Chapter 530

West Heaven Path.

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

The folk customs here are fierce, with many different ethnic groups living together, the imperial court's control is weak, and it is a "three-no-care" zone where various factions are mixed and outlaws run rampant.

It is precisely because of this that many secret inheritances and ancient ruins often choose to hide in this vast and dangerous area.

"Golden Maple Valley is located deep in the 'Red Gold Mountain Range' in the northwest of the West Heaven Path. It is a strange valley that has grown mutated golden maples due to the rich metal ore veins underground and the influence of special earth veins."

Daoist Daoist Zhuqing compared the information she obtained with the vague sensing of the "A-Wood Spirit Core" to the metal-attribute spiritual energy, judging the direction.

"The metal-attribute energy here is vigorous, and it has a great suppression on wood-attribute objects. The sensing range of my 'A-Wood Spirit Core' has shrunk quite a bit, so we need to be more careful."

Chen Mu nodded slightly.

The three of them did not delay any longer and galloped towards the Red Gold Mountain Range.

After traveling for several more days, the scene before them became desolate, with reddish mountain rocks exposed, like burning flames under the sun.

A faint metallic fishy smell permeated the air, and even the wind blowing past carried a sharp feeling that cut the face.

Ordinary birds and beasts were extinct, and only some insects and small exotic beasts that had adapted to the environment here, with hard shells and hideous shapes, occasionally appeared.

"The Red Gold Mountain Range should be ahead."

Daoist Daoist Zhuqing pointed to a continuous mountain shadow in the distance that was distorted in the heat wave and presented a dark red color.

"Golden Maple Valley is deep in the mountain range. It is said that the entrance is hidden and covered by a natural golden evil maze, which is difficult for ordinary people to find. Fortunately, we have the token as a guide."

Sure enough, as they approached, the resonance of the three tokens became clearer, and the burning sensation steadily pointed to a specific direction deep in the mountain range.

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

The mountain body was as hard as iron, with no grass growing, only some dark red moss like rust attached to it.

The ground was scorching, and the golden evil energy wandering in the air caused no small damage to low-level martial artists.

Occasionally, scorching metal-attribute poisonous gas would spray out from the ground cracks, or "Iron-Spined Lizards," "Golden-Clawed Vultures," and other exotic beasts that had been eroded by golden evil and became violent and bloodthirsty would jump out from the shadows of the mountain rocks to attack, all of which were easily solved by Chen Mu.

Following the token's guidance, the three of them traveled through the complex and rugged mountain range for two days.

On this day, at noon, they arrived in front of a huge dark red canyon that seemed to have been split by a heavenly axe.

The entrance to the canyon was narrow, only allowing a few people to walk side by side, and the cliffs on both sides towered into the clouds, smooth as mirrors, reflecting the dazzling sunlight.

In the valley, the wind howled, rolling up a sky full of dark red sand and dust, blocking the line of sight, and spiritual sense probing felt bursts of needle-like stinging pain, which was the golden evil energy that was so thick it was almost substantial and the naturally formed chaotic force field.

"This is it, Golden Maple Valley."

Daoist Daoist Zhuqing focused her sensing, "'A-Wood Spirit Core' is almost ineffective here, pressed to death by the golden energy. The golden evil maze in the valley is natural, very easy to lose direction, and there may be natural golden evil gales and earth fire poisonous veins, which are extremely dangerous. We must follow the token's guidance closely and must not disperse."

Chen Mu nodded and stepped into the canyon first.

Once in the valley, he felt the surrounding pressure increase sharply, and the ubiquitous golden evil energy was like countless tiny blades, trying to cut the intruder's protective true qi and physical body.

The strong wind rolled dark red gravel, hitting the protective qi, making a "pitter-patter" sound, and there was a chaotic magnetic field interfering with the sense of direction and spiritual sense.

Fortunately, the three tokens of "Summer," "Winter," and "Spring" were not completely suppressed here, but because of the same-source resonance, the directivity became clearer, like a lighthouse in the dark, guiding the three to walk deep into the valley.

The valley road was winding, with many forks, and if it weren't for the token's guidance, they would have been lost in this dark red maze long ago.

Along the way, the three of them saw more scenes mutated by golden evil erosion.

Gullies flowing with dark red, high-temperature metal molten liquid.

Strange plants growing in rock crevices, with leaves like knives, flashing with metallic cold light.

There were even some strange lives composed entirely of metal ore, exuding weak spiritual fluctuations, but these strange lives seemed to have very low intelligence, only instinctively swallowing the golden evil energy in the valley, and had no great aggressiveness towards intruders.

The golden evil gales occasionally encountered, with power enough to tear apart innate martial artists, were also easily resolved by Chen Mu.

The earth fire poisonous veins erupted, and were also guided and calmed by him with water and fire power.

After traveling through the sinister canyon for nearly an hour, the front suddenly opened up.

A strange scene that could not be described in words came into view.

It was a basin located deep in the canyon, surrounded by dark red mountain walls.

The basin was not large, about a few miles in radius, but the scene inside was completely different from the desolation and dead silence outside.

In the basin, there was no soil, and the ground was covered with a thick layer of dark golden, strange material like metal debris.

And on this "metal soil," grew countless strange trees, golden maples, up to ten zhang high, presenting a brilliant golden-red color all over.

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

The leaves were not in the shape of ordinary maple leaves, but like golden blades as thin as cicada wings with sharp edges, layered on top of each other, refracting a dreamy golden-red luster under the slightly dim light that did not know where it came from in the valley.

When the breeze blew, even if the wind force deep in the valley weakened, countless "knife leaves" collided with each other, making a crisp and pleasant "ding-dong" sound like gold and jade clashing, gathering into a wonderful movement.

What was even stranger was that the air was filled with pure metal-attribute energy that was so thick it could not be dissolved. These energies were not as violent and chaotic as outside the valley, but unusually gentle and pure, carrying an ancient and sharp feeling that had settled for endless years.

Between breaths, one could feel the lungs being washed by wisps of sharp golden energy. For practitioners of metal-attribute techniques, this place was undoubtedly a cave heaven and blessed land.

And in the very center of the basin, on a relatively open piece of "metal soil," stood a broken stone tablet cast entirely from some kind of dark golden strange metal.

The stone tablet was five zhang high, two zhang wide, and three feet thick. Although it was broken from the middle, leaving only half, it still exuded a heavy, ancient, and murderous metal-attribute Dao rhyme that seemed capable of suppressing everything.

The tablet body was covered with traces left by wind and rain and the passage of time. The characters and patterns that might have been carved on it were long since blurred, leaving only some intermittent, sharp scratches.

On the edge of the fracture, one could faintly see half of a strange, ancient symbol like crossed axes.

Sunset Broken Tablet.

"This is it!"

A look of excitement flashed in Ning Ning Zhixi's eyes. She could clearly feel that the resonance of the three tokens in her arms reached its peak here, and the burning sensation pointed straight to the base of the broken tablet.

"The 'Autumn Key' is under the tablet!"