104: Chapter 103 Dark under the lamp

Yun Ming was currently flying right beside Cang Xuanzi, not even daring to breathe too loudly.

He had pushed the Fuli Heaven-Concealing Record to its absolute limit, making his entire being like a wisp of ethereal smoke, clinging to a spot just three feet behind Cang Xuanzi.

At this distance, he was close enough to see every single thread on Cang Xuanzi's Daoist robes, and close enough to feel the terrifying pressure of the Late Nascent Soul Stage crushing down on him like something physical.

His entire body was stiff, and cold sweat seeped from every pore.

However, he was playing a game of 'Darkness Under the Lamp.' Although he had arrived later than Cang Xuanzi, fortunately, it wasn't by much.

During that time, he had been constantly circulating the Fuli Heaven-Concealing Record, lurking beside the Teleportation Array, gambling that Cang Xuanzi would activate it to leave.

Sure enough, no child loses every day, and no gambler loses every time; this time, he had bet correctly.

Relying on the concealment of the Fuli Heaven-Concealing Record, he entered the Teleportation Array without being discovered by Cang Xuanzi.

At this moment, the two were surrounded by endless Chaos.

Grey mist surged incessantly, with no direction and no end.

Occasionally, Spatial Astral Winds swept by from the distance; though silent, they were capable of tearing anything apart.

Cang Xuanzi deliberately avoided those astral winds.

Yun Ming dared not touch them in the slightest. He followed Cang Xuanzi’s trajectory with absolute precision, every movement cautious for fear that a single careless brush against an astral wind would result in his total annihilation.

Fortunately, after only the time it takes for an incense stick to burn,

A light flickered not far from the two of them.

That was the exit.

Cang Xuanzi's figure blurred as he vanished into that light.

Yun Ming followed suit.

His vision blurred.

In the next moment, he found himself in a strange new world.

The sunlight was piercing, a gentle breeze brushed his face, and the air was filled with the scent of flowers and the song of birds. Beneath his feet was a square paved with bluestone, and in the distance were layers of halls and pavilions with upturned eaves and painted rafters. Further off were rolling green mountains with waterfalls cascading down, the sound of water gurgling softly.

It was a scene of a peaceful and serene Sect.

The square was crowded with people—there were white-haired elders, middle-aged Cultivators in their prime, vibrant young Disciples, and several women holding infants standing at the back of the crowd, peering curiously. They wore uniform blue-grey Daoist robes; though the fabric was ordinary, they were kept neat and clean.

Everyone was looking up at the suddenly glowing Teleportation Array, watching Cang Xuanzi as he stepped out from the light.

An elder walked forward with trembling steps, bowed deeply, and said with a voice shaking from excitement:

"Immortal... Immortal! Have you come to take us for our Ascension?"

Behind him, hundreds of people knelt down in unison, kowtowing in worship. Even the infants held in arms had their heads pressed down by their mothers to bow along with them.

"The Immortal is merciful!"

"We beg the Immortal to deliver us to Ascension!"

"Ancestors protect us, our Sect has finally waited for this day!"

Cheers, cries, and the sound of kowtowing blended into one.

Yun Ming, hidden in the shadows, realized that these people were all ordinary Mortals; this was a Mortal Sect.

Cang Xuanzi did not speak.

He just quietly watched these people, their excited faces, their pious gazes, and their figures prostrate on the ground.

Then he raised his hand.

And gently clenched his fist.

Yun Ming's pupils constricted.

In that instant, the bodies of hundreds of people stiffened simultaneously.

There were no screams, no struggles, and no flying flesh or blood. Their bodies just froze quietly in place and then, bit by bit, turned into ash—starting from the tops of their heads, to their faces, their necks, their torsos, and their limbs. Like sand sculptures blown apart by the wind, it was silent yet shocking to behold.

Elders, middle-aged men, youths, women, and infants.

One by one, they turned to ash.

The ash drifted to the ground, piling into small mounds of greyish-white.

The square was now empty.

All that remained was the scent of incense that hadn't yet dissipated and the shallow indentations left on the bluestone from their kowtowing.

Cang Xuanzi did not stop.

His gaze swept across the entire Sect—the halls, pavilions, Alchemy Room, and Scripture Pavilion—and wherever his Divine Sense passed, every living creature was turned to ash.

Not even a single fly was spared.

They were all dead.

Not one was left.

Cang Xuanzi withdrew his Divine Sense and finally nodded with satisfaction. He turned toward the Teleportation Array and reached out; the core of the Formation—a fist-sized crystal covered in runes—flew out and landed in his sleeve.

Deprived of its core, the Teleportation Array instantly dimmed. The Formation lines snapped, the stone pillars crumbled, and in the blink of an eye, it became a pile of ruins.

Cang Xuanzi raised his hand to tear open the Void Realm and stepped inside.

Before leaving, he casually tossed out a spiritual talisman. A sea of fire instantly covered the entire Mortal Sect. In the blink of an eye, the once-magnificent square and the layered halls and pavilions were all reduced to ruins.

The spatial rift slowly closed behind him.

Yun Ming remained hidden in his original spot, motionless.

He didn't dare move.

He feared that Cang Xuanzi might return.

The great fire burned for three days and three nights before extinguishing; during that time, Yun Ming did not move an inch.

The sun rose and set, and the moonlight spilled down and faded away. Birds in the mountains began to tentatively fly back, circling over the ruins and chirping. Some bold ones landed on the square, pecked at the piles of ash, and then fluttered away.

Yun Ming finally moved.

He slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, his bones cracking and popping throughout his body.

He took one last look at this deathly silent Sect and, without lingering, activated taiqing wanderer, chose a direction at random, and sped away.

Run.

The further away, the better.

It wasn't until half a month later that he finally stopped; his spiritual power was exhausted, and he needed to recover.

Beneath his feet was a wilderness, overgrown with weeds and devoid of human presence. Yun Ming landed under a large tree.

After resting for a moment, he continued forward on foot.

Before long, a city appeared ahead.

The city wasn't large, with dusty grey walls that were even covered in moss in some places. The city gates were wide open, with farmers carrying loads on poles moving in and out, children chasing each other and playing by the roadside, and women sitting by their doors sewing soles, laughing and chatting.

A Mortal city.

Yun Ming stood in the distance, looking at those ordinary faces and their ordinary lives, suddenly feeling as if he were in another world.

He took a deep breath and started walking toward the city gate.

First, he needed to ask around and find out exactly where he was.

The city was indeed small, the area enclosed by the walls being no more than a few miles across.

A main street paved with bluestone ran from east to west, lined with various shops—cloth sellers, blacksmiths, carpenters, and wine shops—all common trades. People came and went on the street: those carrying loads, pushing carts, holding children, or leaning on canes, bargaining in local accents. The bustling atmosphere was filled with the flavor of everyday life.

A small river flowed through the city, with a stone bridge over it. At the head of the bridge crouched two stone lions, their features blurred by wind and rain. Several children were chasing each other by the bridge, their laughter crisp. Women were washing clothes by the river, the sound of wooden mallets striking cloth mixing with their chatter and laughter, drifting from afar.

Yun Ming walked slowly, his gaze sweeping over the shops along the street.

He hadn't walked far when he suddenly paused.

At a street corner, there was a coffin shop.

The storefront wasn't large, with a few semi-finished coffins placed at the entrance, emitting a faint scent of wood. A white-haired old man lay in a rocking chair by the door, eyes closed, basking in the sun. The chair rocked back and forth, looking quite comfortable.

The old man wore coarse cloth clothes, his hair and beard were completely white, and the wrinkles on his face were like deep carvings. Judging by his aura, he was a Cultivator at the Late Qi Refining Stage, but his Lifespan was clearly nearing its end, and his vital energy had already withered severely.

At this age, he was at least eighty or ninety years old.

Yun Ming walked over and stood in front of him, blocking the sunlight.

The old man frowned, opened his eyes, squinted to size him up, and waved a hand: "Young man, move aside, you're blocking my sun."