Mystic Ice Passage
Lin Xiao swore to the heavens that even if he occasionally went into the city for a stroll along the way, the time he wasted was basically no more than half a day! At most, no more than a day!
So the South Spirit Domain and North Spirit Domain really are small!
Unlike the flat border between the South Spirit Domain and North Spirit Domain and the Mysterious Extreme Domain, the temperature decreased as they went further.
The map shows a series of snow-capped mountains ahead, and above these mountains, the entire sky is shrouded in a perpetual fog and strong winds, forming an invisible barrier.
It is said that the gale above is particularly strong, a violent and chaotic mixture of Spiritual Qi and unknown energies that many cultivators cannot distinguish, raging and sweeping through, making it difficult even for Spirit Transformation Stage cultivators with profound Spiritual Power to pass through safely.
The continuous snow-capped mountains in this area are not formed from ordinary rocks. The mountains themselves are extremely hard and contain a high-quality iron ore for refining weapons, called Mystic Ice Metal Iron).
However, mining this Mystic Ice Metal Iron is extremely difficult. The hardness of this ore is so high that it is difficult for ordinary cultivators to break through it. It is very difficult for Nascent Soul below the Nascent Soul stage to leave a mark on it. Even Spirit Transformation cultivator would have to exert a lot of effort to carve out a small piece.
As for Void Return cultivators, there is currently no information from anywhere that any Void Return cultivators would condescend to brave the fierce winds that could turn their robes into worn-out clothes to come here to mine iron ore, so it is unclear at the moment.
Not to mention that the surface of this snow mountain, made of Mystic Ice Metal Iron, is also covered with a layer of energy very similar to the unknown energy in the gale. This protective energy also has the ability to rebound; any force that tries to destroy it will be deflected upon touching this energy.
The most outrageous thing is that ordinary formations with this kind of rebound ability can be gradually weakened over time, but this energy seems to have no weakening. No matter how much effort the cultivator puts in or how strong the Law Technique is, it doesn't budge and shows no sign of weakening. This makes all the cultivators who want to mine for money despair.
Gradually, no one made these futile attempts anymore.
However, in the continuous snow-capped mountains, which are considered extremely dangerous for most cultivators, there is a long passage. This passage is free from the fierce winds that can tear ordinary people and low-level cultivators apart, and even Nascent Spirit Transformation Stage cultivators would find it difficult to escape unscathed. It has become the only safe connection between the Mysterious Extreme Domain and the Chongxiao Domain.
Only Qingle specifically pointed out on the map that ordinary people might not feel anything after entering, but the Spiritual Power within cultivators of all levels would seem to be disturbed to varying degrees, as if affected by some special magnetic field and somewhat difficult to control.
Therefore, cultivators who enter should pass through quickly and not linger for too long, otherwise, if their Spiritual Power remains chaotic for too long, they are prone to going into qi Qi Deviation.
This passage is completely natural, showing no signs of human intervention. However, Qingle noted on the map that, according to legend, it was a passage opened up by several powerful beings a long, long time ago.
However, the exact time ago and which powerful figures were involved are now impossible to trace.
This passage is called the Mystic Ice Passage.
Both sides of the Mystic Ice Passage are guarded by people from nearby sects and cities.
Some might think this arrangement suggests a good relationship between the two spiritual realms, but the reality is quite the opposite.
The relationship between the Mysterious Extreme Domain and the Chongxiao Domain is quite ordinary, even somewhat strained.
Regardless of their status, anyone wanting to enter the other spiritual realm through the Mystic Ice Passage, the only safe passage, must pay a fee.
From this perspective, it doesn't seem to make any sense. After all, it's customary in the Immortal Cultivation Realm to charge an entrance fee to a city, so it doesn't seem unreasonable for this passage connecting the two spiritual realms to charge an entrance fee to the spiritual realm as well.
If the cultivators guarding both ends of the Mystic Ice Passage hadn't clashed so many times over the fact that the other side charged higher fees for entering the Spirit Realm than they did.
Perhaps due to changes in management personnel, the fees charged at both ends of the passageway always change after decades or even centuries of peace and mediation.
Sometimes the adjustment is made by the Mysterious Extreme Domain, and sometimes it's made by the Chongxiao Domain.
Then, after receiving the news, the other side will come knocking on our door in a huff: Why are your fees higher than ours? Are you trying to imply that your Chongxiao Domain (Mysterious Extreme Domain) is better than our Mysterious Extreme Domain (Chongxiao Domain)?
Then, a disagreement escalated into a full-blown fight.
The Mystic Ice Passage was frequently engulfed in battle, and at that time, no matter how eager a cultivator was to cross the Spirit Realm, they would not be willing to risk their lives to go in.
It's not that these guards are particularly powerful. The main reason is that there are indeed many of them fighting. Another reason is that these cultivators who fight in the Mystic Ice Passage stay for too long and frequently use a large amount of their Spiritual Power in the passage, which makes them prone to Qi Deviation.
A cultivator who Qi Deviation is not much different from a reckless madman. They will overdraw their life and cultivation to fight, so how could a cultivator who just wants to pass by peacefully dare to get involved?
They could only wait in vain until the two sides fought to a standstill or until the leaders from both spiritual realms came down to handle the situation and restore order to the Mystic Ice Passage before they could pass through as quickly as possible.
As for the issue of fees, it will eventually be settled after the war subsides, and both sides will return to a state of equal fees.
This return to equality simply means that both sides are now equal, but the specific amount will not fall back to the same level as before. Instead, it will generally be a few Spirit Stone more than before.
Over time, the toll for this Mystic Ice Passage became quite expensive.
After learning about this situation, Lin Xiao strongly suspected that this was a deliberate tactic by the forces guarding the entrances and exits of the passage on both sides, in order to "reluctantly" and reasonably increase the toll.
The cost is that every few decades or centuries, approximately a few dozen cultivators must be stationed there to guard the area...
"You never know," Lin Xiao thought to himself, trying to be as cynical as possible. "In the Immortal Cultivation Realm, where there's no shortage of cultivators, you never really know."
Fortunately, it should still be quite safe for him when he arrived. He did some research on the way and heard that the last time the two sides clashed over prices was more than ten years ago, which is far from the time when the next conflict would occur under normal circumstances.
Lin Xiao arrived at the entrance of the Mystic Ice Passage. After paying the toll of three hundred Spirit Stone as indicated on the sign hanging to the side, he successfully entered the Mystic Ice Passage and left the Mysterious Extreme Domain.
As soon as he entered the Mystic Ice Passage, he quickly checked the chaotic state of his Spiritual Power, as Qingle had warned him about, but found that it didn't seem to be the case.
He immediately realized that the effects of the Mystic Ice Passage on Spiritual Power seemed to have no effect on Origin Qi.
This put Lin Xiao at ease, and he maintained his chivalrous image as he leisurely walked into the passage.