"So this is the inner valley?" Han Li gazed at the scene before him and couldn't help murmuring, his face filled with a strange expression.
More than ten zhang behind him rose a cliff face over a thousand zhang tall. At its base sat a modest cave mouth.
Han Li had walked out of it only moments ago.
Marquis Nanlong and the elder surnamed Lu stood shoulder to shoulder off to one side, surveying the view with equally astonished looks.
Before them stretched an enormous mountain range dotted with countless peaks of every size, seemingly endless. Yet at the same time, it was a world of dazzling color.
Throughout the sky and across the earth, wisps of faint iridescent light drifted in every direction.
These luminous clouds varied in hue and scale. The largest spanned several li, like an evening sky aglow, while the smallest were only a few chi long, resembling thin gauze — all of them extraordinarily vivid.
What truly startled Han Li and the others, however, was not these clouds of light but the wild, chaotic spiritual energy that permeated here. Energy of every elemental nature mingled together in a turbulent tangle, giving off an unsettled, restless feeling, as though the slightest provocation might set it all off.
"No wonder this is where ancient cultivators once fought — they even managed to destroy the very foundation of the ambient spiritual energy here. In that case, I'm afraid any spell any of us casts will be affected to some degree," Marquis Nanlong said after staring at the surroundings for a long while, letting out a deep breath.
"Those are secondary concerns. The real trouble lies over there." Han Li raised his hand and pointed toward a spot high in the sky, a wry smile on his face.
Several hundred zhang away, a dozen or so wisps of white radiance, each about a foot long, drifted slowly through the air.
The moment Marquis Nanlong and the elder Lu made them out clearly, both were stunned.
"Space rifts — how can there be so many? And they move on their own!" Lu Weiying blurted out in alarm.
Marquis Nanlong's face had turned grim as well. "This is to be expected. If this is an ancient battlefield, it stands to reason that space rifts would be far more common here than outside. Otherwise, how could so many prodigiously talented Nascent Soul cultivators have entered and never returned? To guard against accidents, from now on we must follow the route map left by Immortal Cangkun to the letter. Otherwise, heh heh…" Han Li glanced at Marquis Nanlong and let out a soft laugh.
"Brother Han makes a fair point. We absolutely must not take reckless detours. Who knows where invisible space rifts might appear? Still, these wandering rifts sound terrifying, but once you spot them, their speed is far too slow to pose a real threat," Marquis Nanlong said, composing himself after a moment's thought.
"But the density of space rifts here is at least ten times what it is outside. And Brother Nanlong's method only works reliably when the invisible rifts don't wander either. If they dash about like those visible ones, the route map Immortal Cangkun left behind may not necessarily be safe." Lu Weiying furrowed his brow, eyes fixed on another cluster-dense patch of space rifts, and spoke thoughtfully.
Han Li started slightly at these words. He tilted his head, and a brilliant blue glow flared in his eyes. Instantly, he spotted a faint arc of light hovering motionless in the air about a hundred zhang away.
After studying the invisible space rift for a while, he steadied his nerves.
But just as he was weighing whether to share this discovery with the other two — and how best to do so — Marquis Nanlong noticed Han Li's pensive expression and, after a moment's hesitation, said something that caught Han Li completely off guard: "Fellow Daoists, don't worry. Those invisible rifts don't move. Immortal Cangkun's writings confirmed as much."
"Brother Nanlong, can you be certain of that? How did Immortal Cangkun come to know?" Lu Weiying perked up, though a note of skepticism crept into his voice.
"Do you suppose, Brother Lu, that Immortal Cangkun could have escaped the Valley of Fallen Demons unscathed when his vital essence was so grievously depleted? It was entirely thanks to a divine ability he had cultivated — one that let him sense the existence of space rifts. That is how he found his way out. Forget a wounded Cangkun; even at his peak he could never have exited safely without it." Marquis Nanlong addressed them both in a calm tone.
Hearing this explanation, the elder's expression relaxed, and he felt considerably more at ease.
"So such a secret art truly exists in this world? If that's the case, then Cangkun's escape from the Valley of Fallen Demons was no stroke of luck."
Han Li's expression shifted slightly as well, and he seemed to let out a quiet breath of relief.
Seeing this, Marquis Nanlong felt a weight lift from his own shoulders. He had been worried that Han Li or the elder might develop cold feet and want to turn back.
In particular, Han Li — whom he still could not see through at all — would be indispensable in dealing with the Fire Toad Beast. He had to keep the man moving forward.
"Now then, it's time we got moving. According to the writings, without the ability to travel at speed, the Fire Toad Beast's lair is a full day's journey from here. Along the way, both of you will need to be on your guard," Marquis Nanlong added, his expression turning serious.
"Rest assured, Brother Nanlong. My fellow Daoist Lu and I will treasure our own lives more than anything," Han Li said with a slight upturn of the corner of his mouth and an easy smile.
The elder surnamed Lu nodded as well.
"Good — we've already lost too much time. Let's go." Marquis Nanlong gave a satisfied nod.
He then oriented himself, and with a flash of golden light his protective aura enveloped him like a cocoon. He rose into the air and drifted slowly toward a set direction.
Han Li and the elder exchanged a glance, their own protective spiritual light flickering as they ascended to the sky. They followed Marquis Nanlong's flight path without deviating a single step.
At this point, even a miscalculation of a few zhang could trigger some space rift or ancient restriction. Han Li and the elder were on the utmost guard.
Throughout the journey, Marquis Nanlong's flight path was erratic — sometimes straight and true, sometimes requiring a wide, circuitous loop. But regardless of the route, after every hour of flight he would invariably stop, reconfirm his bearings, and then set out once more.