"Experts swarmed the city like ants drawn to blood. Red Pine Town is now devastated," the man said.
The whole restaurant had tuned in now, chairs creaking as people twisted around to catch every word.
A third man spoke up, his voice trembling despite his effort to keep it steady. "They say over thirty powerful cultivators fought in the streets. Buildings collapsed. Spirit beasts tore through whole districts..."
Another cultivator shook his head. "But the craziest part..." he let the pause stretch, drawing every ear in the room closer. "...was who got away with it."
Everyone leaned closer.
"The one who walked away with the object was the young patriarch of that insane family."
Another asked, "You mean... the Ironblood Qin Clan?"
The speaker lowered his voice dramatically. "Rumour says it fell into the hands of Qin Tianjue, their crazy young patriarch, who has a mutated Iron Bear War Soul — a battle-crazy Cosmic Soul that strengthens with every battle, multiplying force with each injury."
His companion sucked in a breath.
"After acquiring it... Qin Tianjue is said to have disappeared right after."
Another voice added quietly, "The entire Qin Clan has also disappeared."
Moments later, the atmosphere in the restaurant gradually shifted toward lighter conversations; the same voices that had been buzzing with speculation now pretended, almost too smoothly, that nothing had happened.
Mo Xuan and the others quietly finished their meal, rose without a word, and only spoke once they'd stepped outside into the open air.
Jin Bao let out a long exhale. "So it's good we left early. If we stayed, we might have been dragged into it."
Mo Xuan didn't bother voicing his thoughts aloud. They echoed coldly in his mind instead. In this world... reason means nothing. Only strength matters. Whoever carries the heaviest fist rules.
Lianyan looked ahead. "We should keep moving."
The rest nodded and kept walking, disappearing into Steelforge City's bustling streets.
After a brief rest in Steelforge City, the four made their way toward the city's teleportation station. Dozens of towering stone pillars rose from the circular plaza, each engraved with layer upon layer of intricate formation patterns. Blue runes pulsed rhythmically beneath the polished surface, connecting every pillar into a single massive array.
Mo Xuan studied the formation. The runes were unlike the Living Script he remembered from the hidden cave years earlier. Thousands of individual inscriptions worked together with astonishing precision here, each one carrying a specific purpose within the whole.
The station bustled with activity. Merchant caravans waited beside enormous cargo platforms, their goods stacked high and lashed down for transport. Mercenary groups adjusted their equipment nearby, checking straps and weapons one last time. Cultivators wearing robes from unfamiliar sects queued quietly to purchase passage, patient in a way that suggested this was routine for most of them.
A middle-aged registrar accepted their payment. "Destination?"
"Skyreach City."
The registrar nodded. "Four passengers." He set four jade tokens on the counter. "Keep these until arrival. They'll protect your position inside the spatial tunnel."
Mo Xuan and his group accepted their tokens, and the registrar signalled to someone further back to grant them access. When everyone had taken their places on the platform, an elderly formation master stepped onto the central dais, his white beard reaching down to his chest.
He formed several seals in quick succession. The pillars answered, light surging upward through each one until the runes carved into their surfaces awakened completely, glowing bright enough to wash out the surrounding plaza.
"Activate."
The world disappeared.
When their vision cleared, they found themselves surrounded by endless darkness illuminated only by drifting points of light. Countless glowing motes floated through the void like fireflies trapped somewhere between worlds, and each passenger stood enclosed within a transparent barrier generated by their jade token.
Lianxue remained calm despite the disorientation settling over the rest of them. "The barriers isolate us from spatial turbulence. Don't touch the edges."
Jin Bao immediately withdrew the hand he'd been curiously stretching toward the shimmering wall in front of him.
Mo Xuan folded into a cross-legged posture inside his own barrier, and the strange stillness of the void made cultivation unusually comfortable, free of the usual background noise of wind or distant conversation. Rather than waste the journey doing nothing, he pulled out the alchemy manuals he'd purchased back in Steelforge from his storage ring, working through them page by page. The more he read, the more he realised alchemy wasn't simply about mixing herbs in the right proportions.
Time lost its meaning inside the tunnel. No sun rose. No moon appeared. Only the slow drift of light beyond their barriers marked the passing hours, and even that felt more like guesswork than measurement.
Occasionally, the tunnel trembled, the glowing motes suddenly accelerating before settling back into their lazy drift.
Lianxue explained quietly each time it happened. "Spatial turbulence."
On what felt like the third day, the darkness ahead began changing. A faint silver vortex slowly expanded in the distance, and the formation master, who had remained silent throughout the entire journey, finally spoke.
"Prepare."
The barriers brightened. The vortex rapidly approached. Light swallowed everything.
The next instant, solid ground returned beneath their feet. The barriers dissolved, and fresh air rushed into their lungs all at once.
When they stepped out of the teleportation array, the world itself felt different. The city before them dwarfed every place they'd visited so far. Towering spirit-jade buildings pierced the clouds overhead, and floating pavilions drifted through the sky, connected by suspended bridges that shimmered faintly with formation light. Massive flying vessels sailed between distant towers like silver whales crossing an ocean of cloud.
The Spiritual Energy here was astonishingly dense — every breath felt richer than the last, thicker and more nourishing than anything back at the sect.
More surprising than the architecture were the people. Ordinary pedestrians carried themselves with a kind of restrained confidence. Even the guards stationed at the teleportation station radiated disciplined power. This city, it seemed, contained experts everywhere, tucked into roles that would have seemed beneath their cultivation anywhere else.
Above the main avenue, an enormous stone tablet stood beside the entrance, glowing lines carved deep across its surface: No violence within city limits. Violators will be executed immediately. The words carried a faint suppressive pressure of their own.
Before they could continue further, a neatly dressed young boy approached with practised confidence and bowed politely. "Honoured guests. Welcome to Skyreach City." His smile was entirely professional. "From your appearance, I believe this is your first visit." He placed one hand over his chest. "My name is Fei Ming. For ten Spirit Stones, I can serve as your guide, introducing the city to you — pavilions to do business with, and the areas or people you should avoid at all costs."
Jin Bao muttered dramatic complaints under his breath but still handed over the payment in a bag without much real resistance.
Fei Ming accepted and weighed the Spirit Stones in his hand, smiled, and tucked them away with efficiency. He bowed again, then turned without wasting another moment. "Then follow me. I'll show you Skyreach."
The moment they left the teleportation plaza, Mo Xuan understood why Skyreach carried its reputation. The streets were impossibly wide, spirit-jade paving stones reflecting the morning sunlight up at them. Bridges connected elevated districts suspended between enormous towers, and formation-powered carriages glided silently overhead, their passengers barely glancing down at the streets below.
Every district seemed to possess its own distinct personality, and Fei Ming narrated as they walked, clearly enjoying the chance to show off his city.
Their first stop occupied an entire district on its own. Rows upon rows of stalls stretched farther than the eye could comfortably follow. Spirit herbs rested inside preservation boxes, formation talismans hung beneath crystal lamps, and refining ores sat displayed like precious jewels under careful lighting. Merchants called out continuously over one another.
"Fresh Frost Orchid!"
"Tier Four Beast Core!"
"Three talismans for the price of two!"
Jin Bao became visibly excited, already drifting toward the nearest stall. "I like this place."
Lianyan grabbed his sleeve before he could wander off entirely. "No."
Their next stop announced itself before they'd even arrived, the constant ringing of metal echoing down the street well ahead of the district itself. Blacksmiths worked behind open furnaces, sparks flying through the air like tiny stars, massive hammers striking glowing steel with rhythmic, practised precision. The heat rolled across the street in waves even from a distance.
Fei Ming pointed toward one particularly crowded forge. "Master He. They say he can forge Soul King-grade weapons."
Mo Xuan watched silently, filing the name away without comment.
If Hammerforge was loud, the Jade Pavilion District proved to be its complete opposite. Elegant buildings lined quiet streets, floating lanterns drifting overhead despite the daylight still filtering down from above. Well-dressed cultivators moved through the district with the same restrained confidence Mo Xuan had noticed earlier — nobody raised their voice here, and nobody seemed to be in any particular hurry.
Fei Ming lowered his own voice instinctively as they entered. "This is the district of influence. Information. Negotiations."
Eventually, Fei Ming stopped walking entirely, his expression shifting into something noticeably more respectful. He pointed ahead. "That is the Skyreach Alchemy Association."
The building dominated the entire district around it. Colossal stone pillars surrounded its entrance, and golden-flame embroidery shimmered across enormous banners hanging from its upper floors. The scent of refined herbs lingered permanently in the air around it, thick enough to taste.
Yet none of that captured Mo Xuan's attention first. A massive banner stretched across the entrance, its characters glowing beneath the morning light: ALCHEMY COMPETITION FINAL— TOMORROW AT DAWN.
Mo Xuan stopped walking, his gaze fixed on the banner.
Lianxue noticed immediately. "Interested in watching?"
He nodded. "...Yes."