Northern Yin Mountain Temple

Far away at his home in the real world, Zhou Yao ordered Yellow Wind Little Sage to proactively seek out the next target location, then temporarily withdrew his consciousness from the avatar.

Sitting on the sofa, Zhou Yao rubbed his temples with a weary face, trying to ease the faint throbbing pain. His eyes were already bloodshot.

Yellow Wind Little Sage had spent an entire day searching for Mythic Materials in that newly opened region, while Zhou Yao had held on at home without sleep or rest for an entire day.

Yellow Wind Little Sage was a Scavenger-rank Mythic Walker, while Zhou Yao was merely an ordinary person at the moment—at most, someone with a cheat. His body was somewhat stronger than an ordinary person's after being infused by Mythic Factors.

But a full day and night of intense concentration had pushed Zhou Yao close to his limit.

"Those dozen-plus Mythic Materials were worth at least a thousand Mythic Factors. It sounded like a lot.

But considering that Yellow Wind Little Sage needed twice as many Mythic Factors—four hundred—to fuse his third Mythic Material and unlock his third talent.

At that rate, reaching Scavenger Perfection alone would require a full two thousand eight hundred Mythic Factors, and that was without even considering Mythic Materials compatible with himself.

One Yellow Wind Little Sage avatar alone required so many Mythic Factors, not to mention that he would need to unlock a second avatar later."

Opportunities for Realm Expansion were hard to come by. Only by making a ruthless haul while he had this chance could he better face the crises to come.

As he pondered, Zhou Yao sat back down on the sofa, intending to make one last steal before going to rest.

But just then, the information suddenly sent back by Yellow Wind Little Sage made his expression change instinctively.

"That kind of thing exists in this new region?"

Zhou Yao's eyes flew wide open, all his exhaustion replaced by astonishment in that instant.

Within the Yin Mountain Realm, Yellow Wind Little Sage, who had been heading toward the next Mythic Material location, gradually came to a stop.

On the mountainside before him, a flat expanse of ground had abruptly appeared. It seemed as though it had been artificially carved level, forming a stark contrast with the rugged mountain terrain around it.

Bluish stone slabs formed a flight of steps winding up from the foot of the mountain. Stone railings stood on either side, engraved with intricate cloud patterns and auspicious designs.

At that moment, the sun within the realm was slowly sinking below the horizon. Yin and yang divided dusk from dawn as day and night changed places.

Within the glow of twilight, the outline of a temple gradually became clear.

The temple's architectural style was ancient and solemn. Exquisite murals covered its walls; though their colors had faded in patches, one could still make out depictions of mountains and rivers, divine beasts, and auspicious birds.

Though the temple looked rather old, its walls covered in the scars of time and its roof tiles somewhat broken, the whole structure still exuded an indescribably grand and majestic air.

Yellow Wind Little Sage stood where he was, unconsciously scratching his cheek with a little claw as he swiftly recalled his earlier experiences.

"I passed this mountainside before. Why hadn't I seen this temple? When did it appear?"

He was certain that he had passed near this place several hours ago.

At the time, he had been tracking the aura of another Mythic Material and had deliberately circled half the mountain. Yet this place had clearly been ordinary mountain terrain then, with no structure at all.

"Did it only manifest at dusk? Or was there some other trigger condition?"

Yellow Wind Little Sage looked around and confirmed that he was the first to discover the temple. After a brief consideration, he still followed the steps toward it.

The sights on either side of the steps slowly unfolded before him. The railing carvings were extraordinarily exquisite, every detail carefully polished.

Various auspicious beasts were hidden amid the cloud patterns: immortal cranes spreading their wings, qilin racing forward, flood dragons riding the clouds. Though they were merely relief carvings, beneath the interplay of dusk and shadow, they seemed almost alive.

The closer Yellow Wind Little Sage drew to the temple, the more he could feel a heavy pressure.

It was not hostility, but a dignity accumulated through countless years, like standing before a venerable elder. Even if the other party did nothing, one could not help but become solemn and respectful.

At last, Yellow Wind Little Sage arrived before the temple's main gate.

He raised his head, his gaze falling upon the plaque above the lintel.

The plaque had been carved from a single piece of ebony, its wood as hard as iron and its surface gleaming with a deep black luster. Four bold, forceful characters had been written across it in gold powder.

Northern Yin Mountain Temple!

The strokes were ancient and vigorous, every line containing a peculiar charm.

Yellow Wind Little Sage stared at those four characters for a moment, thoughts racing through his mind as he tried to find any information connected to that name.

After searching for a while, Yellow Wind Little Sage confirmed that he had never heard the name before.

That was only natural. Mountain gods were beings with enormous differences between their upper and lower limits within the mythic system.

The powerful ones, such as the Great Emperor of the Five Sacred Mountains and Lord of Mount Tai, governed a region of heaven and earth, held ranks among the immortals, and received the incense offerings of countless people.

As for the weak, even a spiritual tiger that occupied a mountaintop could proclaim itself a mountain god and receive worship from the local people. It would have been strange if Zhou Yao could remember the names of every mountain god.

Yellow Wind Little Sage extended a claw and was about to push open the main gate when a breeze suddenly swept past. His ears twitched slightly, keenly catching an abnormal message carried on the wind.

The next second, Yellow Wind Little Sage immediately concealed himself and fled far from Northern Yin Mountain Temple, watching from a tree several hundred meters away.

Before long, three Mythic Walkers wearing Yinshan Investigation Branch uniforms arrived. The instant they saw Northern Yin Mountain Temple, wild delight appeared on their faces.

"Found it!"

"Who would have thought it was here!"

"The appearance of this mountain god temple seems to follow some kind of pattern, but that isn't for us to investigate. Our purpose is only to find the target."

One of the Mythic Walkers then took out a longbow, nocked an arrow, and fired it into the sky. Like a meteor, it illuminated this location's position, visible across dozens of miles.

It was a signal arrow specially made by the Yinshan Investigation Branch, specifically used to mark important locations during realm exploration.

After firing the signal arrow, the three Mythic Walkers did not enter the temple. Instead, they guarded the entrance and quietly waited for their companions to arrive.

Hiding in the distance, Yellow Wind Little Sage watched this scene and secretly rejoiced that he had reacted quickly enough.

If he had rashly pushed open the temple doors just now, he would likely have been discovered by those three Scavenger Fourth Rank Mythic Walkers.

With his current strength, facing three Scavenger Fourth Rank opponents would absolutely bring him no advantage.

Just over ten minutes later, a large number of Mythic Walkers began arriving from all directions.

Figures constantly swept through the sky. Some stood upon flying swords, some rode wind and clouds, and some wore wings. On the ground, many Mythic Walkers were also racing forward, each step carrying them dozens of meters.

These Mythic Walkers arrived one after another before Northern Yin Mountain Temple, and their numbers steadily grew. Yellow Wind Little Sage counted them from his hiding place and soon discovered that more than sixty Mythic Walkers had gathered.

Nearly half wore Yinshan Investigation Branch uniforms. They occupied the positions closest to the temple gate and were clearly leading this operation.

The Mythic Walkers affiliated with the Four Great Megacorporations swept their gazes over the temple before them, while even more focused their attention on the members of the Yinshan Investigation Branch.

Only now did everyone discover in shock that the Yinshan Investigation Branch's exploration team was almost entirely composed of Scavenger Fourth Rank members.

There were even two Scavenger Fifth Rank powerhouses who had accommodated five Mythic Traits but failed to reach Perfection due to the mutual rejection of those traits.

A Mythic Walker from Cloud Palace Group could not help saying in a low voice, "How does the Yinshan Investigation Branch have so many Scavenger Fourth Ranks?"

"How many benefits did they get during the previous Realm Expansions?"

While the members of the Four Great Megacorporations were inwardly alarmed, Yellow Wind Little Sage was also greatly surprised. Such reserves of strength were nothing a branch office in a fourth-tier small city should have been able to display.

Not long afterward, a meteor streaked across the sky, revealing a figure amid its radiance.

The newcomer stood on a flying sword, carrying himself with extraordinary bearing. He was Xu Yu, captain of the Yin Mountain Branch Office's First Law Enforcement Team, whom Yellow Wind Little Sage had met before, a Scavenger Perfection expert.

Xu Yu swept his gaze across the many Mythic Walkers present and spoke in a clear voice.

"This temple is called Northern Yin Mountain Temple. A temple like this appears with every expansion of the Yin Mountain Realm.

To date, twelve Northern Yin Mountain Temples have appeared in the world. Every one of them is different, and each exists for only three days.

Our investigations have determined that Northern Yin Mountain Temple is a divine domain evolved from Lost Mythology. To enter the temple, one must meet special conditions.

It might be an age restriction, allowing only those under eighteen to enter. Or it might require one to accumulate virtue and do good deeds, barring those with evil thoughts from entering..."

Xu Yu looked around, his gaze passing over the faces of the Mythic Walkers from the Four Great Megacorporations one by one.

"Since the Yinshan Investigation Branch is willing to share this opportunity with the Four Great Megacorporations, we naturally will not stop any of you from entering. So long as you have the ability to meet the conditions, anyone may enter the mountain god temple and explore."

Those words made the members of the Four Great Megacorporations breathe a sigh of relief. What they feared most was the Investigation Bureau swallowing this opportunity alone. It seemed the other side was keeping its word.

But Xu Yu's next words made everyone's expressions turn grave again.

"The Yinshan Investigation Branch will not take a single cent's worth of the treasures obtained in the mountain god temple. We will even actively protect those who acquire treasures, ensuring that you can safely take them out of the realm."

His tone became stern and unquestionable.

"But there is one condition only. If anyone who enters the temple obtains a Mountain God Tablet, the Investigation Bureau is willing to exchange anything at any cost for it."

Xu Yu raised his right hand, and powerful Mythic Factors erupted from within him, gathering in the air into an illusory image of a tablet.

It was an utterly unremarkable ebony tablet. Its writing was incomplete, and only the words "mountain god" could vaguely be seen, as though it were worthless junk picked up from an antique market.

"Whatever you desire—whether assistance in advancing to Scavenger Perfection, or Mythic Materials of Incense Residue quality—you may choose as you please.

We can even provide you with a complete Mythic System Diagram and the related Mythic Materials, ensuring that you can steadily and safely increase your strength.

But should anyone violate this rule, no matter who you are or what faction you come from, do not dream of escaping the pursuit of our branch office!"