Master of Strange Dao

"Like a giant eye as massive as a mountain.

The eye glanced upward, then closed again, restoring the surroundings to their original state, a silence steeped in deathly darkness.

This time, there seemed to be a faint sound, like a sigh, or perhaps a quiet chuckle, echoing there.

"Hey, Devil..."

...

Yu Ziqing opened his eyes and looked around. The trees and grass were lush, and the sounds of insects and birds were nonstop.

Unexpectedly, or perhaps expected, everyone else was gone except for Lou Huai, who had slipped into his boot.

Yu Ziqing had grown accustomed to this.

He touched the trees beside him, vibrant with life and many years old.

In the forest, he sensed numerous traces of active animals.

He walked through the air, following his senses, and exited the forest.

Looking ahead, he saw a city standing on the distant plains.

There was also a great river, like a silver ribbon, flowing from a distant mountain, leaving a meandering trace across the plains.

Flocks of birds flew in the sky, and cattle and sheep covered the ground. He could faintly feel the vibrant life and dense human presence rising from the distant city.

The noise was carried by the breeze, intermittently sounding in his ears.

Walking on the earth, Yu Ziqing felt everything here, a bit surprised.

Were the Sealed Items here?

Flying into the air and looking far into the distance, he could not see the borders nor feel any boundaries.

This place seemed unusually large, just like a normal world.

Not at all like a grotto heaven.

Inside a grotto heaven, there was always a natural sense of suppression because it was much, much smaller and far less perfect than the real world.

In the largest grotto heavens Yu Ziqing had visited, there was always that feeling, and the stronger one's power, the clearer the sensing.

For someone at King Xiang's realm, visiting the Deserted Cave Heaven would evoke a constant sense of constraint and oppression.

As if that grotto heaven were pressing down on him, making his whole body uncomfortable.

This was because his realm was too high. Visiting some unstable cave heaven blessed lands, that uncomfortable sense of suppression would turn into a sense of repulsion.

Yu Ziqing's perception was also very acute, but here, he felt nothing.

And he couldn't sense the presence of Yang, Feng Buju, or King Xiang, suggesting they were very, very far away.

Yu Ziqing closed his eyes, directly using the Seventh Floor ring to contact Yang.

The Seventh Floor ring, which never failed before, seemed to face enormous interference here.

A moment later, Yang came up the stairs, but his figure flickered continuously as if dropping frames.

The two sat down, and Yu Ziqing spoke.

"Where are you?"

"I... form..." Yang's figure flickered, and his voice began to drop frames.

Yu Ziqing fell silent for a moment, then reached out and formed a line of text.

"Where are you?"

After a few breaths of time, Yang also extended a hand and typed a line of text.

"Don't know. I haven't seen anyone else. I'm in a wasteland, and I can't sense you all."

"Is this where the Sealed Items are located? Why does it feel so strange?"

"Don't ask me. I just got here. It also feels very strange. There are even living beings here."

"Never mind living beings. I even saw a city in front of me, and I'm planning to go check it out."

"A city?" Yang seemed a little surprised.

"Yes, it's brimming with life here, with forests and plains. There's also a massive waterfall, cascading down from a mountain, leaving a large river on the plain. The city is in the distance."

"There aren't many living beings where I am. I don't feel much life here; instead, there are more ghosts, like falling into a ghost den. Be careful in any case, try to regroup, and I'll find your place promptly."

"Okay, you be careful too."

Having confirmed safety, other things were impossible to verify. Furthermore, for unknown reasons, interference was significant. After a few words, Yu Ziqing logged off.

Since acquiring the Seventh Floor ring, this was the first time Yu Ziqing encountered such interference that affected the ring.

Back when linked with Yang outside Ao Qing's Inner Mausoleum, he didn't sense any effect on the Seventh Floor ring.

That only indicated the power level here was definitely stronger than Ao Qing's Inner Mausoleum.

"Let's go, try not to manifest your Devil form. I feel something is off about this ghostly place," Yu Ziqing advised, then led Lou Huai towards the distant city.

Soon, crossing the plains, they arrived under the city gate. Yu Ziqing raised his head to take a look.

"Dinghai City."

A city he had never heard of before.

There were three gates, all open, and crowds came and went in multitude. The city gate guards were energetic, continuously scanning the crowd, but did not seem to conduct checks or collect a head tax.

Only those with large carts received slight inspections when reaching the gate.

Yu Ziqing, empty-handed, naturally drew no attention.

Upon stepping through the gate, he keenly sensed a slight force sweeping over his body.

Looking up, he saw a copper mirror embedded above the gate, reflecting his image.

When Lou Huai passed through, the copper mirror also reflected his image.

After entering the gate and walking some distance, Lou Huai conveyed a message to Yu Ziqing.

"Big brother, that copper mirror seems used for spying on Devils and Demons, like the Body Mirror..."