In the core of the Misty Spirit Cultivation World lay the Misty Spirit Mountain Range, an area rich with minerals, spiritual herbs, and countless spirit beasts—the very foundation for the Seven Great and Twelve Minor Cultivation Sects. These nineteen sects formed the backbone of the entire Misty Spirit Cultivation World; their survival dictated the rise and fall of the entire realm.

Beyond the Misty Spirit Mountain Range, there was another location of paramount importance: Misty Spirit City.

Misty Spirit City was situated on the plateau west of the Southern Liang Kingdom, east of the Misty Spirit Mountain Range, separated only by a vast canyon. It was the birthplace of the Misty Spirit Cultivation World.

However, its true value was not merely historical.

The reason Misty Spirit City held such importance was due to two ancient restrictive formations, one large and one small, established by Nascent Soul cultivators.

The Great Restrictive Formation manifested as a massive, wide-area light shield barrier. Once activated, it could envelop the entirety of Misty Spirit City, from the heavens to the earth, under its infinitely powerful protection.

Should the Great Restriction fall, the only recourse was to retreat into the Immortal Fate Hall and rely on the smaller restrictive formation housed within. This smaller formation was, in essence, the labyrinth of the Immortal Fate Hall, consisting of eight increasingly formidable layers.

A single Array Guardian cultivator controlled the mechanism from the eighth layer. The labyrinth could conceal countless cultivators within its depths. Ye Qin had once attempted entry but was immediately teleported out after reaching the third layer, the Earth Palace. Only by reaching the central hub on the eighth layer could one disable the entirety of Misty Spirit City's restrictive array and completely conquer the city.

These two formations, reinforced over time by the blessings of more than eight different Nascent Soul cultivators, possessed world-shattering might.

Cultivators originated from martial artists, and martial artists largely understood military strategy. Thus, from its very construction, Misty Spirit City was imbued with a "military" significance. It served as the first line of defense, the primary bastion guarding the Misty Spirit Cultivation World. In peacetime, it was a hub for trade; in wartime, it transformed into a staging ground for troops.

If cultivators from other cultivation worlds launched a full-scale invasion of the Misty Spirit Cultivation World, Misty Spirit City would invariably be the first objective they had to seize. Without taking this stronghold, any attempt to attack the mountain gates of the cultivation sects would be futile.

After Senior Uncle Chen departed, Ye Qin promptly left the Immortal Fate Hall and walked onto the streets of Misty Spirit City.

The thoroughfares were now choked with crowds, bustling to an extreme degree.

This scene stood in stark contrast to the desolate, sparsely populated market districts of the Chaotic Lands. As far as the eye could see, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of hastily moving male and female cultivators filled every street. The total population within Misty Spirit City surely numbered no less than a hundred thousand, several times more than before. Moreover, the influx of cultivators was still growing.

Ye Qin naturally understood the reason for this.

With the massive invasions by cultivators from the Sky Dome Plateau, the Ten Thousand Moon Lake, and the Chaotic Lands, the various large and small cultivation families and rogue cultivators of the Misty Spirit Cultivation World found themselves too weak to resist. They were all withdrawing from their original territories, retreating toward Misty Spirit City.

Only a place like Misty Spirit City possessed sufficient defensive capabilities to guarantee their safety. Disciples hailing from established sects could even head directly to their sect's mountain gates, which offered even greater security. Ordinary cultivators, however, had no recourse but to wait within Misty Spirit City.

Therefore, the skyrocketing population of cultivators in the city was only natural.

Though Ye Qin was anxious to reach the Southern Liang Kingdom, he did not rush headlong toward his destination.

He had discovered a highly frustrating matter from the notices plastered everywhere across the city—all disciples of the Misty Spirit sects, family disciples, and rogue cultivators were mandated to report to their respective management offices (Sect Management, Family Management, or Rogue Cultivator Alliance Management) to receive a mission token immediately upon seeing the notice. They were to remain within the city, awaiting deployment by the Misty Spirit Alliance, ready to undertake various assignments at any time. Anyone acting without authorization, defying orders, would be summarily executed as a rebel of the Misty Spirit Cultivation World.

Naturally, Ye Qin could not simply ignore the city-wide postings upon his arrival.

Furthermore, his presence in the city had already been noted by Elder Li Hongxi of the Azure Pill Sect within the Great Hall. Ye Qin dared not risk being branded a rebel by acting rashly. He had no choice but to first proceed to the Azure Pill Sect’s management office within the city and collect a mission token. Once assigned a task, he would have to use the token to rendezvous with other cultivators.

Having obtained the mission token, Ye Qin felt a sense of ease. He decided to remain in the city temporarily, postponing his immediate departure for the Southern Liang Kingdom.

After all, Shi Hanyang and the others had departed for the Southern Liang Kingdom a full year ago and would certainly reach the Lu Family Stronghold ahead of him. Rushing by a day or two now would serve no purpose.

It would be better to use this time in the city to prepare necessary supplies and enhance his own strength.

He rented a guest room in Misty Spirit City at a high price and spent three days refining several bottles containing hundreds of Mid-grade Guiyuan Pills and Pei Yuan Pills. He sold these discreetly across the city’s markets, streets, taverns, and inns, exchanging them for the mid-grade spirit stones and various mid-grade talisman papers he urgently required.

With so many cultivators arriving and departing, no one currently paid heed to the origin of the spiritual elixirs in his possession, nor did anyone dare casually target a third-level Foundation Establishment cultivator. Spiritual elixirs, items that enhanced a cultivator's power, were hot commodities and sold out rapidly.

While selling elixirs at the inn, Ye Qin also struck up conversations with some of the merchants, gathering intelligence on the state of the conflict over the last two years. From these cultivators, Ye Qin learned that the wars had not gone well.

Though the overall strength of the Misty Spirit Cultivation World surpassed that of either the Sky Dome Plateau or the Ten Thousand Moon Lake individually, they were facing a coordinated assault from cultivators of all three opposing realms, placing them in a disadvantageous position, constantly occupied with defense and unable to mount a strong counterattack. At least half of the nations controlled by Misty Spirit cultivators had already been seized by the forces of these three neighboring cultivation worlds. Only the nations closest to Misty Spirit City remained unconquered.

It was not an exaggeration to say that their forces were constantly retreating. It was likely that within another year or so, the cultivators from the Sky Dome Plateau, Ten Thousand Moon Lake, and the Chaotic Lands would arrive at the gates of Misty Spirit City for a decisive battle.

Ye Qin remained silent on this matter.

He had never studied military strategy and was not adept in matters of war; naturally, he couldn't offer any profound insights. The major sects had numerous Golden Core Ancestors and wise strategists; they didn't need his input on warfare.

However, it appeared that the Southern Liang Kingdom would remain under the control of the Misty Spirit Cultivation World for the immediate future, and the enemy cultivators would not dare venture close to Misty Spirit City lightly.

After carefully inquiring about the movements of various factions, Ye Qin finally confirmed that the Southern Liang Kingdom was relatively safe for him at present.

He had a year to figure out how to steal the spiritual fruit from the Lu Family Stronghold, from Shi Hanyang. If the Southern Liang Kingdom fell to the enemy, his subsequent journey there would be extremely perilous.

After selling a few bottles of elixirs and acquiring the spirit stones and talisman papers he might need, and after understanding the recent developments in the cultivation world’s wars, Ye Qin proceeded to the Azure Pill Sect’s management office. He found a senior brother responsible for task assignment and volunteered to take on a mission.

Among major prestigious sects, secret, morally ambiguous dealings were unavoidable. If one could afford the price, anything could be arranged, and mission assignments were no exception—a fact Ye Qin understood clearly since he was merely a Qi Refining stage disciple of the Azure Pill Sect.

For the price of only thirty Guiyuan Pills, Ye Qin managed to transform the stern, impartial task-master senior brother into someone incredibly cordial. Ye Qin naturally received a mission that greatly satisfied him: to patrol the territory of the Southern Liang Kingdom for three months, preventing the infiltration of enemy spies.

This mission was exceptionally easy; during this period, Ye Qin could do as he pleased within the Southern Liang borders.

Accepting the patrol assignment, Ye Qin openly left Misty Spirit City and set off toward the Southern Liang Kingdom. Out of caution, he did not head directly to the Lu Family Stronghold but first traveled to Qing Province within the Southern Liang Kingdom.

He knew very little about the Lu Family of the Southern Liang Kingdom, other than the fact that they possessed one Golden Core cultivator and over ten Foundation Establishment cultivators, making them the shadowy power behind the throne of the Southern Liang Kingdom. He was almost entirely ignorant of other details.

To go to the Lu Family Stronghold blindly like that, without knowing what might happen, was imprudent.

Ye Qin traveled to Qing Province intending first to meet with Zhang Zhe, Zhang Qiao, Old Black Xia, and Fan Jiasheng of the North Twelve Gang. First, he wanted to pay respects to his old acquaintances; second, the Zhangs and the others were native cultivators of the Southern Liang Kingdom and should know a great deal about the Lu Family’s affairs. He could use their accounts to gain a clear picture of the Lu Family’s situation, preparing himself mentally.

Ye Qin rode atop a swirling mass of dark clouds, soaring through the sky.

Along the way, he encountered quite a few Foundation Establishment cultivators flying on their swords, most of them heading out on sect or family missions. These Foundation Establishment cultivators paid no mind to the dark cloud that drifted past, sometimes slow, sometimes fast, assuming it was nothing more than ordinary overcast blown by the wind.

Ye Qin secretly rejoiced; the concealment provided by the Cloud Concealment technique was indeed excellent, significantly reducing the chance of detection.

Near the outskirts of Qing Province City, Ye Qin stowed away his magical artifact, floated down to the ground, and then calmly entered the city by joining a caravan of carriages traveling along the official road route. The prosperity of Qing Province City remained largely unchanged from three years prior; if anything, it seemed even more flourishing.

The great wars between the cultivation worlds had not affected the daily lives of the mundane populace in the Southern Liang Kingdom.

Dressed in a plain blue robe, Ye Qin mingled with the caravan, entering the city. Near the city gate, he casually inquired with an inn servant and quickly learned the location of the North Twelve Gang's headquarters.

To Ye Qin's surprise, the North Twelve Gang was now renowned throughout Qing Province as the number one martial arts faction within the territory. In just three short years, they had assimilated all the smaller gangs across the southeast, west, and north of Qing Province, and had constructed a luxurious mansion spanning several hectares in the most valuable district of Qing Province City to serve as their headquarters.

The gates were made of purple bronze, flanked by two exquisitely carved stone lions. Standing guard before the entrance was a row of twenty powerfully built men, lean and severe in expression, equipped with sharp blades at their waists, standing tall with undeniable presence. Such an honor guard of top-tier martial arts experts was a spectacle usually only seen at the largest, most elite martial arts syndicates. This imposing display deterred ordinary citizens from approaching.

Ye Qin smiled faintly as he arrived before the entrance of this grand residence.