Location from Beware of Chicken by Casualfarmer
The weakest province in the empire — qi-starved, looked down on by every other region, and quietly becoming the most interesting place in the world because nobody important is watching.
The Azure Hills are 'starved in qi' — visiting cultivators describe the experience as being in a spiritual desert, requiring increased breathing and food consumption. This deficiency is not natural. Something happened here, long ago, that drained the land's spiritual energy and left subtle hints of a previous catastrophe. The province bears what other regions call 'a nearly unforgivable sin': no cultivator from the Azure Hills has ever reached the heavens. This weakness is the province's secret strength. Because no powerful cultivators compete for resources here, the Azure Hills developed differently — more community-oriented, more practical, less obsessed with individual ascension. Jin's farming approach didn't just work here; it worked BECAUSE it was here. Fa Ram's qi infusion is healing what Tianlan's shattering broke, and the province's mortal communities are adapting to the changes with the pragmatism of people who never had the luxury of relying on cultivation.
Giant rolling hills and grassy knolls stretching across a vast northern territory, named for both the prevalence of hills and the extraordinary clarity of its skies. Temperate seasons with significant winter snowfall. The landscape is beautiful in an understated way — no dramatic peaks or mystical forests, just gentle green hills under blue sky.
Also known as: The Azure Hills Province