"You… you're from nearby village, right? Help me!" It was a teenager. As soon as he saw Han Shen, he expressed surprise and happiness, having suddenly found hope in a desperate situation.
Han Shen's eyes grew wide as he looked at the young man.
"How did you end up here?"
Han Shen looked at the crevice. The cliff itself was quite steep, and it seemed impossible to climb down. The slightest carelessness would send the climber falling into the river.
Considering how fast the river flowed, if you fell in, the chances of dying were about ninety percent.
"I would love to chat but please, just help me to get out." Perhaps he had been hanging out of the crack for too long. His hands grasped at the air, and if not for his compatriots, who grabbed him by the shirt, he would have slipped and fallen down the cliff. His face turned pale with fear.
Han Shen, realized the danger. But he had climbed the mountain alone today, and had no rope. How could he save anyone? At that moment, he turned and realized that the mountainside was covered with rattan vines.
As frail as he was, it took him two hours to find a rattan vine that was long enough. Breathing heavily, he dragged the rattan to the cliff. Calling out the teenager, he bent over and lowered the rattan down the cliff.
"You still haven't told me how you got down there," Han Shen said as he lowered the vine.
"By flying!" the teenager spoke with a loud voice.
"Bullshit! You can fly?" mocked Han Shen, pulling the rattan vine back up a bit. "If you can fly down here, then why don't you fly back up?"
"I can't fly a man put me her he can fly," said the teenager, clearly worried that Han Shen wouldn't lower the rattan vine back down
"More bullshit?" said Han Shen dismissively. "Only Immortals from legends can do that. Who believes in that?" In stories he had heard, there were stories of people who became rich after meeting Immortals, but it was all just lies.
Just as the rattan reached the crevice, the teenager caught it. But then, Han Shen suddenly felt a cold wind behind his back. From the temperature around him, it seemed winter had returned. He shivered. He slowly turned to look back, then screamed and stepped forward into emptiness, beginning to fall off the cliff.
"You shouldn't have meddled in what doesn't concern you kid"
He had seen a man in a long silver robe and pale face, standing there staring at him. It was impossible to tell his age. he was extremely tall, but radiated a coldness that made one feel as if he had just crawled out of a grave.
When the voice hit his ears, it felt like bones rubbing together. This man seemed to possess some sort of strange power, and when Han Shen looked into his eyes, his whole body felt ice cold, as if he could see through him. As if he could hide nothing from him.
His words still floating through the air, he shook his wide sleeve, and suddenly, a gust of greenish wind picked up Han Shen. He flew down the cliff with him. His mind went blank.
When they reached the crevice, the man waved his hand and threw him inside. As for him, he stopped moving, as did the greenish wind. the teenager scurried backward in fright.
The man stood there, not saying a word. He raised his head and glanced at the rattan vine.
Han Shen was so nervous he had started shaking. He stood up, glancing around quickly. The crevice was not spacious, and was in fact quite narrow. Even with only a few people inside, there was not much room.
"I am short on a servant," said the pale-faced man. Now he looked at Han Shen instead of the rattan. "I'll put you in with him."
"Who are you?" asked Han Shen, concealing his fear. Regardless of his young age, Han Shen always had a strong personality. Despite being afraid, he controlled himself and did not panic.
The man said nothing. he raised his right hand and waved, and the green wind appeared again. It lifted up all the young men, and they flew out of the cave together with the man, shooting up into the sky. They disappeared. Left behind was only Mount Daqing. It stood there, straight and tall, merging in the darkness of twilight.
The blood drained from Han Shen's face. He saw himself within the green wind, crossing the sky. As he flew above the ground, wind blew into his mouth, making it impossible to breathe. A word appeared in his head.
"Immortals?" He held his breath for the amount of time it would normally take to breathe ten times, until he couldn't hold on anymore. Then he passed out.
When he opened his eyes, he found that they had landed on a platform paved with green stone, halfway up a mountain. More rolling mountains surrounded them. Clouds and fog drifted about; this was definitely not the mortal world. The beautiful peaks of the surrounding mountains looked very strange.
He and the other young men woke up, scared and shivering. They stared at the back of the man.
Standing in front of him were two Cultivators wearing long green robes. They appeared to be in their twenties. They had sunken eyes with fear-inspiring green pupils.
"Excellent work, Elder Brother Fu," said one of the men, his voice flattering. "You found two talented young babies."
"Take them to the Servants' Quarter," said the man, his face cold, not even looking at Han Shen and the other young man. Suddenly, his entire body transformed. He became a Red cloud and then disappeared into the mountains.
By this time, Han Shen had recovered his composure. He stared, numb, at the place where the man had disappeared. An expression appeared on his face which had not appeared there for ten years. His blood boiled.
"Servants?" he thought. "If the work is for Immortals, the pay must be good." Now that he knew the people didn't want to kill them, he took a step forward.
"Brother Fu has reached the seventh level of Qi Refinement Body," lamented the second of the Cultivators. "The Sect Elder bestowed a Wind Pennant upon him, which means even though he isn't at the Foundation Establishment stage, he can still fly." He looked arrogantly down at Han Shen and the others.
"You, and you," he said pointing at Han Shen and the clever young man. "Follow me to the Southern Servants' Quarters."
"What is this place?" The young man asked, his voice and body both shaking as the Immortal pointed at him.
"The Ancient Blood Sect."