38 In Another Realm

The bright moon in the dark mantle was covered by clouds as time passed.

At this time, when no light could be seen in the sky, there was a middle-aged man clad in dark green robes drinking wine all alone in the antechamber of one of the most luxurious rooms of the Ancient Inn's twelfth floor.

Suddenly, he paled; his rough hand trembled and the cup dropped from his hand, spilling the wine on the jade table in front of him.

The middle-aged man sprang to his feet as he swiftly waved his hand.

A head-sized bronze plate that shone grey light was drawn out from his purple space ring and it floated over the jade table at the level of his face.

He stepped back and gave a deep bow, "This little servant pays his respects, My Lord".

The grey light subsided and a shadowy face was formed in the bronze plate; only a pair of dark golden eyes was discernable. A single word was then heard, "Up".

The green-robed man rose from his bow with his eyes lowered, looking at the floor; he didn't dare to look at the figure in the bronze plate.

The obscure face opened, "There is a strange bamboo forest where you are and a competition that gathers geniuses is being held at this time. This lord wants the first round to take place in the bamboo forest". His words had certainty and his commanding voice didn't give leeway for a refuse.

Still, by instinct, the middle-aged raised his eyes; there was now a shade of red covering half of his dark eyes.

He replied, "But…"

He only said one word before pressing his lips in silence at the sight of that pair of dark gold eyes. He lowered his gaze as cold sweat bathed his whole body.

"But?" The shadow asked without changing his tone.

The middle-aged man trembled and he stammered a reply, "B-but… Gulp, why?"

"Hooh, do you want to know why? Come closer".

The man hesitated for a moment before quickly stepping forward with trembling steps.

The dark golden eyes shone and a strand of red light came out from the bronze plate and entered into the middle-aged man's head through his forehead.

The eyes of the man widened and he understood what he needed to do; though he still didn't know the purpose of it, he didn't dare to ask again so he said with a bow, "This little servant will do as your commands, My Lord".

The shadow didn't say anything else and just disappeared.

"Clink" The bronze plate fell and collided against the jade table.

The man clad in dark green didn't recover the plate back to his space. He just took seat again and looked at the empty space with unfocused eyes; he needed to redo the plans for the competition, it was his fortune that this time it was his turn to host the event but this was going to cause a commotion. Therefore, he needed to think carefully.

.................

In another realm with a crimson sky and a bloody moon, there was an elegant palace made with black jades.

One could think that with such a dark palace and peculiar sky, the feeling inside it would be eerie and gloomy; but that wasn't the case. It was brightly lit by Luminous White Pearls; there was also greenery everywhere and ponds with white lotuses in full bloom that made the surrounding atmosphere pleasant and peaceful. Though this was only inside the palace, it was murky and depressing outside.

In a luxurious courtyard within the palace's east wing, there was a handsome man clad in dark gold robes with a pair of eyes of the same colour sitting before a human-sized greyish mirror.

He stood up and his jet black hair swayed with his movements. Then, he walked towards the grey mirror and placed his pale hand on it. It shone grey light with sparkles of dark grey and golden. The mirror was divided into thousands of parts and a path was opened in the middle; he entered and the mirror formed again when he passed through it.

Shortly after, he came out from another grey mirror.

There was a long and wide corridor illuminated by Luminous Red Pearls in front of him and a scarlet tall door at its end.

He strode forward with a steady but quick pace. Still, because of the distance, he took a quarter of an hour to reach the door.

The scarlet door was hundreds of meters tall and was beautifully carved. The two main figures were that of male and a female. The male was at his left; he was devilishly handsome with a gaze that disdained everything and everyone and had a cynic smile. The female to his right was a peerless beauty with cold eyes but with a bloodthirsty smile. It was the entrance to the main hall of the central palace.

Whenever he came to this place, he would look at the people carved on the door's surface with some regret. Thus, after a brief glance, he would sigh and then drift his gaze to the floor.

"Creak", after a couple of minutes the door squeaked open and he entered.

There were two thrones of the same size at the end of the hall: one was made of the same black jade the palace was made of, at his right; and next to it to its left, was one made of white jade. Both of them looked simple with no jewels but they were finely carved.

A handsome man with a ruthless gaze was sitting on the black throne. He was wearing a dark red robe and had a head full of white hair with a pair of light red eyes.

There were also another three people, two males and one female. All had beautiful facial features, clad in black with long hair of the same colour and had a pair of red eyes.

The golden-eyed man didn't announce himself until he was before the steps that led to the throne.

He didn't pay courtesy and just said, "Yao Xue meets His Excellency". He didn't greet the other people.

"How impudent!" exclaimed the woman standing to the white-haired man's right. The other two men who were randomly sitting on the stairs didn't say anything but they were clearly displeased. It didn't matter that he hadn't greeted them but that wasn't the correct way to address their lord.

The man seated on the throne waved his hand and smirked as he rested his head on his right hand, "There is no need to make a scene. It is more than enough for the great Yao Xue to address me respectfully. Anyway, are my commands passed down?"

"Yes", he said before adding "I retire now". With this said, he turned around to go back to his place. He only came to inform he had done such a little thing to lessen his troubles. He actually didn't hold them in high regard and just played along to remain in this palace; though his level of tolerance was low most of times.

The man on the throne smirked, "Remember to inform me of the news".

Yao Xue didn't answer and continued to walk away.

The woman gritted his teeth while the men looked coldly at Yao Xue's figure. The man in the high throne simply held a smile without saying anything more.

The door squeaked closed and the woman couldn't help but said, "That bastard Yao Xue, who does he think he is?"

"Yao Xue", the man on the throne answered before adding, "It is a pity, he still has his uses. Sigh".

The woman turned around and saw him sighing with regret. That was the truth, Yao Xue was the only one who could and help others to establish a connection with the lower realm that her lord was so obsessed with. She didn't know much about that place as she hadn't lived that much but she was curious to know why they didn't just break into that place and why Yao Xue was the only one who could connect to that realm.

As if knowing her thoughts, the man on the throne said with a bloody tone, "You can try if you want. If you die or end badly hurt, we will then be able to judge the power that that barrier still has. Maybe its force has weakened with the sudden movement it had a few months ago, and things won't turn that bad".

The woman paled, she now more or less understood.

He got pleased with her reaction and then ignored her as he discussed some little matters with the other two men who had been following him since he ascended the throne before retiring to rest.