"Your Majesty, the townspeople say that General Luo and his men suddenly lost their heads, then the mist rolled in, and their bodies disappeared..."

In the study of the Imperial Palace, a soldier was reporting the incident near the valley to Li Xuanji.

’There is indeed someone in that valley!’

Li Xuanji’s heart tightened upon hearing this.

Then, he dismissed the soldier and began pacing the study alone.

His temples were graying, dressed in a yellow robe but without the Imperial Crown.

While pacing, he contemplated, a Martial Artist at the Middle Stage of the Gang Condensing Realm, two monks and a Daoist from the Opening Meridian Realm of the Great Buddha Temple and the True Profound Sect, along with a thousand soldiers.

All lost their heads inexplicably in an instant, indicating the formidable power of whoever was in the valley.

He reckoned that even with his Cultivation at the Late Stage of Gang Condensation Realm, he might be killed if he went there.

’The advisor helped me ascend the throne to collect information and resources from across the world for him.’

’This matter should be reported to the advisor; he might find it interesting...’

With this thought, Li Xuanji instructed his confidant to leave a sign, as previously agreed with Su Que, on the city wall of the Capital City.

However, since Su Que had mastered the Circulation of the Six Void Skill, he no longer used the city gates, hence missed Li Xuanji’s sign.

Six days passed, and Li Xuanji still awaited the arrival of a person.

So, Li Xuanji instructed his confidant to mark the sign in several places in the Capital City, hoping Su Que would notice.

Two days later, at noon, Su Que heard of a good tavern in the Capital City. When he went to try it, he saw a tiny mark at the corner of a wall.

This tiny mark seemed like a child’s scribble, barely noticeable.

’What does Li Xuanji want with me?’

Su Que pondered as he turned into a deserted alley.

Swiftly from his Storage Pouch, he took out his clothes, changed, and then used the Circulation of the Six Void Skill to soar towards the Imperial Palace.

Once over the Imperial Palace, he released his Spirit and located Li Xuanji.

Then, utilizing the Circulating Eight Forces, he flickered into the room where Li Xuanji was.

Since Su Que enveloped himself with Spirit, there was no noise during his fast movement.

Li Xuanji was reviewing documents in the study when he suddenly saw someone appear in front of him.

"What’s the matter?" Su Que’s hoarse voice came from behind the mask.

Li Xuanji instinctively was startled at the sudden appearance.

Recognizing it was Su Que, he sighed in relief and informed him about the presence of someone in the valley.

"Sir, the people in this valley do not allow anyone to enter, presumably hiding some secrets, perhaps opportunities within," Li Xuanji told Su Que.

Su Que listened, intrigued by what Li Xuanji said.

He wanted to visit to see if there was anything in the valley that could rapidly enhance his strength once again.

Though he did not know what was in the valley or its strength, as long as he was cautious, there should be no danger.

After inquiring about the valley’s location, Su Que used the Circulation of the Six Void Skill, and with a flicker, disappeared from Li Xuanji’s sight.

...

It wasn’t long before Su Que approached the valley, indeed shrouded in dense fog.

By the valley’s side, the town’s residents were relocating.

After all, witnessing such terrifying events, they naturally didn’t dare to stay there any longer.

Su Que retracted the Circulation of the Six Void Skill and descended.

He thought that flying might easily make him a target for everyone.

Taking a few steps forward, as he neared the dense fog, he released his Spirit to delve deeper into it.

...

"Someone is using Spirit to contact the mist I have laid!"

The slightly short cultivator with a moustache, Luo San, suddenly spoke.

He and Tie Venerable were in a cave.

The cave was sweltering, illuminated by burning light.

The temperature and light came from a fire pit at the cave’s center.

The flame of this fire pit flickered with a rainbow hue within the red, emitting a faint, shimmering rosy mist, clearly no ordinary fire.

Above the fire pit stood a huge Alchemy Furnace, a story tall.

The Alchemy Furnace was pitch black and ancient, like a potbellied giant squatting in the cave.

The furnace had small holes, through which light shone.

Billows of smoke rose from the furnace’s iron sides, drifting toward a tunnel in the cave.

This cave was obviously a linked one, allowing the Alchemy gases to be vented out.

"Could it be the Emperor sent someone again?"

Standing tall like a tower, with a bristle-beard, Tie Venerable, moved his gaze from the furnace and asked.

"He hasn’t yet entered my iron sword’s strike range. When he enters the valley, we will kill him," Luo San lifted the iron sword fastened to his waist and said.

His iron sword was different from Tie Venerable’s, being pure silver with delicate engravings if looked closely.

...

Outside the mist, Su Que continuously urged the Lifebound Demon Seed in his Dantian, releasing Spirit to delve deeper into the mist.

Soon, he found his Spirit being blocked.

It seemed there was a wall made of Spiritual Power ahead.

This was the wall created by the Spiritual Power of Luo San and Tie Venerable to prevent Su Que from probing their details.

After ramming his Spiritual Power against it a few times, Su Que found the wall quite sturdy.

He realized the Cultivation of those who created it exceeded the Tribulation Seed Realm.

’Unexpectedly, there are people above the Tribulation Seed Realm in this Small World,’ Su Que thought.