Raging Wind and Snow at the Gate

Yu Ziqing walked along the small path outside the village, standing in the heavy snow. He tilted his head slightly, watching the precious fireworks bloom in the sky. At that moment, he felt like having a cigarette, purely because the atmosphere called for it.

Old Yang had said more than once that being a cultivator was a high-risk profession, with a mortality rate much higher than that of mortals. Now, he had seen it with his own eyes.

Cultivators who could use escape techniques to move freely in the current Wasteland were at least third-tier Qi Refining cultivators. Second-tier cultivators could fly with the help of some special magic tools, but the consumption was too great, and they wouldn't use it unless necessary. During battles, they certainly wouldn't expend a large amount of energy to fly around.

Cultivators who took other paths were not much different.

Oh, except for Body Cultivators, specifically pure Body Cultivators.

Body Cultivators who also practiced Qi Refining were similar to Qi Refining cultivators. However, pure Body Cultivators wouldn't be able to fly with the help of magic treasures until at least the fourth tier, and their speed would still be slower than sprinting on the ground. It would only be possible to fly at speeds comparable to escape techniques when they reached the sixth tier...

The reason why the path of Body Refining was not well-received was somewhat due to its all-encompassing nature.

Yu Ziqing didn't have much of an obsession with flying. He had always felt that when a strong person flew, it was because they had the confidence to do so. When a weakling bounced around in the sky, it was like being a moving target, making one feel very insecure.

After watching from outside for a while, when the fireworks display at the edge of the sky ended, Yu Ziqing silently estimated that at most forty-eight Qi Refining cultivators, at least third-tier, had perished in this conflict.

Coupled with the heavy snow, he could still see the fireworks flashing. Considering that his eyesight had improved significantly after he started Body Refining, the area where those people were fighting was probably within two hundred li of the mine.

It was very close.

He hadn't chosen to remain a weakling but instead chose Body Refining. Looking back now, it seemed somewhat wise.

He couldn't gamble that those people wouldn't affect the village when they fought, nor could he gamble that in an increasingly chaotic situation, no one would take advantage of the chaos to target the village.

Turning around, he walked through the Abyss of Despair. It happened to be the start of a new cycle. As Yu Ziqing brushed past the decoy woman and those cannibals, he inexplicably felt a sense of irritation.

His body moved with his mind, and he threw a punch. The Blood Essence within his body automatically surged, and the potent Yang energy mixed with a trace of restlessness that appeared in Yu Ziqing's mind. With one punch, he pierced through one of the cannibals.

In the past, they were all illusory phantoms that he couldn't touch, only watch.

But today, Yu Ziqing clearly felt that when he threw out his punch, he had indeed touched something.

The cannibal he hit had its body distort, as if it hadn't loaded properly. It froze there, flickering continuously, and the entire operation of the Abyss of Despair came to a halt at that moment.

All the phantoms froze in place, unmoving.

Yu Ziqing was slightly taken aback. He tried to punch another cannibal again, but this time he felt nothing. His body passed through the phantom, having no effect on it whatsoever.

Yu Ziqing looked down at his hands, recalled the feeling of that casual punch, and tried a few more times, but there was no reaction. He couldn't replicate the feeling of that punch anymore.

He glanced back at Cècè on the hillside. She stood in place, not frozen like the other phantoms. She bowed to Yu Ziqing, wanting to say something but unable to.

"You're welcome. Honestly, I don't even know how I did it."

Yu Ziqing's mood improved greatly. He waved his hand from a distance.

"Since there was a first time, and it could affect the operation here, there will definitely be a next time, a bigger and stronger influence. Perhaps when I become stronger, I can punch through here and rescue you."

After only a few words, the frozen phantoms began to move again, and everything returned to its original state. Cècè was once again dragged away.

Yu Ziqing walked out of the Abyss of Despair, but his mood had inexplicably improved.

Even though he knew in his heart that being able to affect the Abyss of Despair had little to do with his Body Refining, Yu Ziqing still comforted himself.

Other cultivators certainly couldn't do these things when they were at the second tier.

Three days later, one hundred li east of the village, the Great Li's Flame Cavalry stopped to rest in a sheltered spot.

The burly man leading them gulped down the burning fiery liquor and glanced westward.

"If I remember correctly, aren't we not far from the Jinlan Mine?"

A young soldier beside him took out a scroll from his sleeve and waved it gently. The scroll unfurled and floated in mid-air. On the map, a blinking light indicated their current location.

"Sir, about a hundred li west-southwest is the Jinlan Mine. Should we go there along the way?"

The burly man glanced at his attendant.

"Have your Shadow Division people figured out what Da Gan needs the Jinlan Ore for yet?"

The young soldier's identity was revealed, but his expression remained unchanged, and he said calmly.

"No. Some of the newly crafted magic tools, talismans, formation disks, formation flags, and even some pills that we obtained covertly from Da Gan.

However, the people from Lihuo Academy only found trace amounts of Jinlan Ore components in some low-level magic tools. In higher-level items, they haven't found any trace of Jinlan Ore components.

They have long concluded that although Jinlan Ore is rare, its properties can only be used as a metal material for third-tier items. Furthermore, only some flying sword-type magic treasures can receive minor enhancements."

The Shadow Division, as the name suggested, was an organization established by Great Li to counter Da Gan's Imperial Guard. Lihuo Academy was also a counterpart to Da Gan's Langya Academy.

It was an open secret that this scout from the Shadow Division was placed beside the burly man. Now that he was being questioned, the scout directly passed the buck to Lihuo Academy; his Shadow Division colleagues had no responsibility for research.

The burly man understood. He curled his lips in disdain.

Everyone knew that Lihuo Academy couldn't compare to Da Gan's Langya Academy, and everyone admitted it. However, the Shadow Division was often on par with Da Gan's Imperial Guard.

He was asking if the Shadow Division had investigated anything in Da Gan. If they hadn't, they hadn't. Why boast about their achievements and pass the blame here?

There were more than one or two places similar to the Jinlan Mine; it was just that this location had a special geographical position.

Da Gan was wealthy and powerful. They would take back and study any materials or items they discovered. Even if they couldn't find a use for them immediately, or if there were better, cheaper, and more abundant alternatives, they would still keep them for backup, in case of new discoveries in the future.

However, Great Li did not have such financial resources. Caught between Great Zhen and Da Gan, it was already a difficult situation. Under the influence of various internal and external factors over the years, the national treasury had become increasingly empty, and they could no longer afford to spend money carelessly.

The notion of not following behind Da Gan and being led by the nose had become mainstream in Great Li.

The burly man largely agreed with these sentiments, but he disagreed with including the Jinlan Mine in that discussion. The location of the Jinlan Mine was a rather rare semi-blessed land, with one part connected to the Wasteland and another existing independently.

Anomalous power also bred within it, making it a blessed land unsuitable for cultivators to develop. Places like this, though unusable, generally produced rare materials.

Even if the price was higher now, the output scarce, and it could only be used for some low-level magic tools, who knew if new discoveries would be made in the future?

To abandon it so directly was a decision made by truly foolish people.

The burly man felt indignant, but he also knew he had no say in such matters. They trusted him to lead troops in battle, but he had no authority over other affairs. Speaking up would only invite ridicule, and he couldn't kill those who mocked him.

He glanced at the Shadow Division scout beside him and pointed in the direction of the Jinlan Mine.

"We're passing by anyway. If we calculate the time, people from Da Gan might also be appearing nearby. You go scout the path and see if you find anything."

It was just scouting, so the scout couldn't refuse. Everyone knew he was embedded, but his overt identity was merely an ordinary attendant. If the general leading the troops gave an order and he didn't comply, he deserved to be beaten to death.

The scout had no choice but to accept the order. He shrank his body, and his entire form slowly turned into an illusion, disappearing into the ground.

The burly man frowned. He really couldn't stand these guys who walked in the shadows.

"Let's keep moving and see if we can earn some military merit for everyone."

A moment later, the troop moved further away. Wisps of illusion emerged from the spot, forming the scout's human shape. He emerged from the ground, took out a brush, and began writing in a small booklet he carried.

"General Gongze is particularly concerned about the Jinlan Mine in the Wasteland and, as rumored, holds significant negative opinions of our Shadow Division..."

After finishing, the scout marked the time and location, put away his booklet, and transformed back into an illusion, heading towards the Jinlan Mine.

While he was noting this down, he still had to carry out military orders...

Continuing his journey near the Jinlan Mine, the scout suddenly stopped from a distance. He revealed a pair of eyes in a shadow, looking towards the southeast.

A deathly silent troop was treading through the snow, moving like phantoms, utterly without sound. Everyone within was clad in white robes, their faces hidden by hoods. The person at the forefront held a white lantern, floating about three inches above the ground, leading the troop forward.

Suddenly, the troop halted abruptly. The white lantern in the leader's hand flared with a ball of white light. The lantern slowly rotated, and a large character, "Funeral," was aimed directly at the scout's location.

The previously deathly silent troop seemed to come alive at that moment, and fanatical roars erupted in the cold wind.

"The red sun's tribulation ends, the white sun shall rise."

The howling wind and snow seemed to be suppressed. The white light emanating from the white lantern rapidly illuminated everything around, suddenly brightening the gloomy world.

At the same time, the shadow where the scout was hidden was also illuminated, revealing his body.

That group of phantom-like figures, treading through the wind and snow, quickly began to surround him.