Gubei Town

Gubei Town. As the northernmost settlement in the outer zone of the Ancient Immortal Battlefield, Gubei Town sat right at the boundary between the outer and middle zones. Passing through it was necessary to enter the middle zone, making Gubei essentially the landmark dividing the two regions. From Xuanlu Pass all the way to Gubei Town, numerous cultivation markets and settlements lined the path, making it the safest route into the Ancient Immortal Battlefield. Further north from here, peaceful footholds were few and far between. Once inside the middle zone, celestial phenomena grew far more terrifying, and cloud beasts roamed in formidable packs. The riddled restrictions of secret realms could rarely endure for long. Apart from a few precarious cultivation markets living on borrowed time, the vast middle zone contained only three towns, each built within an intact secret realm and separated by immense distances. Cultivators lacking sufficient strength stopped at Gubei Town, not daring to venture any further inward. Though called a town, its scale was actually quite small due to the bounds of the secret realm. It consisted of merely a single main street dominated by shops; very few people actually resided here permanently. Shops lined the street, offering everything from inns, medicinal pills, and magic tools to merchants buying up spirit materials and spirit-infused fiendish items. Those capable of reaching Gubei Town were almost all Foundation Establishment cultivators. While the storefronts appeared rather quiet and deserted, their profits were in fact enormous. Capitalizing on Gubei Town's unique location, the pills and magic tools sold in the shops fetched exorbitant prices, and lodging at an inn was almost as expensive as renting a small cave dwelling at Xuanlu Pass. Fortunately, the Shadow Guard maintained a stronghold in Gubei Town, sparing Qin Sang and his companions from squandering such an unfair sum. At this moment, Qin Sang stood before the entrance of the Shadow Guard stronghold, gazing up at the sky. Gubei Town was built amid a barren expanse of yellow sand. One could clearly see howling gales whipping up sand and dust that blotted out the sky and sun, incessantly battering the restrictions like a scene from doomsday. Within the sandstorm, streaks of crimson light drifted—streams of heavenly fire. The light of the restrictions fluctuated erratically; even from within the secret realm, one could feel the terrifying power of the celestial phenomenon. The people living in Gubei Town seemed long accustomed to such sights, going about their business without sparing a single glance upward. Because the spatial fabric of the Ancient Immortal Battlefield was unstable, the depths were riddled with spatial rifts. While no spatial rifts existed in the outer reaches, the area was still affected: not only did astral winds and lightning ceaselessly churn high in the sky, but spatial fluctuations also spawned celestial phenomena from time to time. The deeper one advanced into the Ancient Immortal Battlefield, the more frequently these celestial phenomena appeared, and the more terrifying their ferocity became. Their forms were unpredictable. There could be bone-eroding, marrow-melting winds; heavenly fire might pour down one moment, only to be followed by heavy goose-feather snow freezing everything for thousands of li the next. Sometimes, several celestial phenomena erupted simultaneously—lightning flashing, thunder roaring, earth quaking, mountains shaking, ice and fire clashing—in a truly magnificent yet horrific spectacle. Cloud beasts grew even more active during these celestial phenomena. Cultivators not only had to put everything into weathering the phenomena, but also had to remain constantly vigilant against cloud beasts. Fortunately, warning signs preceded each phenomenon, allowing cultivators to find shelter beforehand. With the celestial phenomenon raging outside, Gubei Town was somewhat livelier than usual, as cultivators seized the opportunity to trade and restock their supplies. "Fellow Daoist Qin, the attendant at the stronghold says this phenomenon is about to end. Senior Brother Yin previously ordered everyone to gather at the entrance of the secret realm so we can set out the moment it subsides." A woman's voice came from behind. Qin Sang turned his head and saw a woman dressed in plain robes—it was Yunqiong Sanren, who was traveling with them. He nodded in acknowledgment. Looking left and right, he saw no sign of Senior Brother Mu. Shaking his head in resignation, Qin Sang walked toward the secret realm's entrance alongside Yunqiong Sanren. Ten Shadow Guards were traveling together on this mission: four Foundation Establishment cultivators, while the other six were all at or above the tenth layer of the Qi Refinement stage. Normally, by convention, dispatching three early Foundation Establishment cultivators would have been sufficient. When mining Qianyang quartz, the most important aspect was concealing their own spiritual fluctuations to avoid detection by the cloud beasts. As long as they successfully infiltrated the area, the Qianyang quartz had already surfaced, posing little danger during excavation; even Qi Refinement cultivators could handle the task. They relied on an astrolabe-shaped cloud tool issued by Xuanlu Pass. When channeled together by three Foundation Establishment cultivators, it could cover a broad area and hold out for a long time, more than enough for mining. In case an accident occurred, they could shrink the cloud tool's coverage and spare hands to handle the crisis. Originally, the team had been finalized as Mu Yifeng, Qin Sang, and Yunqiong Sanren, accompanied by seven Qi Refinement Shadow Guards. All three of them were in the early Foundation Establishment stage. Qin Sang had decided from the start not to vie for leadership or take the credit, letting Mu Yifeng act as team leader, so Yunqiong Sanren naturally couldn't make any waves either. Unexpectedly, right before departure, a man named Yin Xingge had suddenly elbowed his way in. Yin Xingge came from the Medicine King Sect, while Yunqiong Sanren was a disciple of the Misty Rain Tower. Both were sects with ancient lineages in the Lesser Cold Domain. Though neither possessed a Nascent Soul Patriarch, they each boasted several Golden Core Masters, giving them power that could not be taken lightly. When several sects comparable to the Medicine King Sect allied at Xuanlu Pass, they wielded a considerable say. Although the Medicine King Sect could not rival Shaohua Mountain, Yin Xingge himself was at the middle Foundation Establishment stage—the highest among the four. Since might made right in the cultivation world, Qin Sang and Mu Yifeng had no choice but to follow his orders. Qin Sang could tell Mu Yifeng was disgruntled, but fortunately, the man understood the importance of the bigger picture and did not act on impulse, merely performing his duties somewhat perfunctorily. He could also guess that Yin Xingge was likely after Qianyang crystal. Qianyang crystal was a rare spiritual material used to forge magic treasures, essential for Golden Core Masters crafting items of pure Yang. If they brought back a single piece of Qianyang crystal from this trip, everyone's merit points would easily multiply tenfold, and whoever discovered it first might even receive a personal reward from a Golden Core Master. Whether Yin Xingge had been instructed by a Golden Core Master from his sect or merely coveted ten times the merit points, the only thing worthy of his attention had to be the Qianyang crystal. Of course, an item as precious as Qianyang crystal could not be found on every mining run; otherwise, a Golden Core Master would have led the expedition in person. However, that particular mineral vein had not yielded any Qianyang crystal for several decades. Going by past patterns, the likelihood now was slightly higher—though only slightly. Walking along the street toward the edge of town was a continuous downhill slope. This was because the terrain within the secret realm consisted of a sheared mountain, with the entrance located at a small river at the foot of the mountain. Before long, the two reached the end of the street and saw a jade ribbon of water stretching ahead. Beside the river stood a wooden dock, around which floated several weathered-looking wooden boats. Without any mooring ropes, they rested motionless in the flowing water—in truth, they were magic tools used to enter and exit the secret realm. By now, over a dozen people had gathered on the dock, waiting for the secret realm to open so they could depart. Yin Xingge and six others stood together. The other six Shadow Guards were all in the Qi Refinement stage, and although some hailed from the three great sects, none dared show the slightest negligence toward Yin Xingge's orders; they had arrived early and were waiting attentively. "Junior Sister Yunqiong, Fellow Daoist Qin..." Yin Xingge nodded in greeting to them. Seeing that Mu Yifeng had yet to arrive, his brow knitted almost imperceptibly, though he refrained from saying anything.