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"We are nearing Northern Wolf Pass..."

The large convoy had braved the risks and traveled for an entire day. Led by members of the Murong Family, the journey turned out to be safer than expected. After leaving Huangji Plain, they scarcely saw any Giant Serpents launching surprise attacks.

Those creatures, once omnipresent, capable of bursting forth from the ground at any moment, seemed to have gone extinct here.

Weichi Feihong remained vigilant, sensing the ground beneath him. The several thousand Northern People were key to the upcoming plans, and he needed to ensure their survival as much as possible.

"Your Murong Family has been guarding the Northern Wolf Pass and must have explored this area for quite some time, right? Has it always been free from the approach of Giant Serpents?"

"General Weichi truly has a meticulous mind..." Murong Yunliu replied with a smile, "Indeed, as the General said, this area near the Northern Wolf Pass has frozen soil for thousands of miles, and it seems that the Giant Serpents are extremely wary of it; they have never come close."

However, inwardly, he felt a surge of apprehension. This Weichi fellow was not only powerful but also incredibly perceptive—it would be difficult to manipulate him.

Weichi Feihong simply nodded slightly, recalling some of Chen Qing’s theories.

"Do you know why the Demon Dynasty has such difficulty establishing rule?"

"Why?" At the time, Weichi Feihong was also puzzled.

Demons used to be much stronger than the Human Race, but they had always been disorganized, especially the Celestial Serpent Palace.

If it was as formidable as the Sovereign had said, why then had they not managed to rule over humanity, or even establish any significant power among humans?

"Many lower-level Demons are tough to control," Chen Qing answered with a smile. "Without organizational efficiency, they can’t form large-scale forces. This is particularly evident with the Celestial Serpent Palace; their powerful flying snakes are extraterrestrial. Any descent requires a great sacrifice, so even when they are in opposition to the Dragon Palace, they don’t come in large numbers.

This is the first area where their strength pales in comparison to Dragon Palace Forces. "

"The second point is their control over those below. The intelligence of the Serpent Demons isn’t high, at least not high enough to manage those lower-level Giant Serpents effectively.

When these serpents encounter humans, they are likely to attack due to their overwhelming bloodlust. So I suspect that to reach an agreement of domestication with the Northern Wasteland, the Celestial Serpents must enforce a boundary line, compelling those Giant Serpents not to cross the border.

This would prevent the Northern Wasteland from experiencing serpent attacks on people and slowly gain the trust of the major Northern clans. "

"Is that so?" Weichi Feihong was somewhat bewildered when he first heard this.

"That’s correct..." Chen Qing nodded, "Even the Dragon Palace knows they need the Human Race to maintain their reign; would those top-tier monsters of the Celestial Serpent Palace not be aware? If they are aware, why don’t they act on it? It’s because they find it hard to curb the primal nature of the lower-level Giant Serpents.

With billions of people in the Northern Territory, if the other party only wanted to awaken Mother Earth and hunt those of special lineage, they wouldn’t need to massacre ordinary people because these civilians could be very useful. "

"But they didn’t, did they? Is it because they did not want to?

I don’t think so. It was probably because they couldn’t.

.. Once the Giant Serpents awoke from beneath the earth, their ravenous nature made them attack people indiscriminately.

They couldn’t be controlled, and that is the real reason nearly leading to the Northern Territory’s extinction. "

"This..." At that time, Weichi Feihong also felt it was somewhat absurd that the Northern Territory was almost exterminated merely due to the Celestial Serpent Palace’s mismanagement.

But now it seemed, the Sovereign’s words might not have been mistaken after all...

"Have you ever tried?" Weichi Feihong asked, "Approaching those areas, like... within the Northern Territory, will those Giant Serpents attack you?"

"They will!" Before Murong Yunliu could answer, a tall, thin man from the Murong Family spoke up, "We had previously tried to make contact with that force inside the North, and I personally went in."

"What was it like?" Weichi Feihong asked, curious.

"It felt... quite horrifying." The man seemed to remember something unpleasant, his expression turning sour, "At that time, following behind that envoy, I could feel that the Earth Pythons hidden around were incredibly eager for my flesh. If it weren’t for the presence of that envoy, they would have attacked me immediately. "

Recalling that feeling wasn’t pleasant. Everywhere he looked, there were gazes hungering to devour him. He felt like prey that could be sacrificed at any moment, which was also why he supported his second brother’s decision.

If possible, he would much rather cooperate with Jiangnan than continue working with these monsters from the North, for who could guarantee that one day he wouldn’t indeed become a sacrificial animal!

"So it is indeed like that..." Weichi Feihong stroked his chin.

The lord was right....

Those Giant Serpents are difficult to control, so they have clearly demarcated their territory.

It’s precisely because of the lord’s speculation that this passage plan was devised, because once past Beihai City, it would be equivalent to reaching a safe zone.

As long as the rules aren’t changed by the other side, this place is a safe passageway.

And to enter Beihai City, one would need those envoys to lead the way.

"What do the envoys you speak of look like? Are they human... or snake?"

"They’re probably not human..." Murong Yunliu replied with a bitter smile, "Although they look human, they give off the feeling of monsters wearing human skin. Sometimes, I can feel that the way those envoys look at us isn’t much different from the Giant Serpents, but they can restrain themselves."

"How about their strength?" Murong Yunji asked from beside him.

"Very strong!" Murong Yunliu said softly, "There was an incident when one of the envoys had just arrived at Northern Wolf City and displayed an extremely exaggerated aura. How to describe it... These words might be offensive, but General Weichi, if you encountered them, I’m afraid you would retreat three feet immediately! "

"That strong?" Weichi Feihong suddenly became interested.

He had fully demonstrated his own strength today, yet the other party still said this.

"Stronger than Mother Earth?"

"They can’t compare in size, but their aura is truly of a different level." The other side said in a low voice, "I feel that if he were to shed that human skin, he could swallow the Northern Wolf Country in one gulp!"

"Oh? That’s truly intriguing..." Weichi Feihong said with a smile, stroking his palm, a glint of eagerness in his eyes.

"What about big brother?" Murong Yunji, walking ahead, suddenly asked this question, "What did you mean by your letter saying that big brother isn’t reliable?"

In Murong Yunji’s memory, among the Murong Family, the eldest’s breadth of mind was the most dependable.

Although not the strongest in power, his political tact and vision surpassed those of his generation.

Half a year ago, it was the eldest who initiated their great-nephew’s trip to Jiangnan.

Just from his quick grasp of the opportunities in Jiangnan, one could tell that the eldest was a reliable man.

"The eldest has changed." Murong Yunliu said softly, "In order to show sincerity for cooperation, one of the envoys brought a cultivation technique called the Infinite Spirit Technique, claiming it was a secret technique inheritance that could let Magicians break through their limits. With the other party being powerful, we naturally couldn’t refuse their offer.

But we were unsure whether there was any issue with the technique, so the eldest ultimately decided to test it himself, attempting that so-called Infinite Spirit Technique alone. "

"At first, the news was good. Eldest’s power surged forward dramatically.

But after three months, he suddenly became somewhat eerie, his aura grew sinister, and his personality changed greatly.

Many below hadn’t noticed the eldest’s transformation, but I did.

These past three months, he’s been completely different from before. "

"You haven’t practiced that technique?" Murong Yunji frowned, "Since big brother’s power surged dramatically at first and problems only appeared after three months, didn’t you practice it within those three months?"

From her point of view, under circumstances where the technique has proven to break a Magician’s limits, it would have been difficult for the family to resist the temptation.

Sure enough, the next moment she heard the other side confess earnestly, "We did practice it... That’s why I’m worried now!"

"Worried?" Murong Yunji turned back to look at the other, "Worried about what?"

"Something feels off..." Murong Yunliu and his brothers exchanged glances and, after a nod from him, ultimately said quietly, "When practicing the Infinite Spirit Technique, I didn’t perceive any problem, only that this way of condensing spiritual energy was extremely clever and novel, indeed an unimaginable secret technique. However, due to the eldest’s transformation, over the past month, all of us brothers have cautiously stopped.

But the problem is... after stopping, our bodies started feeling somewhat wrong. "

"What’s wrong?" Weichi Feihong frowned as he looked over.

The men exchanged glances once more and, with a nod from Murong Yunliu, began to unravel their upper clothing...