TY Chapter 1: Mist Barren Lost Valley

There was a shimmer of light in the darkness.

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A moonless and starless night, not a single ray of light fell upon the Mist Barren Lost Valley. Apart from a faint, fleeting flame that could be vaguely observed in the faraway core of the valley, most of the territory was shrouded in endless darkness.

The night scene had a desolate feeling to it while the fleeting melody of the wind felt slightly chilling. As the wind blew, layers after layers of mist billowed in the darkness, just like the waves in the oceans. This is the fog unique to this valley.

The valley was vast. If it were in the day, one could enjoy the incredible sight of enormous mountains towering all around. But, in the dark, one could only vaguely observe some tall silhouettes, reminiscent of a solemn giant standing on this plot of land.

The sole entrance to the Mist Barren Lost Valley laid in between the two particular mountains in the northwest direction. At this moment, on the rugged, winding and arduous mountainous path outside of the valley, an unidentified man approached the entrance.

All of a sudden, a killing intent emerged from within the darkness. Up ahead on the mountainous path, a voice could be heard, a mutter of some sort. The unidentified man paused momentarily. From the tiniest amount of light that was available, it could be seen that the man approaching the valley was a youth fully dressed in black.

The youth had a calm expression, as though he was not surprised by the sudden appearance of an obstruction. After listening to the whispers in the darkness, he used an equally low tone to reply the voice.

A question, and an answer. It seemed to be a password of some sort, or perhaps a code word.

With that, the killing intent subsided. The black-clothed youth continued to proceed forward. This path leading to the Mist Barren Lost Valley may appear quiet and forsaken but tonight, it seemed to be exceptionally guarded. On the way up, he has already encountered such examinations more than thrice.

In the dark skyline and the cold night gale, the black-clothed youth answered fluidly and passed each test with full composure, gradually approaching the entrance of the valley.

A small hill stood beside the path leading to the entrance, and had rocks of all sizes all over it. The outline of a man dressed in white could be vaguely seen on the top of the hill.

The black-clothed youth paused and stopped in his track for a few moments before turning around to stroll towards the hill.

There wasn’t any path up the hill. Wild grass that grew all over the hill danced slightly along with the wind. When he was about to reach the top of the hill, the black-clothed youth noticed a wooden token protruding upright from the ground. There was a bizarre carving on it: on top, gods were depicted flying in the heavens. At the bottom, vengeful souls were howling in agony. In the middle, a gigantic tree stood indomitably, reaching out to both the heaven and hell. Overall, it was a carving of a giant tree with gods above and vengeful spirits below, both dependent on the tree.

The black-clothed youth’s sweeping gaze lingered on the wooden token for a short moment before turning to the figure dressed in white who had his hands behind his back.

Dressed in white, he was extremely striking in contrast with the dark night. It was also at this moment that upon hearing the footsteps, the white-clothed person turned around. He is an extremely handsome man. When he saw the black-clothed young man, a hint of a smile appeared on his lips.

“You’re here, Hei Lang.”

The black-clothed youth whom he called Hei Lang nodded and strolled over.

“Yun Jian, if father were to see your current attire, he would surely reprimand you.”

Yun Jian’s face was calm as he smiled in reply, “That’s not a problem. Now that the big event is around the corner, he should have quite a lot of matters to handle in the valley. He won’t have the time to pay any mind to me.”

Hei Lang chuckled and walked over to stand right by Yun Jian. In the night skyline, other than the desolate Barren Valley of the Lost behind them, countless mountains could be seen in the distance. Even though its true form cannot be fathomed with a single look in the darkness, it was easy to imagine how grand and spectacular they are.

Abrupty, Yun Jian sighed heavily.

“Hei Lang, how many years has it been since you joined the Divine Sect?”

“6 years.”

“Such a long period of time.”

A sentimental look appeared on Yun Jian’s face. He immediately followed up with a smile.

“I still remember that you were a mere child when you first came here, around Xiao Qing’s age. In the blink of an eye, the both of you have grown up.”

Hei Lang smiled in silence.

Yun Jian continues: “Right, Xiao Qing is here tonight as well. She will probably reach here a while later. Will you be waiting for her here?”

Hei Lang shook his head.

“The elder has given me one last pill of ‘Blood Soul Crystal’ to enter the valley for the ‘God Descension Incantation’. It’s just that when the God Curse occurs, I should be unable to exit. It will be better for me to meet her after I leave the valley.”

Yun Jian’s eyebrows shot upwards as he looked at Hei Lang, an undecipherable look on his face. After a few seconds, he sighs again.

“The Blood Soul Crystal is a rare and precious treasure. Only a person of your capability would be able to obtain it. No wonder my father seems to be treat you even more intimately than this true son of his here.”

Hei Lang lifted his head, looked at Yun Jian and frowned. He seemed to want to say something but at that instant, Yun Jian laughed.

“Alright, I am just teasing you. After all, given our relationship, do I still need to doubt you?”

Yun Jian seems to have thought of something as a playful look appeared. He says to Hei Lang, “Right, after you are done with the matter, hurry up and return back to me. Xiao Qing would most probably have a secret that she would want to tell you.”

Hei Lang hesitated for a moment and then asked, “Secret? What secret?”

Yun Jian mocked, “If I were to say it, then will it still be considered a secret? Hurry up and go, just remember to find us after you return.”

Hei Lang pondered and nodded his head slightly in reply, “Alright.”

He bade farewell to Yun Jian before turning about and leaving with big steps. It was not before long that he descended the hill and entered the valley, disappearing into the boundless darkness.

※※※

After about 10 odd minutes after Hei Lang left, motion stirred at the foot of the hill once again.  Short moments later, a light sound was heard and a slim figure came flying upwards. The figure skillfully turned around while airborne and landed perfectly right beside Yun Jian. It was a beautiful lady.

A slightly joyful look had emerged on Yun Jian’s face when he caught sight of her, but after seeing how she jumped to his side, he frowned and humphed, “Nonsense! Aren’t you afraid that you might just get careless and fall downwards? When that happens, it would be too late for any regrets.”

The beautiful lady smiled mischievously in response. It seemed that she was very close to Yun Jian. She grabbed his arms and stated, “With big brother here, what do I have to fear!”

Yun Jian shook his head and smiled bitterly, “How could I have such a heartless little sister. Oh right, Hei Lang has just departed from here and entered the valley.”

The little sister that he spoke of referred to this beautiful lady named Yun Xiao Qing. After giving out a sound of ‘ah’, she looked towards the valley and complained to Yun Jian, “Seriously! Big brother, why didn’t you stop him? You knew that I have something to tell him.”

Yun Jian shook his head and said, ‘His task is urgent. He has to send the Blood Soul Crystal to the ‘Daljara Array’ in the valley and wait for the ‘God Descension Incantation’ to activate. He also must assist father and the other elders, so it really isn’t appropriate for him to be delayed here for too long.”

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Yun Jian (云剑) -> Literally means Cloud Sword
Hei Lang (黑狼) -> Black Wolf