The starry sky where day and night would never arrive made people lose all sense of time. They could only count it silently in their hearts so that they would not lose track and prevent accidents that they could not control from happening.
Four hours later, Nan Tian and the other five people arrived unannounced at one of the numerous valleys located outside the fog covered plains in the grave of Han Mountain's ancestor.
Their arrival in this currently clandestine place might have been noticed by others, but at the same time not.
"This is the place, brother Xuan, brother Mo. I discovered it by accident in the past. It was originally a place where herbs grew, but I subtly stopped the herbs from growing here. After that, people rarely came here."
Nan Tian stood outside the inconspicuous valley and spoke gently to Xuan Lun and Su Ming beside him.
"Go take a look."
Xuan Lun's gaze fell into the valley. There was a thin layer of fog inside that enveloped the entire area, causing others to be unable to see clearly. As Xuan Lun spoke, the old follower hesitated for a moment before he gritted his teeth and charged into the valley.
When he saw how cautious Xuan Lun was, Nan Tian smiled. His gaze fell upon Chou Nu. Chou Nu had been following him for years and hence could understand Nan Tian's thoughts. Once Chou Nu gave him a nod, he went into the valley with Xuan Lun's follower.
Dong Fang Hua still followed behind Su Ming. At that moment, he was looking at Su Ming uncertainly. When he saw that Su Ming remained passive and his mannerisms did not change, he found that he could not figure out Su Ming's thoughts. Yet since he had already decided to follow Su Ming, he had to do something to show his worth.
Dong Fang Hua took a deep breath. He was about to head into the valley along with the other two people with a grave expression to investigate the area, but the moment he took his first step, the ground suddenly shook. Muffled rumbling sounds came from afar, causing the ground to seem to rise and fall. At that moment, it seemed like the earth was moving and the mountains were shaking.
The rumbling sounds reverberated in the air for a long time and did not disappear even after a long while. Some stones broke off from the numerous mountains around them and fell. The sudden tremors made Nan Tian and Xuan Lun's gazes travel towards one similar direction - a place that lay far in the distance.
"Sir Mo Su, the fourth batch of guests has arrived… This is the aftermath of the activation of the relocation in the tunnel," Dong Fang Hua explained in low voice.
Su Ming nodded his head slightly. His eyes were calm.
"Interesting. None of the people from the tribe came with the first three batches from Tranquil East Tribe. With the limits set in this place, only one from Tranquil East Tribe can come here. This time, the person who came is most likely Han Cang Zi!"
A smile appeared on Nan Tian's face as he spoke amiably.
"Puqiang Tribe has already sent their tribe member with the first batch. He has already died. I have no idea who came with the fourth batch…" Xuan Lun said darkly after retrieving his gaze from the distance.
"No matter who it is, I now understand why we didn't face any obstacles on our way here and why we didn't meet any guests from Lake of Colors Tribe. Looks like they've all gone to the tunnel."
Nan Tian smiled.
At that moment, from the valley, Chou Nu and Xuan Lun's followers charged out and whispered in Nan Tian and Xuan Lun's ears.
Su Ming remained as usual. Dong Fang Hua might not have been able to go in with them, but Su Ming's Branding Art covered an area of 2,000 feet. He had seen everything within the valley.
"Brothers, this way!"
Nan Tian cast Xuan Lun and Su Ming a glance before he walked into the valley with a smile. Xuan Lun and his follower followed suit. Su Ming remained silent, but he went in nonetheless.
The valley was not big, but there were dozens of giant cracks on the walls, giving them a desolate look. Nan Tian took a few steps forward briskly as his gaze swept past these cracks. He took a deep breath and raised his right hand to push at the air. Immediately, the black bones that spun around him spread out and a strong dark light shone brilliantly outwards.
Under this dark light, Su Ming immediately saw eight cracks on the right wall twisting like ripples in the water. Gradually, these eight cracks disappeared one by one until there was only one left.
The only crack left on the right wall was not too big, just large enough for a person to enter. It was dark inside, and no one could know where it led to.
Xuan Lun's eyes flashed. The old follower behind him sighed. He took a step forward and charged quickly into the only crack on the wall to their right.
Dong Fang Hua did not have time to explore earlier. He was about to follow suit, but the moment he was about to take a step forward, Su Ming, who was standing before him, raised his right arm and blocked his path.
"Sir Mo Su?" Dong Fang Hua was stunned.
When Xuan Lun saw this, a light crease appeared on his brows, and he looked towards Nan Tian.
Nan Tian blinked and a bitter smile appeared on his face. He let out a sigh towards Xuan Lun and spoke with a helpless tone, "Brother Xuan, your follower was too impatient…"
"Nan Tian, what's the meaning of this!"
Xuan Lun's face grew dark, and when he spoke, his voice became terrifyingly cold. Almost at the same time he uttered his words, a shrill, pained cry traveled out of the only crack on the right. The voice was quickly cut off.
Xuan Lun's expression instantly changed and he glared at Nan Tian. However, he was a powerful Berserker in the Transcendence Realm, which meant that he had great self-preservation and would not lose his temper without reason. He spoke coldly instead.
"Give me a reason to not attack you!"
"Brother Xuan, I didn't say that this was the crack. The crack on the right is a trap to prevent others who stumbled upon this place from discovering my setup.
"This crack is fake. Anyone under the Transcendence Realm who enters will die without fail…"
As Nan Tian smiled wanly, a hint of apology appeared on his face and he moved a few steps towards where Su Ming stood.
The moment he took those steps, Xuan Lun's pupils shrank almost unnoticeably. He was regretting his decision at this moment. He should not have revealed his killing intent and showed a hostile attitude when he saw Su Ming.
Xuan Lun was not a simple man. He could already tell that Nan Tian had used his influence to form a pressure on Mo Su so that he had no choice but to join them.
Right now, he was using Mo Su to create pressure on him, causing him to be unable to hold Nan Tian accountable even though his follower had died. After all, Nan Tian did not tell them to walk into the crack.
"If we aren't supposed to walk into the crack, then why did you open it?" Xuan Lun growled, forcing down his anger.
"Brother Xuan, don't be angry. Ah… this is my fault. I did not explain this to you beforehand. I didn't have time to stop your follower after I casted the Berserker Art. But there's a reason why I opened the crack on the right wall. If I didn't, then we wouldn't be able to go into the real tunnel."
Nan Tian wrapped his fist in his palm towards Xuan Lun and bowed, his face laden with regret.
Cold sweat broke out on Dong Fang Hua's forehead. He was not young, and he had an abundance of experience. At this moment, he saw the complicated relationship that surrounded the three men. He remembered Nan Tian's slyness, remembered Xuan Lun's ruthlessness, and remembered Su Ming stopping him. Gratitude appeared in his eyes as he looked at Su Ming.
Xuan Lun glared at Nan Tian, then at Su Ming. As a powerful Berserker of the Transcendence Realm, he seldom met something that made him so aggrieved, and what was more, he could not even say anything about it, because everything that happened was due to his own doing.
In his silenece, veins gradually popped up on Xuan Lun's face. He glared at Nan Tian and narrowed his eyes.
Nan Tian maintained a regretful look and bowed with his hands folded before him.
"You…"
Xuan Lun took a step forward, but he only managed to utter one word before he was cut off by Su Ming's aloof voice.
"There are some words that should not be said. Once you say it, you will commit wrong, and you must pay the price for your wrongdoings.
"Xuan Lun, your follower might not be dead as well. After all, we haven't seen his corpse."
Xuan Lun stopped and his expression changed, but a moment later, he took a deep breath and wrapped his fist around his palm towards Nan Tian.
"Brother Nan, I acted too rashly just now. Please lead the way."
Nan Tian smiled and quickly returned the greeting. He made a few more explanations with an apologetic look and subtly glanced at the calm Su Ming. Uneasiness boiled in his heart.
'This person saw that there was something wrong and prevented his follower from going in. From this I can tell that he's a careful person and is not one to let his people take risks… and he could also use this to obtain his follower's gratitude. This is something I can do as well.
'But did he truly see that there was danger here, or is he as I guessed, just cautious..?
'I can put this aside first. From what he said before, I can tell that the murderous intent between this person and Xuan Lun from before is not fake… But he was clearly reminding Xuan Lun just now. This is the second time he used my actions in this matter to warm up his relationship with Xuan Lun, which unknowingly increases the probability of the two of them cooperating…
'Damn it, this completely disruptes the next steps I set up for Xuan Lun, and my plans to win him over. In fact, this will make Xuan Lun become even more wary and hostile towards me, and Mo Su will just be an outsider in this…'
Nan Tian did not reveal any of his thoughts. He smiled and nodded towards Su Ming once more before he looked at the seven cracks on the wall to the left. With one single move, Nan Tian charged towards the third crack.
Chou Nu followed quickly and entered the crack after him.
Xuan Lun looked at Su Ming. After a moment of hesitation, he nodded towards Su Ming and stepped into the crack.
Su Ming followed after them calmly. He did not manage to see through Nan Tian's thoughts. He simply thought that before they went into the tunnel, Nan Tian would not want to cause any arguments that would be detrimental to his plans.
Yet an accident like this had happened—it was something that was worthy of second thoughts. Su Ming could not guess what Nan Tian was thinking, but he could destroy it.
'Compared to Xuan Lun, I should be more cautious of Nan Tian's calculative nature.'
Su Ming was quiet as he followed behind the crowd, walking into the third crack.
The crack was narrow and long. No one spoke on the way, and they moved forward silently. After a long while, a small tunnel appeared before them. This tunnel expanded to the deep depths of the ground, the path twisting around like a serpent. There were ample clues lying around everywhere that hinted that the path was manmade, making it clear that the path was hewed out by people.
"This path would not appear unless a unique method is used to open the cracks on the right side of the valley. Even if someone entered this place accidentally, a maze like path would appear in this place. It would be difficult for them to find the correct path.
"This is the unique Art that belongs to my tribe - Lost Clouds Tribe," Nan Tian explained softly.
"This path is connected to the tomb of Han Mountain's ancestor. There is a seal blocking our path at the end. Once the seal is broken, we will then be able to enter his tomb."
As Nan Tian spoke, he moved forward quickly.
The path was dark, but when Su Ming and the others looked in, they did not see darkness. Their vision might have been slightly obscured, but they could still see rather clearly.
What caught their attention the most was the ground in the tunnel. It was red, which was completely different compared to the path in the crack connected to the tunnel.
It was as if these two places were two completely different worlds.
An unnoticeable glint appeared briefly in Su Ming's eyes when he saw the red patch on the ground in the tunnel. He moved forward, but the moment his foot landed on the red patch of ground…
"You… are… finally… here…"