C129-2: Black And Red

Hahaha! Whoever it was that designed the defence system of the Sunrider Sect must be an absolute idiot! They made the walls transparent. So if we ever need to attack them, we can easily observe what's going on inside. If we manage to make a really spirited, super intimidating assault, even those stationed several layers behind the peripheral wall will piss their pants and run off in fear. It's an easy prey!


Han Xuhan enthusiastically wrote down the third paragraph on his note of observations. This time, Hong Wei did not even bother to throw a biting input.

"What you've seen so far is the outer region of the Sunrider Sect. If you're willing, you can rest here to recover. And that reminds me, how do you plan to return to your sect?" Shangguang Ce remarked lazily, leading him deeper and deeper into the layered defence system of the Sunrider Sect. Han Xuhan, who had been curiously observing everything they passed by, came to a sudden halt, pretending to have realised that issue for the first time.

"Oh, that's easy," he answered Shangguang Ce pridefully. "I shall ask one of your elders to slingshot me upwards! Since I reached down here by falling straight, logically, I should find myself back to my sect if the route is reversed." Finishing his explanation, Xuhan grinned victoriously and tapped the side of his temple, his expression the very image of smugness.

". . .I see, I see," brother Ce muttered thoughtfully. "I don't know if you've noticed this or not, but your sect isn't up above right now. There is nothing but the empty sky above us."

Han Xuhan squinted at him, a disdainful expression appearing on his face.
"Empty sky? The sky isn't empty, stupid! My master said there is a roof where the sky ends. One day I'm going to become powerful enough to fly and see the roof myself."

"I would love to be a witness to a feat of such magnificence," Shangguang Ce said. "But as I said, your sect isn't up there, see?"

Han Xuhan laughed uproariously.

"So what? Just because I can't see it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It's probably invisible or something. Where else is the sect supposed to go? It's probably there. I just need to fly up and I'll probably see it."

"Probably?" Hong Wei asked, seemingly not quite able to believe that someone would execute a suicidal move based on probability.

"Well, there is a tiny bit of possibility that I'm wrong and my sect isn't right up above," Xuhan said.

"So what are you going to do if that happens?" she asked.

"Hah! That's like one in a million possibility. That would actually never happen anyway. Why do I need to worry about it then?"

". . .Ah."

"By the way, are you sure you're not a guy? Like, one thousand percent sure?"

Hong Wei gazed at him with her eyes narrowed for a long few seconds before suddenly smiling very sincerely.

Han Xuhan felt goosebumps rising on his neck.

"You know what? You can think of me as a guy. Wanna compare dick sizes?"

". . . ." This time, it was Han Xuhan's turn to become speechless. This didn't quite feel right. She had adapted a bit too quickly to the situation.

"Guys don't do that," Han Xuhan said finally, finding his footing once more.

"Sure they do. Just ask martial brother Ce! Hey-"

Hong Wei suddenly stopped speaking, her mouth gaping toward the place Shangguang Ce had been standing in. Han Xuhan had also felt it by then. The qi in the air. . .it was behaving oddly.

And he, Han Xuhan, was quite familiar with this sort of movement of qi from his past experiences.

His heart thrumming, Xuhan turned around and saw Shangguang Ce sitting on the ground in a meditative pose, his fingers crossed in a weird method.
His mouth was moving restlessly, muttering words both of them were a tad too familiar with.

"Just because I cannot see it, it doesn't mean it's not there. Maybe I cannot see it because I'm looking for it actively. It may not be in the direction I'm advancing. And it may not even be where it is supposed to be. What rules are there binding it? If space itself can be twisted so far beyond imagination, why can't something ethereal be manipulated? But at the end of the day, I'm the cultivator. This path to dao is forged by my resolution. Why must I bend to the rules mere mediocre crowds follow? My talent may not be enough for me to see the peak. But what even is talent in the world of cultivation? Master was right. I see it now. My only limits are those I've placed on myself!"


A dumbfounded expression appeared on Han Xuhan's face as the words Shangguang Ce kept muttering registered in his mind.

Oh No. No, no, no, no, NO!

Clouds gathered above their head, blocking the view of the bright blue sky. A faint sound of musical instruments rang through the air, reverberating amidst the crystalline walls of the Sunrider Sect.

"He's having a breakthrough!" Hong Wei screeched. In the back of his mind, Xuhan noted down the partial terror in her scream that was as evident as her surprise.

"Where are the elders?! What are we supposed to do?" Xuhan shouted in panic. Back when he had first landed on this sect, he had noticed several people manning the weapons on the walls. But he couldn't find any of them. In fact, since he had entered the walls, none of the other disciples or elders made an appearance as if they did not care about his sudden intrusion.

From the waves of qi coming at his face, Xuhan could guess that Shangguang Ce was at least in the eighth or ninth layer of the physique transformation realm. He definitely needed an elder to oversee his breakthrough. Breakthroughs of this level were far harder to get past.

"I'll call someone! You. . .don't you dare do anything!" Hong Wei rushed away deeper into the maze leaving that threat hanging in the air. Han Xuhan did not need to be told twice. He backpedalled away as far as possible inside the maze without losing weight of Shangguang Ce. It was one thing to be caught as a spy in a friendly tournament. But messing with someone's breakthrough would be way too serious an issue.

Right when he was about to breathe a sigh of relief after distancing himself from the guy, a shudder ran through his spine uncontrollably.

The clouds that had gathered above Shangguang Ce's head had changed colour. From dark grey, the voluminous clouds had turned pure black. Red lightning churned silently within their folds.

He, a mere ant trapped within the walls, could no longer see the sky above, only the darkness illuminated by the lightning taking up his entire field of vision.

The windows in the walls through which they had entered had been blocked, he discovered as soon as he rushed toward one. The crystalline substance covered the holes as if there had been no windows there to begin with.

Han Xuhan wanted to scream, partly in anger and partly from frustration.

He recognized those clouds. Out of the numerous subtypes of anomalous tribulation clouds, the black ones, mixed with red lightning signified a terrifying fact.

These guys were ghost cultivators.