In the far north of the Federation, a massive water sphere hung suspended in the sky.
The blue-black sphere turned at a slow, steady pace, extending countless fine tentacles downward to connect with the surface of the Jade Sea below.
The Society Master of the Mingxin Society hovered before it with his hands clasped behind his back, watching two beams of blue-gold light approach rapidly from the distance.
The beams shed their speed and ca to a halt less than a hundred ters away, resolving into two figures.
Both were tall n with fish gills along their faces. One was dressed in magnificent blue-gold robes, his lower half ending in a black, python-like tail. The other wore a crown of pure white coral; he was handso, and he carried two hollowed-out white halberds on his back, each trailing a halo of silver and gold.
But their most conspicuous feature was the translucent white halo rippling outward from beneath them—the augntation unique to a Mist God.
"To co from so far away... you are sincere." A faint smile ford on the Society Master's face as he watched them approach.
"This is a cooperation, and you have shown good faith—we must naturally do the sa." When the crown-wearing man smiled and spoke, it sounded like countless overlapping voices: n and won, old and young alike. His tone was holy and commanding, and the air itself resonated in reply.
"Choosing was the wisest decision you could have made." The Society Master let the smile fall. "We all live in this world—you understand as well as I do that sothing must change."
"Indeed. Sea Cry is the mildest and most suitable path available to us. The Supre Sea Abyss holds no consciousness, no sorrow, no joy, no life, no death. It operates solely by fixed laws. Compared to the other polluting forces, it offers a far better chance of survival." The crowned man nodded.
"Then we understand each other." The Society Master extended a hand, palm facing up. "Welco."
Clap. The crowned man stepped forward with a smile and placed his blue, scale-covered right hand into the other's palm.
"I have already brought the other five Highnesses around. With them at our side, we cannot fail!"
"Of course. Even when the Emperor marshaled the world's full montum against you, he could not kill those among you who wielded high-tier Divine Force. It will be no different now." The Society Master nodded.
…
Black Cloud. Erald Valley.
The last of the craftsn, array masters, and martial artists cleared the valley's periter—a sign that the massive array, eight years in the making, was finally complete.
Lin Hui and the core mbers of the Clear Wind Dao stood at the outer edge of the valley. They were not alone; the entire population of Erald Valley town had co out and gathered nearby, waiting for the array to officially activate.
Over those eight years, Lin Hui had laid out a colossal array spanning the whole of Erald Valley. His goal was the sa as that of the three City Lords: to build a floating territory of his own.
Now, after pouring in vast resources and wealth, the array was ready. Throughout the process, the Clear Wind Dao had consud over six million Feather Blood and staggering quantities of rare materials.
This was the first ti Lin Hui had constructed a large-scale installation entirely through his own thods, without relying on the Blood Seal. With the great war closing in, it was ti to bring his years of preparation to bear—activating each asure in turn.
"Dao Master, all nine hundred and thirty-two auxiliary arrays have been activated. The main array can be initiated at any ti."
Wang Hongshi was the primary force behind the construction. His face had aged considerably—he was now a man in his late thirties, perhaps early forties, no longer the young disciple who once lingered perpetually at Lin Hui's side.
Given his martial aptitude, attaining the Great Accomplishnt of the perfected Clear Wind Sword Technique—enough to approximate the Circulation realm—was likely his ceiling. If so, his lifespan would fall short of two hundred years. With the Corruption accelerating, that span would be cut shorter still.
Hum!
The sound of activating arrays pulled Lin Hui back from his thoughts.
He cast a glance at the giant blue-black rift overhead. A vast web of floating black crystal arrays had already been erected around the Sea Cry rift, forming an enormous black ring that encircled the tear in the sky.
Dense columns of martial artists and Called Ones still stread through the air on Moth Carriages, ferrying materials aloft like worker ants. The sky above Black Cloud had beco a roaring construction site. Gusts occasionally sent debris from the array materials spiraling down below, where crowds of Outer City residents had gathered to watch through telescopes.
"Begin," Lin Hui said.
"Yes!" Wang Hongshi turned and activated the Relic in his hand, relaying the command to all the craftsn.
A deep rumble rolled through the earth. The entire Erald Valley shuddered—and then the valley floor slowly heaved upward from between the two mountains, lifting free of the ground and rising. Cascades of loose soil poured from the valley's edges, exposing roots ripped free from the earth.
Under the crowd's stunned gazes, the valley climbed—fifty ters, one hundred, two hundred—before it steadied and held.
From below, the whole valley resembled an enormous spinning top. Its gray underbelly glittered with densely packed pinpricks of white light: the activation points of the auxiliary arrays.
"Array status stable."
"All auxiliary arrays nominal."
"Main array output nominal—all readings within safe fluctuation range."
"Energy furnace is burning normally."
"Wind-resistance array active."
"Basic protective barrier active."
Component after component ca online cleanly. As the final confirmations rang out, the fourth floating mountain of Black Cloud City was officially complete. The mont it was clear nothing had gone wrong, the mbers of the Clear Wind Dao erupted in cheers.
This floating mountain ant more than a ho of their own. It marked the Clear Wind Dao's true establishnt as the fourth stronghold of Black Cloud City.
This was not rely a question of money and resources. Many large clans had comparable wealth—but the core arrays were controlled solely by the three City Lords. Without their sanction, raising a floating mountain was pointless; it would never be permitted to operate. Lin Hui's endorsent ant that from this day forward, the Clear Wind Dao held a distinct fourth position in Black Cloud.
"Go take a look," Lin Hui said with a smile.
Whoosh!
In an instant, every mber capable of flight launched off the ground and surged toward the floating mountain. Hundreds descended on it at once. Lin Hui's silhouette blurred and reappeared at the mountain's rim, landing lightly.
He stood at the edge and looked down. The whole surrounding terrain of Black Cloud spread out below him.
Hum.
Layer upon layer of translucent protective arrays activated, softening the view of the world outside. The biting wind was shut out beyond the barrier. The cold retreated. Heat from the energy furnace rose through the stone from below, and the temperature across the floating mountain began climbing steadily.
Cheers rang across the mountain.
"Next is the supply chain. Food, clean water, and waste disposal all need proper managent." Lin Hui turned to Wang Hongshi as he approached.
"Yes—rest assured, everything is in order," Wang Hongshi said. "The fraworks the three City Lords provided include well-developed protocols for all of this."
"Good. Head back down. Now that the mountain is airborne, there's still plenty to see to. Once things are settled, have the whole of the Clear Wind Dao gather here for a proper celebration." Lin Hui smiled.
"Dao Master—it was wedged between mountains before, which is why it was called a valley. Now that it's up in the sky, shouldn't we rena it? Sothing fitting would make the celebration feel complete," Wang Hongshi suggested.
"A new na..." Lin Hui's gaze drifted across the vast expanse of the Black Cloud Outer City below. "Since the Clear Wind Dao has made this place its ho, the na should carry a character from ours. Paired with one from the original, it will be called Clear Erald."
"Clear Erald—a perfect na!" Wang Hongshi nodded with a smile. "And since it is no longer a valley but a floating mountain, its full title should be... Clear Erald Mountain!"
"Off you go," Lin Hui said, his smile warm.
"Next, we bring our kin up here."
"Yes." Wang Hongshi withdrew.
The smile on Lin Hui's face faded slowly. He let out a quiet breath and raised a hand to his sternum, pressing lightly. Even through the cloth, he could feel the egg-sized hollow there.
A cavity. A void in the bone.
In the years since he had regulated his qi flow and begun cultivating the third layer of the Star Breath Sword Canon, his body had shown no outward transformation—he still relied on the Sacred Form of Destruction to temper his constitution by degrees. Yet quietly, over ti, his chest had caved inward, forming a pitch-black hollow that opened onto sowhere unknown.
It was neither painful nor itchy, and utterly silent. If he didn't reach out to touch it, it was as though it wasn't there.
Inside, it was bottomless. He had once fed several hundred ters of cord into it—and still the cord went on.
With the array finished and the spirit land established, the Blood Seal finally had room to spare. He turned his attention inward at last.
Pressing his palm to the cavity, Lin Hui summoned the Blood Seal and focused his mind-spirit on the hollow.
The feedback ca.
[Nether Acupoint: A special mark that appears on those who should already be dead, forming an internal passage to the Netherworld. Every living being is typically born with a certain reserve of life force. That life force, together with the innate structural integrity of the body, determines their total lifespan. When the life force is spent, one dies by accident; when the body’s structure fails, one dies of illness or old age. If the life force runs dry while the body’s structural foundations remain far from exhausted, the Nether Acupoint will manifest after a period of ti.]
Nether Acupoint. Lin Hui understood at once. His body should have died long ago. Because he had survived well past that threshold, his life force had run completely dry—while his body had only grown stronger. That was why the Nether Acupoint had appeared.
He queried the Blood Seal again, but the explanation was unchanged—no listed harms, no listed benefits. He noted it and moved on.
Next: evolve an array that amplifies our strength while suppressing the enemy's.
Lin Hui settled on his target—one of the arrays he had studied and mastered over the past few years. It must be able to recycle energy, and it must draw from a broad enough range of sources; otherwise, the problem of running dry becos inevitable.
As Vice City Lord, he had long prepared for this. His target was a newly fused array—the basic protective barrier—that he had commissioned array masters to modify, with heavy emphasis on reinforcing precisely these elents.
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