At the far western edge of the Eastern Region stood a mountain named You.
The You Mountain Grand Vein stretched for tens of thousands of miles, its slopes sheer as though hewn by blades and axes, smothered year-round beneath thick clouds and mist.
The rules in this land were very different from those elsewhere in the Eastern Region.
Renowned orthodox sects, great aristocratic clans-none of them carried any weight here in You Mountain.
The ones whose word truly counted were the mighty figures of the Demon Race entrenched in its deep mountains and ancient forests.
This was because deep within You Mountain sat the Self-Growing Earth Lineage, one of the twenty-five Dao Orthodoxies.
From the elders in power down to the servants sweeping the floors, eight or nine out of every ten members were demons.
As those above led, those below followed, and the lands surrounding the You Mountain Grand Vein naturally became the domain of the Demon Race.
Human cultivators wishing to gain a foothold here had to tread with utmost care, as though walking on thin ice.
Within You Mountain.
There were also a handful of cities.
One of them was called Cinnabar Radiance City.
Today, the sprawling Ma Residence in the east of the city was adorned with lanterns and festive decorations, its high walls draped in red silk.
Even the two stone guardian lions that normally stood so imposingly at the entrance had large red flowers tied around their necks, making them look rather comical.
Firecrackers thundered, and scraps of red paper covered the ground like a crimson carpet.
The joyous atmosphere almost drove away the chill of late autumn.
The Ma Family was a respected clan of cultivators in Falling Star City.
Established several thousand years ago, it had amassed considerable wealth and resources by