CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: THE WESTERN DESOLATION
The Western Desolation was a land of chaos and danger.
Shen Chen learned quickly that survival out here required more than just strength. It required cunning, resourcefulness, and a willingness to do whatever it took to stay alive.
The bandits taught him their ways—how to track demon beasts, how to set traps, how to find water in the barren landscape. They taught him how to fight dirty, to use every advantage, to never fight fair.
"Fair fights are for fools," Old Liu said, his voice gruff. "Out here, you win or you die. There's no in-between."
Shen Chen absorbed their lessons, his body growing stronger with each passing day. The System was still with him, still providing occasional guidance, but he relied on it less and less. He was learning to trust his own instincts, his own judgnt.
He also learned about the history of the Western Desolation.
"The Desolation wasn't always like this," Old Liu said one night, his voice low and somber. "A long ti ago, this was a lush land, filled with forests and rivers and life. But then ca the war."
"What war?" Shen Chen asked.
Old Liu's eyes grew distant, lost in mory. "The war between realms. It happened nearly a million years ago. The realm we live in—the Azure Cloud Empire's realm—and another realm from the sa layer of the Supre Heaven went to war. The other realm had grown too powerful, too ambitious. They wanted to conquer us, to absorb our resources and advance their own realm to a higher layer."
Shen Chen's breath caught in his throat. "Another realm? Within the sa layer?"
Old Liu nodded slowly. "The Supre Heaven has ten layers. The Mortal Realm is the lowest, the foundation upon which everything else is built. But within the Mortal Realm itself, there are countless worlds, countless realms, all vying for dominance. The Azure Cloud Empire's realm is just one of many."
"So the war... it was an invasion?"
"An invasion and a quest for advancent," Old Liu said. "The other realm wanted to absorb ours, to use our resources to ascend to a higher layer. The battle was brutal, devastating. It lasted for centuries, and when it was over, both realms were nearly destroyed. The Azure Cloud Empire's realm survived, but it was scarred forever. The land that had once been lush and fertile was reduced to dust. The Western Desolation is all that remains of that ancient battlefield."
Shen Chen stared at the old man, his mind reeling. He had grown up believing that the Azure Cloud Empire was the center of the world, that there was nothing beyond its borders. But now he knew the truth—his world was just one of many, all fighting for survival.
"I didn't know," he whispered. "I didn't know any of this."
Old Liu shrugged. "Most people don't. The empire likes to keep its history buried. But out here, in the Desolation, the truth has a way of surfacing."
Shen Chen was silent for a long mont, processing what he had learned. Then he spoke, his voice quiet.
"Are there still remnants of the war? Artifacts, ruins, anything?"
Old Liu's eyes flickered with sothing that might have been approval. "There are. The Desolation is filled with the bones of the fallen, the remnants of ancient armies, the fragnts of powerful cultivators who died in the war. So say there are entire cities buried beneath the sand, waiting to be discovered."
Shen Chen felt a spark of excitent ignite in his chest. The war had been devastating, but it had also left behind treasures—artifacts, techniques, resources that could accelerate his cultivation.
"How do I find them?" he asked.
Old Liu smiled, a slow, knowing expression. "You learn to read the land. The Desolation tells its own story. You just have to know how to listen."
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