Empire I

Fu Province, Mount Naihe.

Amid the rugged mountain ranges, a narrow winding path ran through the heights. Upon it, Gray Shadow's wide sleeves fluttered as his figure flashed; in just a few strides, he crossed a gorge several hundred meters wide and arrived before a Daoist temple halfway up the mountain.

A plaque hung above the temple: Gongshu Temple.

Gray Shadow stopped and looked up at the plaque.

"Daoist brother, now that Great Ling has unified the realm and all within the four seas have submitted, the Ling Emperor has proclaimed to the world that he seeks Grandmaster-level experts willing to travel beyond the heavens. You and I have lived in seclusion for years and long ceased to concern ourselves with worldly affairs. Yet now, this world beyond the heavens has completely broken free of its former cage."

"What? You want to go?" From within the Daoist temple, a tall, gaunt figure flashed over in an instant, appearing eerily before the gate.

He was a tall, thin old man with pale yellow eyes.

Yet his aura was wholly unlike that of other Grandmasters.

If other Grandmasters were strength, power, and dominance—

Then his temperament was cold and sinister, carrying a faint air that made people uncomfortable.

"Of course I do. We have lived for centuries. Back when Meng Qian founded the Reverse Time Society and invited us, we did not move. Was it not all for the scenery beyond the heavens?" gray shadow sighed.

"Gods and Buddhas harvested us time and again; great wars came and went; the Reverse Time Society plotted for years. Now it has finally achieved success. The master of the Blood Immortal Path, Qiankun Zi, is truly a genius bestowed by heaven, unparalleled through the ages. By his own strength, he built the Outer Realm Heavenly