The night was dark, the wind high.
Sun Cheng had a black cloth wrapped around his face as he cautiously turned onto a mountain path.
As he walked, he suddenly veered into the forest.
After running another two or three li, he finally arrived beneath a great tree. No one knew how many years it had grown in these mountains; its trunk was broad enough that four or five people could barely encircle it together.
He lightly knocked on the tree three times.
A deep voice came from within.
"Is the Great Dao not empty?"
"All laws are extinguished."
Having matched the passphrase, a hole suddenly opened in the tree trunk, wide enough for him to pass through.
The moment Sun Cheng entered, he heard someone beside him speak.
"Senior Brother Sun truly has luck on his side. Now that you have entered that person's service, you are soaring to great heights. In the future, you must lend this little brother a hand."
He turned and saw a familiar-looking fellow watching him from nearby.
I was recognized already? Damn it, then wasn't this face covering for nothing?
"Let us prosper together."
Though he could not remember the man's name, Sun Cheng still put on a warm smile.
He followed the path carved inside the tree trunk all the way down, eventually arriving at a vast underground hall. Bright white flames burned along its walls, illuminating the underground space as brightly as day.
People came and went below. Some concealed their faces as Sun Cheng did, while others openly browsed from stall to stall.
Beneath this great tree was a bustling marketplace, where countless people searched for goods.
Stalls of every size sold everything from rare birds and exotic beasts to all kinds of exceptionally scarce alchemy ingredients.
Sun Cheng tugged