Location: Northern Mountains – Edge of the Forbidden Valley
The next morning, a cold mist covered the mountains north of the Qin estate.
Tall cliffs surrounded a narrow valley that few cultivators dared to enter. Ancient rumors said the place had once been the battlefield of powerful cultivators thousands of years ago.
Now it was quiet.
Too quiet.
Four figures moved across the mountain ridge.
Qin Huaian, Fenglan, Meiyue, and Qin Xiaoxiao.
They had already traveled for several hours away from the Qin estate.
Xiaoxiao walked in front, guiding them.
"The ruin should be somewhere inside this valley."
Fenglan looked around at the eerie surroundings.
"Feels like the place is watching us."
Huaian replied calmly.
"It is."
Both twins immediately looked at him.
The Ancient Formation
As they stepped deeper into the valley, the mist suddenly became thicker.
Spiritual energy disappeared completely.
Even the wind stopped moving.
Meiyue frowned.
"I can't sense any natural spiritual flow."
Xiaoxiao nodded.
"That's what I discovered when I first came here."
Huaian slowly raised his hand.
A faint ripple of Void energy spread outward.
The mist reacted instantly.
Ancient symbols appeared in the air like hidden stars being revealed.
The valley walls began glowing faintly.
Fenglan's eyes widened.
"A hidden formation!"
Huaian nodded.
"And a powerful one."
The symbols floating in the air formed an enormous circle across the valley floor.
It was a gate formation designed to hide something from the outside world.
The Void Bloodline Test
At the center of the formation stood a massive stone archway.
The arch was covered with ancient carvings and Void runes.
Some of them looked similar to the symbols the twins had seen in the Void Mirror Archive.
Meiyue whispered:
"This really belongs to the First Void Emperor."
Xiaoxiao crossed her arms.
"When I first came here, the gate wouldn't react to me."
Huaian stepped closer to the archway.
He studied the runes quietly.
Then he turned toward Fenglan and Meiyue.
"This gate was not meant for ordinary cultivators."
He pointed toward the center of the arch.
"It responds only to Void bloodline."
Fenglan immediately understood.
"So we have to activate it."
Huaian nodded.
Opening the Gate
The twins stepped forward together.
Both raised their hands and released small amounts of Void energy.
Black and silver currents touched the ancient archway.
For a moment nothing happened.
Then suddenly—
The runes lit up.
A deep rumbling sound echoed through the valley.
The entire formation activated.
The stone archway slowly began to glow with dark light.
Meiyue's eyes widened.
"It's opening!"
But the moment the gate activated, something unexpected happened.
A powerful pressure burst from the archway.
BOOM.
The twins were pushed back several steps.
Fenglan barely managed to stay on his feet.
"What was that?!"
Huaian looked at the glowing gate carefully.
"A guardian test."
The light inside the archway formed a shadowy figure.
A humanoid shape made entirely of Void energy.
Its voice echoed through the valley.
"Only those worthy of the Void Path may enter the Emperor's domain."
Meanwhile – The Hunter Arrives
Several kilometers away, on the edge of the mountains…
Shaw Huangdi suddenly stopped walking.
His sharp senses had felt something.
A powerful ripple of Void energy had just erupted from the valley.
His grin slowly returned.
"So that's where you are."
He looked toward the distant mountains where the gate had activated.
"Qin Huaian…"
Lightning flashed across the sky above him.
The Butcher changed direction immediately.
And began walking straight toward the valley.