Refining the Mountains and Rivers

No one in the group of three spoke; only the sound of their footsteps reverberated through the great temple. Qin Yu finally revealed a forced smile beneath his black robes.

It seemed that this time he had ruthlessly offended Zhou Li. But perhaps this was a chance to completely separate himself from her.

The further away Zhou Li was from him, the safer she would be. Looking at things from this angle, it could actually be a good deed.

However, as he thought about the gaze that continued watching him as he entered the temple, he still couldn't help but feel a trace of melancholy.

Whatever. It was fine as long as he didn't do anything that brought shame to him in his heart. As for everything else, he would just go with the flow.

The temple that Ji Yun lived in could be ranked among the top five largest within the Shadow Clan. After a moment they arrived at a sealed hall.

A milky white halo of light radiated from the hall, spreading to every corner like flowing water. It was calm, gentle, and yet extremely powerful, as if it were able to contain everything in the world. A vast and noble aura emanated from him, causing one to feel awe and submission in their heart.

After taking several steps forward and entering the hall, the light in front of them cleared up. A 40-50 foot high portal stood quietly in the center of the hall.

Fine and exquisite textures were interwoven on its surface. The pale white light that flooded the hall was being emitted from these textures.

Behind the portal, space fiercely twisted, almost producing a mass of chaos. It silently fluctuated, as if it connected to a far and remote land.

Ji Yun came to a stop. His expression was solemn and respectful. He said, "Sect Master Hu Fu, this is the portal which leads to the mystic realm where the resurrection lily is. It can only be maintained for 24 hours at most. In other words, the two of you must return by this time tomorrow."

As for Qin Yu, he was someone destined to die, so why should he care about him?

Hu Fu nodded. "Thank you for the reminder, Young Master Ji Yun." He glanced at Qin Yu and walked forward. After several steps, he walked right into the portal.

Qin Yu followed behind. As he was about to enter the portal, Ji Yun's calm voice echoed out from behind, "I will take care of Zhou Li in the future. She will live a good life."

Qin Yu paused for a brief moment. He glanced back and said, "I hope so, otherwise I won't be happy."

Shua -

He stepped forward and vanished into the portal.

In the hall, Ji Yun furrowed his eyebrows. He thought about the words Qin Yu calmly said as well as his profound gaze. At that moment, Qin Yu gave off a very unusual feeling. Was he really just a normal person as Zhou Li described?

His thoughts turned and he suppressed it. He had a good understanding of Zhou Li's personality and knew she wasn't someone who would lie.

Moreover, with the mystic realm's current hellish state, not even the Hidden Fog Sect Master would necessarily be able to withdraw alive. Even if that person had some skills, what could he do?

Ji Yun shook his head and turned around to leave, his heart calm and serene. He hadn't violated his beliefs. He had agreed to the transaction with the Hidden Fog Sect and had even warned them about how dangerous the trip would be. If an accident were to happen, that was their problem and had nothing to do with him.

…

The First Moon Mountain Range stretched out for hundreds of millions of miles. To the east of the mountain range was a vast plain. The seven great sects had dominated this land for a long time and each one ruled their own respective region.

But if one went to the west, then after passing through an area of low hills and valleys, they would see that the landscape suddenly rose up, culminating in a vast plateau that hung high in the thin air.

The green grass touched the skies and countless white tents dotted the land. These were the herdsmen of the plateau. They drove the herds of cattle, sheep, and other animals along while moving with the migration of water and vegetation.

This was the Western Tomb, the greatest religion in the world. They ruled over an inexhaustible land and all lives in the Western Tomb believed in the unsurpassed Dao Monarch. To them, he was their final home, the place their souls would return to when they died.

In the middle of this vast plateau was a majestic Divine Palace that sprawled across the earth. Even if one looked up from up high, they could still clearly see this Divine Palace.

The Divine Palace was colored in white and red, and it released a boundless dignified aura. Endless sunlight was gathered from the skies, forming 109 pillars of light. Each pillar of light was connected to a shrine within the Divine Palace, resulting in a miraculous sight.

At the center of the Divine palace was a shrine. This was a holy temple that housed a statue of the exalted Dao Monarch. It stood between 108 other shrines. The beam of light here was the thickest, nearly covering the entire temple.

Beneath the bright sunlight, the temple seemed to be burning as it released infinite light and heat that shined down upon the world. Outside the Divine Palace, countless devout believers knelt down on both sides of the shrine. They chanted prayers from between their lips as they prostrated themselves upon the ground, hoping to obtain the protection of the Dao Monarch.

At the holy temple, at the base of the glorious statue of the Dao Monarch, there was the throne of the Divine Church's Divine Seat. He was a dignified-looking middle-aged man. His face was covered in little wrinkles, but not only did this not destroy his image it instead enhanced it, giving him a sense of time and wisdom, as if he were a motionless mountain.

Space within the temple suddenly rippled like water. A figure bathed in darkness slowly appeared.

Her figure was tall, surpassing most ordinary men. Her body was covered in liquid darkness and one could only sense the arrogance in her poise.

The woman in the darkness knelt to the floor. She hoarsely said, "I greet your excellency the Divine Seat!"

On the throne, the current Divine Seat Ji Xiangtian said, "What is it?"

The woman said, "The portal opened a moment ago. The people from the Hidden Fog Sect have entered the Hell Mystic Realm."

Ji Xiangtian nodded. "Very good. I do not hope for any of them to come out alive."

"Yes, Divine Seat."

The woman stood up and drew back one step. Her body vanished into the fluctuations of space once more, vanishing from sight.

Ji Xiangtian was without expression. There was indifference in his eyes. The common people knew that the Western Tomb revered the Dao Monarch, but who understood the power they controlled?

As long as they could obtain the medium, they could use dao arts to kill others. Their lives would be extinguished invisibly, making it so that no one could detect it or find out.

"Si Tu…"

He muttered in a low voice, killing intent flowing out.

There was no way that anyone could be allowed to peep into the Western Tomb's greatest secret. Even if the chances were infinitesimal, any possibility had to be obliterated!

Of course, this matter needed to be dealt with in secrecy and no one could know about it. Because of this, the Divine Church needed to make some circles.

…

At the Hidden Fog Sect's station, Elder Si ordered people to summon his daughter Si Jia. After ordering everyone to leave, the father and daughter spoke privately for a long time. It was unknown what they said, but when they were finished Si Jia's eyes were red as if she had been crying.

"Aiya, I regret the past!" Si Tu sighed, his face full of bitterness.

Many years ago before he was married, he travelled the world, adventuring in his youth and making several good friends. At that time he was involved in an accidental murder, and the band of several high-spirited youths obtained a white finger bone.

And after inadvertently discovering the secret contained within this finger bone, a tragic and brutal treasure hunt began.

The group of youths entered a mystic realm. They made many horrifying discoveries but also obtained harvests beyond their imagination. As time passed, the minds of the youths were gradually eroded away. They became violent and bloodthirsty, finally leading to a slaughterfest.

Because the finger bone had been kept by Elder Si the entire time, he was the only one who managed to escape from the mystic realm.

After that, Elder Si returned to the Hidden Fog Sect. Beginning from that time, he lost his sense of wanderl.u.s.t and adventure and chose to stay where he was. This lasted until the present. As for the dangers of that time and all of his friends that had died, Elder Si never spoke about it and instead chose to completely bury these memories in his heart.

But currently, the dark star ice serpent was in danger and its safety concerned the benefits of the entire Hidden Fog Sect. After hesitating over and over, he decided to speak up. Yet as he said, just as he spoke he regretted it. He couldn't help but complain to his father who had perished so many years ago. Why had his father poured such a heavy faith into him that he should always prioritize the sect first?

Otherwise, why would he be in such a scared and terrifying state right now? Afraid that a great disaster would arrive upon his head at any moment?

This was why he said that he 'regretted' the past. He regretted the fact that he was a free-spirited youth who didn't know what fear was. He also regretted that he was a foolish sop who didn't know when to keep his mouth shut.

But with things having come this far, regret was useless. He called his daughter here in order to clarify the situation with her. He honestly told her that if anything were to happen to him, she needed to immediately return to the Hidden Fog Sect and not try to investigate anything.

Of course, this was only a worst case situation. He didn't hope that things would reach this point!