Inside the room.
Wei Qing, who had been sitting cross-legged, suddenly opened his eyes. A flash of golden light flickered past.
An invisible mental force pierced through the wall like a blade. Under its power, the hard bricks were pierced as easily as thin paper.
"If I suddenly struck with this, any martial artist below the fifth rank would be cut down with a single slash!"
As Wei Qing spoke, red light flashed through his eyes again.
In an instant, the surrounding environment changed.
The familiar blood moon hung in the sky.
A cross stood at the edge of a cliff beside a sea of blood.
Wei Qing's consciousness avatar raised a hand.
The sea of blood beneath his feet suddenly surged, and a ten-meter-high crimson wave soared into the air like a giant beast.
It crashed viciously against the cliff, carrying the stench of blood.
Afterward, Wei Qing seemed to transform into a creator god.
Under the control of his consciousness, the scenes within the space shifted like images in a revolving lantern.
A deep sea of azure blue.
A desert filled with sandstorms.
A forest where all manner of beasts roared in unison.
A battlefield where armies were locked in slaughter...
Any scene Wei Qing could think of, or even imagine, could be manifested within the space.
Knock, knock, knock...
Suddenly, a knock sounded at the door, and Wei Qing withdrew from the space.
"Come in."
With a creak, the door was pushed inward from outside.
Zhang Zhidong entered the room and cupped his fists. "My lord, we just received a secret report. The phenomenon over at the Black Mist Wasteland is dissipating. The sect disciples currently in Qingcheng have all set off for the Black Mist Wasteland."
Wei Qing rose from the bed. "Then let's set out too."
Zhang Zhidong accepted the order and went to arrange the men.
Black Mist Wasteland.
Ever since news of the strange treasure spread, quite a few people had gathered here.
Some chose to stay in Qingcheng.
Others waited where they were.
A quarter of an hour ago, a road ten meters wide and stretching beyond sight had suddenly appeared in the Black Mist Wasteland, which had been shrouded in dense fog year-round. It pierced straight into its depths.
As the black mist grew thinner and thinner,
the sect disciples gathered at the entrance had already numbered more than a hundred.
At this moment, more than a hundred sect disciples had gathered around the area.
Among them, three figures stood out especially.
The most eye-catching was the saber-bearing man standing at the edge of the crowd. He wore a black martial outfit, and a black giant saber a full three feet long was slung diagonally across his back. The dark-red patterns wrapped around its sheath looked like blood that had yet to dry. Not a single person within thirty feet of him dared approach.
"That's Blood Saber Qin Shuang."
Someone in the crowd whispered.
"I heard he wiped out the Six Ghosts of Jinyang by himself last year. Under that Blood Saber, the dead numbered at least eighty, if not a hundred."
In stark contrast to the lone saber-wielder was the richly dressed youth surrounded by five or six people, as though he were the moon surrounded by stars. He was in his early twenties, with a face so beautiful it was almost feminine, and a faint, arrogant smile hung at the corner of his lips.
"That's Blazing Sun Sect's young sect master, Liu Yulong." An older martial artist warned the junior disciples beside him, "Whatever you do, don't provoke him. Otherwise, you won't even know how you died."
Liu Yulong seemed to relish the looks of awe from those around him. He shook the jade-boned paper fan in his hand and said to an old man behind him, "Elder Chen, once the mist disperses, you'll be the first to charge in. The mist in the Black Mist Wasteland has suddenly vanished, so something extraordinary must have appeared."
"Yes, young sect master."
The last person was a mysterious woman guarded at the center by four women. The four maids all wore plain white gauze robes and carried different weapons. Their positions subtly conformed to the Four Symbols Formation, tightly protecting the purple-clad girl in the middle.
The girl appeared to be around seventeen or eighteen. Her skin was as smooth as congealed fat, and her black hair was loosely tied up with nothing more than a purple ribbon.
She toyed with a crystal ball that was limpid and translucent, with what seemed to be clouds and mist swirling within.
"Could that be... someone from the Mystic Maiden Palace?" someone guessed uncertainly.
"Shh!" His companion hurriedly stopped him and lowered his voice in warning. "Don't talk nonsense... Don't you know that people from the Mystic Maiden Palace hate others pointing fingers and gossiping about them?"
The purple-clad girl seemed to have heard the discussion. She slightly turned her head, her dark eyes sweeping across the crowd. Everyone touched by her gaze instinctively held their breath, as if suppressed by some invisible force.
"Senior Brother, are these three the top-ranked geniuses from Jizhou Prefecture on the Heavenly Pride Rankings?" Dongfang Rongrong blinked as she looked toward the three.
"Mm." Song Yuanming nodded. "Ranked eighth, Qin Shuang; ranked eleventh, Liu Yulong; and ranked fourteenth, Nangong Ruyan."
As for Tantai Yue, who ranked fourth, she was not a local of Jizhou Prefecture. It was said that she came from the Imperial City and was the daughter of a high-ranking figure in the Heavenly Realm Division.
Seeing these three arrive, Song Yuanming's desire to compete for the strange treasure immediately weakened considerably.
The Blazing Sun Sect and the Mystic Maiden Palace were both first-rate powers within Jizhou Prefecture.
Qin Shuang's master was rumored to be a powerful Rogue Cultivator who had reached the fourth rank.
Whether in strength or influence,
he was worlds apart from these three.
Even if he were lucky enough to obtain the strange treasure, he might not be able to keep it.
Qin Yang and Zhao Gao of the Blood Robe Sect, who stood at the very back of the crowd, saw the three arrive. Instead of showing any fear, they exchanged a mysterious smile.
Just as everyone was discussing them, the mist within the passageway completely dissipated.
The next instant,
before anyone could react, a black figure stepped onto the road first and dashed into the Black Mist Wasteland.
"What audacity."
Liu Yulong instantly flew into a rage upon seeing this.
He had just declared in front of everyone that Chen Li would be the first to enter, yet someone had immediately stepped forward and slapped him in the face before the crowd.
"Elder Chen, find that person and kill him!"
"Yes, young sect master."
Chen Li accepted the order, transformed into a fleeting shadow, and gave chase.
Only after Qin Shuang and the other two, along with their guards, stepped onto the road did the remaining sect disciples follow them into the Black Mist Wasteland.
By the time Wei Qing led Tantai Yue, Jun Wushang, and Zhang Xue over, no one remained at the entrance.
Wei Qing swept his gaze around. Aside from the dense fog and a road leading toward the depths of the Black House Wasteland, he found nothing unusual. "Looks like they've all gone in."
"Qingzi, we're already a step behind. Let's hurry inside, or that strange treasure will be taken by someone else."
After hearing about the strange treasure, Jun Wushang had insisted on coming no matter what.
And of course, Zhang Xue, the curious one, was indispensable.
Only Tantai Yue seemed to have noticed that something was wrong with Wei Qing, yet she did not expose him.
Wei Qing's expression was solemn as he reminded them in a low voice, "No matter what happens later, remember to stay close behind me."
"Fine."
"No problem."
"Qingzi, whatever you say goes. Let's move."
"Good."
Wei Qing answered briefly, stepped onto the road first, and headed into the Black House Wasteland. The other three followed close behind.
Not long after Wei Qing and the others entered,
a sudden change occurred.
The mist that had already dissipated unexpectedly began to gather again. Like a ghost, it slowly wove an invisible net, silently sealing off the entrance.
Then the mist seemed to gain a life of its own. Bit by bit, it began chasing after them, swallowing the crowd's retreat one inch at a time.