CHAPTER 51: SECT ABOVE THE CRATER

The dimensional rift closed on its own after Li Shen and Li Xun entered the Hall of Void. What Li Shen said was true; many cursed souls were wandering around in that starry, outer space-like place. Those souls were shrouded in a terrifying red aura, the effect of intense death energy.

Lin Xun had wrapped her body in golden spiritual energy.

That way, the cursed souls would not be able to detect Li Xun’s soul.

"What exactly are they?" asked Li Xun.

"Humans with bad karma," replied Li Shen.

Li Shen invited Li Xun to fly away from that place, even though he knew there would be nothing there no matter how far they flew.

"Bad karma?" asked Li Xun, confused.

"Life is like a two-sided scale, with good and bad sides. If the good side is greater than the bad, then the human soul can continue its life through the reincarnation cycle," replied Li Shen.

"What if it’s bad?"

"Their souls will be sent to the Hall of Void, floating around and searching for prey without a soul, just like wild animals. They will only be reincarnated if heaven wills it," replied Li Shen.

"What is bad karma like?" asked Li Xun, still curious.

Li Shen’s knowledge was vast, thanks to his experience and long life as a cultivator. Gaining enlightenment about the path of life from Li Shen was a stroke of luck for Li Xun; not many cultivators had this opportunity.

"Killing, stealing, raping, lying, slandering, greed, and hatred. You should already know what kind of actions can trigger bad karma, Xun’er."

Li Xun nodded. Good karma and bad karma were taught in the Early Practitioner’s Scripture. However, she had only just seen the effects of bad karma in the afterlife with her own eyes.

Li Shen turned his head to see that he and Li Xun were already far away from the cursed souls. There were only a few cursed souls around Li Shen, no more than ten.

"What are we going to do?" asked Li Xun, curious after Li Shen stopped flying.

"Let’s get out of here!" said Li Shen firmly.

He raised his hand to chest height, then a golden light shone brightly from the tips of Li Shen’s right fingers.

The man immediately directed his power forward, hitting the dimensional barrier and causing a dimensional rift to appear after Li Shen moved his hand sideways. The blue sky full of clouds was clearly visible behind the dimensional rift.

"Let’s go," said Li Shen. Li Xun nodded.

The two flew out of the Hall of Voids and arrived above the blue sky, without knowing their exact location.

"Where are we?"

"I don’t know. Every dimensional rift that opens always leads to a random place."

"Fellow Daoist?! What are you doing above our sect’s sky?!" shouted a man, appearing from within a cloud.

Li Shen and Li Xun turned around, seeing a man in a luxurious black and white robe. He came floating over without using a magic sword, possibly indicating that his cultivation had reached the Nascent Soul stage.

Not one, but three people came to the sky and met Li Shen. Among them, only the man was at the Nascent Soul stage, while his two friends were still at the Core Formation stage.

"Where is this?" asked Li Shen.

"Where? Don’t you know anything when you came here? You are in the Mu Ying sect," replied the man, the Nascent Soul.

"Mu Ying?"

Li Shen turned to the side, curious about Li Xun’s response, "Do you know something?"

"There is no Mu Ying Sect in the Qing Yan Kingdom," replied Li Xun, her eyebrows furrowed as she thought hard.

"That means—"

"What are you talking about? Of course this isn’t Qing Yan, this is Ming Zhao," replied the Nascent Soul man.

Li Shen smiled as he exhaled. What he feared had happened; opening a dimensional rift from within the Hall of Void would cause them to arrive at a random location.

It was certain that they, Li Shen and Li Xun, were currently in the Ming Zhao Kingdom, which was part of the Ming Continent.

"What? The Ming Zhao Kingdom? If that’s true, then—"

"Yes. We’ve been thrown into the Ming Continent," interrupted Li Shen, staring straight ahead.

Li Shen flew forward, almost reaching the Nascent Soul man. Li Shen’s hands clasped together, clearly telling them that he and Li Xun were lost.

"We don’t want to prolong this. We’ll leave immediately," replied Li Shen.

"It’s not that easy!" said the Nascent Soul man firmly.

"You came here as you pleased and are leaving as you please. The Mu Ying Sect cannot be treated like this," explained the man.

"If you don’t mind, come with us to our Sect’s Peak Hall. There, only the Sect Master can decide whether you can leave or not," replied the man.

"Opening the dimensional rift to enter and exit the Void Hall has depleted a lot of my spiritual energy. I also don’t know how many disciples they have or what their abilities are," explained Li Shen.

"Besides, Li Xun looks exhausted after all this traveling. The best option is to go with them and speak with the Mu Ying Sect Leader,’ said Li Shen

"Alright. Lead the way."

The three cultivators from the Mu Ying Sect flew down through the clouds, with Li Shen and Li Xun following behind.

After passing through the white clouds, they saw a large sect with black and white flags fluttering in every direction.

The sect was like a fortress, not located on a floating hill, but right in the middle of a black crater, the crater of an inactive volcano.

"Building a sect on top of an inactive volcano, I must admit your courage," replied Li Shen.

"All the floating hills and mountains have been taken by other sects. We are lucky to have this place," explained the Nascent Soul man. Li Shen and Li Xun nodded in agreement.

They flew through the sect’s defensive walls, witnessed by many people. Many disciples stopped what they were doing just to see Li Shen and Li Xun.

Among them all, only the two wore different robes.

Li Shen and Li Xun landed in front of the Mu Ying Sect’s Peak Hall. From Li Shen’s body, he could sense the abundant spiritual energy in this place. It was possible that the abundance of spiritual energy came from the energy of the mountain that was no longer active.

The three cultivators stepped into the Peak Hall and spoke directly to their sect leader. In the end, Li Shen and Li Xun were invited to enter.

Black pillars stood tall and sturdy, supporting the building, with a red carpet spread out in front and many sect elders standing on the right and left sides of the path. Their sharp gazes were fixed on Li Shen and Li Xun.

"Greetings, Fellow Daoists," replied Li Shen, clasping his hands together.

A woman in a black and white dress sat on a throne, high enough that Li Shen had to raise his head slightly. But one thing surprised him: the sect leader’s cultivation.

"Core Formation? How could a Golden Core Formation cultivator hold such a high position in a large sect like Mu Ying?" Li Shen wondered.

"So, the two of you are wandering cultivators who happened to come across my sect? Isn’t that a little suspicious?" asked the woman, rising and stepping forward, causing the seven sect elders on the right and left sides of the carpet to immediately kneel respectfully.

"Suspicious? What do you mean?" asked Li Shen.

"The Mu Ying sect is located at the edge of the Ming Zhao Kingdom. Few outsiders come here," replied the woman, slowly stepping down the stairs.

"Even if they did come, they wouldn’t be foolish enough to cross the crater peak," she explained again, now standing directly in front of Li Shen.

"So, what are your intentions?"