"From the moment we set foot in the Black Mist Wasteland, there has been no turning back."
Nangong Ruyan put away the crystal ball, the purple ribbon drifting lightly through the mist. "From here on, all we can do is keep moving forward."
With that, she turned her gaze toward Wei Qing.
Everyone around them also focused their eyes on him in unspoken agreement.
Wei Qing's powerful performance just now had won the trust of nearly everyone.
"We truly have no way back." Wei Qing's voice was not loud, yet it clearly reached every ear. "But the road ahead may not necessarily be a dead end."
"No one has ever made it out of the Black Mist Wasteland before, but that doesn't mean we can't either."
Wei Qing's words were like a powerful tonic, dispelling the gloom shrouding everyone's hearts.
"That's right. We'll listen to Lord Wei."
Song Yuanming was the first to respond.
"The Mystic Maiden Palace will listen to Lord Wei as well."
"The Tianhai Sect too."
"So will we..."
Even though Liu Yulong disliked Wei Qing, at this moment, he had no choice but to speak up in agreement.
"Good." Wei Qing's gaze swept over every face. "From this moment on, we are one."
"I'll do everything I can to lead all of you out of the Black Mist Wasteland."
With that,
Wei Qing stepped forward and walked at the very front of the group.
Jun Wushang was the first to follow.
Tantai Yue, Song Yuanming, Qin Shuang, and the others followed closely behind, continuing along the main road toward the depths of the Black Mist Wasteland.
Meanwhile,
the outside world had exploded into chaos.
News that the passage into the Black Mist Wasteland had sealed itself spread throughout Jizhou Prefecture in no time.
Countless forces sent their strongest experts rushing toward the Black Mist Wasteland.
"Zhidong, what are we going to do?"
Shen Yan had completely lost her earlier composure. With her daughter trapped deep inside the Black Mist Wasteland, she was utterly distraught.
After all, ever since the demons and monsters descended three hundred years ago, the Black Mist Wasteland had become a place from which
not a single person who entered had ever emerged.
She had opposed her daughter entering in the first place.
But she had been unable to withstand her daughter's pleas.
Her heart had softened for a moment.
Zhang Zhidong gently patted Shen Yan's hand and comforted her. "Don't worry. Since the Black Mist Wasteland has changed, there must be a way out."
In truth, he was also extremely flustered.
But he had to force himself to stay strong. Otherwise, he dared not imagine what his wife would become after losing their daughter.
Cai Yang chimed in, "That's right, Sister Yan. Xue'er, Wei Qing, and the others are surely blessed by heaven. Let's wait a little longer. The mist passage appeared once, so it will definitely appear again."
"That's right, Sister Yan."
The other Garrison Commanders also nodded in agreement one after another.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
As they spoke,
a rapid burst of footsteps rang out alongside the wind.
Immediately afterward, a large group of figures appeared before them as abruptly as ghosts.
The first to arrive was a man in blue robes. His eyes were icy, and a powerful, unmistakable aura surrounded him.
"Third Rank Heavenly Gang Realm?"
Cai Yang could not help crying out in surprise.
The newcomer's strength was actually on par with the Pacification Commissioner of their Heavenly Realm Division.
Before this, Cai Yang had never heard that another expert at the Third Rank Heavenly Gang Realm was hiding within Jizhou Prefecture.
As for the martial realms,
the Ninth to Seventh Ranks were collectively known as the Lower Three Ranks, or the Qi Cultivation Realm.
In this realm, martial artists had to nurture a qi vortex within their bodies, tempering themselves with qi and honing their foundations.
Once the qi vortex was refined to its utmost limit and transformed into pure True Essence, one would step into the Middle Three Ranks—the True Essence Realm—and one's strength would surge forward by leaps and bounds.
The mystery of this realm lay in the gradual opening of the twelve meridians within the body.
The True Essence would nourish these meridians one by one, transforming them from blocked to free-flowing. Every meridian opened was another surpassing of one's own limits.
Once all twelve meridians had been opened and one complete cycle of True Essence had been achieved,
the True Essence within a martial artist's body would undergo a transformation like a butterfly breaking free from its cocoon, achieving a qualitative leap—it could be released outward!
This outward-released true qi would condense around the martial artist's body into a layer of invisible astral armor, indestructible.
The astral armor marked a martial artist's official entry into the ranks of experts at the Third Rank Heavenly Gang Realm.
"I never expected Feng Wuya to break through."
As the intelligence chief of Qingcheng in the Night Owl Guard, Zhang Zhidong had long since committed the powerful figures of Jizhou Prefecture to memory.
Liu Xinghe, Sect Master of Blazing Sun Sect, Xuan Yue Li, Palace Master of Mystic Moon Palace, and the sect masters and elders of the other sects and forces all cast sidelong glances, their eyes focusing on Feng Wuya.
They were also deeply shocked by Feng Wuya's breakthrough.
It seemed that the situation in Jizhou Prefecture might undergo a drastic change because of this.
Feng Wuya acted as though he had not seen any of it and quickly walked up to Zhang Zhidong. "Commander Zhang, have you uncovered any other information regarding the sealing of the Black Mist Wasteland's passage?"
Upon hearing this, everyone from the other sects and forces withdrew their gazes in unison and turned their attention to Zhang Zhidong instead.
Feng Wuya's matter could be set aside for now.
At this moment, what weighed most heavily on their minds was the safety of the disciples under their command.
If anything happened to them, it would undoubtedly be a bolt from the blue for all the major sects.
"I'm truly sorry, everyone. Regarding the reason the entrance to the Black Mist Wasteland vanished, the Night Owl Guard has not uncovered a single piece of information."
Zhang Zhidong shook his head slightly.
Everyone's hearts sank.
In terms of intelligence capabilities alone, no force within the Great Zhou could compare with the Night Owl Guard of the Heavenly Realm Division.
They were omnipresent, and there was practically no information they could not uncover.
Yet now, even the Night Owl Guard had found nothing.
"No. I must go in myself and get to the bottom of this."
Zhao Santong, Sect Master of Qingshan Sect, stepped forward, intending to enter the Black Mist Wasteland.
"Master Zhao, wait!"
Zhang Zhidong raised a hand to stop him.
"Commander Zhang, what do you mean by this?" Zhao Santong's expression darkened, a thread of anger surging in his eyes.
Seeing that the other man had misunderstood, Zhang Zhidong explained, "We already tried when we arrived. There is an invisible barrier surrounding the dense fog. No one can enter now."
"Oh."
A hint of disbelief showed between Zhao Santong's brows as he strode toward the Black Mist Wasteland.
The others fixed their eyes on Zhao Santong's back, eager 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. He could not advance another half step.
Boom, boom...
Unwilling to accept this, Zhao Santong gathered his True Essence in his palm and struck out fiercely.
Yet his attack was like a stone sinking into the sea. It merged into the mist without stirring the slightest ripple.
"Let me try."
Feng Wuya lightly raised his arm. The Primal Energy around him seemed to answer his summons, rapidly converging toward him.
A gigantic Primal Energy palm, fully ten zhang tall, descended toward the billowing dense fog with a thunderous roar.
Everyone present held their breath and stared intently.
Only Zhou Xing, Sect Master of Blood Robe Sect, dressed in black robes, curled his lips into an amused smile, as though he was not surprised by this scene in the slightest.