A few miles away from the Dark Swamp, there was a small village. In his youth, the White Bone Sage went into the swamp with a few friends to gather herbs for his sick mother.
No one expected they would never return.
That day, a thick fog rolled over the Dark Swamp, so dense it wouldn’t disperse. The group got lost inside.
By the time the fog cleared, they were completely trapped in the swamp.
It was full of danger, not just the lack of food and water, but also hidden sinkholes and poisonous creatures that terrified anyone who heard about them.
The young White Bone Sage and his friends survived for seven days before they accidentally fell into a swamp pit.
His companions watched him sink and thought he was surely dead.
But seven days later, a skeleton climbed out of the swamp, it was White Bone Sage.
It turned out the swamp wasn’t naturally formed. A powerful cultivator had died there, and his corpse corrupted the land.
Before dying, that cultivator left behind his legacy inside the swamp.
White Bone Sage had obtained this legacy, and from then on, people forgot his real name and only remembered him as White Bone Sage.
With this inheritance, he became unmatched in the Dark Swamp.
He began cultivating and building a shelter out of glowing white limestone.
As his cultivation grew quickly, the light from his home stood out even in the dark swamp.
From then on, anyone who got lost in the swamp would be helped by him.
People began settling around his home, building houses nearby.
Over time, more and more people came. Generations started living there.
Eventually, when White Bone Sage fully mastered his technique, he transformed the swamp completely.
This was the origin of White Bone City. Over hundreds of years, it grew in size and was finally recognized by the Vast Immortal Sacred Ground.
White Bone Sage officially became its ruler.
Xu Zimo and the God Emperor arrived at the gates of White Bone City the next morning.
The enormous city looked like a white dome flipped over and placed on the land.
It was made entirely from white limestone, and every block was carefully carved to look like real bones.
The city had two gates, north and south.
As dawn broke, the dusty city gates slowly opened, and life in the city began to stir.
When Xu Zimo and the God Emperor entered, the streets were bustling with people, and vendors lined both sides of the road.
“Let’s take the teleportation formation directly to Bluesky City,” Xu Zimo said.
The God Emperor nodded in agreement.
When they reached the central square of White Bone City, where the teleportation formations were located, they found that the formation to Bluesky City was still under construction.
“What’s going on?” Xu Zimo asked the person in charge.
“There was a war in Bluesky City recently. The city was nearly destroyed, and the teleportation formation was damaged too,” the man explained. “They’re building a new one now. It’s not ready yet.”
“How long will it take?” Xu Zimo asked, frowning.
“It’s almost done. The repair work is in the final stages. It should be working by tomorrow,” the man replied.
Xu Zimo turned to the God Emperor and said, “Let’s rest here for today. We’ll head out tomorrow.”
They found an inn in the city and booked rooms for the night. With nothing urgent to do, they decided to look around.
White Bone City was large and prosperous, one of the top cities under the Vast Immortal Sacred Ground’s control.
It was divided into four districts, with a central plaza built entirely from white bones.
Unlike the plaza with the teleportation formation, this one was ancient, as old as the city itself.
When Xu Zimo and the God Emperor arrived at the plaza, they saw it packed with people.
The crowd surrounded the plaza so tightly that it was nearly impossible to get through.
“What’s going on?” Xu Zimo asked someone nearby.
“The Mountain River Sect is recruiting new disciples. The young folks from the city are competing for spots,” the man explained with a smile.
“Mountain River Sect?” Xu Zimo nodded. He had never heard of them, probably just a small, third-rate sect in the Skyluan Region.
In truth, there were countless sects on the Primordial Heartlands. People only knew the big imperial or immortal lineages.
But without the right talent or background, not everyone could join those elite sects. Sects like Mountain River were a haven for other martial artists.
“We’ve got time. Let’s go watch for fun,” Xu Zimo said.
They squeezed into the crowd and saw two young men dueling in the center of the plaza.
Their moves were fierce and aimed to strike vital points. Though their cultivation was only at the Meridian Forging Realm, their fundamentals were solid.
Off to the side, an old man sat on a chair made of white bones.
He wore a gray robe with embroidered mountains and rivers, and a strong aura surrounded him.
Next to him stood five young men and women, also dressed in gray robes.
When the duel ended, one of the gray-robed youths stepped up to the platform.
He looked around at the crowd and said, “Today is the last day our Mountain River Sect will be recruiting disciples here. We hope many of you will sign up. The top three who make it through will be accepted into our sect. If your talent is exceptional, you might even become a personal disciple of Elder Blue River.”
After hearing that, more young people stepped forward to compete.
Xu Zimo didn’t care much for this method of recruiting. After all, talent and potential couldn’t be measured purely through combat.
Background, resources, and training from a young age played a big role.
He was just about to leave when he suddenly heard someone call out.
Xu Zimo turned around and saw a young woman looking at him excitedly.
She wore a white dress, it was Bai Yaoyao, one of the Heavenly Dao Academy students he had met in the ancient site.
“Miss Bai, what are you doing here?” Xu Zimo asked with a smile.
“You still remember me! Thank you again for capturing my master and saving both us and him,” Bai Yaoyao said happily.
“We brought him here to get help with his condition.”