The two discovered a human settlement downstream of the stream at the foot of the mountain.

At this time, the areas where humans gathered were also filled with violent spiritual energy, so it seemed that they could forget about finding a place with normal spiritual energy.

Qi Zhiheng led Yang Yitian into the human settlement, immediately attracting the attention of those around them.

The reason is simple: the gathering place is only so big, and the number of people is limited. Both of them are unfamiliar faces, so it's no wonder that these people are curious about them.

Not only are the residents here curious about them, but they are also very curious about the residents here.

These people all had cultivation levels, and without exception, they were all at the Nascent Soul stage. It was hard for Qi Zhiheng not to be curious about a group of Nascent Soul stage cultivators living like ordinary people.

However, Qi Zhiheng could understand. After all, the spiritual energy here could not be used for cultivation. Once the spiritual energy was used up and could not be replenished, one would only become someone to be slaughtered.

At this moment, a burly man with a thick beard led several people forward and blocked Qi Zhiheng and Yang Yitian's path.

The bearded man sized them up for a few moments and asked bluntly, "Are you two new here?"

"It's actually a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, that's really rare."

"A newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger. I was in the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm when I decided to try to break through the barrier."

The people around were quietly discussing Qi Zhiheng and Yang Yitian's situation, but they didn't say anything overly sarcastic. A Nascent Soul cultivator barged into the barrier, acting arrogantly? Even those of them in the Out-of-Body stage were trapped in this world, ending up with the same fate as the Nascent Soul cultivators. There was really nothing to brag about.

Qi Zhiheng cupped his hands in greeting: "My Daoist partner and I have mistakenly entered this realm. Seeing traces of humans here, we came to investigate. May I ask where this realm is?"

The bearded man said, "One hundred low-grade spirit stones for this piece of information!"

Qi Zhiheng: "...Senior is truly a genuine person."

The bearded man waved his hand, looking modest, and said, "You flatter me, you flatter me. Just tell me whether you'll give it to me or not!"

"Here you go!" Qi Zhiheng readily handed over one hundred low-grade spirit stones. Although he felt that living here for a few days would allow him to figure out the situation, it was completely unnecessary for one hundred low-grade spirit stones.

After receiving the spirit stones, the bearded man was quite pleased: "This is a closed world, isolated from the outside world. Forget about leaving. Our settlement is where people who have ventured into the Central Continent over the years have gathered. There are about a hundred people in total, but the exact number is uncertain. Who knows when someone might die? Besides, there are other similar settlements in other places, but I don't know how many there are."

Qi Zhiheng then asked, "Are there any special rules in this gathering place?"

The bearded man grinned, revealing a set of white teeth: "Two hundred low-grade spirit stones."

Qi Zhiheng took out two hundred low-grade spirit stones and handed them to him.

The bearded man was clearly in a good mood and praised him, saying, "You're pretty savvy, kid."

"Senior, you flatter me. This is all I should do to show my respect." Qi Zhiheng felt that the cultivators here had really fallen into depravity. They actually thought he was sensible because of a hundred low-grade spirit stones. If it were a Nascent Soul cultivator outside, would they bother to talk to him for a mere hundred low-grade spirit stones?

“Since you’re so sensible, I’ll explain it to you in more detail.” The bearded man turned around. “Go inside first, don’t stand in the sun here.”

Qi Zhiheng followed behind these people, and the group went together to a house in the settlement.

This place is clearly not a residential area; it's more like a meeting hall where people usually discuss matters.

The bearded man sat down in a chair and said to Qi Zhiheng, "Let me tell you about the rules here. First of all, you can't just attack people here. Of course, if you have a conflict and want to settle it in the forest, we won't interfere. Every now and then, we organize people to go hunting deep into the forest. If you want to stay here, you have to participate, otherwise you will be punished."

"What punishment?" Qi Zhiheng asked.

“Spirit stones, then.” The bearded man said matter-of-factly. What’s most lacking here is something with spiritual energy. “If you don’t have spirit stones, you can use something else with spiritual energy to make up for it.”

Qi Zhiheng nodded.

The bearded man said, "There are some common precautions to take here. Would you like to hear them?"

"Please speak, senior."

The bearded man chuckled again: "One thousand low-grade spirit stones. This time I'll definitely explain the situation to you clearly."

Qi Zhiheng could guess the importance of the spirit stones here, but since he had his own space, he was unlikely to lack spiritual energy like the others. Moreover, he could already absorb the spiritual energy here for his cultivation, so the spirit stones were not that important.

Moreover, he could absorb spiritual energy to recover freely in his own space, so it wouldn't be a problem at all. Therefore, Qi Zhiheng readily gave him a thousand low-grade spirit stones.

After accepting the spirit stones from before, the bearded man became more enthusiastic and finally took the initiative to reveal his name: "My name is Xiong Shuang. Since I am a body cultivator, I am considered the boss here."

In the current situation where spiritual power cannot be used, a body cultivator among a group of weak Daoist cultivators can indeed become the leader.

Qi Zhiheng nodded and, together with Yang Yitian, called out "Senior Xiong".

Xiong Shuang said, "Let me tell you about some of the situations in this world where you might lose your life."

"The first place where you might lose your life is a place with particularly violent spiritual energy." Xiong Shuang pointed to the west. "The closer you get to that direction, the denser the spiritual energy and the more violent the power. Don't run in that direction unless you have to. The spiritual energy is so dense that it's practically drilling into your bodies."

"I have learned a lot from you." Qi Zhiheng glanced at the direction, which was exactly the direction he and Yang Yitian had initially headed, and he had indeed realized it later.

Xiong Shuang then mentioned a second place: "The second place that could be deadly is the depths of the forest, where many wild beasts live. Although it sounds ridiculous that cultivators would easily lose their lives fighting wild beasts, you probably understand the situation now. Most of the beasts there are extremely ferocious, and if we don't want to waste our spiritual energy, we can't fight against so many beasts alone. By the way, when we organize our hunts, we go into these wild beast herds."

"The third place where you might lose your life is someone else's settlement." Xiong Shuang's expression was serious. "You know, the people gathered here come from several continents, from the southeast to the northwest. There are people like us who are willing to live a peaceful life, and of course, there are also those who are vicious and ruthless. You are lucky. Our settlement is basically very peaceful. Don't be fooled by the fact that you haven't encountered any danger outside. Some people will kill newcomers to steal spirit stones and maintain their own spiritual power so that they can continue killing when newcomers arrive."

Qi Zhiheng nodded outwardly, but in reality, he wasn't afraid of these so-called Nascent Soul stage cultivators. He didn't believe anyone could beat him in a contest of spiritual power.

"There are roughly a few places where danger will occur. You can choose any place in this settlement to stay. With me here to keep things under control, no one will dare to act recklessly!" Xiong Shuang patted his chest to assure him.

Qi Zhiheng asked, "Senior, is there anything else we need to be aware of?"

Xiong Shuang: "Of course we do. You don't know how long you'll be staying here, so save your spirit stones and spirit items for the faction war. By the way, faction war means other settlements might attack ours. Since you've become part of us, you should contribute more, right? Let me tell you! You're really lucky to have met me. In other factions, newcomers have to hand over half their spirit stones, but it's different here; it's more humane."

Although Qi Zhiheng didn't know whether Xiong Shuang's words were true or false, he had a fairly good impression of Xiong Shuang. At least Xiong Shuang didn't put on airs just because he was the leader of his faction. Nor did he try to steal the spirit stones from Qi Zhiheng and Yi Tian just because they were Nascent Soul cultivators. However, the truth of what Xiong Shuang said about the local faction situation remained to be verified.

Finally, it's estimated that war between factions is real, which is why Xiong Shuang wanted to win them over, lest they end up with a huge pile of spirit stones and go to the enemy's faction.

Qi Zhiheng asked, "Since cultivation is impossible here, Senior, haven't you considered leaving?"

Upon hearing Qi Zhiheng's words, all the cultivators present couldn't help but want to laugh.

Xiong Shuang chuckled and patted Qi Zhiheng's shoulder, saying, "Everyone who came in at the beginning had this thought: quite a few people have come to this world by accident, including many array masters. They have already explored this world thoroughly but haven't found any arrays that allow them to leave. So, if you want to leave, you first need to obtain the ability to tear through space, and to tear through space, your cultivation level must reach the Mahayana stage! However, you can't cultivate here, so you can't reach the Mahayana stage."

This vicious cycle means there's simply no way to get out!

Qi Zhiheng said, "You've investigated the whole world? Surely not? Aren't the outskirts of the forest difficult to reach? And aren't areas rich in spiritual energy also inaccessible?"

"Indeed, some people have gone in to investigate, but none of them came out; they died halfway there." Xiong Shuang seemed to recall something. "Back then, I also went west with my companions, hoping to find out what was going on and a way out. Later, all my companions were overwhelmed by the excessive spiritual energy and exploded along the way. There were more than thirty of us when we went, and after half of them exploded, we came back." After that, it naturally took a long time to recuperate and heal the damaged meridians in his body. After that, other people went to investigate one after another, but all of them returned empty-handed.