Painting of the Nine Immortals

In the middle of the night, a golden round moon hung in the sky, shedding soft and gentle light.

The moon was the perfect circle without the slightest sharpness to it. It was a rare full moon night.

On the tallest building of the city, a white silhouette stood with his back tall and straight. He appeared like a real God, extraordinary and out of the world.

It was Ling Xian.

He had been waiting there for a long time – from a crescent moon to a half-moon, to now, the full moon, the phenomenon Chu Zhong Tian described never appeared.

However, his expression was subtle and calm, without the slightest impatience.

He believed that Chu Zhong Tian would not lie to him. If the strange phenomenon never appears, then only one possibility remains. It would mean that what Chu Zhong Tian had seen was merely a coincidence, not a clue.

This possibility however, was next to none. Once or twice it may have been a coincidence. But for him to have witnessed it for four years, how could it be a coincidence?

Therefore, Ling Xian stood patiently and waited.

It was already midnight and the moon continued to shed its light that reflected off the man’s white robe, making him look extraordinary. He appeared to be an immortal who might disappear with the wind any second.

“Just wait a little. I believe the strange occasion will happen again.”

Ling Xian’s eyes dazzled like a sea of stars. He gazed upon the moon the sky and waited for the phenomenon to occur. He pondered for what reason did the strange event occur.

He had investigated. The walls were made out of expensive and godly materials with extremely powerful defensive properties. This type of properties would not shine no matter what kind of circumstance it was under.

This made Ling Xian confused but at the same time, convinced him that there was a secret buried within this city. Or else why would a type of material that never shines emit light during a full moon?

Just as he pondered, the phenomenon finally arrived.

Under the reflection of the bright moon, the wall surrounding the city began to emit starry lights. Then, the spots of light converged and formed a thin layer of milky light.

There was no heavenly light that engulfed the entire city, nor was there a powerful force of mysterious might that surrounded the place. There was merely a layer of faint light that shielded the city. It was there as if it was a natural reaction without any irregularities.

“It is happening.”

Ling Xian’s expression froze. He leaped into the air. Then, from above, peering down, he used his spiritual energy and scanned around the entire city.

The result, just as Chu Zhong Tian had said, was that there was nothing else unusual going on that could be spotted.

“Just like Chu Zhong Tian had said, even with my powerful Qi, I cannot find anything strange.” Ling Xian frowned, not at all inspired.

His Qi was extremely powerful and his array skills were profound. If this place had an array, there was no way he would miss it.

In other words, there really was nothing unusual with this place. But that was near impossible.

Based on ancient records, the Qing Ming House’s actions, as well as what was happening now, all of these events have proved that there were secrets hidden within this city.

The reason why he was not getting anywhere wasn’t because there was nothing unusual with this place, it was because he hasn’t found the correct method.

“I cannot find anything strange… could it be that I will have to end this trip without any findings?” Ling Xian’s brows locked together tightly, he felt very unwilling to give up.

Even back then in the Hidden Territory, he had been making conscious efforts to find out the secrets about the Guardian City. He had a premonition then, that the secret buried by time would be an astonishing one!

This was why he asked Chu Zhong Tian to do everything he could in his power to find out the secret. Now that this whole situation was finally shaping up, how could he give up now?

“The Guardian City was a protector for many many years and it must contain that astonishing secret. Giving up like this makes me very uncomfortable.”

Ling Xian mumbled and his eyes turned stern. No matter how difficult it would be to find out the secrets about the City of Sin, he had to find it.

As he spoke, his eyes shone and immediately, one turned black while the other turned white. Rays of murky air poured out, making him look extraordinary and like a real immortal.

The Eyes of Execution!

The fourth ranked Inner Eyes finally revealed themselves. These eyes, other than gifting him with transformative qualities that help him in battles, also grant him with a few other special abilities.

The first one was that these eyes can play all his opponent’s moves in slow motion, allowing him to pinpoint the opponent’s weakness and defeat them as a result.

Though the level of competence this special ability for the Eyes of Execution does not make it equal and shoulder to shoulder with the Eyes of Wreckage, which specializes in breaking down opponent’s attacks, during normal battles, it was enough.

“To see through others’ weaknesses and deliver a critical attack… maybe this property allow me to find out the hidden secret that’s been roaming around the city for thousands of years.”

Ling Xian’s eyes continued to shine. A layer of shapeless force began to disperse and circle the walls of the city.

At first, there were no changes to the walls as they continued to shed the faint layer of light. However, because the Eyes of Execution was far too powerful, especially because he was the user of it, the eyes were outperforming themselves.

After moments of time, under his investigation, the scenery before him finally began to transform.

“Did I find the critical weakness?”

Ling Xian was ecstatic. As he carefully observed the scenery before him, he saw the faint light disappear, and the walls were looking like they were slowly being peeled away. Slowly, the internal city became exposed.

There was only darkness.

Other than darkness, there was blackness. It looked like a true deep hole that sunlight could not reach. It also looked like the habitat of a devil, as it brought much fear to everyone.

After witnessing this scenery, Ling Xian shuddered and felt like he was being dragged to hell. His entire body felt chilled.

To him, that reaction was something almost unimaginable!

To know that he had been fighting against countless powerful opponents and was near death countless times as well. He had normally treated everyone and everything lightly and casually without the slightest hint of fear.

Yet now, he felt coldness. Though it was not yet fear, it remained something unimaginable.

What could he do, the pitch blackness was far too terrifying.

Ling Xian could sense it, it was the place where devils lived. It was true hell. Even the most powerful cultivators would tremble at the sight of that.

For him to keep his cool before the face of that was something that was extremely difficult to achieve.

“What a terrifying place. It is just like hell. Even one glimpse of it makes my heart shiver.”

Ling Xian mumbled to himself. His body was getting colder and colder, as if the devil had its eyes on him and he could die at any time.

However, he was talented and he had courage. Anyone else would’ve stopped looking a while ago, but he didn’t. He continued to use his eyes to observe the endless darkness.

“I don’t care what it is that is there, but even if it’s real hell, I will have to find out myself.”

Ling Xian gritted his teeth as he forced his chilling body to remain still. He pushed his Eyes of Execution to try and find the secret in the darkness.

Based on his investigation, the space before him was truly an endless hole that smelled like death. It was like the moment he steps inside, he would melt into darkness and never be born again.

This made his body shiver and his face turned paler.

He wasn’t being scared off by the blackness, it was just that there was something eerie about the pitch blackness. Though he wasn’t standing near it, it was bringing him tremendous mental stress.

This threatening force made his forehead sweat.

However, Ling Xian did not want to give up. His instinct told him that if he tries to hold on a while longer, he would be able to push through the darkness and see light again!

Therefore, he tried his hardest to hold onto his frozen body and he crazily used his eyes.

Rays of murky air poured out of his eyes and circled around him, which somewhat eased the coldness he felt. Then, his eyes shot out heavenly light that reached towards the abyss of darkness.

Against the power of the Eyes of Execution, the pitch darkness responded and shot back with its powerfulness. His eyes began to bleed.

“What kind of place is this? Why is it so terrifying?”

Ling Xian’s eyes continued to bleed and his face turned even paler. However, he endured the pain and did not give up.

For one, he wasn’t willing to give up just like that. For two, after being wounded by the darkness, he did not feel fearful, instead, he was more curious!

Therefore, he continued to crazily use this ability of his eyes. Under the juxtaposition of the fresh two streams of blood, his eyes looked more and more demonic.

This continued for about half an hour. Then, the giant veil of darkness weakened and was shredded by the Eyes of Execution.

Then, the scenery in Ling Xian’s eyes changed yet again.

The darkness ripped into two, and in the middle of it was a sliver of light. It was the only ray of light in the deep and dark abyss that gave people hope.

“The darkness is about to disappear, and brightness is about to arrive?”

Ling Xian stared deadly at the ray of light. Ignoring his injured eyes, he continued to use the Eyes of Execution’s ability.

Since he was so close to finding out the truth, he had no reason to give up!

“Open!”

Shouting, Ling Xian’s eyes began to bleed more and more, making him appear more and more demonic.

Under his crazy use of his Eyes of Execution, the wreckage ability of his eyes increased greatly. The sliver of light grew larger and larger, brighter and brighter.

On the contrary, the darkness shrunk in size, as if swallowed by the ray of light.

Time passed on like that for a while until finally, the horrifying darkness disappeared. What replaced it was a dazzling amount of light that was blinding like the eternal Sun.

This infinite amount of light made Ling Xian feel extremely warm and lively. It was drastically different than the coldness from the darkness before.

“Now that there is light, what will happen next?” Ling Xian mumbled, confusion filled his heart.

Whether it was the darkness or the light, all of those phenomena were illusions that were linked to the secret regarding the City of Sin. Nobody could see through the secret directly.

However, his instinct told him that very soon, he will be able to find out the truth!

“Come at me. Today, I will find out the secrets regarding the City of Sin!”

Ling Xian’s expression was determined. He once again called out to the Eyes of Execution. The eternal light shone through the debris and continued its analysis.

After the effects of this mysterious power, the unlimited amount of light that surrounded the walls of the city disappeared. An image that he never could dream of was revealed.

There, the mountain was tall, the water was clear, the scenery was like a painting.

There, the living beings were lively and bustling.

There, various groups quarreled and argued.

The sensation he got was as if he was in a different world. A world outside of the nine continents.