Yu Ziqing indeed didn't expect that Dali would be so ostentatious, yet cautiously probing.

From the current disaster relief actions in Dali's western region to Cece's encounter with that caravan at the western border of Dali, all were parts of the other party's roundabout probes outside the Wilderness.

He even guessed that someone in that caravan had already seen through Cece's starving ghost identity, so they secretly used some kind of Refining God secret technique that made Cece overlook many things.

Even if they hadn't clued into Cece's identity as a starving ghost, his transformation into one didn't make his physical body strong, resembling more a starving ghost among Refining God cultivators. These possessed an innate dominion allowing them to ensnare Cece without his awareness, nor would he realize afterward. If not a Seventh Tier Yang God Realm Refining God cultivator, then they wouldn't be far off.

Cece told them he was someone from the border of Kuihou Country, escaping to avoid natural disasters and the pursuit of Evil Dao, which was mostly the truth.

Er Han, don't assume he's foolish; he played the role of a stoic, big guard without a word to avoid making a mistake in speech.

Yu Ziqing figured that they definitely knew Cece and Er Han eventually ended up in the Wilderness.

If someone from the Dali court retraced and investigated, discovering where Cece and Er Han had ventured, they would likely find some clues.

The conclusion reached was that there were still living people in the Wilderness, which was only a matter of time.

Certainly, Yu Ziqing had thought about this issue long ago; they couldn't hide in Jinlan Mountain forever without stepping out.

Nor could they hide forever that there were still living people in Jinlan Mountain; they hadn't been easily wiped out by the king of starving ghosts.

No matter how brilliantly spun the tale, that the people of Jinlan Village hadn't died was the most illogical fact.

For the king of starving ghosts not to care about them or intentionally spare them, they should've perished, and only by intentionally bypassing them did he let them live.

With scarce resources pushing them to engage with the outside world, Yu Ziqing had discussed this with Yang and the village chief.

The official statement remained what Yang initially said; even Yu Ziqing awakening the sleeping king of starving ghosts in the Jade Tomb could be a deep secret, leaked if necessary.

As Yang said, a secret, when seen or heard by others, isn't a secret.

Don't talk of people being united, and lips sealed tight; if you're not strong enough, and the other side is willing to pay the price, they can bear the subsequent issues, having ways to extract your secret without you even realizing it.

The meaning of such a secret lies in being unmasked at a pivotal moment.

Or left for eager explorers to uncover, digging up what they believe is the deepest-buried truth.

Contact with the outside world became inevitable.

Yang wasn't sure if he could re-cultivate the Jinlan Mushroom; losing it meant more considerations had to be made.

Nowadays, the northern Wilderness already rivaled the previous Extreme North Ice Field in harshness. Jinlan Village in the central southern part was better, yet the winter lasted almost half a year without end, still snowing.

Yang also said, by his estimation, Jinlan Village's area might not warm enough even in summer to grow crops, or if it did, the warmth might come too briefly for a full harvest.

To prepare for the unexpected, contacting the outside world was necessary; better to start proactively now than hastily later.

They must not repeat the past of stubbornly guarding a corner, else who knows when an irrelevant disaster might strike them.

It's said that the sects send disciples of certain strength down the mountain to train. Some sect experts even enjoy wandering around, and Yu Ziqing reckoned they perhaps wanted to avoid their sects being eradicated in one swoop.

He had to learn from that.

Deciding where to venture first, everyone discussed various places together.

To the west of Jinlan Mountain lay the Wilderness stretching over ten thousand miles; the further west or north, the colder, so that direction was temporarily excluded.

The choices left were Dazhen to the northeast, Dali to the east, and Daqian to the southeast.

Of course, these three referred to geographical positions, not the courts.

Daqian was the first Yu Ziqing ruled out.

Daqian's geographical advantage was evident with a warm climate, dense population, expansive territory, rich resources, sharing a coastline with several large ports, and overall strength surpassing the other two. It housed the largest number of sects.

Upon first hearing such descriptions, Yu Ziqing's immediate reaction was that if the Three Kingdoms waged war, he would definitely seek allegiance with Daqian; their advantages were too obvious—eventually, anyone unifying the world would probably be Daqian.

Moreover, there had already been minor conflicts for nearly a century. Whether the world's principle of long division invariably leads to union applied here was unknown, yet joining now and catching the right tide might earn him a title in the future.

Yang, in fact, suggested Daqian as the first choice for Yu Ziqing due to its fierce competition but abundant resources and opportunities.

However, Yu Ziqing rejected it.

He hadn't forgotten why Yang became a sheep.

At least for the current, weak stage, he wouldn't venture to Daqian.

Cece's return this time was more than just the experienced events; he also gathered much information.

For instance, in Daqian's Langya Institute, a dean fell in the Wilderness during the period Great Sun hung in the sky.

Only, no specific individual had been named.

Yu Ziqing didn't ask but knew it referred to Yang.

At that time, no second being across the Wilderness like Yang could match these criteria.

A mortal, an elder, with broad and deep knowledge in astronomy, geography, cultivation, alchemy, and cultivation techniques, even if not specialized in some areas, seemed knowledgeable in everything.

Why did he fake his death, forced to completely change his life form into a mountain goat, and even transform into a demon?

With the Great Sun hanging over the Wilderness and the subsequent disasters it brought, looking at today's Wilderness, starving ghosts swarmed everywhere, overwhelming it.

Considering a person dying of hunger wouldn't necessarily become a starving ghost, and even becoming one didn't guarantee surviving till the Road of Hungry Ghosts opened, to say millions died from the disaster until today was conservative.

Such a colossal calamity, if merely a natural disaster, why did a simple dean like Yang have to hide, and why was there a hidden chase attempting to kill him?

And where were Yang's Dao Guardians and escort guards?

Most likely, all were dead.

Yet till today, investigations concluded the Wilderness's catastrophe as a natural disaster.

With such a conclusion, the White Sun Evil Dao jumped at the opportunity, claiming it was a heavenly omen and divine instruction meant for them.

Because of this, Yu Ziqing naturally loathed these Evil Dao.

Heavenly omen, my ass.

During the first few months after the disaster struck, Yu Ziqing watched people collapse one after another in his line of sight, watched as those driven insane frantically devoured white flesh. Such hellish scenes were something he never wanted to witness again.

Hence, meet any of those claiming these events as a heavenly omen from the White Sun Evil Dao, and he'd kill them on sight.

Looking back, rumors had it that a dean personally investigated the Wilderness alongside Jinyi Wei from Daqian, yet the results were still the same.

If Yang wasn't lying beside him, Yu Ziqing might have believed it to be purely a natural disaster, and that the fallen dean was simply unfortunate, devoid of human interference.

In all these complicated events, various suspicions arose. Each one got crossed off as a suspect, but who had the power to accomplish all this yet leave no trace?

Who could it be?

Only someone who was a competitor, a judge, and a third-party overseer.

Only the Daqian court.

From the teachings of Yang, Yu Ziqing naturally learned to respect and not become overly arrogant.

Therefore, in his current weak state, Yu Ziqing genuinely dared not venture to Daqian.

Fearful that those judging might notice a flaw and find cause to strike without mercy.

He wouldn't let hatred, formed from closing his eyes and remembering the tragically fallen, nor open his eyes to see starving ghosts everywhere, blind him against those causing this. Being weak, such resentments had no value and only hurt him.

However, in the future, once capable and powerful, he wouldn't mind digging into whether it was a natural disaster or a man-made atrocity. If man-made, he'd crush the mastermind's head, scatter their Divine Soul, preventing rebirth forever.

With all the consideration above, only Dazhen and Dali remained as external contact choices.

Either would actually suffice, with Body Cultivation ranking highest in Dazhen, followed by Dali, but a struggle in Daqian.

The entire village practiced Body Refinement, making Dazhen actually the best choice.

However, from Dali's side, unbeknownst to their motive, they already began cautiously probing.

One could perhaps say openly yet cautiously favorable.

Spending resources to pour massive amounts of grain for the civilians, with no questions about the person receiving; if you're in western Dali, they give you a substantial amount—more than you can eat—they'd tell you it's not just for eating but also seeds for spring planting.

My people of Dali are diligent and hardworking. To prevent your fields from lacking, here's more for you.

This was the Eastern Palace regent, broadly spreading benevolence, immensely reasonable.

Yu Ziqing still couldn't figure out why; if these were kind gestures from Dali, they seemed self-deprecating, entirely unnecessary.

Yet the mutual contact developed into you pretending not to discover me, and I pretending not to discover you.

All consolidated to make Yu Ziqing sure it likely was indeed goodwill.

Towards them, the Jinlan Mountain survivors, the mortals.