Chapter 209: Encountering Soul Hall Again!


    After searching through the few not-so-long streets, Gu He was disappointed to find that the small tribe did not have any maps for sale.


    Shaking his head in frustration and about to ask someone for directions, a slightly overweight figure suddenly appeared in front of him, wearing a friendly smile.


    "Are you looking to buy a map, sir? I noticed you asking around earlier," said the chubby man, smiling before Gu He could frown.


    "Do you have one?" Gu He nced at the stranger and asked indifferently.


    "I''m a merchant who travels through the ck Horn Region, so naturally, I carry the most detailed maps," the man said with a smile.


    "How much?" Gu He''s voice remained unemotional.


    He had already learned that in the ck Horn Domain, there was no such thing as a free lunch.


    "Hehe, to be honest, even with a map, it''s hard to find the correct destination in the ck Horn Region. The ins are notorious for their sudden ck sandstorms, which render maps useless. Only those with experience can navigate out of these storms. But I guess, as a neer, you might not have this experience, right?" The chubby man shook his head, then continued.


    "I''m not going to beat around the bush. Seeing your strength at the tribe''s gate, I thought of hiring you as a guard for my caravan. If you''re aiming to cross the ck Horn Region and enter the inner ck Horn Domain, you could travel with me. However, as payment for guiding you through the ins, you''d need to lend a hand if my caravan runs into trouble. How does that sound?"


    Upon hearing this, Gu He frowned slightly.


    The ck Horn Region were indeed known for their ck sandstorms, and the inexperienced could easily lose their way. It was said that some unfortunate souls had perished wandering in circles on the ins.


    Traveling with an experienced merchant caravan would indeed save a lot of trouble.


    Moreover, after traveling for so many days, Gu He also wanted to take this opportunity to rest.


    "Hehe, our caravan''s destination is ''ck Seal City'' within the ck Horn Domain. There''s going to be an annual auction there the day after tomorrow, so I need to strengthen our guard and hurry. Otherwise, I wouldn''t have approached a stranger," the chubby man exined with a smile.


    "An auction?" Hearing this, Gu He''s interest was piqued. The ck Horn Domain was renowned for its astonishing items, and each auction attracted countless bidders.


    After pondering for a moment, Gu He no longer hesitated and nodded in agreement.


    "Pleased to coborate with you. You can call me Ma Yi Cheng," said the chubby man, relieved, extending his hand to Gu He.


    "Di Jia."


    Gu He briefly shook the man''s plump hand and replied indifferently.


    "Di Jia? What an odd name..."


    Ma Yi Cheng thought to himself.


    ...


    The next day, on the dark ins, a caravan kicked up a trail of dust as it sped along, eventually vanishing at the horizon.


    Sitting cross-legged inside the somewhat bumpy carriage, Gu He was facing Ma Yi Cheng, the caravan''s leader.


    The caravan''s guards, as Ma Yi Cheng had mentioned, were not very strong, with the strongest only around a Five-Star Dou Shi.


    Of course, the original chief guard was not pleased with Gu He''s sudden inclusion. However, after being "identally" knocked off the carriage by Gu He during the journey, he became much more subdued.


    And because of that disy of strength, Ma Yi Cheng''s enthusiasm towards Gu He increased significantly, eventually inviting him into his carriage for better treatment.


    After all, having a strong individual in the caravan under such dangerous conditions was indeed reassuring.


    Ma Yi Cheng was now spreading an old, yellowed map on the table in front of him, pointing to a red dot, "This is our destination, ck Seal City. ording to our pace, we should arrive by tomorrow afternoon."


    Gu He''s gaze fixed on the map, particrly on the small dot of ck Seal City, then followed a route upward, eventually resting on a blue star at the center.


    "This must be Jia Nan Academy, right?" Gu He asked nonchntly, ncing at the blue star.


    "Yes, that''s the famous Jia Nan Academy of the Dou Qi Continent. My daughter studies there," Ma Yi Cheng nodded, his chubby face beaming with pride.


    Gu He nodded silently, memorizing the route in his mind, then his gaze shifted back to the ck areas surrounding the academy, divided into various sections of different sizes.


    "The current ''ck Horn Domain'' is essentially divided among several powerful forces. While they still fight over territory, there shouldn''t be significant changes in the short term."


    Seeing Gu He''s gaze, Ma Yi Cheng, as a merchant, understood his confusion. Though he guessed Gu He was new to the ck Horn Domain, he didn''t mention it, instead exining with a smile.


    "Our destination, ''ck Seal City,'' is under the control of the ''Eight Gates.'' They''re an old power in the ck Horn Domain with immense strength. Their leader, Yuan Yi, is said to be in the top ten of the ck List in the ck Horn Domain. The uing auction is hosted by the ''Eight Gates.''" Ma Yi Cheng drew a small circle around ck Seal City, smiling.


    Seeing no reaction from Gu He, Ma Yi Cheng assumed he hadn''t heard of the ck List and continued, "Hehe, the ck List is like the ranking of strong individuals in some empires, but thepetition here far exceeds those imperial rankings. Just in the past two years, thest three on the ck List have been reced. Those reced were also Dou King-level fighters," he said, shaking his head in amazement.


    Gu He, however, was indifferent to this so-called "ck List." The strongest there were merely Dou Emperor''s, nothing he couldn''t handle with a flip of his hand.


    "The first and second ranked ones are so mysterious that few people have seen them, so I don''t know much about them. However, the third one is an extraordinary powerhouse. It''s said that his strength has already reached the pinnacle of the Dou Emperor level, and he is also extremely proficient in the art of alchemy, acimed as the foremost alchemist in the ck Horn Domain. Therefore, most people respectfully refer to him as ''Alchemy Emperor Han Feng''," Ma Yicheng said thoughtfully.


    "Han Feng..."


    Hearing this name, Gu He felt a slight stir in his heart.


    He remembered that this guy had a kind of Heavenly me on him.


    Sea Heart me, perhaps?


    This trip to the ck Horn Domain, he definitely nned to obtain it.


    At this moment, Gu He suddenly sensed amotion outside the carriage. Shouts of rm prated into the carriage: "Everyone pay attention, a ck storm ising, hurry and prepare to stop the carriage! Mainly, do not scatter, to avoid losing direction."


    "ck storm? Really unlucky, running into it again."


    Hearing the shouts outside, Ma Yicheng''s expression changed slightly, but he was not extremely panicked. He said to Gu He, "Mr. Di Jia, let''s get out of the carriage first. As long as we are well protected, this not-so-huge ck storm shouldn''t pose too much danger."


    Nodding, Gu He lifted the curtain of the carriage and jumped down, looking up to find that the sky, which had been clear just fifteen minutes before, was nowpletely obscured by a strange ck fog.


    Looking forward, his vision was severely obstructed. Only now did he understand why Doma said that encountering a ck storm would render a map useless.


    "Hehe, Mr. Di Jia, don''t worry. I felt the wind direction; it''s not very strong. This is a stroke of luck in an unfortunate situation."


    Ma Yicheng said with a smile beside Gu He: "Although the ck storm is the most depressing weather in the ck Domain ins,pared to those brutal ck bandits, it''s much better. At least, with good luck in a ck storm, you can still save your life, but facing those thousands of ck bandit armies, you might just have to wait for death."


    Gu He nodded slightly, about to say something, when the already dim sky suddenly darkenedpletely without any warning. Soon after, a howling gale swept down from the sky, causing some of the physically weaker people to sway in the wind, frightening them into grabbing onto anything nearby.


    The ck gale, sweeping down from the dark sky, was like a giant maw of a demon, devouring everything it encountered.


    The interconnected carriages were arranged in a circle, end to end, with people hiding inside. Their weapons were firmly nted into the ground, securing their bodies like nails.


    In the pitch-ck darkness that enveloped everyone, amidst the howling wind, no one could feel the presence of others nearby.


    Hearing the crackling sound of the wind against his body, Gu He''s expression also changed slightly. He hadn''t expected this so-called ck storm to be so powerful, and this was just a small storm ording to Ma Yicheng. If they encountered arger one, wouldn''t it directly sweep people away?


    Of course, with Gu He''s physical strength, he was able to face this storm directly.


    He stood in the midst of the raging wind, unmoving, like an old tree with deep roots.


    The darkness and the gale continued for an unknown length of time. Suddenly, Gu He in the darkness frowned and turned his head, ncing towards an indeterminate direction.


    There, it seemed that several strange red glows were flickering, and vague sounds were also faintly apanying them.


    Sending his soul power towards that direction, Gu He immediately frowned and said coldly: "People from the Soul Hall, truly omnipresent."


    What entered Gu He''s field of vision was a strange red glow. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a phantom human figure emitting red light.


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