Elder Zhou lived halfway up the mountain, with several old pines planted outside his courtyard. As Su Yu climbed the stone steps, he found the courtyard gate open. Elder Zhou sat beneath the veranda, an unfinished book beside him.
Seeing him approach, Elder Zhou closed the book and smiled. "Just back from the rear mountain?"
"I went to ask about a few more things."
Su Yu sat opposite him and recounted what he had heard at the Resource Hall. When he asked about the land of demons, Elder Zhou's smile faded slightly. He rose, fetched a map from the house, and spread it across the stone table.
Mountains and rivers crisscrossed the map, with several broad waterways running through vast stretches of land. Compared with Su Yu's map, which only marked the various locations within the sect, this one was clearly far more detailed.
"We're in Azure Mist Province, in the eastern part of the Central Domain."
Elder Zhou placed a finger on a mountain range toward the southern side of the map, then moved it to two other markings.
"The Luochen Sect is here. To the northeast is the Scarlet Firmament Sect, and to the northwest is the Black Peak Sect. Both sects lie tens of thousands of li from us. Many of the cities and mines along the way have ties to the three sects."
Su Yu followed his finger with his gaze.
The mountains were especially dense between the three markings. One area had been circled in pale red, with only a few mountain paths marked around it. Farther inside, there were no detailed indications of the terrain.
"The land of demons you heard about is here. It's called the Demon-Subduing Ancient Land."
Elder Zhou paused before continuing, "The Scarlet Firmament Sect is slightly stronger than we