A place a full hundred thousand li from the Yunshan Illusion Array presented a vista of Dangerous Mountains and Evil Waters. Mountains towered ten thousand ren high, waters surged in grandeur, layer upon layer of peaks rose in overlapping ranks, and streams of evil water ran wild.
Most striking were five bizarre hills, like five demonic beasts—some lying down, some standing, some curled up, some taking flight. Faint heads could even be seen emerging from the middle of the hills. Though their features could not be made out clearly, the hills exuded a strange aura that blanketed a thousand li. Within those thousand li, there was not a trace of human habitation or life.
Between the hills ran a great river. Carrying muddy yellow silt, its rushing waters poured down from distant mountains in a mighty torrent, surged past the hills, and flowed onward. Yet within that muddy yellow river color was a hint of dark crimson. Above the hills, bleak gales whirled through the air, while crimson clouds filled the sky as though they might fall from the horizon, hanging so low that a suffocating oppression seemed to descend from the clouds and smother the earth!
"Woooo..."
"Whooo..."
Other than the sound of the river, there was only the whimpering of the cold wind. No other sound existed beneath this stretch of sky!
"Swish, swish..." At some unknown moment, snowflakes larger than goose feathers began drifting down from the crimson clouds. They seemed soundless, yet whenever they swept through the bleak wind, an indescribable ripple arose, gradually filling heaven and earth. Just as the mountains and waters were about to be covered by the white of snow, a demonic cloud ten zhang wide flew over at high speed. It merely streaked through the snow without pausing, flying straight past