Duan De truly lived up to his title of Unprincipled Daoist. Far from ordinary, he led Lu Chen and several young cultivators through one winding, secluded path after another, easily slipping past the Various Holy Lands' blockade of the Source mining region.
For more than ten days, they traveled in fits and starts, passing through vast uninhabited regions and crossing the sprawling Gobi wilderness before finally reaching the outskirts of the Primordial Ancient Mine.
Of course, these so-called outskirts were still a thousand miles from the legendary Life Forbidden Zone of the Primordial Ancient Mine.
"Let me warn you all first: even the outskirts of the Ancient Mine hold certain dangers. There's something sinister about this region, too, so don't speak carelessly!" Duan De reminded them solemnly.
Everyone agreed readily enough on the surface, but their hearts were probably far less obedient. Beyond wanting a glimpse of the legendary Life Forbidden Zone, these young cultivators likely hoped to bring back some precious stone.
The outskirts of the Primordial Ancient Mine were filled with immortal mineral deposits. In the Holy Lands' stone shops in Divine City, the stones that routinely cost a hundred thousand catties of Source apiece had all been dug up here and transported over. That alone showed how precious the source stones here were.
Unfortunately, the Various Holy Lands had occupied and sealed off all these deposits. Ordinary cultivators could not possibly dig up even a single piece, but some bold cultivators would always pay a price to have local power brokers from Source City lead them to the Ancient Mine's outskirts.
Although Duan De was not one of Source City's local power brokers, he was unfathomably mysterious. He had fought his way in and out of the Azure Emperor's Yin Tomb in the Southern Region several times