After three hundred miles of travel.
The lush, green vegetation that had lined the main road gradually thinned out, eventually disappearing completely. In its place was a desolate, crimson Gobi desert.
A dry, oppressive heat saturated the air. Even the sky overhead was perpetually a murky, dim yellow, as if it hung a third lower here than anywhere else.
Ahead, a strange and massive ring-shaped Earth Vein, like a giant crimson eye, blocked the path north.
Luoxing Slope.
According to the Qingzhou Chronicles, a meteorite from beyond the heavens fell here in ancient times. The world-shattering impact gouged out a massive depression dozens of miles across.
Although the meteorite itself was long gone, the residual magnetic field it left behind had made the Earth Vein here incredibly strange. The gravity was extremely chaotic—the closer one got to the center, the more terrifying the gravity became.
Moreover, the Earth Vein was filled with the turbulent Power of Primordial Magnetism.
’The Power of Primordial Magnetism is a variation of the Metal Element.’
Chu Bai stopped and gazed into the distance, feeling the invisible pull in the air. ’This force,’ he thought, ’has an extremely strong attraction and repulsion effect on all things made of metal, one of the Five Elements. If an ordinary Cultivator tried to use Sword Flight to pass over this place, their Flying Sword would probably lose control in an instant, sending them tumbling down, sword and all.’
He could see that on the outskirts of Luoxing Slope, many mortal merchant caravans would rather spend several extra days making a detour of dozens of miles than take a single step into this perilous land.
At the edge of his vision, he could occasionally spot a few bare-chested Body Cultivators with knotted, bulging muscles, pacing at the edge of the Gobi with gritted teeth.
They were drenched in sweat, veins popping on their skin, moving with the difficulty of overburdened old oxen. They were clearly using the relatively gentle gravity of the outskirts to temper their strength.
More interestingly, Chu Bai also saw a few lavishly dressed, wealthy Cultivators. They weren’t piloting Flying Boats or Dharma Artifacts. Instead, they sat atop special contraptions called "Ironless Wooden Oxen," made entirely of mechanical wood. They navigated cautiously through the jagged rocks, terrified that their Storage Bags or Magical Treasures would be affected by the Power of Primordial Magnetism.
’Three hundred miles, and the warm-up is over.’
Chu Bai patted the dust from his clothes, his gaze piercing through the swirling yellow sand toward the distant north.
’Once I cross Luoxing Slope, I’ll be in the territory of Sea Light Prefecture.’
He felt the faint heat from the golden shackles on his chest, a constant reminder that he could "not return south." A calm smile played on his lips.
’Since this is cultivation, what’s the point of taking a detour?’
To the astonishment of the Body Cultivators, Chu Bai didn’t tread carefully like the others. Instead, he straightened his robes and strode directly into the crimson Gobi.
The moment he stepped into the outer region, a gravity about three times that of the outside world instantly descended upon him.
The gravel under his feet let out a faint groan, as if the ground itself was about to sink.
Yet, Chu Bai’s shoulders didn’t even twitch.
When that bit of gravity was applied to his terrifying physical body—fortified by Nourishing and Exquisite and fused with Evil Flood Dragon Qi Blood and the Wandering God Iron Bone—it was like a gentle breeze. It couldn’t even slow his pace by half a step.
’This level of gravity isn’t even fit to carry the shackles’ shoes.’
With a nonchalant expression, Chu Bai moved like the wind, passing the group of huffing and puffing Body Cultivators in the blink of an eye and heading toward the deeper regions where the gravity was even stronger.
The deeper he went, the darker the crimson of the Gobi underfoot became, eventually taking on a dark red hue that resembled dried blood.
Five times... seven times...
The oppressive weight in the air increased in stages. If an ordinary Qi Cultivation Cultivator were here, their internal organs would have ruptured long ago. Even a newly ascended Foundation Establishment Cultivator without a Body Refinement foundation would find it difficult to walk, needing to expend vast amounts of Spiritual Power with every step to fight the omnipresent pull.
But Chu Bai maintained his steady pace.
By the time he reached the edge of the massive crater at the core of Luoxing Slope, the surrounding gravity had already soared to a terrifying ten times normal!
The air here felt as if it had congealed into glue. Every breath he drew into his lungs was as heavy as swallowing mercury, requiring him to mobilize every muscle and organ in his body just to inhale and exhale.
HUUU—HAAA—
Chu Bai’s chest heaved, and the sound of his breathing was as deep and rumbling as thunder.
’This is the place.’
He stopped at the crater’s edge, clasped his hands behind his back, and surveyed his surroundings.
His Divine Thought, spanning several thousand yards, spread out like ripples on water, carefully probing the gravity-distorted area. Within his perception, the surroundings were deathly still, devoid of any sign of life.
The Body Cultivators tempering themselves on the outskirts, even the strongest among them, could only linger in the five-times gravity zone. This core area was a forbidden zone of death for them.
’Since no one is around, there’s no need to hide my true abilities.’
A piercing shriek filled his ears.
Within the core area, a violent Primordial Magnetic Storm was raging.
Pulled by the magnetic field, countless blade-like shards of Meteorite Iron shot through the air erratically at incredible speeds, weaving a dense, inescapable net of death.
CLANG! CLANG! THUD!
Chu Bai didn’t activate his Protective Spiritual Light, allowing the shards of Meteorite Iron, which shot out like bolts from a Strong Crossbow, to slam viciously into his body.
Sparks flew.
Those shards, sharp enough to pierce gold and stone, were like eggs striking a boulder the moment they touched Chu Bai’s skin. They shattered with a crisp crack and disintegrated into fine metallic dust, which then rustled to the ground.
His physical body, fortified by Nourishing and Exquisite after it had devoured the Divine Corpse, was already harder than Fine Steel. Combined with the passive effects of the Iron Bone Casting Body Technique, this level of physical attack was nothing more than an itch to him.

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