Chapter 1 Prologue

Prologue A giant rock stood tall in the deep mist, with two words etched in red, “Mesmerize the Sky.” A handsome man in a black tunic was before the rock, his hands folded behind him. The mist surrounding him swirled into the shapes of all sorts of spirits, creating an eerie scene.  A smile hovered on his lips as he said, “Master Zhanling, you spent all this effort forcing me into this realm... didn’t you know this is where I came from? Hah.” Not far from him, blood flowed in rivulets on the ground. A dozen or so people in white lay in the carnage. An elderly man in white stood within the pool of blood, carrying a black stone gun, the blood staining his clothes. It was obvious he had grave injuries. His face ashen, he stared at the man in black, gritting out, “Yun Yao, good never dies, evil will be defeated. One day, you’ll lose at the hands of justice!” “Well-said!” At this moment, an earth-shattering yell was followed by a giant thunder flying out of the mist, heading toward the man in black. The man in black hesitated only briefly before waving his hands, making the fog around him form into a beast, which surged toward the thunder. With a shattering sound, both shapes collided and disappeared. When the fog scattered, a tall man with silver hair strolled over. The elderly man looked overjoyed when he recognized the new arrival, “Knight Xin, you’re finally here!” The man in black shook his head at the silver-haired man. “Xin Yun, why are you getting involved in my fight with the Blue Cloud Clan?” The silver-haired man walked next to the elderly man, saying in a low voice, “The Blue Cloud Clan is heroic and selfless and has my respect. I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner.” Then he waved his left hand at the man in black, “Yun Yao, what do you think this is?” The man in black was shocked to notice a scroll of yellowed papers in his grasp, “The Lost Papers of the Sea?” The silver-haired man nodded. “Yes, I have the Lost Papers of the Sea, and I know the 108 secrets of the Hollow Realm. Yun Yao, your time is up!” The man in black smiled dismissively, “You may be a renowned swordsman, but no matter how good your spells are or how many secrets you know, you can’t beat me. Remember, I grew up here!” With that announcement, he extended his arms, gathering the fog all around him, which, combined with his own qi, made the entire world seem to be part of his body. The elderly man shouted, “Be careful, Knight Xin!” The silver-haired man laughed and lowered himself, emitting countless purple fog with his body, which went skyward like fire, tearing apart the fog the man in black conjured. The man in black looked surprised, “Is...is this ‘Wu Xi?’” The silver-haired man countered, “Yun Yao, you think the Hollow Realm will help you? Faced with the primordial weapon Wu Xi, you’re just a baby!” As he finished talking, he waved his right hand, das.h.i.+ng out 10 streaks of silver with his fingers, which turned into thunderous forces, combined with purple qi, his eyes glittered too. Bright light emitted from his eyes and power radiated all around him. The man in black raised his hands, yelling, “The power of the Hollow Realm has got to be better than your Wu Xi!” As these two legendary powers battled, fog, mist, thunder, and lightning all collided, the sky and the earth shook, the whole world seemed to be at risk. The elderly man used his own power to lay low on the ground, resembling a leaf which could be shattered at any moment. After a while, everything returned to quiet. The elderly man took a deep breath, he looked out and saw the man in black kneeling on the ground while the silver-haired man was still at the same place, who demanded, “Yun Yao, before you die, answer this question. You’ve been creating trouble everywhere for a long time, why?” The man in black smiled bleakly, “The world is just a chess game for me.” Enraged, the silver-haired man shouted, “It’s time for you to die!” Raising his right hand, he generated purple qi with the thunder in his hand. The man in black smiled without warmth, “Die? You may be pretty powerful, but not enough to beat me!” He lifted his head and shouted, “Hollow Realm, I’m giving you all of my power over the last millenium!” As he shouted, his body burst into many rays of light, shooting off everywhere. A voice sounded above them, “Xin Yun, my body will now become weapons and be allover the Hollow Realm. One day, someone will find my body and collect all the powerful instruments and help me be reborn!” The silver-haired man was stunned, he retorted, “You’re not getting away with this!” He crouched down, while thunder shot out from within his body and encircled him, making him resemble a G.o.d of thunder. b.a.l.l.s of lightning came out from his eyes, even his breaths were suffused with thunder. He looked up and shouted at the sky, making purple qi come out and combine with the thunder around him. Gradually, the light in his eyes disappeared, and he kneeled down, panting heavily. “Yun Yao, I’ll block all the entries to Hollow Realm, anyone who tries to come in will be marked for death!” He then raised his right hand to release the scroll, its pages merging into 108 rays of light and flew away. The thunder around him, mixed with the purple qi, also exploded and chased after the light. Another yell came, “You are quite the legend, Xin Yun! Me, Yun Yao, losing to you isn’t a shame. Though I really doubt your power could seal the Hollow Realm for eons.” The sound became fainter and fainter, until it was inaudible. The elderly man in white struggled to get up, before he could talk, the silver-haired man stumbled and spit out blood. The older man wanted to help, but the silver-haired man waved him off. “Don’t come near me!” The elderly man questioned, “Knight Xin, what’s wrong with you?” The silver-haired man gave a pale smile. “I have used all of my Wu Xi power to seal the Hollow Realm, now that I’m powerless, the curse of Wu Xi is attacking me...” The elderly man looked devastated, “Knight Xin, are you...” Before he finished, the silver-haired man shook violently, and his legs dissolved into ashes. The elderly man shouted and wanted to go near him, while the silver-haired man struggled to take out a book and threw it at him. “I have no regret after destroying Yun Yao. I just ask the Blue Cloud Clan to please take care of my offspring, help me pa.s.s on the secret power of the Xin family!” Then his body shook even harder and he dissolved into ashes which scattered allover the sky.