Chapter 188 - The Mysterious Valley

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Xu Zimo chuckled as the three assassins charged at him. The aura of a peak Paragon Meridian Realm cultivator surged from his body.

A spark of lightning flashed as Shadow Tyrant was drawn from its sheath. The force of the blade tore through layers of space.

Sensing Xu Zimo’s overwhelming aura, the expressions of the three men shifted dramatically.

All three were Desolate Meridian Realm cultivators, but none of them expected that someone Xu Zimo’s age had already reached the peak of the Paragon Meridian Realm.

All five of his Meridian gates opened at once, and overwhelming spiritforce surged around him.

Shadow Tyrant fell from the sky like divine thunder, instantly cleaving one of the assassins in half.

“Damn!” the other two panicked and didn’t dare stay, they immediately fled in opposite directions.

Using the Soaring Illusory Phantom Cloud Steps, they vanished into the void.

“Trying to run?” Xu Zimo laughed softly as blade energy swirled around the space.

“Nineteen Forms of Dao-Seeking. Eighth Form: Deepblue World.”

A light blue aura froze the surrounding space. In this small, enclosed realm, even the slightest ripple couldn’t escape Xu Zimo’s perception.

Raising Shadow Tyrant, crimson energy roared as a blood-colored streak slashed through the Desolate.

“Nineteen Forms of Dao-Seeking. Sixth Form: Blade of Slaughter”

Violent blade energy tore through the air. Thunderous booms echoed as the attack landed.

Two distinct screams rang out in the void, followed by blood mist and the stench of death that filled the room.

Xu Zimo kicked open the door to Little Gui’s room.

Inside, Little Gui was already badly wounded, struggling against two black-clad assassins.

Despite only being at the peak of the True Meridian Realm, he had managed to survive this long against Desolate Meridian Realm foes, a feat in itself.

Seeing Xu Zimo arrive, the two black-robed attackers hesitated.

A flash of blade energy tore through the air. One of them barely had time to react before being shredded into pieces.

“Talk, who sent you?” Xu Zimo stepped toward the last remaining assassin.

The air was thick with Shadow Tyrant’s blade aura. The man was surrounded. A single wrong move, and he would be diced on the spot.

“I’ll never betray the Second Young Master. Don’t bother asking,” the assassin said coldly.

“So it was him. Had a quarrel with us during the day and sent killers at night,” Little Gui growled angrily.

Xu Zimo shook his head with a grin.

“Still lying on the verge of death?”

“Believe it or not, I don’t care,” the man replied flatly. “I’m dead either way. Yes, it was the Second Young Master. He felt embarrassed after today’s incident and sent us to avenge him.”

As soon as he finished speaking, blade energy slashed from the void. The scream of agony was brief as he was split in two.

“Pointless,” Xu Zimo murmured, eyes narrowing.

“What now, Senior Brother?” Little Gui asked.

“You really believe that story?” Xu Zimo asked.

“Not sure… but from what we know, only Ye Lingtian had a motive,” Little Gui replied. “If not him, who else?”

“You need to look underneath the underneath,” Xu Zimo said. “Tomorrow morning, ask around. Find out if anyone in the Ye Clan has ties to the Xiang Clan of the Northern Desert.”

Little Gui nodded.

…

The first winter wind blew down from the distant sky.

Trees shivered in the chill, and just as dawn broke, the first snowflake fell gently to the ground.

Like the opening notes of winter’s symphony, more snow followed, one flake after another.

The world turned white. Silence fell. All was still.

…

Early in the morning, a carriage left Primordial Ancient City.

Although the snowfall had just started, the roads were already lightly covered.

The carriage slowly disappeared into the horizon. Snowflakes continued to fall, eventually covering the wheel tracks.

After a long journey, Ye Lingtian stepped out of the carriage.

“Yun’er, you go to Old Moon City for now. I’ll find you once I return,” he said.

“Be careful,” Gu Yun hesitated, then nodded with concern.

“Don’t worry,” Ye Lingtian smiled and gently brushed her cheek.

“Yun’er, these past years you’ve helped me so much without expecting anything in return. I haven’t forgotten any of it. After this clan competition ends and I become the official heir of the Ye Clan…

Gu Yun’s nose turned red with emotion. She nodded heavily.

All these years of silent companionship, wasn’t she just waiting for him to say those words?

Watching him disappear into the snow, she clenched her fists and whispered: “Lingtian, I’ll wait for you.”

…

The snow kept falling. The world outside was blanketed in white.

Ye Lingtian’s body was covered in snow, his eyebrows and hair frosted white.

He looked up to confirm his direction, then kept moving forward.

After a long trek, even his True Meridian Realm body was stiff from the cold.

At last, he arrived at a small mountain range outside the city.

In the center of the range was a mysterious valley. Though it was snowing heavily outside, the valley remained in eternal spring.

But stranger still, the valley’s plants and animals were all tainted, their bodies entirely black, as if corrupted.

…

Ye Lingtian approached the entrance of the valley and was blocked by a transparent barrier.

He stood silently before it for a long time, seemingly making a decision.

Then, he pulled a black token from his spatial ring.

Dark energy rolled off the token, it was like a manifestation of evil itself.

As he placed the token against the barrier, it hissed and corroded a hole in the shield.

Ye Lingtian stepped through, and the hole closed behind him.

“So, you came after all.”

A deep, oppressive voice echoed from the shadows.