The autumn wind whispered.
Across the boundless golden wilderness, countless wild grasses rose and fell like a lion's mane, rippling in layers beneath the wind.
Mountains rose and fell in the distance, stretching endlessly in gray-black hues.
Between the wilderness and the mountains lay a transition zone that gradually shifted from yellow to black. A man rode a chestnut steed slowly through the weeds.
The steady clop of hooves rang out. The rider wore white, with a black longsword on his back. He appeared to be around thirty, with a small mustache above his lip that lent him an air of calm solemnity.
"Once I cross this grassland, I'll enter Yuefu Territory..."
The rider was Lin Xin, who had only recently left the sect. He had brought no attendants, traveling alone on horseback with a bundle of dried provisions and water. Whenever he rested along the road these past few days, he had been studying the formation he had newly acquired. The materials required for the formation were only partly available within the sect; he had to seek out the rest himself. Thus, he had no choice but to leave alone, intending to stop by the black market on his way back and purchase some needed materials.
"The black market lies to the left. I need to pick up the pace." He took a disguise mask from his robes. He had obtained it after killing someone in the trial cave back then, and he was still using it after all these years. Its practicality was first-rate. Many times, he had relied on this mask and concealment formations to enter and leave the black market safely without having his identity exposed.
Urging his horse onward, he was just about to turn left when he suddenly spotted a black-robed Daoist standing amid