"Master, where are you taking me?"
Bai Qiuran arrived at the outskirts of the village and found it completely deserted. Only disciples from the Heavenly Saint Buddhist Sect were moving to and fro. These disciples, who had only entered the sect around a hundred years ago, had yet to cultivate wisdom roots, wearing their monk robes with their bald heads were easy to recognize.
After receiving a letter from the sect leader, Bai Qiuran had angrily stormed down the mountain, returning only a few days later. Then, he had gone to the main peak of the Qingming Sword Sect to discuss something with the sect leader and several elders, before finding me and dragging me down the mountain without a word.
As the scenery whizzed by, Tang Ruowei looked at Bai Qiuran, who was pulling her by the arm, and asked, "So, are you taking me to learn these things?"
This Zen master, who had once had Buddhist scriptures and deities tattooed onto his body, appeared fierce with an angry-faced King peeking out from his arm. He seemed more like a seasoned gangster than a monk. The danger here was not only the lava; the ash from the volcanic eruption also posed a threat to ordinary people's respiratory systems. Without the techniques of a cultivator, ordinary folks wouldn't be able to survive near here.
"Yes, Master Micro Dust of Heavenly Saint Buddhist Sect is meditating near the village entrance," Bai Qiuran said to Elder Xu, acknowledging Bai Qiuran's arrival, who got up to greet him. Bai Qiuran said, "Sorry to interrupt your work. Please, go ahead."
"To where?" Elder Xu asked, holding up his hand in a Buddhist salute to Bai Qiuran. As they continued, Tang Ruowei asked, "Aren't you busy with something important these days?"
"Indeed, I had something urgent, but this is also your chance. This time, real experts in these miscellaneous studies have come. You should learn from them while helping out."
Master Micro Dust bowed slightly to Bai Qiuran as if he were greeting an elder brother. Hearing Bai Qiuran's words, he led Bai Qiuran to the village, saying, "On our journey here, following the Buddhist path, we learned of some strange phenomena occurring in these parts through your notifications. We then encountered a hunter who mentioned seeing a city appear upon the river from a cliff. So, I brought my disciples here, only to find the village void of people."
"Ah, it's been a while, Micro Dust."
The village was nestled close to a river, far from nearby towns. Because of the wild beasts in the nearby forests, the villagers rarely traveled outside and had little contact with the local government of the Southern Tomb Kingdom. Tax collectors visited only once a year, which meant news of the ancient city emerging didn't reach them immediately.
Seeing his expression, Tang Ruowei nodded seriously at Bai Qiuran, realizing the significance of the situation and deciding not to argue further.
"Hmm... are you taking me to study these things?"
It was a towering mountain range with a massive crater at the summit, continuously spewing lava that flowed down the mountainside. The smoke from the volcanic eruptions darkened the sky with heavy clouds. Despite the danger, a man-made path spiraled up the volcano, constructed from some black metal immune to lava's heat. Bai Qiuran led Tang Ruowei up this path, passing under a gate inscribed with "Heavenforge Hold," across several black metal bridges, finally reaching a small house on a lake of lava.
Leaving Tang Ruowei at Heavenforge Hold to assist Elder Xu and the others from the Mystic Law Academy, Bai Qiuran swiftly departed for the Southern Tomb Kingdom within Qing Province. Based on the information Master Micro Dust provided, Bai Qiuran reached the location he indicated.
The Qing Province originally had one nation, Upper Tomb Kingdom, which had divided into four regions named after their cardinal directions around over two thousand years ago during Bai Qiuran's time. Southern Tomb Kingdom lay at the southern tip of the province, where Master Micro Dust from Heavenly Saint Buddhist Sect awaited Bai Qiuran for a rendezvous.