''The 'Vermilion realm' has opened!''

This sentence drew everyone's attention towards that huge pillar of light inside the canyon, before they turned their heads to look at the head priest of the 'Golden Buddha temple'.

It was a tradition, for the members of the 'Golden Buddha temple to always be the first to enter inside the 'Vermilion realm', before the rest of the sects followed.

However, since the head priest hadn't spoken yet, although the 'Vermilion realm' had already opened, no one dared to be the first one to enter.

The blue-robed prince, Yang Gongsun, looked at the head priest as he asked

''So? What do you think? Can I enter this secret realm?''

The head priest's beady eyes, stared at Yang Gongsun for a while before he smiled as he nodded his head and said

''Since the benefactor of the Snowcloud country wishes to join us, then of course you are welcome.

However, there is only a limited quota of people who can enter inside the 'Vermilion realm', so benefactor will first have to obtain permission from one of the sects who is willing to give up their spot.''

Yang Gongsun turned to look at the sect masters in front of him, waiting to see which one would take the initiative to offer him one of their spots. He didn't believe for a second that there was no one interested in forming good relations with his Snowcloud country.

Indeed, Liu Jian was the first to take a step forward, as he looked at the head priest and bowed before he said

''Then please allow me to offer a spot to this young gentleman. My 'floating cloud sect' happens to have an extra spot, since one of our disciples didn't want to enter the 'Vermilion realm'.''

Yang Gongsun turned to look at Liu Jian and laughed as he said

''Hahaha! Finally, someone here who knows to be sensible. What is your name?''

Liu Jian's eyes twitched slightly as he heard this arrogant and disrespectful address, but after remembering that a Nascent soul senior was backing this kid, he swallowed it down as he clasped his hands and said

''I am the sect master of the 'floating cloud sect', Liu Jian!''

Nodding his head Yang Gongsun said

''Very well Liu Jian. I, Yang Gongsun will not mistreat you in the future!''

Yang Gongsun's eyes then swept over the members of the 'floating cloud sect', only stopping for a while when saw Liu Mei. His eyes lit up as he saw her peerlessly beautiful face, and after licking his lips, he was actually the first to enter inside the giant pillar of light.

The Elders of the Meng family were furious when they noticed Yang Gongsun's lecherous smile as he looked at Liu Mei, but Liu Jian simply acted as if he hadn't seen anything.

The head priest of the 'Golden Buddha temple' threw a meaningful look at Liu Jian before he said

''In that case, let us all enter the 'Vermilion realm' then.''

Finally, after the members of the temple entered inside the light pillar, all of the other sects, including the 'floating cloud sect' quickly followed suit.

Before they entered the light pillar, Liu Changpun looked at the Elders and disciples behind him and said

...''Remember, when we enter inside, we will all be split up. Spend the first 5 days looking around the outer region, as you search for our sect members. We only have 3 months inside the 'Vermilion realm', so 5 days later, no matter what you are doing, start heading towards the central region.''

Liu Changpun then was the first to head inside the light pillar as the rest of the members of the 'floating cloud sect' followed after him.

Shun Long didn't immediately enter as he asked little Black

''Will there be any problems for you?''

Little Black immediately understood what Shun Long meant and after thinking for a moment he shook his head as he said

''I don't think so master. Although a Dao King is a relatively powerful expert, my aura is completely hidden inside the 'Stone of Time'. Unless I intentionally expose myself, there shouldn't be any problem''

Shun Long nodded his head at little Black's words as he then took a step forward.

The moment that Shun Long's foot touched the giant pillar of light, he could feel his body leaving the ground, as if he was getting pulled upwards by some kind of ethereal force.

Shun Long could feel that he didn't have control over his body any longer.

He felt as if he was traveling inside the light pillar until a familiar sensation suddenly coursed through his body. It was the same sensation that Shun Long felt when he traveled through his space tears, but this one was much more intense.

A piercing white light forced Shun Long to close his eyes as he felt his body abruptly landing on a solid surface.

A few moments later, after the piercing pain receded, Shun Long opened his eyes to see countless huge trees everywhere around him.

The trees were all more than 20m(66ft) tall, and they spanned as far as Shun Long's eyes could see.

Before Shun Long could even stand up from the ground, little Black's voice suddenly sounded in his mind

''Master! Be careful!''

At the same time that he heard little Black's voice, Shun Long felt a sharp pain in his right leg, as his blood spurted like a small fountain.

Shun Long was surprised to see a 30 cm(12inch) arrow that had managed to pierce through his leg.

ROAR

The moment that little Black saw this, he jumped out of the 'Stone of Time' without any hesitation, as he unleashed a furious roar toward one of the trees behind Shun Long.

Little Black's roar was like a powerful sonic wave, whose force uprooted almost a dozed of these 20m(66ft) tall trees.

5 creatures dressed in leather clothes fell down from the trees behind Shun Long, as they started foaming from their mouths.

These creatures that were barely above 1m(3.3ft) tall, had sharp horns protruding out of their heads, while their huge noses and ears made a sharp contrast with their tiny eyes.

Shun Long was shocked as he saw the 5 leathered creatures wreathing in pain on the ground, when little Black's voice sounded inside his head

''Master, these creatures are the half-fiend race!''

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