Leading the group was a girl with blazing golden hair and matching armor. Her face was round and pretty, but her short hair gave her a boyish charm. She walked upright towards the sphere, while the rest of the group followed her like her vassals.

The woman was irritated and was about to say something, but the man next to her grabbed her hand and stopped her. The woman scowled but didn't say anything.

Without waiting for anyone's instructions, the girl jumped into the crevice and disappeared. Imitating her, the people following her also jumped into the crevice.

After the girl disappeared, the woman huffed in anger and wanted to speak again. But several more groups of juniors came forward and walked towards the sphere, ignoring her. The woman almost exploded with anger and the man once again stopped her, shaking his head.

The different groups of men and women entered the sphere and disappeared. Only then did the man let the woman go.

"Hmph! Anyone else wants to ignore me and stride forward like peacocks?" the woman snorted, her temper had taken a turn for the worse.

An air of oppression enveloped them. Sensing the woman's fury, no one dared to take a step forward. Many people were still puzzled about what had happened.

"Mu Chen, they were..." Liu Fengying whispered.

"Must be." Mu Chen nodded. In one of the groups that had just entered the realm, he saw the young master he had run into the lake.

"Then that girl, she must be…" Liu Fengying's eyes brightened and a fierce competitive spirit burned inside them.

Mu Chen shook his head. He didn't think the Long Clan Princess could stimulate her so much.

After a while, the woman elder had regained her calm demeanor. She adjusted her robes and said, "Everyone line up. Don't be zealous and imitate the people who just entered. The spatial rift may look like a single point of entry, but even a distance of a few feet may translate to a difference of a hundred miles. So if you want to travel in groups, make sure to hold onto each other…"

The woman gave them a few more instructions and everyone lined up. Of course, the juniors from the noble families were given the privilege to enter first and came forward one after another.

Mu Chen and others had joined the Su Family's group, courtesy of Su Rong and Su He. The number of Su Family members was already huge. But with the addition of members from the Liu Clan, Purple Clouds Manor, and Ten Thousand Beasts Sect, the original Su Family group had expanded even more. Due to the size of the channel, everyone couldn't be in the same group. Even if it wasn't the case, a lot of people desired to explore on their own, believing if they were to stay together, all their gains would be monopolized by others. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, everyone wanted to make the most of it. Everyone had their cliques, their interests, and their own agenda.

In the end, it was decided to split into smaller groups. Mu Chen, Zhou Mei, Liu Fengying, Liu Ru, Xia Ping, Li Kun, Su Rong, Su He, Yi Hanying decided to form a separate group. There was a place for more people, but they decided against it. Large numbers did not necessarily mean better. The few of them were already familiar with each other, adding some more to the group might destroy the delicate balance.

When they were ready, Mu Chen's group stepped forward to enter the realm. However, they had taken just a few steps when Qin Huang came forward.

Before they could say anything, Qin Huang said, "You might not care about following your elders' orders, but I have to. So I will be joining your group." Qin Huang looked extremely unwilling, being forced to leave his group.

Su Rong hesitated for a moment, then nodded."Alright, you may join us." Since Qin Huang had made concessions, they could only agree.

"You have so few members, you shouldn't mind if I bring over a few friends?" Qin Huang said and one person stepped forward.

To Mu Chen's surprise, the person Qin Huang brought over wasn't Mu Changshou. "Where's Mu Changshou?" Mu Chen couldn't help but ask.

Qin Huang looked at Mu Chen and sneered, "Brother Changshou has his plans." Then he ignored Mu Chen and turned to Su Rong. "This is my cousin Qin Mo, he will be coming with me."

Mu Chen was dissatisfied with Qin Huang's answer but didn't press the issue. Since they met each other, Qin Huang and Mu Changshou had been like peas in a pod. Their sudden separation had raised several questions in Mu Chen's mind and he couldn't help but think if this was one of Mu Changshou's schemes. Mu Chen looked around but didn't see him anywhere. Someone like Mu Changshou wouldn't miss such an opportunity.

Stolen story; please report.

"Did he change his appearance?" Mu Chen looked at Qin Mo with suspicion, but couldn't find any fault in the appearance. Qin Mo was the same as any other teenager, a lanky youth with a poker face. He looked more like a bodyguard Qin Huang had hired, rather than his cousin like he claimed.

"Next!" the woman in the air announced.

Under the senior's instructions, their group walked towards the sphere. When they neared the sphere, Qin Huang tried to approach Su Rong and hold her hand, but Yi Hanying beat him to it. Qin Huang was dissatisfied and wanted to hold Su Rong's other hand, but Liu Fengying was already holding it.

Zhou Mei held Liu Fengying's other hand and Mu Chen's. Liu Rui grabbed Yi Hanying's other hand. Xia Ping held Liu Rui's free hand while Li Kun held his. Su He jumped in and grabbed Li Kun's hand. Qin Huang and his cousin Qin Mo were left hanging.

"What's the meaning of this?" Qin Huang was outraged.

"Hmph! Did you think we would let you take advantage of Sister Rong?" Yi Hanying roared.

"Since you want to come with us, you can hold my hand," Su He didn't miss the opportunity to taunt Qin Huang and shoved a middle finger to his face. "Or Brother Chen's."

"Don't take me as a fool," Qin Huang snorted. "What if you let go while we are entering? We want this spot." Qin Huang pointed between Li Kun and Xia Ping.

"Don't take us as fools either," Su He snorted. "What if you let go of your cousin?"

"How could I do that?" Qin Huang roared.

"Everyone knows what sort of person you are," Su He said.

"I—" Qin Huang wanted to retort but a voice came from above.

"Hurry up, others are waiting," the senior woman gave them a warning.

"Fine," Qin Huang grinded his teeth. He gestured at Mu Chen's location. "Qin Mo, you go there." He then moved between Li Kun and Xia Ping.

Qin Mo came by Mu Chen's side and grunted. Mu Chen shrugged and raised his hand. Qin Mo grabbed it, without saying a word.

When Qin Mo stood next to him, Mu Chen felt the temperature surrounding him rise, making him wonder if this guy was a fire cultivator. As if responding to his thoughts, Xiao Xue squirmed a bit.

Seeing everyone had taken their positions, Su Rong said to the woman in the sky, "Senior, we are ready."

The woman waved her hand and a gentle wind picked them all up and carried them towards the fissure.

From a distance, the fissure looked only a few meters wide. But as they neared it, it seemed to magnify and occupy their entire field of vision. A blanket of darkness covered them as it pulled them deeper into the channel. The only light they could see was the opening they had entered from.

At this time, Xiao Xue squirmed again. Mu Chen frowned and looked down. Xiao Xue's movements had increased and were becoming erratic. Mu Chen wanted to console her, but his arms were occupied, so he refrained.

Seeing him try to move his arms, Zhou Mei looked at him in concern, while Qin Mo glared at him in suspicion.

"Mu Chen?" Zhou Mei asked using her divine sense.

Before Mu Chen could even think of a reply, Xiao Xue growled and leaped out. Mu Chen was shocked and raised his hands to grab her. He was the one holding Zhou Mei's arm, so he was able to free it and grab Xiao Xue, preventing her from jumping.

"Mu Chen!"

Mu Chen heard Zhou Mei's cry and looked to his right. In just a blink of an eye, Zhou Mei and everyone else had become a dot and disappeared.

Mu Chen's expression turned ugly and he looked at Qin Mo in fury. His original intention was to let go of Qin Mo and grab Xiao Xue, however Qin Mo was hanging tightly onto him with both hands. There was simply no way for Mu Chen to get rid of him.

"Let go!" Mu Chen growled. Holding onto a struggling Xiao Xue, he tried to shake his hand free out of Qin Mo's grasp. Since they had broken off from the main group, there was no point for them to stay together. Qin Mo should be of the same opinion—or so, Mu Chen thought.

But he was wrong.

Qin Mo didn't let go, instead, his grip became tighter. If not for Mu Chen wearing his handguards, he suspected his arm would've been crushed. Mu Chen was shocked and stared at Qin Mo. How could this person be so strong? He was sure, even if he used all his strength, he wouldn't be able to get rid of Qin Mo's vise-like grip in a short period.

It was then Mu Chen noticed Qin Mo's expression. It was fluctuating rapidly. There was pain, anger, hopelessness, and reluctance.

Qin Mo's body began to tremble. His eyes bulged, almost popping off the sockets. The whites of his eyes had turned deep red. Warts and blisters cracked open his skin as his body began to rapidly wither, and his hair became white.

In just a few breaths, Qin Mo seemed to have turned from a youth full of vigor into a dry husk of a human being.

"Qin… Mo?" A sense of bad omen rose within Mu Chen's heart as he watched Qin Mo's transformation with a morbid fascination.

"Ggg… " Qin Mo made a gurgling sound from his throat and opened his mouth. Several appendages that looked like the legs of an insect poked through his mouth. But whatever it was, it was too big for the size of a human's mouth. As it struggled to come out, it stretched Qin Mo's mouth past the limits. There was the sound of snapping and ripping, and Qin Mo's head flipped back and dangled on his back, held by a thread of muscles.

"Shit!" Mu Chen's scalp turned numb, as he watched something dark and sinister try to crawl out of Qin Mo's body. He cursed and didn't hesitate any longer. His sword intent moved and struck Qin Mo's hands with a clang, slicing through his wrists. Mu Chen mustered his strength and kicked at Qin Mo's body, pushing himself away from him.

Once they were separated, the distance between the two grew at inconceivable speed. The last thing that Mu Chen saw was a triangular head of an insect sticking out of Qin Mo's neck, staring at him with a large pair of honeycomb eyes. It screeched and Mu Chen felt his head almost explode with pain.