Although Qingzhou has set up some observation posts on the periphery, they are merely for monitoring the movements of beast tides. They are utterly incapable of exerting any effective control over that vast, frozen land.
This has also led to the Extreme North Land becoming a natural safe haven for countless desperate fugitives, Evil Cultivators, and wanted criminals.
Numerous tangled and complex factions are entrenched there, each carving out its own territory. Bloody battles erupt daily over Spiritual Ores and other resources for survival.
’Chaos, disorder, survival of the fittest.’
Chu Bai withdrew his Divine Thought, his gaze fixed on the road ahead as it was gradually swallowed by the night. Far from showing any fear, a faint flame flickered to life in his eyes.
’A Lawless Land like this...’
’...is the perfect place for my authority to act first and ask questions later.’
Night deepened on the official road. The moon was bright, and the stars were few.
Chu Bai walked alone through the wilderness, his steps steady. With every footfall, he left a clear, even print on the hard-packed dirt road.
The golden shackles within his chest contracted slightly with each breath, a constant reminder of his status as an Exile, but they did not disturb his thoughts.
As he mentally reviewed various pieces of intelligence about the Extreme North Land, Chu Bai suddenly recalled an old matter that was rather connected to him.
’The Extreme North Land, Godsbane Peak...’
Back when he was in Anping County, he had destroyed a Wild Cultivator organization called the True Spirit Association. According to the case files he had reviewed at the time and later intelligence, the source behind the True Spirit Association—the True Spirit of Origin and Inheritance—was suppressed by the Great Zhou Dynasty, pinned to Godsbane Peak in the Extreme North Land by Bone-Piercing Nails to suffer its punishment.
’True Spirits are said to be indestructible. I just wonder, after being battered day and night by the astral winds of Godsbane Peak and tormented by punishment, how much Spirituality is left in that being who once presumptuously tried to spread its Skills throughout the world?’
Chu Bai mused to himself.
In the Great Zhou, privately disseminating cultivation techniques was a capital offense that could shake the foundations of the nation, a crime even less tolerable than mass murder. It was only to be expected that the True Spirit would meet such a fate. Furthermore, the Extreme North Land, with its harsh environment and the Restrictions left behind by a Great Power, had always been the Great Zhou’s preferred location for exiling major criminals and imprisoning Demons.
’It seems this thirty-thousand-li journey is destined to be anything but lonely.’
Chu Bai shook his head, temporarily pushing these stray thoughts to the back of his mind. To him, that was a matter of future Cause and Effect; the most important thing right now was still his own cultivation.
Bathed in the moonlight, Chu Bai sent a sliver of his Divine Thought into the new Cultivation Technique Jade Scroll he had obtained.
*Five Elements Unification Technique*.
This was an extremely orthodox and profound Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivation Technique. It focused on unifying the Five Elements and gathering the Spiritual Mechanism of all things into the "Chenn Palace" (the Dantian). It was a match made in heaven for his Circulation Wheel Dao Foundation, which could command the Five Elements.
Previously, if Chu Bai had wanted to comprehend a Cultivation Technique of this level, it would have likely taken him several days of hard work just to get his foot in the door, even with the help of his panel.
But things were different now.
Thanks to the long-term consumption and conversion of High Tier resources by his Nourishing and Exquisite Fate Chart—especially after just refining the Essence of three Foundation Establishment Divine Spirits—Chu Bai’s physical body had already been completely transformed. His innate talent and comprehension for cultivation had also been elevated to an astonishing degree.
Under the scan of his Divine Thought, the abstruse and complex scriptures and incantations now seemed as clear and simple as the lines on his own palm. He could grasp their meaning with just a moment of deduction.
After he had walked for more than ten li, Chu Bai felt a slight warmth in his Dantian. The Five-Colored Spiritual Power had, on its own, completed a Small Circulation following the path outlined in the *Five Elements Unification Technique*. It flowed with perfect smoothness, completely unhindered.
The system panel before his eyes flickered slightly:
[Five Elements Unification Technique: Beginner (1/100)]
’I’m a Beginner already?’
A smile touched the corners of Chu Bai’s lips. If word of this speed got out, it would probably make countless Cultivators want to die of shame.
He decided to strike while the iron was hot, his gaze shifting down to his character panel.
[Realm: Early-stage Foundation Establishment (57/100)]
Seeing this number, even someone as composed as Chu Bai couldn’t help but feel a surge of pride.
An ordinary Cultivator who had just broken through to Foundation Establishment would often need several, or even dozens of years of the Water Grinding Technique, consuming large quantities of Pills, just to make a tiny bit of progress.
But what about him?
It had been just over a month since his breakthrough, and his progress bar was already more than halfway full!
’This is the terrifying dividend from swallowing the Spiritual Mechanism of an entire world, on top of refining a Divine Corpse.’
Chu Bai felt the absurdly profound foundation within him. The Origin Power from the Cyan Nether Realm had not completely dissipated; instead, it had settled deep within his limbs, bones, and Dao Foundation, enough to support a long period of high-speed cultivation in the future.
’Though an exiled criminal, my Foundation Establishment Realm is stable.’
’My foundation is deep, and the path ahead is clear.’
Chu Bai glanced up at the bright North Star, and his steps couldn’t help but become a little lighter.
’The future is full of promise.’
「More than ten days after leaving Dayuan Prefecture.」
The scenery on both sides of the official road gradually shifted from prosperous to desolate.
Chu Bai traveled north, passing through several county towns and crossing many treacherous mountains and perilous rivers.
He was in no hurry. He traveled no more than a hundred li each day, a speed that would seem like a turtle’s crawl to any other Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
If he were to go at full speed, or use the Fire Element Ring, covering a thousand li in a day would be a simple matter.
But doing so would go against his original intention of using the exile as an opportunity for cultivation.
Chu Bai measured the land with his feet, the golden shackles in his chest following him like a shadow. The Restriction, planted by a Purple Mansion Master, exerted a constant, heavy pressure, forcing the *Five Elements Unification Technique* within him to operate at high capacity at all times.
With every step, his Spiritual Power grew more condensed; with every li he traveled, his physical body was tempered anew.

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