At the border between Southern Xinjiang and Southern Prefecture, there is a striking contrast between the two sides.

One side of the land is barren and desolate, with the wind howling and stirring up sand and dust that fills the sky.

One side is lush and verdant, and as far as the eye can see, there is a vast, ancient forest stretching endlessly, appearing empty and desolate, like a gaping abyss.

Gradually, three figures emerged from the dark ancient forest.

All three were dressed in tattered clothes, travel-worn, and their faces showed signs of fatigue.

Lin Xiuyuan's skin had become somewhat dark, his handsome features were gone, and he looked somewhat weathered. Two bright red scars appeared on his face, seemingly not yet fully healed.

That once somewhat handsome young man has now become mature and weathered, resembling an ordinary middle-aged man.

Standing beside her, Qin Suwan, though dressed in tattered clothes, her white robe stained with dark red congealed blood, making it appear as if it had turned gray, could not conceal her stunning beauty. She only looked slightly tired and numb, appearing extremely haggard.

The remaining person was a young man.

It was none other than a young man in brocade robes from the group they had traveled with, named Chang Feng, who had the cultivation level of Qi Refining Lesser Perfection.

They met him halfway through the journey, and later he said that he had a hidden treasure on his person, which allowed him to evade the search by the many demonic cultivators.

The three then traveled together, unsure of the situation outside and worried that other regions, markets, and the immortal city were being besieged by demonic forces.

Therefore, the three of them continued to sneak through the mountains and forests!

It took more than a year, mainly because they dared not fly on their swords for fear of attracting the attention of barbarian demons or demonic cultivators, and relied on lightness techniques to travel.

They encountered many savage demons during the journey, and the situation was extremely dangerous. It would be a stretch to say that they survived by the skin of their teeth, but they still managed to get through many perilous situations.

The three of them then looked disheveled and ragged.

"Phew, we've finally left the southern border. Another fifty miles ahead is Changguo Linan County, which is within the sphere of influence of the Kuncang Sect."

"It is a top power in the Nine Kingdoms Alliance, on par with the Golden Sea Sect, and is known as one of the Five Elements Sects. Its mountain gate is located in Chang Kingdom. It is unlikely that the demonic offensive will be able to reach this place."

Chang Feng exhaled a heavy breath and said with a smile.

"Let's go then!"

Lin Xiuyuan said calmly and immediately took a step.

The two followed closely behind, giving the impression that Lin Xiuyuan was in charge.

This might seem strange to outsiders, but if you follow them along the way, it doesn't seem strange at all.

Although Chang Feng was the one with the highest cultivation level, he was besieged by demonic cultivators on the riverbank, which depleted his resources and even caused him to lose his top-tier spiritual artifact. He was only able to escape with great difficulty.

When he encountered Chang Feng, he was still injured.

Along the way, although Lin Xiuyuan was different from them in terms of cultivation level, he was only slightly weaker in terms of rank and magical power. With a high-level spiritual weapon in hand and being quite skilled in combat, his combat strength in the battle against the barbarian demons was in no way inferior to that of Chang Feng and Qin Suwan.

Of course, the main reason was that he had a large number of talismans with him, and most of the dangers he encountered along the way were resolved by Lin Xiuyuan activating the talismans.

Moreover, he was steady in his actions and made proper arrangements, so gradually, although the two of them mostly followed Lin Xiuyuan's decisions.

Looking back now, Lin Xiuyuan deserves much credit for enabling us to successfully leave southern Xinjiang.

...

Linan Commandery.

As the county town that borders the Nine Kingdoms Alliance and the southern border, it served as an important border defense city for a long period of time.

Now, several hundred years later, with the Nine Kingdoms Alliance and the Demonic Path joining forces to drive back the Barbarian Demon Palace, they seized the opportunity to expand their territory and take over the southern border.

Linan County, as a major city for the Nine Kingdoms Alliance to enter the southern border, was extremely prosperous, with cultivators coming and going and caravans coming and going in an endless stream.

It seems to be no less impressive than the Southern Border Immortal City, resembling an immortal city filled with a large number of cultivators. While it may lack in the quality of its cultivators, its prosperity is not far behind.

The three stepped into the street, which was wide and bustling with people. Caravans came and went, and shops lined both sides. They felt the lively and prosperous scene that they had not seen for a long time!

The three of them immediately found a restaurant to stay in. After freshening up, they just wanted to have a good meal and also learn about the current situation and the extent of the clash between the righteous and the demonic paths.

They had barely sat down in the lobby when the surrounding chatter diminished their appetites, and their faces turned pale.

At a table not far away, several cultivators were engaged in lively conversation. One of them said:

"Our Nine Kingdoms Alliance is truly superior, hahaha, especially the Golden Sea Sect. They are really willing to give up so much. However, being able to use this to repel the demonic offensive is a win-win situation, and they even made a fortune."

"Those demonic cultivators are ultimately practicing evil arts, their minds are unstable, how can they be like us cultivators, who can calculate without fail?"

"It seems that the situation in the southern border region will be much more stable in the future, and we will probably have the opportunity to go there and explore the opportunities... The ownership of that secret place will probably also be decided soon, and maybe we can get involved."

Upon hearing these words, Lin Xiuyuan and the other two immediately had a bad feeling, and their expressions turned somewhat gloomy.

Immediately, Lin Xiuyuan took a few spirit stones and stepped forward to strike up a conversation.

Gradually, he learned the whole story, but Lin Xiuyuan's expression became even more unpleasant.

The conflict between good and evil, as they described it, started out no differently.

It all started in a secret place, which became the fuse that ignited a battle between many powerful figures from both the righteous and demonic sides.

Later, it was estimated that the Northwest Demonic Cult not only wanted to seize the secret land in one fell swoop, but also wanted to take advantage of the situation to invade more areas of the Southern Frontier.

The four major demonic sects joined forces and suddenly dispatched a large army to attack, catching the Nine Kingdoms Alliance off guard.

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