The Ancient Stone Wall was not completely sealed off. There were stone gates where the main roads passed through. They certainly dared not open them at night, only for a few hours when the daytime sun was strongest. These were lifelines for ordinary people, allowing people and supplies to pass...
Traffic was sparse indeed. Traveling this road truly meant carrying your head in your hands, but the profits were also considerable. Wealth and honor were sought amid danger.
After standing atop the Ancient Stone Wall for a long while and finishing his reflections, Hou Niao urged his horse toward the stone gate on the main road. With his abilities, and since the Stone Wall Formation targeted Soul Ghosts rather than humans, he could simply have leaped across;
But although he could jump across, his horse might not. Besides, he had to have his papers stamped by the gate guards to prove he had actually entered Yinling rather than idling away his days outside.
It was noon, with the blazing sun directly overhead. Under such conditions, very few Soul Ghosts dared wander about. They waited until sunset and dusk to begin appearing, growing more numerous as the night deepened. This was characteristic of the vast majority of ordinary Soul Ghosts; high-ranking ones, of course, were another matter.
There were more soldiers at the stone gate than traveling merchants. They inspected everyone in turn without letting a single person slip by, particularly those coming from Yinling, for fear they might bring something unclean with them.
Besides a hundred or so mortal soldiers, there were four cultivators: three at Qi Gathering and one at Foundation Cultivation. The Qi Gathering cultivators were presumably local cultivation prospects from Miaogao Town, duty-bound to undertake assignments such as protecting their hometown. The Foundation Cultivation Realm cultivator was