Two years had passed since Qin Tian arrived at the Jade Pool Ruins.
On this day, Qin Tian finally cultivated all five Dao Palaces to perfection.
After all, whenever he opened a secret realm, he needed a long time to consolidate his gains, adapt to his soaring combat strength, comprehend the peculiarities of the Dao Palace Secret Realm, and ponder its essence and how he could tap into its potential in the future...
Then he would open another Dao Palace, beginning the cycle all over again and spending another considerable stretch of time.
Between one thing and another, two years had slipped by.
Qin Tian inscribed a Profound Jade Platform, adjusted its anchor point, and locked onto the location.
The Jade Pool Ruins were also in the Northern Region, very, very close to the Primordial Ancient Mine.
The lands surrounding the Primordial Ancient Mine were rich in Source Mines. Since the Primordial Ancient Mine took up the vast majority of the cosmic essence the Big Dipper Ancient Star absorbed and released each day, it was only natural that the surrounding lands were rich in resources.
Such abundant resources naturally drew covetous eyes from every faction. Yet the Primordial Ancient Mine was far too dangerous, and no one dared enter it. Countless ages ago, too many ominous things had happened within that ancient mine. Holy Lord after Holy Lord had entered and never returned, until no one dared set their sights on it again.
That place had become the legendary Ominous Land...
Thus, they could only divide up the resources outside the Primordial Ancient Mine.
With the Primordial Ancient Mine at its center, the territory within a hundred thousand li had been divided equally among the great holy lands.
In the Northern Region, although the Primordial Ancient Mine was the most mysterious and terrifying place, no calamity would come as long as one did not provoke it.
Those were merely the impressions the people of Big Dipper had of the Primordial Ancient Mine.
In reality, the Primordial Ancient Mine was a thousand, ten thousand times more terrifying than the world imagined.
Qin Tian knew better than the vast majority of people on Big Dipper just what lay inside the Primordial Ancient Mine.
Multiple Supremes were all hunkered down there together. Once they awakened, the entire universe would be plunged into extinction.
No one could stop this pack of Supremes from destroying the world.
Even the most terrifying Dark Turmoil in the future was merely seven Supremes beginning a hunt to replenish themselves with food.
If he really teleported inside, all he could say was... wait to die.
So Qin Tian was extremely careful with his inscriptions. He knew he had a habit of being careless, and the Jade Pool Ruins were so close to the Primordial Ancient Mine that their location was exceedingly dangerous.
When he had ventured into the Fire Domain before, his carelessness had left him with his backside scorched.
A scorched backside was nothing. He could take it as a lesson.
But the Primordial Ancient Mine was not somewhere he could casually enter and leave. It was far too dangerous.
If he ran into some monster or fiend, he really would get in but never get out.
So this time, Qin Tian took exceptional care when inscribing the formation diagram, afraid that, like the Black Emperor, he might draw something slightly off and teleport himself into the Primordial Ancient Mine. Then he would have nowhere even to cry.
Soon, Qin Tian finished inscribing the formation platform and stepped onto it. The next instant, the Profound Jade Platform activated. Void Shift! Qin Tian vanished from the spot.
There was absolute stillness, no passage of time, no light or shadow appearing. Within the pitch-black void, all was extraordinarily silent.
It seemed like a fleeting instant, yet also like ten lifetimes. This strange journey finally ended, allowing him to feel the flow of time again.
The void split open, and Qin Tian arrived near Purple Mountain.
"What a familiar sight. It really puts me in a foul mood!" Qin Tian said.
As far as his eyes could see, the land was desolate: red soil, reddish-brown rocks, bleakness and barren silence.
The boundless land was utterly empty, without the slightest sign of life. Only a scattering of bare stone mountains dotted the horizon.
This was a barren land, devoid of vitality. Not a soul was in sight, and everything lay under a pall of deathly stillness.
The northern lands produced Source Stones. Even a small village could dig pieces of Source of various sizes from the ground. As a result, the people here were fierce, roving bandits were everywhere, and blood was shed every day. It was a land of chaos in every sense.
It was like a certain Middle Eastern region on Blue Star. As for why bloodshed and conflict had become everyday occurrences, that was naturally the will of a certain Uncle Eagle-a supreme power.
Under that unspoken will, the roving bandits were like locusts: one swarm left, and another arrived.
Every part of the Northern Region was the same: utterly chaotic.
Powerful roving bandits came from all over the Eastern Wasteland in an unspoken accord. Even wanderers from the Central Province and the Northern Desert came for Source, forming one terrifying force after another.
Even the holy lands could not rest easy. Their Source Areas were also in danger of being plundered.
After all, the holy lands had conflicts among themselves, but it was inconvenient to clash openly. Once war broke out, it would be no laughing matter.
They could only resort to certain methods behind the scenes.
The Great Bandits made an excellent excuse.
After all, it was the Great Bandits robbing your Source Areas. What did that have to do with our holy land?
To put it bluntly, this bunch of Great Bandits were shit-stirring sticks, used specifically to take the blame-for example, a certain Great Bandit from the Jiang Family.
Of course, there were also genuine Great Bandits who made a profession of it. A place like Big Dipper certainly had no shortage of prodigies. When they needed resources, what paid best? Being a Great Bandit, of course.
Thus, the Northern Region was chaotic to the extreme.
The Source fields of supreme powers, genuine Great Bandits, the holy lands' dirty-work proxies, the various sects carving out their own territories, and the Horse Bandits under those sects...
In short, "complicated" alone could not begin to describe it.
Along the way, Qin Tian saw oases scattered across the reddish-brown earth, some only a few li across, others spanning more than a thousand li.
What he saw and heard certainly confirmed the outside world's assessment of the Northern Region's fierce people.
He witnessed plenty of bloodshed. Battles broke out regularly over oases and Source Mines.
Suddenly, more than a hundred riders appeared on the horizon, moving at tremendous speed. Like a whirlwind, they kicked up towering clouds of dust and reached Qin Tian in the blink of an eye.
Their mounts were no ordinary horses. All of them gleamed with scales, tall, long-bodied, and powerfully built. These were Dragon Scale Horses, horse-shaped creatures covered in blue-green scales that could travel four or five thousand li a day without tiring.
"Chief, I smell Source on that kid!"
"Stop him!" The chief licked the corner of his mouth, his face lighting up with delight as he gave the order.
With his keen senses, Qin Tian heard their exchange from afar. "Hmm, it seems I'm about to experience the Northern Region's unique local flavor."
Qin Tian had spent three years in the Northern Region, first trapped in a mine and then being hunted. This was his first encounter with something like this.
The corners of Qin Tian's mouth lifted slightly. "Robbery? Interesting!"
Soon, more than a hundred Dragon Scale Horses surrounded him, blocking his path.
The leader shouted, "Hand over all the Source you're carrying, or this will be where your bones are buried."
Qin Tian shook his head. "People on Big Dipper really are ignorant."
His tone was calm as he said quite seriously, "If you run in these circles, don't you know there are four kinds of people you must never provoke?"
"Oh? Which four?" one of the Horse Bandits asked curiously.
"The elderly, Daoist priests, children, and women!"
"I'm both a Daoist priest and a child, yet you still dare provoke me. You really don't know whether you'll live or die."
Qin Tian had taken Duan De as his master, and Duan De considered himself a Daoist priest. Thus, Qin Tian felt that he counted as a disciple of the Dao Sect too, and usually wore Daoist robes.
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