Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 553 - 553 552 Smoke Signals from the Northwest Double Request for Monthly Tickets

553: Chapter 552: Smoke Signals from the Northwest [Double Request for Monthly Tickets] 553: Chapter 552: Smoke Signals from the Northwest [Double Request for Monthly Tickets] Hou Niao had nothing special to prepare, as he had already shared his thoughts about challenging for a True Inheritance with his two brothers; nothing much was likely to happen.

Just as he said, it was still too early to discuss these matters, since considering them now would be somewhat premature.

In the Cultivation World, waiting is a science, and patience is a form of art.

…

The Northwest is the poorest region of the Jinxiu Continent, not because its people are lazy, but entirely due to climate-related factors.

Drought, sandstorms, lack of water systems, and poor soil quality…

A combination of these factors has led to a sparse population in most parts of the Northwest, with low productivity as a result.

With scarce population and tough living conditions, one cannot expect Cultivation powers to be very developed in such an environment.

This is determined by economic conditions, which cannot be changed by mere human wishes.

Within the Northwest Region, there are fewer Cultivation powers and nations than any other place on the continent.

Despite its vast area, which far exceeds the Southwest, there are only six Daoist Sects, and their relative sizes are much smaller than Sects in other regions.

The most famous among them are the Qin Sect and Yue Sect.

The reason these two Daoist Sects even ranked on the Cultivation World’s list is not because of their overwhelming strength, but rather because, being in the Northwest, there had to be at least two Sects to keep up appearances.

It is precisely because of the actual situation in the Northwest Region that it has become the most rampant breeding ground for undead creatures.

Unlike other regions where humans have managed to suppress non-human Cultivation Creatures, here exists a coexistence and mutual hostility between the two sides.

To use Hou Niao’s analogy, it was like magnifying Yinling countless times over.

Due to proximity to the Kneecap Desert, the living conditions throughout the Northwest Region grew bleaker the further west you went until it was utterly uninhabited.

Relatively speaking, the Qin Sect and Yue Sect are located closer to the south.

The harsh conditions meant that the areas west of the Northwest were truly unsupportable for any Sect or Daoist Sect’s survival; they couldn’t even ensure the most basic cultivation seedlings, let alone anything else.

The chaos in other parts of the Continent stemmed from the human heart, the intensifying contradictions among Cultivation Powers, and a feeling of uncertainty about the future.

But in some areas, the chaos was more tangible, such as the direct conflicts between humans and undead creatures of the desert in the Northwest.

Some intangible forces in the universe tend to be more keenly sensed by non-human Cultivation Creatures, as their cultivation relies more on instinct.

So, driven by the desire for a richer living environment, harassment by desert undead creatures on human settlements has become increasingly frequent in recent years.

For this very reason, Sects from across the Continent have been dispatching Cultivators to the Northwest.

The same phenomenon is occurring in the Northern Yuan Yi Mountain Range and the Yaoguang Mountain Range; the instinctual drive of demons to flee from perilous areas.

Among the five areas of the Continent, only the two bordering the sea are somewhat stable because marine creatures are not particularly accustomed to coming ashore.

Cultivators differ from ordinary mortals.

They understand very well the concept of “when the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold.” Furthermore, many Cultivators are willing to make the whole world their home, both for ideals and survival.

Sects do not discourage this, as it is also a rare opportunity to train Cultivators; it is much better than seeing humans slaughter each other.

For the Quanzhen of the Shan Sect, in the Northern Yuan Yi direction and the Northeastern Yaoguang direction, the forces of the Sima Mansion are predominant.

After all, the Sima Mansion is the largest among the three mansions, and since the local human cultivation power is also very strong in these two places, it makes sense for people from the Sima Mansion to go there.

They are adept in forming alliances, and the battles are not as fierce there.

The responsibility for the Northwest direction lies primarily with the Situ Mansion, where the local cultivation power is rather weak.

Everything must be depended on oneself, and the demands for combat ability are very high, making it well-suited for the battle-thrilled madmen of Situ Mansion.

Yu Zhengxing was just such a Sword Cultivator from the Situ Mansion.

He had forsaken the opportunity to stay at the Situ Mansion in Jade Capital when he reached the Tongtian Realm, choosing instead to stay in Miao Gao Town to oversee a territory.

After he achieved his Golden Core, he once again declined the position of the Situ Mansion’s appointed keeper and traveled far to the Northwest to preside over the defense duties there, having now exceeded over twenty years.

Although this fellow was very stingy, Hou Niao’s impression of him was still quite favorable.

Perhaps working under a senior like him wouldn’t be too bad?

In fact, among the three mansions, there were many cultivators like Yu Zhengxing and Luo Yewang.

In Hou Niao’s view, they were the true backbone of the Quanzhen Shan Sect.

The position of True Disciple should be chosen from among these individuals.

Continuing to fly swiftly, the ground beneath his feet gradually changed color, from vibrant green to a mix of green and yellow, and finally to the predominant dirt-yellow that now lay beneath his feet, where the sight of green was scarcely to be found.

The howling wind kicked up dust storms, reducing visibility to a low level.

Such windy and sandy weather conditions were commonplace here, prevailing most of the year; looking down from mid-air, it was even hard to discern human figures below, with eyes catching more of the whirling sandstorm cyclones raging across the vast semi-soil, semi-sand terrain.

Having remained in such a place for over twenty years, Hou Niao’s respect for this uncle increased with each passing day.

In the Northwest Region, he didn’t have many acquaintances.

If he had to name someone, it would be Yin Qingsi and her brother whom he met above the Lizhi Sea.

But to speak of their relationship, it was merely an acquaintance.

He also had no interest in reconnecting with the Qin Sect from before.

Arriving in the Northwest felt akin to arriving at sea, with its uniform sand dunes and dirt hills, and similarly challenging navigation.

At sea, he might use islands, reefs, stars, and currents to approximate his location, but here, maritime experience was of no help—it seemed even more challenging than being at sea?

Except that there was no worry about where to land.

Opening the map again, he used the towns, green states, and distant mountains he had passed to roughly maintain the correct direction.

Naturally, cultivators from the Continent’s various nations would not stay behind in countries like Qin Country or Yue Country; that would defeat the purpose of training.

They were primarily concentrated at the interface where the Northwest and the Kneecap Desert merge, scattered at various shallow or deep points.

The entire interface stretched tens of thousands of miles, with an interlocking pattern.

No matter how many human cultivators were added, it would still be like a drop in the bucket.

But even if it wasn’t possible to form a complete barrier, having them there made a considerable difference.

If these individuals hadn’t been sacrificing here, with the increasing awakening of undead beings from the Kneecap Desert over the past few hundred years, several of the human nations in the Northwest Region might have been wiped out.

He painstakingly cross-referenced the map, his fingers slowly tracing over it.

Due to each belonging to different Daoist lineages on the Northwest Border, the cultivators there truly came from all corners of the Continent, a mixture of Daoist, Buddhist, Demon, and more—diversity abounded.

But, in general terms, the entire border was divided into eight main sections.

Large Foot Hill, Quicksand Dunes, Tea-Horse Road, Thistle Sea, Ancient Lop, Huan Hu Stone Carvings, Triangle Sand State, Iron Stone Hill.

Each section was maintained by different Daoist influences, and the Quanzhen Shan Sect along with a few other minor demon sects were stationed in the Ancient Lop section—a place he was heading to.