Chapter 136: A Chance Encounter

What Qingyang said could not help but pique Feng Zi's interest:

Even in his own hometown of Zhenbei Dao, although it was in winter for nearly five months of the year, it was at least a place with distinct four seasons.

This made Feng Zi unable to help but be curious about Qingyang's hometown: "I remember Fellow Daoist Qingyang once said that you come from the north of Tianyuan, north of the Yanglu Gulin?"

Qingyang nodded slightly and said: "Yes, my hometown is a small tribe in the north of Tianyuan.

"Unlike the south of Tianyuan, my hometown only has winter; it snows for a full half of the year.

"Even at the hottest times, the river surface barely thaws, and the scenery in my eyes is often only white and yellow."

Feng Zi had not expected that the environment in the north of Tianyuan would be so harsh.

This made him unable to resist asking: "Since the environment of your hometown is so harsh, how do you all get by on a daily basis?"

In a place that was only winter all year round, even farming was impossible; Feng Zi could not imagine how they managed to survive.

"So we can only make a living by hunting; we eat whatever prey we can hunt.

"When the solid ice on the river melts, we go down to the river to catch fish, then salt the fish and store them in cellars to survive the difficult days without prey.

"Because of this, as far as I know, the scale of tribes in the north of Tianyuan is often not very large—

"My hometown is the largest tribe in the area where it is located, but the number of people does not exceed one hundred," Qingyang answered casually.

This kind of environment sounded very harsh; being able to survive in such a place was already giving it one's all.

Hearing this, Feng Zi and the others could not help but fall silent.

Qingyang naturally noticed the subtle change in the atmosphere and said with a smile:

"I know what you are all thinking, but in my view, no matter which part of Tianyuan it is, surviving... is a very difficult thing.

"What's more, in my opinion, the environment of my hometown is not that harsh.

"I have heard that in even more northern regions, it is covered by heavy snow all year round.

"And in the most bitter and cold extreme north, that is no longer a place where the human race can set foot; only innate divinities can move about there."

Listening to Qingyang's description, a trace of gloom deepened in the eyes of Lu Hanwen and Li Shou, and they also realized more profoundly:

In that barbaric era with even harsher conditions, what a tremendous price the ancestors had to pay to survive.

But after hearing Qingyang's account, Feng Zi's train of thought was clearly different from the other two.

He just subconsciously rubbed his chin and pondered: "So... in the north of Tianyuan, there are actually such peculiar sights that I have never seen before.

"After we finish traveling through the south of Tianyuan, our strength should have also made significant progress; hmm, I have decided—

"Once we have experienced the scenery of the south of Tianyuan, we will cross the Yanglu Gulin again and explore the north of Tianyuan!"

Since he could not find a way to return to the future, Feng Zi no longer forced it, but chose to enjoy every day in the present.

Regarding Feng Zi's sudden whim, Lu Hanwen and Li Shou could not help but be dumbfounded:

They discovered that they seemed to never be able to guess how Feng Zi went about his thinking.

Hearing that his friend was interested in his hometown, Qingyang could not help but say excitedly:

"Alright, after we finish traveling through the south of Tianyuan, I will take Fellow Daoist Cun Xin to roam the north, only..."

Feng Zi naturally understood what Qingyang was worried about and quickly said: "Don't worry, this is a long-term plan after all.

"The entire Tianyuan Jie is so vast; if we want to experience the entire region of the south of Tianyuan, I fear it would take a hundred years of time even if we traveled without stopping for a moment.

"By then, our strength will long since not be what we can imagine today, and the Yanglu Gulin may not necessarily still be such a dangerous place."

Listening to Feng Zi's comfort, Qingyang finally set his mind at ease and said repeatedly: "That's good, I don't want to live day and night with that kind of heart-stopping danger again."

Regarding the danger of the Yanglu Gulin, this Qi Refiner was still well aware of it.

Just like that, the few of them chatted about everything under the sun while traveling, passing the time on their journey.

Suddenly, at almost the same moment, Qing Lin and Feng Zi looked sharply into the distance.

The other three clearly noticed this change and subconsciously tensed their bodies.

Qingyang gripped the giant sword on his back and could not help but ask: "Have we encountered some danger?"

Feng Zi just shook his head and said softly: "In my perception, they are just a few ordinary people with weak auras.

"They should just be travelers or refugees; maintaining a certain limit of vigilance is enough, no need to be too nervous, so as not to cause unnecessary misunderstandings."

Having said that, he and Qing Lin strode forward.

The three of them also stopped maintaining their appearance of facing a formidable enemy and followed behind them.

Before long, a few thin figures appeared before Feng Zi.

Observing carefully, one would discover that they were just a group of young men and teenagers who were not very old.

Seeing Feng Zi and the others walking toward them, those few people immediately gathered together and looked at Feng Zi and the others vigilantly.

Seeing this, Feng Zi immediately raised his hands to show his goodwill: "We are travelers heading south; if not necessary, we do not wish to have a conflict."

Seeing him take the initiative to show goodwill, although these teenagers still maintained a vigilant posture, their expressions became much softer.

Seeing that the other party maintained a posture that allowed for communication, Feng Zi then stepped forward a few paces, knelt on one knee, and asked kindly:

"Seeing that you are coming from the south, has something happened?"

Those few thin figures were stunned for a good while upon seeing this.

Finally, the tallest youth gathered his courage, stepped forward, and replied:

"The Yang He flooded and submerged our tribe; only we few managed to escape.

"We want to head north to join a large tribe called the 'Mu He Tribe'."

The Yang He flooded, causing no small amount of damage... Hearing this, Feng Zi silently kept this information in his mind.

Afterwards, he then asked with a smile: "Is that Mu He Tribe truly so famous? Why must you all join this tribe?"

Feng Zi had not expected that he would hear the name of the Mu He Tribe from the mouths of a group of refugee youths.

The answer he sought was not a secret either, so the youth answered frankly: "I heard that not long ago, the Mu He Tribe encountered a Beast Tide but survived.

"Only such a powerful tribe can protect the safety of us ordinary people... We have trekked for several days just to seek refuge with that tribe."

Hearing this answer, Feng Zi immediately understood:

Unknowingly, the news that the "Mu He Tribe survived the Beast Tide" had already spread to the surrounding areas.

But upon careful reflection, in this barbaric era, such heartening news would naturally spread very quickly.

Feng Zi nodded slightly, stood up immediately, and pointed behind him, saying:

"Continue forward in the direction I am pointing; at your pace... it will take about another day to a day and a half to reach the Mu He Tribe."

Having said that, he made a gesture to his companions behind him, and the group walked quickly past these refugees.