A large group of cultivators running to this forsaken place, seeking brothels... hmph, seeking opportunities.

This truly broadens one's horizons.

The entire Qingzhou Prefecture was desolate upon arrival; before even entering the city, the walls were dilapidated, and there wasn't even a city gate.

Inside the city, the residences were overgrown with weeds, the old houses' tiles were crumbling, and there was no sign of life.

If not for these coming and going cultivators, this place would indeed be a ghost town.

The two of them found a rundown tea house to sit in; the thatched roof above had long been empty, leaving only a few supports.

Huangfu Liang once again touched the Big Gourd, lifted it to his lips, and took another swig before looking at Han Yu.

"This place has always been a dead city; surely you know that?"

Han Yu looked genuinely bewildered; this place was in the Northern Border, and he, as someone from the Southern Border, indeed didn't know!

"Didn't any elder from your sect tell you about this place, just letting you come?"

Huangfu Liang looked at him incredulously, muttering.

Han Yu was momentarily speechless. Where could he find sect elders? He had come all the way from the Southern Border, dashing wildly and feeding the Ping along the way. If it weren't for Yi Xian mentioning that there was a Self-Improvement Sect outpost here, he might not have come.

"Did you notice there's no Government Office here?"

When Huangfu Liang mentioned the Government Office, Han Yu fell into deep thought. He had noticed this upon entering the city, but hadn't thought deeply about it until now, and quickly realized something was wrong.

The Guardian Mansion was a position set up since the founding of the new dynasty; the previous dynasty did not have this official position.

So it's like the new dynasty didn't settle here after conquering the land.

Or maybe they abandoned this place.

Calculating it, the new dynasty has been established for about two hundred years, meaning this place has been desolate for over two hundred years.

What event caused this place to become like this?

Han Yu looked at him with a probing gaze.

"Before the new dynasty, during the previous dynasty, it should have been more than two hundred years ago, something major happened here."

As he spoke, Huangfu Liang's eyes showed a rare trace of awe.

According to the accounts of predecessors, one day the sky over Qingzhou Prefecture was particularly gloomy, covered with dark clouds as if forcibly enveloping the entire prefecture. That day, sunlight couldn't penetrate Qingzhou City at all.

The clouds throbbed with thunderous lights, yet it didn't truly thunder, with continuous booming explosions.

At that time, a few Divine Gaze Realm cultivators were curious and wanted to take a closer look. They had just soared less than a hundred feet when thunderous light drew in and instantly reduced those cultivators to dust.

Initially thought to be extreme weather, but this was the Divine Gaze Realm. Not even thunder, not even a sea of lightning, would necessarily cause such destruction.

The whole city descended into panic, and no one dared to fly up and explore further.

At night, above the clouds...

Huangfu Liang paused here, seemingly about to play a guessing game, but then he just took a sip of wine.

"Above the clouds, two dragon claws appeared!"

When the thick clouds were parted by two gigantic dragon claws, a massive azure dragon as large as a mountain was fully revealed.

The intimidation brought by the giant dragon was terrifying. Cultivators couldn't help but tremble just by looking at it for a moment, let alone the commoners in the city, who couldn't move at all under the dragon's majesty.

Then, from behind the clouds, appeared a... "person."

Why call it that?

Because according to records, no one dared confirm what it was, perhaps based on a vague silhouette, perhaps merely speculation, or perhaps disbelief that a person could be so powerful.

The two sides fought an unceasing battle in the sky, the massive shockwaves causing mountains to crumble, rivers to dry up, and Qingzhou City to sway as if in a storm, never stopping its great shaking.

Finally, that "person" summoned an endless sea of lightning.

The sea of lightning enveloped the giant dragon, and for half a shi, the entire night sky turned as bright as day.

"And then?"

Han Yu listened, his heart stirred, hurriedly asking.

Huangfu Liang sighed.

After the sea of lightning, there was nothing more.

Han Yu was suddenly dumbfounded; how could there be nothing more when it was just at the most crucial part?

Huangfu Liang looked up at him meaningfully and said, "The cultivators at that time thought the same as you, wanting to see the follow-up. Only two relatively timid Divine Gaze Realm cultivators, upon seeing the sea of lightning, dared not look further and fled far away."

"After that night, Qingzhou Prefecture was left utterly barren! Except for those two escaping cultivators, all living beings within the prefecture disappeared. Just think, if not for those two survivors, no one would know what happened in Qingzhou Prefecture."

At this, Huangfu Liang sighed deeply.

Han Yu, however, felt a chill down his spine. How terrifying must the power be to render an entire prefecture barren, a calamity of such magnitude could be called a heavenly scourge.

As the story of Qingzhou Prefecture spread, for about several decades, no cultivator dared set foot here. Cultivators wouldn't dare; naturally, commoners feared it like a tiger, and this land was nearly forgotten.

Until the new dynasty used the incident in Qingzhou Prefecture to issue a proclamation, blaming the previous dynasty's lack of virtue for attracting heavenly retribution, thus changing the course of the world. Only then was Qingzhou Prefecture brought up again.

The Imperial Court intended to reorganize Qingzhou Prefecture, yet the events here were too terrifying. Even if the Imperial Court offered rewards, who dared move here?

To have such a vast land empty was hard to accept for the Imperial Court, so they thought of stationing troops here to first break the commoners' fear before finding ways to rejuvenate the place.

But after all this, it's unrelated to opportunities!

"Don't rush, the main part is coming."

Huangfu Liang took a sip of wine and continued.

Those soldiers stationed at Qingzhou Prefecture found two things but, being clueless, sold them off.

One was a Blood Ganoderma, the other a Dragon Blood Stone.

Once sold, the secret couldn't be kept.

The Blood Ganoderma could wash a cultivator's Fire Attribute Spirit Root, making it even stronger.

And a Dragon Blood Stone was used by one old undying Divine Gaze Great Perfection Cultivator, who directly broke through to Transcendence.

It's imaginable how frenzied the Cultivator Realm became over these two things.

For over two hundred years, Qingzhou Prefecture hasn't lacked cultivators.

"Damn it, I was born at the wrong time, otherwise cultivation wouldn't have been so hard; supposedly there was a lot of Blood Ganoderma at the beginning."

Huangfu Liang spoke with frustration.

And now, it's been many years since anyone has found any.

The Dragon Blood Stones are even more outrageous, with only three known to have appeared in over two hundred years.

Even so, Qingzhou Prefecture still sees a constant stream of cultivators coming, leaving and arriving in batches.

If you find something, that's opportunity. If not, it's a trial.

"So, does that mean the giant dragon lost back then?"

Han Yu immediately thought, what with Dragon Blood Stones and Blood Ganoderma, it most likely was related to the giant dragon.

"There's such a saying, but most believe the giant dragon was only wounded. The Cultivator Realm speculates that the Blood Ganoderma was nurtured by dragon blood poured on spirit plants, while the dragon's essence blood solidified into Dragon Blood Stones."

"Such a giant dragon, if it really lost, it wouldn't have been just these few stones and ganoderma."

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