Across the endless desert, a massive caravan of several thousand moved forward under the rolling yellow sand, their presence forcing all beasts to retreat. The momentum was overwhelming, like a tide sweeping across the land.
Suddenly, the entire caravan came to a halt. Huang Ming, Zhang Bai, Cai He, and the other leaders stepped forward. Though they disliked each other, they still had to cooperate and activate the Spider Silk Gu together.
Buzz, buzz, buzz… In an instant, countless transparent silk threads appeared from thin air, stretching across the desert. Despite the violent wind and sand, they remained steady and unbroken. The threads intertwined rapidly, forming a long white corridor that extended deep into the desert, like a solid road carved through the sand.
At the entrance, layers of silk hung down like snow, forming a vast tunnel. It stood 10 metres high and over 64 meters wide, large enough for the entire caravan to pass through at once.
Lin Yan watched this scene, his heart stirred. This was the true foundation of a great power, far beyond what an individual could achieve.
The Family Heads led the caravan forward in an orderly manner, stepping onto the pure white ground that felt as soft as silk. The surrounding spider threads were woven into thin mesh patterns, like layered screens enclosing the path.
Soon, Lin Yan felt the silk beneath his feet begin to move. It carried him forward smoothly, yet there was no sense of inertia, as if space itself had shifted instead of his body.
No one spoke. The entire group waited in silence. After about an hour, a faint point of light appeared ahead. It slowly expanded, growing brighter and clearer.
In the next moment, the light burst open. A massive cave entrance appeared, and beyond it, a lively and extraordinary scene unfolded before their eyes.
Gu Masters from various Families moved in an endless stream, and all kinds of strange Gu could be seen. Some had hair that burned like red flames, others had skin hardened like stone. There were even Variant Humans mixed among the crowd.
Hairy Men with thick fur moved busily, Stone Men stood tall like walking mountains with bodies of solid rock, and Feathered Men carried pure white wings on their backs, their expressions proud and distant. Just like there are variant beasts such as fierce tigers, mastiffs, and rock boars, Variant Humans also exist in this world.
Although their intelligence is slightly inferior to humans and their cultivation path is more difficult, each race has its own advantages. Hairy Men are naturally skilled in Refinement Path, Stone Men are closely tied to ore-rich lands, and Snowmen can produce tears that are valuable Gu materials.
Lin Yan's horizons widened. He knew that Variant Humans had a long history in the Gu World, existing since the Remote Antiquity Era, and The Legends of Ren Zu also recorded the ten great Variant Human races.
In that ancient time, they were the true rulers, hunting humans as prey. This continued until the rise of the Human Race's first Rank Nine Venerable, Primordial Origin Immortal Venerable. He cultivated Qi Path and Enslavement Path, and founded Heavenly Court, allowing the Human Race to gain a foothold.
After that, generation after generation of Immortal Venerables and Demon Venerables rose, gradually expanding human territory across the Five Regions and driving Variant Humans into remote corners.
Today, most Variant Humans had fallen from dominance, reduced to valuable labor or trade goods.
It could be said that Heavenly Court played a crucial role in the early rise of the Human Race.
When everyone stepped out of the spider silk cave, they found themselves in a wide square, with corridor entrances stretching in all directions. Caravans from different Families kept pouring out, merging into this vast spider silk hub, the flow of people never stopping.
In the distance, the Xiao Family's marketplace was entirely white, rising higher the deeper it extended. Layers of spider silk formed walls and structures, stacked one over another, creating a dense and complex city.
The Ten Thousand Li Silk Corridor was known as a marketplace with three thousand nodes. Just from this, one could imagine how massive it truly was.
As soon as they arrived in the square, a Xiao Family Gu Master walked over with an arrogant expression. He frowned and waved his hand impatiently. "Move, move, move. Enter the outer city quickly, don't block the path."
The marketplace was extremely large, divided into three parts—the outer city, the inner city, and the immortal city.
The outer city was where ordinary families gathered. They rented shops according to their wealth, trading and selling goods, and it held the largest number of Gu Masters. The inner city only allowed individual Gu Masters to enter, requiring at least Rank 4 or Rank 5 cultivation, along with asset verification.
As for the immortal city, there was no need for further explanation. It was the place where Gu Immortals came and went, or where super forces were based. It was also the true core of the Ten Thousand Li Silk Corridor, an Immortal Gu House.
The Huang Family did not linger. They quickly entered the city and set up their base in the assigned area, renting dozens of shops to buy and sell various resources.
The other Families also split up and headed to their own locations.