n

n

nJohn pulled out his map and examined it closely.

n

"This should be….huh? It's not marked on the map. It's pretty remote from what I can tell. Why is there a village so far from the main road?

"

nJohn was still roughly one hundred miles from the main road leading to the Dreadel Kingdom. He hadn't expected to run into civilization so soon.

nThe village was several miles across and had large wooden walls surrounding the perimeter. Several hundred buildings could be seen inside the walls, while farmland surrounded the outside of the walls.

n

"Let's check it out I suppose. Maybe I can find an inn to stay in. It's been weeks since I've had a bath and a proper meal.

"

nJohn walked towards the main gate of the village.

n

"Halt! Who goes there?

"

nJohn was stopped by several guards stationed at the front gate.

n

"Hmm? They're normal humans? They're not even Body Refinement cultivators. Why are normal humans acting as guards for a town in the middle of the forest?

"

nJohn walked up to guards before saying

"I'm just a traveler who happened upon this village. What is this place anyways? It's not marked on any map?

"

nJohn was curious as to why this village was unmarked.

nThe guards eased up slightly at John's answer. One stepped forward and responded

"If that's the case you can enter. The entry fee is two copper coins. As for your question...this village was founded by those who sought to distance themselves from the Dreadel Kingdom.

"

nJohn handed over two copper coins before asking

"You're all just regular humans. Does the village have any cultivator guards?

"

nThe lead guard hesitated for a bit before responding

"Our village contains no cultivators. Almost all of its inhabitants sought to distance themselves from the world of cultivators, and so we established this village roughly a decade ago.

"

n

"Isn't that a bit dangerous?

" asked John.

"There's Body Refinement level beasts everywhere, and if you're unlucky you might even run into a Mist Creation level beast. What will you do if that happens?

"

n

"The walls are sturdy enough and high enough to deal with any Body Refinement level beasts. As for Mist Creation level beasts...let's just say that we have a way of dealing with that as well

" responded the guard.

nJohn noticed that the guard had a complicated look on his face when he discussed the Mist Creation level beasts, but didn't ask for further elaboration.

n

"Is there an Inn in this village?

" asked John.

n

"Yes, the Nightfall Inn. It's in the center of the village and has a moon symbol placard posted out front. You'll easily recognize it.

"

n

"Thanks.

" John thanked the guard before heading through the open gate.

nAs soon as he stepped inside, John could see hundreds of people scurrying around, going about their day to day lives. John started walking towards the center of the village, all the while scanning everyone he crossed with his divine sense.

n

"They really are normal humans. How do they deal with strong beasts?

" thought John. He soon approached the center of the village, at which point he spotted the moon-placarded building.

nJohn walked inside and noticed a rather downtrodden atmosphere inside. He approached the female innkeeper and called out.

n

"Excuse me, how much for one room?

"

nThe innkeeper turned around and was slightly surprised to see John.

n

"Not often we get strangers around here. What do you want?

" asked the innkeeper.

n

"I'm looking to rent a room for the night. How much for one night?

" asked John.

n

"One room is twenty copper coins.

" The innkeeper paused for a second before saying

"I would suggest that you don't stay inside the village tonight.

"

nPerplexed by the response, John asked

"Why is that?

"

nThe innkeeper hesitated for a moment before saying

"Some mean folk will be arriving here tomorrow. It's best that you're not here when they arrive.

"

n

"Oh

" responded John.

"Thanks for your concern, but I'll be fine.

" John handed over the twenty copper coins. The innkeeper looked at him for a bit before turning around and leading him to his room.

nThe room was quite small, with a bed, wardrobe and a small washroom. John immediately washed himself clean before taking out a new robe from his storage area and putting it before climbing into bed.

n

"Phew! It's been awhile since I've been in bed. I'll take a break from cultivation for one day. Tonight I'm just going to get some good rest.

" John drifted off into a deep slumber.

nThe next morning, John was woken up by a loud racket.

n

"Huh? What's going on?

"

nJohn quickly left his room and walked downstairs. The entire main floor of the inn was empty, even the innkeeper was missing. Finding this odd, John thought about what the innkeeper had said to him last night.

nHe walked out the inn and onto the main road. A few hundred yards down the road, John could see thousands of people gathered in the town center. Curious as to what was going on, John walked down the road and approached the gathering. After arriving at the gathering, John stood off to the side away from the crowd and watched.

n

"The entire village must be here

" thought John. There were thousands of people gathered together. John's eyes wandered over the crowd until he spotted six men standing in front of the large crowd.

n

"Cultivators?

"

nAlthough John was too far for his divine sense to reach the six men to see their cultivation levels, John knew just by the natural pressure that they radiated that they were cultivators.

n

"Although I can't be certain, they seem to be a Mist Creation realm cultivators. I thought this town was a cultivator free town? What are they doing here?

"

nJust as John was thinking about the six men, one of the men stepped forward and shouted.

n

"Alright, where is my money?

" The man who stepped forward was quite muscular and had a nasty scar on his face, making him look quite mean.

n