The term “Earth Burrow” is a very direct one, meaning a hole in the earth.

Above the Floating Land is Azure Heaven, and below the Floating Land is Shadow Heaven.

Azure Heaven hangs high above, visible everywhere. Shadow Heaven is dark and deep below, blocked by the heavy, boundless earth, making it virtually unseen.

The Earth Burrow is an exception.

No one knows exactly how the Earth Burrow came to be. All that is known is that it connects to Shadow Heaven. The danger that all tribes of the entire Floating Land must face originates from Shadow Heaven.

However, there is a legend on the Floating Land stating that above Azure Heaven, there once existed many stars. They fell from Azure Heaven into Shadow Heaven, piercing through the earth in the process, thus forming the Earth Burrows. Because of the fall of the stars, only the Polaris Star remained above Azure Heaven.

Returning to the Earth Burrow, the danger from Shadow Heaven is a very concrete existence, not an ethereal one.

There is a saying on the Floating Land: “A fallen star from Azure Heaven becomes a Star General, and a risen star from Shadow Heaven becomes a Star Beast.”

The extended meaning is that a person’s fate is determined at birth. But aside from the extended meaning, it is an objective description.

Star Beasts are the greatest calamity in the Floating Land world.

The people of the Floating Land believe that Star Generals are products of Azure Heaven, and Star Beasts are crystallizations of Shadow Heaven.

Whether this is right or wrong is debatable, but it has indeed become a consensus.

Along the way, having gained a preliminary understanding of the Earth Burrow from Qinghuo Qiming, Jiang Wang roughly understood why Qinghuo Qiming was so reluctant to come to the Earth Burrow – his adoptive father, the previous shaman of the Qinghuo tribe, died within it.

Jiang Wang also specifically inquired about the whereabouts of those “comers from Azure Heaven” who preceded him. Their names might not be known, but their characteristics were easy to identify.

Lei Zhanqian is the Chess Master of the First Scarlet Thunder Division of the Thunder Tribe. Li Fengyao is in the Pure Water Division, the strongest of the Water Tribe. Fang Chong is in the Primal Earth Division, the strongest of the Earth Tribe.

Jiang Wuxie is in the Rapid Fire Division, the strongest of the Fire Tribe.

In addition, the Chess Master of the Ironwood Division, the strongest of the Wood Tribe, is a man with a very ordinary appearance. From Qinghuo Qiming’s description alone, Jiang Wang could not associate him with any cultivator in his memory.

But Jiang Wang mainly focused on the first four people.

He also specifically asked about the location of the Pure Water Division, intending to contact Li Fengyao first, mainly to see if he could obtain a suitable method of military formation to train the Qinghuo tribe’s people. This would allow the Qinghuo warriors, who were forbidden from using totem power, to also display extraordinary combat strength in the Game of Life and Death. The Shi Clan of Stone Gate were renowned generals for generations and should not lack military formations. He himself knew nothing about them.

The others had arrived on the Floating Land many days earlier and must be trying their best to improve the combat strength of those tribal warriors in the Game of Life and Death. Jiang Wang was only now starting to select people and was already far behind.

However, Qinghuo Qiming seriously stopped him.

Due to the restrictions of the Covenant of Kings, tribes could not wage war against each other during the Game of Life and Death.

But if Jiang Wang, as the Chess Master of the Qinghuo tribe, entered the territory of another tribe, he would be immediately hunted down and killed.

Qinghuo Qiming repeatedly emphasized that this would definitely happen.

Jiang Wang was not someone who would ignore advice, so he had no choice but to give up.

The largest Earth Burrow within the Qinghuo tribe’s territory is called the Wuzhi Earth Burrow. The most elite warriors of the Qinghuo tribe are all stationed here.

The location of the Wuzhi Earth Burrow is only about twenty miles away from the Fire Shrine.

“The tribe needs a strong person to be stationed here, and the chieftain can’t leave, so I can only lead you here,” Qinghuo Qiming explained, his face a little pale.

These words were nonsense, and nonsense indicated the fluctuations in his heart. He needed some topic to divert his emotions.

“Looks reliable,” Jiang Wang said.

Before him was a fortress built of black giant stones, standing there like a silent behemoth. It left no doubt that it possessed considerable defensive capabilities.

“Yes, it’s very reliable. But not because of this fortress,” Qinghuo Qiming said, steadied his mind, and stepped forward.

Outside the fortress stood a team of Qinghuo tribe warriors. Qinghuo Qiming stepped forward and briefly communicated with them, and two strong warriors walked to one side, turning a winch. The fortress’s heavy stone gate slowly rose.

Indeed, the switch for the fortress gate was on the outside. Rather than a fortress, it was more like a prison. The warriors inside did not seem to be protected but rather “imprisoned.”

Behind the stone gate were looming tunnels. Even though there was a brazier every few steps, the end still felt distant and blurred.

Qinghuo Qiming swallowed hard: “Let’s go in.”

He stood still, looking like he intended to let Jiang Wang lead the way. This was not in accordance with the etiquette of hospitality.

“Have you not been here before?” Jiang Wang asked.

“Before… I always waited outside.”

“The previous shaman protected you very well,” Jiang Wang said, stepping into the deep tunnel.

The lifespan of the people of the Floating Land is similar to that of the Human Race of the present world.

Actually, Jiang Wang was younger than Qinghuo Qiming. But Jiang Wang had experienced too much.

“Don’t close the door yet. We’ll be out soon.” Before going in, Qinghuo Qiming specifically said to the guard warriors.

But the guard warriors just shook their heads, not giving the shaman any face.

“Are you still coming in?” Jiang Wang asked from inside the tunnel, “Otherwise, leave me a token, and I’ll go down myself?”

Qinghuo Qiming glared at the warriors angrily for a long time, but thinking of Qinghuo Gaochi’s temper, he could only grit his teeth and walk into the tunnel.

Rumble!

After he walked in, the huge stone gate quickly fell again.

The long tunnel thus appeared even more gloomy.

Qinghuo Qiming was startled, but Jiang Wang’s figure was still moving away, and even his footsteps were not disturbed in the slightest. Turning back was impossible, so he quickly took a few steps to catch up with him.

“You don’t know what’s in the Earth Burrow, so you can be so calm,” Qinghuo Qiming said, finding a topic, “Ignorance is bliss.”

“Perhaps,” Jiang Wang said.

He did not argue because he knew very well that Qinghuo Qiming’s words were just self-consolation.

And the saying “ignorance is bliss” was also right. If Jiang Wang knew what dangers he could not deal with were inside, he would not have chosen to move forward at all.

The sound of footsteps in the tunnel seemed a little abrupt, and the firelight shone on Qinghuo Qiming’s face, flickering.

The tunnel was long, but there was always an end.

At the end stood a door made of some unknown metal, entirely black. Only at the seam of the door was there a flame-forged pattern.

Jiang Wang stepped aside, silent.

Qinghuo Qiming stepped forward, reached out and pressed his hand on the metal door, and the flame mark between his eyebrows lit up.

He let go of his hand and said in a tired tone: “Wait a while. The battle probably hasn’t ended yet.”

“Is there a battle inside every day?” Jiang Wang asked.

“Not necessarily. But the appearance of Star Beasts has sparse periods and very dense periods. Generally, the closer it is to the start of the Game of Life and Death, the more frequently Star Beasts come up. After the Game of Life and Death ends, the density will drop sharply and last for a while, which is the rest period for most warriors.”

“What kind of existence are Star Beasts?”

Qinghuo Qiming opened his mouth, closed it again, and was silent for a while before saying: “I don’t know how to describe it to you. When you see it with your own eyes, you will know.”

This wait lasted nearly an hour.

Jiang Wang could still wait, but Qinghuo Qiming’s face was getting worse and worse.

“I don’t know how it is inside,” he began to mutter to himself.

The huge metal door was pulled open from the middle with a noise.

A one-armed young man stood inside the door, squinting at Qinghuo Qiming, but not speaking.

Behind him—

Points of starlight, like a long dragon, coiled in the long night.