It had been a month since he returned to the Divine Kingdom, and a scene from the three days in Sand City kept popping up in Funeral Poison’s mind.
He sat on a rocky hillock in the Mountain of Pillars.
From this position, he could see the two plague beasts in the distance.
The self-arid Fire Bison was chewing on hay, surrounded by dryness and barrenness; the Jungle Gargoyle, which could set off the wind and rain, was lying on its back in a muddy puddle, and with it as its centre, there were puddles and quagmires all over the place.
Sandwalker Salt Long and Nongbase brought bamboo shoots and fish respectively, and were feeding on the beasts.
Such scenes were common on Pillar’s Mountain.
The clans of the two divine kingdoms would come nearby to observe the sparring between the sandwalkers – although Nongbase was always beaten by Saltcue to the point where he couldn’t fight back, he was very spirited in his repeated defeats.
Just the sight of him desperately trying to fight back against the strong even when he couldn’t beat them was invigorating.
After going to Sand City and seeing the two Sandwalkers fight, Funeral Poison had a different feeling.
Why did Yao Clan Transcendents keep pushing the limits and refusing to stop?
It was because there were so many capable people in the tribe that the slightest pause would make them unable to keep up with the times.
Every strong person was used to being around pressure.
And in the Ghost World, such a lifestyle is unimaginable.
Ghouls spent most of their time sleeping underground, they were not quick-witted and had a scattered nature, and only when they were whipped and their own survival was endangered would they desperately lash out.
When encountering those Transcendents of the Yao Clan, it was almost impossible for a ghoul to have a chance of winning.
Funeral Poison recalled the scene he saw outside Sand City.
He had watched with his own eyes as a Transcendent fought with a Cloud Transformation Monk.
Both sides were trapped in a cloud of mist, which was the unfolding of the Cloud Transformation Monk’s dueling ability, which would plunge them one-on-one into a deadly fight, with only the winner leaving alive.
Soon after the cloud dispersed, the Transcendent was covered in blood, barely able to stand, and the dazzling white mist quickly merged into his body.
But he was so badly injured that he only raised one hand before collapsing and dying.
Funeral Poison saw it clearly.
The Yao Clan’s raised injured arm, fists clenched, as a declaration of his victory and glory. Even though he knew that he would not live long, this Transcendent still had a smile on his face, as if he did not care.
Funeral Poison looked on with a chill down his back.
The Yao Race had such a terrifyingly aggressive and sharp spirit, worthy of a civilisation created by a powerful god.
Ghosts were another pain for Funeral Poison.
In Sand City, the ghosts gave full play to their respective strengths.
Ghost scholars pass on the knowledge they possess to other groups by way of orals and debates, and it is preserved and circulated through books.
Another portion of the ghosts wore [Ghost Armour], and relying on this fine armour, they were able to move and touch various objects as if they were alive, participating in various fields of research and production, indistinguishable from the living.
And in the Spectre Realm.
Ghosts use the Black Tombstone as their residence and form small groups. Apart from requiring the ghosts to be skilled in the use of spectral fire, the two Lord Apostles had no other requirements for them.
Nor could they ask for more.
It was difficult for the ghosts themselves to use physical tools, and they could not participate in digging and building, nor could they fish for felling and smelting.
Apostle Blo had made many attempts to make better use of this large group, but all had failed.
In the Ghost World, the ghosts were like a bunch of free-range savages. They play with slugs, tinker with mud and wood, collect bones, love to carry on and tell death jokes, and sleep when they have nothing better to do …… This is the status quo.
From this stark contrast, Funeral Poison felt a pang of powerlessness.
It wasn’t that the ghosts of the Spectre Realm were being deliberately lazy, but that they simply couldn’t do it at this stage. Whether it was the two apostles or the ghosts, they had tried their best.
This was the thing that caused Funeral Poison the most pain.
The same group of people, in the Spectre Realm and Sand City, were very different in terms of ability performance and spirituality.
The gap between the two sides was so large that one could not bear to look at it.
Just as Funeral Poison pondered with a depressed face, someone beside him greeted him.
“Big brother Funeral Poison, sorry sorry sorry, there was an insect infestation that broke out in a bamboo forest earlier. We temporarily went over to rescue it and were delayed for a bit.”
The person who came was a short reed folk with a child-like short body with a reed spike in his head, it was none other than Lushan.
“I’ve only just arrived too, it’s fine.”
Funeral Poison waved his hand, “Business is important.”
It was wonderful to say.
Before going to Sand City, Funeral Poison was looking at the two emissaries from the Bamboo Reed Kingdom as rivals, keeping a watchful eye and vigilance. And after being shattered by everything in Sand City, Funeral Poison chose to co-operate with Reed Mountain.
Although the formal co-operation only lasted for three days, Lushan demonstrated his superior wisdom and acumen, and in many places made Funeral Poison feel inferior to himself.
Lushan has a gentle personality and is not resistant to making friends and sharing knowledge.
Funeral Poison reciprocated, and both sides were open and honest, and within a few days a marvellous friendship was formed.
This friendship had both a mutually recognised basis of competence and co-operation with aligned interests, in addition to which, mutual admiration was indispensable.
Before leaving Sand City, the two made an appointment to meet up at Pillar’s Mountain a month later to exchange follow-up experiences.
“The situation in the Psi-Ghost Realm is hard to describe.”
Funeral Poison looked in the direction where the Divine Kingdom was located, “I told Apostle Lord Buluo in detail about what I saw in Sand City ……”
After listening patiently, Bu Luo simply said, “Tough luck. Keep the matter of Sand City a secret for as long as possible.
Then there was no more news.
The entire God’s Kingdom was calm and quiet, as if there was no difference from before. The ghouls continued to sleep lazily, and the ghosts continued to enjoy their boring after-death lives.
Funeral Season asked him worriedly, “Brother Poison, why isn’t there any reaction from the Divine Kingdom at all? Shouldn’t those constructions and tools in Sand City be emulated immediately?”
“Whether it is a ghost or a ghoul, we can learn from the Yao Clan …… Now, it is almost as if they are pretending not to see and not to hear, how can this be?”
Funeral Poison, however, understood the reason.
It is not that he does not want to, it is that he cannot.
The composition of the Ghost World was made up of Funeral Races, Ghouls and Specters, and this civilisation structure was vastly different from Sand City.
Sand City had a variety of transcendent races, including forest elemental creatures such as pixies, pine-crawler rats, and tree people, as well as the Uzis and sandworms that lived with sand and gravel, and a good number of ghosts.
Without ghost lighthouses, ghost armour, and a sound and mature civilisation base, emulating the Yao Race was something that could not be done.
It was like the lack of core materials, even the most skilled mortician couldn’t build a black tombstone.
The ghost world could only accept the huge gap that existed with a calm and restrained attitude, first laying a good foundation and starting by sifting out the intellects of the various races.
If one did not observe and understand thoroughly enough, one could mistakenly think that the Psi Ghost Realm was giving up on catching up.
“…… That is the situation.”
Funeral Poison informed truthfully.
After seeing the advanced culture and marvellous creations displayed by the Yao Clan in Sand City, his thoughts had shifted tremendously from before.
The world outside was wonderful, and the world outside was helpless.
To be able to do one’s best to catch up and touch places like Sand City, one must let go of the either/or thinking of the past, look towards a more distant goal, and get down to earth to face oneself squarely.
Otherwise, what was the point of focusing only on what could be seen, even if one could overpower the Bamboo Reed Kingdom?
Without Yao Shen’s nod, how the Divine War turned out was simply meaningless.
Funeral Poison also frankly informed Buluo of his relationship with Rushan, and the apostolic superior instead expressed his approval.
“In the long run, the Psi-Ghost Realm and the Bamboo Reed Kingdom will cooperate again, and that day shouldn’t be too long in waiting. Don’t worry about being bold and trying.”
When Lushan heard Funeral Poison’s description, his face was stunned.
Because in the Bamboo Reed Kingdom, the situation was diametrically opposite.
After learning the detailed intelligence from Sand City, Apostle Bamboo Man immediately made a series of mobilisations: expanding the scale of bamboo forests and further improving the quality of bamboo shoots, strongly advocating the further development of bamboo timber, searching for and cultivating wild species, and developing animal husbandry, all Bamboo People and Reed People had to act.
The whole bamboo and reed country is in a tense and serious environment.
Many of the Reed Folk were talking privately, wondering if there was going to be another war, or some sort of natural disaster was coming, and all of them were tense.
Rushan knew that this was the heavy pressure brought about by Sand City.
As a Reuben who excelled in construction and creation, Lushan’s knowledge of Sand City far exceeded that of his counterpart, Bamboo Tiger.
The urban order displayed by Sand City had amazing creativity and inventions amidst the seemingly ordinary streets and houses.
For example, the Earth Walking Boat.
This kind of vehicle that could travel unimpeded above and below the ground was a national weapon for any godly country.
Not only did it expand the space available to everyone, it also increased the radius of the city and was even more significant for transport and trade.
According to the ghosts, this kind of carrier was a representative of backwardness in the Yao Race.
In the big cities of the Yao Race’s world, what was popular nowadays was the fire-vapour carriage. Those iron wheeled carriages driven by the heart of a copper furnace were not only faster and more stable in travelling, but they were also able to cross complex terrains.
Lushan could only be envious.
Then there were the buildings.
Almost all the houses in Sand City were built of stone, with flat roofs and narrow windows. They were designed to cope with the storms and sands of the desert, reducing the impact of the winds and the build-up of sand and dust.
Flat roofs allow for the drying of food and clothing, which dissipates heat quickly and cools the house.
The roofs and windows of the houses may seem ordinary, but they are the result of a wealth of building experience on display, and inventions of this kind that are not easily detected abound.
Lushan had consulted the ghost scholar Bocha, and had learnt that the Yao had specialised engineering colleges and engineers. This group was dedicated to building all kinds of houses and improving fortifications to cope with all kinds of harsh climates and extreme disasters.
In addition what impressed Lushan the most was the Sand City Roses.
The evenly spaced sand roses outside the city had surfaces that shimmered with a metallic lustre, and the tawny flowers were clearly plants, but had a hardness comparable to that of solid stone.
These tall and shining roses were also the outer wall guards of Sand City.
They could fire spikes to punish undesirable citizens and intruders, and their killing power was no less than that of the Black Tombstone.
Rushan couldn’t help but think.
If the Yao Clan continued to expand this rose, they could easily create rose sentinel towers all over the world, and it would be difficult for any enemy to gain a foothold.
It was both a building and a plant, a magnificent flower and a sharp sword.
Rushan initially thought that this life was a divine creation.
But according to Shak, the florist, the rose had been cultivated by an apostle named Pinkman – and there were several other varieties like the Sand Rose.
It was only natural that Bamboo Rutsukuni felt pressure and fear.
……
Rushan and Funeral Poison shared what they had each seen, and both were inevitably saddened.
The same perceptions had brought about very different reactions and furore from the two great divine kingdoms.
This was also a reflection of the differences in the styles of the gods.
Before parting, Lushan raised a question, “Do you think the God Kingdom we are in will be able to catch up with the Yao Clan?”
Funeral Poison hesitated, “…… It’s very, very hard.”
He said, “But there should still be hope in catching up with Sand City, since the Yao Clan invited us over, they are not afraid of us learning. Sand City is just a new city that the Yao Clan built in the Vortex World …… If we can visit the big cities in the Yao Clan’s world, we should be able to see a bigger gap.”
Lushan said, “I think that even if our generation can’t catch up, as long as we persistently catch up and make progress, the gap will narrow.”
Seeing the other party’s fighting spirit, Funeral Poison didn’t want to be compared, “Of course. We have a lot of room to grow, and it will be much more difficult for the Yao Clan to speed up again than us.”
The two looked straight ahead.
Not far away, on the flat-topped mountain, the young Nongbei was once again smashed by Saltjiu’s punch, he wiped his nosebleed with the back of his hand and struggled to get up.
Ashiyama said softly, “I believe that one day we will build our own sand castle. I just don’t know if you and I can wait until that day.”
“It will.”
Funeral Poison emphasised with certainty, “It definitely will.”
