As the hegemon of the Eastern Domain, the Qi State naturally held absolute authority throughout the region.
Not only did it occupy the most fertile lands and rule over numerous vassal states, but it also secretly supported many sects on the coastal islands.
However, even within the Eastern Domain, not every power bowed to the rule of the Jiang royal dynasty.
There was no need to mention the two factions with transcendent status: the Three-Punishment Palace, the sanctuary of the Legalist school, and the Suspended Temple, the eastern sanctuary of Buddhism.
The Angling Tower on the coastal islands and the Eastern King Valley, a sect specializing in both medicine and poison, acted as independent states in all but name.
Furthermore, the Qu State and Zheng State, situated at the border between the Northern and Eastern Domains, maintained their full sovereignty and independence.
With the secret backing of the Northern Domain's Mu State and the Central Domain's Jing State, they had grown bold enough to bare their teeth at the Qi State in recent years.
Between the territories of the Qu State and the Eastern King Valley lay a massive canyon.
It was called the Soul-Breaking Gorge.
This gorge was so long that it even exceeded the straight-line distance of the Eastern King Valley's territory.
It began from the Rong State to the north of the Yang State and stretched deep into the northern wastelands, supposedly not far from the Endless Quicksand.
Just as the eastern end of the world was the Bottomless Sea, the northern end was the scorched desert.
The Endless Quicksand was the most dangerous area known to ordinary people within the desert.
Because this gorge was so deep and long, extending all the way to that mysterious and terrifying place, it felt as if one were traveling through the netherworld and plunging into hell.
Travelers passing through here always felt their souls were breaking, hence its name.
This place had always been a desolate area rarely visited by humans.
But at this very moment, within the Soul-Breaking Gorge, seven people stood atop a precipice.
It was a cross-section of the cliff face--impossible to climb from above and impossible to see the bottom from below, with absolutely no footholds.
And these seven people stood as steady as green pines, only their robes flapping in the wind.
A man with refined features and eyes like cold stars stood before the group, clearly their leader.
If Jiang Wang were here, he would recognize this man as the Yin Guan he had met in the State of You.
Yin Guan's long hair drifted freely in the wind, his posture straight and tall. He wore a blue robe with a sword suspended at his waist, his sword-like eyebrows sweeping toward his temples, possessing a unique bearing.
The other six people had either wrapped their faces in cloth or covered them with masks, all in different disguises.
Only he revealed his true face, standing openly before the other six.
Time had not passed long since his escape from the State of You, but Yin Guan had clearly not wasted his time.
His aura was more stable and far more powerful than before.
Now he had gathered these six individuals, each with different but formidable auras, and he was certainly not here to admire the scenery of the Soul-Breaking Gorge. There was nothing scenic to see here, nor anyone who would want to see it.
"Since we have decided to come together, with your talents, doing anything else would be a waste." Yin Guan spoke calmly, yet even the fierce mountain wind could not drown out his voice. "Our great organization will begin its path from killing."
"Then," a hoarse voice across from him asked, "what shall we name our organization?"
"We are all people who have no path left to walk--even hell refuses to open its doors for us, aren't we?"
Yin Guan stood against the wind, his long hair dancing wildly. His gaze passed over the heads of these people, looking off into some unknown distance.
"Perhaps we should call it No Gate to Hell."
...
The scale of Jiacheng's city district in Rizhao County was roughly comparable to, or perhaps slightly larger than, that of Fenglin City.
The local Xi family had ruled this city district for generations, their roots deeply entrenched.
Chongxuan family's azure stone mine was located in Qingshe Town under Jiacheng's jurisdiction.
Hu You, the town official of Qingshe Town, served as Chongxuan family's person in charge of Jiacheng's affairs. Because of this identity, Qingshe Town was in fact not subject to Jiacheng's control.
As a vassal state of the Qi State, the Yang State officials often found themselves unable to be assertive.
When the azure stone mine's output suddenly dropped, Jiang Wang's first assessment upon learning the general situation was that the problem likely lay between Jiacheng and Qingshe Town.
The entire Jiacheng city district had only eight towns. When Chongxuan family marked out a mine there, they had effectively removed one town from its jurisdiction. The Xi family certainly would not have been without thoughts on the matter.
While they would not dare openly resist, secretly employing means to exhaust the mine early and end Chongxuan family's operations here ahead of schedule was entirely possible.
As for Hu You's side in Qingshe Town, after dealing with Chongxuan family for so long, he likely would not have the audacity to cause trouble. Or rather, he would not be so foolish.
As long as Chongxuan family was nominally still operating this mine, Hu You was Qingshe Town's de facto ruler. He would be trying to extend the mine's lifespan, not foolishly destroying his own wall of defense.
It would be best if things could be simple, but Jiang Wang would not be overly optimistic.
The actual situation could only be determined through personal investigation.
That was why he had come here in disguise.
The azure stone mine itself was equivalent to a small village, with cultivators stationed there year-round and protected by a formation array.
Many miners lived on-site.
There was also a main road connecting the mine to Qingshe Town, but Chongxuan family's mine could hardly expect any protection from the Yang State.
The so-called main road was not safe enough, and the beast-repelling formation array was rarely maintained.
It was precisely because the wilds were dangerous that the miners rarely left the mine. Each month, they were escorted back to town together by the stationed cultivators.
Jiang Wang had come here for the mine's guard position.
Hu Family Mine--that was the name of this azure stone mine.
Several large characters hung unsteadily at the mine's entrance.
The mine guards mainly defended against fierce beasts rather than people. After all, bandits would find little worth stealing at a mine--they were hardly going to carry armfuls of ore back.
Moreover, with transcendent cultivators stationed here, robbing the place would not be worth the cost for a cultivator, and ordinary bandits would simply be seeking death.
Jiang Wang easily found the mine manager and expressed his desire for a stable job.
The Hu Family Mine manager was also surnamed Hu--of the same clan as Hu You.
The reason Jiang Wang knew this was because within just a few sentences, the man had boasted about it three times.
"Ahem, as you know, I am of the same clan as Official Hu. Being responsible for this mine, the burden is enormous." The Manager Hu took two puffs of his dry pipe, then suddenly asked, "What is your name?"
"Dugu An."
"Trained in martial arts?"
"A Pulse-Thread realm cultivator."
Thump.
The manager tumbled onto the ground.
He scrambled back up quickly, seized Jiang Wang's hands with both of his own, his face full of humility: "A cultivator lord?"
Jiang Wang discreetly withdrew his hand: "What is the matter? You do not accept transcendent cultivators here?"
The miners were able to safely travel to and from Qingshe Town each month thanks to transcendent cultivators. They certainly could not refuse.
"Yes, yes, yes! Absolutely!" Manager Hu slapped his thigh, then with the cunning characteristic of a small man, stole a glance at Jiang Wang and said, "I am just afraid the conditions are too rough for you, sir."
"Let us hear it." Jiang Wang responded perfunctorily while looking around.
He had only been here briefly, but he had already noticed something interesting.