This space was vast and boundless. Standing atop the Heavenly Palace, one could see a celestial tree connecting to the very dome of the sky. Whether it was an illusion or not, the top of that tree seemed to sprout a bright moon.
A figure with ash-white eyes stood silently, gazing at the moon. Beneath his feet was the very palace Xu Mu had desperately tried to approach, yet couldn't even get close to.
His identity was peculiar. Even he himself didn't know how he was created. From the moment he gained consciousness, he had resided in this space.
Therefore, as Charles had said, this was his palace.
He did not wish for Xu Mu to enter, and no matter how hard Xu Mu tried, he could not step foot inside.
This principle applied to every corner of this space. So, when he looked towards the training ground and saw Xu Mu diligently training, a subtle, unreadable smile flickered across his puppet-like, emotionless face.
There was no such thing as a free lunch, whether on Blue Star or in the Primordial Realm. This truth held everywhere.
Since Xu Mu's divine soul had arrived here, utilizing the training ground built by him and Charles, he was bound to claim a price.
For instance, the body outside.
Although he stubbornly believed that body was inherently his, and Xu Mu was merely the one inhabiting it, his divine soul was truly no match for Xu Mu's.
Only when Xu Mu finished his night watch, when his spirit, energy, and essence were at their weakest, could he seize the opportunity and exert all his might to expel Xu Mu's divine soul into the Heavenly Palace, thus briefly becoming the master of that body.
But as soon as Xu Mu awoke from his slumber, he would be driven back into the Heavenly Palace by Xu Mu, utterly powerless to resist. Therefore, the duration he could occupy the body depended on Xu Mu's state and when he chose to wake.
When Xu Mu woke, he had to return.
Thus, during the years he controlled the body, the world he saw was always night. He had never even seen the sun hanging in the sky.
The brightest he had ever witnessed was the primordial chaos just before the sun rose, a time when the heavens and earth were shrouded in a hazy, turbid gray.
So, an opportunity like today was exceedingly rare. With Xu Mu's divine soul in the Heavenly Palace, he could seize the chance to occupy the external body, and even if it were only for a fleeting moment, he could finally see the daytime.
Upon this thought, Ash-White Eyes could no longer suppress his longing for the sun. He immediately clasped his hands together, communicating with heaven and earth using his consciousness.
A soft hum…
A distant flute-like melody seemed to play. His divine soul, following the celestial pillar, slowly drifted towards the heavens.
Three seconds later, a flash of white light. In the room in Fengqing Village, Xu Mu's eyelids twitched.
*Shua!*
As he opened his eyes this time, his pupils had turned ash-white!
…
In the domain of the eerie night, fierce fighting raged on the outskirts of Mount West. Birds and beasts scattered. Countless Great Xia soldiers, clad in armor, brandished their swords against the fiends covering the mountainside. The screams of men and beasts intertwined, blood flowed freely, and the wounded were continuously carried away on stretchers by medics.
On a relatively flat slope, a command post resembling an underground palace had been excavated. Torches hung on the walls, and there were numerous turns. Without a specific pass code, unless one possessed psychic abilities, one would surely get lost. Kuai Shu Ge.
Yin Shui'er was led into the underground command post by a somewhat older ability user from the Demon Extermination Division. After a series of winding paths, they entered a stone room.
Within the stone room, a long stone table was set. On either side, two rows of red-robed ability users from the Demon Extermination Division sat in solemn posture. They all wore grave expressions, and some seemed to bear injuries.
“Why are the injured here instead of receiving timely treatment?”
Yin Shui'er looked at the middle-aged man at the head of the long table, a cold sneer forming in her mind as she caught her breath. Her uncle loved to put on airs and go through such formalities. With people dying every second outside, the esteemed Governor of the entire Demon Extermination Division was actually holding a meeting?
“You’ve been fighting for so long, and you can’t even break through the outer perimeter. You take the court’s salary and aren't ashamed!”
The man at the head of the table cursed as he angrily slammed the map onto the table. The chaos on Mount West had persisted for seven hours. The entire Demon Extermination Division had been mobilized, and even the thirty thousand troops stationed in Bu Luo City had been brought in, yet they still couldn't completely drive the fiends back into Mount West.
Seeing that the man was only venting his frustrations while soldiers died every moment, Yin Shui'er could no longer remain seated. She stood up in a huff, snatched the map from Yin Zhongxiu's hand, and declared, “I believe this kind of carpet-search is not suitable for Mount West!”
Yin Shui'er’s gaze was sharp as a blade. Ever since she had been summoned back from Fengqing Village, she had understood the gravity of the situation.
On her way, she had been constantly contemplating a way to break the stalemate. The conclusion she reached was that only one method seemed feasible.
“The current situation is that an unknown high-level pollution source has appeared within Mount West, continuously supplying energy to the fiends. Our objective in this mission is to locate this pollution source.”
Yin Shui'er extended her index finger and began to analyze.
“But Mount West is simply too vast and its terrain too complex and dangerous. If we continue to distribute our forces evenly for investigation, it will be difficult to find this pollution source before the eerie night arrives. If we can’t even find it, how can we possibly eliminate it?”
“Therefore, I believe we should gather the ability users we have at hand, divide them into several units, and drive deep into the mountains for rapid reconnaissance. This way, we are more likely to find the pollution source, rather than wasting time as we are now!”
Yin Shui'er finished speaking in a Huff, still holding the map. The man at her seat had a grim expression, and the entire room fell into an immediate silence.
Not everyone was like Yin Shui'er; they didn't dare to openly challenge the Governor's authority, nor did they dare to witness his embarrassment. This was because the man had a terrible temper.
“Drive deep? Easier said than done!” The man suppressed his anger, rubbing his temples with his right hand, and let out a heavy sigh. “Mount West is too large and too dangerous. As you said, to drive deep, one would need at least the combat power of a third-stage fighter.”
Yin Zhongxiu's expression turned serious as he extended two fingers.
“Including myself, the entire First Division only has two third-stage ability users. The remaining twenty-odd second-stage ability users, along with over eighty first-stage ability users, can barely form two teams of third-stage combat power. This means we can only assemble three teams in total, and that’s assuming we abandon outer defenses.”
“What can three teams achieve? If they are slow, they won’t even be able to search a tenth of Mount West, let alone locate and eliminate the pollution source amidst the obstruction of countless fiends!”
Yin Shui'er’s face turned grim. “But this is the only way, isn’t it? Are you just going to wait like this, letting ordinary soldiers rush in to die?”
Having said that, Yin Shui'er drew the Black Gold short sword from her waist and then, with a fierce expression, turned around.
“If you won’t go, I’ll go myself. You can just be here in the rear to collect my corpse, saving my aunt the trouble of constantly worrying about me. Just bury me in the mountains; no need to transport me back to the Imperial City!”
Seeing Yin Shui'er about to leave the makeshift command post and head outside, Yin Zhongxiu’s head ached.
His niece had been reckless since childhood. Not to mention himself, even in the Imperial City, Yin Shui'er was lawless. She was on brotherly terms with princes, beat up the legitimate son of a First-Rank Grand Scholar in the street, and even threw stones at his manor. No one could control her.
If she were to truly act impulsively and head into Mount West, his only recourse would be to knock her unconscious. However, the consequences after she woke up would likely be severe.
“You get back here!”
Yin Zhongxiu slammed his hand on the table, his face contorted with anger.
“That is Great Mount West, the grave of ability users! Do you think it’s called that for nothing? Once you enter Mount West, within half an hour, even your sword will be devoured by those great demons, leaving no trace behind!”
“How will I explain this to your father!”
The wrinkles on Yin Zhongxiu’s face trembled. For certain reasons, Yin Shui'er had to leave her home and come here, but it did not mean the Yin family did not value her.
Even in the Imperial City, this girl’s talent was exceptional. During her first awakening, she could already use second-stage abilities.
After a moment of contemplation, Yin Zhongxiu had an idea.
He lifted the sleeve of his right arm, unraveled the tightly wound bandage, and revealed a terrifying wound.
“When I first discovered that something was wrong with Mount West, I ventured into the mountain to try and find the pollution source, but the results were obvious,” the man said with a hint of helplessness. “The central part of Mount West is too vast and dangerous. Second-stage demonic beasts are everywhere, and third-stage great demons lurk in the shadows. If one is unlucky enough to provoke them, even I cannot retreat unharmed.”
“If anything truly happens to you, I will truly have no face to return and see your father!”
Yin Zhongxiu’s face showed a hint of bitterness. The incident from years ago had left him with a lingering sense of guilt towards Yin Shui'er.
Yin Shui'er had also calmed down a bit by now. She turned around and saw the wound on the man’s arm, her heart stirred.
Although she disliked her uncle, finding him slow and lacking decisiveness, she still acknowledged Yin Zhongxiu’s strength. After all, he was a genuine third-stage ability user, the Governor of the First Division, with the potential to break through to the fourth stage.
And he was right. If even he couldn't retreat unharmed, what was the point of her going into the mountain?
Seeing Yin Shui'er's reaction, Yin Zhongxiu knew his words had not been in vain. He then let out a sigh of relief and lowered his rolled-up sleeve.
In a moment that no one noticed, the wound on his arm vanished.
“Clearing the pollution source in Mount West is our responsibility.”
“As for you, you have a reputation among first-stage ability users, so I have something else for you to do.”
The man’s expression became solemn. He took another puff from his pipe and pointed at the densely marked map.
“Mount West is vast, stretching for hundreds of miles. Tonight, there will inevitably be some who slip through the defense line.”
“An family, Heya, Wenshi… over a dozen villages, big and small, require your protection.”
Yin Shui'er frowned.
“So, you mean our mission is to clean up the fiends that the night watchmen cannot handle?”
“Precisely.”
“In this operation, among the eighteen first-stage ability users, you will be in charge. This is the list of villages that need protection. Based on the terrain and difficulty, distribute your manpower accordingly.”
“They should be arriving soon. Communicate with them well, and remember not to put on airs; you are all of the same level.”
After Yin Zhongxiu finished speaking, he crossed his index and little fingers and flicked them lightly. A scroll on the table flew a distance of ten meters and landed steadily before Yin Shui'er.
Yin Shui'er frowned and pulled the scroll towards her.
*Shua!* The names of dozens of villages were neatly written on the paper.
“Why isn’t Fengqing Village listed?”
Yin Shui'er scanned the list and noticed that a large red ‘X’ had been drawn over both Xiaokang Village and Fengqing Village.
“Fengqing Village is not within the scope of this protection,” Yin Zhongxiu said expressionlessly, standing up amidst the swirling smoke.
…