"Quick, quick, quick!"
At the foot of the Black Hawk Ridge, Lu Li was running for his life. It was getting dark. If he didn't get to the top of the mountain, he would lose his reward.
Lu Li had been running for more than half a day with the coffin that weighed more than 1500 pounds. His muscles were aching and his legs were trembling. It was even more strenuous for him to go up the mountain.
The Black Hawk Ridge was very high. The mountain path spiraled upwards for two to three miles.
Although it wasn't too steep, it was extremely strenuous to continue going up. Moreover, the mountain path was covered in snow. If one was careless and slipped, the ancient coffin would slide down.
Once it toppled over, not only would he not receive any reward, he might even be heavily punished.
"Ha!"
Lu Li roared like a beast.
The muscles all over his body tightened, and his eyes were wet with sweat. Everything in front of him was blurry, but he still walked forward step by step.
"Persevere, I must persevere!"
There were many times when Lu Li wanted to give up. His legs felt as heavy as sandbags.
In the end, he thought of the Body Tempering Pill. He clenched his teeth and persevered, climbing up the mountain peak step by step.
"Hiss ~"
Suddenly, Lu Li slipped and fell to the ground. The huge coffin slid down at once.
His expression greatly changed. If the ancient coffin were to flip over, the consequences would be unthinkable.
"Ha!"
He let out a loud roar and wrapped his hands around the iron chain a few times. Then, he clawed at the ground with his fingers.
At the same time, he kicked with all his strength, hooking his legs into the snow and mud to stabilize his body, and to slow down the huge momentum of the sliding ancient coffin.
Lu Li steadied himself after stepping back for about 30 feet. The coffin stopped sliding.
Due to the friction between his knees and hands on the ground, a large area of his skin became red and swollen, and blood faintly seeped out.
"Hu hu!"
After making sure that he wouldn't slip, Lu Li breathed heavily. It was okay to be hurt. As long as the coffin didn't fall over, he would be lucky. Otherwise, all his efforts would have been in vain.
After resting for a while, he continued forward.
Before the sky turned dark, they finally reached the peak of the mountain.
Looking at the more than a dozen glowing ancient coffins on the peak of the mountain, Lu Li exhaled in relief.
…
The peak of the mountain was very wide, with two protruding sides. It looked like a soaring eagle, so it was named Black Hawk Ridge.
This mountain was originally a frozen burial ground for a tribe. Later, the Liu Family took a fancy to it and forcibly occupied it.
The Liu Family was the Overlord of the Wu Ling County. All the tribes and families within a radius of thousands of miles had to take orders from the Liu Family. It was not a big deal for the Liu Family to occupy a mountain.
There were many people on the peak of the mountain. There were guards on silver wolves, craftsmen who were building the formation, and elders who were waiting to receive their payment or elixirs after pulling the coffins.
"This coffin carrier is so young?"
A beautiful girl wearing a white fox fur coat sat on a silver wolf. She looked to be in her twenties and held a silver whip in her hand. She looked majestic and noble.
She was a bit surprised to see Lu Li. He was carrying coffins at such a young age?
Lu Li was bare-chested. He was young and handsome, with strong muscles. Overall, he looked good.
Especially that wild aura, it had an indescribable attraction to women.
"Yes, Miss Yi!"
Escort Leader Liu Wu answered, "It is hard to find a Coffin Carrier. Even though Lu Li is not a warrior, he was born with extraordinary strength.
Since he volunteered to carry the coffin, I made the decision on my own. "
"Oh."
Lady Yi soon looked away from Lu Li. As far as she was concerned — someone who could not even cultivate Xuan Energy was doomed to be a good-for-nothing. He was only fit to do the most menial work, such as pulling coffins.
Lu Li pulled the coffin to the designated position. He rested for a while before he took out a black cotton-padded jacket from the jute bag on his back and put it on.
It was not that he was not afraid of the cold. It was just that he had to carry the coffin on his shoulders, which could easily wear out his jacket.
Every piece of clothing was sewn by his sister. He could not bear to damage it.
After a while, more Coffin Carriers came. Lu Li counted them. There were 17 in total, including himself.
The rest were all elderly warriors, at least in their early 50s. It seemed that Coffin Carriers were not popular among the young people at the Northern Desert.
"Okay, come and get your payment."
Escort Leader Liu Wu jumped off from the silver wolf. He walked to the front of the Coffin Carriers, looked at an elder and said, "200 Golden Leaves, Mysterious Deity Pellet, Body Refinement Pellet, and Xuan Artifact of the First Rank of the Human Grade. What do you want?"
The elder said with certainty, "Mysterious Deity Pellet!"
Liu Wu took out two jade boxes from his chest pocket and threw them over. This elder had carried two coffins today.
He was a warrior. Even though he was only at the lowest Xuan Wu Realm, he was much stronger than Lu Li.
"What about you?"
Liu Wu looked at another elder who also said with certainty, "Lord, I also want two Mysterious Deity Pellets."
Liu Wu was not surprised that several people wanted Mysterious Deity Pellets in a row.
These elders were either at the middle stage of the Xuan Wu Realm or at the later stage of the Xuan Wu Realm. Clearly, they wanted to reach the next realm with the help of the Mysterious Deity Pellet.
If they could reach the Spirit Sea Realm, their lives would be extended and their combat abilities would soar.
"Lu Li, what about you?" Liu Wu asked when it was Lu Li's turn.
Lu Li said with certainty, "I want the Body Refinement Pellet."
"Body Refinement Pellet?"
Liu Wu frowned. The elders next to him all shook their heads. Liu Wu thought about it and said, "Lu Li, even though the Body Refinement Pellet can refine your body and increase your strength, you should understand that brute force alone is useless.
If you want to become a warrior, Xuan Energy is the foundation. How about you get some Golden Leaves and go back to improve your life? "
"Thank you, Lord. I want the Body Refinement Pellet," Lu Li said with determination.
Liu Wu said no more. He took out a yellow jade box and threw it to Lu Li.
Lu Li opened the box and found a khaki pellet emitting a delicate fragrance. He was overjoyed.
"Idiot …"
Lady Yi saw the passion in Lu Li's eyes and sneered. As far as she was concerned, Lu Li knew nothing about cultivation.
Xuan Wu, Spirit Sea, Soul Pond, Underworld Wheel, Eternal Realm, Noble Lord, Human Sovereign Realm!
These were the cultivation realms of the warriors of the Northern Desert. With every increase in realm, the warrior's combat ability would soar.
Powerful warriors could break open mountains, raze cities to the ground, and destroy heaven and earth with a raise of their hands.
To become a powerful warrior, one could have unimaginable power, soar to the sky, and enjoy endless glory and wealth.
One could become a Mayor, a Region Master, or even a Human Sovereign Realm master.
However!
All of this was based on the Xuan Energy. If one could not cultivate Xuan Energy, he could not reach the Xuan Wu Realm. Everything would be like the moon in the well or the flowers in the water.
Lu Li was 14 or 15 years old, but he still could not cultivate Xuan Energy. It was evident that his aptitude was very low. It would be hard for him to enter the gate of Wu Dao in this lifetime.
If so, what was the point of him needing the Body Refinement Pellet?
So what if he could cultivate his strength to 11,000 pounds?
Even a warrior at the peak of the Xuan Wu Realm could kill him easily, not to mention a warrior at the Spirit Sea Realm.
"Okay!"
Soon, the rewards were distributed. Liu Wu waved his hand and said, "Go back and rest. If you still want to carry coffins tomorrow, go to the Cutting Blade Ridge earlier."
It was completely dark now. Everyone had wanted to leave, so they all went down the mountain after hearing this.
Lu Li's muscles were sore and his legs were heavy, but he was eager to go home. He ran in big strides and soon disappeared from the Black Hawk Ridge.
…
Lu Li lived in the Di Long Tribe, about 15 miles to the south of the Black Hawk Ridge.
He grabbed the jade box and ran towards the hazy night. After two hours, he finally arrived at the tribe.
Even though he was very tired, he did not rest for even a moment.
He knew that his sister must be waiting for him outside the tribe.
Sure enough!
By the fence outside the tribe, Lu Li saw a delicate white figure.
Looking at the figure covered by the snow and turned into a snowman, Lu Li somehow felt sad. He shouted from afar, "Sister, I am back."
The snowman moved. It was a girl about 18 or 19 years old. She was wearing a cloak, and her pale face was exceptionally beautiful. She was much more beautiful than Lady Yi of the Liu Family.
However, she was holding a crutch in her left hand. It seemed that her legs were not convenient.
Hearing Lu Li's voice, she put on a gentle smile. She was like a blooming snow lotus, breathtakingly beautiful.
"Sister, didn't I tell you not to wait for me?"
Lu Li strode over and grabbed his sister's cold hands. He said with a slight reproach, "You are so weak. What if you get sick?"
The girl smiled again. She looked at Lu Li lovingly and said softly, "I am worried about you.
Let's go home. I have made your favorite, the preserved venison. "
"Okay!"
Lu Li grinned and helped the girl walk towards the tribe.
The girl walked with the crutch and limped. One of her legs was obviously shorter.
She had such a beautiful face, but she was a cripple?