Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival, many updates and many monthly passes are expected! The 4000-character chapter count for today has already reached nine thousand characters, which amounts to three chapters' worth! But regardless of that, Baili will continue writing now, aiming to write as much as possible, seeking your support with monthly passes!! The Spirit Mist Grand Canyon lies over two hundred li west of Xian Yuan City.
It is perpetually shrouded in thick mist, which disperses and gathers unpredictably.
When the mist clears, the valley floor suddenly opens up.
Then, a surge of fog rushes in, almost blinding one’s sight.
It is rumored that various low-level demon beasts roam the canyon, posing a significant threat, such that even Foundation Establishment cultivators dare not easily enter.
Within the Grand Canyon, stone forests, dormant volcanoes, black magma rock, abyssal rifts, lakes, rivers, and towering ancient trees are visible everywhere.
The canyon walls rise a thousand zhang high on both sides, sheer cliffs piercing the heavens—a truly breathtaking sight.
And opposite the Spirit Mist Grand Canyon lies the Spirit Mist Mountain Range, where the great sects are entrenched.
Xian Yuan City bustled, tens of thousands of cultivators, having secured their documentation, streamed toward the Spirit Mist Grand Canyon.
Even more cultivators, unaware that this year’s mission scrolls had been issued three days early, were leisurely arriving from hundreds of different nations to this plateau desert, entering Xian Yuan City.
Ye Qin’s nine-person squad followed the large contingent of low-level cultivators rushing out of Xian Yuan City.
They exchanged no words, focusing only on speeding toward the Spirit Mist Grand Canyon.
Whoever claimed the spiritual materials inside the canyon first would possess them.
The sects’ mission scrolls stipulated that whoever completed the task first would be accepted; disciple slots were limited and filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
Although the number of disciples accepted by the major sects was minuscule—nearly one in a thousand—they still held onto that sliver of hope.
No one dared to delay, unleashing their unique arts: Light Body Techniques, Wind Riding Arts, running and leaping, and even employing the footwork of secular martial artists.
Those who were poor at the Wind Riding Art were the unluckiest, instantly falling behind the main group.
Ye Qin’s squad was no exception.
Barely ten li out of the city, the speed differences among the nine members became apparent as they sprinted.
Xu Qing was the fastest.
He had long shed his spiritual artifact armor, which weighed over a thousand jin, donning a light, flexible white cloth shirt instead.
However, he still kept his golden sword belted at his waist; its weight was manageable and did not impede his speed.
Next were the sisters, Feng Man and Qin Yi.
The remaining five or six members had similar speeds.
The slowest was the burly, tall Xia Lao Hei.
He strode forward with a fluid movement, covering three or four zhang in a single step, not appearing clumsy.
His skill was certainly superior to secular martial artists’ lightness kung fu, but compared to the Wind Riding Arts used by the others in the squad, he was still several degrees slower.
The others had to slow their pace slightly so Xia Lao Hei could keep up.
Ye Qin exerted only about five or six tenths of his strength, employing the Wind Riding Art, maintaining a steady, unhurried flight.
He ran alongside Zhang Zhe and Fan Jia Sheng, not trying to break ahead.
He occasionally glanced back at the massive crowd of cultivators behind them, feeling a subtle anxiety.
Their group had departed the city earliest, but there were at least three to five thousand people.
Once they reached the Spirit Mist Grand Canyon, how could so many cultivators gather medicinal herbs? Would they simply rush in, relying on individual prowess to snatch them? After running for only a short time, about ten li from Xian Yuan City, The leader, Xu Qing, frowned, clearly pondering this issue.
He suddenly changed direction.
Instead of following the main group of cultivators toward the nearest entry point of the Spirit Mist Grand Canyon, he sped downstream along the canyon.
As soon as Xu Qing turned, the other eight members of the squad followed without hesitation, veering away from the main mass of cultivators and heading downstream.
Although they were puzzled about where Xu Qing was taking them, Xu Qing was a veteran who had completed this sect mission more than ten times and was unlikely to lead them astray.
“Cousin, where are we going?” Zhang Zhe, seeing them break away from the main crowd, asked out of confusion.
“The Spirit Mist Grand Canyon stretches for a million li.
There are at least a hundred access points into the canyon.
There’s no need to fight over the nearest passage with so many people.
I’m taking you to a passage that requires a longer journey but has fewer people,” Xu Qing replied casually, then stopped talking, focusing only on the run.
The others didn't press the issue and followed.
It took them nearly half a day to arrive at a recessed point on the cliff face of the Spirit Mist Grand Canyon.
At this alcove entrance, three or four squads of cultivators had already occupied the best positions near the canyon entrance, waiting to enter the valley.
Xu Qing stopped.
He seemed to recognize someone from one of the squads, laughing heartily and greeting the leader of that small team familiarly.
He then secured an area several zhang square near the alcove entrance as their squad’s resting ground.
This was Ye Qin’s first time at this location.
Standing at the edge of the canyon cliff and looking down, the entire Grand Canyon resembled a winding giant serpent coiled on the earth, its head and tail invisible, seemingly bottomless.
Although he had heard of the Spirit Mist Grand Canyon before, seeing it firsthand filled him with surprise.
He walked to the cliff edge to observe the situation inside the valley.
Zhang Qiao came up beside him, excitedly chattering, “Brother Ye, look at this cliff face! It seems there’s a small path leading down!” Zhang Zhe walked over, glanced at the Grand Canyon, and chuckled, “That must be an ancient path carved out by senior cultivators.
It is said these ancient paths can lead all the way to the bottom of the thousand-zhang cliff, making entry and exit convenient.
However, only the top few zhang of this ancient path are clearly visible now; beyond that, it is completely swallowed by the canyon’s mist.
There are countless strange beasts and insects inside the canyon, hiding in the fog, making them impossible to guard against.
No one dares to go down now.” Ye Qin asked, “Then when can we descend into the valley?” Zhang Zhe shook his head, “I’m not sure, probably in the next day or two.
Around October during autumn each year, a strong, biting north wind rushes into the Spirit Mist Grand Canyon, sweeping through the entire gorge and blowing away the internal mist.
This strong wind lasts for nearly a month.
During this period, the canyon is clearly visible—the best time to enter.
The great sects issue their disciple selection documents before this strong wind arrives.
This year, the documents came a few days earlier than last year.
It’s estimated this strong wind will blow into the canyon within the next day or two.” “Unless you are a cultivator above the Foundation Establishment stage, no one dares to venture into the valley before the mist clears.
We Qi Refining cultivators can only wait for the opportune moment—when the wind begins to blow.” As they were speaking, The cultivators at the alcove entrance gradually grew noisy.
Ye Qin turned around and saw that in just this short time, the number of cultivator squads arriving here had increased to over a dozen—fifty or sixty cultivators.
After arriving at the alcove, numerous cultivator teams occupied good positions near the valley entrance, waiting for the wind to rise within the Grand Canyon.
Ye Qin considered the matter, decided against continuing to observe from the cliff edge, and returned with Zhang Qiao, Zhang Zhe, and the others to their squad’s area.
He closed his eyes to meditate, recovering the spiritual energy consumed during the journey, preparing to enter the valley at any moment.
Although this passage leading into the Spirit Mist Grand Canyon was remote, within this short span of time...