In the northeastern Yue Kingdom lay a vast wasteland. A long rift canyon cut through its center, and within it was a sizable spirit stone vein.
For several thousand years, this Spirit Stone Mine had been one of the chief sources of spirit stones for the Yue Kingdom's Seven Sects.
But after the Demonic Path invaded over a hundred years ago, the Spirit Stone Mine had lain abandoned for a long time. Later, the Demonic Path occupied it and mined it relentlessly until the entire vein was exhausted. By now, hardly any spirit stones could be dug up here.
As a result, the major sects had abandoned the vein, leaving only rogue cultivators to try their luck. Though the yield was meager, a stone or two still turned up occasionally, making it a decent source of resources for low-level rogue cultivators.
Where there were resources, people would gather; where there were people, there would be a world of rivalries. Thus, quite a few rogue cultivator groups had sprung up here, jointly monopolizing and managing the abandoned vein.
The Four Friends of Qijin were one of the middling rogue cultivator groups. Though there were only four of them, all were late-stage Qi Refining cultivators at the ninth level or above, giving them considerable strength among these groups. They had done fairly well at the Spirit Stone Mine over the years, occasionally extorting the spirit stones they needed for cultivation.
Several dozen li from the vein lay a network of underground limestone caves with passages branching in every direction. The spiritual energy here was sparse, and the place had attracted no cultivators' attention over the years.
The Four Friends of Qijin had chosen these caves as their base, returning here to rest and recover after every fight. In over ten years, no