■■■■■■■

It took a while until Ji Qianrou calmed down. When he finally came back to his senses, he recounted the story to Yun Che.

A week ago, a mysterious hooded figure appeared near the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest.

The figure was shrouded in a strange power, making it impossible to discern their identity. Even just trying to get a better look at the figure gave them a terrible headache.

There were rusted chains binding the figure's hands and feet. The chains were perpetually humming with a quiet hum. The hood and clothes the figure was wearing were ragged and tattered.

On either side of this figure were a woman and a young girl. The three of them appeared out of nowhere, startling the elders and disciples that were tasked to guard the nest.

They warned them not to get close and get back to where they came from at first.

The figure didn't listen and kept flying towards the nest, so they had no choice but to attack the figure. But what happened after was truly a nightmare.

The figure didn't even need to lift his hands to defeat them all. No, defeat was a gross understatement. It was a massacre.

Black light shot from the figure's chained hands, targeting everyone who stand in their way. The black light didn't give off any profound aura, so they thought nothing of it. But that sure to be their greatest mistake.

The black light melted upon contact with their bodies. It latched on them like a parasite and devoured their bodies, leaving nothing behind. They couldn't get rid of the black light themselves, so they helped each other.

But even that proved to be impossible.

They were skinned alive when they touched the black light on their fellow elders and disciples' bodies. They could touch the black light on their own bodies just fine, but touching or even getting close to another's was a mistake.

A few of them died this way. Skinned alive until they were too weak to resist the black light, watching their bodies get devoured by the wretched power.

Ji Qianrou was lucky enough to pull his hand away from one of the elders. Only his left arm was skinned alive.

They couldn't get into contact with the Palace Master. They were sure that the enemy had cut off their mean of communication, so they quickly determined to sacrifice themselves to save the sect.

The Palace Master should know about this calamity, and Ji Qianrou's power left him the only one with the highest chance to make it out alive and deliver the news.

The dying elders and disciples pooled their power together to delay the inevitable fate waiting for Ji Qianrou for as long as possible.

So he ran.

Ji Qianrou ran and abandoned their dying comrades to rot away, all in the hope of delivering the news to the Palace Master. He was determined not to let the lives of his fellow sect members in vain.

There were 72 elders and disciples guarding the nest that day, and Ji Qianrou was one of them.

"A woman and a young girl?" Yun Che frowned. The timing perfectly aligned with the disappearance of Yuechan and Wuxin.

Is the mysterious figure the one who kidnapped them?

But even if that is the case, why would this person go to the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest with them?

"The woman was beautiful yet cold, and the child was really young. I've noticed that she was really strong for her age, however. She was already at the Emperor Profound Realm. I couldn't feel the woman's aura at all, either she was a mortal or an unfathomable expert, I couldn't tell."

Ji Qianrou's face looked serious. It wasn't the time to play around.

"How about the hooded figure? Did you notice anything about him?" Yun Che was even more sure that the woman and the girl were really Yuechan and Wuxin.

Ji Qianrou's description matched them perfectly.

It was too much of a coincidence, and he was sure that the figure was the one who kidnapped Yuechan and Wuxin.

"No, none of us can. Like I said before, the figure was blurry and that's the best we could perceive them. Whenever we try to focus our eyes on seeing the figure or sense their aura better, we felt like our heads would split in two if we don't stop"

Ji Qianrou shook his head and smiled bitterly. .

Yun Che had seen almost every profound art there is in the universe in his previous life. He had never heard of a disguise profound art this powerful before.

He decided to take a look at the nest himself to learn more clues.

"So why are you here? This is the opposite way of your main sect."

Ji Qianrou just realized that he was in the middle of a forest after Yun Che told him where they are. He was shocked after learning that he was in the Blue Wind Empire, so far away from his destination.

"How strange. Well, whatever, that's not important right now. Let's go to the nest and see this figure for ourselves then."

Ji Qianrou was happy after hearing this.

He didn't doubt in the slightest that Yun Che could beat the figure and end this calamity befalling his sect. The two women standing behind Yun Che seemed to be more powerful than Yun Che, and that brings comfort to his mind.

"Yes, I will lead the way. This way, Spiritual Master Yun, Venerable Ladies."

The four of them traveled together, flying towards the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest at a steady pace. They could've just teleported to their destination in a blink if they wished to, but they chose not to.

It was not wise to jump headfirst into danger. They wanted to observe first.

Seeing that their destination is the very same spot where the terrifying aura is, Jasmine and Mu Xuanyin told Yun Che to stick close to them no matter what happened.

They knew that persuading Yun Che was of no use, especially after it was confirmed that Yuechan and Wuxin were with the hooded figure.

Yun Che also rose his alertness to the highest level. He was ready to use the Primordial Profound Ark and get them to safety at the first sight of danger.

They traveled far and Yun Che asked Ji Qianrou how Blue Pole Star was doing in his absence. It was still the same Blue Pole Star as he remembered, his family and friends were safe and happy.

When they were about to pass by the Divine Phoenix Empire, Yun Che asked Jasmine and Mu Xuanyin to mask their presence. He didn't want to alert a certain someone in this country.

"Don't you want to meet her?" Jasmine asked curiously as she masked their presence. That person has already stepped into the divine way, so she would surely notice their approach if they didn't hide their presence.

"Later. Now is not the time." Jasmine was sad hearing Yun Che's apathetic reply. She knew that deep down, he didn't want to meet that person or any one of his family or friends for some unknown reason.

Jasmine was about to say something, but Mu Xuanyin stopped her and just shook her head. She could do nothing but grit her teeth and trail behind Yun Che quietly.

There were no more abnormalities on the way to the nest. There was a high concentration of a dormant yet powerful power in the direction of the nest, but that was it. They sped up and flew faster, leaving no trace of their presence.

After a few minutes, they arrived at the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest.

The whole area was dyed black. It was devoid of any light and he couldn't see anything, but he could still vividly sense the nest's aura and the wretchedly powerful aura.

After coming so close to it, they could feel that the powerful aura was emanating from this gigantic barrier of darkness.

Almost half of the sea was blanketed with this light. Even so, he could still feel that everything within the black curtain of light, from the sea life, the water, and everything else were perfectly fine.

"Is this really the place?" Yun Che asked Ji Qianrou the obvious, but he still had to make sure.

"Yes, this is Moon Slaughter Devil Nest. The sea wasn't like this when I fled. This is obviously the hooded figure's doing."

Ji Qianrou frowned. The black light encompassed almost the whole sea, including the main sect of the Supreme Ocean Palace.

He only needed to travel the sea for a few dozen kilometers to deliver the news to the Palace Master, but somehow he was teleported all the way to the Blue Wind Empire. Both his teleportation and this curtain of black light had to be that hooded figure's doing.

Yun Che observed the black light carefully. It didn't feel like darkness profound energy, even though it had similar properties. It wasn't ferocious or tyrannical either, despite its immense power.

If anything, it felt gentle and warm.

Strangely enough, it resembled the light profound energy more than the darkness profound energy. The only difference he could feel was that the light profound energy contained the property of life, and the black light doesn't.

But that was really it. Without seeing it for himself, he could've been easily mistaken it for light profound energy. It was different than the black light that hurt Ji Qianrou.

After observing it for quite a while, he could feel some sort of connection coming from his soul. It resonated with something inside the black light, and it beckoned him to come closer.

He felt his body was like soaking in a hot spring, becoming more relaxed and comfortable as time goes on. He reached out his hand and walked closer to the black light, wanting to embrace the warmth a bit better.

"... Che! Yun Che! Wake up!"

Jasmine yanked him out of his trance, ripping his sleeves apart. Yun Che looked at Jasmine in horror after realizing that he was about to enter into the black light by his own volition.

If Jasmine hadn't pulled him back to reality, he couldn't tell what would happen to him.

"You idiot! What are you trying to do!"

Jasmine slapped him on the cheek, but Yun Che couldn't feel anything. His mind was busy wondering what just happened.

With a determined expression, Yun Che said to Jasmine and Mu Xuanyin beside him.

"There's something connected to me. I want to focus on this connection more, help me so I don't lose myself. Yuechan and Wuxin might very well in there."

Yun Che focused on this strange connection he felt before. It has the same effect as before, and Yun Che soon felt his body was relaxed and it was really comfortable.

It felt good, but he didn't know why.

The closest thing he could describe it in words is that he found his purpose.

What purpose? That was the strangest part. He didn't know. He just knew that whatever lies behind that black light was his purpose of being, the reason for his existence.

But something, deep down, was preventing him from going into it. The desire to embrace the warmth and to stay as far away from it as possible were part of his instinct. It felt so natural to him, just like breathing.

It was such a strange and contradictory feeling and was impossible to put into words.

Right at this time, a gaping hole appeared on the surface of the black light.

It revealed the luminous sea reflecting the beautiful, warm moonlight above. The hooded figure walked out of this hole and raised its head.

It looked to be staring at Yun Che.

Clank! Clank!

A wild, crazed scream was coming from the figure.

The chains binding their hands and feet were hitting against each other as it made loud, clanking noises. The hooded figure tried their best to wriggle free from the chains, but couldn't.

Yun Che had stopped paying attention to the strange feeling at this time. He was staring straight into the hooded figure.

It was just like Ji Qianrou had said.

The hooded figure was blurry. He could only make out the vague shape and appearance of the figure. Attempting to visualize them or feel their aura more clearly resulted in his head feeling like it was about to split in two.

Yun Che and the rest watched the hooded figure flail his limbs trying to break free of the chains. The hooded figure's screams were inaudible, all they could hear was something strange and indescribable.

Yet strangely, they understand that it was a scream.

After a while, the figure stopped. They looked straight at Yun Che's eyes and opened their mouth.

"■■■■■■■■"

The figure stretched their bounded arm, and black light came out of it. It expanded in a flash and encompassed the remaining part of the sea in the same black light.

It was the same black light that encompassed the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest and most of the sea. They could see and feel just fine within the black light, and it didn't seem to harm them.

Still, Yun Che and the rest clearly knew that it wasn't a good thing and were ready for a battle to broke out anytime.

After that, a portal of some sort was created behind the hooded figure. It was gigantic.

It was swirling in an ominous purple hue and was about fifty kilometers in height and ten kilometers in length.

A guttural growl came out of the portal, and not long after, a gigantic beast that looked like a three-headed wolf crawled out from it. The beast was just as big and tall as the portal was.

Yun Che had never seen something like this before. A thick and powerful divinity emanated from the beast's entire being. It stood tall above anything else, arrogantly looking down on anything and anyone.

Yun Che and the rest had never felt like this before.

Before this beast, they felt like they were worthless, trivial, insginificant bugs that even mortal wouldn't bother crush. It delivered an unprecedented terror that shook their very souls, threatening to crumble any second.

Yun Che regained a little clarity after He Lin healed his soul with her Royal Wood Spirit powers. Yun Che then used the light profound energy to heal and strengthen the souls of Jasmine, Mu Xuanyin, and Ji Qianrou.

It was fortunate that He Lin brought him back to his senses. Otherwise, he couldn't imagine what would've happened to all of them.

"■■■, ■■■■■■?" The hooded figure seemed to be speaking to Yun Che, but he couldn't understand it.

No, it was more like the voice and the words were so vague and blurry just like the hooded figure's appearance. It was impossible to comprehend.

"■■■, ■■■■■■. ■■■■■■■■■ ■■."

Awoooo!

The gigantic wolf howled, obeying its master's command. Ji Qianrou was blasted all the way out of the black light, he barely survived.

Yun Che, Jasmine, and Mu Xuanyin were also being blasted far away, leaving a trail of blood in their wake.