Su Kang finished his tea. After that, he gave Fei Yan a respectful nod. “Thank you for the tea. I will use this time to cultivate.”
“Of course,” Fei Yan replied with her ever-present smile, gesturing to the hallway. “The rooms are soundproof and equipped with arrays. Please, make yourself comfortable.”
Su Kang left and entered one of the private rooms, sealing the door to become perfectly isolated.
A few days passed in silence.
On the fourth day, the palanquin began its descent. The view from the crystalline window changed accordingly. The endless black of the Tranquil Void was replaced by the stormy chaos of the Tempest Layer, and then by the clear, blue sky.
“We have arrived,” Zhu Zhihao’s voice, crisp and clear, echoed inside the palanquin.
Su Kang stepped out of his room. He joined Fei Yan and Zhu Zhihao as the palanquin’s main door opened to reveal the outside world.
They stood on the crest of a hill. Below them lay a vast, lush valley, nestled between a ring of giant, cloud-piercing mountains. A silver-blue river snaked through the valley floor. Its banks were thick with towering trees. Flocks of colorful birds, likely mutated by the rich Qi, darted through the air.
But it was the center of the valley that held their gaze.
It looked like a vertical slash in the fabric of reality. A tear in a silk scroll. A wound in the world. Through the shimmering tear, a different sky—a purple expanse—could be seen.
From this wound, spiritual energy poured forth. It was a visible mist that descended like a slow waterfall, blanketing the valley and spreading outwards.
Fei Yan frowned, her polite smile gone. “This newly appeared realm is not hidden at all,” she remarked, her voice laced with surprise. “Though it’s a remote place, a phenomenon of this size will not go unnoticed for long. I am surprised that people have not discovered it until now.”
Zhu Zhihao said nothing. She simply stepped past them. She glided to the edge of the hill, her gaze fixed on the tear.
With a flick of her wrist, a small, dark object shot from her sleeve. It expanded in mid-air, transforming into a three-legged bronze cauldron, easily three meters tall. The cauldron was unadorned. A single, carved rune on its side seemed to absorb the light around it. The moment it appeared, the air grew heavy, as if the cauldron had its own immense gravity.
“Go,” Zhu Zhihao commanded softly.
The cauldron flew directly into the valley. It positioned itself under the path of the spiritual mist that was pouring out.
Hummmm.
A low, vibrating sound filled the air. The mist bent, flowing from the opening and into the cauldron’s mouth like a river being diverted into a new channel. The visible Qi, which had been blanketing the valley, was funneled into the cauldron’s opening, vanishing without a trace.
But she was not finished.
Her other hand moved, and dozens of small, black flags shot from her storage ring. They flickered with spiritual inscriptions. They fanned out across the valley covering miles, planting themselves in the earth in a complex, circular pattern, completely surrounding the rift.
“Seal,” Zhu Zhihao said, her voice sharp.
The flags vibrated. The air between them shimmered, and the view of the rift wavered like a reflection in water. Then, it was replaced by an ordinary view.
”An illusion array,” Su Kang murmured.
“Hmm,” Fei Yan confirmed. “The array flags will create a large-scale illusion, hiding the opening itself from sight and spiritual sense. If someone passes from here, they’ll find nothing more than a patch of scattered spiritual energy without finding its source. They won’t realize that there is a gateway to a secret realm here.”
Zhu Zhihao turned around, her expression as calm and placid as ever.
“It is a temporary measure,” she said flatly. “The cauldron can only devour to its limit. The array can hide the opening, but it cannot stop the spiritual Qi from flowing out of the realm. Once the cauldron is full, people can sense the source of spiritual Qi is from this area. If they have a competent array master, it is only a matter of time before they can enter this formation.”
Fei Yan inclined her head. “Then we have to be quick about it.”
“Let’s go,” Zhu Zhihao said decisively.
She calmly turned back to the illusion. With a wave of her hand, she led them forward. The world warped for a brief, dizzying moment as they passed through the array. Then they stepped through the opening of the realm.
The sensation was strange. It felt like stepping from a cool room into a warm bath, a sudden, complete change in atmosphere. The sky above was a breathtaking canvas of deep purple and dark blue. Before them stretched a vast, ancient forest. Towering trees, their bark as dark as charcoal, formed a dense canopy that blocked out much of the view. The air itself felt thick with a spiritual energy that was both ancient and pure. Distant, jagged mountains pierced the violet haze on the horizon.
Fei Yan took it all in, her polite smile mixed with sharp focus. Her gaze turned to Su Kang.
“You mentioned you had some information about this place, Young Master Su,” she said, her voice a calm challenge. “What should we do now?”
Su Kang met her gaze without flinching. He knew the few locations from his future vision were likely outer-rim areas. They held treasures, but nothing that would impress this duo.
“Fate,” he asked silently, his focus turning inward, “where should we go?”
Fate’s answer came a beat later. “To the right.”
Su Kang pointed to the right, towards the distant mountain peaks. “We should go in that direction.”
Zhu Zhihao studied him for a beat longer. Then, with a single wave of her hand, a soft golden light enveloped them all. They lifted from the ground.
The world outside became an instant blur. The ancient trees and strange flora streaked past in shades of green and black. Su Kang could see nothing clearly.
They flew for hours.
The distant mountains grew steadily larger, their jagged peaks resolving into sharp, stone teeth against the purple sky. The landscape below remained an unbroken sea of dark forest.
“Lady Zhu,” Fei Yan’s voice cut through the silence. “Have you sensed any spiritual beasts?” She had been extending her own senses but had found nothing.
“No,” Zhu Zhihao replied, her eyes still fixed on the path ahead. “Not yet. Perhaps this realm has no beasts of its own, or perhaps they are limited to specific territories.”
They continued their flight, drawing ever closer to the mountain range. They did not slow, passing the initial peaks and venturing deeper into the heart of the range.
Fei Yan turned her gaze from the landscape to Su Kang. “Young Master Su. How much farther?”
Su Kang internally asked, “Fate?”
“You are close,” the artifact’s voice replied.
“We are close. Let’s keep going,” Su Kang said.
A flicker of doubt crossed Fei Yan’s mind. She had assumed he must have stumbled upon a map or some hidden inheritance tied to this realm and, being too weak to claim it alone, sought their help to explore it. Yet his slight pause and vague directions didn’t seem to fit that idea. Fei Yan said nothing more. Let’s see what tricks you have up your sleeve, she thought.
A few more hours passed in silent, blurring speed.
Finally, Fate’s voice resonated in Su Kang’s mind. “This place has Heaven’s blessings. It’s here.”
“We can stop here,” Su Kang announced, his voice firm.
The golden light around them dissipated. They came to a gentle halt. Their feet touched down on a wide, barren stone plateau near a mountain’s peak. All around them was nothing but rock and sky.
Su Kang’s spiritual sense unfurled. It swept across the barren stone plateau, probing every crack and crevice.
The rock was just rock. He found no spiritual fluctuations, no hidden caves, not even a single spiritual plant.
Fei Yan turned to him, a skeptical frown touching her lips. “Is this the correct location, Young Master Su?”
Su Kang met Fei Yan’s doubtful gaze without wavering. “It is,” he stated simply. “We need to look more closely.”
Fei Yan’s lips thinned, clearly unconvinced. She turned to consult Zhu Zhihao, but Zhu Zhihao was already frowning.
“There is something here,” Zhu Zhihao murmured in a low voice.
She retrieved a small, eight-sided mirror of polished black jade from her storage ring. It seemed to drink the light around it. Placing the mirror against her forehead, she closed her eyes. A faint, silver light pulsed from the artifact, and an immense wave of spiritual sense radiated outwards with a power that made the surroundings freeze.
The pressure vanished as quickly as it came. Her eyes snapped open. “Follow me.”
Without another word, she glided towards the far side of the plateau. Su Kang and Fei Yan exchanged a brief glance before following. They arrived in front of a smooth wall of dark, unremarkable stone.
Zhu Zhihao raised a hand, pressing her palm against the rock. A ripple of pure Qi flowed from her, and the stone in front of her shimmered, revealing the faint, complex lines of an array.
“It’s here,” she announced.
___
( Happy New Year’s Eve and Happy New Year, everyone!
Hope you’re all doing well out there—stay warm and don’t catch a cold like me.
Spend the new year with your family, friends, or the people you care about most.
Wishing you all a peaceful and prosperous year ahead. )
