After being demoted, my 300,000-strong army trampled the imperial city!

"What are you guarding?" Chen Futu asked suspiciously.

"The curse of the ley lines."

Qinghe rolled up his sleeves, revealing his pale skin stained with black spots. He looked at it as if showing off a medal of honor. “Our clan is called the Disease Clan. We can absorb the power of the earth’s curse. The black spots are the marks of the curse imprinted on our bodies.”

Chen Futu was completely shocked by Qinghe's words.

No wonder I haven't encountered any ley line curses while traveling through the ley lines these days; it turns out they've all been absorbed by this race.

How could there be such a strange race in the world, using their bodies as containers to bear curses!

Looking at Qinghe's proud little face, Chen Futu felt very uncomfortable. He suddenly thought of the Xuanyuan clan guarding the Black Sand Sea and the Ice Clan guarding the Onon Sea.

"Big brother, what's wrong?" Qinghe asked, tilting his head.

Chen Futu asked with a wry smile, "Does it hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt. Grandpa said this is an honor, a merit bestowed upon our clan by heaven. Our clan has sorted out the earth's veins for all living beings, which is a great achievement for all time and worthy of being recorded in history." Qinghe said proudly, hands on his hips.

Chen Futu remained silent.

Will it be recorded in history, with outstanding achievements?

That's true, but if it weren't for the system's reminder, even a great figure like Chen Futu wouldn't know about the existence of the Disease Clan, let alone ordinary martial artists.

The following morning, the sick members packed their belongings and waited together, young and old, for the elder to give orders.

The old man wiped his eyes and, supported by Qinghe, walked towards a dark cave, with everyone following closely behind him.

The winding road ascends through numerous bends, with wooden plank walkways that creak and groan as you walk on them, as if the planks might break at any moment.

Fortunately, the journey was relatively peaceful, and after a long time, the group followed the old man out of the deep cave.

As soon as the light shone in, everyone cheered and rushed out one after another.

Emerging from the cave, one is greeted by weathered and decaying mountains. Near the mountain walls are some farmland and trees, as well as a dark, deep well.

Chen Futu had seen the environment of the Black Sand Sea, and it was also very harsh. If it weren't for the strange rocks that were dozens of feet high acting as sand barriers on the outside, the exit would probably have been buried by sandstorms long ago.

Qinghe cheered excitedly, "This time we're out, we don't have to live underground anymore!"

"The air is especially fresh today."

"This is the breath of freedom; we've finally made it through."

A large group of people cheered and jumped for joy, so excited that they couldn't contain themselves, and many were secretly wiping away tears.

Seeing this scene, Chen Futu frowned.

The appearance of this group of people was too frightening. The black spots on them looked extremely grotesque in the sunlight, like a group of ancient corpses covered in lividity emerging from an underground tomb. If they appeared in public with such appearances, they would probably cause a riot.

Last night, Chen Futu tried to use his righteous energy to expel the black spots on their bodies, but it was ineffective. He even infused Qinghe with a drop of the Dragon Emperor's blood, but it still didn't work.

Next, the old man had everyone load their things onto the carts, and then the convoy set off in a grand procession.

Chen Futu glanced at the system map. He was currently in the Southern Region, having crossed the narrow strip of land bordering the Buddhist Kingdom and the Celestial Kingdom. This area was extremely desolate, mostly sandstorms and deserts, making it unrealistic to cross it in a short time. However, as an outsider, Chen Futu felt it was inconvenient to say anything.

The procession stretched out in a long line and headed south, following the old man's memories to trace the ancient kingdom of Dayou.

At first, everyone was very excited, until they encountered some dangers as they ventured into the barren area.

Birds and beasts larger than humans soared in the sky, swooping down to catch their prey.

Da Shi led a caravan of young and strong guards, and Chen Futu also joined the battle.

Because his cultivation level was suppressed to that of a martial artist, he could not use any methods beyond that of a martial artist. Fortunately, he possessed the dantian qi sea of ​​a Great Sage at its peak, so he was able to suppress the sky with his endless sword qi and kill the strange birds that were swooping down.

This method greatly surprised and delighted the entire clan.

"Big brother is awesome!"

"Young man, thank goodness you're here!"

Everyone's eyes lit up; they never expected a young man who had come from outside to be so capable.

Qinghe grabbed Chen Futu's arm excitedly and said, "Big brother, we will remember your kindness. When we get home, we will definitely ask the new emperor to repay your kindness."

"What do you mean?"

Chen Futu had a bad feeling.

Qinghe proudly said, "After returning, we will definitely pay homage to the new emperor. Our clan has guarded and managed the earth's veins for many years, and has made great contributions. We will definitely be treated well. So don't worry, elder brother, our clan will not forget your escort."

"The new emperor..."

Chen Futu opened his mouth, but swallowed back the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

In the days that followed, they encountered more and more dangers, and even suffered casualties. The enemies were no longer the strange and huge birds in the sky, but also sandworms burrowing underground. The sandworms were small in size but appeared and disappeared unpredictably. They would suddenly emerge from the mud and tear the flesh and blood off a person's legs and feet.

Chen Futu has many trump cards but cannot use them. He can only continuously release his righteous aura and domineering halo to deter and drive away the ugly beasts that dare to approach.

Indeed, righteous energy is useful. The reason why these beasts have become so large and ugly is probably due to the invasion of the earth vein curse. Chen Futu is the one who overcomes the curse. After the righteous path of the human world covered the team, they rarely encountered attacks again. It's just that the coverage of the cultivation field is currently limited.

Maintaining his righteous aura and domineering aura at a high intensity took a toll on Chen Futu. In addition, he couldn't use the system space and couldn't get food. However, he ate quite a bit of the food that Qinghe sent him along the way, and even found it less difficult to swallow.

As evening fell, the group set up camp under a huge patch of dead trees.

The surrounding area was overgrown with weeds, and the wind and sand blurred one's vision.

"Big brother, do you think we can get home?" Qinghe asked absentmindedly, stirring the campfire.

Chen Futu asked curiously, "Why do you ask this?"

"I've noticed that everyone's been listless lately. Is it because we can't leave that cave?"

"Feeling listless?"

Chen Futu frowned and grabbed his arm, wanting to see his dark spots, but he covered his arm and wouldn't let him see, saying with great pride, "These are my medals of honor, how can I just show them to anyone?"

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Of course I'm sure. I'm so young, what kind of accident could happen to me?"

As they were talking, a shout suddenly came from afar, "Itchy! It's so itchy, I'm dying of itchiness!"

"Yes, I also feel unbearably itchy."

Looking in the direction of the sound, one could see several men gathered together, cursing and scratching the black spots on their bodies.

Out of the corner of Chen Futu's eye, he noticed that Qinghe was rubbing his arms through his clothes.

He tilted his head back and muttered, "I'm not itchy. We're almost home."

After saying that, he took off running.

As Chen Futu watched the retreating figure, his unease intensified once more.