If they could not pay the sum, they could offer items of equivalent value instead.
But if they had nothing to offer, continuing deeper into the north was simply impossible.
Even immortal ships arriving from the Central Region faced such demands. For independent travelers like Yang Xuanzhou and his companions, who explored on foot, reaching the depths of the north was harder still.
Once they entered the snowy mountains, they had to guard against powerful Demon Beasts lurking among the peaks and find ways through the blocking formations the northern factions had laid in advance. Traveling was far more difficult than before.
For that reason, the four of them slowed noticeably after entering the mountains.
Yang Xuanzhou and the other two were formidable and had plenty of life-saving trump cards, but in unfamiliar territory, caution could do no harm.
Thanks to the three Yang Clan members' various abilities, they spent the first few days skirting traps and bewildering formations without serious danger. They even slipped right under the nose of an Early-Spiritual Connection Realm Demon Beast.
By this point, Sun Changfeng was deeply moved.
If he had not happened upon the three young friends from the Yang Clan, his own abilities would probably have left him heading home with grievous injuries by now. How could he have made it into the snowy mountains to search farther?
Then, on the tenth day after the four entered the mountains, Yang Xuanzhou's Eagle-Eye Dharma Form caught an exceedingly faint disturbance.
It was not an ordinary fluctuation of spiritual power or true essence. It felt more like a tremor in the surrounding space.
Before Sun Changfeng noticed anything, the three Yang Clan children had already begun exchanging thoughts through their soul flames.
"Xuan Qing, Xuan Lang, something unusual is stirring. Can either of you