The Sealed Passage

"From the moment we stepped into the Black Mist Wasteland, there was no turning back."

Nangong Ruyan put away the crystal ball, the purple ribbon drifting softly through the mist. "From here on, we can only keep moving forward."

With that, she turned her gaze toward Wei Qing.

Everyone around them also, as if by unspoken agreement, focused their eyes on him.

Wei Qing's formidable display earlier had earned the trust of nearly everyone.

"We truly have no way back." Wei Qing's voice was not loud, yet it reached every ear clearly. "But what lies ahead may not necessarily be a dead end."

"Just because no one has ever left the Black Mist Wasteland before does not mean we cannot."

Wei Qing's words were like a shot to the heart, dispersing the gloom shrouding everyone's minds.

"That's right. We'll listen to Lord Wei."

Song Yuanming was the first to respond.

"My Mystic Maiden Palace will also listen to Lord Wei."

"Tianhai Gate as well."

"So will we..."

Even though Liu Yulong disliked Wei Qing, he had no choice but to voice his agreement at this moment.

"Very good." Wei Qing swept his gaze over every face. "From this moment onward, we are one whole."

"I will do everything I can to lead every one of you out of the Black Mist Wasteland."

As his words fell.

Wei Qing stepped forward, taking the lead.

Jun Wushang was the first to follow.

Tantai Yue, Song Yuanming, Qin Shuang, and the others followed close behind, continuing down the main road deeper into the Black Mist Wasteland.

Meanwhile.

The outside world erupted into chaos.

News of the Black Mist Wasteland passage sealing shut swiftly spread throughout Jizhou Prefecture.

Numerous factions dispatched their sects' strongest experts to the Black Mist Wasteland.

"Zhidong, what are we supposed to do?"

Shen Yan no longer possessed her earlier composure. Her daughter was trapped deep within the Black Mist Wasteland, leaving her distraught.

Ever since three hundred years ago, from the day demons descended upon the world.

Not a single person who entered the Black Mist Wasteland had ever emerged from it.

She had opposed her daughter going in from the start.

But she could not withstand her daughter's pleading.

And in a moment of softness, she had relented.

Zhang Zhidong gently patted Shen Yan's hand in comfort. "Don't worry. Since the Black Mist Wasteland has changed now, there must be a way out."

In truth, he was deeply unsettled as well.

Yet he had to keep himself together now. Otherwise, he did not dare imagine what his wife would become if they lost their daughter.

Cai Yang echoed, "That's right, Sister Yan. Xue'er and Wei Qing are surely blessed souls protected by Heaven. If the mist passage appeared once, it will surely appear again. Let's wait a little longer."

"That's right, Sister Yan."

The other Guardian Envoys nodded in agreement as well.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

As they spoke.

A rush of hurried footsteps rose alongside the sound of wind.

Immediately afterward, a large number of figures appeared before them as abruptly as ghosts.

The first to arrive was a man in green robes. His eyes were icy, and an undeniable powerful aura surrounded him.

"A Third-Rank Heavenly Gang Realm?"

Cai Yang could not help crying out.

The newcomer's strength was actually on par with the Pacification Commissioners of their Heavenly Realm Division.

Before this, Cai Yang had never heard that another Third-Rank Heavenly Gang Realm expert had been hidden within Jizhou Prefecture.

Speaking of martial cultivation realms.

Ninth Rank through Seventh Rank were collectively known as the Lower Three Ranks, or the Qi Cultivation Realm.

Within this realm, martial artists had to nurture a vortex of qi within their bodies, tempering their flesh with qi and refining their foundations.

Once the qi vortex was condensed to the utmost limit and transformed into pure True Essence, one would enter the True Essence Realm of the Middle Three Ranks, where one's strength would soar by leaps and bounds.

The secret of this realm lay in gradually opening the twelve meridians within the body.

As these meridians were nourished one by one by True Essence, changing from blocked to unobstructed, every breakthrough was a transcendence of one's own limits.

When all twelve meridians had been opened, completing a grand circulation of True Essence.

The True Essence within the martial artist's body would break from its cocoon and turn into a butterfly, undergoing a qualitative leap—bursting outward!

This externalized true qi would condense around the martial artist into an invisible suit of Gang Qi armor, indestructible and impregnable.

Gang Qi armor marked a martial artist's official entry into the hall of Third-Rank Heavenly Gang Realm experts.

"I never expected Feng Wuyai to break through."

As the Qingcheng intelligence chief of the Night Owl Guard, Zhang Zhidong had long known Jizhou Prefecture's notable experts like the back of his hand.

Blazing Sun Sect Master Liu Xinghe, Mystic Moon Palace Master Xuan Yue Li, and the sect masters and elders of other factions all cast sidelong glances, their eyes focusing on Feng Wuyai.

They were greatly shocked by Feng Wuyai's breakthrough as well.

Perhaps Jizhou Prefecture's situation would undergo tremendous changes because of this.

Feng Wuyai seemed not to notice at all. He strode quickly before Zhang Zhidong. "Commander Zhang, have you uncovered any other information concerning the sealing of the Black Mist Wasteland passage?"

Hearing this, the people from the other sects withdrew their gazes in unison and turned their attention to Zhang Zhidong.

Feng Wuyai's matter could be set aside for now.

At this moment, what concerned them most was the safety of their disciples.

If anything were to happen to them, it would undoubtedly be a thunderbolt from a clear sky for every major sect.

"I'm truly sorry, everyone. Regarding the reason the Black Mist Wasteland entrance vanished, the Night Owl Guard has uncovered no information whatsoever."

Zhang Zhidong shook his head slightly.

Everyone's hearts sank sharply.

In terms of intelligence-gathering ability alone, no force within Great Zhou could compare to the Heavenly Realm Division's Night Owl Guard.

They could slip through every crack; there was almost no information they could not uncover.

And now, even the Night Owl Guard had found nothing.

"No. I'll go in and investigate myself."

Qingshan Sect Master Zhao Santong stepped forward, intending to enter the Black Mist Wasteland.

"Sect Master Zhao, wait!"

Zhang Zhidong raised a hand to stop him.

"Commander Zhang, what does this mean?" Zhao Santong's expression darkened, a flicker of anger rising in his eyes.

Seeing that Zhao Santong had misunderstood, Zhang Zhidong explained, "We already tried when we arrived. There is an invisible barrier surrounding the dense mist. No one can enter now."

"Oh?"

Disbelief showed between Zhao Santong's brows as he walked toward the Black Mist Wasteland.

The others fixed their gazes tightly upon Zhao Santong's back, wanting to verify whether Zhang Zhidong's words were true.

Sure enough.

Just as Zhao Santong was about to touch the edge of the black mist, his body suddenly halted, and he could no longer take even half a step forward.

Boom, boom...

Unwilling to accept this, Zhao Santong gathered the True Essence around his body into his palm and struck out fiercely.

Yet his attack was like a stone sinking into the sea. It vanished into the mist without stirring the slightest ripple.

"Let me."

Feng Wuyai lightly raised an arm, and the surrounding primordial qi seemed to answer his summons, gathering rapidly.

A colossal primordial-qi palm, a full ten zhang tall, descended upon the billowing dense mist with a deafening roar.

Everyone present held their breath and stared.

Only Zhou Xing, the black-robed master of the Blood Robe Gate, curled his lips into an amused smile, as though this scene did not surprise him in the least.