The Third Sequence.
"It’s been several months..." Grey muttered softly as he moved. "I wonder how she’s doing."
A figure with auburn hair and bright, lively eyes surfaced in his mind. Even the faint memory of her presence carried a fragrance rivaling that of precious medicinal pills.
Grey shook his head.
He did not indulge those thoughts.
Messages flooded into his jade slip one after another, but he ignored them all and headed straight toward the only mountain within Sky Mist City.
The mountain towered impossibly high, stretching hundreds of thousands of meters into the sky. Its summit pierced the clouds, hidden beneath endless layers of mist.
No ordinary gaze could see what lay at the top.
When Grey attempted to probe upward with his divine sense and Dragon Eyes, a sharp, piercing pain stabbed into his head. His face instantly paled.
A vast, unseen force blocked him completely.
It was not attacking.
Yet the backlash felt as though his divine sense had been hurled headlong into an immovable wall of stone.
"The Sky Mist Mountain..." Grey murmured.
"All Sequence Lords and the sect ancestor reside there."
"There are nine layers to the mountain, each ruled by a Sequence Lord."
"The mountain’s base is reserved for guests. Hidden cave abodes are carved into its depths, where certain Foundation Establishment cultivators reside, those granted permission, or those who have opened at least twenty-five perforations and formed their Spirit Fire."
"The middle layers house the elders of the sect and Spirit Core Formation experts. Even some Nascent Soul cultivators reside there, their status comparable to elders."
"As for the summit..."
Grey’s eyes sharpened slightly.
"Only the Sequence Lords and the Sky Mist ancestor may tread there. Any trespasser will be erased instantly by the array."
The mountain was incomparably vast.
Its sheer size rivaled that of the entire Sky Mist City.
Grey continued forward.
When he reached the base of the mountain, he paused beneath the crushing pressure before taking a step.
That step appeared ordinary to anyone watching from afar.
Yet Grey felt as though an entire world pressed down upon him. Even lifting his leg required tremendous effort.
When his foot finally touched the mountain, the pressure intensified violently.
Cracking sounds rang from within his body. His eyes turned bloodshot as he endured the weight.
Raising his jade slip, Grey spoke in a low, strained growl.
"It is I-disciple Grey Reynolds of the Third Sequence!"
"I have come to register as a Foundation Establishment cultivator!"
A probing sense swept over him and his jade slip, examining every detail.
One breath later, the pressure vanished.
A sharp whistle echoed from the direction of the Third Sequence.
Grey let out a long breath, wiping the sweat from his face, before taking his second step onto the mountain.
Moments later, another sharp whistle pierced the air.
A yellow arc tore through the skies at terrifying speed, arriving before him in an instant.
Only then did Grey clearly see who had come.