The Graveyard Plain, a favorite spot for villains.
On one side, it borders Thunder Valley, and on the other, the Wild Mountain Range, making it a natural refuge. Even if enemies or sect cultivators chase after them, as long as they dive into the mountains, they can easily escape to other states.
With such a favorable geographical position, many forces naturally wanted to control this place. However, they clearly underestimated the strength and courage of the desperate outlaws; at this point, who would still want to compromise with you?
In short, the Graveyard Plain has become a lawless land, with no force able to dominate here. The name “Graveyard” comes from the random graves of the deceased scattered in the wilderness, which has become a famous sight in this area.
Crossing Thunder Valley, Tang Xin and her group arrived here.
The Saintess faced the direction of the gathering place and took a deep breath.
“Mm, it’s the scent of villains…”
The Graveyard Plain has various gathering spots, from small villages to large cities. Since they came to find companions, they naturally aimed for the largest Graveyard City.
Though it was called a city, there were no high walls or grand gates; instead, it was made up of tents of various sizes, resembling a group of refugees ready to flee at any moment.
The environment was not great, but there were quite a few people in the city, ranging from Qi Refining to Golden Core, with various levels present.
As soon as they entered the city limits, Xu Lexian quietly reminded them.
“We’re being watched.”
“Watched?” Shui Qiu instantly tensed up. “Have we been discovered so soon?”
Entering the city was indeed quite risky; even the Nine Star Pavilion and that mysterious Blood Sovereign Hall might come here.
“Don’t worry,” the Saintess sneered. “Just a Foundation Building cultivator; I can take care of him without anyone noticing!”
“Wait a minute…”
Swish—
Before Tang Xin could finish her sentence, Xu Lexian vanished from her spot. A few breaths later, she returned, dragging a male cultivator who clearly didn’t look like a good person.
“How about that,” Xu Lexian boasted, “shouldn’t I be praised for being ‘quick and meticulous’?”
“You all…”
The male cultivator’s expression changed instantly.
“Put him down.”
Tang Xin said sternly.
Xu Lexian looked at her in confusion but obediently let the man go.
“You must be a mosquito around here,” the senior sister of Xuanling Sect said to the male cultivator. “Take us to the hive.”
As she spoke, she casually tossed him a dozen spirit stones.
“Sure thing,” the male cultivator smiled, pocketing the spirit stones, and then led the way. “Follow me!”
The sudden change left the other two girls stunned.
“This…?”
Shui Qiu looked towards her senior sister.
“This person isn’t a pursuer, but a guide in the Graveyard Plain, commonly referred to as a ‘mosquito.’ They buzz around newcomers, occasionally taking a bit of blood, but usually don’t take lives,” Tang Xin explained.
“This outer circle of markets is called the Ant Nest, primarily used to consume the spoils gathered from various places. The Hive we are heading to is the core of the city, where information and treasures are traded.”
After hearing this, the two girls couldn’t help but gasp in shock.
“Tang Xin, are you actually a fugitive?” the Saintess took a step back. “You aren’t the type who has caused many deaths, are you?”
“No matter what kind of past my senior sister has,” Shui Qiu said, her expression slightly conflicted, “I will accept it with an open heart!”
“Can you two stop looking for trouble?” Tang Xin retorted. “Is it so hard to believe that I’m well-informed? If I were truly a villain, the Xuanling Sect would have taken me out long ago!”
Surviving in the Graveyard Plain comes with a unique set of rules.
Just like earlier, if the three of them had recklessly entered, looking like “it’s my first time here,” they would definitely have been targeted by the “mosquito swarm,” likely getting robbed clean or worse, being sold as goods themselves.
Following the male cultivator’s winding path, Tang Xin and the others arrived at an underground entrance. The man signaled that his job was done and turned to leave.
Entering the underground space revealed a vast area, slightly dimmer than the outside, but the level of activity was undiminished, with stalls and shops everywhere.
“What a strong smell of blood,” the Saintess frowned as soon as she stepped in. “I almost threw up.”
Compared to this place, the informal market near Thunder Valley was practically a model of excellence.
Just a casual glance revealed several shops selling items strictly prohibited in the cultivation world.
Human puppets, spirit essences, and all sorts of heinous goods made it feel like they had stepped into hell.
The Saintess had a decent tolerance, merely frowning, while Shui Qiu, seeing such a terrifying scene for the first time, was scared and hid behind her senior sister, trembling.
“Look what I found, three little caterpillars,” a burly man wearing a human bone mask and bare-chested approached them with an axe, speaking in a threatening tone. “Heh heh, first time here, huh? Want me to teach you the rules?”
Xu Lexian snorted coldly, intending to move, but recalling Tang Xin’s introduction to this place, she held back.
Bang!
“The rule is to weigh your own fists,” Tang Xin looked at the blood-stained man, flexing her own fist, and said coldly, “Take us to the queen bee here!”
“Got it…”
Seeing the other party so “cooperative,” the burly man dared not say more and led them to a large underground shop.
The queen bee was a term for the most powerful person in the hive, as well as the one with the most circulating information in the city.
“Slaves,” Xu Lexian looked at the shop’s sign and said in a low voice, “So this shop must be dealing in slave trade.”
As expected, inside were iron cages, each containing emaciated, ragged cultivators, looking like walking corpses, both male and female, of various types.
The Saintess glanced at them but said nothing more, while Shui Qiu closely followed her senior sister, looking at the hollow eyes, feeling utterly helpless.
“Hello, are you buying or selling?”
A shop assistant at the Golden Core stage approached them.
“Buying,” Tang Xin said softly, “buying honey.”
“Follow me.”
In the slang of this place, “honey” represents intelligence. The fact that the other party could purchase information at a slave shop clearly indicates they had already inquired about the existence of the queen bee.
After the shop assistant led them into a store made of rock, he turned to leave, casually pressing a mechanism on the wall that caused a thick stone door to drop down. The two young girls tensed up, thinking they had fallen into an ambush. Tang Xin signaled for them to calm down and stopped in front of a room separated by red cloth, without entering.
“What information do you want to buy?” A woman’s voice came from behind the red cloth.
Tang Xin pondered for a moment. Directly asking about Su Ling’s whereabouts would definitely be inappropriate. In a place like this, one must never reveal all their information; otherwise, it would be easy to leave traces for the enemy.
“I want to know,” she circled around the question, “if there is a group of missing genius cultivators in the Graveyard Plains?”
