As the hegemon of the Eastern Domain, the State of Qi naturally held immense sway, its word carrying the weight of nine tripods throughout the land.

It not only claimed the most fertile territories in the Eastern Domain, ruling over numerous vassal states, but also secretly supported several sects nestled amongst the islands near the coast.

Yet, even within this domain, not all forces bowed to the Jiang Clan’s dynasty. The Legalist Holy Land, Three Punishments Palace, and the Buddhist Eastern Holy Land, Hanging Temple, stood preeminent, their positions unchallenged.

Sects such as Fishing Sea Tower on the near-sea islands and Eastern King Valley, renowned for its dual cultivation of medicine and poison, were akin to independent nations, lacking only the formal establishment of a state system.

Furthermore, states like Qu Country and Zheng Country, situated on the border between the Northern and Eastern Domains, retained complete sovereignty and governed themselves independently. With the covert backing of the Northern Domain’s Mu Country and the Central Domain’s hegemon, Jing Country, they had grown bold enough in recent years to bare their fangs at the State of Qi.

Between Qu Country and the sect lands of Eastern King Valley lay a vast canyon, known as Broken Soul Canyon. Its length surpassed even the straight-line distance across Eastern King Valley’s territory. It began in the north of Yang Country, bordering Rong Country, and stretched deep into the Northern Desert, rumored to be not far from the Endless Quicksand.

Just as the Eastern end was the Bottomless Sea Domain, so the Northern end was the Desert Wasteland. The Endless Quicksand was the most treacherous region known to ordinary folk within the desert.

It was precisely because this canyon was so deep, so long, and always extended towards that mysterious, terrifying place, seemingly passing through the netherworld and piercing into hell, that travelers felt their souls breaking each time they traversed it, hence its name.

This place had always been rarely visited by human footprints.

Yet, at this very moment, seven figures stood upon a sheer cliff face within Broken Soul Canyon. This was a section of the cliff, unclimbable above and with no visible bottom below, utterly devoid of any foothold. And these seven individuals stood as steady as ancient pines, their robes merely fluttering in the wind.

A man with a clear, handsome face and eyes like cold stars stood at the forefront, subtly indicating his leadership. If Jiang Wang were present, he would instantly recognize this person as Yin Guan, whom he had known in You Country.

He saw the man’s long hair flowing freely, his figure straight and tall. He wore a blue robe, a pendant hanging from his waist. His sword-like brows extended to his temples, his temperament unique.

Of the seven, the others either had their faces veiled with cloth or concealed by masks, employing various methods of disguise. Only he revealed his true face, standing in direct opposition to the other six.

Not much time had passed since his escape from You Country, but Yin Guan had clearly not idled. His aura was noticeably steadier and more powerful than before. That he had summoned these six individuals, each possessing a distinct yet potent aura, was certainly not for the purpose of admiring the scenery of Broken Soul Canyon. There was no scenery to behold here, nor would anyone willingly seek it out.

“Since we have decided to gather,” Yin Guan spoke faintly, his voice unwavering despite the fierce mountain wind, “with your talents, doing anything else would be a waste. Our path to building a powerful organization begins with killing.”

“Then,” a hoarse voice inquired from in front of him, “what shall our organization be called?”

“We are all people with nowhere left to turn, whom even hell refuses to admit, are we not?”

Yin Guan stood against the wind, his long hair dancing. His gaze swept over the heads of those before him, looking towards some unknown point.

“How about, we call ourselves Hell No Door.”

The scale of Jia City within the jurisdiction of Day Illuminating Prefecture was similar to, or perhaps slightly larger than, Maple Forest City. The local Xi family had controlled this city domain for generations, their roots deeply embedded.

The Sky Blue Stone mine vein belonging to the Heavy Profound family was located in Green Sheep Town, which was under the jurisdiction of Jia City. The Pavilion Chief of Green Sheep Town, Hu You, was the person responsible for the Heavy Profound Clan’s affairs in Jia City. Because of this identity, Green Sheep Town was, in effect, not governed by Jia City. As a vassal state of Qi Country, the officials of Yang Country were often unable to assert their authority.

Upon learning of the sudden decline in the Sky Blue Stone mine vein’s output, Jiang Wang’s initial assessment was that the issue lay somewhere between Jia City and Green Sheep Town. With only eight towns in the entire Jia City domain, the Heavy Profound family’s appropriation of one for their mine vein naturally stirred resentment within the Xi family. While they might not dare to openly resist, it was quite possible they were secretly employing means to deplete the mine vein prematurely, thereby hastening the end of the Heavy Profound family’s operations here.

As for Green Sheep Town’s Hu You, having been in contact with the Heavy Profound family for so long, he should not have the audacity to cause trouble. Or rather, he wasn’t that foolish. As long as the Heavy Profound family was still nominally operating this mine vein, Hu You was effectively the local emperor of Green Sheep Town. He would be hard-pressed to find ways to extend the mine vein’s lifespan, let alone be foolish enough to destroy his own Great Wall.

It was best if the matter were simple, but Jiang Wang would not be overly optimistic. The truth of the situation still required personal investigation and confirmation. This was also the reason for his disguised appearance here.

The mine field of the Sky Blue Stone mine itself was essentially a village, with cultivators stationed there year-round and protected by formations. Many miners resided there permanently. There was also an official road connecting the mine field and Green Sheep Town, but the Heavy Profound family’s mine field obviously did not require the Yang Country side to provide much in the way of security. The so-called official road was not particularly safe, and very few beast-repelling formations were properly maintained. Precisely because the wilderness was dangerous, very few of the miners here left the mine field, being uniformly escorted back to town each month by the cultivators stationed at the mine field.

Jiang Wang was headed precisely towards the guard post at this mine field. The Hu Clan mine field was the name given to this Sky Blue Stone mine field. A sign with several large characters swayed at the entrance to the mine area.

The guards at the mine area primarily defended against fierce beasts, not so much against people. After all, bandits coming to the mine area wouldn’t gain much; they wouldn’t carry off a pile of ores. Moreover, with extraordinary cultivators stationed here, it wasn’t worth it for extraordinary cultivators to rob this place, and ordinary bandits would be seeking death.

Jiang Wang easily found the mine field manager and expressed his desire for stable work. The manager of the Hu Clan mine field was also surnamed Hu, of the same clan as Hu You. The reason Jiang Wang was clear on this matter was that within just a few sentences, the manager had boasted three times.

“Cough, as you know, I’m of the same clan as Pavilion Chief Hu. Being responsible for this mine field is a great responsibility,” Manager Hu puffed on his tobacco pipe twice, then suddenly asked, “What’s your name?”

“Lone Gu An.”

“Have you learned martial arts?”

“A cultivator of the Wandering Pulse Realm.”

*Puff*.

Manager Hu tumbled onto his backside. He scrambled back up, grasping Jiang Wang’s hand with a humble expression. “Cultivator sir?”

Jiang Wang subtly withdrew his hand. “What, you don’t recruit extraordinary cultivators here?”

The miners from the mine field were able to travel back and forth to Green Sheep Town safely each month precisely because of the extraordinary cultivators. It was, of course, impossible for this place not to recruit them.

“Recruit, recruit, recruit, recruit,” Manager Hu slapped his thigh, then with the slyness unique to a small person, he stole a glance at Jiang Wang and said, “I just fear the conditions are difficult, and you might look down on it.”

“Speak and let me see,” Jiang Wang responded casually, glancing around. He had only been here a short time, but he had already discovered something rather interesting.