Southern Border, southeast.
North of the Yellow Dragon River, due south of Hundred Beast Mountain.
This had once been a mountain range, stretching endlessly in undulating waves, but now it had fractured and split apart. A massive trench cut across from east to west, forming a brand-new rift.
The Great Era was approaching. The five domains were about to merge into one, and the first sign was the turmoil of earth energy and the linkage of earth veins. The Southern Border's earth Dao marks were the densest among all five domains, and since the first tremor, enormous earthquakes had struck the Southern Border one after another.
Every earthquake was a disaster for the mortals of the Southern Border. But for Gu Immortals, it meant brand-new opportunities!
All manner of immortal materials—even wild Immortal Gu—would churn up from deep underground. Earth veins were themselves the very essence of the land.
In recent years, the Gu Immortal world of the Southern Border had been in constant turmoil.
First came the great battle at Yitian Mountain, followed by the battle in the dreamscape. Not only had lone cultivators and the Demonic Path suffered, but the Righteous Path had taken heavy losses as well. The Wu Family in particular had lost seven Gu Immortals in succession!
The Gu Immortals of the Southern Border had all raised their vigilance, deeply sensing the crisis, and were scrambling to improve themselves however they could.
Now, with the earth veins in turmoil and a new trench formed, every Gu Immortal in the Southern Border was throwing themselves in, trying to compensate for their shortcomings and seize as many resources as possible to strengthen themselves.
At this moment, deep within the newly formed trench, a group of Gu Masters were setting up mortal-level Gu formations and establishing a camp.
The leading Gu Master already had a Fifth Transformation cultivation—she was a woman.
Her eyebrows were like willow leaves veiled in mist, her eyes like bright moons reflecting clear waves. Her skin was white as snow, her lips like cherries, her teeth pearly-white. A head of black hair draped over both shoulders, fine and lustrous, revealing all the beauty of her gentleness.
At this moment, she wore a plain white dress, elegant as an orchid, gentle as water, yet carrying an air of noble grace.
She was none other than Shang Cinci, the current Patriarch of the Shang Family.
Shang Cinci's beautiful eyes gazed at the field before her, lost in a trance.
This field lay deep within the trench and was no ordinary place. The soil was pitch-black and hard as iron, and from within it, colorful mist continuously rose, curling upward and condensing into clouds in midair.
Standing in the field, the Gu Masters all felt a warmth that seeped into their hearts and penetrated their bones—it was supremely comfortable.
"The mighty power of nature, carved by divine hands—truly awe-inspiring!" Shang Cinci sighed, filled with emotion.
Standing beside her was a young man in white robes, with a tall and commanding bearing, sharp brows and starlike eyes. A small hawk perched on his shoulder—this was Ye Fan.
Ye Fan spoke: "This field is no simple place. If I'm not mistaken, it's a Misty Net Warm Jade Field—it produces the immortal material Misty Net Warm Jade, which is no trivial matter. This field spans a thousand mu in area and is of extremely high value!"
Ye Fan still harbored feelings of love for Shang Cinci. Previously, he had stepped forward to help her, who had just taken office, deal with administrative difficulties.
However, later, while driving out the Eighteen Lads of Wine Country, he had encountered Bai Ningbing and was nearly killed by her.
Ye Fan had been lucky to escape with his life. After this great ordeal, he had become more mature and composed. An unexpected encounter led him to meet Gu Immortal Lu Weiyin, and the two had formed a master-disciple bond.
Under Lu Weiyin's guidance, he had not only spent time cultivating in the Black Heaven, but had also been taught a vast amount of knowledge. His perspective had broadened far beyond Shang Cinci's.
"So this place is called the Misty Net Warm Jade Field. Thank you for explaining, Young Master Ye. Cinci now understands why the clan's immortals wanted me to personally lead the team to guard this place." Shang Cinci expressed her gratitude.
She had originally been of poor aptitude with a weak cultivation base, but this time, the Shang Family had mobilized a Gu Immortal to deploy a unique method, sparing no cost to boost Shang Cinci's cultivation to the Fifth Transformation.
A flicker of worry crossed Ye Fan's eyes.
Shang Cinci's enemies this time were the Hou Family and the Tie Family.
Both families had also sent their Patriarchs, both Fifth Transformation cultivators, to lead the charge, revealing their determination to seize the Misty Net Warm Jade Field at any cost.
Ye Fan's perspective had already transcended the mortal realm. He could see things clearly and penetratingly.
"This Misty Net Warm Jade Field is a natural resource node. Whoever controls it will have a considerable annual yield of Misty Net Warm Jade. The Shang, Hou, and Tie families are all superpowers—even the three Patriarchs are merely chess pieces, with Gu Immortals pulling the strings behind them."
"Sigh! The position of Shang Family Patriarch may seem powerful and exalted, but in truth, it's nothing more than a political bargaining chip in the hands of Gu Immortals. One has no freedom, facing danger at every turn, with no guarantee that lone cultivators or demonic immortals aren't eyeing the position covetously. In the great battle at Yitian Mountain, the Shang Family's previous Patriarch—Shang Yanfei, Shang Cinci's father—wasn't he killed in action? And there were other towering figures like Wu Ji Niangniang of the Wu Family… No matter how extraordinary a mortal may be, without becoming a Gu Immortal, they remain nothing more than a mortal."
Ye Fan's heart was filled with emotion. Thinking of this, his determination to seek the Dao and ascend to immortality only grew stronger.
"Report—! The Hou Family and the Tie Family have both dispatched large forces, on an unprecedented scale, heading straight for us!" Just then, a scout Gu Master rushed in with the news.
A beautiful female Gu Master at Shang Cinci's side said: "Just as the Patriarch predicted. Our deploying the Gu formations and expanding the camp immediately touched their bottom line."
This beautiful woman was Wei Dexin, the wife of the Wei Family Patriarch. She had once been purchased by Fang Yuan as a slave and entrusted to Shang Cinci's care. Now Wei Dexin had become Shang Cinci's personal bodyguard, devoted to repaying her debt of gratitude, loyal to the core.
Shang Cinci nodded and smiled: "In fact, the Gu formations were already fully set up. We deliberately made it look like we were in the process of establishing them—all to lure both sides into attacking, so we could defeat them in one fell swoop."
The Shang, Tie, and Hou families had been fighting over this for a long time, with each side winning and losing in turns, ultimately reaching a stalemate. Shang Cinci had come up with a stratagem: deploy Gu formations to bolster her side's combat power and settle the matter in one decisive action. The other two Patriarchs were both seasoned veterans with deep roots; even if they left, they had no need to worry about turmoil in their respective families. But Shang Cinci was different. In the end, she was inexperienced and young—if she stayed away too long, the Shang Family's stronghold would be thrown into upheaval. This was why Shang Cinci had no choice but to take a gamble.