Loyal Heart Roaming the Skies
Chapter 55: Soul broken in the gorge, how can Dugu find peace?

As the hegemon of the Eastern Region, the Qi Kingdom held great influence in the entire region.

Not only did it occupy the most fertile land in the Eastern Region and govern many vassal states, but it also secretly supported many sects on the nearby islands.

However, not all forces in the Eastern Region were loyal to the Jiang Dynasty.

The Sanxing Palace of the Legalist School and the Suspended Monastery of the Buddhist Sect were two transcendent powers that stood above the rest.

The Fishing Sea Tower on the nearby islands and the Eastern King Valley, known for its dual cultivation of medicine and poison, were like independent countries, lacking only a formal national system.

Similarly, the Qu Kingdom and the Zheng Kingdom, located at the border between the Northern and Eastern Regions, maintained complete sovereignty and independent autonomy.

With the support of the Northern Pastoral Kingdom and the Central Region's hegemon, the Jing Kingdom, these kingdoms dared to challenge the Qi Kingdom in recent years.

Between the Qu Kingdom and the Eastern King Valley, there was a huge canyon.

It was called the Soul-breaking Canyon.

The length of this canyon even exceeded the straight-line distance of the Eastern King Valley's territory.

Starting from the Rong Kingdom in the north of the Yang Kingdom, it extended deep into the northern desert, not far from the Endless Quicksand.

Just like the endless sea in the east and the barren desert in the north, the Endless Quicksand was the most dangerous place known to ordinary people in the desert.

Because of the depth and length of this canyon, and its extension to such a mysterious and terrifying place, it seemed to penetrate into the underworld.

Travelers passing through this place would feel their souls breaking. Hence, the name.

This place was rarely visited by people.

But at this moment, in the Soul-breaking Canyon, seven people stood on the cliff.

It was a cross-section of the cliff, which was unscalable upwards and had no end in sight downwards.

Only these seven people stood like towering cypresses, their robes fluttering in the wind.

A handsome man with cold star-like eyes stood in front of the others, vaguely the leader.

If Jiang Wang were here, he would recognize that this person was Yin Guan, whom he had met in the You Kingdom.

With his long flowing hair and tall figure, he wore a blue robe with a hanging sword at his waist. His eyebrows were like swords, and he had a unique temperament.

The other six people wore different disguises, with their faces covered by cloths or masks.

Only he revealed his true face, facing the other six directly.

After escaping from the You Kingdom, not much time had passed, but Yin Guan had clearly not wasted any time.

His aura was more stable and powerful than before.

At this moment, he gathered these six individuals with different auras but all strong, obviously not for the sake of enjoying the scenery of the Soul-breaking Canyon. There was nothing worth seeing here, nor were there people who wanted to enjoy the scenery.

"Now that we have decided to gather together, it would be a waste of your talents to do anything else," Yin Guan said calmly, his voice not drowned out by the strong mountain wind. "The path of our powerful organization begins with killing."

"Then," a hoarse voice asked in front of him, "what shall we name our organization?"

"We are all people who have no way out, even hell does not open its doors to us, right?"

Yin Guan stood against the wind, his long hair dancing. His gaze passed over the heads of these people, looking at who knows where.

"How about calling it Hell's Gate?"

...

The scale of Jia City in the Jia County of the Rizhao Prefecture was similar to that of Fenglin City, or slightly larger.

The Xi family had been in control of this city for generations, firmly rooted in it.

The Tianqing Stone vein of the Zhongxuan family was located in Qingyang Town under the jurisdiction of Jia City.

Hu You, the chief of Qingyang Town, was responsible for the affairs of the Zhongxuan family in Jia City. Because of this position, Qingyang Town was not actually under the control of Jia City.

As a vassal state of the Qi Kingdom, the Yang Kingdom's officials often lacked the courage to stand up.

When the production of the Tianqing Stone vein suddenly declined, Jiang Wang's first judgment after learning the general situation was that the problem might lie between Jia City and Qingyang Town.

There were only eight towns in the entire Jia City, and if the Zhongxuan family drew a vein here, it would effectively remove one town. The Xi family couldn't possibly have no intentions.

Although they dared not openly resist, it was possible that they secretly manipulated the vein to deplete it earlier, prematurely ending the Zhongxuan family's operation here.

As for Hu You in Qingyang Town, he had been in contact with the Zhongxuan family for so long that he should not have the audacity to meddle. Or rather, he would not be so foolish.

As long as the Zhongxuan family was still officially operating in this vein, Hu You would be the de facto emperor of Qingyang Town. If he didn't try to extend the lifespan of the vein, he wouldn't be stupid enough to destroy his own castle.

It would be best if things could be simple, but Jiang Wang was not overly optimistic.

The truth had to be personally investigated to be determined.

That was why he disguised himself and appeared here.

The mining field of the Tianqing Stone vein was equivalent to a village, with cultivators stationed here all year round and protected by formations.

Many miners lived here.

There was also an official road connecting the mining field and Qingyang Town, but it was clear that the Yang Kingdom would not take care of the Zhongxuan family's mining field.

The so-called official road was not safe enough, and the beast-driving formations were rarely maintained.

Because of the dangers in the wilderness, the miners rarely left the mining field and were escorted back to the town by the stationed cultivators once a month.

Jiang Wang came here specifically for the position of guard in this mining field.

The mining field of the Hu family was named the Hu Mining Field.

Several large signs swayed at the entrance of the mining area.

The guards in the mining area mainly guarded against ferocious beasts, not so much against people. After all, bandits couldn't rob much here, and it was not worth it to carry a bunch of ore back. Moreover, with transcendent cultivators stationed here, it would be more trouble than it was worth for transcendent cultivators to rob this place, and ordinary bandits would be seeking death.

Jiang Wang easily found the person in charge of the mining field and expressed his desire to find a stable job.

The person in charge of the Hu Mining Field was also surnamed Hu, related to Hu You.

Jiang Wang knew this because in just a few sentences, he had already boasted about it three times."Cough, so you know, I and Hu Tingzhang are from the same family. Being in charge of this mine is a big responsibility." Hu, the mine manager, took a couple of puffs from his dry pipe, then suddenly asked, "What's your name?"

"Dugu An."

"Have you learned martial arts?"

"I'm a cultivator from the Meridian Realm."

Thud.

Hu, the mine manager, fell flat on his butt.

He quickly scrambled up, grabbed Jiang Wang's hand with a humble expression, "Honorable cultivator?"

Jiang Wang subtly pulled his hand back, "What, don't you accept Transcendent cultivators here?"

The miners at the mine could safely commute to and from Qingyang Town every month thanks to the Transcendent cultivators. Of course, they couldn't possibly not accept them here.

"Accept, accept, accept." Hu, the mine manager, slapped his thigh, then with the slyness characteristic of small-minded people, he sneakily glanced at Jiang Wang, "Just afraid the conditions might be difficult, and you might not like it."

"Let's hear it." Jiang Wang casually responded, looking around.

He had just arrived here not long ago, but he had already found something interesting.

Joyful Text