The day before the Dragon Head Mountain cave mansion opened.
Qingshan Town was unusually quiet. The mercenaries who normally filled the streets, bragging and chatting, were all hiding in their own camps, afraid to show their faces. The street vendors had gone home, and not a single hawker's cry could be heard. The shops were deserted, and the streets seemed utterly bleak.
A well-equipped force of five hundred soldiers from the Jia Ma Empire had taken over Qingshan Town two days earlier. The one in charge of them was none other than the eldest princess, Ya Ye.
It had all started with a rumor that had spread across the Jia Ma Empire three months ago, announcing the emergence of an ancient cave mansion.
Word had it that the cave mansion held not only Po Zong Pills and Huangji Pills, but also Earth-Rank Dou Techniques. Most importantly, it contained a Nirvana Heart, formed from the lifelong cultivation of a Dou Zong expert.
Though no one knew what a Nirvana Heart was, it had been formed from the cultivation of a Dou Zong expert, so it was clearly no ordinary treasure. Surely it could help someone break through to Dou Zong even more effectively than a Po Zong Pill.
At first, few people believed the rumor. But as it spread and more people heard of it, many began to believe it.
Then, nearly two months ago, the Misty Cloud Sect's leader returned from the Magic Beast Mountain Range and told the sect's elders that an ancient cave mansion was about to emerge there.
With Yun Yun, a Dou Huang expert, confirming it herself, the rumor naturally seemed far more credible. This prompted many powerful figures from the Jia Ma Empire to set out for the Magic Beast Mountain Range, hoping to seize