The border of Great Wei.
The north wind swept up yellow sand, surging across the cracked Gobi like furious waves.
Green was scarce across the vast, desolate land.
Rows of gray-green tents stood at the foot of two black mountains shaped like camel humps.
This was the Great Wei military camp.
The camp was divided into four main camps: Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding.
Xu Mingxuan was stationed in Ding Camp and had even been appointed a squad captain, with fifty soldiers under his command.
He had initially thought this was merely a war along the border, but only after arriving had he learned that a Blackiron Essence Stone Mine had been discovered on the border between Great Wei and Great Liang.
The two nations had gone to war to seize the mineral resources.
Great Wei now held the upper hand and occupied the mine, but the Great Liang Army had not given up and frequently launched sneak attacks.
Blackiron Essence Ore was an excellent material for forging Mortal Iron Treasure Weapons.
It could also be used to make cultivators' Magical Artifacts.
Some in Great Wei speculated that the deposit was substantial and might contain a certain amount of Blackiron Essence Mother.
Blackiron Essence Mother was exceptionally rare and could be used to make Foundation Establishment Magical Artifacts.
The few men who had come from the Xu Household were now scattered throughout the military camp.
The camp's rules were strict. Even on days off, they were forbidden from leaving their own camp area, so over the past few years, Xu Mingxuan had only seen Li Zhi and Chen Daniu.
Both were in Yi Camp.
Chen Daniu was even a soldier serving under Li Zhi.
Xu Mingxuan would never have known if they had not happened to cross paths while mining.