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

The Kingdom of Yu, where Tiancheng is located, does not directly border the Mulan Grassland.

Between the Nine Nations Alliance and the Mulan Grassland, there exists a vast buffer zone, nearly 10,000 miles wide, known as the "Yellow Earth Wilderness".

This land truly lives up to its name; everything in sight is a monotonous yellowish-brown, with sparse vegetation and flat land. The area is constantly swept by howling winds, whipping up clouds of yellow sand that blot out the sun.

The harsh environment and scarce resources make this place sparsely populated, but they also make it a natural, unspoken "arena" between the Tiannan cultivators and the Mulan sorcerers.

Even during peaceful times when no large-scale war breaks out between the two sides, there are always low-level cultivators from both races who use this area as a "training ground" to engage in small-scale frictions, probing, and fighting, accumulating hatred for each other with blood and lives.

Zhou Yuan and his group of eight, all with cultivation levels above the Nascent Soul stage, flew through the sky at great speed, riding on their escape light, and intentionally concealed most of their auras.

The occasional cultivators or mages at the Foundation Establishment level who appeared on the loess plains below, fighting like ants, were completely unaware of their existence.

Like ghosts flitting across the wasteland, they silently made their way into the depths of the Mulan Grassland.

However, after only a few hours of venturing into this area, Zhou Yuan's vast divine sense, which far surpassed that of his peers, suddenly detected a subtle yet clear abnormal fluctuation.

In his divine sense, about three hundred miles ahead, several figures emanating considerable spiritual energy were rapidly approaching their direction in the sky.

These auras carried the distinct characteristics of the Mulan mage, leaning towards elemental affinity and the spiritual power of heaven and earth.

Moreover, one of them possessed a particularly dense aura, likely equivalent to a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

"Was it a patrol of the Mulan people? Or just some magicians passing by?"

Zhou Yuan's heart skipped a beat, but he remained expressionless and did not immediately offer any reminder.

His powerful spiritual sense is a crucial trump card, and it shouldn't be revealed too early, especially in front of these "companions" each with their own agendas.

The group continued forward, and Nanlonghou and Yun Xiaotian seemed unaware of the abnormality ahead, maintaining their speed.

After another incense stick's time, when the distance closed to about a hundred miles, the scenery in front of them suddenly changed!

On the distant horizon, a towering, earthen-yellow "wall" stretching to the sky and over a hundred feet high was rolling toward them with overwhelming force!

That wasn't a real wall, but a terrifying sandstorm controlled and gathered by some powerful force!

The gale howled like ghosts and wolves, completely obscuring the already dim sky. Wherever it passed, sand and stones flew, and the sky darkened, as if the end of the world had arrived!

"Something's wrong ahead!"

This time, Nanlonghou and Yun Xiaotian almost simultaneously changed their expressions and stopped their escape.

A sandstorm of this scale, imbued with spiritual energy, could not possibly have formed naturally!

"It's a spiritual technique of the Mulan people! And on such a large scale, it couldn't have been performed by just one or two people!"

Yun Xiaotian's voice was hoarse as he stared intently at the rapidly approaching yellow "evil dragon."

"It seems we've encountered the vanguard or patrol force of the Mulan people," Nanlonghou explained quickly to Wang Tiangu and the others, his brow furrowed. "After the great war a century ago, both sides agreed to a truce. Judging from this situation, war is likely imminent. This could very well be one of the vanguard forces sent by the Mulan people to probe our southern border defenses!"

"What should we do then? Go around it?"

Wang Tiangu's expression also looked rather unpleasant.

Although they were all Nascent Soul cultivators, the most taboo thing for them when they went deep behind enemy lines was to get entangled with the main enemy force.

"Go around?"

Marquis Nanlong shook his head with a wry smile, "Such a large-scale spiritual technique has an extremely wide coverage area and is clearly aimed at us."

Even if we can bypass this area, who can guarantee there aren't other Mulan teams in other directions? Besides, the location of the Cangkun Ruins also requires traversing this region. If we retreat now, who knows when we'll be able to gather the eight of us again? The treasure... waits for no one."

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.

The Marquis of Nanlong was right; opportunities often pass in the blink of an eye.

If they retreat now, it will be almost impossible to organize such a treasure-hunting team of eight Nascent Soul cultivators with a unified goal again in the future.

Moreover, they had already ventured this far, and it would be truly unacceptable for them to return empty-handed.

"Then let's charge!"

You Gang snorted coldly, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes. "A mere sandstorm, how could it possibly stop us Nascent Soul cultivators?"

"Not bad! They're just a bunch of Mulan barbarians. Perfect for testing their mettle!"

Bingkun also spoke in a deep, muffled voice, his muscles bulging slightly.

"Don't be reckless."

Madam Tai, leaning on her cane, said in a deep voice, "Our goal is to find treasure, not to kill enemies. We should avoid them if possible, and a quick victory would be best. If we are bogged down and attract more Mulan people, the consequences will be unimaginable."

"Madam Tai is right." Hu Sanpang's smile also faded. "However, since we've run into each other, it's probably difficult to avoid it completely without a trace. Perhaps we should give the Nine Kingdoms Alliance a heads-up first, as a gesture of goodwill among our allies."

The proposal was approved by everyone.

After all, they were all cultivators from Tiannan. Although their actions were private, they would still feel uneasy if the Nine Kingdoms Alliance's defenses were attacked because they concealed enemy information.

So, the group took out specially made communication talismans, infused them with their divine sense, and briefly explained the intelligence that a sizable vanguard force of Mulan had been discovered ahead. Then, they waved their hands and sent the communication talismans towards the nearest Nine Kingdoms Alliance cultivator strongholds.

These sound transmission talismans are extremely fast and can penetrate a certain degree of spiritual energy interference, hopefully giving Tiannan some warning time.

Having done this, the eight people no longer hesitated. They nodded to each other and simultaneously concealed their cultivation techniques to the extreme. Their figures became almost invisible, like eight faint shadows, and they silently sneaked towards the flank of the overwhelming yellow sandstorm, trying to avoid the core area where the wind and sand were most intense and spiritual energy was most concentrated, and slipped past the weakest edge.

To be honest, Zhou Yuan wasn't afraid at all; instead, he felt a surge of curiosity about the legendary "Mulan Spirit Technique."

The magical arts of sorcerers are essentially of the same origin as the magical and supernatural powers of cultivators from the southern region.

However, the difference lies in the fact that the more powerful the spells and supernatural abilities cultivated by cultivators from the southern region, the more difficult they are to cultivate, and the longer the preparation time required to cast them.

In the ever-changing battles between equals, a powerful spell that requires several breaths or even longer to prepare is often less effective than using a magical artifact for offense or defense.

Unless there is absolute defense, the spell may be interrupted or killed by the opponent before it can be cast.

The Mulan mages, it is said, have found another way over the long years to develop many powerful "spiritual spells" that can be "instantly cast" or "quickly executed," which greatly makes up for their lack of magical artifact resources.

This is exactly what Zhou Yuan is interested in.

He possesses an equipment slot, and with the added comprehension from that slot, cultivating any spell or supernatural power becomes twice as effective, allowing him to quickly understand and master its essence.

More importantly, the near-infinite mana regeneration provided by the equipment slots allows him to continuously cast powerful spells without worrying about running out of mana!

Before he had crafted his own natal magic weapon in his early years, he relied on this "perpetual motion machine" style of magical bombardment tactics to defeat and even kill many powerful enemies of higher levels.

If he could obtain these efficient and powerful "spiritual arts" cultivation methods from the Mulan people, it would be a significant supplement and enhancement to his strength.

As their thoughts raced, the eight of them, like fish swimming silently, slipped into the vast expanse of yellow sand that blotted out the sky.

Upon entering, everyone felt their consciousness being greatly suppressed and interfered with.

This sandstorm was no ordinary sandstorm; it contained a strange spiritual power that could distort and devour divine sense.

Even with the divine senses of Nanlonghou and Yun Xiaotian, who were at the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm, they could only vaguely sense the movements within a radius of several dozen feet around them.

Beyond that lies a chaotic expanse, and the perceived scenery is distorted and inaccurate.

Wang Tiangu and other early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators fared even worse, their divine senses suppressed to within a dozen or so feet around them, like blind men touching an elephant.

However, Zhou Yuan was an exception.

His current spiritual strength has already surpassed that of ordinary late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators!

Although the sandstorm was strange, its suppressive effect was greatly reduced for his vast and condensed divine sense.

He could still clearly sense the situation within a radius of several hundred feet. Although it was also affected by some distortion and delay, it was still more than ten times stronger than others!

Inside the sandstorm, the scene was even more terrifying.

Countless yellow columns of varying thickness, spinning at high speed, are like raging earth dragons, freely traversing, colliding, merging, and splitting within the sandstorm. Good books and good stories accompany you every day.

The smaller wind columns were only a few dozen feet thick, while the larger ones were tens of feet thick, reaching from the sky to the earth, containing terrifying tearing and cutting power.

These wind pillars are clearly part of the spiritual art, possessing extremely strong offensive capabilities.

The eight people were like dancing on the edge of a knife, carefully avoiding the huge pillars of wind. If they couldn't avoid them, they would join forces to use their magic or magical artifacts to temporarily disperse or deflect them, not daring to confront them head-on, so as not to consume too much energy or expose their position.

Suddenly, Zhou Yuan's powerful divine sense detected that about two hundred feet to his right, in the sandstorm that had been empty, several blurry humanoid figures suddenly appeared. But in just an instant, they disappeared like ripples on water, as if they had never appeared.

"Spatial fluctuations... are they 'Sumeru worms'?"

Zhou Yuan understood.

The "Sumeru Insect" is born with a slight spatial talent, which can briefly tear open tiny spatial rifts for its owner to hide or move around, making it a powerful tool for ambush and escaping.

It seems that the Muran sorcerers outside have discovered them and sent out experts skilled in stealth and ambush, who, with the help of sandstorms and Sumeru insects, have quietly approached.

"A Sumeru worm? Ha, it's been a while since I've seen one of those."

"A Sumeru worm? Ha, it's been a while since I've seen one of those."

Almost simultaneously, from the bamboo tube behind Zhou Yuan, the Great Evolution Divine Lord's divine thought transmission, tinged with a hint of reminiscence and disdain, resounded: "An ancient strange insect, ranked rather high, adept at short-distance spatial traversal and concealment, quite skilled for ambushes and assassinations, or for spying from spatial crevices like this. However, compared to true spatial spirit beasts, it still falls short."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yuan's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile.

With a thought, he gently patted a specially made spirit beast pouch at his waist.

A flash of light appeared at the bag's opening, and a purple shadow darted out silently, landing on Zhou Yuan's shoulder.

This is a small beast, only a few inches in size, resembling a sable, yet its entire body is like a piece of purple crystal, crystal clear and translucent.

It has a pair of pale purple wings as thin as cicada wings on its back, a spiral-shaped purple horn with a sharp tip on its head, and a pair of small eyes that dart around, full of intelligence.

It was the Purple Sky Beast, a level-six mutated spirit beast with spatial talent that Zhou Yuan had subdued on Biling Island in the Chaotic Star Sea!

This beast's talent far surpasses that of the Sumeru worm!

It can not only sense spatial fluctuations, but also actively tear, stabilize, and maintain small spatial cracks for a short time to make precise short-distance travel, making it an expert in the field of space.

"Go, make an opening, let's go in and hide," Zhou Yuan commanded with his divine sense.

The Purple Sky Beast's little eyes lit up, seemingly very interested in "playing with space".

Its spiral horn glowed faintly with purple light, and it made a light stroke in the general direction from which the illusory figures had disappeared, as perceived by Zhou Yuan's divine sense.

"laugh--"

A tiny, almost imperceptible black spatial rift, about a foot long, silently appeared in front of Zhou Yuan.

At the edge of the crack, purple spatial energy flickered like lightning, stabilizing it.

Zhou Yuan's figure flickered, and like a ghost, he disappeared into the spatial rift.

The crack quickly closed and disappeared without leaving any trace or spiritual energy fluctuation.

The whole process was incredibly fast, happening in the blink of an eye.

Zhou Yuan was positioned at the rear of the group, and his movements were extremely concealed. In addition, the sandstorm was raging and his divine sense was blocked, so none of the people in front, such as Nanlonghou and Yun Xiaotian, noticed his sudden disappearance.

After traveling another few dozen feet, Yun Xiaotian habitually scanned the group behind him with his divine sense to check on them, only to suddenly realize—

"Huh? Where is Fellow Daoist Zhou?!" Yun Xiaotian exclaimed in surprise, stopping his escape.

Upon hearing this, Nanlonghou and the others stopped and tried their best to extend their divine senses to investigate, but they could only feel the chaotic sandstorm and violent spiritual energy around them. There was no trace of Zhou Yuan's aura.

"What happened? Fellow Daoist Zhou was just a short distance behind me!"

Wang Tiangu's expression also changed slightly.

"Could it have been swept away by the wind pillar? Or did it trigger some hidden restriction?"

You Gang guessed.

"Impossible! With Fellow Daoist Zhou's cultivation level, how could he be silently swept away by a mere pillar of wind? As for the restrictions... apart from this sandstorm spiritual technique, I haven't sensed any other array fluctuations here." Marquis Nanlong frowned, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart. Zhou Yuan's sudden disappearance was too strange.

"Let's get out of this sandstorm first! Fellow Daoist Zhou is incredibly powerful; perhaps he has a way to escape. Staying here would only put us in danger!"

Yun Xiaotian made a decisive decision.

They were currently in enemy territory and barely able to protect themselves, so they had no energy to spare for searching for a comrade who had suddenly disappeared.

Marquis Nanlong, knowing the gravity of the situation, gritted his teeth and said, "Let's go!"

Without further hesitation, the seven concealed their auras once more and accelerated towards the outer edge of the sandstorm. They quickly disappeared into the vast yellow sand, leaving Zhou Yuan's "disappearance" far behind.

……

About half an incense stick's time after Nanlonghou and the others left, in a relatively calm area of ​​mid-air, about four hundred feet away from where Zhou Yuan disappeared, the space suddenly rippled like water.

A spatial black hole, about two zhang in diameter, with its edges shimmering with unstable gray light, appeared out of thin air.

Immediately afterwards, a colossal creature slowly "swam" out of the black hole.

This is a gigantic, terrifying monster!

It is over six zhang long, with a flattened, round body covered by a thick, dark yellow-black carapace covered with strange natural patterns.

Its head is triangular, with more than a dozen constantly rotating, eerie yellow compound eyes, and several long, soft tentacles swaying beside its mouthparts. Most striking are its pair of enormous fangs, which resemble giant scythes and gleam with a cold metallic light, making one's heart tremble when they open and close.

On its broad back grow four transparent wings, as thin as cicada wings, which vibrate rapidly and emit a low hum.

At this moment, three figures were standing on the back of this demonic insect!

The figure in the center was shrouded in a swirling, eerie green mist, his form appearing and disappearing intermittently. Only his deep, dark eyes pierced through the mist, emitting a cold light. The spiritual pressure emanating from him was equivalent to that of a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator! He was none other than the "Grand Master" of the Mulan people!

"Not even a trace of their presence was left? Could it be an illusion, or does that Tiannan cultivator possess some special concealment treasure?"

He was extremely confident in the "Sky-Splitting Fly" he was riding; ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators would never be able to sense their hiding place.

But that aura just now vanished too completely.

"Master, could it be that the other party has already fled far away? Or... been torn apart by the wind?" the mage in the white light speculated.

"Impossible. That aura was solid and steady, definitely not something to be trifled with. Although the Wind Fiend is strong, it's impossible for him to instantly kill someone of the same level."

Grand Master Green Mist shook his head, his doubts growing even stronger.

He had a vague feeling that a pair of eyes were watching them from somewhere he couldn't detect.

The thought had barely formed—

"Sizzle!"

Right in front of them, less than a hundred feet away in the void, a purple spatial rift with more stable and solid edges tore open without warning!

From within the crack, a figure in a black robe with blue and purple wings on his back, along with the small purple beast on his shoulder, took a step out!

It was Zhou Yuan and the Purple Sky Beast!

As Zhou Yuan appeared, the wind and thunder wings behind him suddenly shone with a brilliant blue-purple light!

"Crack!"

A crisp, thunderous crack rang out!

Lightning Release activated!

Zhou Yuan's figure vanished from his spot in an instant, and a few moments later, he appeared in the air only fifty feet away from the three Mulan mages on the back of the demonic insect!

This distance is already within reach for a Nascent Soul cultivator!

He hovered in the air, his bluish-purple wind and thunder wings gently flapping, bringing with them wisps of breeze and flashes of lightning. His gaze calmly swept over the three people and one insect opposite him, who looked as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

His tone was so calm, it was as if he were asking for directions.

"Are you... looking for me?"

The sudden appearance, the incredible speed of escape, and the chilling sense of oppression hidden beneath the calm words caused the three Muran mages' expressions to change drastically in an instant!