A Farmer's Journey To Immortality

Chapter 621: Grand Martial Hall’s Cavalry Arrives P1

The City of Red Spring stood eerily silent.

The wide stone streets that once echoed with the sounds of merchants, carts, and laughter were now empty.

The four main gates stood wide open, yet no one dared to step inside.

Outside the city walls, thousands of people had gathered over the past few days. The once-green fields had turned into a sprawling camp of tents, wooden shacks, and makeshift huts made from whatever material people could find — old sheets, broken carts, even doors torn from their own homes.

Smoke rose from small fires as families cooked whatever food they had left. Children played near the muddy ditches, their laughter sounding hollow against the uneasy murmurs of the adults.

From certain spots along the outer walls, people could see into the city. They could see the captured martial artists of the Grand Martial Hall hanging from the vines that had taken over the city square.

The vines held the captives up like trophies — their bodies hanging in midair, their heads drooping. They weren’t dead, not yet. Some stirred, some mumbled in their half-awake state, and a few screamed for help when they saw the citizens watching from outside.

Their cries reached far across the walls, carried by the wind.

“Help us! Please—someone! Don’t leave us like this!”

But no one moved. No one even looked in their direction. The citizens kept their eyes low or turned away. They had seen what happened to those who tried to help.

A moment later, the screams quieted as the vines pulsed and injected a strange green liquid into the captives’ necks. Their heads slumped again, and their bodies went limp. The onlookers shuddered. Everyone knew what those vines could do.

Just yesterday evening, the vines had put on a show of terror for all to see. One of the captured Aurous Artists — a man strong enough to split mountains with his fists — was lifted high into the air.

Before anyone could blink, the vines tore open his chest and plucked out his heart, raising it above the city wall. Blood had splattered across the stone gate, and the vines waved the severed head as if warning the world.

Those brave Bronze martial artists who had rushed in to rescue him were caught soon after. They didn’t even get close to the tree before the vines pierced through their armor and dragged them underground.

By nightfall, their bodies were nowhere to be found.

Since then, no one dared to cross the city line.

From outside, people could see the shadow of the thing behind it all — a massive tree standing in the city square. Its thick trunk rose higher than the city towers, and its roots spread like a living web through the streets.

The vines wrapped around buildings, cracked through walls, and crawled over roofs. Everything seemed connected to that single monstrous tree.

Even now, in broad daylight, the city looked like a ghost realm. A thick gray-white fog drifted around the walls, muting all color and sound. The air was so cold and heavy that no birds flew over Red Spring anymore.

Outside the walls, life went on — uneasy but alive. People gathered in small groups, whispering, arguing, trying to distract themselves from the fear.

The temporary market had sprung up near the southern wall. Farmers sold wilted vegetables, hunters traded dried meat, and children ran between stalls barefoot.

An old man sitting near a cooking pot sighed. “Life’s gotten tough, hasn’t it? Sleeping in the cold, eating scraps… I miss my bed inside the city.”

A younger man laughed nervously. “Then go back in, old Jha. The gates are open. You can pick any house you like — if you can make it past those vines.”

The old man fell silent and stared into the fire. Others around him also went quiet, pretending to focus on their meals.

After a moment, a woman muttered, “When will things go back to normal? We can’t live like this forever.”

Someone nearby replied sharply, “It’s… It’s all the Grand Martial Hall’s fault. If they hadn’t sent those martial artists to attack Lady Zinnia’s school in the middle of the night, none of this would’ve happened!”

A few low-ranked martial artists sitting nearby snorted. “You’re blaming them? It’s Lady Zinnia’s fault for not surrendering when she had the chance. She brought this curse upon not just her school but the entire city.”

“Watch your tongue,” another man said quietly. “If the vines hear you, you might not wake up tomorrow.”

One man, his face rough from the sun, spoke after a long silence. “I don’t know what the Grand Martial Hall is going to do,” he said, tossing a twig into the fire, “but they better act fast. Whatever’s happening inside our city isn’t going to look good for them if they keep quiet too long.”

A low-level martial artist sitting across from him nodded.

“You’re right. People are already talking. The Hall’s supposed to protect us, not leave us hiding outside our own walls. How… How did Lady Zinnia even manage to stand up to them? Did she really become an Aurous Artist? Is there really a body cultivation realm after the Argent Body realm?”

A younger man with messy hair shook his head quickly.

“At this point, I can say for certainty that the Aurous Body Realm is not a myth but a reality. But that doesn’t mean you can do anything if you become an Aurous Artist.

“Even if Lady Zinnia managed to go beyond the Argent Body Realm, it wouldn’t matter. My elder brother says that the Hall has hundreds of Aurous Artist grand elders. One woman can’t possibly threaten them.”

Another villager leaned closer, his eyes flickering with unease.

“If becoming an Aurous Artist from the legends isn’t enough to stand up to the Hall, then how can Lady Zinnia take such bold steps? There has to be something else behind her courage.”

He paused for a moment before continuing, “Firstly, what exactly happened in our city that night? How did so many martial artists get neutralized just like that?

“And did you see the appearance of the Devil’s Den? How… How did that appear when there are still many years left before the reappearance of the tree devils?

What kind of tree devil faces hundreds of Argent and even Aurous Artists at the same time and still come out victorious? Isn’t our Sharang doomed beyond saving if more than one such tree devils decide to visit our world in the future?”

Source: .com, updated by novlove.com