Heaven’s Shadow

The Confounding Lands is a vast geographical terrain extending for more than a million li. Countless dangers lie within its depths and innumerable lives had been buried within it since ancient times. However, the lessons received by those predecessors, that were accompanied with blood and tears, were not without value. To date, great understanding on the piece of boundless, mysterious and chaotic land had been gained by the cultivators of Divine Central Continent.

Roughly speaking, the Confounding Lands can be divided into three portions. Firstly, from the extreme Northern Border, extending more than a hundred thousand li southward, all the way to the great 'Dragon River', is an area considered as the outer perimeter of the Confounding Lands.

Then, beyond the Dragon River, extending for another several hundred thousand li, until the insurmountable snowy mountains, is considered as the middle region of the Confounding Lands.

Finally, heading further southward, there is the core of the Confounding Lands, the most dangerous area of the entire terrain. This innermost region is also known as the 'Chaos Abyss', a sterile land plagued by countless perils and home to fearsome beings. The 'Spirit-shattering Desert' which induces terror among the human cultivators is also located within.

Typically speaking, the further one enters the Confounding Lands, the worse the distortion on Five Elements, and the more dangerous the lands become. Even though there are no official boundaries between the three regions, this was the consensus by most of the cultivators from the Central Plains. Most activities carried out within the Confounding Lands are limited to just the outer perimeter. Only cultivators who possessed a minimum cultivation of jindan would operate in the middle region, which is far broader and wider.

As for the innermost Chaos Abyss, due to the extraordinary dangers within, even yuanying experts dare not step into its regions. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it the most dangerous lands beneath the heavens.

The Black Armored Mountain, where Lu Chen was going to bring Han Nanzu and his party, is located at the outer perimeter of the Confounding Lands. It is only around a hundred li from the borders. In such a location, the distortion of the Five Elemental Spiritual Energy is not exceptionally severe. To most human cultivators, they would only sense a slight obstruction in the flow of their spiritual energy. Other symptoms are completely negligible.

On the journey so far, Lu Chen and Han Nanzu had been fine, but He Gang and Yi Xin were extremely guarded. They had been staring at their surroundings warily with tensed nerves, afraid that some fearsome and vile demonic beast might just charge out from the bush beside them.

Traveling across rivers and mountains, the sky had darkened gradually. They have completed half of their journey, but other than stumbling upon a wandering panther demon, they had not met any threats.

Even for that panther demon, it wasn't any powerful demonic beast. He Gang easily sliced it apart with his sword.

As evening set in, Lu Chen brought them to a site at the foot of the mountain and continued forward in a zigzag route before he found a massive boulder. Circling around it, a dry cave appeared before their sight. He turned around to smile at Han Nanzu and the others and said, "Let's sleep here tonight."

After tidying up the cave and settling themselves in, Yi Xin, who had been tensed the whole day, prepared to slaughter everything before her, felt a sense of frustration at meeting nothing at all. She turned to Han Nanzu and asked, "Senior Uncle Han, didn't you say that the Confounding Lands is a treacherous place filled with demonic beasts and venomous plants? Then, why didn't we meet with anything on our way here? I don't see any difference here from the outside."

Han Nanzu glared at her and said impatiently, "You just haven't seen anything yet, so don't spout nonsense." After which, he turned to Lu Chen and said, "I didn't expect Brother Lu to be so familiar with the terrains here. If we are able to proceed on like that tomorrow, even if we fail to find the Dusk Mist Flower, just the path you had shown us was worth the price."

Lu Chen chuckled, "You are too generous."

At which, an indignant look flashed across He Gang's face. He seemed as though he wanted to say something but eventually decided against it.

Lu Chen had noticed He Gang's reaction clearly by his peripheral vision, but he wasn't too bothered with it. He simply smiled and said, "The Confounding Lands tend to be more dangerous at night. Even at the regions near the border, the night could still prove to be much more perilous than during the day. However, we are safe here as there aren't any powerful demonic beasts nearby. After resting for the night, we'll hurry along tomorrow morning."

Han Nanzu nodded his head, "We'll go by your intentions."

※※※

In the blink of an eye, the night had set in and darkness loomed outside. Just that, there was a bright moon hanging in the night sky tonight. The cold gleam of the moon scattered over the mountain wilderness.

The night wind blew, tugging on tree branches. Vaguely, one could make out the calls of insects. It would be audible for a moment, only to disappear in the next.

Within the cave, the two youngsters had already fallen asleep. Lu Chen gazed at Han Nanzu, leaning against the walls of the cave. Even though the person's eyes were shut, both his hands were on his sword's sheath. It seemed as though he would immediately draw his sword if Lu Chen were to make the slightest movement.

Lu Chen glanced at the sheath before closing his eyes at well.

At this moment, the call of the insects had stopped suddenly, and a gust of cold wind blew in, bringing some chill into the cave.

Lu Chen slowly opened his eyes.

In order to avoid attracting demonic beasts, they did not light a fire inside the cave. Thus, the surroundings were dark. However, even within the shadows, Lu Chen's eyes seemed exceptionally bright.

The wind outside the cave whistled, carrying with it strange noises from the distance, from deep within the forest. However, it was impossible to discern it clearly. Perhaps, it might just be an illusion from the deep, silent night.

However, Lu Chen stood up silently. The shadows surrounding him seemed to ripple and in an instant, it melded together with him. From the looks of it, even his shadow had disappeared, as though he had become one with the darkness.

In total silence, he walked out of the cave under the shadows of darkness. On the other hand, in the cave, Han Nanzu's eyes remained tightly shut, needless to say, He Gang and Yi Xin's.

The cold moonlight was obstructed by a large tree nearby for a long while before it fell beside the cave's entrance. Lu Chen stood at the entry, and with calm eyes, surveyed the surroundings. Eventually, his gaze fell upon the Southwest direction.

There, a forest could be seen. Under the night sky, the trees seemed to be towering guards, and the dense shadows that were cast seemed like phantom apparitions, creating an eerie and fearsome sight.

Without much hesitation, Lu Chen walked directly into the forest. Darkness coiled itself around him, and instantaneously, once again, it felt as though he had melded into the eerie and dark forest. It was as if he was born, by nature, to belong to the darkness and shadows.

The forest was completely silent, but as he crept further in, the darkness started to stir. Suddenly, there was a loud roar and the darkness quivered strongly. A massive figure charged out from the darkness and released an earth-tremoring howl.

The howl tore apart the stillness of the forest. It felt as though the atmosphere within the darkness had tightened all of a sudden. A violent wind gushed straight at Lu Chen's face, and a fearsome gleam reflected from a pair of stinking, savage fangs in the darkness. Within an instant, a large claw swung down right toward Lu Chen's head!

"ROAR!"

That was a bloodthirsty howl. Facing the frenzied howl, Lu Chen did not try to dodge at all. Just that, his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Ding..." Abruptly, a crisp sound echoed throughout the forest. Even though it was gentle, it was resounding. Instantly, it suppressed the frenzied howl. A sword ray rushed out from the depths darkness and in the blink of an eye, it began to radiate brightly and magnificently, as though the moon had descended upon the mortal world from the night sky, emitting a blinding radiance.

The sword stabbed through the darkness, tearing apart the shadows.

That gigantic howling figure howled ferociously in response, but suddenly, it fell silent.

Then, amidst the darkness, it was split into two halves by the radiance!

The bloodthirst in the air dissipated immediately and a rain of blood fell in the darkness. In an instant, it seemed as though everything had been silenced, except for the cold radiance of the sword. It continued to fly forward, cutting through the shadows, and in the blink of an eye, it was already right before Lu Chen.

It seemed to be unstoppable, rushing forward without any pauses.

...