Ahu was even more elated. The zealousness and reverence on his face was the same that all powerful warriors would have when they were still teenagers towards powerful warriors they looked up to. At that moment, Su Ming was the person Ahu wanted to imitate in his heart.
Even Qi Dong was the same. He had seen Su Ming and watched his battle with the Latter Shaman. The shock and excitement in his heart made him be unable to regain his senses even after a long time.
‘One of these days, I will be as strong as he is. I will make Eastern Goosefoot Tribe pay several times back for what they did to me!’ Qi Dong gritted her teeth and clenched his fist, eyes burning with determination.
Under the people’s scrutiny, Su Ming put away his Poison Corpse and clone in midair, put away all the black beetles and everything else, then with one single move, landed on the ground.
"Brother Mo… you hid yourself too deeply. I only know now that you have such great battle prowess with you, and here I was wondering how I should be helping you just now…" Nan Gong Hen gave a wry laugh and walked forward to wrap his fist in his palm towards Su Ming.
Su Ming shook his head and said, "I was just lucky. Senior Tie Mu did not use his full power, or else I would have been unable to last as well."
"Brother Mo, you don’t have to be so humble… Oh well, you’ve always been like this. But this battle will make your name ring through all of the Shaman City. It’s a good thing as well. After all, the World of Nine Yin is cut off from the outside world, and everything is decided through your own level of cultivation and your power. Only powerful warriors will be able to gain firm ground and gain other people’s respect here."
As Nan Gong Hen spoke, a squad of guards from the God of Shamans Temple came from the distance. All of these people possessed extraordinary power, and all of them were Medial Shamans. Once these people arrived, they immediately dispersed the crowd.
However, no one came forth to interrogate Su Ming. Instead, as they walked past him, they would wrap their fists in their palms towards him as a form of greeting, and their expressions were all full of politeness and respect.
In truth, they had arrived a long time ago, but it was impossible for them to get involved and try to stop a Latter Shaman’s attack. They could only hang around at a spot far away and wait for Su Ming to be killed before they could come and clear up the battlefield.
However, the things that happened after left all these people shocked to the core. When they saw the people from Eastern Goosefoot Tribe leave, respect towards Su Ming filled their hearts. No matter where they were, powerful warriors would always be respected!
As these people went away, Su Ming and Nan Gong Hen returned to their quiet inn. On the way, Su Ming swept his gaze past Nan Gong Shan, and he found that the woman had a constant frown on her face, as if she was uncertain about something. Once he mulled over it for a while, he understood what was bothering her.
Nan Gong Shan’s emotions must be incredibly mixed. She knew that Hong Luo was so powerful that it was impossible for her to take revenge on him. She could only feel bitter about it. Perhaps she had seen some form of familiarity on Su Ming and became suspicious of him.
But even though Su Ming had shown extraordinary power and could even hold his own against Tie Mu, in her eyes, if he was truly that person, then the battle would have definitely not unfolded this way...
That was why her suspicions towards Su Ming had turned into uncertainty, though in truth, she no longer suspected him of anything.
After giving it some thought, Su Ming had already guessed most of what she was thinking. This additional benefit which he obtained through this battle actually helped him get rid of a lot of trouble.
On that night, the three teenagers went to sleep late due to their excitement. To them, the incident that happened that day was something they would never be able to forget in their lives.
Nan Gong Hen’s attitude towards Su Ming became distinctly much friendlier. When the next morning arrived, he went to invite Su Ming to the God of Shamans Temple branch to rent the protection of the Spirit of Nine Yin.
"The treasure gambling event should be held a month later. Most of the people from the tribes should already be here by then, as for those who are not here by then, well, the chances are, they won’t be able to come here anymore.
"We might still have one more month, but I think you haven’t rented a Spirit of Nine Yin before. We might need to spend quite a fortune, but we have a month’s time to get familiar with it, and it will be a great help to us in the future."
As they moved towards the God of Shamans Temple branch located in this place, Nan Gong Hen explained with a smile, "The treasure gambling event will last for several days. When it’s over, the crowd will disperse, and we will bring the teenagers from our tribes to go activate their paths of cultivation. At that time, we will have to split up.
"Brother Mo, you can take a look around Shaman City during this month. After all, this is the World of Nine Yin. There are plenty of items here that are not available outside, and because of the hype of the treasure gambling event, you’ll also be able to see a lot of rare items being sold here." As Nan Gong Hen continued speaking to Su Ming, he greeted his friends he met on the way with a smile.
Once again, Nan Gong Hen demonstrated just how wide his connections were. Su Ming saw at least several dozens of people showing close ties to him on their way to the temple, and once most of these people greeted Nan Gong Hen, they would size up Su Ming, and he could see the reverence hidden in their gazes.
"Brother Mo, you became famous through that one battle. The deal about you not losing to a Latter Shaman with just the power of a Medial Shaman has already spread through the city, it’s clear from the people’s gazes around us," Nan Gong Hen said with a smile.
Su Ming was just about to give a comment about that when Nan Gong Hen quickly added a sentence, "Brother Mo, you don’t have to be humble anymore…"
Su Ming gave him a faint smile and did not continue speaking.
They did not walk for long before they arrived at a spot near the center of Shaman City, outside a gigantic palace. The palace was filled with a dignified air. There was a long staircase of ten thousand feet to reach it, and there were a large number of guards from the God of Shamans Temple around the area. All the Shamans who came to this place were mostly silent, and all of them did not linger around for a long time as they came in and out.
There were distortions in the air behind the palace. There seemed to be a vortex spinning around without a sound over there, and it gave others a feeling that there was another world contained within.
Further down was a gigantic stone pillar standing erect and towering above the ground. There were numerous seals shining with an unknown color on the stone pillar, and right at the top of it was the gigantic head Su Ming had seen outside the city, the head that looked like it belonged to a person but was dried up like a block of wood.
When Su Ming got closer to the area, he could feel a great pressure that enveloped the sky and earth. Obviously, even if this was not the core of Shaman City, it was an important spot.
"Before I came here, I spent a lot of time and effort to prepare my offerings. I should be able to move the Spirits of Nine Yin in the fifth layer." As Nan Gong Hen led Su Ming onto the stairs, he mumbled under his breath.
Once Su Ming heard it, a glint appeared in his eyes, but he did not ask in detail. Both of them walked up the stairs, and once they were right before the palace’s door, Su Ming’s pupils shrank.
He saw a gigantic oval shaped vortex before the door floating seven inches off the ground. The moment Su Ming saw it, he was immediately reminded of the Gate to the Void.
‘This is… Could it be that this is also a Gate to the Void?’ Once Su Ming gave it a few closer looks, he averted his gaze from the vortex and looked towards the hall behind it.
The door was open and it was empty inside. There was only a skeleton placed in the center. Its feet were chained down, and it was sitting down with its legs crossed. The skeleton looked to be of the same size as an average human being. However, at its skull, or perhaps more precisely at its forehead, was a vertical slit. By the looks of it, there was an eye there when this person was alive.
There were eight gigantic circular grass meadows around the skeleton. At that moment, there were two people sitting cross-legged on the grass meadows. One of them was a man dressed in a purple robe, some golden threads sparkling on it, and his long, red hair tied in a ponytail.
There were wrinkles covering his hands and they looked rather dried up and withered. However, he had the appearance of a middle-aged man, and it gave him a rather strange air.
The other person was an old man. He looked really ordinary, dressed in a sackcloth, his face covered in wrinkles. He looked really miserable, while his eyes were closed as if he was deeply immersed in his own thoughts.
There was not a hint of presence from within the palace, as if the world inside the palace and the world outside were two different dimensions. Those outside could see it, but they were separated from it.
"We can’t enter that place… Er, perhaps you can, brother Mo. Only Latter Shamans can go in there and gain enlightenment before the skeleton…
"Do you see the old senior by the skeleton? He’s the Latter Shaman Chen Huan from Wise Winter Tribe. The other senior in the purple robe is the Temple Elder of God of Shamans Temple. He only has one word to his name - Mu," Nan Gong Hen explained.
Su Ming stared at the skeleton chained down in the palace and asked calmly, "What is that skeleton?"
Nan Gong Hen hesitated for a moment before he whispered his answer to Su Ming, "I only know it’s an Evil Spirit of Nine Yin that was killed when this place was developed in the past… I heard that the Shaman Tribe suffered huge losses when they killed this person in the past…
"All right, brother Mo, we’ll have to temporarily part ways here. You’ll reach Nine Yin Hall once you walk through the vortex. I’ll be choosing from the Spirits of Nine Yin in the fifth layer.
"Normal treasures such as Shaman Crystals will only allow you to choose your Spirit of Nine Yin from the first layer. You’ll only know the details once you get in there. Brother Mo, act within your abilities, choose according to how long you’ll stay in the World of Nine Yin. Once I come out, I’ll wait for you outside." Nan Gong Hen wrapped his fist in his palm as a farewell to Su Ming, then turned around and moved into the vortex and disappeared.
Su Ming scrutinized the vortex for a moment, and right when he was about to move in, suddenly, a light shone from within the vortex. A person appeared from inside, and at the same time, a gentle power spread out and pushed Su Ming back a few steps. The person in the vortex rapidly gained physical form and walked out.
That was a tall but thin young man. He had an indifferent look on his face, was dressed in black, and there were multiple small braids decorating his hair.
The instant Su Ming saw this person, a glint appeared in his eyes, and his lips curled up in a faint smile under the mask.
Once that person walked out, he instinctively looked at Su Ming, then immediately looked away. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly paused in his footsteps, turned his head back, took a few closer looks at Su Ming, then turned around and left the area with a calm look.
Su Ming no longer hesitated and lifted his foot to step into the vortex. As the vortex shone, he disappeared in it and was gone without a trace.
After Su Ming entered the vortex, the young man who walked out from it previously turned his head back from the stairs and uncertainty appeared on his face.
"Have I met that person before..?" The young man lifted his right hand and pressed it against the center of his brows. He stood there for a moment, then opened his eyes slowly, revealing the puzzlement within.