222: Chapter 222 We've run away, brothers!

Ever since that night in the bamboo forest behind the mountain, Mu Chen and Luo Li had been deliberating repeatedly for several days.

They were not indecisive people—they had not hesitated when facing the Saint Spiritual Academy's Saint Son in the Spiritual Road, nor had they hesitated when facing the Nether White Tiger during the Northern Heavens Realm trials.

But this time was different. This choice would determine the course of their fate for a long time to come, and they could not afford to be anything but cautious.

That evening, the two walked side by side along the stone path of the Grade A District and stopped in front of Building No. 7.

Just as Mu Chen was about to raise his hand to knock, the door opened on its own.

Hun Muxiao was leaning against the doorframe, holding a plate of freshly washed spirit fruits, and she gestured with her chin at the two of them: "I was just bored, you've come at the perfect time. Come in and have some fruit."

The three of them sat around the stone table in the hall. Hun Muxiao pushed the fruit plate toward them and picked one up to take a bite herself.

Seeing Mu Chen and Luo Li exchange a look, and with Luo Li giving a slight nod, Mu Chen took a deep breath and turned to her. His usually calm black eyes were filled with seriousness: "Xiao Xiao, we have thought it over. We are willing to join the Shitian Domain."

Hun Muxiao's action of biting the fruit paused for a moment, and a glimmer of light flashed in her peach-blossom eyes, but it was quickly covered up by that lazy smile: "Really? You two better be sure; joining the Shitian Domain isn't child's play. My father, although he is incredibly good to his own people, is a different story when it comes to traitors and the disloyal—he flips his face faster than turning a page."

Mu Chen nodded solemnly: "We have thought it over. Emperor Shitian thinks highly of us, having let you come all the way to the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy to observe us for so long. Luo Li and I both keep this sincerity in our hearts. We are willing to join the Shitian Domain, and we are also willing to take Emperor Shitian as our master—if the senior does not mind our dull aptitude."

Luo Li also nodded, her voice as cool and aloof as ever, but there was a hint of softness in her tone that only existed between friends: "Xiao Xiao, thank you for taking care of us these past few days. We are willing to join the Shitian Domain."

Hun Muxiao casually tossed the fruit pit into the plate, clapped her hands, and stood up. Her peach-blossom eyes were filled with smiles, and her tone was straightforward without the slightest hesitation: "Alright! Then it's settled! Go pack your things; we leave tonight."

"Tonight?" Mu Chen and Luo Li were stunned simultaneously. Although they were prepared to leave the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy, they had not expected Hun Muxiao's efficiency to be this high.

"Nonsense, did you think joining the Shitian Domain was just something to say? Of course, you have to go directly to the Shitian Domain to report. Besides—" Hun Muxiao sat back in her chair, crossed her legs, and her peach-blossom eyes were full of mischief, "How many times have I caught you two meeting in secret in the back mountain at night? Taking you away early will save you from sneaking around every night. Once we reach the Shitian Domain, I'll have someone arrange an independent courtyard for you, so you don't have to keep sneaking into the little woods."

Luo Li's ears turned slightly red, and she picked up her teacup to drink, pretending she hadn't heard anything. Mu Chen gave a light cough to change the subject, saying they would go pack their things now.

The two returned to their rooms to put their belongings into their storage rings. Mu Chen didn't have much—a few changes of clothes, a few scrolls of spirit technique remnants copied from the Scripture Pavilion, and a short sword that had accompanied him for many years.

Luo Li was even simpler; apart from the Luoshen Sword and a few personal items, she had almost no extra luggage. Within a moment, the two met in front of Building No. 7.

Hun Muxiao leaned against the doorframe, watching the two of them traveling light, and nodded with satisfaction.

She raised her hand and made a light stroke in front of her, and a spatial rift opened silently—not the black fissure that Tongtian Realm cultivators could barely tear open, but a stable passage with faint blood-colored halos flowing along its edges. On the other side of the passage, one could vaguely see the silhouettes of rolling volcanoes and surging crimson clouds.

The spatial control of a Spirit Grade Heavenly Sovereign was revealed before the two without any concealment at this moment.

A trace of unconcealable shock flashed in Mu Chen's black eyes—although he had known before that Hun Muxiao's strength far exceeded that of ordinary students, seeing her tear through space and traverse who knew how many tens of thousands of miles with a casual wave was far more direct in its impact than any verbal description.

Hun Muxiao stepped into the rift first, turning back to wave at the two, her fiery red dress fluttering loudly in the spatial turbulence.

Mu Chen gripped Luo Li's hand tightly, and Luo Li gripped his back; the two stepped into the blood-colored rift side by side.

The rift closed silently behind the three of them, and the night once again enveloped the Grade A District. Only the plate of unfinished spirit fruits on the stone table and the spirit technique remnant scroll on the windowsill, flapping loudly in the wind, silently spoke of who had once lived here.

The next morning, the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy was in an uproar.

The first to notice something wrong was the administrator of the Grade A District. According to the rules, students in the Grade A District had to check in at the Spirit Gathering Array every morning, but there was no spiritual energy fluctuation on the check-in stones for Hun Muxiao, Mu Chen, or Luo Li.

The administrator initially thought the three had overslept and sent someone to knock on their door, but after knocking for a long time, there was no answer. Only then did the administrator feel something was wrong and hurriedly reported it to the elders.

When Elder Ling Xi received the news, she was in the council hall discussing preparations for the next Spirit Academy Tournament with Dean Taicang. She listened to the administrator's report, remained silent for a moment, and then picked up her teacup to take a light sip, her tone as flat as if she were talking about today's weather: "No need to look for them, they have left."

Dean Taicang furrowed his brows, and several core elders looked at each other; the air in the council hall stagnated for several breaths. The first place on the Heaven Rankings had run away, and the first and second place among the new students had also run away; these three people had disappeared on the same night, and anyone would be stunned.

Dean Taicang was silent for a long time, finally sighing: "That Hun Muxiao, as expected, did not just come here for training."

Elder Ling Xi did not say anything more, just placed her teacup on the table, stood up, and looked out the window toward the direction of Building No. 7 in the Grade A District.

The door of that small building was tightly shut, and on the windowsill still lay a spirit technique remnant scroll that Hun Muxiao hadn't finished reading, its pages flapping loudly in the wind.

She withdrew her gaze, and a curve that only she understood appeared at the corner of her mouth. That young lady from the south had finally left. That was fine—a monster like her staying here was truly a waste.

Although the academy's higher-ups were surprised, they were not panicked. Elder Ling Xi briefly reported Hun Muxiao's true cultivation level and the general situation of the Shitian Domain to Dean Taicang. After discussing it, the core elders decided to keep it confidential to the outside world, claiming only that Hun Muxiao, Mu Chen, and Luo Li had left the academy temporarily for special reasons.

But the news still spread across the entire Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy as if it had grown wings—the first place on the Heaven Rankings was gone, and the first and second place among the new students were also gone; the three had disappeared on the same night, who would believe there was no connection?

Every day, curious students would stop and look in front of Building No. 7 in the Grade A District, but that door never opened again.

Burning Heaven Mountain Range, the periphery of the Shitian Domain. A spatial rift opened silently, and three figures emerged from it one after another.

Hun Muxiao stepped out of the rift first, her fiery red dress fluttering loudly in the hot wind of the volcanoes. She stood on a protruding piece of volcanic rock, opened her arms, and took a deep breath of the scorching air that carried the smell of sulfur, her face filled with the comfort of being home.

Mu Chen and Luo Li followed closely behind, and the moment they stepped out of the rift, they were so shocked by the scene before them that they couldn't speak.

The volcanic mountain range stretching for tens of thousands of miles resembled a crouching ancient giant beast in the night; hundreds of active volcanoes were spewing crimson lava, and the sky above the craters was shrouded in dark red clouds that never dispersed throughout the year.

A massive black city cast from volcanic obsidian stood on the main peak of the mountain range; the city walls were hundreds of zhang high, the city was brightly lit, and the auras of countless experts intertwined, forming a suffocating pressure.

Further away, several garrison cities guarded the central main city, extending from the depths of the mountain range all the way to the coastline.

Hun Muxiao looked back at the two, her peach-blossom eyes still holding that lazy smile, but there was a hint of pride in her tone that only she understood: "Welcome to the Shitian Domain. How is it, much more impressive than the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy, right?"

She raised her hand and pointed toward the massive black city in the distance, "Let's go, I'll take you to see my father. Don't be nervous—he is always very polite to friends."

After saying this, she walked toward the main city first, her fiery red dress like a cluster of dancing flames in the night.

Mu Chen and Luo Li walked side by side behind her, their hands unconsciously gripping each other. They knew that from the moment they stepped into this mountain range, their fate was tightly bound to the Shitian Domain. And that towering black city was quietly waiting for their arrival.