First Arrival in the Northern Region, Acting on Heaven's Behalf

Eastern Wasteland, Northern Region.

The land was desolate, with reddish soil and reddish-brown rocks, a scene of bleakness and stillness.

The vast, boundless land was extremely empty, devoid of any signs of life, with only a few bare stone mountains sparsely dotting the horizon.

This was a barren land, without any vitality, no sign of human habitation, a picture of deathly silence.

"The Northern Region is indeed as desolate and its people as 'simple' as the legends say!"

Lin Yu stood atop a hill, behind him a group of bandits kneeling on the ground.

These bandits were truly vicious and evil. They had long been entrenched in chaotic areas, acting without any scruples. Each of them exuded a chilling malevolence, their eyes cold and fierce.

Their aura was all within the Sea of Suffering Secret Realm. If they joined forces to form a battle array, they could basically run rampant as long as they didn't encounter cultivators from the Dao Palace Secret Realm. Unfortunately, they ran into Lin Yu, who had just arrived in the Northern Region, and naturally collapsed at the first touch. After being severely taught a lesson by him, they were now smaller than quails.

"Speak up, explain the information you know clearly, and you can die easily. Otherwise, you might not be able to withstand my soul-searching methods!"

Lin Yu spoke indifferently.

These bandits' faces turned pale, clearly aware of the severity of it!

"Young master, please don't search our souls, we'll confess now!"

The Northern Region, vast and boundless, became the desert it is today due to a change in the distant past. But strangely, the world's vital energy sank underground as a result, causing Source Mines to be scattered everywhere, making this place famous throughout the world.

However, what made it successful also ruined it. This mysterious substance condensed life essence, seemingly draining all the spiritual energy from the entire Northern Region.

Compared to the vast land, it could be described as sparsely populated, with no sign of human habitation for thousands of miles, and most areas were desolate. People relied on scattered oases to survive.

Source, for cultivators, was like gold coins for mortals, which also made the people here tough and bandits rampant. People often fought to the death over Source Mines, causing rivers of blood.

The forces in the entire Northern Region were roughly divided into Sacred Land Families and Bandit Organizations. The Sacred Land Families were powerful, occupying the mineral veins within 100,000 miles around the Primordial Ancient Mine, a Forbidden Zone in the Northern Region. To mine Source, they lured mortals from various places.

The Bandit Organizations were mainly led by the Thirteen Great Bandits, and their strength was relatively weaker, so they united and primarily attacked Sacred Land strongholds. They might go three years without business, but one successful raid could sustain them for three years.

There were also rogue bandits from other regions who committed arson, murder, and looting without restraint. And then there were the small sects affiliated with the Sacred Lands, who specialized in collecting protection money from small villages in some oases.

Of course, their boundaries weren't so clear. Sometimes, cultivators from the Sacred Lands would also cover their faces and rob other Sacred Land strongholds, as well as recruit some bandits as their enforcers.

And these bandits claimed to be subordinates of Xu Tianxiong, one of the Thirteen Great Bandits, and they would also commit arson, murder, and looting against some small settlements and travelers.

"Alright, since you're so sensible, I'll be merciful and let you die painlessly!" He then ignited the Hell True Flame and burned them until their souls were scattered.

"It's a shame I haven't cultivated the Gate of Hell yet, otherwise it wouldn't be a waste to put them in hell for 'reformation'," Lin Yu thought with some regret as he watched their souls wail in the flames.

After dealing with this group of bandits, Lin Yu chose a direction and transformed into a dark golden divine rainbow, disappearing.

Lin Yu used the Wings of the Demon to traverse the void. The Wings of the Demon truly lived up to its name as a transformation from the Divine Elephant's Prison Technique. A slight flicker covered dozens of miles, and he streaked through the sky like a black lightning bolt.

As the Wings of the Demon flew, threads of runes flowed on the dark wings, and there were even forms of demon gods. When the wings spread, a demonic aura rushed out, looking very much like a demonic cultivation technique.

"If someone discovers me, it will be troublesome," Lin Yu thought aimlessly as he flew.

"Oh, right, I'm in the Northern Region. Then it's fine."

Lin Yu would stop after flying about 10,000 miles each day to recover his Divine Power and refine his cultivation techniques.

The further one cultivated the Divine Elephant's Prison Technique, the greater the difficulty. Every step forward felt like breaking through layers of restraints. Without fortuitous encounters and massive resources, Lin Yu's cultivation would be extremely difficult, and he might struggle to make progress even after a hundred years of arduous cultivation.

But he never thought of giving up, because he understood that only with this Divine Elephant's Prison Technique could he sweep across the world and control his own destiny in the Covering the Heavens world.

In his difficult cultivation, he gradually developed an imposing aura that looked down upon the world. Although he was a mortal, he possessed the mindset of a deity.

The reason why the strong become strong is precisely because they possess the heart of a strong person. The wider the heart, the broader the path ahead!

More than ten days later, Lin Yu was traveling through the air when he suddenly saw flames soaring into the sky not far away. He knew that bandits were once again massacring an oasis. He had encountered this situation frequently in the past few days; the bandits in the Northern Region were as numerous as cattle.

Some were powerful bandits, some were wanderers, and some were simply local residents who farmed during the busy season and moonlighted as robbers, targeting passing merchants and travelers during their free time.

Then Lin Yu made a turn, and the Wings of the Demon swiftly swept past these bandits, their sharp wings decapitating them all, leaving only a few leaders.

A surge of divine energy directly rushed into their minds, plundering the enemies' souls, memories, and even all thoughts within their minds.

"So these people are inner disciples of the Mystic Moon Cave sect. They gathered a group of bandits here to plunder everywhere and provide resources for their sect."

Then, he was ready to clear a small early-stage dungeon.

Just now, after searching the souls of these bandits, he had gained some understanding of the locations and information of the Green Mist Sect, Leaving Fire Sect, Falling Mist Sect, Mystic Moon Cave, and Seven Stars Pavilion.

And after his cultivation these past few days, he himself wasn't sure how powerful his three qigong techniques, the Spear of the Underworld God, Wings of the Demon, and Underworld God's Protection, had become. He needed to find an opponent to test them out.

The highest strength of these sects was only at the Dao Palace Triple Layer, which was just right for Lin Yu.

Under the night sky, Lin Yu left the residents of the small oasis, who were full of gratitude, found a small mountain, opened up a cave dwelling, and tallied his gains from the past few days. He had traveled over a hundred thousand miles, killed countless bandits, and his harvest was quite abundant.

"This Northern Region is truly desolate, but it's also truly wealthy. In just these ten-plus days, I've accumulated several hundred catties of Source," Lin Yu sighed.

He circulated the Divine Elephant's Prison Technique, and a phantom image of the Hell Furnace formed around his body.

"Roar, roar!"

With the phantom image of the Hell Furnace assisting, he continuously refined these Source Stones, causing his own life essence to grow rapidly, all of which was injected into the particles.

Those tiny Giant Elephant Particles began to stir. Then, a volcanic eruption-like aura surged from within his body, and particle after particle awakened.

The power of Ancient Giant Elephants was added to his body.

A full five Giant Elephant Particles awakened!