In the mountains a thousand li from Pure Land Abyss, a cultivator cloaked in a black hooded robe stepped out of the torn void. Once the void sealed shut, the cultivator scanned the surroundings, then switched to traveling on foot, swiftly weaving through the dense mountain ridges without the slightest pause.
After sensing the aura emanating from the cultivator, the living creatures in the mountains all fled far away, with no intention of showing themselves. This allowed the cultivator to move faster and faster, nearly turning into an afterimage.
After the cultivator left the mountains, a figure appeared where the void had just closed. The newcomer's sharp, narrow eyes looked in the direction the hooded cultivator had vanished, and a cruel smile curved his lips.
"Hmph! The rat in the gutter is returning to its nest."
The figure immediately faded away.
An hour later, after making a wide detour, the hooded black-robed cultivator finally arrived at Pure Land Abyss and leapt down without hesitation.
During the fall, the cultivator crushed a Jade Talisman. Halfway down, a mass of black mist enveloped the figure. When the mist dispersed, the figure had vanished as well.
At the bottom of Pure Land Abyss
"Why have you come back?"
A hoarse male voice rang out at once, as though he had not expected his companion to return at such a time.
"Circumstances have changed. Wunian City was a trap meant to lure us out."
The female cultivator's hoarse voice sounded.
"Then how dare you return here? What if you were tracked?"
"Don't worry. Someone served as my scapegoat. If I hadn't returned, how could we retrieve the 'Gate'? That scapegoat only had time to close the 'Gate' before being captured."
"Did you see who made the move?"
The male cultivator pressed on unwillingly.
"They