewing on the horizon.

And among the obscure names, one entered the public's view through the imperial wanted notices of Great Xia.

The murderer—Zhao Changhe!

...

A thousand miles away, Beimang.

A blanket of heavy snow covered thousands of miles of mountains, creating a vast expanse of white.

Zhao Changhe, whose reputation was just starting to emerge, was feeling extremely frustrated at this moment.

He stood on the mountaintop in the bone-chilling wind, gazing into the distance with only thin clothing on—freezing to death. Beside him stood Luo Qi, both of their faces expressionless.

That day, despite being alone and sick, Sect Hierarch Tang couldn't forcefully take Zhao Changhe's head amidst the enemy's formation. He only managed to take the corpse of Luo Zhenwu and leave. Zhao Changhe, with his "pledge" to the Demon Sect, was naturally taken by them and initiated into their ranks. Along with him was Luo Qi, who was considered part of Zhao Changhe's gang...

Clearly, Luo Qi never intended to join any Demon Sect, but he didn't dare run away. He helplessly followed them here, his entire life thrown into turmoil, his face dark with frustration during the entire journey.

Zhao Changhe understood his grumpiness but didn't feel guilty for dragging Luo Qi into this. After all, the entire Luo Family Manor had perished; without his move, Luo Qi's survival was dubious at best. Even if Sect Hierarch Tang could save Luo Zhenwu, he couldn't have cared for an external disciple—Luo Qi's chances of meeting his end were very high. To put it bluntly, Zhao Changhe was also saving himself; otherwise, he too would have been killed by the Demon Sect there.

Deep down, Luo Qi knew this, so despite frowning, he naturally followed Zhao Changhe wherever he went. Zhao Changhe appreciated this; after all, Luo Qi was the only person he knew well at this point...

As for joining the Demon Sect, Zhao Changhe certainly wasn't troubled. Forced into this situation, why not join? How could the Luo Family be any better than the Demon Sect?

On their way, the Blood God Sect disciples didn't go around causing trouble. They discreetly returned. They actually sympathized with Zhao Changhe's actions, treating him quite warmly along the road, praising him for being "a true man," but Zhao Changhe still felt frustrated.

Beimang, Beimang... His world indeed existed and was quite famous. When he first heard this place's name, he thought it was related to the geography of the ancient Hua Xia world. But it wasn't. This Beimang had nothing to do with the Mang Mountain he knew. This mountain was desolate, with miles of ice and snow. Even the towns beyond the mountain were small and remote, certainly not part of the Heluo lands.

This wasn't the ancient Hua Xia; it was a completely different Otherworld. He just didn't know how it was related to his dreams. Could it be that because it was the world of his dreams, the local customs were similar to Hua Xia and the language was modern Chinese?

He didn't know, but it was uncomfortable. During all these days of travel, waking up and falling asleep again and again, there hadn't been the slightest indication of returning to the present world. Zhao Changhe knew he couldn't go back.

Zhao Changhe had never wished for transmigration. He had parents at home. Transmigrating his ass—what he wanted most right now was to go home.

Regardless of whether killing that Demoness would allow him to return... Anyway, since the blind man had the power to make people transmigrate, it implied that one could also cultivate the power to return. Clearly, quickly gaining knowledge of this power was a priority, like opening the so-called Mystical Gate in the human body, giving him a chance to glimpse the path back.

Not to mention anything else, if he didn't start cultivating soon, he was afraid he would freeze to death right here.

Luo Qi suddenly spoke up from the side, "Did you stand out like this to get your hands on the Demon Sect's cultivation techniques?"

Zhao Changhe turned his head to look at him, and Luo Qi's face was still expressionless. Zhao Changhe shook his head, "What fame are you talking about? It was to avenge the innocent villagers of Zhao Mansion, and as self-preservation; otherwise, both of us could have ended up hanging there."

Luo Qi replied, "Then you should have used a fake name. Why so boldly declare your identity as Zhao Changhe?"

Zhao Changhe laughed, "Who's to say that Zhao Changhe isn't a made-up name? Use a different name when going out—who would know who I am…"

Luo Qi choked up for a moment, turned his head away, and stopped talking, looking somewhat cute.

Zhao Changhe then said, "It's my real name."

Luo Qi muttered, "Shit."

"I'm tired of skulking around like a coward. A real man doesn't change his name or hide his face," Zhao Changhe flashed a toothy smile, "Besides, don't you think that line I dropped was fucking epic?"

Luo Qi was dumbstruck and had no idea how to respond to that.

Just for the sake of showing off?

Zhao Changhe finally let out a sigh, "But let's be real, real name or fake name, it doesn't mean squat. My mug is probably plastered on wanted posters everywhere by now. As long as the sketch looks remotely like me, any name would do... Hmm, I just hope that Tang squad leader's drawing skills suck."

Luo Qi snorted coldly, "Tang squad leader is renowned for being skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, not to mention extremely handsome and famous throughout Great Xia."

Zhao Changhe shrugged, "Well, too bad it's done. What can I do about it now?"

Luo Qi didn't dwell on this anymore and changed the subject, "Actually, it's natural to aim high, nothing unusual about that... I just wonder if you have any regrets that it's the Blood God Sect we're joining, not the Four Symbols Sect. The Blood God Sect isn't much better than the Luo Family, and in terms of foundation, they might even fall short."

Zhao Changhe had initially thought he would join the Four Symbols Sect. It was the Vermilion Bird Venerable from the Four Symbols Sect, not the Blood God Sect, that had the power to annihilate the Luo Family. The Blood God Sect was merely helping out. But once Tang squad leader left, the Vermilion Bird Venerable just walked off too, without saying much. With Blood God Sect followers forming the majority on site, they naturally got roped into joining the Blood God Sect.

And it wasn't even following Sect Hierarch Xue to the Main Base but being brought to a Branch Base in Beimang, which didn't seem to show much regard.

It's understandable they wouldn't think highly of it. A full-grown adult with zero cultivation experience, what sort of future could he have? But even Demon Sects need recruits, and since you've handed in your pledge to join, they'll see you as one of their own. If not you, then who would they take in?

Had Zhao Changhe been a few years younger or had innate strong cultivation abilities, he might have landed a decent position. Unlike now, when there's a ritual happening inside, and they weren't even allowed to watch, just left to chill outside.

"I have no regrets; having somewhere to go is good enough. Anyway, staying with the Luo Family would have meant death. What else could I do?" Zhao Changhe didn't harp on this and shifted the subject, "Are you still mad at me? It's been days on this journey. Are you ever going to stop sulking? I didn't destroy the Luo Family, and without me pulling this stunt, would you even be alive? Do you still have some misguided loyalty to Luo Zhenwu, thinking about avenging him or something?"

Luo Qi sighed, "Like you said, it was the Four Symbols Sect and the Blood God Sect who destroyed the Luo Family, not you. What's there to blame you for? It's just that my life has been turned upside down since then, and I have no idea about my future. I'm not deliberately giving you the cold shoulder; I hope you understand."

Zhao Changhe understood, alright, but he continued to probe, "So do you hate the Blood God Sect? As a child of the Luo Family, were your parents... among those inside?"

"Heh..." Luo Qi shook his head, "My parents are long gone... I'm just puzzled, why exactly did they want to destroy the Luo Family?"

Why they wanted to destroy the Luo Family might indeed be quite significant. Zhao Changhe quickly remembered the second "position card" he had after crossing over. If the "Eyes in the Back" were truly effective, the position card wouldn't be for nothing. It must relate to the Luo Family. Once he truly joined the sect, maybe he could inquire about it...

Then he heard Luo Qi say, "The Blood God Sect isn't as inscrutable and elusive as the Four Symbols Sect. They are quite active in the world, often recruiting various outlaws to plunder around... So, they have official followers and auxiliary outlaws. What kind of treatment you and I will receive is still up in the air. If you manage to formally join the sect, maybe you could pull some strings for me later on."

So this was his reason for trying to mend their relationship. Zhao Changhe was the one who had accomplished something; he had a good chance of being accepted into the sect. But Luo Qi was not.

Zhao Changhe had his suspicions. Yue Hongling had mistakenly thought that the black-clad men who slaughtered the Zhao Mansion were auxiliary outlaws from the Blood God Sect because their martial arts were rough and lacked sophistication. If he only got recruited as that kind of auxiliary, it would be utterly worthless.

At that moment, a secret door behind them cracked open slightly, and someone called through the crack, "Branch Leader invites the two of you in for a talk."

The two exchanged glances and turned to go in.

A secret door hidden under the cover of snow and ice in a small valley led to a winding path that went deep underground, into the heart of the mountain.

The space inside the mountain's belly wasn't particularly large or small, featuring a sacrificial altar surrounded by a Blood Pool, with enough room for hundreds to participate in the ritual.

This was the Branch Base's altar room of the Blood God Sect. More outlaws not permitted inside were forced to make camp on the icy, snowy mountain.

At this moment, the area around the Blood Pool was bright with torches. Around a hundred official followers surrounded it, forming an odd formation, meditating and praying. The Branch Leader was chanting atop the altar, roughly speaking of activities under the Blood God's protection.

So this was a "Sect," not a cultivation sect.

However, the scene didn't seem to have the spectacular surges of blood or mystique one might expect; instead, it felt a bit superstitious.

"Do gods really exist in this world?" Zhao Changhe whispered to Luo Qi.

"Yes," Luo Qi replied confidently, "I've never seen a true god, but there are many divine signs... everyone believes."

"What kind of divine signs?" Zhao Changhe eagerly asked.

He had always felt this wasn't a world of low-level martial arts; otherwise, how could the power to send someone across realms by the blind man be explained?

Luo Qi looked at him strangely, "You don't know?"

"I don't know."

"How can you live in this world and not have seen the Chaotic World Book?"