If you die, I will be able to inherit your cultivation.

Zhou Ming found an extremely secluded spot on the ridge above the valley.

He gathered his aura and carefully spread his divine sense over the entire valley, beginning to observe patiently.

I observed them for two days in a row.

Everything in the valley seemed to be operating precisely according to some pre-set program.

Every day before dawn, the Qi Refining cultivators would get up and go into the mountains in batches to hunt wild animals. After the prey was brought back, it would be cooked by a designated person, and the cooked meat would be delivered to the iron cage on time.

No one was slacking off, no one was chatting, and no one even showed any unnecessary emotions.

Each of them stood guard at their post, their eyes numb, like a group of soulless puppets.

At night, they inspected the cage to make sure the chains were intact, then gathered at the outermost edge of the blood pool.

He sat cross-legged and began to absorb the thin blood and qi overflowing from the blood pool for cultivation.

The Golden Core cultivator in the very center of the blood pool did not have a fixed cultivation time.

When Zhou Ming found him, he was meditating in the blood pool.

After cultivating for about two hours, the blood energy in the blood pool visibly thinned out, and the pool water changed from a thick, dark red to a translucent light red.

He got up and left the blood pool, then went into the largest cave on the mountain wall.

The cave dwelling was furnished in a very simple manner: a stone bed, a futon, a stone table with a few jade slips and a palm-sized bronze incense burner on it.

He sat cross-legged on the futon, picked up a jade slip, placed it on his forehead, and closed his eyes in deep thought.

Sometimes he would furrow his brow, as if he were troubled by some difficult problem.

He would suddenly open his eyes, get up and pace back and forth in the cave, muttering incantations.

Sometimes he would walk up to the stone table, pick up a pen, and draw a few runes on the paper. After looking at them, he would irritably crumple them into a ball and throw them aside.

Zhou Ming stood silently on the ridge for two days, his mind racing with countless thoughts.

This isn't a solution. A pool of blood, chains, and the imprisoned Marquis of Yongning.

No, it wasn't that; he felt deeply sorry for the people imprisoned below.

Zhou Ming desperately needed someone to answer his questions about the fierce wind formations at the edge of the forest and the various problems he encountered while cultivating Qi and immortality.

Now that he has finally encountered a Golden Core cultivator, how could he let such a good opportunity pass by?

Zhou Ming stood up, stretched his stiff neck, and decided to take the initiative.

It rose up, no longer concealing its form, and slowly ascended from the ridge into the clouds above the valley.

The purple-gold magical power circulated in his dantian.

Zhou Ming deliberately loosened his aura slightly; the aura was extremely weak, but it was enough to alert the people in the valley.

Inside the cave in the valley, the Golden Core cultivator who was frowning and staring at the jade slip suddenly shuddered.

He first frowned, then placed the jade slip on the stone table and looked up in Zhou Ming's direction.

It seemed to be trying to determine whether the faint aura it had just sensed was an illusion.

A moment later, that aura reappeared, clearer than ever before.

His brows suddenly relaxed, and a look of almost ecstatic joy appeared on his face.

It was the ecstatic joy of suddenly seeing hope after being trapped in a desperate situation for a long time.

He didn't even bother to put away the jade slip; instead, he transformed into a streak of azure light on his sword and rushed out of the cave, hurtling towards the sky.

He saw Zhou Ming.

Beneath the clouds, the mountain wind howled, and Zhou Ming, dressed in a dark blue robe, stood suspended in mid-air with his hands behind his back.

He stood there simply, without any protective aura or magical artifacts around him.

But it was precisely this simplicity that made Liu Jun's pupils shrink.

The other party looked ordinary and did not use any tools, yet it was suspended in mid-air.

The fluctuations in magical power were faint yet unfathomable.

Judging from the aura emanating from this object suspended in mid-air, it is a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, and not just any ordinary Nascent Soul stage cultivator.

Liu Jun stopped abruptly a hundred meters away and straightened his robes.

He raised both hands to chest level, bowed deeply, his voice filled with barely concealed excitement:

"This junior, Liu Jun, an inner disciple of the Qingyun Sect, pays his respects to the senior."

Upon hearing the name "Liu Jun," Zhou Ming's heart was instantly filled with turmoil.

Liu Jun?

Liu Jun, the founding emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty?

The founding emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty?

The Liu Jun that Su Mubai mentioned, who has lived for over six hundred years and can become an immortal ancestor in the cultivation world.

But he claimed to be an inner disciple of the Qingyun Sect?

A Golden Core cultivator who has lived for over six hundred years is still only an inner disciple in the sect?

Could it be that those at the Golden Core stage are just ordinary disciples in cultivation sects outside the sect?

What surprised Zhou Ming even more was the other meaning behind Liu Jun's words.

A Golden Core cultivator who's over 600 years old? Zhou Ming had always judged cultivators based on his understanding from reading novels in his previous life.

I originally thought that, based on the novels I read in my previous life, the lifespan of a Golden Core cultivator was only five hundred years.

The Liu Jun who just appeared is over six hundred years old, but his cultivation level is only at the Golden Core stage.

Could it be that the lifespan of a Golden Core cultivator is more than five hundred years?

Zhou Ming's face remained unchanged as he calmly glanced at Liu Jun and nodded slightly.

His tone was as indifferent as an elder casually asking for directions while passing by:

How did you get here? And where is this place?

Liu Jun also sensed Zhou Ming's curiosity, assuming that this senior was also an outsider cultivator who had accidentally wandered in, just like him.

He replied respectfully, "Senior, more than six hundred years ago, I accidentally wandered into a forbidden area in the Western Regions. After losing consciousness, I woke up here."

"After I woke up, I sensed that this place was unusual."

"The spiritual energy here is extremely thin, and cultivation is suppressed. I am currently only at the Golden Core stage, but my magical power is not even as good as that of a Qi Refining Perfection cultivator outside, and my divine sense is almost non-existent."

"The way out is blocked by the fierce wind, and with my meager cultivation, I have no way to do anything about it."

"Senior, you must have felt the oppressive atmosphere here as well, right?"

He sighed, a deep bitterness flashing across his eyes.

Zhou Ming didn't speak, but simply nodded at him.

Seeing Zhou Ming nod, Liu Jun looked up again, his eyes fixed intently on Zhou Ming, his voice filled with earnestness and expectation:

"Over the years, I have barely managed to survive thanks to a technique I obtained by chance that transforms the power of my blood and qi into magical power. I am nearing the end of my life and do not wish to die far from home."

"Senior, your cultivation is profound. If you can find a way out, please take this junior with you."

"This junior will be eternally grateful and will report to the sect upon leaving, presenting a generous gift."

Zhou Ming listened to each word of those sentences, quickly deciphering the vast amount of information within.

Forbidden place?

Is this a forbidden area?

It's not just the Great Xia, but the entire world encompassing the Great Xia, Great Yuan, and Great Yan—all of which are forbidden areas for the cultivation world.

Or did he arrive here after entering the forbidden area?

If he knew it was a forbidden area, why did he enter it?

The spiritual energy is thin? Cultivation is suppressed; even a Golden Core cultivator is inferior to a Qi Refining Perfection cultivator.

Zhou Ming had always suspected that he was cultivating a fake immortality. His golden nascent soul sat upright in his dantian, but his divine sense only covered a few dozen miles.

The spells were also rather weak; a fireball could only leave a charred patch on the wall and couldn't even knock it down.

It's nowhere near as devastating as depicted in the novel.

Zhou Ming had wondered if it was a problem with his cultivation technique, but it turned out the problem wasn't with him; it was that this world itself was suppressing the cultivation of all cultivators.

Zhou Ming pondered for a moment, his expression remaining calm and composed, before replying in a measured tone.

"When I first arrived here, I knew very little about this place. I tried to go out, but I was bounced back by the strong wind."

"Tell me about the situation here in detail."