Breaking Free of Control

Another seven or eight days passed quickly. Yuan Ming and the other two finally crossed that dense forest, and a vast, winding mountain range appeared before them.

The range stretched from the southeast, its peaks interlocking and its greenery rolling on without end. It resembled a high wall spanning the hills of the earth, or a dragon's spine shallowly buried beneath the land—steep, jagged, and awe-inspiring.

"We're almost there. Follow me," Wu Yu said, heading along the mountain range.

Less than half a day later, another equally majestic mountain range appeared, extending from a different direction.

The two mountain ranges intersected. At their point of convergence, seven peaks clustered and overlapped, squeezing out a vast mountain valley, deep and secluded.

Sunlight could not get past the surrounding peaks. At almost every moment, the shadow of some mountain covered the valley floor.

Such a dark place ought to have held little life, yet firefly-like glimmers lit up among the deep-green trees in the valley, illuminating the entire floor. Spiritual lights of every color flickered in turn, as dreamlike as coral beneath the sea.

Above the valley floor, gales howled and swirled. Wild winds unable to cross the mountain barriers bored out through the cracks where the ranges intersected, changing direction as a result. They merged and coiled around one another, churning the clouds and rolling back the sky, eventually forming a cloud vortex that reached from heaven to earth.

This strange celestial phenomenon also drew spiritual energy from every direction. It poured continuously into the cloud vortex, ultimately forming one tangible-looking spiritual energy "dragon" after another, clinging to the vortex and plunging straight into the heart of the valley.

Clouds rose in heaven, spiritual manifestations were born on earth. Though Yuan Ming knew nothing of surveying terrain, he could still see