Chapter 312

Woo—

Accompanied by a distant sound, a gust of wind blew through the quiet valley, flowing between the cliffs.

In the cracks of the cliffside rock, a twisted sapling stubbornly grew; the sole leaf on its extending branch became the only spot of green on the cliff wall.

The lone green leaf swayed constantly in the wind, until at one moment it detached from the branch and fell downward into the valley on the breeze.

With the disappearance of that hint of green, the saplet seemed to let out a silent sigh, then shattered inch by inch, dissipating into nothingness.

That leaf floated and floated in the wind, passing through the lower cliffs, finally landing on a hand.

Qin Chuan grasped the leaf that had drifted from somewhere unknown, his gaze turning to the lines of text that appeared before him.

【Dungeon: Heavenly Stairway First Level】

【Dungeon Introduction: The stairway above the Heavenly Stairway leads to true eternity and boundless power; over ten thousand years, one race after another has written their tragic joys and sorrows here, and now the horn of inter‑racial conflict is about to sound, with all races sharing a single goal: to survive.】

【Dungeon Level: SSS Rank】

【Horizontal Difficulty Rating: ★★★★】

【Dungeon Boss: Unknown】

【Player Talent: Gnomon (Gold)】

【Worn Title: 【Gold】 Godslayer】

【Dungeon Conquest Goal: Slay the Lord of Belige Ling, Heavenly Craft·Palian】

【Dungeon Conquest Time Limit: 23:40:17】

【Abort This Conquest】

【00:06:03】

Lin Yue spoke softly, "The dungeon introduction is exactly the same as last time." However, this time's conquest goal is completely different from last time.

Qin Chuan helplessly shook his head, "Again, we have to kill a territory lord."

Lin Yue lightly sighed, "If the lord is killed, the territory will surely fall into chaos, affecting all races within it." Other races likely don't welcome us, and this is probably part of the reason.

Qin Chuan lightly laughed, taking Lin Yue's hand, "But from our perspective, this is a good thing." Other races have at least been here a thousand years earlier than us.

They have already established a foothold here, six races have formed their own orders, and on this Heavenly Stairway there is no place for the human race to stand.

Only when they fall into chaos can the human race reap the benefits.

"That's not bad." Hearing Qin Chuan say that, Lin Yue also realized this, and then glanced at this time's mission target.

Belige Ling, have you been there?

"I suppose I have." Qin Chuan looked at the somewhat familiar place name, couldn't help but laugh, "The first S‑rank secret realm, Wolusuoke Mizong Tower."

Inside that Mizong Tower, he fought the dwarf demons corrupted by ominous energy.

That was also the first time he was directly assaulted by ominous aura, and the first time he discovered that temporal stop has a strong countering effect against ominous aura.

I don't know how that Mizong Tower is now; inside, the former chief of the ominous‑corrupted dwarf demon clan, Lanso, may still exist, or like Kasakaban, may have been wiped out by the powerful beings of the Heavenly Stairway during their weak period.

Besides…

Qin Chuan looked toward this conquest's target.

Heavenly Craft…

Such a title looks like it belongs exclusively to the dwarf demon clan no matter how you look at it.

Could it be that the lord of Belige Ling is now a dwarf demon?

If so, I don't know what his relationship with Lanso is.

No matter what, let's first conceal our aura.

Qin Chuan took out a black robe that could conceal his whole body, put it on, then donned the large hood, covering his face.

Thus, it is impossible to discern his racial features from appearance.

Likewise, it is not easy to sense Qin Chuan's race from his aura.

Because this robe is not ordinary; it is a piece of extraordinary equipment called the Shadow Robe.

It was originally a purple item Qin Chuan obtained from an A‑rank secret realm, boosting defense and damage reduction; after leaving the Heavenly Stairway last time, Qin Chuan recalled it.

Coincidentally, at that time other players clearing dungeons obtained red items, high‑level dwarf demon forging essence, and put them up for sale; Qin Chuan snapped them up and applied them to the Shadow Robe.

Upgraded to red rank, the Shadow Robe gained the effect of concealing one's aura.

For Qin Chuan, who roams the Heavenly Stairway, this is important.

On the other side, Lin Yue happily took out a pair of splendid earrings from the item equipment bar and lightly put them on her ears.

As the earrings swayed lightly, her appearance quickly shifted into that of a half-demon woman, similar to the half-demon guise Pepe Maer had helped her disguise before, yet with some differences.

Red item, the Confounding Earrings.

This superpower-system equipment has a powerful effect that can freely alter one's appearance and aura, allowing a person to easily become someone else.

Given to Lin Yue, it couldn't be more suitable.

Having the experience from clearing the SSS-rank dungeon last time, their preparations this time need to be much richer.

After completing the disguise, Qin Chuan immediately used the Gnomon's third talent, locking onto this operation's target, Heavenly Craft-Parian, from afar, and seeing the dwarf demon sitting cross-legged in the image, he smiled.

"Fortunately, there was a five-day gap between the two SSS-rank dungeons."

"Even if it were just one day earlier, the difficulty would increase significantly."

When Qin Chuan entered the Heavenly Stairway the previous time, he used the Gnomon's third talent.

And the cooldown for the Gnomon's third talent is seven days.

This time, Qin Chuan did not enter immediately after the dungeon refreshed; instead, he waited two days and entered only after the Gnomon's third talent cooldown ended.

If the next SSS-rank dungeon refresh comes earlier, Qin Chuan will face the embarrassing situation of being unable to use the Gnomon's third talent.

Parian and Qin Chuan are not close at the moment; reaching him requires crossing most of the Baeligo Territory.

After pulling out the map of the Heavenly Stairway and comparing it, Qin Chuan quickly came up with an idea.

"We'll take this route." He traced a line on the map, "This way we can also swing by the Wolensok Mist Tower to have a look."

He was still curious about the places he had cleared.

During that previous clear, he had been inside the Mist Tower the whole time.

At last he could get a look at the Mist Tower from outside.

"All right." Lin Yue examined and compared carefully, then nodded.

Compared to other routes, this one isn't any more dangerous.

Since Qin Chuan wanted to catch a glimpse of the Mist Tower, she naturally had no objection.

Soon, the two figures vanished into the valley. —Wolensok Mountain, located in the eastern suburbs of Bello Territory.

Long ago, that place was where the Bello Territory's Dwarf Demons thrived and multiplied.

Later, a mysterious high tower was erected on the mountain, and the Dwarf Demons living there vanished overnight.

Some say the Dwarf Demons didn't disappear; they all live inside that tower, which houses the clan's finest equipment and creations.

Many therefore wanted to explore that tower, but without exception they all eventually vanished, just like the Dwarf Demons who had disappeared before, never to be seen again.

That tower, standing high atop the mist‑shrouded summit of Wolensok Mountain, is therefore called the Wolensok Mist Tower.

At the foot of Wolensok Mountain lies a solitary little town.

It is the nearest inhabited place to the Wolensok Mist Tower.

Because of the Mist Tower, few people come here.

And today, this modest town received two visitors.

Qin Chuan and Lin Yue, having managed to obtain two Veracity Pills, walked into the town.

"You want to go to the Mist Tower?" a Crystal Clan woman who had stopped them to ask for directions looked at the two of them in surprise, her expression seeming to say, "Why go to that creepy place when being alive is fine?" She advised, "I suggest you give up that idea."

"We just want to find out first." Qin Chuan smiled and asked casually, "Have there been any special events on Wolensok Mountain these past few months?"

"No." The Crystal Clan woman shook her head without hesitation, then, as if recalling something, glanced at the mountainside outside the town and said, "Well, maybe there is one thing."

"What is it?" Lin Yue asked curiously.

But the Crystal Clan woman before them didn't speak right away; instead, she gave Lin Yue a strange look and said, "Why do you think I'd tell you this for free?"

"Come on, you're a half‑demon, and I'm a Crystal Clan."

"Is this enough?" Qin Chuan took out a bottle of pale‑red potion from his item menu and handed it over.

It's a green item, Life Spirit Water, which has a certain restorative effect on life.

Having anticipated this, Qin Chuan, on Feng Yin's suggestion, brought some common green and blue items to use as currency when dealing with other races.

"A little trinket concocted by Moon Spirit?" the Crystal Clan woman took it interestedly, glanced at it twice, then wore a satisfied expression, "About a month ago, the mist on Wolensok Mountain suddenly became a bit thinner."

"Many bold fellows thought this proved the Wolensok Mist Tower had weakened, but unfortunately…" the Crystal Clan woman shrugged, "Their luck didn't pay off."

"Just like those who entered the Mist Tower before, they never came out again."

"Shouldn't the lord of Bello Territory be a Dwarf Demon? Doesn't he care at all about his kin's fate?" Qin Chuan suddenly asked.

"That seems strange to me too, but the fact is, under that lord's leadership, the Dwarf Demons who later entered Bello Territory have never come here." The Crystal Clan woman shook her head.

Parian has never come here…

Qin Chuan showed a thoughtful expression.

He suddenly recalled a small detail from when he cleared the S‑rank dungeon Wolensok Mist Tower.

The Wolensok Mist Tower has more than one dungeon boss.

Besides the Dwarf Demon chieftain Lanso corrupted by the ominous aura, there is also a fellow called Mist Trace Wraith Lelian.

According to Qin Chuan's later speculation, it should be a twisted‑quark life formed when the entire Dwarf Demon race fused under the ominous aura, possibly also incorporating explorers who had entered the Mist Tower.

After slaying Lelian, Qin Chuan obtained some memory fragments.

In those memory fragments, one scene left a deep impression on him.

It was the scene of the Dwarf Demon clan preparing to build this Mist Tower.

They began digging the foundations and accidentally unearthed a Dwarf Demon skeleton.

That skeleton wore a strange mask that was neither crying nor laughing, neither smiling nor frowning, and the face beneath the mask was unknown to any Dwarf Demon.

Where did that Dwarf Demon corpse come from? Is it related to Parian and these other‑line Dwarf Demons' existence? Originally this was an internal Dwarf Demon matter, Qin Chuan had no need to intervene, but since it involves the ominous aura, it keeps bothering him.

After pondering a moment without finding an answer, Qin Chuan gave a slight shake of his head, "Thanks for your reply, goodbye."

Having said that, he took Lin Yue's hand and turned toward Wolensok Mountain.

"Hey! Considering the restorative potion, I'll remind you once more: no one has ever entered the Mist Tower and come out alive!"

The Crystal Clan woman shouted, seeing the pair's steps never falter; she sighed, shook her head, tossed the Life Spirit Water she had just received into the air and caught it, then walked away with a light step.

Not long after, Qin Chuan and Lin Yue had already climbed to the mountainside of Wolensok Mountain.

A thin mist began to appear ahead; the higher they went, the thicker it became, until at the summit it almost completely shrouded Wolensok Mountain's peak.

But to the two of them, whose strength rivals the Mythic Stage, this mist was nothing to worry about.

"What are you thinking about?" Lin Yue pinched Qin Chuan's hand and asked curiously.

Since parting with that Crystal Clan woman earlier, Qin Chuan has continually carried a hint of thought.

"I'm wondering, after the Dwarf Demons unearthed that mysterious dwarf demon corpse, just how did they handle the body?" Qin Chuan spoke slowly.

That answer is not shown in Lelian's memory fragments.

After all, those are only a few broken memory shards; it's impossible for every detail to appear.

"I recall that a player once shared dungeon‑capture info mentioning this." Lin Yue pondered a moment, then spoke softly, "The Dwarf Demons' way of mourning the dead is to refine the deceased into constructs?"

"Huh?" Qin Chuan snapped his head toward Lin Yue, "How would I not know that?"

"With so many dungeon‑capture infos, it's natural that what we've seen differs." Lin Yue blinked, "I often look at these when I'm free, so it's normal that I've seen more than you."

"All right." Qin Chuan rubbed his brow, his expression gradually turning solemn.

If the dwarf demon clan mourns the dead in this way.

Is there a chance that the mysterious corpse is still somewhere in the Wolensuke Maze Tower, and he hadn't found it during the previous raid? Thinking of this, Qin Chuan raised his head and looked ahead.

In the thick mist, the shadow of a tall tower gradually appeared.

The Wolensuke Maze Tower was right before their eyes.

Stationed before the tower gate for a moment, Qin Chuan pulled Lin Yue and entered the tower without hesitation.

In the next instant, a multitude of dwarf demon constructs surged toward the two like a tidal wave.

Each of these constructs possessed terrifying strength at the legendary tier.

Under such a siege, there was absolutely no chance of survival below the Mythic Stage.

All past explorers eventually died at their hands.

But for Qin Chuan and Lin Yue, resolving this siege was not troublesome.

"Spirit Descent·Water-Chanting Throne."

As Qin Chuan stepped forward, an endless wave swept across the entire Wolensuke Maze Tower in an instant; amidst the roaring water, the constructs were as fragile as paper, shattering in the blink of an eye.

Even the mist at the tower's mid-level dissipated with the wave's sweep, revealing only a phantom-like, ferocious monster.

The monster gazed at Qin Chuan with shock and anger, its eyes filled with bewilderment and suspicion.

"We meet again, Lailian." Qin Chuan spoke slowly.

The Lailian before him was much larger than in memory from the dungeon, its form more twisted and ferocious, and most importantly, terrifying Mythic Stage power surged across its body.

Although its power was mixed and it might not fully master it, it was still the Mythic Stage.

Such a formidable opponent was merely the second boss inside the Wolensuke Maze Tower, and the tower's nature of having no exit was only natural. Lailian instantly opened the huge mouths on its body, and its strange screams were about to erupt.

However, this time Qin Chuan did not stop its action.

"Call Lanso down." He crossed his arms, looking calmly at Lailian, "It's time we settled our score."

The screams echoed inside the Wolensuke Maze Tower, and in an instant, a fierce roar and a rapidly awakening terrifying power came from the tower's top.

In the next instant, a dwarf demon clad in armor and wielding a huge axe, wearing a mask that was neither crying nor laughing, leapt down from the tower's top, raising its axe high and slashing toward the two below.

Mythic Stage.

In an instant, Qin Chuan gauged Lanso's true strength.

Moreover, unlike the mixed-power Lailian, this opponent was a genuine Mythic Stage.

But sorry.

My strength surpasses yours!

Qin Chuan instantly shifted into Black Dragon Form, clad in Black Dragon Armor, his dark-red fists clenched, and without dodging, he directly confronted the axe-wielding Lanso.

"Boom!!!"

A deafening boom echoed throughout the Wolensuke Maze Tower, and the terrifying energy surge instantly flung the nearby Lailian away.

Lanso's axe slipped from his grasp and flew off, his whole body hurled high into the air.

In the next instant, a blood-red blur shot toward the airborne Lanso at a speed beyond naked-eye perception, slamming into him fiercely.

The fearless dwarf demon warrior's armor shattered piece by piece under this terrifying force, its body split apart, its breath fading rapidly, its life flickering like a candle in the wind.

Beneath the mask, those scarlet, mad eyes regained a glimmer of clarity as they watched Qin Chuan approach, and Lanso let out a low, bitter laugh.

"It's you."

"In the dungeon before, it was you who defeated me."

"Your power is greater than before."

"Your time is short, so I'll skip the greetings." Qin Chuan halted his steps, gazing at the fading Lanso, "Where is the corpse you dug up?"

Lanso fell silent for a moment, "It's right beneath the Wolensuke Maze Tower."

Qin Chuan almost thought he had misheard.

"You dug him up and then buried him again?!"

"That shouldn't be the case." Lanso spoke softly, slowly removing the mask from his face, facing the neither-crying-nor-laughing visage, "It is it."

"Not only as its owner, it subtly influenced all our kin."

Lanso's eyes filled with pain, "Everything is because I couldn't resist the temptation."

He sighed, his form swiftly collapsing and vanishing where he stood.

On the other side, Lin Yue swiftly dispatched the continually screaming Lailian, came to Qin Chuan's side, and looked at the mask left on the ground.

At this moment, after separating from Lanso's body, the mask rapidly emitted an ominous aura in all directions; this aura quickly filled the Wolensuke Maze Tower, causing the option to exit the dungeon for Qin Chuan and Lin Yue to turn gray.

That was a force far richer in ominous aura than that seen in previous S-rank dungeons, comparable perhaps only to the occasion when the ominous source descended into the timeless void.

Fortunately, this ominous aura did not actively attack Qin Chuan and Lin Yue.

They merely filled the surroundings, attempting to subtly erode the two.

Obviously, on the Heavenly Stairway, the power of the ominous aura was greatly restricted.

"Let's dig up that corpse, destroy it, and then leave." Qin Chuan's eyes held a hint of wariness as he pulled Lin Yue swiftly to the base of the Wolensuke Maze Tower.

With his full-force punch, the Wolensuke Maze Tower rumbled violently, and the ground at the center of the tower's bottom first layer swiftly cracked open.

A dwarf demon's body emerged from the cracked earth, as if fallen into sleep, eyes peacefully closed, yet its expression was exceptionally ferocious, the surrounding evil aura making both Qin Chuan and Lin Yue frown.

Suddenly, Lin Yue softly asked, "Do you feel… it doesn't quite look like a dwarf demon?"

"What?" Qin Chuan didn't grasp Lin Yue's meaning.

The dwarf demon before them had deep-green skin and a short, hunched stature—a trait unique to the Heavenly Stairway.

"Just a feeling." Lin Yue shook her head slightly, "Its features seem more refined than any dwarf demon I've seen, and it's a bit taller than the average dwarf demon."

"Ah, that's it." Qin Chuan chuckled, "Even within the same species, appearance and build can vary greatly—where there's handsomeness, there's also ugliness."

"This must be a handsome dwarf demon."

"I probably overthought it." Lin Yue thought for a moment, and also agreed with Qin Chuan's view.

Without further hesitation, the two completely destroyed the corpse and then immediately left the Maze Tower.

After the two left, inside the already dilapidated Warren Suoke Maze Tower, an ominous aura surged and slowly sank.

When it came into contact with the already shattered mysterious dwarf demon remains, the remains strangely and swiftly pieced themselves together, eventually forming a complete dwarf demon skeleton.

The remains slowly opened a pair of eyes filled with gray-black aura; as the mouth opened and closed, a low voice echoed within the Maze Tower.

"What a pity… such a mature test subject, so close to success…"

"But it's fine, Luo has appeared again."

"His value far exceeds that of any test subject."

"Obtain him, devour him…"

"Obtain him, devour him…"

The remains lowly repeated the last sentence, and after a long time, like a sculpture made of sand and gravel, they scattered with the wind onto the ground, forming a layer of gray-black dust.

The previously extremely dense ominous aura thus quietly dissipated without a trace.

Only after leaving the range of Warren Suoke Mountain did Qin Chuan activate Time Stop, using its power to dispel the tiny amount of ominous aura clinging to the two of them.

Inside the Maze Tower, he truly dared not activate Time Stop.

If the ominous source were to descend, it would be another disaster.

"What's wrong?" After Time Stop ended, Qin Chuan glanced at Lin Yue, who kept looking back beside him.

"Just now I suddenly felt a palpitation and unease." Lin Yue spoke softly, then her expression relaxed a bit: "All right, it's gone now."

"That's good." Qin Chuan smiled, took Lin Yue's hand, and headed in the direction indicated by the Gnomon Third Talent.

"Come on, let's go find Parian."

Re-challenging the Warren Suoke Maze Tower counted as lifting the stone weighing on Qin Chuan's heart; besides that, he had no dealings with the Beli Ge territory at all.

At that point, after slaying Parian, the two could leave smoothly.

Having learned from the previous lesson, the two never revealed themselves from start to finish; presumably, Parian had no idea that two killing gods were already targeting him.

This way, there would be no time for the opponent to prepare, so there would be no repeat of the previous situation where more than ten Mythic Stage experts jointly besieged the two, and even Second Realm beings descended to attack.

Keeping a low profile all the way, the two quickly covered more than half the distance.

"Let's rest nearby for a bit." Qin Chuan stopped his steps, looked around, and said, "The scenery here is actually not bad."

"Yeah." Lin Yue casually gestured, and two fruits that looked appetizing detached from a nearby tree and flew toward the two of them.

After casually wiping the surface and taking a bite, Lin Yue's eyes curved into a smile: "Tastier than the fruits of the Dream World."

"After all, this is a world of higher level than the Dream World." Qin Chuan smiled, picked up another fruit, and took a bite.

With the Luck Talent, determining whether a fruit is edible is very simple.

Anything Lin Yue selects can be eaten.

Lin Yue is now far from when she first obtained the Luck Talent; her use of fortune comes effortlessly.

"If it weren't for the Race War, the Heavenly Stairway would also be a pretty nice place." After a brief rest, Lin Yue spoke softly.

"The other six races each have their own characteristics and cultures, with different personalities; if everyone could coexist peacefully, this place would be even more interesting."

She then sighed, "What a pity, there's no such 'if'."

"Maybe there is." Qin Chuan smiled, took Lin Yue's hand, and said, "Now, every rule of the Heavenly Stairway is designed by a mysterious powerful being, that is, the so-called deity."

"If we reach or even surpass that being…"

"Then the rules of the Heavenly Stairway can be changed."

"Surpass the deity…" Lin Yue's eyes shone brightly.

This sounds utterly unbelievable.

Deities can create the Dream World and the Heavenly Stairway, granting ordinary worlds extraordinary power, and with just a thought they can cause countless races to slaughter each other.

Merely thinking about it makes clear just how terrifying that power is.

But when she glanced at the calm-faced youth beside her, Lin Yue suddenly felt.

His words are achievable.

"We've rested enough." Qin Chuan sat up from the soft grass and said, "We should set off."

"Mm!" Lin Yue closely followed Qin Chuan and quickly headed off in a certain direction.

But just one minute later, the two returned from the opposite direction.

Lin Yue looked at the fruit tree not far away, now missing two fruits, her pupils constricted slightly, and she said, "The place where we just rested is right here!"

"Here…" Qin Chuan, returning to this place, showed a look of surprise and uncertainty.

They were clearly heading all the way toward their target, the direction of the Heavenly Craftsmanship·Parian, so why did they inexplicably return to the starting point? "Let's try again." Qin Chuan said in a low voice, taking Lin Yue's hand and leaving once more.

This time, he kept his eyes fixed on the indication of the Gnomon Third Talent Effect throughout.

After a moment, his pupils contracted sharply.

His consciousness told him he was walking an absolute straight line.

But the Gnomon Third Talent clearly and accurately indicated that he was walking in circles.

"What's wrong?" Lin Yue looked at Qin Chuan, whose face was extremely solemn, and asked.

"We are walking in circles without realizing it." Qin Chuan looked around, "It seems like we're walking a straight line, but that's just our illusion."

"How could that be…" Lin Yue's expression changed slightly, "I don't sense any danger at all."

When encountering unexpected danger, the Luck Talent should have immediately given Lin Yue a similar warning sensation.

"Let's try again." Qin Chuan spoke slowly.

This time, he intended to completely discard his own feelings and advance along the direction indicated by the Gnomon Third Talent.

Holding Lin Yue's hand, Qin Chuan kept his eyes on the Gnomon Third Talent's map the whole way, constantly adjusting his direction to ensure he always walked on a straight line.

Not knowing how long they had walked, Lin Yue suddenly exclaimed, "Ahead!"

Qin Chuan jerked his head up, then revealed a look of astonishment.

Before them lay a tranquil lake.

In the center of the lake was a small island.

The island was covered in blooming peach blossoms, so that the whole island was tinged pink, beautiful beyond description when viewed from afar.

But that was not the point.

The point is, according to the map of the Heavenly Stairway, there should be no lake at this location.

Likewise, there should be no such island.

"It seems there is someone on the island." Lin Yue said in a low voice, "Should we go over?"

"Let's go take a look." Qin Chuan fell silent for a moment, then exhaled a turbid breath.

In an instant, he realized that the mysterious power that had suddenly appeared, affecting him and Lin Yue, must be inextricably linked to the other party.

Moreover...

Qin Chuan looked toward the lake; a small wooden boat set out from the island, heading toward them.

The boat had no one aboard, yet its oars moved on their own.

"They have invited us, haven't they?"

In just a moment, the wooden boat stopped before Qin Chuan and Lin Yue.

Qin Chuan tightened his grip on Lin Yue's hand and leapt onto the bow.

The wooden boat immediately turned around and headed back toward the island in the lake's center.

As the island rapidly loomed larger before them, a wave of peach blossom fragrance swept over the two, delicate and fragrant, as if an invisible hand were soothing their emotions.

The wooden boat finally came to rest at one side of the island.

In the next instant, a voice drifted over, carrying a faint smile.

"Those who come are guests; please come ashore."

That voice—

Qin Chuan and Lin Yue froze at the same time.

The language spoken by the other party was neither the common tongue used on the Heavenly Stairway at this moment, nor any of the six major races' languages.

If one had to pick, from all the languages the two knew, the one closest to it would be…

It was Chinese! Qin Chuan steadied himself, went ashore, and stepped step by step toward the direction the voice came from.

Moments later, amidst the peach grove, a beautiful pavilion appeared before the two.

A man of flawless, handsome appearance sat upon the pavilion, his black hair flowing loose behind his head, with only a small topknot at his forehead, adorned with a freshly plucked peach blossom still glistening with dew.

He wore a robe of azure; its intricate cloud patterns were so complex that a glance made one dizzy, yet upon closer look the patterns seemed to hide within the fabric, revealing nothing distinct.

The man lowered his gaze to the two below; after a moment he raised a cup of wine and smiled brightly.

At his brow, a flickering light pattern like a cloud-shadow appeared and faded.

"My Dao, has a successor!"

(End of chapter)