# Chapter 177: Bloody Chaotic Land
Absolute stillness, no passage of time, no radiance appearing, in a pitch-black void, exceptionally quiet.
It felt like a fleeting instant, or perhaps ten lifetimes—this strange journey finally ended, allowing one to sense the flow of time.
The void split open, and the Supreme Elder of Yaoguang Holy Land stepped out, followed by several young disciples who stood respectfully to the side.
He swept his wide sleeve, and gray mist spread as his secret technique manifested. Thousands of people fell to the ground, released from his spacious sleeve. "Have we arrived in the Northern Domain?" Everyone felt both nervous and expectant.
Ye Fan was somewhat excited. He had finally come to the other end of the Eastern Wasteland. A new life was about to begin. What kind of region was this?
Looking out, it was completely different from what he had imagined. There were no lush flowers, no bustling crowds, no vibrant vegetation. The land was desolate—red soil, reddish-brown rocks, all bleak and barren.
The boundless earth was extremely empty, with no signs of life. Only a few bare stone mountains dotted the horizon sporadically. This was a barren land, without a trace of vitality, no sign of human habitation, utterly lifeless. "Is this the Northern Domain? Didn't they say this place was covered in gold and filled with pearls and jade?" "Forget people, you can't even see a single blade of grass. What kind of ghost place is this?!" "We have to mine Source here for ten years before we can return to the Southern Domain... Heaven help us!"
At that moment, the thousands of people were all stunned. This cold, Gobi-like land made everyone's heart sink with bad premonitions.
The Supreme Elder of Yaoguang Holy Land frowned and said, "Didn't the sects that sent you to Yaoguang Holy Land tell you what kind of place this was?" "It's completely different from what they said. We never imagined it would be like this—a place where even wild birds wouldn't land." "The Northern Domain has always been like this..." The Supreme Elder of Yaoguang Holy Land was as calm as an ancient well.
The Northern Domain, boundless and vast, was famous throughout the world for its Source mines.
Relative to its expansive territory, this place could be called sparsely populated—a thousand miles without seeing human smoke, most places completely desolate.
Success came from Source, failure came from Source. This mysterious substance condensed the essence of life, seemingly draining all the spiritual energy from the entire Northern Domain.
The phrase "outstanding people and blessed land" had little connection with the Northern Domain. The Northern lands did have oases, but compared to its infinite territory, they were truly insignificant.
This place produced abundant Source, so people didn't worry about food and clothing. But precisely because of Source, deadly conflicts often occurred. The local customs were fierce, and battles over Source mines were common. Therefore, when the Holy Lands excavated Source mines in the Northern Domain, they mostly brought people from their own territories.
The preciousness of Source to cultivators was like gold coins to mortals, causing bandits to run rampant here. There were not only locals but also forces from all over the Eastern Wasteland. Fighting over Source mines, shedding blood, rivers of blood—this was the most common occurrence. In summary, the Northern Domain was a chaotic land. This barren region, famous throughout the world for Source, was destined for chaos and bloodshed.
The Supreme Elder of Yaoguang Holy Land walked forward on foot, leaving a trail of footprints on the red earth, accompanied by the sound of wind and thunder. Suddenly, his figure disappeared ahead.
The earth shook, mountains and rivers seemed to shift. The thousands of people couldn't stand steady; many fell to the ground, all showing expressions of fear.
Ahead, the scenery changed dramatically. On the empty, boundless land appeared many stone houses built from piled rocks, along with some human figures and several Source mines.
This region was covered with profound Dao patterns, gathering the momentum of mountains and rivers, guarding Yaoguang Holy Land's Source territory, enveloping everything within.
The thousands of mortals, whether willing or not, had no choice after arriving in the Northern Domain. They could only hope that ten years would pass quickly, that they would earn enough gold coins, and return to the Southern Domain to enjoy the wealth bought with ten years of youth.
With so many people arriving, housing, food, and other issues arose. But everything was arranged by specialized personnel. The Supreme Elder of Yaoguang Holy Land disappeared directly upon arrival.
The Northern Domain had endless mining areas, but if one spoke of the most productive region, it was undoubtedly the area around the Primordial Ancient Mine. Centered on it, within a radius of a hundred thousand miles, it was divided among the various Holy Lands.
The Primordial Ancient Mine was one of the seven Forbidden Zones of Life in the Eastern Wasteland, located in the deepest part of this region, surrounded by the Holy Lands' Source territories. But no major force dared to explore it.
In ancient times, too many ominous events had occurred in that ancient mine. One Saint Lord after another had gone and never returned, so no one dared to set their sights on it anymore. It had become a legendary land of doom... In the Northern Domain, although the Primordial Ancient Mine was the most mysterious and terrifying, as long as one didn't provoke it, there would be no disaster. For the Holy Lands, the greatest threat was the bandits. The Northern lands had fierce local customs, bandits everywhere, bloodshed every day—a veritable chaotic land.
The powerful bandits came from all over the Eastern Wasteland, and even wanderers from the Central Province and the Northern Desert, all drawn by Source, forming terrifying forces one after another. Even the Holy Lands couldn't rest easy; their Source territories were also in danger of being plundered.
This was no exaggeration. Some great bandits were extremely terrifying, their strength comparable to the Supreme Elders of Holy Lands. They came without shadow and left without trace, very difficult to capture.
In the Northern Domain, thirteen great bandits were most famous, each leading a group of powerful fighters, seriously threatening the safety of the Holy Lands' Source territories.
The various Holy Lands had besieged them many times, but all ended in failure. The Thirteen Great Bandits struck and then fled far away, their traces hard to find. "Kill!" Suddenly, an explosive sound like thunder burst forth, shaking the sky. As if to prove that the Northern Domain was filled with bloodshed and warfare.
Just as the thousands of mortals entered Yaoguang Holy Land's Source territory, before the Dao patterns gathering the momentum of heaven and earth had fully closed, a troop of heavenly soldiers attacked.
The attackers numbered only seventy or eighty, each riding a savage beast, armor gleaming, beast roars spreading for dozens of miles, killing intent soaring to the sky.
This was a band of powerful riders, surrounded by blood and slaughter aura. One didn't need to think to know they had killed countless people, gathering unimaginable killing intent, with blood light swirling around them.
The thousands of mortals collapsed on the spot, completely overwhelmed by that killing intent. It was bone-chillingly cold, making them tremble, unable to stand on the ground.
Seventy or eighty savage beasts roared, iron hooves shattering the sky, all charging in. In the center, a middle-aged man who looked about thirty-something sat astride a Suanni beast, iron armor gleaming, extremely imposing.
In his arms, he carried eighteen large banners, fluttering loudly, seemingly capable of shattering heaven and earth. Each one was blood-red, slaughter aura soaring to the sky, as if they had drunk the blood of countless living beings. "Clang!" "Clang!" "Clang!"
He threw three blood-colored banners to the ground one after another. The flagpoles entered the earth like pillars supporting the sky, their momentum like mountains, unfathomable. The banners shook, clanging loudly, blood light rushing to the sky.
The Dao patterns on the ground instantly failed, the momentum of heaven and earth stopped operating, forcibly interrupted, unable to cover this place. All because those three blood-colored banners had entered the ground. "Charge!"
These riders were all extremely powerful, like heavenly generals descending to the world, possessing unparalleled combat power. They rode their beasts past like a steel flood, the sky rumbling loudly. "Who dares to trespass into Yaoguang's forbidden ground?!"
The cultivators of Yaoguang Holy Land soared into the sky one after another, blocking their path. Leading them were three old men, all with white hair and divine eyes like lightning.
"I, Jiang Yi, am here! Who dares to block me?!" The middle-aged man riding the Suanni beast in the center had iron armor flashing cold light, fifteen blood-colored banners inserted behind him, erupting with terrifying waves like an ocean.
Alone on his mount, he pulled out one banner and charged forward, his speed reaching the extreme. Sunlight couldn't keep up with his speed; only a blur could be seen. "Ninth Great Bandit Jiang Yi?!" The cultivators of Yaoguang Holy Land were very shocked. The three old men were even more so. This legendary great bandit was brave to the extreme, impossible to stop.
That blood-colored banner shook violently. The dozen or so cultivators behind the three old men of Yaoguang Holy Land all let out miserable screams and burst apart on the spot. Streams of blood light converged toward that banner, and a dozen corpses fell from the high sky. "Jiang Yi, you are originally from an ancient aristocratic clan. Why are you so violent?!" the three old men shouted. "You have no right to ask!" Jiang Yi rode his beast forward, the Suanni beneath him roaring, shaking mountains and rivers. The blood-colored banner in his hand pierced forward like a spear.
The three old men joined forces to resist. One of them sacrificed a treasure pestle, as large as a mountain, blooming divine light, pressing down. "Crack!"
That blood-colored banner was indestructible. The flagpole, like the sharpest spear tip, struck the mountain-sized treasure pestle, shattering it on the spot. "This..." That old man left an afterimage and quickly retreated.
Unfortunately, he couldn't compare to Jiang Yi's speed. The blood-colored banner thrust forward, piercing through the void, directly impaling that eminent elder. "Pfft!" Jiang Yi shook the banner. The old man impaled on it shattered into pieces, several strands of blood light disappearing into the banner's surface. "You..." This all happened too fast; the other two old men couldn't stop it in time. "Go keep him company!" Jiang Yi shook the banner, the blood-colored surface fluttering loudly. "Bang!" "Bang!" The two eminent elders burst apart on the spot, unable to resist him at all!
This was a shocking scene. Jiang Yi was unstoppable, one banner suppressing the sky. The Suanni beast beneath him raised its head and roared, the long sky trembling, killing intent spreading across the wilderness. "Ninth Great Bandit—Jiang Yi!" Two Supreme Elders rushed over from the distant sky. One of them was the old man who had crossed the void, bringing Ye Fan and the others here. "You are a direct descendant of an ancient aristocratic clan, yet you willingly fall and become a great bandit. Why?!" one of Yaoguang Holy Land's Supreme Elders shouted. "Hmph! After my elder brother Jiang Zhe left the Jiang family, I completely severed ties with this clan. Don't mention that identity to me anymore!" Jiang Yi's tiger-like eyes flashed cold light. "We don't care about your affairs with the Jiang family. Why do you plunder Yaoguang Holy Land's Source territory?!" "Ridiculous!" Jiang Yi sneered coldly. "The Source territory outside the Primordial Ancient Mine should belong to the people of the Northern Domain. What virtue and ability do you have to claim land by riding horses and marking boundaries?!"
Ye Fan's heart trembled. The name Jiang Zhe was not unfamiliar to him. He was a generation's genius of the Jiang family who, for unknown reasons, left the Jiang family and died in a foreign land. Little Tingting was his descendant. "Bang!"
A blood-colored banner descended, inserted into the ground, expanding like a towering ancient tree several hundred feet tall, enveloping everyone in blood light.
"I don't want to harm the innocent. You two old things can come at me!" The Ninth Great Bandit Jiang Yi waved to the riders behind him, saying, "You go take the Source. I'll hold off these two old things."
The fourteen blood-colored banners behind him all soared into the sky, like supporting pillars standing under the heavens, enveloping Yaoguang Holy Land's two Supreme Elders. Behind him, dozens of iron riders thundered past like a flood, shaking the high sky.
Ye Fan found it hard to calm his heart. The Primordial Ancient Mine, the Thirteen Great Bandits, the Jiang family, and the Yao Chi Holy Land—they all seemed very close.