Chapter 225: Land of the Extreme North

The Land of the Extreme North lay just ahead.

After crossing a vast snowfield, Jiuyou plunged straight into it.

The instant he entered the Ancient Battlefield, the surrounding blizzard abruptly ceased, replaced by a heavy, oppressive gloom. It was as if the world had been cleaved in two by a single blade—one side a vast white expanse of snow, the other a pitch-black realm of deathly silence.

The sky hung oppressively low, dyed as black as ink. The soil beneath his feet was scorched black, cracked, and hardened, offering no give; it felt more like treading on layers of compacted ash. Withered trees slanted across the wilderness in twisted shapes, looking as though some unseen force had violently wrung them out of the earth. Ribs of demonic beasts, thick as roof beams, lay half-buried in the scorched earth, their surfaces mottled and weathered from an untold number of years.

Jiuyou quickly scanned his surroundings. This Ancient Battlefield bore some resemblance to the Cold Ruins he had previously visited, but the yin energy here was far denser.

Streams of thick black fog flowed sluggishly along the ground. This was no ordinary mist, but rather yin energy so condensed it had taken physical form. Whenever a breeze swept past, faint whimpers echoed from the fog, as if invisible entities were slowly crawling through the gaps.

"It seems this is the Ancient Battlefield. The eerie yin energy truly lives up to its reputation." Xuan Zhenzi's voice rang out from the Heaven and Earth Ring. A tiny golden figure soon emerged, his gaze constantly sweeping over the surroundings.

Jiuyou did not reply. He merely took a golden Token from his Storage Pouch and tossed it into the air. The Token hovered there, flashing with golden light before projecting a map formed of fine, dense golden lines above it.

This was the very map left behind by Perfected Jinli, charting his route deep into this place. At its end, a spot marked with an X indicated where Perfected Jinli had discovered the Taiyi Divine Restriction all those years ago. Jiuyou had memorized the map and carved it into the Token, and today it was finally being put to use.

"To think it's a route map of this Ancient Battlefield," Xuan Zhenzi said, a hint of surprise in his tone. "You've hidden this quite well, kid. But remember, if this map is ancient, the paths on it might not be entirely safe anymore. You still need to be careful."

Jiuyou nodded and did not linger. He flew along the route marked on the map, his golden escape light slicing through the gloom before quickly shrinking into a thin line and vanishing into the distance.

The deeper he went, the heavier the yin energy became. The skeletal remains littering the ground also grew in number—both demonic beasts and humans—scattered across the scorched earth. They served as a grim reminder that countless people had once walked this path, but far more had stayed than ever left.

Jiuyou paid the bones no mind as he pressed forward. Along the way, he ran into a few foolish little ghosts and casually dispatched them.

After advancing roughly a thousand li into the Ancient Battlefield, the evil ghosts appeared more frequently, and their forms became increasingly bizarre. Some were humanoid but dragged long tails, while others resembled beasts with human faces. They came in all sorts of grotesque shapes, having clearly matured after feeding on the yin energy here for untold years. Their cultivation bases rose accordingly, but even the strongest were only at the Peak Foundation Establishment Stage, posing absolutely no threat to Jiuyou.

He spared none of them, even deliberately luring the evil ghosts into a single cluster to slaughter them all at once, refining their soul energy into the Nether Capital Gate. Sensing the soul energy within the gate steadily growing, Jiuyou felt somewhat satisfied. Using the Heaven and Earth Ring, he manipulated the flow of yin energy in the area without straying from his route, attracting several Golden Core stage evil ghosts. He killed them as well before continuing deeper.

These evil ghosts were ultimately too weak. Only if he encountered a ghost king at the Nascent Soul Stage would the effort truly be worthwhile.

Meanwhile, a million li away.

Atop a throne of black rock, a shadowy figure sat in silence. An ink-black cloak draped over his knees, its hood pulled low to reveal only the lower half of a withered face. He had black hair and a black beard, and a profound coldness settled over his brows. His eyes were entirely covered by a layer of pitch-black, revealing no trace of emotion. They looked like two old stones stripped of their luster embedded in his eye sockets, commanding an imposing presence without a shred of anger.

Below the throne, Xue Huomo knelt prostrate on the ground. This Supreme Great Elder of the Blood Abyss Sect currently had his back bent into a humble arc, respectfully holding a Storage Pouch high above his head, his posture lowered into the dust.

"Reporting to Senior, with your assistance in this conflict, our forces have progressed exceptionally smoothly."

He kept his voice extremely low, weighing every word.

"During the post-battle sweep, we searched Gu Daobian's body and found a top-grade spiritual stone, which we hereby present to you, Senior. Furthermore, this Storage Pouch contains many rare herbs and cultivation resources we gathered. We offer them all to you, and ask that you please look them over."

The Deity Transformation avatar casually raised his hand and pulled the Storage Pouch into his grasp. He opened the bag and gave it a cursory glance, the corners of his mouth curving slightly into an amused smile.

"Well done."

As he spoke, he extended a withered finger and gently brushed the surface of the bag, as if smoothing out an invisible crease. Then, he changed the subject.

"By the way, how is the investigation into the one who escaped? It would be a shame to waste a Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivator."

Hearing this, Xue Huomo's expression tightened slightly, and he quickly replied, "To answer Senior, this person's origins are quite mysterious. He is not from the Northern Plains, nor does he seem to be a local cultivator of Ganzhou. This subordinate carefully questioned the sect elders and disciples, and no one had ever heard his name before. At the very least, he is not from Dayong. It is possible he came from the Western Sea or Southern Frost. He goes by the name—Qing You."

"Qing You?" The Deity Transformation avatar's voice spiked abruptly, the final syllable trailing upward like a suddenly plucked string. He repeated the name, his tone carrying a trace of poorly concealed surprise and even a nearly imperceptible hint of joy, as if the name was not entirely unfamiliar to him.

Xue Huomo's heart tightened. Assuming he had failed to satisfy the other party, he hurriedly buried his head even lower and replied repeatedly, "Y-Yes."

But the Deity Transformation avatar did not press the matter further, merely falling into a brief silence.

That momentary quiet spread around the throne, far more unbearable than any reprimand.

A moment later, his voice returned to its former composure, though his tone grew slightly colder. "Never mind. For the sake of your sincerity, I will not look deeper into this. I am, after all, a Deity Transformation Cultivator. Bound by a long-standing agreement, it is inconvenient for me to frequently intervene in the struggles among your lot. How you proceed in the future will be up to you to decide. Furthermore, today's matters must never be leaked. If you dare to breathe a single word of this to the outside world, you should still remember my methods."

Before his voice even faded, his palm moved, and a Nascent Soul materialized out of thin air. Its spiritual light had yet to dissipate, and its facial features were still vaguely discernible—it was none other than Tan Chong, the commander of the Beiliang Mountain Fortress. At this moment, the Nascent Soul bore a look of sheer terror. Trapped within an invisible restraint, its limbs convulsed as it struggled desperately, completely unable to break free.

The Deity Transformation avatar remained expressionless as he slightly closed his palm. The Nascent Soul abruptly contorted and deformed, its spiritual light shattering. Like a crushed fruit, it turned into specks of fragmented light that scattered away, only to be swallowed by the surrounding yin energy in the blink of an eye, until even its final lingering glow was utterly gone.

Xue Huomo shuddered violently. Cold sweat seeped from his forehead, rolled down his temples, and dripped onto the black stone floor beneath his feet. His voice grew tight, trembling with every word: "This junior understands... I will engrave it in my heart! I would never dare leak even half a word to the outside world!"

The Deity Transformation avatar said nothing more, merely waving his hand to dismiss him. Feeling as though he had received a grand pardon, Xue Huomo crawled backward on the ground for several steps before finally daring to stand up, turn around, and leave.

The soles of his boots tapped out crisp sounds against the black stone floor. They echoed through the cavernous mountain interior for a short while before gradually fading away, completely swallowed by the sound of the wind.