After some time, before noon, a mountain appeared in the distance, and the sight of it filled Zhu Xuelian with joy.

  The mountain had a strange shape. It was practically a right triangle, with the back protruding straight up for dozens of kilometers and the vague outline of buildings strewn alongside the slope. Like a crown, blade-like formations jutted out from the base in a circular fashion all around the mountain, circling it and creating additional peaks.

  Nature certainly did not create this.

  “Is that a sect? That’s incredible,” Tian Li whispered. “A sect in a place like this…”

  “Aren’t they going to attack us if they see us approaching with an Ark?” Yuan Qiuyue asked.

  “It’s all right,” Zhu Xuelian said proudly. “I know this place! We are home!”

  Hearing those words, everyone’s worries felt lighter. They weren’t naive. It’s not that a few words could simply erase the circumstances. It was because of the adoration and conviction in Zhu Xuelian’s tone when she said the word home that convinced them.

  A Tyrant. A mysterious sect. Just who or what was Yaoyue?

  When the Ark came to a stop, everyone disembarked and approached the set of stairs that climbed the slope of the mountain.

  The Tyrant waited for them there.

  It was an ape-like creature, but far larger than one. It was three times as tall as Lei Yangming, the tallest of the group. It had three eyes, one in the center that never closed or blinked, and pristine white fur.

  “You…” Zhu Xuelian whispered. “I remember you.”

  The first time that Zhu Xuelian entered Yaoyue’s inner world, she had to fight this creature to gain entrance to the rest of the inner world. However, the creature Zhu Xuelian fought was not a Tyrant then.

  “Wukong… not remember… friend of sword friend…” the ape spoke. “Wukong here… forever. Wait… for sword friend… keep safe.”

  Everyone stood behind Zhu Xuelian, wearing determined expressions. Naturally, this was just a bluff. They looked like they were ready to defend themselves, but if the Tyrant wanted it so, they would all be dead before they knew what happened.

  To this, Zhu Xuelian cupped her fist and bowed. “Thank you, Wukong. For keeping this place safe… and us.”

  This time, the ape did not reply and merely stepped to the side.

  Zhu Xuelian waited a moment longer for a reply, then understood the meaning of the gesture. “Let’s go,” she said and started going up the stairs.

  [ Entering [Lower Boundary]. ]

  It felt as if they had climbed the stairs for at least half an hour, and there was no end in sight. By now, the only thing they could see below was fog, or maybe even clouds. Some of them thought they saw a strange, snake-like shape in the fog below, but every time they looked, there was nothing there.

  In the distance, they also thought they saw the shape of gigantic swords, piercing the ground, but just as before, it wasn’t clear.

  However, what they were certain of was that this place was not the same as the one they saw when they were approaching. Looking toward the summit, they could see the outline of a tree, with light piercing through the canopy, like a second, artificial sun.

  “Is this… a secret realm?” Mu Jingyu asked.

  Zhu Xuelian looked over her shoulder at Mu Jingyu, then shrugged.

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  “All I can say is that this place is known as the lower boundary,” Zhu Xuelian said.

  “Lower boundary?” Mu Jingyu asked.

  “I am sorry, but I really don’t know any more than this,” Zhu Xuelian said. “I’ve been here before, but never like this. What awaits us… we can only go and find out for ourselves.”

  No one asked any more questions, and they climbed for another hour before they saw the outline of the first buildings.

  When they passed through the sect's main gate, a wide path awaited them, with buildings, gardens, and squares on each side. Some of the natural beauty of the mountain was maintained, while in other places it was completely transformed to accommodate people living in this place.

  “There are no disciples…” Sun Yongzheng said.

  There was not a single soul in sight. No elders, no disciples, nothing.

  “It's like there is no one here, but all the buildings look well maintained. So who maintains them?” Mu Jingyu pointed out.

  Zhu Xuelian recognized several of the buildings. The Formation Hall was to the left, and just above it was the Martial Hall. On the right side, the Refinement and Alchemy Halls stood side by side. All around them were vast courtyards for disciples, training areas, and elder halls, seemingly curving all the way around the mountain, along the slope.

  Here, Zhu Xuelian stopped and turned toward the disciples who came with her.

  “Why don’t we stop here for the day?” Zhu Xuelian asked.

  “Sister Zhu…?” Mu Jingyu seemed surprised by Zhu Xuelian's sudden suggestion.

  “We haven’t had a moment’s rest, and everyone is exhausted. Brother Lei can barely stand,” Zhu Xuelian explained.

  The two disciples helping Lei Yangming walk looked grateful at Zhu Xuelian’s suggestion.

  “But even so… is this really all right? Aren’t we strangers?” Tian Li asked.

  Zhu Xuelian shook her head. “Not at all. This place belongs to us now. We are the guests of Yaoyue. So why don’t you all pick out rooms from those wings there —“ She pointed at the courtyard between the Martial Hall and the Formation Hall, “— and if you still have energy, feel free to look around or experience some of the formations?”

  Wu Yulan smiled. “I will show them around,” she said.

  “What about you, Zhu Xuelian? Are you not coming?” Mu Jingyu asked.

  At this, Zhu Xuelian turned toward the stairs. “There is something I need to find out. It is for the best if I go alone.”

  “Is it dangerous?” Mu Jingyu asked.

  “No, it’s not like that. I’ll be fine.”

  With those words, Zhu Xuelian set off, leaping up the stairs at great speed, without using any profound martial arts. In the blink of an eye, she was gone from their sight.

  At the very summit was a simple hall. It was the smallest hall, with the simplest make and design, but infinitely more important than all the rest.

  She lowered her gaze and hesitated. Her fingers trembled. Her body tingled. Terror and joy mixed, like a nervous bleeding in her brain, see-sawing between the possibilities of what she might find beyond this door. As if this door alone represented the greatest crossroads of her life; one in which Yaoyue still existed, the other where the devil in her heart was absent.

  She just wanted to see Yaoyue again.

  She knew this was foolish. She knew she was reaching for a hand that had no warmth for her; she knew she was wishing for a heaven that had no light for her.

  So what?

  This thing did not have to be equal; nothing about the world ever was. When she was left for dead in that dark forest, she had given up on living. Her family had sold her out to a man who humiliated and exploited her and treated her far worse than even a devil. They even praised him — a child of heaven they called him.

  She was always ashamed of dreaming of becoming a good wife and companion — as if this would somehow make her lesser in some way — and she was always honest with herself about this, and tried her best to be exactly that, her dignity be damned. But after that man was done turning her dreams into wreckage, she was ashamed of even dreaming of dignity. Of course she wanted to die. If a child of heaven loathed her, then who would be foolish enough to show her kindness?

  A devil.

  Who was it that saved her life? Who convinced her to live, even if it was living just for revenge? Who picked up her pieces and put them back together? Who made her feel proud of becoming a good companion? Who made her worthy of admiration even when she was desecrated? Who was it that didn't make her feel ashamed for dreaming of becoming even more desecrated by the compassion of a devil that didn't tarnish what remained of her dignity?

  It was all right… it didn't have to be equal. So what if it was one-sided?

  If she could forever be dishonest with herself about this, she didn't mind. Honesty and honor were for people, not those who yearned to follow a devil.

  She just wanted to see Yaoyue again.

  She finally gathered her courage and pushed the door open.

  The Inner Sanctum of the Inner World. The place where Yaoyue’s heart resided, and hers. There is nothing she wouldn’t do for Yaoyue now. Those people who thought of her as a righteous, principled cultivator didn’t see the real her. And she would never let them; this too belonged to Yaoyue.

  The chamber was much larger on the inside than the outside, and several doors — entirely black and smooth — waited on the far end of the chamber. In the center was a pedestal with an orb made of black jade floating above it.

  Zhu Xuelian approached slowly and reached out to touch the orb.

  “Yaoyue…?” she asked with a nervous tone.