In the middle of the twelfth lunar month, heavy snow was falling all over the Crescent Moon Mountain. Everything was silent under such a harsh atmosphere. Even the howling wind was frozen in the air, as if it did not dare to roar in such a frozen season.
Even the main road leading to the mountain, which could be ridden side by side, seemed to have been a desolate place that no one dared to enter for thousands of years under the cover of the snow. At a glance, it was pale white.
The feather-like snowflakes fell on the pale ground and piled up on the dead branches of the trees. The heavier and heavier snow pressed on the dead branches, making them creak. The two seemed to be competing to see if the dead branches would let the snow fall to the ground first, or if the dead branches would break under the weight of the snow.
A gust of wind blew past, as if it had secretly helped the withered branch a great deal. It pushed the swaying snow down with all its might, and the snow that covered the entire tree fell heavily to the ground like a silver waterfall.
At that moment, an extremely weak groan and the sound of snow falling to the ground sounded at the same time and disappeared at the same time.
Although the groan was low and short, it was enough to alarm the white wolf that was lying dormant in the ice and snow waiting for its prey. This groan represented the only prey that had appeared here since winter. The white wolf knew that it could not miss this prey that it had been waiting for most of the winter.
The white wolf crouched down and moved very slowly in the direction of the groan. It had to move slowly because it did not want to alarm its prey. It was necessary to strike because the groan not only revealed the traces of its prey, but also revealed that its prey was in an extremely weak state. The white wolf could not miss it no matter what.
That groan, like the white wolf's, came from the hibernation in the snow. It was the white fur cloak that was hibernating in the ice and snow. This was the fourth hour that he had been hibernating here. If not for the snow that fell like a waterfall, he would have continued to hibernate until the dawn of the tenth day of the twelfth month.
However, the sudden snowfall hit his body, which was hanging by a thread. At the same time, it also pried open his teeth that had been clenched tightly for many days. The fatigue of the long journey and the wounds left on his body by the repeated pursuit did not let him make the slightest sound. It was about to usher in the dawn of the tenth day of the twelfth month, but this groan exposed his whereabouts and all his previous efforts were in vain.
The hungry white wolf was not the only one waiting for this groan in the snow. A few hundred feet away, there were a few pairs of eyes that were even more thirsty and cold than the white wolf. They seemed to have "felt" this groan. At this moment, they had been waiting in the snow for a full eight hours.
Although the groan had long disappeared in the howling wind, as the white wolf approached step by step, the groan was replaced by the heavy breathing under the white fur cloak. This meant that the prey was getting weaker and weaker. It was so weak that it could not control its breathing and could not hide its heavy breathing in the wind and snow.
The white wolf was determined to get its prey. Facing such weak breathing sounds, even if the other party was a bear, it was confident that it could kill it in one blow. Although it was still pale at a glance, it knew that under that pale, there was a prey that it had been longing for. Now, it was only a leap away.
The few pairs of eyes hidden in the ice and snow were overjoyed as they watched the white wolf walk step by step towards their common prey. If it weren't for the white wolf's excellent hunting ability, they might have to wait in the ice for a few more hours, or even until they lost their prey.
It was also the white wolf's talent that made up for this last step. Looking in the direction of the white wolf's advance, they could clearly see the extremely weak undulations and tremors in the ice and snow in front of them. They knew that this was the prey they had been chasing for many days.
The weak body under the white fur cloak could already feel the murderous intent approaching him step by step. The chill brought by this murderous intent was far colder than the ice and snow in the mountains. He held the half-wheel machete in his hand tightly and secretly begged the heavens to give him more time. In just an hour, he would be able to welcome the dawn of the tenth day of the twelfth month. However, the chill that enveloped him was unwilling to give him any more time, let alone let him see the dawn of the tenth day of the twelfth month.
The white cloak's breathing became heavier and heavier. He felt that his breathing was far more than his breathing. He was afraid that he would not be able to see the dawn that was close at hand. Death, he had to die eventually, but he could not let that great information be destroyed in his hands.
He took off his boots and carved a few symbols messily on the bottom of the boots. He was not sure if anyone would find the boots in the snow, nor was he sure if the person who found it would notice the signal on it, nor was he sure if the person who saw the signal would understand the meaning, but this might be the only thing he could do at the moment.
At this moment, the white wolf moved. It fiercely locked onto the white fur cloak and leaped towards the weak breathing creature. It had never failed to kill its prey at such a distance. It was confident that it could bite its prey's throat.
At the same time, the white fur cloak also moved. He brandished his half-round scimitar, and his entire upper body was covered by the cover of the blade light as he jumped up the tree. He had never cared about the hungry white wolf. No matter how weak it was, killing the white wolf was just a moment for him to raise his hand and slash it. The real threat was the killing intent lurking behind the white wolf.
He knew that there was no way out in the face of those murderous auras. He chose to jump up at this moment because he had to stay away from the boot with the signal engraved on it. Then maybe he could find a chance to climb up the tree, then maybe he could jump from this tree to another tree, then maybe he could…
However, there weren't so many possibilities. Several sharp swords had pierced through the white fur cloak that was leaping in the air from all directions. The long-distance escape, the wounds on his body, and the anticipation for the dawn of the tenth day of the twelfth month had all ended at this moment.
The group of people looked at the white-robed man and confirmed that he was dead. After hurriedly searching the corpse, they heard one of them say in a low voice,"It's almost dawn. Let's hurry!"”
They looked around and made sure that there was nothing but the white wolf that could not bear to leave. Soon, they disappeared into the pale snow and ice.
The white wolf that had missed its prey was overjoyed to have found it again. It proudly let out a long howl to summon its companions in the distance. Dozens of wolves came from all directions after hearing the sound, greedily and thoroughly dividing the prey.
In an instant, the mountain road leading to the Crescent Country returned to its original dead silence. The sun had not risen in the distance, and there was less than an hour left until dawn on the tenth day of the twelfth month.
At the end of the mountain road was the only pass to enter the Crescent Country. It was a stone wall made of countless black, gray, and white stones and rock pieces. The arrangement of the stones and rock pieces was meticulous and dense. It was neither windy nor transparent, dividing the two sides of the wall into two worlds that did not interact with each other.
The wall was shrouded in clouds all year round. It was impossible to tell if the stone wall was towering into the clouds or if the stone wall stopped at the clouds. Unless the clouds were parted, no one could see how high the stone wall was.
It was also because this wall seemed to be endless that the countries outside the wall called it the Endless Wall, while the Crescent Country inside the wall called it the National Protection Seal. It separated the two worlds that did not interact with each other.
After an hour, the national protection seal would be lifted to welcome the thousands of congratulatory envoys from various countries. The frozen silence on the mountain road would also be awakened by the thousands of vehicles from the countries in the mountains. The endless stream of carriages and people would turn into a colorful long dragon and rush towards the Endless Wall, heading towards the Dharma Birth Ceremony held by the Crescent Country on the 20th of December.
The Dharma Birth was a ceremony for each country's ruler to take over the country. The heavenly protector of the country was given the identity and power to inherit the throne. The day of the birth of the throne was the day when the country's ruler officially ruled the country.
There were a total of ninety-nine countries in the mountains, spanning more than ten thousand miles from east to west and three thousand miles from north to south. Some countries were close to each other, and of course, there were also strangers who had not met each other for hundreds of years. Therefore, the importance of the birthday ceremonies of individual countries was difficult to compare.
Due to the size of the country, the importance of the ceremony was also high or low. Therefore, it was not surprising that some countries had a lot of people attending the ceremony, while others had no one.
However, the Crescent Country was different from other countries. It was the most important existence among all the countries in the mountains. Even though it was just a small country located on a high mountain and had a population of less than 10,000 people, compared to many countries in the mountains, such a scale was at most a larger manor or family. However, the birthday ceremony of such a small country was the most important in the eyes of all countries.
This was because the Crescent Country had been shouldering the mission of protecting the Crescent Mountain for generations.
The Crescent Mountain was also known as the Ten Thousand Mountains. It was the source of faith, power, and authority for the countries in the Ten Thousand Mountains. For thousands of years, Crescent Mountain had protected the countries of the mountains, regulated the calendar of the countries of the mountains, led the countries of the mountains to resist foreign invasions, maintained the order of the regime change of the countries of the mountains, and ensured the livelihood of the people of the countries of the mountains.
Thousands of years ago, the Crescent Mountain was just a barren land. It was a desert that stretched for 3,000 miles. Not to mention birds and animals, even water plants and moss were hard to find. The only people who would come and go in this vast land were very few cultivators. They had always been hardworking and poor, so the Crescent Mountain was their paradise.
It was said that on a cold winter night more than a thousand years ago, a huge rock suddenly flew from the sky and landed on the peak of the Crescent Mountain with the power of wind and thunder. It split the originally tall and thick Crescent Mountain into four peaks that stood upright. Since then, the Crescent Mountain had magically welcomed the flourishing vitality of flowers and plants, becoming a flourishing and beautiful world.
There was a saying that the giant rock brought the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to the Crescent Moon Mountain. The powerful energy instantly strengthened the cultivation of the cultivators on the mountain to help them cultivate. There was also a saying that the cultivators on the mountain comprehended the heavenly secrets, and the heavens sent a divine stone to guard the Crescent Moon Mountain, helping it open the mountain and establish a household, laying the foundation for the reproduction of the myriad mountains and countries.
Regardless of whether the legend was true or false, the ancestors of the countries in the mountains were indeed the descendants of the disciples of the four main sects on the Crescent Mountain. They toiled along the Crescent Mountain to open up new territory and spread branches and leaves. After thousands of years of blood and sweat, they finally became the countries in the mountains today.
Therefore, the Myriad Mountain Countries were a tribe based on the Crescent Mountain. Their faith, power, and authority all came from the Crescent Mountain. After the Crescent Mountain brought endless energy from the giant rock from outer space, the four great mountain masters refined the various energies of the Crescent Mountain into spells, immortal forces, and seals that could be combined with military, martial arts, farming, medical treatment, herding, construction, fishing, hunting, mining, and so on, giving the Myriad Mountain Countries and their people the ability to survive forever.
As the scale of the Myriad Mountain Countries grew larger and larger, the competition for interests and power struggles between them became more and more serious. The hatred at the foot of many mountains gradually spread to the peaceful places on Yuaya Mountain. To prevent future troubles, the Four Mountain Chieftains announced that they would permanently seal the mountain six hundred years ago. Since then, if the Four Mountain Chieftains did not take the initiative to summon them, the Myriad Mountain Countries could only contact Yuaya Mountain through Yuaya Country.
Hence, the importance of the Crescent Country was obvious.
For generations, the people of Yuaya Country drank the water, breathed the air, and ate the grains of Yuaya Mountain. They lived in the morning and evening of Yuaya Mountain. Their bones and blood came from the nourishment of Yuaya Mountain and fused with the energy of Yuaya Mountain. Therefore, it supported the people of Yuaya Country to develop powerful strength and profound wisdom to protect Yuaya Mountain and the other countries.
Therefore, attending the Crescent Country's Monarch's Dharma Birth represented the various countries in the mountains to witness the Crescent Country's inheritance of the law. It also represented accepting the new Crescent Country's Monarch as the representative of the mountains. Even if the ceremony was held on an awkward day like the 20th of December, the various countries in the mountains still had to overcome all difficulties and sacrifice their own New Year's celebrations to let the Crown Princes of each country personally lead a delegation to attend.
Being able to visit the Crescent Country in person was a special opportunity for most of the countries in the mountains. The Crescent Country's duty was to protect the safety and tranquility of the Crescent Mountain. They rarely took the initiative to contact other countries. Therefore, the Crescent Country was sealed for many years like the Crescent Mountain. It was difficult for others to enter. When there was a necessary diplomatic protocol between countries, the Crescent Country would usually send people to visit. Therefore, very few people from the countries in the mountains could visit the Crescent Country in person.
Especially the Crescent Country Monarch's birthday ceremony, it was a rare occurrence in decades. The Crescent Country people were protected by the Crescent Mountain, and everyone was skilled in martial arts and lived a long life. The previous monarch, Fu Kaisheng, died at the age of 160 and had reigned for nearly 70 years. In other words, the last Crescent Country Monarch's birthday ceremony was 70 years ago, and most of the people who had participated in it were no longer alive. In order to prevent the rulers of the various countries from never having the chance to meet the Crescent Country Monarch in their lifetime, they had established a convention. As long as it was the Crescent Country's ceremony, the person leading the attendance would be the country's crown prince.
This time, it was the Crescent Country's National Law Birth Ceremony, and it was a rare event for all the countries in the mountains. Every country received the invitation from the Crescent Country, and all of them treated it with great respect. Other than the Crown Princes of each country selecting outstanding talents from all walks of life to participate in the grand event, they also tried their best to collect all kinds of rare and strange items in order to obtain the favor of the Crescent Country's monarch. After all, such an opportunity to make friends with the Crescent Country's monarch was rare.
On the other hand, as the host, the Crescent Country was even more fearful of this. The Crescent Country had been focusing on guarding the Crescent Mountain for years. Everyone in the country was a soldier, from the nobles to the women and children. Everyone practiced martial arts, but they did not pay attention to the etiquette and procedures. After all, the red tape that only happened once every few decades was not worth the daily trouble. Therefore, it was undoubtedly a great challenge for the Crescent Country to entertain nearly a hundred foreign diplomatic missions in one go.
Even so, You Tianlang, the assistant minister of the Shu Li Pavilion, who was responsible for the reception, was famous in the various countries of Wanshan. This was because You Tianlang was a veteran of the foreign countries sent by the Crescent Country. In the past 20 to 30 years, You Tianlang had visited the various countries of Wanshan no less than a thousand times. The royal families and protocol officials of the various countries only knew one person from the Crescent Country. To them, You Tianlang was a famous card of the Crescent Country.
For the Crescent Moon King's Dharma Birth Ceremony, You Tianlang naturally shouldered the heavy responsibility of hosting the diplomatic corps of the various countries. In particular, he had to complete the welcoming, document exchange, accommodation, and reception of the diplomatic corps of each country in just ten days. This was an unprecedented and arduous task for You Tianlang.
In order to welcome the distinguished guests, after dinner on the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, they led a group of protocol officials to the Endless Wall. They were prepared to immediately remove the country's protective seal and open the city gate to welcome the distinguished guests.
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