"The other side of Black Mountain?"

  "What kind of place is that? What's there that makes the Yun family go out of their way?"

  Beyond the mountains, across the sea...

  Han was tempted to give this whimsical answer but chose to remain silent—he didn't want to get smacked.

  Everyone looked puzzled, except for Lu Qingmo, whose eyes flickered with thought, as if something had come to mind.

  Bai Tian explained, "We are at the beginning of this mountain range, but if you follow it far enough, you’ll reach the true Black Mountain. Beyond that, the mountains continue until they reach the borders of another province—Tianxu County."

  "The Yun family is organizing a trip for their disciples to Tianxu County."

  Han raised an eyebrow. "Crossing straight through Black Mountain to another county? That sounds like a long journey."

  "It is," Bai Tian nodded, "but the Yun family has their own ways. Time won’t be an issue."

  Then, he continued, "Tianxu County is an unusual place. Only a small portion of its land is habitable, while the vast majority is nothing but ruins—desolate and lifeless."

  Han was intrigued. "A place like that actually exists?"

  A barren wasteland... a dead zone.

  Lu Qingmo, who seemed to know a fair bit about Tianxu County, spoke up. "Most of the ruins are filled with dangers and eerie phenomena. The entire area is shrouded in a strange mist. Any living being that stays too long will experience disturbing symptoms... and eventually die."

  "There’s a legend," she continued, "that Tianyang County's 'Nine Suns Ruins' are directly linked to Tianxu. When Tianxu was formed, the Nine Suns Ruins appeared alongside it."

  Han was startled—he knew about the Nine Suns Ruins. It was the place where his Pure Yang Flame was rumored to have originated.

  "If even the might of the Great Qi imperial court can't handle this ruin, then what exactly is it?" Han asked, frowning.

  This was a world of martial arts and Daoist magic, where the Grandmaster of Xuandu Temple was revered as a near-divine existence.

  Lu Qingmo shook her head. "The Grandmaster himself once ventured into the Boundless Abyss of Tianxu. He stayed for three days before withdrawing, and nothing in the abyss had changed in the slightest."

  Terrifying.

  Han couldn't help but ask, "And yet the Yun family dares to go there?"

  "As long as one doesn’t linger and retreats in time, there’s no real threat to life," Bai Tian reassured him. "The Boundless Abyss of Tianxu is a perilous land, but it also holds treasures unseen in the outside world. Throughout history, it has never lacked explorers."

  "Yes," Lu Qingmo agreed. "The greater the danger, the greater the fortune. Rare treasures, sacred relics, and even lost legacies—all of these could be found there. That’s why, despite the risks, people keep going."

  "Legacies?" Bai Ruoyue rubbed her forehead in confusion. "How could a ruin be home to valuable legacies?"

  "Because, according to Xuandu Temple’s records, long ago, this place was once home to a powerful sect called the 'Heaven's Mandate Sect,'" Lu Qingmo explained. "One night, the entire sect was mysteriously wiped out. The Boundless Abyss of Tianxu was born from its destruction, turning the area into a forbidden land."

  "It is said that in the beginning, anyone who entered never came out alive. Only after many years did it become possible for living beings to stay for short periods."

  "Heaven’s Mandate Sect?"

  "A supreme and enigmatic sect," Lu Qingmo said solemnly. "Before its downfall, it ruled the world, unchallenged. No faction dared to oppose it."

  Han silently mocked, What, did they get their hands on the legendary Heaven-Reliant Sword and Dragon-Slaying Saber?

  "It is recorded in ancient texts that even the strongest experts listed in the 'Mountains and Rivers Celestial Ranking' did not dare to provoke Heaven’s Mandate Sect at its peak," Lu Qingmo added.

  Her words carried weight, making the tale even more unsettling.

  "But of course, that was ages ago. Whether the legends are true or not, no one can say for sure." She shook her head.

  "The nations of Qi, Zhou, and Jin, along with most sects, have never even laid eyes on Heaven’s Mandate Sect. Everything we know about the Boundless Abyss of Tianxu comes from fragmented records in ancient books."

  "It seems the Mountain God must have discovered something within the abyss," Bai Tian speculated. "That’s probably why the Yun family is going in—to retrieve some benefits. As long as they don’t stay too long, there shouldn’t be any problems."

  "The Yun family says the same," Bai Tian confirmed. "They’ll enter and return the same day."

  "One day…" Bai Ruoyue glanced at Han and the others. "Should we go too? If the Yun family is sending disciples, it shouldn’t be too dangerous, right?"

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  "I'm definitely in," Shen Long declared without hesitation.

  Han thought for a moment before nodding. "Let’s go. The Boundless Abyss of Tianxu sounds interesting."

  A place like that had to be hiding something big.

  "Alright then," Bai Tian said. "I’ll inform you once we get word from the Yun family."

  "When will we depart?" Bai Ruoyue asked.

  Bai Tian shook his head. "That’s uncertain. It could be two or three days from now, or it might take half a month. It depends on the Mountain God’s assessment of the abyss."

  "This isn’t something the Yun family—or even the Mountain God—can decide on their own."

  After everyone dispersed, only Han and Lu Qingmo remained.

  Han turned to her with a question. "Aunt Mo, do you have any idea how powerful the Yun family truly is?"

  "My surname is Lu."

  In other words—Why are you asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?

  Still, she answered, "They are certainly formidable."

  "But if you're asking whether they stand among the absolute pinnacle of power… I wouldn’t go that far."

  "Do you think they might have someone as strong as the Mountain God hidden within their ranks?"

  Hearing this, Lu Qingmo chuckled. "Absolutely not."

  "Experts of the Mountain God's level are rare even in Xuandu Temple. If a single disciple emerges at that level in several generations, the sect is already considered to have a bright future."

  "If Xuandu Temple itself struggles to produce such figures, how could the Yun family—who reside in a mere corner of the world—possibly have one?"

  "Never underestimate the Mountain God’s strength," she added, "but never underestimate the difficulty of cultivation either. The further one progresses, the more grueling the path becomes."

  Han muttered under his breath, "Is it really that hard?"

  "I don’t feel anything special."

  "...You really need a beating, don’t you?"

  Lu Qingmo sighed. Then, she turned serious. "When you all go to Tianxu, you should be safe as long as you don’t act recklessly. Stick close to the Yun family and don’t charge in blindly."

  "If something happens to you there, even I won’t be able to save you."

  This time, Han didn’t joke around. He nodded earnestly.

  —

  Five days later, Han arrived at the martial arts hall, only to see Bai Ruoyue and the others already gathered, dressed in travel attire, fully prepared to depart.

  "What’s going on?" he asked.

  "The Yun family sent word. We leave today."

  "...Huh?"

  Five days—not too long, not too short.

  Bai Tian emerged. "Go get ready. I’ll take you to the Yun family soon."

  "I don’t need to prepare. I can leave now."

  With that, the group set off toward the Yun family estate.

  On the way, Han discreetly contacted Lu Qingmo to inform her of the situation.

  With everything settled, Lu Qingmo didn’t say much more.

  She trusted Han’s judgment, though deep down, she felt like trouble always seemed to find him…

  "Even the clan's own disciples aren't allowed to know?"

  That meant this secret was truly significant.

  "As expected."

  Han and the others had no objections. Since even the Yun family's own members were subjected to the same treatment, they had no reason to complain.

  Still, wasn't this blindfold a bit too crude? Could it really block a cultivator's perception?

  The moment Han covered his eyes, he realized he had underestimated it.

  Both his spiritual senses and martial intuition were completely cut off. It was as if the black cloth had severed his connection to the outside world.

  So, it was a magical artifact.

  Once all nineteen of them had blindfolded themselves, Han suddenly felt a sensation of weightlessness, as if he was being lifted into the air. Some time later, a fresh mountain breeze brushed against his face.

  Had they arrived at Black Mountain?

  Then, just as suddenly, a powerful feeling of falling overtook him, as if they were plummeting into the depths of the earth.

  Han’s curiosity burned intensely. He had no idea what was happening to them at that moment.

  After what felt like an eternity, Yun Yuannan's voice finally rang out.

  "We've arrived. You may remove the blindfolds."

  The group obeyed, and as they pulled off the black cloth, they found themselves standing within a desolate forest. The trees were withered, the grass was dark and lifeless, and an eerie silence filled the air—there was no sign of life anywhere.

  "This is the Heavenly Ruins?" Yun Duo asked curiously.

  Yun Yuannan shook his head. "No, the ruins are behind you."

  Han and the others turned around—and were instantly stunned.

  Beyond the forest stretched an endless expanse of devastation.

  Enormous mountain peaks, once towering thousands of meters high, had crumbled and collapsed, their shattered remains scattered across the land. The ground was split apart by deep fissures—some stretching dozens of meters, others hundreds. In certain places, the earth had sunken into gaping chasms.

  Boulders were strewn across the wasteland, each marked with strange scars—blade cuts, axe strikes, scorch marks from fire and lightning, and even the icy remnants of frost.

  Ruined palaces and shattered halls lay in pieces, their once-grand structures eroded by time. Even in their dilapidated state, they still hinted at their former magnificence.

  A faint red mist blanketed the vast ruins, casting an eerie and desolate aura over the landscape.

  Han's sharp eyes caught movement in the distance—wandering skeletons drifting through the wreckage.

  Some were human. Some belonged to beasts.

  Beyond these eerie figures, hills of bleached bones rose in ominous silence.

  Even more bizarrely, towering rock formations dotted the land, shaped like kneeling human figures.

  Each of these stone giants was frozen in the same posture—kneeling on both knees, yet their heads were raised high, as if gazing longingly at the heavens.

  Above them, the sky itself seemed twisted. The higher one looked, the denser the crimson mist became, distorting the sunlight into a dim, ghostly glow.

  In certain areas, the mist parted, revealing gaping rifts in the sky—like wounds torn open in the fabric of reality.

  Occasionally, flashes of light flickered within the red clouds, accompanied by distant, rumbling echoes—thunder, or something far more sinister.

  In some regions, torrents of water surged chaotically. In others, flames raged uncontrollably. Some areas were ravaged by violent gales, while others were trapped in eternal frost.

  And then there were places where, despite the bright daylight, the darkness was so thick it felt like the depths of night.

  Han's gaze traveled further, spotting a mass of black vines stretching from the ground all the way up into the crimson clouds.

  Everything here exuded an overwhelming sense of dread and mystery.

  A gust of wind swept through, carrying with it the scent of decay and the dust of forgotten ages.

  "This is the Heavenly Ruins," Yun Yuannan's voice broke the silence. "The place you will be entering."

  The group stood in wordless contemplation, fully absorbing the eerie, unnatural landscape before them.

  This was nothing like the world they knew. Compared to the mountains and rivers of the outside world, this place felt utterly… wrong.

  "Father, this place feels strange," Yun Duo said anxiously.

  "Are you sure it's safe for us to go in?"

  At just fifteen years old, this was her first time setting foot here.

  "There is no need to worry." Yun Yuannan ruffled his daughter's hair reassuringly. "The Yun family has sent people into the ruins for generations. We have experience. As long as you follow the rules and don't act recklessly, you'll be fine."

  "This place is indeed dangerous, but it also holds unimaginable opportunities. Even the smallest fortune found within can bring great benefits to your future cultivation."

  He pointed toward a ruined palace, not far from the forest.

  "That is your destination."

  The group narrowed their eyes, focusing on the massive, crumbling structure in the distance.

  Even in its ruined state, its scale was breathtaking. It was impossible to imagine how grand it must have been when whole.

  But now, time had reduced it to a lifeless husk, a corpse of stone and history.

  And they were about to step right into its open maw.