Chapter 108: Desert Riot

  The scorching sun hung high in the sky. The desert stretched out endlessly. The air was hot and dry, like a blast furnace. A strong gust of wind blew in, bringing with it a massive sandstorm that blocked out the sky and covered everything, making it impossible to see anything.

  Under the scorching sun, waves of heat surged forward, making it hard to breathe. The vast and endless desert seemed to have no end in sight. As people walked through the desert, their lips cracked, skin severely dehydrated, and were stabbed by the knife-like sunlight, making every step a struggle.

  To the west of Tianwu Garden, there was a scorching desert that seemed to have no end. Ji Changkong, Li Hen Tian and Tuoba Lie walked in the desert, often encountering sandstorms. The strong winds rolled up the sand, burying the three men many times.

  The environment here is extremely harsh, with scorching heat during the day that makes people want to shed their skin, and freezing cold at night that numbs people's bones. The extreme temperature difference between day and night makes it hard for people to survive in this desert wasteland, making them feel like vomiting blood.

  If it weren't for all three of them being cultivators of the Heavenly Path, they would have been buried by the sandstorm in this unprepared venture into the vast desert.

  Bandits roam the desert, three people travel together, have encountered several waves of desert bandits, those people ride camels, cover their faces with thick gauze, wield curved knives, and rob all travelers they encounter.

  These desert bandits never played by the rules, and even if travelers offered up all their valuables, they would still be hard-pressed to escape with their lives. Men were cut down on the spot with curved knives, while women were ravished by the laughing bandits, and children were taken captive as slaves.

  All along the way, we three have seen too many such things and gradually become numb.

  A few desert bandits unfortunately encountered the three of them, with almost no room for resistance, and were slaughtered by Tuoba Lie and Ji Changkong. When dealing with these desert bandits, Ji Changkong and Tuoba Lie showed no mercy, and the slightly more ferocious desert bandits died one by one in their hands, which were refined by the Tian Shi Dao.

  Another wave of desert bandits lay dead on the ground, their bodies severed from their heads. The leader of the bandits, with a scorpion tattoo on his face, knelt before Ji Changkong, speaking in an unintelligible Western dialect as he begged for Ji's forgiveness.

  With a swing of his sword, the leader of the rioters' head suddenly flew into the sky from his neck, and a burst of bright red blood shot straight up.

  He had killed dozens of desert bandits in a row, and Ji Changkong's heart was as hard as iron stone, showing no mercy to them. Along the way, he had seen too many atrocities committed by these desert bandits, and he had long since developed a deep hatred for them. He would kill them without hesitation, showing no quarter.

  Lihen Tian never took action, these desert bandits were like ants in his eyes. Every time they appeared, Lihen Tian would look at Ji Changkong and indicate with his eyes to kill them all.

  All the way to kill, Lihentian nodded continuously, seemingly very satisfied with Jialongkong's approach. Later on, Lihentian did not let Tuoba Lie take action, and all the killings were completed by Jialongkong alone. He and Tuoba Lie stood aside, pointing out his hand movements to him.

  No matter if it was Lie Hentian or Tuoba Lie, they were both ruthless and merciless killers. Lie Hentian's notorious reputation was known throughout the land, while Tuoba Lie was a giant from the eastern part of Shuiyun Garden, also a figure who had been bathed in blood for many years. The two were cold-blooded and ruthless, having experienced too much wind and rain. In order to prevent Ji Changkong from becoming soft-hearted and suffering great losses in the future, they intentionally cultivated his ruthlessness in this aspect.

  Ji Changkong did not disappoint them. After witnessing a wave of desert bandits' brutal treatment of ordinary travelers, the next time he encountered desert bandits, he didn't need to be ordered by Lian Tian or Tuoba Lie; from start to finish, he killed them all, without any hesitation.

  He casually threw away the blood-stained curved knife, searched for water bags and food among the corpses on the ground, and packed them one by one into a small bag. He looked up at the sunset that merged with the desert horizon, and Ji Changkong turned back to ask Lian Hentian with a smile: "Old Lian, how much longer until we reach Moro Garden?" Lian Hentian, as usual, was calm and collected, riding on a camel, squinting his eyes at the sky.

  "In the vast sky, with a speed that's almost as fast as lightning, flying through the void can reach Moro Garden in at most three days. Even I, with my seven-star power, would take around ten or so days to reach Moro Garden." Ta Ba Lie Guang's head was dyed red by the setting sun, he took a big gulp of clear water and laughed: "The desert is a good place, many heavenly warriors will come to the desert for training, seeking a breakthrough in the desert."

  "We're not in a hurry, so you can consider the desert as your training ground. Before we reach Moro Tianyuan, if you can make further progress, Lao Lao will be very pleased." When Tuo Ba Lie said this, Ji Changkong also nodded with a smile, knowing that Lao Hen Tian and Tuo Ba Lie were taking their time riding the camels in order to temper him. Along the way, Lao Hen Tian constantly asked about his cultivation experiences and results, sharing some of his own insights with him. Tuo Ba Lie knew he was far inferior to Lao Hen Tian in terms of Tiān Shì cultivation, so whenever they had free time, he would tell Ji Changkong some interesting stories from around the world to broaden his horizons.

  Under the influence of Li Hen Tian and Tuoba Lie, he not only made great gains in his cultivation but also learned many secrets that ordinary people could never touch. He knew that the Holy Mother of Manichaeism, Youlan, had once been to Central Plains three times, bewildering all living beings, but failed to move Cao Xuanqi, and was instead defeated by him, retreating to the Western Regions.

  From their mouths, he knew that the Manichaeism had two major deities, the Holy Mother Yulan and the Dark King, besides them, they would also give birth to a Dark Son, who would inherit the teachings of the Dark King's lineage. In addition, the Holy Mother Yulan needed to find a Holy Maiden in the Western Regions to take her place in the future.

  The Holy Mother has one lineage, below are the four great Dharma Kings of purity, great strength, wisdom and light. The Dark King has one lineage, below are the five demons of fear, greed, desire, hatred and killing.

  Lihen Tian and Tuoba Lie were both knowledgeable and insightful. However, Lihen Tian had never discussed such matters with him before, but this time in the desert, he took the initiative to teach Ji Changkong about the situation, and what he said was more than all the words he had spoken in the past few years combined.

  "In the Western Regions, there were over a hundred big and small garden houses. Among them, the largest one was the Moro Tian Yuan. The Moro Tian Yuan believed in Manichaeism, and with the help of Manichaeism, it became the most powerful garden house in the Western Regions. However, due to the vast territory and sparse population of the Western Regions, the distribution of garden houses was relatively scattered, and even the Moro Tian Yuan could not unify the entire region.

  In the Western Regions, although Manichaeism was the first heavenly religion, they still had opponents. Some ancient heavenly religions existed for a longer time than Manichaeism, but because those religions did not produce a figure like Saint Mother Youlan, they were surpassed by Manichaeism.

  Don't underestimate the ancient Western Regions' heavenly religions, such as the 'Aoluoshen Jiao' sect, which is the oldest heavenly religion in the Western Regions, far older than Manichaeism. Thousands of years ago, Aoluoshen Jiao was always the first-generation religion in the Western Regions until the last generation of Aoluoshen, who wandered into the void and did not return, after which Manichaeism rose to prominence and eventually replaced Aoluoshen Jiao's position in the Western Regions."

  "After so many years, Manichaeism has become the largest sect in the Western Regions, but they still can't completely eliminate the Orothean Church. The Orothean Church's followers still have a great influence among the people of the Western Regions (who are all tired of being oppressed). The Dark King and the Five Demons of Luoping have been trying to eradicate the Orothean Church from the Western Regions for many years, but they can't seem to get their wish. Taotie Lie seems to be quite familiar with the situation in the Western Regions. Along the way, he and Lian Tian separately told Ji Changkong about the various sects and conflicts in the Western Regions, explaining everything in detail."

  "Hiss!" Lian Heng Tian suddenly furrowed his brow and let out a soft cry, narrowing his eyes as he gazed far into the western distance. Tuoba Lie and Ji Changkong were taken aback for a moment before they too focused their attention on the west.

  The afterglow of the setting sun gradually disappeared, and darkness was about to cover the desert. In the west, a group of desert bandits knelt devoutly on the ground, worshiping a thin figure riding on a giant scorpion's back. The desert bandits knelt on the ground, lowering their heads and holding up the looted goods high, walking on their knees, handing over the goods to the black-clothed and black-faced figure on the giant scorpion's back.

  Among these desert bandits, many of them cultivate the way of the Celestial Master, and a few even have attainments at the level of Three Talents Heaven or Four Symbols Heaven, which is absolutely an extraordinary class of desert bandits.

  Look at them, each with a devout expression, as if from the heart, they have turned that thin figure riding on the giant poisonous spear into their own revered god to worship.

  "Ramsaism, a cult from the Western Regions that worships scorpions as sacred beasts. In the language of Zhongtu, Ramsa means scorpion. The followers of Ramsaism can communicate with the poisonous scorpions in the desert and conjure up massive sandstorms. They believe the desert is a land of death, where all living things that enter should die, except for scorpions and their own followers."

  "The Desert Bandits are mostly peripheral followers of Ramsaism, who also believe in its teachings, regarding passing travelers as dead men, plundering their goods to offer to Ramsaism."

  Here is the translation:

  "Ramuism was previously unknown in the Western Regions, but over the past century, it has clung to Manichaeism and gradually developed. The leader of Ramuism has a deep relationship with the Dark King, and every year, Ramuism must offer many heavenly treasures to Manichaeism." Taotao Lie's face was filled with disgust as he stared at the small figure in the distance, continuing to say: "That person should be an important figure in Ramuism. (Welcome, Ten Sides Heavenly Master) In the Five Elements Heaven Realm, they can only be considered a minor character in Ramuism. Dammit, seeing this kind of person makes me uncomfortable, I'll go kill them." "Let Changkong go." Er Tianyan, who had been narrowing his eyes, suddenly opened them and spoke up.

  "Chang Kong?" Tuoba Lie was taken aback, and asked in doubt: "Lao Lian, didn't you say that Chang Kong couldn't use the power of the Tianyuan Pearl again? That person has a Five Elements Heaven boundary, which is an entire realm higher. Won't it be a bit... unsuitable?"

  "No need to worry. With Xuanliu's bloodline and Taixu's secret records, even without using the power of the Tianyuan Pearl, crossing realms for one battle shouldn't be a problem."

  Lian Hetian frowned, glanced at Chang Kong sideways, and said: "Chang Kong, go."

  "Alright!" Chang Kong leapt off Rong Hui's body and charged straight towards the few people in front.

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