CHAPTER 320: INFILTRATION.

"What do you mean there is no news?" an old man asked, staring at the middle-aged woman before him.

"Everyone we send to the Southern Region never reports back," the woman replied.

The old man was stunned. The Southern Region and the Western Region were the two weakest regions on the continent.

When they planned to take over the continent, no one thought the two regions could cause any problems for them.

But the current situation was proof enough that something was going on in that region.

"How many people have we lost?" the old man asked casually.

Although the Southern Region might prove stubborn if they increased their manpower, he did not believe they wouldn’t be able to take them down.

For their cause, human lives were meaningless if they belonged to the people following them.

However, the woman’s response stunned the old man.

"We’ve lost 15 Golden Core Experts."

"What! How did that happen?" he exclaimed, his eyes widening.

Fifteen Golden Core Experts! That was more than half of their full force. He looked at the woman and knotted his brow.

"Are you sure this is the work of the Southern Region?" he asked, unable to help himself.

"Yes, my lord," she responded firmly. "I’ve sent some men to check what was going on, and they discovered the Southern Region has set up a garrison at the border."

"How can a mere garrison stop them? The last time I checked, the strongest expert among them was only an Early Golden Core—Expert stage 2. So how can they stop our men?"

The woman lowered her head, unable to answer. This was the puzzling thing about the Southern Region.

As the person in charge of the operation, she had tried various ways to sneak past their defenses but failed repeatedly.

Apart from the fifteen Golden Core Experts they’d lost, more than one hundred Peak Core Refining warriors had fallen in this mission.

It was as if the Southern Region could guess their next move and make preparations in advance.

"Can we use the vengeful spirits against them?" the old man asked, unable to keep the question from his voice.

"My lord, I’ve tried that but failed, and failed again," she replied.

When the old man heard this, he found it hard to believe. How could the vengeful spirits also fail against them?

To set up the ancient formation that opened the gateway to the Netherworld, a spiritual vein was needed.

And the border had no spiritual vein.

"My lord, what should we do?" the woman asked in a low voice.

The Southern Region was torn in their flesh, and it needed to be addressed as soon as possible. Only their leader could pull this torn piece together.

"We do nothing." The old man shook his head.

Without knowing what was going on in the Southern Region, the old man was not ready to lose his life meaninglessly.

As an evil cultivator, he was selfish and cherished his life. He was not ready to die a meaningless death.

Since the situation was going beyond what he could handle, he would leave the region to the powerhouse to manage.

"Keep an eye on them and tell me immediately when anything changes."

....

Northern Region.

Guanyun City.

The city was shrouded under a thick, dark sky. The atmosphere was oppressive; cries and screams permeated the air.

The few pedestrians on the street were panicked and nervous. Although the evil cultivators had stopped their widespread skilling, the daily human sacrifices never stopped.

Every human in the city was under the control of the evil sects. Everyone’s life was on the edge.

In a secluded alley, an old man in ragged robes spoke in a hushed tone to two young men.

"Old man, are you sure you’re selling the right thing?" one of them asked urgently.

"Do you think this old man has time to joke around? Are you buying or not?" the old man snapped.

The two young men did not respond immediately. Their faces were filled with caution and doubt.

How could such a powerful artifact exist?

In the underworld, news of powerful armor had already spread, and many were curious about it.

Today, they found the old man selling it.

How could they doubt it?

Since the evil sect had taken over their city, many had fallen to its sinister plots. To weed out the righteous force still in the city, the evil sect would not hesitate to use various underhand means.

And this was why they were scared.

As if sensing their thoughts, the old man’s expression shifted, and he smiled encouragingly.

"I know your fear and the heavy pressure you bear. To show that I support your righteous cause, I’ll give you two armors for free."

"When you test their power, you can come back to buy more. What do you think?"

Hmm?

The two young men were stunned, but they recovered quickly. "Old man, thank you. This will really help our cause."

"All right. Quick, quick. We’ve delayed too long." The old man’s voice sharpened with impatience.

From his storage pouch, he drew two Stoneheart Armors and handed them to the two youngsters before vanishing from the spot.

Holding the armor, the two young men could not believe their eyes. Just as they were inspecting the gear, they heard heavy footsteps from behind.

"Not good. The patrol has found us," one of them exclaimed, fear gripping his heart.

Before they could try to escape, they heard a deep shout from behind.

"Stop! Don’t try to run!" a middle-aged man with a long scar on his left cheek ordered.

Behind him were guards with long spears.

"Capture them; we’ll add them to today’s sacrifices," the scarred man sneered.

Watching the incoming guards, the two young men looked at each other and nodded.

They knew it was impossible to fight a Core Refining warrior while they were only Foundation Realm warriors.

Thus, their only option was to fight.

Without hesitation, they donned the Stoneheart Armor and activated it.

"Kill!" they screamed, unsheathing their swords.

The guards looked at the advancing youths and sneered. They were all Foundation Realm warriors, with their leader a Core Refining Warrior.

Bang! Bang!

The battle began, and the arrogant expressions on the guards vanished. In a blink, four guards lay dead.

"What!"

The two youngsters were stunned. They looked at each other and understood what was happening.

It was the Stoneheart Armor helping them.

"Hahaha. It’s true," one of them laughed, looking at the stunned guards. "Today, I’ll avenge my parents."