The journey to the Sacred Flame Palace passed by largely uneventfully as Yao Shen and the contingent of elders made their way through the grassy, open fields of the Azlak Plains. Any spiritual beast in their vicinity would instinctively flee upon sensing the torrential concentration of Qi headed in its direction, the wide swathes of lightly forested land offering little in the way of concealment.

The geographical layout of the Azlak Plains made it more accessible to weaker cultivators who lacked the ability to perceive their surroundings via divine sense, for one could easily spot an approaching spiritual beast far in advance. That, however, did not mean that the region was free of danger— for the more powerful Spiritual Beasts remained sequestered within the depths of the Nayun Forest, rulers of their own bountiful kingdoms that lacked in neither Natural Treasures nor valuable spiritual herbs; also the primary reason why Elvenhold held the Azlak Plains in such high regard.

The Beast Emperors’, a title given to Spiritual Beasts that had cultivated all the way to the Nascent Soul level and achieved sapience, retaliatiation was as cunning as it was brutal— every few decades, the Beast Emperors would cull the weakest amongst their pack, by commanding them to charge headlong into the human lands. Lead by Beast Emperors that were on the verge of exhausting their lifespans, the Beast Tide would ravage everything in its path— many mortal villages, extinguished in the blink of an eye. Whilst the resources of the Nayun Forest were plentiful, the three hegemons of the Azlak Plains could not allow such a valuable source of wealth to go untapped— resulting in the conflict of interest between the Spiritual Beasts and the Cultivators of the Azlak Plains.

The Gorge of Death, The Labyrinth of the Ancient Chen Clan, the purported inheritance grounds of the legacy families— the Azlak Plains had no dearth of opportunity or danger, though ultimately the region was vast while the population of cultivators remained tiny in comparison. Though each hegemon had held dreams of expansion, many secrets remained unearthed and sizable sections of the map had grown obsolete with time— for this was a land that had once supported numerous sects and clans, now reduced to a shell of its former glory.

Most cultivators however, could traverse the Azlak Plains as long as they maintained the due diligence required of a cultivator. For while Spiritual Beasts were a long standing threat, only the young and the foolish amongst their pack would dare venture alone into the open grasslands of the Azlak Plains, only to be confronted by the bitter truth that the law of the jungle did not apply in face of a group of cultivators that desired its beast core.

The vigilance of patrolling cultivators combined with the value of spiritual beast cores, meat and other byproducts ensured that any wandering beast would be swiftly hunted down by the first sect whose disciple spotted it in the wild. This allowed the mortal villages of Azlak Plains, that were mainly situated near one of the three former hegemons, the subordinate sects and a few near the grand sealing formation, to exist and live their lives out in relative peace.

Yao Shen’s eyes gleamed with interest as he spotted one of those very mortal villages ahead, gently stopping mid-flight as he stopped to examine the structure from afar. Sharpened wooden spikes had been dug around the perimeter of the village, the trunk of a young tree cut down and repurposed for each one that jutted out. It only took one glance for Yao Shen to discern that it was the work of mortals, an impassioned, if ineffective attempt at dissuading weaker spiritual beasts from approaching. The smooth, reinforced grey stone wall that traced the elliptical circumference of the village without any chips or breaks in between barring the village entrance, forming the second barrier that any invader would have to overcome— far more effective at its intended purpose.

His divine sense sweeped through the village, easily identifying a little over thousand villagers as they went about their duties— weary, bedraggled men dressed in overalls returning after having spent the majority of the day toiling in the fields whilst hawkers attempted to attract their attention with their ever-enthusiastic spiels, offering a wide variety of goods that ranged from farming implements and crude mortal weaponry to a small selection of cured meats likely supplied to them by the Sacred Flame Palace. The women of the village had busied themselves in disciplines that were equally important in keeping the small economy of the village functioning— Yao Shen observed as an aged woman deftly knitted together a sweater in preparation for colder weather, her skill acquired through years, or perhaps decades of practise. Another more enterprising woman, a young maiden in her early twenties, stir-fried lean cuts of meat in a seasoned wok, much to the delight of the two hungry children that peered at her with mesmerised expressions on their faces, from their seats at the wooden stall’s counter. Their parents on the other hand, could not help but smile lightly at the brother-sister duo and their antics— the meat supplied by the Sacred Flame Palace was likely spiritual beast meat of the lowest grade, that had either lost its efficacy with time or due to improper storage, but for mortal villagers it was a delicacy that they were grateful to for; the contented smiles of the mother and father saying as much.

The village spoke of a life of the happiness and contentment brought from a simple life of hard work, but not all was so idealistic in practice. Without any water or earth cultivators within the village, the sanitation practises remained primitive. While even the weakest of cultivators were immune to mundane afflictions, the same could not be said about mortals, who comprised the majority of the human population. And when it came to the village’s defenses, they were laughable— no stone wall could stop any real threat, especially not a spiritual beast, whose true threat could not be assessed by cultivation level alone. For the beasts had many treacherous abilities, some boasting sharp claws that could alone rend a cultivators blade into pieces, while a few others even had the ability to secrete poison that could kill a cultivator instantly.

In actuality, the sole foundation establishment flame cultivator that was cultivating in the village elder’s residence was the only true defense the mortal village had, his role to alert the sect in case a spiritual beast or demonic sect thwarted the peace of the village, before attempting to resist it. Yao Shen encountering this mortal village meant that the Sacred Flame Palace could not be far now, likely within a few dozen li.

“Grand Patriarch, why have we stopped?” Meili Zhu chose to be the one to break the silence, as the impressive congregation of elders behind him waited for his command.

“What is the name of this village?” Yao Shen asked, his question addressed to the cultivators of the Sacred Flame Palace.

“Seris Village, Grand Patriarch,” An elder helpfully supplied, his voice betraying his curiosity.

Yao Shen’s expression turned thoughtful as he gazed down upon the village from afar, and while the Elders present could not see anything of value in the ordinary mortal village, they knew Yao Shen was a practitioner of the Esoteric Human Dao, and its secrets were something that they were all interested in.

“Wait here. There is something that I must do."