In the valley of certain death, where the climate was both scalding and freezing, where a prickle from the deformed flora could lead even experts to death, the dwellers hunkered down in their burrows. How could they not when the winds raged under the flaps of a mythical phoenix, a golden dragon, dozens of Zus, and other flying beasts?
Even now, they felt the ground rumble under a disproportionate army of cultivators. The less intelligent ones froze, trembling, while the smarter ones exhaled. Was it the end of their valley?
They sighed from the shadows, watching the relentless flow of armored humans walk deeper into the valley core area, where none dared venture since the antique era. After all, legends of the palace’s former grandeur still lingered among the beasts... along with tales of the terrifying demon that laid it to waste. Would these greedy creatures set it free to plunder the palace? They didn’t know but picked a few commands.
"Keep the formation tight! Show the nineteen other sects that our Jin Long is the best!"
White-robed cultivators clenched their weapons and roared.
"Yes, Elder Wang Hao!" "That demon has no chance against us!" "For the sect!"
Shen Wu shook his head, his jaw tightening and veins throbbing on his bulging muscles. This assault was pure madness. There was no demon, only the boy who had saved him. "Please, escape, Adam. This assault... I’ve never seen that."
Xian Yunxu walked beside him, her face grim. "We’ve almost pooled the entire central region cultivators for this. Truly something we only see once in our lives." She sighed. "Make haste, Adam. Nothing can stop this march."
She pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a slow, frustrated sigh. Of course, she had warned him about their approach. But he just shrugged it off, saying he needed more time. More time for what? What was he trying to create with all the materials she collected for him last year, and was it worth risking his life?
Lost in thought, she followed the army until Tianlong and the nineteen sect leaders came into sight. They stopped into a thousand neat one-hundred-men battalions, each ready to unleash their formation’s power.
Her master nodded, his voice reverberating against the dense shrubbery. "Eight years ago, we lost dozens of inner disciples to the demon living in this blessed land. Are we going to let this slide?"
The soldiers slammed their spears on the ground and knocked their blades against their armors. "We won’t!"
Yan Fei stepped forward, her red eyes blazing. "Not only are we obliterating evil, but we’re getting the compensation we deserve! Fight to protect the realm, your sects’ benefits, and the cultivators’ eternal glory!"
The other leaders gave a brief speech, but the words didn’t reach Yunxu. She bit her thumb’s nail, her eyes fixed on her chat box. Even when the one thousand divisions brightened and giant qi tigers roared to life, she only bit harder, praying to see Adam’s answer.
Yet, it didn’t come. Instead, Tianlong raised his blade, lightning arcs crackling along the golden edges. He gazed at the thousand tigers, each equivalent to a void refinement realm magical beast. The sight excited him as much as it made him shiver as he pointed his blade where the blessed land entrance was. "Excavate the entrance! March on the demon!"
Xian Yunxu watched the tigers’ bright grey bodies lunge with a roar. Their massive paws shoved wind aside, crashing on the sealed space as if it were physical.
The area roiled like a pond disturbed by the impacts but held on... until the sect leaders blurred into action.
They swung their weapons, twenty multicolored elemental strikes cleaving the sky. The clouds parted, sliced cleanly, while the ground caved in under the sheer pressure.
Space splintered like a mirror, dark cracks developing on its surface. Their eyes brightened at the scent wafting—fresh forest, crumpled leaves, and the sweetness of rare fruits. A little more and all these riches would be theirs!
They struck with the tigers again, forcefully reopening the same dark vortex they had seen eight years ago.
Sweat dripped down Yunxu’s pale face as she bombarded the chat with warnings.
[Xian Yunxu: Abandon whatever you’re doing and get out. NOW!]
She clutched her drumming chest, her breath ragged before her eyes lit up and her lips curved. He had answered!
[Adam: Alright. Move to the back line with Shen Wu.]
Confused by the demand, she took the elder’s hand, giving him a firm nod, and stepped behind the battalion.
[Xian Yunxu: You can’t let them spot you. Suppress your life force and hide using magic until you can fold space to escape.]
However, she frowned the moment she sent her message. What was the rumbling noise coming from the vortex?
Tianlong picked it up, too. He leapt back with the other elders, each taking a refined battle stance. Their aura rose into something oppressive, and their eyes narrowed into focused slits as they roared in unison. "The demon is coming out. Immobilise him with the tigers while we maw the bastard down!"
Simultaneously, Adam’s reply flashed across her screen, making her breath hitch.
[Adam: Hide when they went to such lengths to see me? I can’t disappoint them, can I? Open your eyes wide, Yunxu! This is a spectacle no one has ever seen!]
Her eyes darted to the vortex, a dark frown creasing her brows. What spectacle? Nothing could bypass the beasts and leaders. Just what was he doing?
The rumbles intensified, turning into... engine noises? Her eyes widened—just in time to see a colossal sky-blue sphere tear through the open space.
The tigers lunged, yet their roars turned into whimpers, and their threatening paws dissolved into qi particles the second they brushed the buzzing sphere.
"WHAT?!" The leaders’ jaws dropped.
But their shock didn’t stop the sphere from pushing through until a shadow swallowed the sky and plunged them into darkness.
"That madman is taking the entire blessed land with him?!" Yunxu almost choked, recognising the forest and palace she had visited eight years ago. But what was this golden thing hovering in front of the barrier, and why was it hollow?
Questions hustled in her shocked mind, but everything faded when Adam’s voice reverberated.
Seated on the void palace’s throne, now a dashing sixteen-year-old youth, he roared in laughter. "Hahaha! You want what’s mine? Fools! You just wasted our time—my time!"