Identity?
Chen Jiuyang frowned. What identity did he still have?
Who would target him?
What was this person's relationship with him?
The armless middle-aged man spoke, "You seem to have some doubts about your own identity. Allow me to tell you."
"What is your current cultivation system called?"
Chen Jiuyang attempted to speak in the ancient tongue, "The Path of Invincible Divine Abilities."
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Chen Jiuyang felt the true blood and true essence within his body boiling and roaring. His combat power seemed to surge, and some insights flooded his mind.
His body trembled, his eyes filled with astonishment: "This is?!"
"True words recorded in the river of time, information etched into the blood of our human race."
"This cultivation system, in our era, was also known as—The Path of the Human Emperor."
"No seeking immortality, no seeking divinity."
"The Path of the Human Emperor has no inheritance, but every Human Emperor is one of the most prosperous in human destiny of their era. They walk the Path of the Human Emperor through their own strength. However, the conditions for this path are too harsh, so very few have walked it throughout history."
"The Path of the Human Emperor, generates its own destiny."
Chen Jiuyang's expression was shaken, and a tempestuous wave surged within him: "The Path of the Human Emperor, generates its own destiny?"
He took a deep breath, looked at the armless middle-aged man, and asked, "Who exactly are you?"
"We are just a group of cripples who have recently awakened after a long period of slumber," the armless middle-aged man said. "From the moment it was born, the Path of the Human Emperor has been coveted, and you are now being targeted."
Chen Jiuyang frowned, finding it somewhat incomprehensible: "I am being targeted, someone wants to make a move against me?"
The armless middle-aged man said, "Three calamities and nine tribulations, you have already passed three tribulations. The first calamity is imminent."
Chen Jiuyang's expression immediately turned solemn.
Three tribulations?
The death of Zhang Jialong, the assassination attempt by Zhou Fangzun, and the thousand-mile interception on the Martial Ranking path.
These three tribulations had caused him to be reborn, bringing both gains and pain.
Disasters seemed more terrifying than tribulations.
Did Qin Rouyu's appearance aim to remind him of this matter?
Chen Jiuyang did not know the identity of these disabled people or their connection to the forbidden zone, but it seemed the armless middle-aged man held goodwill towards him.
He took a deep breath and cupped his fists, "I implore senior to teach me how to overcome these calamities."
The armless middle-aged man slowly shook his head and said, "No, we can offer you a little help, but we cannot act directly."
"Much information cannot be revealed to you. When the time is right, you will naturally return to the Crippled Elder Village to find us, and then we will offer you a little assistance."
"Why did you come to the Crippled Elder Village at this particular time?"
Chen Jiuyang said, "Several of my close friends and family are trapped in the forbidden zone of the Crippled Elder Village. I came here to rescue them."
The armless middle-aged man's eyes were deep and ancient. He slowly nodded and said, "This small matter is not difficult for us cripples. After dawn, I will ask others from the village to help you search. Once they are found, you will take them and leave the Crippled Elder Village."
"Remember, try to have as little contact with the Nine Great Forbidden Zones as possible."
"Otherwise, sooner or later, you will end up as pitiful as we are."
Upon hearing the armless middle-aged man's words, Chen Jiuyang felt a boundless sense of despair.
Chen Jiuyang cupped his fists and said, "Thank you, senior."
"There's no need to thank us," the armless middle-aged man said. "If it weren't for us cripples awakening, you wouldn't have been targeted at this time and drawn the first calamity."
Saying this, the armless middle-aged man looked at the people at the dining table and said, "Grandma Juejing, Blind Man, Cripple, Butcher, Band-Aid wearer, you heard me. After eating, go and help this young fellow find his people after dawn."
"Understood, I'll go to Tiancan Village."
"I'll go to Feilao Village."
"I'll go to Laolao Village."
Chen Jiuyang said, "Senior, I will tell you the information about my dear friends and family now."
"No need," the armless middle-aged man said. "They carry your aura; we can recognize them."
"..." Chen Jiuyang's heart trembled again.
After sitting for another seven or eight hours.
"Swish!"
The armless middle-aged man spoke, "It's dawn."
A strange scarlet sun suddenly rose. The boundless terrifying darkness was slowly receding, as if spitting out all that it had swallowed.
Along the mountains and rivers, all dark things began to brighten.
The armless middle-aged man said to Chen Jiuyang, "Follow me. Time is short, don't delay."
Then, the armless middle-aged man led Chen Jiuyang out of the ancient village.
Afterward, the scene before Chen Jiuyang's eyes filled him with horror.
The terrifying mountains and rivers were filled with traces of a great battle. Giant, eerie Buddha statues, thousands of meters high, were covered in moss. A phantom, like a god or demon, stood between heaven and earth, holding in its hand the corpse of a giant snake, whose appearance was ferocious and terrifying, and whose length was immeasurable.
The armless middle-aged man and Chen Jiuyang were likely only half the size of a single scale on this giant snake.
Although the surface of the vast river gleamed with golden light, huge living creature shadows could be seen swimming beneath the water, making Chen Jiuyang's scalp tingle.
This place was truly not the mortal world!
Such a scene made Chen Jiuyang feel as if he were in the world described in the Immortal Doctor's inheritance.
After traversing the mountains and rivers and witnessing many eerie and terrifying sights, Chen Jiuyang truly felt a chill from this forbidden zone. The Nine Great Forbidden Zones were truly not to be trifled with.
Crossing the rivers and mountains, they entered a boundless forest.
Here, smaller stone carvings were scattered everywhere.
Chen Jiuyang couldn't help but ask, "Senior, what are these stone carvings?"
The armless middle-aged man replied, "We don't know either. They have been here for a long time before our appearance. This forbidden zone has a long history. We are merely using this place to hide from enemies and barely survive. You don't need to worry about it."
Chen Jiuyang felt somewhat numb, realizing that the world was too deep and not as simple as ordinary people imagined.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, the armless middle-aged man said, "Wait here. A few hundred meters further, and you will be out of the forbidden zone."
"Before nightfall, you will have enough time to leave the forbidden zone."
Chen Jiuyang slowly nodded. He suddenly thought of something and asked, "Senior, I have a question. What cultivation systems exist in this world that allow people to live for hundreds or even thousands of years at the Venerable Realm?"
The armless middle-aged man seemed to recall for a moment and replied, "Those who reside in the Immortal-Leaving Clan's forbidden zone."
"The Immortal-Leaving Clan? One of the Nine Great Forbidden Zones?" Chen Jiuyang's heart trembled slightly.
The armless middle-aged man said, "The Immortal-Leaving Clan were servants left in the lower realm by beings from the Immortal Realm countless ages ago. Later, when the world underwent great changes, the connection between the Immortal Realm and the lower realm was severed. Among them, the outstanding ones rebelled, slaughtered the immortals of the upper realm, and obtained a supreme cultivation technique that allowed them to remain in the world despite their weak strength."