Chapter 336: Chapter 227: The First Life, a Turbulent Dynasty, a Wife Through Thick and Thin, Martial Cultivation to Stabilize the Nation

"Faster!"

"Even faster!"

Between the main road and the farmsteads, the cold glint of weapons from the charging iron cavalry flashed in the night, shattering the crowd of people ahead. Lu Mingyuan groggily regained consciousness, as if waking from a long, vivid dream.

It seemed he had arrived inside the Scroll World.

Then, he discovered his body was incredibly weak and his lips were so parched they had started to crack.

Water.

He wanted to drink water!

But when Lu Mingyuan looked down, he found himself standing in pools of blood!

Reflected in a puddle of blood on the ground, he saw a young, gaunt face.

He immediately realized his body had transformed into that of a thirteen-year-old boy, almost as frail as a toddler.

Yet he still possessed a body of flesh and blood, with a very real sense of sight, hearing, smell, and touch.

Lu Mingyuan gazed out at the cracked earth between the farmsteads. Only the husks of dead locusts remained. Bodies were strewn haphazardly on the ground, left unattended and already starting to stink.

Locust plagues, pestilence, drought.

’This looks just like a chaotic era.’

’So the first trial of the Grand Thousand Canglan Map starts in a chaotic world like this?’

’Where did Yun Qinghe go?’

’Didn’t she come in with me?’

Lu Mingyuan had many questions now, but there was no one to answer them.

In the distance, troops of cavalry clad in ancient armor were lined up in a row, silently reining in their horses.

The heads of the tall warhorses were fearsome, their faces covered in scales, unlike any ordinary steed. The soldiers themselves were clearly elite, wearing helmets that covered their faces, clad in Iron Armor, holding a long saber in one hand and a light crossbow in the other. They were imposing and silent.

’They don’t look like Great Yan cavalry.’

Lu Mingyuan’s first instinct was to compare them to the Qilin Iron Cavalry of Great Yan.

"Run! That’s the Bai Ao Light Cavalry of Zhou! Hurry and catch up to the main group!"

Lu Mingyuan heard the shouts of starving refugees beside him as they all ran towards the forest on the high mountain.

In the next moment, the air was torn apart by a sharp whistling sound, and countless cold glints appeared overhead.

Lu Mingyuan looked up, his pupils shrinking.

It was a volley of thousands of arrows, tearing through the sky!

Lu Mingyuan’s first reaction wasn’t to dodge, but to brace for a direct impact.

He was a Vajra Realm Martial Artist, after all. What was there to fear from a mere rain of arrows?

But he quickly realized something was wrong. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

’My cultivation...’

’Where did my cultivation go?’

Lu Mingyuan discovered that not only had he turned into a thirteen-year-old boy, but even his Tenth Realm cultivation had completely vanished.

Just as the thousands of arrows were about to strike,

An anxious voice rang out.

"Get down!"

A young girl, about twelve years old, dragged Lu Mingyuan behind the corpse of an armored soldier, using the body to shield them from the sky-blotting rain of arrows.

"SWISH!"

"SWISH!"

As the arrows rained down, the girl turned to Lu Mingyuan with a speechless expression and scolded him:

"Are you an idiot? Don’t you know to hide when you see a rain of arrows? Do you think this is still the outside world? Our cultivation has been sealed, and our consciousnesses have been placed into individuals in this world."

Lu Mingyuan was sure he hadn’t misheard.

That tone... it was definitely Yun Qinghe.

"You’re Miss Yun?" Lu Mingyuan asked, astonished.

"If it’s not me, who else could it be?" the girl said, crossing her arms and pouting.

"Is this really the World in the Painting?" Lu Mingyuan still hadn’t fully recovered. Smelling the stench of blood in the air, everything felt so real.

"It’s supposed to feel real. The Painting Saint of that era was the number one figure in the Confucian Temple a thousand years ago. The Grand Thousand Canglan Map is one of the Confucian Temple’s most treasured artifacts."

Yun Qinghe explained with extreme gravity.

"Of course, everything here is an illusion. It’s the World in the Painting. You absolutely cannot get lost in it."

"I see."

Lu Mingyuan was slowly beginning to understand.

Yun Qinghe continued to explain, "This Scroll World makes people gradually forget their original identities and memories, forcing them to face the coming trials with the most genuine mindset."

"Li Sheng clearly wants to use this method to judge whether your Dao or Lu Yunqing’s is right or wrong."

Lu Mingyuan gave a bitter smile. "I’ve been put into a body like this, like a child, with no cultivation at all. How can he judge whose Dao is right or wrong?"

Yun Qinghe pondered for a moment. "This is just what I heard from my seniors at the Celestial Master’s Mansion. The Grand Thousand Canglan Map can reshape a Cultivator’s Daoxin and Spiritual World, helping them rediscover themselves. It’s an unparalleled Magical Treasure for Confucian Cultivators to temper their state of mind. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it an Immortal Artifact."

"Although it’s dangerous to stay inside for too long, it is also a rare opportunity to temper one’s spiritual will. If you successfully complete the trials of the Grand Thousand Canglan Map, you will undergo a tremendous transformation."

"Both of our memories will soon be assimilated and sealed away by the Scroll World. We might even forget each other. You need to be mentally prepared."

Lu Mingyuan was just about to nod.

But sounds of wailing and crying arose from all around him.

Looking up, he saw that another troop of iron cavalry had arrived on the battlefield and was slaughtering the cavalry from Zhou. Their attacks were decisive and ruthless. They were first-rate elites.

It was clear they had been dropped right into a battlefield between two nations.

It was just that their Fish Scale Armor and the Exotic Beast Chest Pattern on it looked quite familiar to Lu Mingyuan.

"Get up. Are you hurt?"

A middle-aged General with a red cape and the air of a great commander walked up to Lu Mingyuan and extended a large, calloused hand.

"I’m fine. Thank you, General."

Lu Mingyuan helped Yun Qinghe up as he stood.

Seeing that the two of them were just children, with sallow, emaciated faces, the middle-aged General couldn’t help but sigh.

"You’ve suffered. Those bastards from Zhou are truly inhuman—a pack of animals, not even sparing children. Don’t worry. The territory of the Flame Country is just ahead. I’ll have my men take you to the nearest town."