367 The Emperor

The Purple Armor Hall's main headquarters was called Cloud Bottle Mountain.

Cloud Bottle Mountain lay in the northern reaches of Western Wasteland Province, the highest plateau region in the Great You Dynasty. Its terrain was perilous, situated amid the unbroken Dragon Ridge Mountains that sealed off the Great Xiye Kingdom, the western deserts, and Western Wasteland Province. The scenery here stood alone in its splendor: snow-capped mountains stretched as far as the eye could see, along with glaciers and biting cold winds.

Cloud Bottle Mountain itself formed a pass-like terrain at the end of the snowy plateau. If one could cross Cloud Bottle Mountain and continue west, traversing the endless mountains beyond it, one could reach the western deserts and the Great Xiye Kingdom.

The mountains around Cloud Bottle Mountain were exceptionally unusual. The surrounding land lay low, yet at the center, strange peaks rose in clusters. This place seemed untouched by the climate of the snowlands. Around the spring equinox, the mountains were lush and dark green, exuding a dense, ancient, mysterious air. Since ancient times, it had been regarded as a sacred peak and venerable mountain.

Cloud Bottle Mountain was famed for its "Twelve Lotus Bottle Peaks." The twelve strange peaks resembled sword blades and arrowheads pointed toward the heavens, standing tall in rivalry, each vying for grandeur. Yet Cloud Bottle Peak, surrounded by them all, alone took the shape of a bottle mouth. It was by far the tallest, standing out among the peaks like a crane among chickens, a single pillar propping up the sky and vanishing into the clouds. Only its summit, the bottle mouth, sank deeply inward.

A small group of indigenous people also lived upon the snowlands. Since ancient times, they had regarded Cloud Bottle Mountain as a sacred domain, believing that a