63: Strong individuals abound, and undercurrents surge.

Black Wind Plain.

It is perennially shrouded in gale-force winds strong enough to tear apart the Physical Body of Golden Core Cultivators, yet in the central region of the plain, it is strangely calm, forming a safe zone a hundred miles in circumference.

At this moment, this safe zone was already bustling with tens of thousands of Cultivators.

These people came from the Northern Barrens, Central Plains, Southern Border, Western Desert... almost encompassing all the top forces of this continent.

They gathered in groups of three or five, clearly demarcated, occupying their respective territories and forming camps of various sizes.

A tense and oppressive atmosphere permeated the air.

Powerful Divine Sense swept across the sky unscrupulously; Cultivators with weaker cultivation would even find it difficult to breathe in this environment.

Chu He's figure silently appeared at the edge of this area.

As soon as he appeared, more than a dozen Nascent Soul Stage Divine Sense immediately swept over.

Some of these Divine Sense carried scrutiny, some vigilance, and others were filled with undisguised malice.

Chu He frowned slightly.

He didn't like being spied on like this.

"Hmph."

A cold snort emanated from his mouth, not loud, but like a Divine Soul impact, it instantly spread out.

The dozen or so Divine Sense that had swept towards him recoiled as if pricked by needles, shrinking back as if shocked by electricity.

Several Early Stage Nascent Soul Cultivators with weaker cultivation even groaned, their faces paling, clearly having suffered a minor loss.

"Such domineering Divine Soul!"

"Who is this person? He looks unfamiliar, yet possesses such strength!"

"At least the peak of Middle Stage Nascent Soul, or even... a Late Stage powerhouse!"

For a time, in various parts of the camp, those hidden Nascent Soul Old Monsters felt a surge of turbulent waves in their hearts.

They all turned their gazes towards Chu He, their eyes filled with solemnity and apprehension.

With just one encounter, he had repelled the Divine Sense probes of more than a dozen Nascent Soul Cultivators; this level of strength was enough to make anyone present not dare to underestimate him.

Chu He ignored those uncertain gazes.

He found an unoccupied corner, next to a large black stone, and casually sat down, closing his eyes to rest, as if everything around him had nothing to do with him.

However, his Divine Sense had already spread out like an invisible spiderweb, covering the entire camp.

"Thirty-seven Early Nascent Soul Stage, eleven Middle Stage, three Late Stage..."

"And one more... whose aura is obscure, seemingly strong yet weak. He must have cultivated some profound Qi concealment Cultivation Technique, and his cultivation has probably reached Late Nascent Soul stage, Great Perfection, only one step away from the Soul Transformation realm."

Chu He quickly made a judgment in his heart.

This trip to the Heaven-Reaching Pagoda was indeed a perilous journey.

However, he didn't care.

In the face of absolute strength, numbers were meaningless.

His Divine Sense continued to extend, and soon, he found a familiar camp.

It was a Sect with a flame as its totem. In the center of the camp, a large banner with the character "Blazing Sun" fluttered in the wind.

Inside the tent, a red-robed old man with disheveled hair and beard sat cross-legged, surrounded by flames, his aura clearly that of the Late Nascent Soul Stage.

It was none other than Blazing Sun Elder, the Grand Elder of the Blazing Sun Sect.

At this moment, Blazing Sun Elder's face was grim; that cold Divine Soul snort earlier had also caused him a minor setback.

"Elder, who was that person? So domineering!" a Golden Core Stage Disciple beside him asked with lingering fear.

"I don't know." Blazing Sun Elder shook his head, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes. "However, no matter who he is, in this Northern Barrens territory, even a Dragon must coil! Daring to be so arrogant, once inside the Heaven-Reaching Pagoda, there will be plenty of opportunities to teach him how to write the word 'death'!"

He didn't know that the person he called "arrogant" was the very target he had vowed to kill.

Chu He listened to their conversation, a cold sneer forming at the corner of his mouth.

"Truly... eager to die."

He withdrew his Divine Sense, no longer paying attention to these insignificant clowns.

His gaze turned towards the faintly visible colossal Heaven-Reaching Pagoda in the center of the plain.

The colossal pagoda was ten thousand zhang tall, entirely made of an unknown greenish-gray Materials, inscribed with countless profound runes.

The pagoda body was not completely solid but in a semi-transparent, illusory state, as if it could dissipate at any moment.

"It seems it will take another day or two for this Heaven-Reaching Pagoda to fully manifest."

Chu He understood, so he simply relaxed completely and began to observe the Cultivators from various regions around him.

He found that the clothing, demeanor, and Cultivation Technique auras of these people were very different from those in the Central Plains.

Cultivators from the Northern Barrens mostly wore animal skins, had wild auras, and their Cultivation Techniques were grand and sweeping, full of primitive, violent aesthetics.

Those from the Southern Border mostly used venomous insects and Gu arts, their auras cold and eerie, sending shivers down one's spine.

From the Western Desert came a group of ascetic monks in simple monastic robes, each looking solemn and dignified, yet Chu He could feel the terrifying explosive power contained within their bodies.

"How interesting."

While observing, Chu He activated his "Eye of Investigation" and casually scanned the crowd.

Unfortunately, after looking around, most people's offspring potential hovered between D and C-grade, with even B-grades being rare.

Just as he was feeling a bit disappointed and preparing to withdraw his gaze,

A discordant voice suddenly sounded behind him.

"Fellow Daoist, you look quite unfamiliar. Don't you feel lonely being here alone?"

The voice carried a hint of frivolousness and probing.

Chu He didn't need to turn around to know that the newcomers meant trouble.

He slowly opened his eyes and turned his head.

He saw three Cultivators dressed in black robes and wearing skull masks standing not far behind him, surrounding him in a triangular formation, their eyes filled with ill-intentioned scrutiny.

The leader had a Middle Stage Nascent Soul cultivation.

"Ten Thousand Ghosts Sect people?" Chu He recognized the emblem on their clothes.

This was an Evil Path Sect famous for refining and controlling ghosts, with an extremely bad reputation in the Central Plains. He hadn't expected to see them here.

"Oh? Fellow Daoist has good eyesight." The leading black-robed man gave a strange laugh. "Since you know we are from the Ten Thousand Ghosts Sect, you should know our rules."

"What rules?" Chu He asked with interest.

"In this Black Wind Plain, any lone Cultivator who wishes to wait peacefully for the Heaven-Reaching Pagoda to open must pay a 'peacekeeping fee'. Seeing as Fellow Daoist is also a Nascent Soul expert, we won't ask for too much: a hundred thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones, or a decent Magic Treasure, how about it?" The black-robed man's tone carried a hint of threat.

They saw that Chu He was unfamiliar and alone, so they wanted to extort a sum from him.

They had done this more than once in the Black Wind Plain, and it always worked.

Many lone Nascent Soul Cultivators, to avoid trouble, would mostly choose to pay to avoid disaster.

Some Cultivators nearby also noticed the commotion and cast gloating glances.

"Those mad dogs from the Ten Thousand Ghosts Sect are biting again."

"This kid is unlucky. Daring to come to Black Wind Plain alone, he truly doesn't know what's good for him."

"Let's see how he handles this. Either he bleeds money, or... he'll bleed blood."

Amidst the onlookers' anticipation of a good show, Chu He smiled.

He looked at the three self-important individuals in front of him and slowly stood up.

"Rules?"

"I, Chu He, have always had a rule for how I do things."

"That is..."

"Everyone who tries to take something from me will, in the end, lose their life, principal and interest included."

The moment his words fell, a terrifying killing intent instantly locked onto the three of them.