The entire caravan made their way through the valley, and as they proceeded, the Poison Miasma gradually dispersed and the terrain began to narrow, forming a bottleneck that resembled the mouth of a gourd.
From a distance, Yuan Ming could see, across the bottleneck, a bronze gate towering five to six zhang high, flanked by seven or eight Armored Guards wielding weapons.
That bronze gate was carved with numerous intricate patterns of coiled green snakes, which exuded an exotic aura at first glance.
On either side of the gate, two Green Wolves each over two zhang in height stood guard. They were hunched over, their bodies clad in specially made Scale Armor that closely protected their necks and chests, giving them an exceptionally fierce look.
As the group approached, the Green Wolves immediately bared their teeth and let out a series of deep, muffled growls. They crouched low, their muscles tensed, ready to attack at any moment.
After the guards calmed them down, the Green Wolves retracted their aggressive stance.
The lead man, with his bare chest, brought the people closer and, after signaling to those inside, a series of heavy gear-turning noises sounded, and then the massive bronze gate slowly lifted, opening a pathway.
Just then, a piercing scream came from high above, and a shadow flew swiftly over the heads of the crowd.
Yuan Ming looked up into the sky only to see a giant black hawk, its wings spread wide as it circled above them. After one sweeping loop, it dove straight down towards the ground.
"Whoosh"
A gust of wind whipped up clouds of dust and pebbles toward the crowd as a hawk with a wingspan of five feet, its sharp talons flashing with a cold light, skimmed over their heads before soaring back into the sky, eliciting a gasp from everyone.
As Yuan Ming observed the passageway, he sighed inwardly, realizing the place was far more strictly guarded than he had imagined. Once inside, escaping would be as difficult as climbing to the heavens.
"As long as I'm alive, there will definitely be opportunities."
Yuan Ming squinted his eyes and continued with the caravan, walking along a corridor two zhang wide for a while until a vast expanse of Green Stone plaza unfolded before them, opening up the scene ahead.
Behind the plaza stood a magnificent round Stone Hall, built entirely from green stone blocks, with a huge domed ceiling at the top, resembling a mighty fortress.
To the left and right of the main hall, similarly structured round halls were sporadically situated, and even farther back, a mountain peak rose with stone structures nestled upon it.
Roars of different beasts came from behind the main hall, each with a distinct pitch, seemingly from a variety of creatures, and more hawks circled and swooped above the heads of the crowd, their low cries incessant.
There were only a few people sporadically crossing the plaza, and when their gazes turned toward the group, the Southern Border men escorting them would press their hands to their chests and bow in greeting.
Without lingering there for long, they were led towards the left side of the plaza and eventually stopped in front of one of the halls.
Yuan Ming looked up and noticed that above the stone gate, three characters, resembling the twisted shapes of earthworms and resembling talismans, had been engraved.
With a little thought, Yuan Ming recognized it as the script commonly used in the Southern Border, the snake script.
And the meaning of those three characters was "Candle Spirit Hall".
At that moment, a gaunt-faced elder in a gray robe came out from the hall. His skin was slightly grayish, and although he was quite tall, he appeared somewhat shrunken.
"Quite a number this time, eh?" the elder said with a raspy voice.
"Elder Saren, we had good luck this time, a total of one hundred and thirty-seven, all capable of igniting the soul stone, there should be a few with a Spirit Root," the bare-chested man said with a respectful grin, slightly bowing.
"I hope so. Once I finish testing for the Spirit Root here, you can go to the treasury to collect your reward," the elder nodded slightly.
"Thank you, Elder."
Elder Saren's gaze swept across the group of Southern Border Wild Men, pausing on Yuan Ming with his brows slightly furrowed, showing a hint of disgust.
"Why is there a Central Plains person here?"
"Cough, we picked him up along the way, originally planning to extract his soul as well, but his Divine Soul wasn't weak, he passed the soul stone test; we didn't dare to decide on our own, so we brought him back," the bare-chested man hurriedly explained.
Yuan Ming, listening in, felt a slight sinking in his heart. From the conversation between the two men, it was apparent that being a "Central Plains person" was not well-regarded here.
"Take him in first, and we'll see," Elder Saren ordered indifferently.
The bare-chested man and others then escorted Yuan Ming and a group of Southern Border Wild Men into the hall.
The interior of the Stone Hall was vast, with bronze lamps shaped like animal heads hanging on all four walls, their yellow flames illuminating the entire hall.
Yuan Ming immediately noticed that at the center of the great hall was a round stone platform, which looked much like a grinding stone, but engraved with many intricate lines and grooves.
Eight different characters of the Southern Border snake script were positioned around the platform, each marked with its own element: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, Heaven, Other, Void.
He did not understand their meaning but surmised they must be related to the Spirit Root mentioned earlier.
"You, get on," Elder Saren pointed at a burly Wild Man and directed him towards the center of the stone platform.
The Wild Man showed fear on his face and trembled, hesitant to step forward.
Elder Saren did not show any courtesy, reaching out and grabbing his back, rendering the Wild Man stiff and immobile. He was then lifted like a chick and tossed onto the stone platform.