Half a month passed quickly. The many war chariots of the Cloud Margin Pavilion had arrived at a desolate mountain. There were no particularly powerful demonic beasts here, with the strongest being only some Demon Kings.
As long as the humans did not disturb them, they would leave these powerful humans alone as well. During the journey here, Xiang Shaoyun had learned more information about the Land of Soul Springs from Hua Honglou.
The Land of Soul Springs was a unique space that would open every 10 years. Each time it opened, it would not remain open for more than a month. If one wanted to find a soul spring, one had to do it within a month. After a month, the space would shut down and those trapped would most likely die inside. There were also some beings native to the space, consisting of demonic beasts, cannibals, and even some ghostly beings capable of soul attacks.
As for why these beings were in the space, Hua Honglou said that they were forcefully banished into the space by the ancient humans. They were known as evil races, and thus, they were subjected to be eternal prisoners. There were also legends saying that the Land of Soul Springs was a naturally occurring space. It was akin to an entirely different world that had to open once every 10 years to replenish the spiritual energy within it by absorbing energy from the outside world.
In short, there were many rumors surrounding it, but it was a reality that the beings living in the space were incredibly vicious and sinister. During each of its openings, more than half the humans entering would perish inside.
Since only humans below the Skysoar Realm could enter while those at the Skysoar Realm would be suppressed upon entering, humans were naturally disadvantaged. After all, there were Kings among the natives of the space as well.
However, the soul springs within the space were extremely beneficial for a human wishing to break through into the Skysoar Realm. Thus, many humans would still enter every 10 years despite the dangers. The moment one obtained a soul spring, breaking through into the Skysoar Realm was practically guaranteed. They all had the mindset that riches and honor lay in the midst of danger.
It was worth noting that the soul springs were not the only treasures one could find. Occasionally, king-grade medicines would appear as well, which was something even Kings would covet.
Presently, the Cloud Margin Pavilion people were all gathered on a spacious and empty wasteland. A lot of humans and mounts were already there. Among them, the largest group consisted of the people from the Thousand Forest Academy. They had the most imposing aura of all the groups present.
Apart from the Cloud Margin Pavilion and the Thousand Forest Academy, there were also people from various other organizations and clans, and there were also a large number of unaffiliated cultivators scattered about.
Although the Land of Soul Springs was under the control of the few major cities, it was still impossible for them to fully prohibit the smaller organizations from entering. There was an intricate and complicated network of relationship between the various small organizations and the various large cities. Thus, they wouldn't easily turn on each other.
In any case, the Land of Soul Springs was an extremely dangerous place. The more humans that entered, the more advantageous it would be for the humans. When the Cloud Margin Pavilion people arrived, an elder from Thousand Forest City flew over and started catching up with the Cloud Margin Pavilion elder. From how amiable the two were chatting, it was as if they were the best of friends.
Xiang Shaoyun settled down with the people from the Red House. He no longer needed to worry about Fu Rong and Ru Hua anymore as the two had been sent away by Hua Honglou. At first, they were unwilling to leave. But after Hua Honglou said something unknown to them, they gazed at Xiang Shaoyun resentfully before leaving.
Xiang Shaoyun heaved a sigh of relief when the two left. If they were allowed to continue bothering him, he was afraid he would lose control and kill them outright. For now, Xiang Shaoyun had been reduced into a running joke of Hua Honglou and Li Yaxuan's.
Xiang Shaoyun had just taken a seat at a random corner when he noticed a group of people heading toward him. Hua Honglou, Li Yaxuan, and Chen Zilong also noticed, and they blocked the path of the group. A smile appeared on Hua Honglou's adorable face as she looked at the purple-haired young man and said, "Greetings, Senior Brother Zi. What can I help you with?"
"Junior Sister Hua, why are you being so courteous with me? We are all fellow apprentices. It's normal for me to come have a chat with you, right?" said the purple-haired young man.
The purple-haired young man was none other than the Lightning Kid. His actual name was Zi Jingyun, and he was a peak Transformation Realm expert and War King. When he was at the eighth-stage Transformation Realm, he once defeated a Skysoar Realm expert.
Both him and his cousin, the Young Lightning King, were personal disciples of the vice pavilion master, the Lightning King. They were greatly favored by him and carried the hope of the Cloud Margin Pavilion on their shoulders.
"Lightning Kid, what a hypocrite," said Chen Zilong with a sneer.
Although Chen Zilong's talent was comparable to Zi Jingyun, Chen Zilong was the descendant of an Emperor and would not stay in the Cloud Margin Pavilion forever, which was why Chen Zilong had a slightly lower status in the pavilion compared to the Lightning Kid.
"Chen Zilong, out of respect for your identity as the descendant of an Emperor, I won't mind your words. But if you continue pushing it, I don't mind teaching you a lesson," said Zi Jingyun who looked over with an oppressive gaze.
"Come if you have the balls. I have been waiting a long time for this fight!" said Chen Zilong as he licked his lips in excitement.
"Zilong, we need to put our focus on the Land of Soul Springs. Control yourself," persuaded Li Yaxuan.
"Don't worry. Chen Zilong, the fight between us will happen sooner or later," said Zi Jingyun. He then looked at Xiang Shaoyun behind everyone else and said, "Hey, kid who has challenged the Lightning Alliance, I am here. What are you waiting for? Get your ass out here to greet this alliance leader."
That's right. Zi Jingyun was only here to establish some dominance over Xiang Shaoyun. Xiang Shaoyun acted like he had heard nothing as he remained seated and nonchalantly chewed on a blade of grass.
"Audacious! Our alliance leader is summoning you! What are you waiting for?" shouted a guardian standing beside Zi Jingyun.
"Xiang Shaoyun is with the Red House. You better show some respect," said Hua Honglou with a frown.
"Junior Sister Hua, I did not hear that he joined your Red House. You better not get involved in this," said Zi Jingyun.
"What if I insist on getting involved?" Hua Honglou asked unyieldingly.
"Xiang Shaoyun, is hiding behind women the only thing you are good for?" provoked the guardian.
Xiang Shaoyun had no choice but to stand up. After stretching lazily, he dug his ear and looked at the Lightning Alliance before saying, "Are you done, flies? We have been traveling for so many days. All I want is to rest, and I can't even do that."
His words caused the Lightning Alliance people's faces to grow unsightly. As for those from the Red House, they were shocked to see how ruthless Xiang Shaoyun's words were.
"Yes, you are brave indeed. You are the first person to have dared speak like that to the Lightning Alliance," said Zi Jingyun with a sharp glint in his eyes. He looked at someone beside him and said, "Linfei, I thought you were going to challenge Xiang Shaoyun? Go deal with him. Consider this a warm up before entering the Land of Soul Springs."