Chapter 538: West Heaven Road, the Sunset Broken Stele!

West Heaven Road.

The sky is high and the earth wide, mountains and rivers majestic, but the climate is harsh.

The local customs are fierce, with many alien races cohabiting; imperial court control is weak, making it a "no-man's-land" where various factions mingle and outlaws run rampant.

Precisely because of this, many secret lineages and ancient ruins often hide within this vast and dangerous region.

"Jin Fenggu lies deep within the 'Red Gold Mountain Range' in the northwestern part of West Heaven Road. It is a peculiar valley where underground metal veins, combined with unique earth veins, have caused the growth of mutated golden maples."

Master Bamboo Green consulted the information he had gathered and the faint resonance of his "Jia Wood Spirit Core" with metal qi to judge their direction.

"The metal qi here is overwhelming and severely suppresses wood qi—my 'Jia Wood Spirit Core''s sensing range has shrunk considerably; we must be more careful."

Chen Mu nodded slightly.

The three no longer delayed and raced toward the Red Gold Mountain Range.

After several more days, the scenery turned desolate; crimson mountain rocks lay exposed, glowing like burning flames under the sun.

The air was filled with a faint metallic stench, and even the wind carried a cutting sharpness against the skin.

Ordinary birds and beasts had vanished; only some hardened, grotesque insects and small exotic beasts adapted to this environment occasionally appeared.

"Ahead must be the Red Gold Mountain Range."

Master Bamboo Green pointed to distant, heat-distorted, dark red mountain shadows.

"Jin Fenggu lies deep within the range; its entrance is hidden, shrouded by a natural golden death mist array, making it nearly impossible for ordinary people to find. Fortunately, we have the tokens to guide us."

Indeed, as they drew closer, the three tokens' resonance grew clearer, their heat steadily pointing toward a specific direction deep within the mountains.

Entering the Red Gold Mountain Range, the environment grew even harsher.

The mountains were hard as iron, barren of grass, covered only with dark red moss resembling rust.

The ground was scorching; stray golden death qi harmed low-level martial cultivators significantly.

Occasionally, hot metallic toxic gases erupted from fissures, or ferocious, golden death-corrupted beasts like "Iron Spine Lizards" and "Golden Claw Bald Eagles" leapt from shadowed rocks—each was casually dispatched by Chen Mu.

Following the tokens' guidance, the three traversed the complex, rugged mountains for two days.

On this day, at noon, they arrived before a colossal crimson canyon, as if split open by a heavenly axe.

The canyon entrance was narrow, barely wide enough for a few people to walk side by side; the towering cliffs on either side rose into the clouds, smooth as mirrors, reflecting blinding sunlight.

Inside the canyon, howling winds whipped up swirling clouds of dark red sand, obscuring vision; even spiritual sense probing felt sharp, needle-like pain—the result of dense, nearly solid golden death qi and a naturally formed chaotic force field.

"This is it—Jin Fenggu."

Master Bamboo Green focused his senses. "My 'Jia Wood Spirit Core' is nearly useless here, crushed under the weight of metal qi. The valley's golden death mist array is naturally formed—it's easy to lose your way, and there may be natural golden death gales and earthfire poison veins—extremely perilous. We must stick close to the tokens' guidance and never separate."

Chen Mu nodded and stepped forward into the canyon.

As soon as he entered, pressure surged—everywhere, the golden death qi acted like countless tiny blades, attempting to slice through the intruders' protective qi and flesh.

The wind, laden with dark red gravel, struck their protective aura with a "popping" sound, while a chaotic magnetic field disrupted direction and spiritual sense.

Fortunately, the "Summer," "Winter," and "Spring" tokens were not fully suppressed here; instead, due to their shared origin, their directional pull became sharper—like lighthouses in darkness, guiding the three deeper into the valley.

The path twisted, riddled with countless forks; without the tokens, they would have long been lost in this crimson labyrinth.

Along the way, the trio encountered more phenomena warped by golden death qi.

Gullies flowed with dark red, scorching-hot metallic molten fluid.

Strange plants grew in rock crevices, their leaves shaped like knives, gleaming with metallic cold light.

Even some peculiar lifeforms composed entirely of metal ore, emitting faint spiritual fluctuations, appeared—but these strange beings possessed almost no intelligence, merely instinctively devouring the valley's golden death qi and showing little aggression toward intruders.

Occasional golden death gales, powerful enough to tear apart primordial martial cultivators, were effortlessly dispelled by Chen Mu.

Earthfire poison veins erupting were likewise guided and calmed by his water and fire qi.

After nearly an hour of traversing this treacherous canyon, the path ahead suddenly opened up.

A sight beyond description appeared before their eyes.

It was a basin nestled at the canyon's deepest point, encircled by crimson mountain walls.

The basin was small, roughly several li across, yet its scenery stood in stark contrast to the desolation outside.

There was no soil; the ground was covered in a thick layer of dark gold, metallic-scraps-like strange substance.

Upon this "metal soil" grew countless towering golden maples, reaching over ten zhang high, their entire bodies glowing brilliant gold-red.

These golden maple trees had straight trunks and smooth bark, like meticulously polished copper.

Their leaves were not ordinary maple shapes, but thin as cicada wings, edged with sharpness, layered and overlapping; under the dim, sourceless light of the valley, they refracted a dreamlike golden-red glow.

A gentle breeze stirred—even deep within the valley, where winds weakened—countless "blade-leaves" clashing together emitted crisp, melodious "ding-dong" sounds, blending into a wondrous symphony.

Even more peculiar was the air, thick with pure, concentrated metal qi—not wild and chaotic like outside, but unusually calm, refined, carrying an ancient, sharpened weight forged over endless ages.

With every breath, one felt the lungs washed by fine, piercing metal qi; for cultivators of metal arts, this place was unquestionably a paradise.

At the basin's center, upon a relatively open patch of "metal soil," stood a broken stone stele, entirely cast from a strange dark-gold metal.

The stele stood five zhang tall, two zhang wide, three chi thick; though fractured and reduced to half its height, it still radiated a heavy, ancient, grim, all-suppressing metal Dao resonance.

Its surface was covered with traces of wind, rain, and time; the original carvings of characters and patterns had long faded, leaving only fragmented, sharp-edged scratches.

Along the fracture's edge, faintly visible was half of a strange, ancient symbol resembling crossed axes and halberds.

Sunset Broken Stele.

"This is it!"

Ning Zhi Xi's eyes flashed with excitement; she clearly felt the three tokens' resonance reaching its peak here, their heat pointing directly beneath the broken stele.

"The 'Autumn Key' lies beneath the stele!"