Starting as the heir of a marquis's mansion, I gained access to a summoning system.

The man looked up. Although he had lost a lot of weight and had a stubble, he recognized those eyes.

Qin Lin'an.

The former ninth prince of the Xuantian Dynasty, the one who was transported to Zhongzhou by Qin Muzhi's sacrificial kingdom. Speaking of which, he should also be his cousin.

He had disappeared within the territory of Zhongzhou for a full six months, and now he sat by the roadside covered in wounds, like a wild dog with its spine broken.

Qin Lin'an also saw Dongfang Weiwo's carriage.

He paused for a moment, then smiled wryly, struggled to his feet, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said:

"Lord Tianxuan... I've long admired you. I am Qin Lin'an, a down-on-his-luck man, unworthy of your presence."

Dongfang Weiwo jumped out of the car, walked up to him, and looked him up and down: "Who did this?"

"The Yin-Yang Master."

Qin Lin'an's smile was more like a grimace. "I originally intended to sneak into Starry Manor to gather some information, but on the way I ran into the Grand Yin Master of Yin Yang Valley leading a group towards Soul-Severing Ridge. They discovered my whereabouts and chased me for three days. The carriage overturned last night, and I hid all night before daring to come out."

Yin-Yang Valley. Great Yin Division. Mid-stage of Creation.

Dongfang Weiwo frowned slightly: "What are they doing at Broken Soul Ridge?"

"Valley of Ten Thousand Calamities."

Qin Lin'an wiped the blood off his face. "I overheard their conversation—the Great Yin Master said that the three divine and demonic relics in Wanjie Valley cannot be taken by 'that kid surnamed Dongfang.' The Yin Yang Valley and the Nine Nether Ancient Clan have formed an alliance to ambush you at Duanhun Ridge and seize the relics before you enter the valley."

They took the path along the cliff, and they were about half a day ahead of me.

Yan Kuangtu jumped down from the carriage shaft and clenched his fist:

"Young master, how about I rush over there first, twist off the Great Yin Master's head, and hang it at the valley entrance to serve as a lantern for you?"

"No rush." ​​Dongfang Weiwo waved his hand, his gaze falling on Qin Lin'an. "What do you want to inquire about at Starry Sky Manor?"

Qin Lin'an was silent for a while, then said in a low voice

"My ancestor, Qin Zheng, the founding emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, was a disciple of Starry Sky Manor before he rose to power. Starry Sky Manor possesses an ancient book from ten thousand years ago, recording the origins of the Great Zhou's dragon vein. I suspect that Qin Mu's sacrifice of the nation's destiny... was orchestrated by a much larger force."

Dongfang Weiwo looked into his bloodshot yet stubborn eyes, remained silent for three breaths, then turned and lifted the carriage curtain:

"Get in the car. I'm also going to Starry Sky Manor; I'll take you with me after I finish my business at Myriad Tribulations Valley."

Qin Lin'an was stunned for a moment.

"Lord of the Manor..."

"I also want to know who the mastermind behind sacrificing the nation's destiny is." Dongfang Weiwo entered the carriage without turning his head. "Come on up to recover from your injuries, and stop talking nonsense."

Qin Lin'an gritted his teeth and climbed onto the carriage. Yan Kuangtu glanced at him and grinned:

"Young man, you're lucky. My young master doesn't pick up people easily."

The carriage resumed its journey. Dongfang Weiwo leaned against the carriage wall, his fingers stroking the hilt of the Frostbite Sword, his mind rapidly calculating the situation to come.

Yin Yang Valley allied with the Nine Nether Ancient Clan, and the Great Yin Master personally led a group to intercept and kill them.

The Lord of Wan Jie Valley is unfathomable; the three relics won't be easy to obtain. The gray-robed man has already entered the Northwest Desert. With only a month's window, Wan Jie Valley and Xingchen Manor must act swiftly and decisively.

He opened his eyes and looked at Qin Lin'an:

"The people of Yin Yang Valley take the cliffside path to enter Broken Soul Ridge. Is there another route that bypasses them and goes directly to Ten Thousand Calamities Valley?"

Qin Lin'an thought for a moment: "There is one. There's an ancient plank road on the north side of Broken Soul Ridge, which has fallen into disrepair over the years, but it leads to the back cliff of Ten Thousand Calamities Valley. However, there are... strange things on that road."

"What strange thing?"

"When I was fleeing for my life, I passed by a section of the cliff and saw many dark purple bones embedded in it, like the skeleton of some giant beast. If you got close, you could hear a sound."

Qin Lin'an's face turned somewhat pale. "It wasn't the sound of the wind, it was the sound of people talking. A very ancient language, I couldn't understand it, but just hearing it gave me the creeps."

Dongfang Weiwo sat up straight.

Dark purple bones. An ancient language.

Fragments of the remains of gods and demons are not only collected by various forces, but are also scattered in large quantities throughout the Tianxuan Continent.

The cliff face beside that ancient plank road probably contains many small pieces of bone fragments that broke off during the battles of the God and Demon Era.

"Let's take that route," Dongfang Weiwo decided. "The Yin Master of Yin Yang Valley takes the main path along the cliff, while we'll take the ancient path on the north side, circling around to their rear before entering the valley."

Yan Kuangtu grinned and spurred his horse. The carriage suddenly accelerated on the official road, the swift horse galloping off in a west-northwest direction.

The ancient plank road on the north side of Broken Soul Ridge was indeed in appalling disrepair. The plank road was no more than three feet wide, half of it was suspended in the air, and the wooden planks were so rotten that only a thin layer remained. Below, a bottomless abyss was filled with grayish-white mist, making it impossible to tell how deep the bottom was.

Yan Kuangtu walked at the front, spreading out his aura of creation to explore the way. Each step he took left a shallow pit in the wooden planks.

Dongfang Weiwo followed closely behind, his right hand resting on the cliff face—dark purple bone fragments were embedded in the rock, densely packed like stars, and each piece his fingertips touched resonated faintly, like thousands of tiny voices whispering in his ear at the same time.

"...Come...come..."

"...The key...has arrived..."

"...The lock...will be opened...or...relocked..."

Qin Lin'an walked at the very back, his face deathly pale. He could hear the whispers, but they were pure torture to him.

Ximen Chuixue and Ye Gucheng stood one in front of the other, their swords still sheathed, but their eyes remained fixed on the cliffs on both sides of the plank road.

After walking for about half an hour, the plank road suddenly widened in front of it, revealing a natural stone platform. At the end of the platform was a stone door, on which was carved a pattern almost identical to the array pattern on Dongfang Weiwo's body.

"The back entrance to Wan Jie Valley."

Yan Kuangtu squatted down and examined the marks under the door. "Someone's been here. Very fresh footprints, at least thirty or forty people. They went into the valley."

Dongfang Weiwo walked to the stone door and placed his hand on the center of the pattern. The key turned, and dark golden light spread across the entire stone door. The array patterns on the door lit up one by one, and then silently slid open to both sides.

Behind the door was a narrow passageway, at the end of which was light.

As they passed through the passageway and emerged from the cliff, a breathtaking view suddenly appeared before them—the heart of the Valley of Ten Thousand Calamities was a vast basin, hundreds of feet deep underground, spanning dozens of miles in circumference. The valley floor was shrouded in spiritual mist, and at its center stood three stone platforms arranged in a triangular pattern, each with an object on it.

On the stone platform to the left is a section of finger bone, as black as ink, with a dark gold ring around the fingertip.

On the stone platform to the right is a fragment of a skull, its surface covered with cracks, from which a faint purple light shines.

The highest stone platform in the middle holds a bone sphere the size of a fist, its surface covered with densely packed divine and demonic characters, which slowly rotates.

Three relics.

But Dongfang Weiwu's gaze did not fall on those stone platforms—he looked towards the entrance on the other side of the valley floor.

There stood a group of people. Leading them was a middle-aged man wearing a yin-yang fish-patterned Taoist robe, with a gaunt face, piercing eyes, and a deep, unfathomable aura.

He was followed by more than thirty cultivators, the lowest of whom were at the early stage of the Celestial Realm, and they all wore jade pendants with yin-yang patterns on them.

Yin-Yang Valley. Great Yin Division.

The Great Underworld Official also saw him. The two stared at each other for a moment, separated by half a basin.

"I am the only one in the East."

The voice of the Great Yin Master echoed through the valley, carrying a smile, but beneath that smile lay a chilling killing intent: "I heard you took the detour via the northern plank road, so I waited for you here."

The three relics are right there, but if you want to take them—you'll have to get past me first.

Dongfang Weiwo ignored him. His gaze passed over the people of Yin Yang Valley and landed on a stone hall deeper in the valley.

The door of the stone hall slowly opened, and a figure dressed in hemp clothing walked out of the hall.

The man was not tall, and his face was so ordinary that he would be easily lost in a crowd, but his eyes reflected the spiritual mist of the entire valley, like two bottomless ancient wells.

The robber.

Dongfang Weiwo took a step forward, and the array patterns on his right arm slowly lit up.

"The Great Underworld."

He spoke, his voice calm, "You want your belongings? Come and get them yourself."

The spiritual mist in Wanjie Valley suddenly froze the moment the Calamity Lord stepped out of the stone hall.

The misty white vapor that had permeated the valley for countless millennia seemed to have been paused, freezing in mid-air. Each wisp of mist was wrapped in fine runes. Dongfang Weiwo looked closely and realized that the runes had always been there, but they had been too fast to see clearly before.

The Lord of Calamity stood before the three stone platforms, his hands tucked into his hempen sleeves. His gaze slowly swept across Dongfang Weiwo's face, then swept over the Great Yin Si on the other side.

"The friends from Yin Yang Gu arrived early."

The leader of the robbery group spoke up, "But the rules of Ten Thousand Tribulations Valley are first come, first served. Young Master Dongfang entered first from the North Plank Road, so he gets his share first."

The Grand Yin Master's expression remained unchanged, and a slight smile even appeared at the corner of his mouth:

"Lord of the bandits, the rules within the valley are the rules within the valley, but there are no rules on the road outside the valley."

"That's right."

The robber nodded. "So you can wait outside the valley for him to come out, but inside this small area, I'm in charge."

The Great Yin Master's smile vanished.

He looked into the robber's deep, unfathomable eyes, remained silent for two breaths, then turned and waved his hand, leading more than thirty people out of the south entrance in single file.

As he left, he glanced back at Dongfang Weiwo, his eyes now filled with an undisguised murderous intent.

Only Dongfang Weiwo and his party remained in the valley, facing the Lord of Calamity.

The robber raised his hand and gestured towards the stone hall behind him:

"Each of the three stone platforms holds a relic. But Young Master Dongfang should have realized—they weren't just placed there for you to take."

Dongfang Weiwo nodded.

From the moment he stepped into the valley, he sensed it—there was an invisible restriction around each of the three stone platforms. The patterns of the restriction were of the same origin as his array diagram but were more ancient, like locks woven in a more primitive way.

"There are rules in the valley."

The robber turned around and faced the three stone platforms. "To take each item, you must pass a test."

If you make it through, the belongings are yours; if you don't, they'll remain in the valley as ashes.

Yan Kuangtu raised an eyebrow:

"To be used as ashes in a calamity?"

"The Valley of Ten Thousand Calamities isn't called that for nothing."

Without turning his head, the Lord of Calamity said, "Over the past thirteen thousand years, no fewer than a hundred peak-level Celestials have entered the valley seeking the relics, and those who left alive..." He paused, "...plus you few today, that makes ten."

Ximen Chuixue tightened his grip on his sword. Ye Gucheng remained expressionless, but his fingers had already gripped the cord binding the hilt.

Dongfang Weiwo raised his hand to signal them to calm down, then walked towards the Lord of Calamity, stopping three zhang away from the first stone platform:

"What are the three challenges?"

"Inner demons, strength, karma."

The robber stepped aside, clearing the way to the stone platform. "The first trial will start automatically when you step into the stone platform."

If you survive, you'll naturally advance to the second stage. If you don't... you'll just be another skeleton in the ashes of the Valley of Ten Thousand Calamities.

Dongfang Weiwo took a deep breath, and the array patterns on his right arm felt slightly hot.

He glanced back at Yan Kuangtu, who nodded at him with a smile that held an almost brutal trust.