Sal's enemies knew that if they stuck around to kill him, they would undoubtedly succeed, however, then they would lose the chance to escape.
With the valley making its appearance, if they remained around here any longer, they would be devoured by the rapidly spreading white mist and be thrown into a land where they would undoubtedly meet an ungodly end.
There was no reason to doubt this.
After all, the Valley of Forgotten Souls was no mere tale.
Throughout Heaven and Earth, it was the most dreadful place.
Better known as God Extinction Land, it had claimed the lives of the bravest, the strongest, and the most cunning throughout the ages.
Not even the God King, a being whose power was said to shape the very fabric of reality, had emerged from its depths after he was plotted by his devilish and cunning enemies and thrown into its depth.
The Wanderer of Worlds, who was one step stronger than the God King, had dared to intentionally venture inside the Valley as he wanted to study it and prove it was not as dangerous as the world believed it to be. He too was never heard of again!
The chilling reality that they might share the same fate as countless others before them, to be swallowed by the white mist and be never heard of again, struck a primal fear into the hearts of Sal's enemies.
Was killing him and obtaining the heavenly secret worth their lives?
It definitely wasn't!
"Everyone now is the time to retreat! Hesitate any longer and you will die!" the Grand Elder said to whatever was left of the Army of the Holy Land as he rapidly retreated.
Following his advice, the remanent of the Holy Land Army turned their backs on Sal, the mist, and the valley, retreating with a haste that spoke volumes of their terror.
The Saintess also retreated. She was as fast as the Grand Elder as she ran away like a coward.
While everyone was running away like frightened little rabbits, Sal, with his eyes glowing brightly with hope, moved towards the entrance of the Valley—the all-encroaching white mist.
To him, the Valley of Forgotten Souls was as much a death sentence as everyone else, but it was also a path, a path that might lead him to safety!
This path was fraught with uncountable dangers.
The chances of him surviving and reaching the end of this path were pretty much non-existent.
However, at least there was a glimmer of hope that he would succeed.
If he retreated like everyone else, he would be hunted down and killed. He was already exhausted and incapable of fighting back.
Retreat meant death.
Advancing meant a slim chance of accomplishing what he had set out to do.
That little bit of motivation was all he needed to throw his battered and bloodied body into action.
With rapid steps, he sprinted towards the mist that was engulfing all of the Grey Wasteland.
Soon, his figure was devoured by it.
The Saintess, the Grand Elders, and many other of his pursuers looked back after reaching a distance away from the mist. Their eyes widened in shock and surprise as they saw him being consumed entirely by the white abyss.
"Is it an illusion?" The Grand Elder couldn't believe that Sal would willingly walk towards his death.
Sal was his tenth and last disciple.
After him, he had never accepted another person as his disciple.
He had taught Sal for a few decades before the latter was accused of betraying the righteous way.
At that time, he was close to making a breakthrough and didn't want to be disturbed by worldly affairs. He didn't want his attention to be diverted.
On top of that, the accuser was his most beloved son. So the accusation must hold some truth to it. He was unwilling to go against his son just to protect a disciple of his whom he didn't care about that much.
Not wanting any trouble, he cut all ties with Sal, announcing to the world that whether the accusation of Sal being a Devil Worshipper was true or not, Sal was his student no more.
This announcement solidified the accusation that Sal was a Devil Worshipper. After all, who would for no good reason give up on a hard working and somewhat talented spiritual combatant that had climbed from the lower realms of the 3000 World to the Higher Realm with no prestigious background whatsoever?
Sal was labeled a sinner and severely punished by the Nine Divines Sect right after.
He was subjected to a brutal punishment known as Blood Eagle,
his back was cut open, and his rib cage was forcibly pulled out and spread apart, resembling wings
His punishment was executed in a public setting.
Everyone watched his shame.
He was Blood Eagled alive.
He survived the ordeal because he was fed a medicine that wouldn't let him die. His own sect wanted him to suffer the worst fate anyone could ask for. He was healed, and then Blood Eagled was performed on him again. This continued seemingly endlessly.
The torture didn't kill him. However, the excruciating pain from this torture broke him.
At that time, Sal wasn't a Devil Worshipper. His character was similar to one, ruthless and merciless. However, he was ruthless and merciless only to his enemies, not his friends. He had killed an innocent out of self-interest and greed. He had only killed out of necessity.
However, the accusation of his senior brother, the betrayal of his master, and the hundreds of years of public humiliation and punishment by his sect drove him step by step to become the Infamous Grandmaster he is today.
He managed to survive that ordeal when the actual Devil Worshippers invaded the Sect, disturbing the formation he was trapped in. He took that chance to make his escape. After that, he grew up to become the powerful man he is today. Three entire forces of the Higher Realms of the 3000 Great World were needed just to deal with him!
Because of the long time the Grand Elder had spent with Sal, he knew he wasn't the type of man to willfully accept death.
He would rather die fighting than commit suicide.
So he refused to believe that he had willingly walked towards his death.
Rather he believed he had set up an illusion formation to fool his and the others' senses.
"No, it's not," the Saintess said.
"You are certain?" the Grand Elder asked.
"That's the result of my divination," the Saintess nodded.
And so it became certain that the feared Grandmaster Sal had walked straight into the maws of death.
"Should we camp here just in case?" asked a white-haired young man who looked regal with a presence that demanded respect, yet his attire was extremely modest.
He was adorned in a simple white robe, embodying the principles of simplicity and purity he was known for.
With such an appearance, no one would think he was a wolf in sheep's clothing, but he was precisely that.
He was the reason why Sal was hated.
This regal-looking simply dressed man was the first disciple and the only son of the Grand Elder. He was the one who accused Sal of a heinous crime without any proof and turned the entire world against him, and he did it for a disgusting and petty reason!
Only a handful of people knew it, and it was a well-kept secret, so he was still taken as the most righteous, Lord White Dragon, by the masses.
"He had ventured into a place from which neither the Great Wanderer nor the God King had returned from. He is as good as dead. There is no need to waste any more time here. Let's return back to our respective sects."
With these words from the Grand Elder, the spiritual combatants of the Holy Land Army left the Grey Wasteland and flew home.
The Grand Elder also flew away with his son.
The Saintess remained behind, looking at the white mist that had expanded to fill most of the Grey Wasteland.
There was deep regret in her eyes.
One of the heavenly secrets was now forever lost because of the scoundrel Sal. She deeply regretted not going out from the very start of the hunt and killing him.
"If only I hadn't reserved my power for the infighting that would have occurred after acquiring the 100th heavenly secret, it wouldn't have been lost to the world." A heavy sigh escaped her lips before she too went away, returning to her sect.