"Those aren't just normal clouds. Instead, they're a precursor to the furious wind natural disaster of the Scalptia Spatial Domain. It happens every year, but I didn't think it would come so early this year. This wind is too powerful to resist through one's individual power. My companions and I have an underground stronghold nearby, and we have to go there right now," Chen Yang urged.

Shi Chuankong's expression changed slightly upon hearing this.

"Have you heard of this furious wind, Fellow Daoist Shi?" Han Li asked through voice transmission upon noticing his reaction.

"I've seen some records of this natural disaster in an ancient book in Pokong's study, but the records weren't very detailed, only referring to it as a devastating wind-based natural disaster. Judging from Chen Yang's reaction, it must be very devastating indeed," Shi Chuankong replied.

"In that case, we'll have to trouble you to lead the way," Han Li said to Chen Yang.

"All of us were exiled into this place by the Night Sun Empire, so we should be looking out for each other. Please come with me, fellow daoists," Chen Yang replied as he turned to leave.

"Before that, please undo the restrictions that you've placed on this puppet of mine, Fellow Daoist Chen," Han Li suddenly said.

"Of course! I completely forgot," Chen Yang said as he slapped a hand to his own forehead, then pulled out a golden needle from Daoist Xie's elbow.

The needle was several inches in length and as thin as a hair, and there were tiny patterns visible on its surface.

A hint of intrigue appeared in Han Li's eyes at the sight of the golden needle.

Chen Yang continued to pull more golden needles out of Daoist Xie's joints as he explained, "These are dragon whisker needles, and they were developed by a powerful figure in our Profound City to be used specifically on puppets."

"I see," Han Li replied with a nod.

After the ninth golden needle was pulled out, Daoist Xie immediately returned to his feet, much to Chen Yang's surprise.

"Is there something wrong, Fellow Daoist Chen?" Han Li asked.

"Generally speaking, puppets restricted by dragon whisker needles require a period of recuperation to recover after the needles are pulled out, so this puppet of yours must be quite remarkable to have been able to stand up right away," Chen Yang explained.

"Perhaps it's because it wasn't sealed for all that long," Han Li replied, giving an ambiguous excuse.

Chen Yang was in a hurry to leave, so he didn't dwell on this topic, and he stowed the golden needles away as he said, "Let's go."

𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Around two hours later, the four of them arrived in a valley that was surrounded by mountains in three directions, making it a very obscure location.

At this point, the dark clouds in the sky had already become quite heavy, and arcs of black lightning could be seen flashing deep within them.

At the same time, gusts of fierce wind had already begun to blow through the area, and even though the wind wasn't powerful enough to pose a threat to Han Li and the others, it carried bursts of bone-chilling glacial qi that infiltrated their bodies, constantly robbing them of their body heat.

Thankfully, they had already arrived at their destination, and Chen Yang led Han Li's trio to a mountain face in the deepest point of the valley, where there was a giant gray rock pressed tightly against the mountain face.

Chen Yang pushed the giant rock aside to reveal a cave that led underground, and an armorclad man with a head of red hair immediately rushed out from within.

"You're finally back, Brother Chen! Who're these three?"

"These two are Fellow Daoist Li and Fellow Daoist Shi. They've only recently been exiled here, and I've taken them here to shelter them from the furious wind," Chen Yang explained.

"I see. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, fellow daoists. Come in. Right now, the furious wind is only in the approaching phase, the true furious wind is more than ten times as fearsome as what we're currently experiencing," the red-haired man said as he made an inviting hand gesture.

Han Li was quite astonished to hear this.

The current furious winds were already quite a struggle for him to deal with. If they were to become ten times more powerful, then even if he could survive them, the outcome would not be pretty.

With that in mind, he entered the cave behind Chen Yang.

As soon as he entered the cave, the howling wind instantly subsided, and there was still some glacial qi in the air, but it was far less pronounced inside.

"Fang Bei, seal the entrance shut and come down with us. If you let the glacial qi of the furious wind infiltrate your body, it'll be very difficult to expel," Chen Yang said.

The red-haired man seemed to be very touched to hear this, and he immediately gave an affirmative response before springing into action.

Chen Yang led Han Li's trio deeper into the cave, which extended in a downward direction.

It appeared to be a naturally formed cave that was later renovated, and even after walking for several thousand feet, there was still no end in sight.

However, at this point, the glacial qi in the air had already significantly abated, allowing everyone to heave a collective sigh of relief.

"Thank you for inviting us here, Fellow Daoist Chen," Han Li said as he cupped his fist in a grateful salute.

If it weren't for Chen Yang's invitation, he and Shi Chuankong would truly be in some peril.

"It's fine, don't worry about it, Fellow Daoist Li. Us exiles have to look out for each other," Chen Yang said in a nonchalant manner.

The four of them walked onward for another fifteen minutes before finally reaching the bottom of the tunnel, where they arrived in a cave that was over a hundred feet in size.

The ground was quite level, and at the very center of the cave was a large ovular stone table, around which were seven or eight stone chairs.

A series of crude stone rooms had been carved into the walls of the cave, and at this moment, the cave was completely empty, while the doors of all of the stone rooms were tightly shut, indicating that everyone was in their rooms, taking shelter from the furious winds.

"The furious winds will blow for about a month or so before subsiding. In the meantime, you can stay here and consider the matter of joining our Profound City," Chen Yang said.

Both Han Li and Shi Chuankong nodded in response.

Virtually all of the stone rooms were currently occupied, so the two of them sat down in the cave.

Chen Yang took a glance at the two of them, then also sat down in the cave instead of entering any of the stone rooms.

Even through the mountain, the three of them could still hear the wind howling outside, and the ground was also gently trembling, while loose rocks were falling incessantly from the ceiling of the cave.

At the same time, loud crashing noises were ringing out incessantly, as if even the entire continent itself were trembling in the face of the furious winds.

Over the past few months, Han Li and Shi Chuankong had been attacked by some of the scaled beasts in the Scalptia Spatial Domain, but none of them had posed a true threat to them, so they were beginning to think that the supposed dangers of the Scalptia Spatial Domain were rather exaggerated. However, they now knew just how wrong they had been.

"Should we join Profound City, Fellow Daoist Li?" Shi Chuankong asked through voice transmission.

"What do you think?" Han Li asked.

"It looks like the Scalptia Spatial Domain is far more dangerous than we anticipated. As opposed to searching aimlessly for Fellow Daoist Violet Spirit, I think it's a good idea to join Profound City. Having said that, it sounds like Profound City and Puppet City are sworn enemies, so if we can't find Fellow Daoist Violet Spirit in Profound City, then it'll be difficult for us to go to Puppet City to continue our search," Shi Chuankong said.

"That's true, but right now, we can only choose one out of Profound City or Puppet City, and judging from the current circumstances, choosing Profound City appears to be more beneficial to us," Han Li said.

"It sounds like you've already made a decision. Honestly, I also really want to go and see what this Profound City is all about," Shi Chuankong replied with a smile.

"Why is that?" Han Li asked.

"If Chen Yang is to be believed, then City Lord E Kuai of Profound City has opened over a thousand profound acupoints, so there must be many bodily refinement cultivation arts in the city. Such cultivation arts are priceless treasures, and there aren't that many of them even in our imperial family's military vault.

“If we can get our hands on those cultivation arts, not only will we be able to enhance our own powers, Pokong will also be able to make use of them once we get out of here," Shi Chuankong said.

A faint smile appeared on Han Li's face upon hearing this.

This was actually also one of the factors that had influenced his decision to join Profound City.

He was very much in awe of Chen Yang's incredibly powerful right arm, and it showed him just how powerful bodily refinement cultivators could become.

He had always possessed decent aptitude in this field, but his progress had been hampered by a lack of suitable bodily refinement cultivation arts.

After some further discussion, the two of them quickly arrived at a consensus, following which Han Li rose to his feet and began making his way toward Chen Yang.

Chen Yang had already noticed the secret conversation taking place between the two of them, and he immediately rose to his feet as well.

"Fellow Daoist Shi and I have decided to join Profound City, but before that, we have a few questions that we would like to have answered," Han Li said.

"Go ahead, Fellow Daoist Li," Chen Yang immediately prompted.

"Is there any type of cost to joining Profound City, or do we have to follow any rules?" Han Li asked.

"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Li. Master E Kuai founded Profound City for the sake of everyone's safety, so no cost is required to join our city. As for rules, there's only one, which is that once you've joined Profound City, you cannot betray the city," Chen Yang replied.

"I see," Han Li replied. "Also, I have one more question."

"Go ahead," Chen Yang prompted once again.

"I have a companion by the name of Violet Spirit. She's a female cultivator who was cast into the Scalptia Spatial Domain several decades ago. Have you heard of her before?" Han Li asked.

"I'm afraid not," Chen Yang replied after a brief moment of contemplation, and Han Li's heart sank slightly upon hearing this.

Chen Yang could see the disappointment on Han Li's face, and he consoled, "Don't be disheartened, Fellow Daoist Li. Our Profound City has more than one city. Aside from the main city, there are also several subsidiary cities, and I'm from one of them, a city by the name of Green Goat City.

“Communication arrays can't be used in the Scalptia Spatial Domain, so information isn't easily shared between the cities. Perhaps your friend has gone to one of them."