I'm in Yellow Maple Valley, and I have one equipment slot!

I highly recommend "I Have an Equipment Slot in Yellow Maple Valley!" Click to enter the story world.

"A rogue cultivator?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Weiying and the Marquis of Nanlong exchanged a glance, a hint of surprise flashing in their eyes.

In the southern region, Nascent Soul cultivators, especially those who have reached the mid-Nascent Soul stage, are mostly renowned far and wide, whether they are elders of major sects or independent cultivators. Even if they have never met each other, they have at least heard of their names.

Marquis Nanlong himself is a representative figure among independent cultivators.

And then there's the infamous Old Monster Tianhen, who's known as the "Number One Rogue Cultivator in Southern China."

Rumor has it that he once fought against the late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, Master Zhiyang, and achieved remarkable results.

However, they had never heard of the name "Zhou Yuan".

"So it's Fellow Daoist Zhou."

Lu Weiying's smile remained unchanged, but the inquiry in his eyes deepened. "Fellow Daoist Zhou, you are so young yet possess such cultivation; it truly makes this old man ashamed. However… I consider myself quite familiar with fellow Daoists from Tiannan, but this is the first time I've heard of Fellow Daoist Zhou. May I ask which sacred mountain or blessed land you previously cultivated in seclusion?"

"Zhou is a practitioner who has been cultivating abroad and has only recently returned to Tiannan. It is normal that you two fellow Daoists have not heard of him."

Zhou Yuan made up a reason on the spot, his expression calm.

The overseas world is boundless, dotted with islands, and home to countless hermit masters; this excuse is quite plausible.

"Austere training overseas?"

Lu Weiying nodded in realization, a look of "I see" appearing on her face.

"No wonder, no wonder. Since Fellow Daoist Zhou has returned from overseas, his cultivation and supernatural abilities must be extraordinary. I wonder if Fellow Daoist Zhou's return to Tiannan this time is for a long stay, or if there is other important business?"

"He has been traveling around and has no fixed abode."

Zhou Yuan did not wish to discuss this further.

"I see." Lu Weiying stroked his beard and smiled, then suddenly remembered something and said, "By the way, Fellow Daoist Zhou, a large-scale trade fair will be held in 'Tiandu First City' within the jurisdiction of the Taizhen Sect a year from now. This trade fair is jointly initiated by several major sects of our Righteous Path Alliance. Although it is not as grand as the once-in-a-century 'Tiannan Trade Fair,' it can still be considered the largest gathering of righteous cultivators in recent years!"

"At that time, many rare materials, elixirs, and cultivation techniques will appear. Since Fellow Daoist Zhou is traveling, you might as well go and take a look. Perhaps you can gain something and also make some like-minded people."

"The First City of Heaven? One year from now?"

Zhou Yuan pondered for a moment.

"If my schedule allows at that time, I may go and take a look. Thank you for informing me, Fellow Daoist Lu."

Zhou Yuan smiled and then said, "I have important matters to attend to and cannot stay any longer. Farewell, fellow Daoists."

After saying that, he cupped his hands again, and a flash of azure light appeared around him before he transformed into a streak of light and disappeared.

Marquis Nanlong and Lu Weiying stood in place, looking in the direction where Zhou Yuan had disappeared, their expressions different.

"A rogue cultivator at the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm who has returned from overseas..." Lu Weiying's eyes flashed. "His aura is solid, his escape speed is astonishing, he is definitely not someone to be trifled with. Brother Nanlong, what do you think of this person?"

"Unfathomable".

Marquis Nanlong slowly uttered four words, his smile long gone, replaced by a solemn expression: "This person's spiritual sense far surpasses mine, probably comparable to that of a great cultivator..."

"What?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Weiying was startled.

After exchanging a few more words, the two transformed into streaks of light and disappeared back into the Emerald Screen Mountain below.

……

Zhou Yuan didn't take the chance encounter to heart and continued on his way at full speed.

More than a month later, he finally arrived at the western border of the Tiannan Continent.

Before my eyes, there are no longer green hills and clear waters, towns and villages.

Instead, there was an endless expanse of earthy yellow, stretching to the horizon.

The gale whipped up sand and dust, forming towering yellow dragons that danced wildly across the land, howling like ghosts and wolves.

The air was filled with dryness, heat, and a strange, suffocating aura that made one's magical powers feel stagnant.

We've arrived at the Sea of ​​Death.

Without hesitation, Zhou Yuan's spiritual light intensified, and he plunged headlong into the vast expanse of yellow sand.

Flying through sandstorms requires constantly consuming mana to resist them.

However, with the equipment slot replenished, Zhou Yuan suffered no losses even when flying at full speed.

Months later, the despairing yellowish-brown color gradually faded away.

When the blurry green outline and undulating mountains reappeared on the distant horizon, Zhou Yuan knew that he had finally arrived in the far west.

Upon setting foot on this land, Zhou Yuan could immediately sense the difference between it and Tiannan with a sweep of his divine sense.

The overall concentration of spiritual energy seemed slightly lower than that of Tiannan, and the air was filled with a dry, dusty smell.

The architectural styles of the towns and villages below are also slightly different from those in Tiannan, and their clothing and language also seem to be somewhat different.

But overall it is still a place where humans live, and the atmosphere of daily life remains.

This vast region, roughly the size of two medium-sized countries in southern China, is under the control of only one unified force—the Thousand Bamboo Sect.

Its influence has permeated every corner of this place.

Zhou Yuan came here with a clear goal—to find the Great Evolution God!

This peerless powerhouse from ten thousand years ago once single-handedly defeated the top experts of both the righteous and demonic paths in the southern region, forcing major powers to cede this far western land to him to establish the Thousand Bamboo Sect.

His self-created "Great Evolution Technique" is dedicated to cultivating divine sense and is infinitely profound. Zhou Yuan's ability to achieve a divine sense strength far exceeding that of his peers today is largely due to this technique.

However, the puppet system was both its strength and its weakness.

The Great Evolution Divine Lord was too obsessed with the Way of Puppetry and the perfection of the "Great Evolution Technique," spending too much time on research and deduction, which caused his cultivation to stagnate at the late Nascent Soul stage. In the end, his lifespan was exhausted, and he failed to break through to the Divine Transformation stage.

In the eyes of the world, this once powerful founder of the Thousand Bamboo Sect had already passed away ten thousand years ago, his soul and spirit extinguished.

Nascent Soul cultivators have a lifespan of no more than a thousand years, while Deity Transformation cultivators only have two or three thousand years.

How could someone from 10,000 years ago still be alive?

However, Zhou Yuan, the transmigrator, knew perfectly well that the Great Evolution God Lord had not truly died.

He used a strange technique called "Soul Transference" to entrust his soul to the core of a meticulously crafted puppet, thus lingering on in a bizarre state of neither life nor death.

……

Soon after, Zhou Yuan appeared in the central region of the far west.

After some relatively easy investigation, he quickly located the headquarters of the Thousand Bamboo Sect.

The headquarters of the Thousand Bamboo Sect is located atop the highest and most majestic "Heavenly Puppet Mountain" in the center of the far west. This mountain rises abruptly from the ground, towering into the clouds, its body dark and its rocks jagged.

Starting from the mountainside, one can see layers upon layers of palaces and pavilions built against the mountain.

Although the style is somewhat rough and rustic.

But it is large in scale.

The palaces are layered, with flying eaves and brackets.

It appears and disappears in the clouds and mist.

From a distance, it does indeed possess the majestic grandeur of a great sect with a history spanning millennia.

At this moment, Zhou Yuan concealed all his aura, using his vast divine sense, which far surpassed that of ordinary late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators, to envelop himself. Like an invisible ghost, he easily penetrated the seemingly strict but actually flawed outer guard formation and patrol team of the Thousand Bamboo Sect.

They silently infiltrated Tiankui Mountain and arrived at a cluster of buildings where the main altar was located.

With a sweep of his divine sense, the situation within the sect became immediately clear.

Just as the rumors say.

The Thousand Bamboo Sect does indeed have a large number of followers, with branches spread throughout the far west, but its overall strength... is really not impressive.

Within the main altar, cultivators come and go, but the vast majority are low-level disciples in the Qi Refining stage. Foundation Establishment stage cultivators can hold important positions such as protectors, stewards, or even branch altar masters.

As for Core Formation cultivators, their numbers are few and far between, and their cultivation levels are generally not high.

The sect leader, who resided high in the main hall, possessed an aura that... was merely at the late stage of the Core Formation realm.

"Success and failure both stemmed from puppets..."

Zhou Yuan sighed inwardly.

The Great Evolution God Lord founded his sect with puppetry and established the rule that puppetry was the foundation of his religion. His original intention was good.

Mastering puppetry to a high level can indeed greatly enhance combat power, and even create powerful puppets whose cultivation far surpasses one's own.

However, the younger generation of the Thousand Bamboo Sect seems to have gone to extremes.

They devoted the vast majority of their energy, time, and resources to the research, creation, and manipulation of puppetry.

In addition, the far west is a remote and isolated region, with no strong external enemies and little internal competition.

Over time.

The entire sect has declined with each generation, and it has been a long time since a Nascent Soul cultivator has appeared.

The current leader of the Jin Cult, with his late-stage Core Formation cultivation, is probably the best among the worst.

Zhou Yuan moved through the main complex as if it were empty, and soon arrived at a more secluded and heavily guarded quiet room behind the most magnificent main hall on the mountaintop.

These restrictions might be more than enough to deal with Core Formation cultivators, but in Zhou Yuan's eyes, they were useless. With a slight effort, he silently passed through the restrictions and entered the meditation room.

The quiet room is quite spacious, simply decorated, and has a slightly stronger spiritual atmosphere than the outside world.

A middle-aged man wearing a golden robe, with a sinister face and three long wisps of beard, was sitting cross-legged on a futon. In front of him was an ancient bamboo scroll with complex puppet structure diagrams drawn on it.

He seemed to be engrossed in his research, his brow furrowing and relaxing at times.

Zhou Yuan remembered that back in Huangfeng Valley, it was this very Jin Sect Leader who, in order to eliminate the remnants of the former sect leader, sent people all the way to Tiannan Yue Kingdom to hunt down the former sect leader's son.

That is, the "Senior Brother Lin" who was killed by Zhou Yuan.

By a twist of fate, the inheritance of the first four levels of the Great Evolution Technique eventually fell into his hands.

In a way, my ability to obtain the basics of the Great Evolution Technique is somewhat indirectly related to this Master Jin.

Zhou Yuan no longer concealed his presence.

He revealed himself directly, standing a few feet in front of Jin Kui.

"Who...who are you?!"

The leader of the Jin sect was suddenly startled and looked up in horror. When he saw a strange young man in black robes appear out of nowhere in the quiet room, his expression changed drastically.

His palm surged with magical power, and the several bulging storage bags at his waist trembled slightly, as if puppets were about to be released.

However, the next moment, a vast spiritual pressure, like an invisible mountain, suddenly descended, locking him in and suppressing him!

"A Nascent Soul cultivator?!"

Jin Xiaozhu's legs went weak.

His face turned deathly pale instantly.

"Senior... Senior! This junior was unaware of your arrival and has failed to greet you properly. Please forgive me!"

Jin's voice trembled as he suppressed boundless fear, his posture extremely humble.

Jin's voice trembled as he suppressed boundless fear, his posture extremely humble.

"I wonder what brings this senior to my Thousand Bamboo Sect, seeking out this junior...? This junior will certainly do my utmost to serve you!"