Langzhong.
Mountains stretched in unbroken chains, brownish-yellow Wu Earth mysterious radiance covering their peaks. Beneath the daylight, they looked cast from brass, embodying an unyielding solidity.
At the very top of the Great Void lay the limit of where Purple Mansion cultivators could travel. Space was shattered there; even protected by divine abilities, one careless moment could send a person tumbling into an unknowable realm.
Soft white Ji Earth light gathered into a ring, contracting little by little. The secret realm at its center resembled a ripe yellow persimmon, trembling on the verge of falling. Countless eyes turned toward it, making this stretch of the Great Void all the more still.
East of the commandery, several people stood quietly in the Great Void, supported by ink-black thunderclouds.
Silver thunder flashed past. A man in a black Daoist robe patterned with red clouds quietly watched the distant phenomenon, continually assessing the secret realm.
Two others waited behind him, each carrying a sword, their expressions quite different.
Liu Xingfang wore a pale blue-green robe. His aura had already reached the foundation establishment late stage, and the sword at his waist held sword mystic qi fused with silver thunder, surging in and out as though eager to leave its sheath.
On the other side sat a thoroughly bored man in white, resting his forehead on his hand atop the clouds.
He had the distinguished looks of an aristocratic clan's scion, but whenever his eyes darted about furtively, his whole bearing changed. He looked every inch a thief.
"True Person Guang Su will arrive shortly. Mind your manners."
Xu Xuan looked back at Empty-Handed. The moment he finished speaking, the protector sprang up and stood ramrod straight, declaring solemnly:
"As you command, my lord."
A pitch-black longsword rested on his back. Shaped like a