He could feel the palpable aura of fear and despair that had surrounded those mountains like a fog. Other than that, he could feel the arrays along with something he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was but every mountain could eviscerate his existence within an instant. He even had serious doubts he would survive even if he had the three saint-grade artifacts with him.
"How do they work here all year round," wondered Yang Qing.
He steeled himself and immediately stepped forward into the open spatial tunnel.
"All the best young judge," said one of the elders.
Yang Qing nodded gratefully toward them as he could feel the encouraging gazes from each one of them.
Once he stepped into the tunnel, his backside closed and all he could see were the largest 12 mountains he had ever laid his eyes on. Before Yang Qing stepped into the spatial tunnel, the 12 mountains looked ordinary like any run-of-the-mill mountain that he could spot anywhere around the continent. Whether it was in terms of size or general outlook they seem to be mundane and nothing seemed to stand out except for the despairing aura surrounding them and the terrifying sensation Yang Qing felt from them on a visceral level. However, the moment his foot touched the other side and his backside closed, the scenery he saw underwent a seismic transformation.
The mountains were still 12 however they now seemed starkly different to what they were. They were now humongous, Yang Qing had to crane his neck to see them and even then, he couldn't see their peaks which were surrounded by white fog that if one paid attention to it, could hear the wails of people and beasts.
Other than their humongous size, each of the 12 mountains looked distinctive to one another which overturned their normal mountain look. One mountain had lightning rains over it of different colors, another was shrouded in complete darkness, another was the complete opposite as it was shrouded in a blinding white light, another was covered in red, orange, and blue flames, while another had variable changes happening to it; one minute it was flooding, the next it was a scorching desert and another a hail storm was running through it and another it was covered with a blizzard.
Not all mountains were depictions of horrifying disasters. There was one that looked to be the picture of perfection. It had lush vegetation, a healthy river running through it and animals leaving in it. It was a complete functional ecosystem. The only thing about it that was strange was the animals running around none of them was below the palace realm, and the plants were all in the monarch grade. It looked more like a blessed land than anything.
Yang Qing even had to rub his eyes a few times to confirm he was at the requiem. The other horrifying-looking mountains were a reminder, especially the one covered in nothing but poisonous plants and bugs. Even the air around it had transformed into a purple-black fog that had the earmarks of a terrifying natural poison. It was sweet smelling and had that dangerous beauty to it.
Each of the 12 mountains had something that made them unique from each other. Yang Qing was soaked in the terrifying grandeur of the place as he waited for someone to guide him in.
The place he currently stood seemed to be at the edge of a cliff with a bottomless pit below. The 12 mountains he saw before him seemed to have their bases beneath that pit and rose high up above which further highlighted their enormous size.
Yang Qing couldn't risk taking another step because he felt the same terrifying presence, he felt earlier coming from below the cliff. The region was dark and had a faint fog to it. Yang Qing's heart would race and his qi flow would turn chaotic every time he tried to stare below. After trying it two times and getting the same feeling he decided he had enough of tempting fate.
Just as he was wondering how long he would have to wait he saw a red-orange branch come from one of the mountains as it traveled at an alarming speed toward Yang Qing's direction. Yang Qing was perturbed at first since this was the Requiem and after the short experience he had of the place, it wouldn't be surprising if something out of the norm happened, like maybe an attack from something within those mountains, and when he saw the branch heading his way he assumed it was exactly that.
It was only when he detected a familiar aura being produced by that branch did he halt his thoughts and preparations for an impending attack.
The branch came to a halt once it was in front of Yang Qing. Yang Qing felt a gentle heat coming from it that had one of the densest concentrations of vitality and purity to it. His green flame tree even paled in comparison.
"Just what tree is this?" wondered Yang Qing as he took a step onto the branch. Even though it was a branch, it had about a 100-meter width, and as for its length, Yang Qing didn't even bother to estimate it. Even though the 12 mountains seemed like they were just right ahead of him, no more than a few kilometers away, he could feel that wasn't so. The space seemed like it had been folded to make it appear like they were really close by.
When Yang Qing's feet were both firmly placed on the branch, it immediately began to move. Only when he was atop it did Yang Qing realize how fast it was traveling. Even fully exerting himself a thousand times over he would not be able to match its speed.
Yang Qing standing atop the branch realized that at random intervals the branch would produce a flame-like glyph in the air and a snapping sound would be produced. Yang Qing wasn't sure but he felt that even the space itself seemed to have restrictions attached to it.
"How far are the mountains?" Yang Qing wondered as he narrowed his gaze on the 12 mountains whose position didn't seem to have changed over the past five minutes despite the speed and the distance they had traveled.
Going by how fast they were traveling, Yang Qing would have already made his trip to the Red Maple Empire within that timeframe, which was roughly 50,000 kilometers from the main headquarters of the Order. However, within Requiem, it didn't seem like he had moved at all.
"Where is Requiem anyway. I wonder if it shares the same area as the headquarters and the institute," wondered Yang Qing.
The area was too bizarre a place that it made Yang Qing doubt whether they shared the same grounds or was it maybe in some hidden grotto. Yang Qing felt it was more likely the latter mostly because of safety reasons.
Grottos were similar to mysterious realms except when it came to grottos they were usually smaller in size and were naturally occurring. Grottos were usually created from a natural treasure or some triggered inexplainable natural occurrences that could never be replicated such as dao fusion that mixes with a heavenly tribulation that could result in a grotto.
Even till date deep research and study was being conducted towards unearthing the mysteries of grottos. Other than being naturally occurring they had other features that made them uniquely better compared to mysterious realms which were artificially created.
Some of those unique features was a grotto could only have one owner or controller and as long as they were alive that fact would not change easily. It was rumored grottos had spirits of their own just like how ancestral dragon veins would develop spirits. Every grotto formed was rumored to have a spirit formed at the point of its creation and as long as you gained the recognition of the grotto's spirit you could control it however you saw fit. But this also came with a risk, one could die if they gained the ire of the grotto's spirit.
The theory remained unproven since grottos were uniquely hidden and every organization that was rumored to have a grotto, were all powerhouses. From the intelligence records Yang Qing had access to, no organization below rank 1 had a grotto.
Even if the theory about a grotto spirit was unproven, what was undeniable was the worth of a grotto. Because of how uniquely they were formed, each grotto had that uniqueness down to the natural treasures they formed. Some of the rarest and unheard off treasures were formed inside grottos, and some were so unique to the point that they could completely subvert the common sense of the cultivation world.
One instance of it was a fruit that turned a mortal who didn't have the tiniest cultivation aptitude at all into a talent with a special physique with three dantians each holding a specialty in the wood, earth, and water element. That person went on to found the Universal saint garden medical valley, a rank 1 sect that was as powerful as the two Holy Lands because of how many connections they had built over the years as the number one ground for healing. Their founder has made monumental discoveries in the medical Dao, that a third of the medical techniques and remedies being practiced in the continent came from his hands.
There was even a rumor going around that even if you only had a single breath left on you, a shattered body, and a dantian, as long as you ended up in death stealer Lin Fan's hands, you were sure to make a full recovery and even be renewed stronger than ever.
He ended up with the moniker 'death stealer' because of how many cultivators he brought back from the brink, which ended up being a protective halo over the Saint garden medical valley. A lot of cultivators both mundane and renowned have been healed by Lin Fan, from emperors to bandit kings, to sect masters of orthodox sects to leaders of assassin organizations and each one of them would drop everything should Lin Fan require their assistance.
He was the most favored and the most dangerous man in the continent and such a change was triggered by a grotto.
Yang Qing couldn't help but wonder if the Requiem was one too, it was too weird and unique not to be one, and if it was,
who was the owner?
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺