Inverted Mountain

After a spell of spinning skies and turning earth, the world changed abruptly.

Zhao Sheng opened his eyes and swept his gaze around warily.

Jagged rocks carpeted the ground. Farther off, more than a dozen tall stone houses, built from piled rocks, stood in a row along a steep cliff.

When he looked higher, a towering, majestic peak filled his vision.

Suddenly, Zhao Sheng's pupils contracted. He saw an endless expanse of land.

No, where had the sky gone?

He raised his head toward that desolate, deathly silent, boundless land and confirmed once more that the earth lay directly above him.

Looking around, Zhao Sheng's gaze passed through uneven boulders and soon found vast stretches of gray cloud at the foot of the mountain. The clouds extended without limit, with no end in sight.

Far away, one enormous peak after another floated above the sea of clouds, each with boundless earth above it as well.

At a glance, heaven and earth seemed to have been flipped upside down! Zhao Sheng stared at this strange phenomenon, momentarily lost in thought.

Just then, a mellow voice suddenly came from behind him. "Little brother, this must be your first time at Inverted Mountain!"

Zhao Sheng turned and looked over, only to freeze in surprise.

There was no one around him. Nothing but rocks littered the ground.

Who had been speaking just now? "Hey, where are you looking? This old fellow is right here." The voice sounded again, carrying a trace of displeasure.

Following the voice, Zhao Sheng lowered his head and saw a head-sized, pitch-black pebble not far away. Two thumb-sized "red agates" were embedded in it, glowing red as burning coals.

"My apologies! I was blind just now and failed to recognize Senior." Zhao Sheng stepped closer and cupped his hands in