Volume Two: No Way Forward Amid Mountains and Rivers Chapter Ten: Auspicious Clouds

The sky here was a deep orange-red, with no land in sight; the entire body floated in midair. But perhaps “floating” was not quite accurate, for throughout this void, a fierce, relentless gale howled at all times, carrying one's body wherever it pleased.

This was Zhuo Hua's second visit to Auspicious Cloud Void. Returning to this place, he could not help but feel a touch of sentiment. The last time, under Lanling’s guidance, it had taken him a whole day to finally escape this devilish hell; today, he wondered how long it would take.

Zhuo Hua activated the Tranquil Qi Pearl within his body—a sacred relic called Linghua, left by the ancient masters of Xuanhuang. Aside from the zither platform within Lanling, it was the most formidable artifact in all the Xuanhuang Void. After Zhuo Hua’s ingenious modifications, Linghua could convert even the faintest rays of golden sunlight into the greatest amount of vital energy, storing and releasing it with unmatched efficiency.

Linghua began to work within him, and even with less than a tenth of the golden sun’s light in this void, it still provided Zhuo Hua with abundant, vigorous energy. He used it first to steady himself in midair, so he could observe his current position.

Looking around, he saw nothing—no mountain, no star to mark his location; everywhere was a wasteland of dull yellow. But then, to his right, a curved red form slowly appeared. Zhuo Hua’s heart leapt in alarm as he cried inwardly: “The Great Red Spot! Why has this demon appeared here now?”

In a panic, he mustered his energy and fled in the opposite direction. The Great Red Spot seemed to move slowly at first, but that was only because of its colossal size; with nothing to compare it to, its movement seemed deceptive. When it came surging toward you, blotting out the sky, you realized that no matter how fast you ran, you could never outrun its encompassing advance.

Zhuo Hua glanced back at the rapidly approaching spot, knowing escape was impossible. He stopped, resigned to await its arrival.

At that moment, he heard a voice growing closer, rushing toward him. Instinctively, Zhuo Hua readied a defensive stance, but as the person drew near, he saw it was Yuan Kang. Yuan Kang was flying forward, driven by his own energy, but his direction was opposite to Zhuo Hua’s. With a look of astonishment, Yuan Kang gazed at Zhuo Hua, who floated calmly in place. Zhuo Hua smiled and placed a finger to his lips, signaling Yuan Kang not to shout—it would be useless.

Zhuo Hua watched as Yuan Kang drifted away toward the Great Red Spot, while he himself felt its overwhelming pull. Maintaining his altitude was growing more difficult by the moment.

Suddenly, Zhuo Hua relaxed his fists, withdrew his energy, and let himself tumble toward the Great Red Spot like a feather caught in a gale. Spinning through the air, he crossed his arms before his chest, channeling all his vital energy around his body, forming a thin shell of energy. As the current quickened, the shell, once transparent, grew redder and redder, until finally it shone with a ring of orange-red within and blue-white without.

All the air around Zhuo Hua heated and rose, while any particles in the void that touched the ring were instantly vaporized and vanished.

Slowly, Zhuo Hua closed his eyes. Since he could not leave for now, he decided he might as well rest within the Great Red Spot for a while. Suddenly, he remembered his promise to Qin Ying to accompany her to the Lantern Festival on the Night of the Lanterns. Yet, in a moment of impulse, seeking to suppress the tribulation Yuan Kang had provoked, he had opened the Auspicious Cloud Void. He had no idea when he would be able to leave—at best, it would take most of the day, by which time the festival would be long over. Still, thinking of Xiao Sui’s tragic death, Zhuo Hua steeled his resolve to deal with the troublesome Yuan Kang of the Sun-Worship Sect here and now.

He knew he had entered the heart of the Great Red Spot. Without opening his eyes, he could tell by the roaring thunder and the crackling of lightning upon his protective energy. But the true danger within was not merely thunder and lightning—these petty tribulations he had seen before. The real terror was the invisible, intangible force: the raging, violent winds that threatened to tear his body apart as if by five horses, while an inexorable pressure pressed in from all sides, as if to flatten him to a sheet.

Zhuo Hua endured the onslaught of thunder and fire for the time it takes to burn an incense stick. Amidst the chaos, he thought he heard someone’s shouts rising and falling. Curious, he opened his eyes to see, not far off, Yuan Kang also tumbling in the storm, desperately wielding his energy against the ceaseless lightning.

“A foolish method! He’d do better to evade swiftly, like Jing Muhan, using energy to dart and weave,” Zhuo Hua thought.

Once again, a great bolt of lightning shot toward Yuan Kang. Zhuo Hua thrust both fists forward, sending two streams of energy to intercept the bolt. But Yuan Kang was nearly exhausted, and his own Tranquil Qi Pearl was not some divine artifact; the two streams failed to stop the lightning. After consuming them, the bolt continued without hesitation, and Yuan Kang could only withstand it with his protective energy. There was a deafening crash; the lightning vanished—along with Yuan Kang’s protective aura.

“That lightning was fierce enough to strip all his energy away at once. Without his protective aura, he won’t last a moment in this hell,” Zhuo Hua thought in shock.

Yet, unexpectedly, a dark red current began to swirl around Yuan Kang’s body. Zhuo Hua understood what this meant: the dark red signaled that its master had survived the tribulation of thunder and fire, stepping into the threshold of the Immortal Rank.

Zhuo Hua laughed inwardly. “So I’ve brought you here to transcend your tribulation quickly?” He abandoned the idea of letting the Auspicious Cloud Void eliminate Yuan Kang—he would do it himself. After all, in this place, he need not worry about causing destruction.

Just as he moved closer, ready to deal with Yuan Kang, a white dot sped toward him. In a blink, the dot grew to the size of a palm. Zhuo Hua extended his spiritual sense and realized it was a person.

“What a day for strange events! All the living in this void are here; the dead would never remain in such a whole piece—they’d have been shredded to dust long ago,” Zhuo Hua mused.

Suddenly, an idea struck him. He used his energy to change direction, steering aside to avoid the incoming figure, and matched his flight speed to keep pace with the white-clad person.

Three breaths later, Zhuo Hua clearly saw the young man’s face. “Isn’t this the blue-clad young marshal from the Blue Clan? How did he get in here?” Zhuo Hua was utterly perplexed.

The young marshal was motionless, eyes closed, his whole body encased in a layer of transparent crystal. His face was tinged with blue and purple, a sign that the air inside was nearly exhausted.

“So it’s the Crystal Raiment of the Tian Clan—how did it come to be with this young marshal?” Zhuo Hua set aside his questions; all that mattered now was saving him.

He reached into his Infinite Cosmos Pouch, searching for a similar artifact. It was difficult, needing to fly in sync while rummaging, but at last he fished out a gleaming, rod-shaped object. Biting off the sealing charm, the item grew larger, finally expanding into a vessel as tall as a man, like a ship with a crystal dome above.

Zhuo Hua opened the dome and entered the cabin. The moment he closed it, the world grew completely silent. He floated to the center, placed his hands upon a melon-sized sphere, and it began to glow. Steering the vessel, Zhuo Hua drew near the young marshal, opened the dome, and brought him inside.