Jack had wasted an entire hour just to travel one bloody mountain. Lacking the necessary qi to proceed any further, he had no choice but to descend down for a rest.

Once landed, he swiftly shifted his irises towards a nearby location. There, a blue coloured rock with several gems attached to it seemed to be calling him out. His face was all smiles as he looted it, storing it inside his dimensional pocket.

This was the third gemstone he had found thus far. However, there were still no hints about the rainbow coloured camellia, or any other herb for that matter.

He let out a soft sigh, examining his shiny dagger. Although everything here appeared quiet and peaceful, he didn’t risk lowering his guard.

This particular dagger was actually one of the two foundation realm treasures he had received from House Yu. It was true that the Creature was a pain in the ass at times, but he did acknowledge that it actually cared for him.

He finally resumed his journey after recovering his strengths.

He couldn’t find any more gemstones along the way. Neither did he manage to find any treasures or herbs. Instead, he was met with aridity, desolation and eventually, boredom.

Initially, he had high expectations for this Counterbalance Realm, especially after he had listened to the Palace Head speaking about ‘central locations’ and ‘great treasures’. But it seems that his speech was just useless boastfulness.

Focused on detecting anything unusual, Jack was distracted when a flash of light blinded his vision. It took some time for his eyes to recover as he stopped in his tracks, searching for the source. With nothing abnormal on the surface, he soon assumed that the light originated from a nearby abyss.

Jack didn’t waste any time as he flew straight down inside the void.

His descent was smooth, but the deeper he went, the darker it got. As for the abyss, there seemed that there was no end to its depths.

Hugging close to one of the walls, he slowed down the moment he noticed a sizeable platform protruding from the opposite cliff. Deciding to stay well-hidden in a secluded spot, he got a glimpse of two cultivators.

One of the five swordswomen laid defeated on the platform. Her entire attire was covered with blood, her miserable eyes staring at the male cultivator opposite of her.

Resting his back against the base of a collapsed pillar and holding his right shoulder over extreme pain, a disciple from the Hidden Hands Sect had an ugly expression.

Although quite far, Jack could barely hear them speak, thanks to the silence and echoing generated by the cliffs.

“Fool… if you had listened to my warning, none of this would have happened…”

“Arsehole, I-I was the first one... to find this place...” Her voice was full of resentment and disappointment.

The male cultivator struggled to stand up again, slowly approaching the defenceless opponent.

“Good, very good. I might have spared you if you behaved like a good girl. But since you decided to act naughty, I am sure you don’t mind if I had to do some nasty things to you, right?”

His anger soon transformed into a wicked smile.

The swordswoman could only shiver. Down here inside this bottomless abyss, there was nobody who could come to her aid. Feeling hopeless, her hatred for this man could only deepen.

“Just give up, not even the gods can save you now. Let’s see how many gemstones you have under that dress of yours.”

The Hidden Hands Sect’s disciple was about to lay his hand on her when he heard the sounds of approaching footsteps.

“I may not be as gracious as the gods, but still better than nothing.”

Being one of the weaker competitors, the male disciple appeared alarmed. He was about to use his remaining qi to flee when he recognised the identity of this new arrival. His facial muscles soon relaxed.

“Well, well. And here I was afraid that some terrible opponent had appeared. Turns out it is this joker.”

As soon as he finished his speech, the aura corresponding to a 7th Qi Seeking Realm cultivator burst out. However, its intensity wasn’t constant but instead started oscillating at different frequencies. This was clearly a result of the injuries he had sustained.

Jack didn’t seem worried. “Indeed, I probably can’t win against you in your best form. But in your current state? I am more than confident. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have appeared here, what you think?”

The male cultivator grinned. “Good, good, seems like there is something wrong with your brain. I, Ren Tu, promises to the heavens that if I can’t kill a weakling like you, then I will walk on one leg from now on!”

He then glanced at the swordswoman. “Just wait for me a while longer sweetheart. I’ll entertain you once I am done with this wannabe hero.”

His voice was partially interrupted by crackling sounds as Jack summoned the Spectre. Growing to half a human length, it appeared like a miniature golem, dropping its feet on the platform and generating a mini quake.

Jack didn’t waste any time as he immediately sent it flying towards his opponent. Wanting to test something out, he suddenly decided halfway to let go of his control and giving the Spectre free will.

The Spectre was already approaching the surprised Ren Tu when it suddenly started swearing, changing its course and instead aiming its fist against Jack.

Jack could only respond with another curse. He quickly exerted full control, stopping the approaching fist just a couple of metres away from him. Even though the attack was neutralised in the nick of time, it still generated a wave of winds, enough for Jack’s hair to be blown away horizontally in the opposite direction.

The paralysed Ren Tu had sensed a hint of danger emanating from the mysterious golem. He was aware that the cultivators of the Divinities Alliance had a strange power-up that traded a part of their humanity in exchange for obtaining powers of demonic beasts. But this weird golem didn’t seem related to that very power.

When he noticed that Jack couldn’t even control the strange golem, Ren Tu burst out into laughter. His face was full of mockery as he summoned his damaged zither, slamming the air and producing a wave of concentrated vibrations that tuned towards Jack.

However, the same wave was unexpectedly met head-on by the returning Spectre. Crackling with solidifying essence, the golem kept charging towards the puzzled Ren Tu, slamming straight into his stomach.

Ren Tu cried out miserably as he relied on his speed to dodge the follow-up attacks. Holding his stomach, he was forced into doing some fancy footwork, dodging erratically on the platform. Clearly struggling against the barrage of attacks, his face soon flashed with incredulity.

It didn’t take long for Ren Tu to exhaust himself.

After being pummelled by the Spectre multiple times, his battered body ended up rolling over the platform, never to move again.

The female cultivator was left speechless. She couldn’t believe how easily Jack had disposed of Ren Tu, the same opponent that had reduced her to this sorry state. Although Ren Tu was injured, he was still a 7th Qi Realm Cultivator. But Jack remained arms crossed almost the entire fight, without having to break a sweat.

Indeed, Jack appeared to be having the time of his life as he approached the swordswoman, leaning down and about to drop a medicinal pill on her palm.

“I don’t... need... your pity...”

“Oh? Ok then.” Jack coolly walked away from her without giving her anything.

“No... please… wait...”

Jack ignored her as he began examining the mysterious platform. The several symbols and diagrams were all foreign to him. Buried inside the cliffs, he noticed a large metallic door that towered up for several metres. Unlike the platform, it was still in perfect condition.

Jack was left fascinated as he observed the picturesque scene depicted on the door.

At the very top, he could notice five symbols: a flame, a sun, a flag, a flower and a skull. Slightly lower than these were drawn seven existences, prostrating and worshipping the five symbols above them.

At the very bottom were portrayed several worlds of different size. These realms seemed to be inhabited by various forms of life, everything co-existing in perfect harmony. The entire scene seemed to describe the ideal world.

Jack occupied himself trying to understand the meaning of this piece of art. Sliding his palm against the door, he could feel his qi reacting to its touch.

An idea suddenly surfaced inside his mind. Looking as calm as ever, he did a small cut and dropped some of his blood onto the door. The blood drops were instantly sucked inside, but there didn’t seem to be any further reactions.

The swordswoman was all the time observing Jack’s movements. She had already spent some time trying to figure out a way to open the door, but she couldn’t find any mechanical mechanism to operate it. Unfortunately, her attempts were prematurely interrupted by Ren Tu’s appearance.

Is he trying to open that door by spilling his blood? Is he crazy?

Jack rubbed his chin as he kept examining the door. Noticing how it kept absorbing his blood, he decided to feed it some more.

It was precisely on the seventh drop that the door began to react.

The sound of several mechanical chains revibrated throughout the abyss as a small crack appeared in the middle of the door, enough for a human being to sneak through.

Jack didn’t waste any time. Clearly excited, he ventured inside.

Unable to move her body, the swordswoman could only widen her sparkling eyes. She began realising that there was more to this cultivator than meets the eye. Deeply regretting her previous behaviour, she could only remain to stare at his back as he vanished from her line of sight.

***

Somewhere else inside the realm, a monk from Vajrayana Temple was standing over a small cliff, staring at the shallow pit ahead of him. His face was whiter than snow as he carefully felt a cold bead of sweat sliding against his cheeks. His pupils started shaking as a cloud of noxious gases made it inside his nose, smelling like something that would originate from the underworld.

Below him, numerous dismembered bodies rested in a pool of blood. The decapitated heads of the various beasts all had expressions of disbelief, despair and misery. He could almost relive their terror just by looking in their eyes.

He had seen and experienced the death of many, but this carnage was something that not even his imagination could create. He wanted to run away, leave this place as fast as he could. Alas, his legs were only responding to his trembling. Unable to do anything else, he suddenly noticed another female cultivator on a nearby cliff.

Zheng Zexi was also staring at the gruesome scene, her face devoid of any expression. When she detected the monk, her body flashed, reappearing in front of him.

She pointed her sword, almost touching his neck. “Was this your doing?”

The Monk had expected his head to be sent off flying. He fell onto his knees, tears leaking from his eyes. “Th-thanks the g-gods. I thought, it was you, who killed them.”

Zheng Zexi retracted her sword, glancing again at the pit below.

The Monk took his time to recover from his trauma. Knowing how strong Zheng Zexi was, he started to feel more at ease. “This… who could have done it?”

She remained silent for an extended period before replying, “These are our images. I’ve counted thirty-two heads, one’s missing.”

The monk was left shocked by her analysing skills. Although he was an 8th Qi Seeking Realm Cultivator, he felt that the difference in strength between her and him was like the difference between a flourishing tree and a wilting flower.

“I know I stand no chance against you. If you want my gemstones I—”

Before he could even finish his sentence, Zheng Zexi had already disappeared from his sight. Unwilling to stay here alone, he summoned the talisman and hurried towards the return portal.