And now...
"A Cyan Register Immortal Official, a Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator..."
"When I finally reach Foundation Establishment, will I even be able to catch up?"
A bitter, self-mocking smile twisted Wei Chuan’s lips. He shook his head, unwilling to watch for another second, and turned to vanish into the deep, dark corridor.
"The difference between us is like that between the clouds and the mud. Why humiliate myself further?"
...
In the distance, atop the high tower of the Examination Department.
The evening wind howled, whipping up the vermilion curtains.
Shen Xuance stood leaning against the railing, his gaze piercing through layers of buildings and evening mist. He watched from afar as the young figure finally left the borders of Dayuan Prefecture, disappearing onto the vast, northern official road.
"Though his body is headed for the Extreme North, he has taken the hearts of many of Dayuan Prefecture’s younger generation with him."
Shen Xuance watched the hundred-odd prodigies at the city gate who refused to disperse, took a light sip of the warm tea in his hand, and muttered to himself as a sharp glint flashed in his eyes:
"These people are all scions of the great families, the future pillars of Qingzhou. With their bows today, Chu Bai has planted a seed of Cause and Effect in their hearts. In the days to come, it will surely grow into a towering tree."
He set down his teacup, his fingertips tapping lightly on the railing as if beating the rhythm for the dawn of a new era.
"Go, then. Go to that barbaric and brutal Extreme North Land."
"A greenhouse can’t raise a True Dragon. Although it’s a place where one is almost certain to die, it’s also the most suitable place for a monster like you—one who grows wildly, devouring not just men, but gods."
Shen Xuance gazed at the deepening northern night, his voice faint and laced with anticipation:
"The day you return after your thirty-thousand-mile journey... I fear the very heavens of Qingzhou will be forced to change."
Outside the gates of Dayuan Prefecture City, a boundary marker stood tall.
The moment Chu Bai’s feet crossed that invisible line and he officially stepped into the wilderness outside the prefecture city, the dormant golden shackles deep in his chest suddenly flared with heat, releasing a hum that only his Divine Soul could hear.
It wasn’t a painful burning, but rather a heavy, omnipresent sense of restraint.
It was like an invisible straitjacket, tightly constricting the Circulation Wheel Dao Foundation Chu Bai had just forged. It even suppressed the flow of his Foundation Establishment Spiritual Power—which surged like mercury within him—by thirty percent.
However, Chu Bai showed no sign of pain. Instead, he carefully assessed the pressure, a strange light flashing in his eyes.
Under the transformative effect of his "Merit and Demerit Shape Destiny" Fate Chart, the nature of these shackles—originally placed by a Purple Mansion Master to punish criminals—had undergone a subtle change.
’Pressure is motivation; restraint is refinement.’
’For me, though, this is primarily a tempering of my Dao Heart.’
Understanding dawned in Chu Bai’s mind.
As he walked forward under its weight, every step he took forced the Spiritual Power in his body to compress and erupt with greater intensity just to counteract the resistance.
The setting sun cast his long, lonely, blue-robed shadow across the land, pointing straight toward the north.
Chu Bai reached into his sleeve with his right hand and felt the heavy, chillingly cold Mountain God Seal, sensing the dense power of the Earth Vein contained within.
He then sank his consciousness into his Dantian. Watching the Circulation Wheel, which, under the pressure of the golden shackles, was paradoxically spinning with even more force and solidity, a hopeful curve touched his lips.
’Thirty thousand miles of clouds and moon.’
’This road... I will walk it, step by step.’
He took a step and started down the vast, northern official road.
The Decree of the shackles stated that he must measure the land with his own two feet. He was forbidden from using Dharma Artifacts to fly or employing the Shrinking Inches Skill.
For a Foundation Establishment Cultivator accustomed to flying on artifacts, this was undoubtedly a great torment.
But when Chu Bai took stock of his possessions, he found that the only travel-related Dharma Artifact he had was the Fire Element Ring he’d acquired back in the Qi Cultivation Stage.
’Forget it. While the Fire Element Ring can enhance my Body Technique, for me now, it’s just icing on the cake.’
Chu Bai shook his head and decided against using any external aids, relying purely on his physical body and Spiritual Power for travel.
With his current physique, which was comparable to that of a Demon Beast, his walking speed alone far surpassed that of a galloping horse.
While walking, Chu Bai sent a wisp of his Divine Thought into the Starlight Jade Scroll that Hee Wenyan had given him.
A vast and detailed panoramic map of Qingzhou instantly and slowly unfurled in his Sea of Consciousness.
’Dayuan Prefecture is in northern Qingzhou, but it’s still ten thousand miles from the true Land of Extreme North Cold.’
Chu Bai’s Divine Thought roamed across the map as he planned his route.
To reach his place of exile, he first needed to pass through several counties in the northern part of Dayuan Prefecture before entering the adjoining Sea Light Prefecture.
’Sea Light Prefecture...’
Chu Bai read the annotations on the Jade Scroll.
This Sea Light Prefecture was the northernmost gateway of Qingzhou, and its eastern side bordered the sea.
But this was no sea of endless blue waves; it was a Frozen Sea, perennially ice-bound by the Cold Fiend.
It was said that the ice was a thousand feet thick and could not be broken by human effort. Only every few years, or even decades, when the Qi of heaven and earth interacted, would the Frozen Sea briefly thaw.
At that time, magnificent auroras would descend upon the sea’s surface—these were called the "Sea Light." Rare Water Element Celestial and Earthly Treasures would often emerge from the deep sea along with the Sea Light.
This was how Sea Light Prefecture got its name.
’Past Sea Light Prefecture and further north lies the lawless Extreme North Land.’
At this point, the information in the Jade Scroll became increasingly grim.
According to rumor, the Extreme North Land was the ruin of a battlefield left behind after several Great Powers engaged in Magical Combat during the primordial era.
The area was perpetually covered in ice, snow, and Evil Qi. The environment was abominable, but because of the remnants of that ancient Magical Combat, it had also given birth to many rare Spiritual Ore veins.
’A no-man’s-land...’
Chu Bai raised an eyebrow.
Because it was situated at the border of several states and had such a harsh environment, it fell under no single state’s jurisdiction.

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