Wind and Snow Pass East Gate in the early morning is colder than other places in the inner city.
Qin Tiexin followed Nangong Yao and Li Yun towards the east gate of the inner city wall. The city wall is about ten feet high, much lower than the outer city wall. The wall is also carved with dense defense Spirit Rune, glowing with a light blue shimmer, but compared with the A Thousand Hammerings and a Hundred Refinements Heaviness feeling of the outer city wall, it still lacks a little bit of the accumulation of time - this inner city wall was built later.
There is a checkpoint at the city gate, and four disciples wearing Ice and Snow Pavilion costumes are on duty. Their cultivation level is Foundation Establishment Early Stage. The leader is a middle-aged female cultivator, Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, with a serious face. When her eyes swept over the three of them, they stopped at Qin Tiexin.
"Logistics refiner?" She glanced at Qin Tiexin's identity jade tag, "Going out to collect materials?"
"Yes." Qin Tiexin handed over the pass.
The female cultivator took it and carefully checked the seal and date on the talisman paper. After confirming that they were correct, she looked at the guard registrations of Nangong Yao and Li Yun and nodded. She took out a palm-sized bronze mirror and looked at the three of them - there was a soft halo on the mirror, but there was no abnormal reaction.
"The identity is correct." The female cultivator put away the bronze mirror, handed back the pass, and said, "Open the formation."
A disciple next to him formed a seal with his hands and penetrated the formation patterns on both sides of the city gate. Behind the stone gate of Heaviness, a pale golden halo slowly emerged, like ripples on the water, filling the doorway.
"You can pass through the halo." The female cultivator stepped aside and said, "When you get to the outer wall, remember to register with senior Golden Core."
The moment the three people passed through the halo, it was as if they had passed through a thin film. Their bodies paused slightly, and the scene in front of them changed rapidly - from the Guanzhong gate on the inner city wall to the transition zone between the outer wall and the inner wall.
The corridor between the inner city wall and the outer city wall is much wider than Qin Tiexin imagined. It is about twenty feet wide, with flat bluestone slabs on the ground and towering city walls on both sides. The walls are covered with densely packed Spirit Rune - insulation, protection, Rebound, and attack, layer upon layer, extending from the foot of the wall to the top of the wall.
Qin Tiexin Looking up, those Spirit Runes are intricately intertwined, like a huge tapestry covering the entire city wall. Some Spirit Runes are so old that their traces are somewhat blurred; some are brand new and were obviously only added in recent years.
According to the records in the classics and the information Wind and Snow Pass has learned in the past few months, these Spirit Runes were carved by generations of monks over hundreds of years after the Ice and Snow Pavilion moved. From a few places at the beginning, they now cover the entire pass. Each stroke was carved one by one with the time bought with his life after fighting with Devil Race.
The corridor is not empty. You can see groups of monks coming and going every now and then - some have just returned from outside the city, their armor is stained with frost and blood, their faces are tired, and their steps are in a hurry; some are preparing to leave the city, sorting out their equipment and checking Law Artifact under the city wall. There are also a few Rogue Cultivator-looking people leaning against the wall, talking in a low voice.
The three of them walked along the corridor for about an hour before arriving at the gate of the outer city wall.
The gates on the outer city wall are heavier and larger than those on the inner city wall. The two Heaviness and Mysterious Iron gates are covered with a layer of light blue black ice - not formed by natural condensation, but formed by formations. The protective layer formed after power penetrates into the metal structure. The densely packed Spirit Rune on the city gate are denser than those on both sides of the corridor. They are nested layer by layer, like a giant net woven by light, covering the entire door opening.
But if you don't look carefully, you can't even tell that this is a city gate - there are almost no gaps in the wall here, giving people the illusion that "this wall cannot be opened at all."
In the darkness on both sides of the city gate, Qin Tiexin could clearly sense four auras that were as dense as the abyss. Each one was as motionless as a mountain, but like a sharp sword about to be unsheathed, it was hidden but not revealed, drawn but not revealed.
Golden Core monks. Four Golden Core monks are permanently stationed at this city gate.
There were already several teams waiting in line at the city gate. Qin Tiexin glanced at them - about three or four teams, seven or eight people, most of whom were injured or carrying bulging Storage Bag, who had obviously just returned from outside the city. There were also people following Nangong Yao and Li Yun greeted - "Deputy Nangong, Junior Sister Li, are you going out of the city today?" A strong man with a rough face nodded towards them. When his eyes glanced at Qin Tiexin, he paused briefly and didn't ask any more questions.
Nangong Yao smiled and responded with a few words.
There weren't many people in line, and soon it was three people's turn.
A Golden Core monk in front of the city gate raised his hand to signal the three of them to stop. He looked to be in his early forties, with an ordinary face. He wore a washed gray robe, his eyes were calm, and his tone was casual:
"Identity Jade Tag."
The three handed it over. Brother Golden Core took it, and Divine Sense swept it away - the three people's cultivation, identity, and spiritual characteristics were all clear to Golden Core monk Divine Sense. Any possibility of concealment. His eyes paused for a moment on Qin Tiexin's identity jade tag. The identity of the logistics refiner, Deacon Wang's handwriting and seal, and Spirit Rune on the collection pass were all no problem.
He handed back the jade token, stretched out his right hand, and pointed it like a sword, making a virtual draw in front of the three people. A light golden light flew out from the fingertips, and penetrated into the back of each of the three people's hands, leaving a mark the size of a fingernail, which slowly disappeared under the skin.
"The voucher for returning to the city is valid for three days." said monk Golden Core. He looked at Qin Tiexin again. "This is your first time leaving the customs?"
"Yes." Qin Tiexin responded.
Golden Core monk didn't say much, he just said, "Don't spend the night outside the customs for collection tasks. Watch the sky. Before dark, no matter what the harvest, you must come back."
After saying that, he turned around and nodded to another Golden Core monk next to him. The monk formed a seal with his hands and entered the city gate. The densely packed Spirit Rune on the city gate began to flow, making a low buzzing sound. On the Heaviness Mysterious Iron city gate, a thin crack slowly opened and gradually expanded until a passage for three people to walk parallel was formed.
Cold air poured in from the crack in the door.
That is a completely different wind from Guan Nei - drier, colder, and harder. The wind is mixed with fine ice crystal powder, which stings slightly on the face, as if it has been rubbed by fine sand. Qin Tiexin Take a deep breath, that coldness Penetration's nasal cavity went straight into the lungs, and even the spiritual power in the body seemed to have been frozen for a moment, but was then forcibly pushed back to flow by Body Tempering Ninth Layer's Qi and Blood.
The three of them walked out of the city gate without stopping.
The moment you step out of Wind and Snow Pass, the world suddenly opens up.
Behind you is Baizhang Pass, cold and silent; in front of you is an endless gray-white ice field, stretching to the distant skyline. Under your feet is the extremely hard frozen soil and stone ground, covered with a thin layer of ice ballast, which makes a "clicking" sound when you step on it. The air is dry and cold, and when you breathe it into your lungs, it has a stinging sensation like finely broken ice ballast.
About ten miles to the east, there is an endless plain of ice and snow. There is no grass, not a single exposed rock, and the ground is flat as if it has been cut by a giant blade. A few miles away, you can see the figures of several patrol teams moving slowly in the sky - those are the Golden Core monks on duty, responsible for patrolling this area.
And further away, ten miles away - on the horizon, a rich black color spreads to the ground, forming a strong contrast with the gray-white sky.
That's a forest.
But Qin Tiexin has never seen such a forest.
The trees were extremely tall, with twisted and knotted branches, showing an almost black deep green. The canopies were layered, blocking out the sky and the sun. Even in broad daylight, the depths of the forest were dark, and the scene inside could not be seen clearly. There was a vague, slightly decayed atmosphere permeating the air, mixed with the cold.
This is Devil Domain Forest.
The three of them continued walking eastward along the ice sheet. The frozen soil under their feet was as solid as a rock, and the open plain seemed particularly quiet. After walking for about half an hour, they were less than ten feet away from the forest.
Li Yun stopped, turned to Qin Tiexin and said, "We're here."
She pointed to the black forest. "When Wind and Snow Pass was built, the ten miles east of the outer wall was originally the scope of Devil Domain Forest. Devil Race used the cover of the forest to approach the city wall many times and launch raids. Later, Ice and Snow Pavilion took the lead, and several Golden Core monks worked together to cast spells to cut down all the trees ten miles outside the east city wall. Even the roots in the ground were burned cleanly with fire spiritual power, and restrictions were placed to ensure that life was cut off. From then on, this ten-mile vacuum zone was formed."
Qin Tiexin Scanned the surroundings, there were indeed no trees as far as the eye could see - only frozen soil covered with thin ice, and occasionally a few raised rocks, whose edges Sharpness had been worn by the cold wind for many years to be as smooth as a knife blade.
Li Yun continued, "But you can't go further east. This is the dividing line between the actual control of both sides. If the human race dares to push the forest further forward, Devil Race will think that this is a signal for a full-scale attack. So The human race's current strength in Northern Frontier is not enough to simultaneously cope with Devil Race's comprehensive counterattack and supplement the consumption of the front line. So this is the tacit limit - if you don't come over, I won't go over either."
Nangong Yao stood on the other side of Qin Tiexin, scanning the edge of the forest with vigilant eyes. He did not participate in Li Yun's introduction. Most of his attention was focused on using Divine Sense to explore the surrounding environment. Her safety awareness of Qin Tiexin was still that of a "refiner who came out of seclusion for the first time".
Li Yun looked to the north. "We are now in the southern section of the forest. I need to go to the more northerly area - the terrain there is more complex, and the concentration of ice system Spiritual Qi is also higher. Profound Ice Crystal Marrow will only form in that environment."
She turned to Nangong Yao and Qin Tiexin: "Let's go and talk as we go. Staying in an open area for too long will make you an easy target."
The three of them didn't stop any longer, turned around, and walked north along the edge of the forest.
The further north you go, the heavier the Cold Qi is. The snow begins to thicken, from a thin layer at first, to gradually covering your ankles. The road also begins to become difficult to walk - the originally flat frozen soil becomes undulating, and occasionally you need to go around boulders and cracks covered in ice and snow.
Qin Tiexin ran Wood Phase Steps, with light and steady steps, following behind the two of them, without any disturbance in their breath.
Nangong Yao walked at the front, responsible for guarding the front. Her white cloak fluttered slightly in the cold wind, and her steps were neat. She occasionally stopped to use Divine Sense to explore the edge of the forest ahead, and then continued forward after confirming that there was nothing abnormal.
Li Yun walked next to Qin Tiexin, keeping half a step away, and noticed that Qin Tiexin's breathing was smooth and normal, with no signs of coldness or fatigue, and he didn't say much.
It took about another one stick of incense to walk.
The depths of the forest are still dark and unfathomable, as if something unpredictable is hidden. But behind them, the city wall of Wind and Snow Pass has turned into a thin white line on the horizon, getting farther and farther and lighter.