Before the Campaign Begins

His vision returned, growing clearer and clearer. Qin Sang could finally see things other than white light. Deep within the white light, the scenery shifted. A single slab of mirror-smooth, grayish-white stone was set into the mountain, forming an exceptionally precipitous cliff face. Down the middle of the stone ran a deep groove, out of which shot a white ribbon of water—a rushing spring cascading like a waterfall. Below the waterfall, the pounding water had carved out a sizable pool. To the pool's left, there was unexpectedly a stone pavilion. Its placement was exquisite, perched right on the edge of the mist churned up by the falls. Sitting inside the stone pavilion, one could sip fine tea and gaze out upon the wondrous scenery. Regrettably, half the pavilion had collapsed. Fallen stone beams had smashed the stone table and chairs beneath them, and rubble was strewn everywhere, painting a scene of utter ruin. Surrounding the pool was a vast expanse of meadow, lush with verdant grass and brilliant wildflowers. The lawn was open and completely visible, utterly tranquil, without a single creature in sight. Encircling the meadow, however, was a dense forest of towering ancient trees sealing it off completely. Only a single path paved with stone led into the depths of the forest, vanishing amidst the ancient trunks. All these sights he could see were merely an insignificant fraction of Heaven-Pointing Peak. Qin Sang dared not be careless. He committed every detail to memory with all his might; barring any mishap, this was roughly where he would land. Yet once he clearly took in the waterfall, the meadow, and everything around them, Qin Sang's expression changed abruptly. This forest was highly unusual. At the canopies of those ancient trees, countless motley, shapeless glows of sunset-like luminescence linked together into an unbroken expanse, and dotted among these luminous hazes were clusters of crystal-clear light. The clusters of light were far fewer in number than the glows, but they emitted an incomparably pure starlight that seemed capable of cleansing the soul, making it almost impossible to overlook them. These clusters of light were tangled with the luminous mists, virtually indistinguishable from one another. Qin Sang had learned from Vice Island Master Xiao that Star Element Stones were harvested from these clusters of light. There were quite a few light clusters in the forest, and Qin Sang should have been thrilled, but he could not summon the slightest joy. Instead, his expression grew exceedingly grave. Those glows were by no means ordinary colored clouds. Even before coming into contact with them, Qin Sang could already sense the intensely perilous aura they radiated, striking terror into his heart. They were precisely what Vice Island Master Xiao had spoken of—the manifestations of remnant ancient restrictions within Heaven-Pointing Peak. Anyone who blindly plunged in would surely meet a grisly end. For various reasons, space within Heaven-Pointing Peak was extremely unstable, and the remnant restrictions scattered throughout the mountain were no different. Some restriction fragments still possessed terrifying might, ready to trigger at the slightest touch. Unraveling them was immensely difficult, demanding the utmost caution. Yet the glowing haze lay directly beneath him, and the forest stretched beyond sight. If he simply let momentum take its course, he would inevitably plummet into the confines of the forest and slam headlong into that radiance. He would die without even a grave to rest his bones! Qin Sang drew a sharp breath of cold air. This was the true peril of Heaven-Pointing Peak—if your luck was poor and your strength lacking, only death awaited. He had no desire to die before the campaign had even begun. Granny Jing's wood carving still showed no movement, so he had to rely on himself. He absolutely could not fall into the forest; only the pool and the meadow in this area looked reasonably safe. The chaotic suction sent his body tumbling back and forth. Relying on his memory, he kept track of the bearing of the meadow and the pool, as well as his own relative position. Then he opened his right hand. The Yin-Yang Compass he had been clutching tightly in his palm finally came in handy. It was his good fortune as well; in a situation like this, nothing was more suited than the Yin-Yang Compass. Magnetic light flickered upon the compass. Qin Sang calculated in his head. The moment a surge of suction arose, black magnetic light abruptly erupted from the Yin-Yang Compass. Its repulsive force offset a portion of the other suction. Qin Sang surged forward with all his strength, using that pull to instantly shift several zhang sideways, drawing closer to the meadow. Black and white magnetic light flared repeatedly in rapid succession, alternating back and forth. With most of his concentration focused on the Yin-Yang Compass, Qin Sang could only spare a fraction of his spiritual power to maintain the cyan robe vestment. As a result, the vestment's efficacy dropped drastically. Beneath the tearing force of the chaotic suction, its luster grew dimmer and dimmer, and tiny tears even began to appear. Seeing this fine magic tool on the brink of being ruined, Qin Sang could not afford to worry about it. Fortunately, the price was not paid in vain. While hurtling downward at breakneck speed, Qin Sang adjusted his trajectory bit by bit, getting closer and closer to the meadow. Finally, in the nick of time, he cleared the boundary of the forest, his body practically grazing the edge of a streak of glowing radiance as he slammed violently into the ground! Bang! Blades of grass scattered into the air. A deep crater was gouged into the turf. Qin Sang scrambled up from the ground in disarray. He looked up at the restriction he had nearly triggered, lingering dread clutching his heart. Only when he saw that the glowing light remained undisturbed did he finally breathe a sigh of relief. Having no leisure for celebration, he circulated spiritual power around his body to flick away the grass debris and hurriedly looked down to inspect the cyan robe. Crisscrossing the robe were no fewer than a dozen tears—truly a grim sight. Fortunately, it had not been ruined beyond repair; once he returned, finding the right spiritual materials would allow him to mend it. Stowing away the cyan robe, he changed into a vestment of slightly lower quality. Vice Island Master Xiao had once mentioned that Heaven-Pointing Peak had one advantage: not a single living creature inhabited it. No ferocious beasts or ancient beasts held sway over any territory here; the sole danger lay in the omnipresent restriction fragments. That was why he dared to stand there so openly. Just as Qin Sang was about to examine his surroundings, he suddenly felt the wood carving against his chest move. The carving flew out on its own. Then Qin Sang felt a weight on his right shoulder—the wood carving had actually seated itself there. Turning his head to look, he saw that the carving had come to life. Sitting cross-legged upon his shoulder, it nodded slightly to him. At this moment, the wood carving was no different from a real person, an exact miniature version of Granny Jing, smaller even than Qin Sang's palm. Though her otherworldly bearing remained unchanged, she gave off a completely different impression. Solemn and dignified like a tiny grown-up, she was almost a little cute... Yet a great expert was before him, one who could effortlessly crush him with a single finger. Qin Sang dared not entertain the slightest irreverence and hurriedly banished all stray thoughts from his mind. "I must devote all my strength to suppressing my cultivation, so I can only rely on your strength to travel, Fellow Daoist Han..." Granny Jing's cool voice drifted over. Qin Sang gave a low grunt of assent. Seeing her sitting cross-legged like Guanyin, eyes slightly shut, he knew she was sensing their direction, so he quietly surveyed their surroundings. They had only two hours. After two hours, the suction from above would turn into a repulsive force—a fleeting window of opportunity before Heaven-Pointing Peak closed once more. If they missed it, they might never get out. While the meadow where he stood was safe, there was not a single light cluster above it. All the light clusters in this vicinity were ensnared by the forest's restrictions. If he wished to collect Star Element Stones, he would have to weave through the gaps between the restrictions. Qin Sang could not help but ask, "Senior, is it easy to harvest the Star Element Stones in this forest? It would be wonderful if we could take all of them." Granny Jing opened her eyes and nodded. "With the Star Spirit Net, gathering these Star Element Stones will not be difficult, and their number is considerable. However, we cannot take them all." Qin Sang asked in surprise, "Why not?"