Spell Of Deification

A single fire in the darkness. On a starless, moonless night, the Misty Valley was utterly devoid of light, except for a faint, barely visible fire in the distant valley center. Most of the area was shrouded in boundless darkness. The night was somewhat chilly; the wind howled, carrying a hint of cold, and as it swept through the valley, it stirred up strange, watery ripples of dark mist—the unique mist of this valley. The valley was vast. In the daytime, one could see the surrounding, undulating mountains, but at night, only towering shadows could be seen, like silent giants standing on the land. Between two high mountains to the northwest lay the only passage in and out of the Misty Valley. Outside the valley, on an equally rugged, winding, and treacherous mountain path, a figure was approaching. A chilling atmosphere suddenly filled the darkness. A voice spoke from ahead, seemingly a low, harsh command. The approaching figure paused for a moment. In the dim light of the night, it could be seen that the newcomer was a young man dressed entirely in black. The young man's expression was calm, seemingly unsurprised by the sudden obstruction. After listening to the whispers in the darkness, he responded in a similarly deep voice. The question and answer sounded like a password, or perhaps a coded message. Then, the murderous intent hidden in the darkness slowly dissipated, and the young man in black continued forward. However, this mountain path leading to the entrance of the Misty Valley, which appeared tranquil and cold, seemed particularly tense in this night. Similar interrogations and checks occurred three times along the way. The young man in black answered fluently and calmly passed each checkpoint, gradually approaching the entrance to the valley in the darkness and chilly night wind. Beside the mountain path at the entrance, there was a small hill with several rocks of varying sizes scattered on it. A white figure could be seen standing on the top of the hill. The young man from Black paused, stood still for a moment, then turned and walked up the hill. There was no path on the hill; wild grass grew rampant, swaying gently in the night breeze. As he neared the top, he saw a wooden plaque embedded in the ground ahead. Carved vertically, it depicted a strange image: gods flying above, ghosts howling below, and in the center, an enormous tree reaching to the sky, connecting the gods and the demons. It looked like a giant tree motif, with gods and demons both attached to it. The young man's gaze swept over the plaque, lingering on the image for a moment, then turned to look about ten feet behind it, at the figure dressed in white, hands clasped behind his back. In the darkness of the night, white was extremely conspicuous. As if hearing footsteps, the white man turned, revealing himself to be an exceptionally handsome man. When he saw the dark-skinned man, a smile crept across his face. "You've come, Black Wolf," he said. The dark-skinned youth, whom he called Black Wolf, nodded and walked over, saying, "Yun Jian, if your father saw you dressed like that, he'd probably scold you again." Yun Jian remained calm and composed, smiling. "It's alright. Tonight, important matters are at hand. He has many things to attend to in the desolate valley; how could he possibly care about me?" Black Wolf chuckled, walked over, and stood beside Yun Jian, gazing into the distance. In this night, apart from the somber and profound misty valley behind them, countless mountain ranges rose and fell in the distance. Although their true forms couldn't be seen like during the day, one could still imagine their majestic grandeur. Yun Jian suddenly let out a long sigh and said, "Black Wolf, how many years have you been in the Divine Sect?" "Six years." "That's a long time." A sigh appeared on Yun Jian's face, then he smiled and said, "I remember when you first came, you were about a year old, roughly the same age as Xiao Qing. Now, in the blink of an eye, you've both grown up." Black Wolf smiled but didn't speak. Yun Jian added, "By the way, Xiao Qing is here tonight too. She might be here soon. Do you want to wait?" Black Wolf shook his head and said, "The elder ordered me to deliver the last 'Soul Crystal' into the valley for the 'Divine Spell.' I'm afraid the spell will be cast soon, and I probably won't be able to get out. Let's meet again later." Yun Jian raised an eyebrow, giving Black Wolf a strange look. After a moment, he sighed, "Soul Crystals are so rare and precious; only someone like you could obtain them. No wonder my father has valued you more than his own son all these years." Black Wolf looked up at Yun Jian, frowned, and seemed about to say something, but Yun Jian immediately laughed and said, "Alright, alright..." "It was just a joke. What are we, brothers? Would I doubt you?" As he spoke, he seemed to suddenly remember something, a playful expression appearing on his face. He said to Black Wolf, "By the way, after this big matter is over, hurry back to me. Xiao Qing might have something to tell you." Black Wolf was taken aback. "?" "What?" Yun Jian laughed. "If I tell her, then what?" "Go quickly, just remember to come back to see her later." Black Wolf thought for a moment, then nodded slightly. "Okay." With that, he nodded to Yun Jian, then strode away. A short while later, he was seen walking down the hill, then into the valley, disappearing into the deep, boundless darkness. ※※※After Black Wolf had walked for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, the mountain path below suddenly fell silent again. A moment later, a soft sound was heard, and a lithe figure darted down from below, gracefully turning in mid-air before landing perfectly beside Yun Jian. It was a beautiful young woman. Yun Jian's face lit up with joy upon seeing her, but as she approached, he frowned and snorted, "Nonsense! Aren't you afraid she might trip and fall, and then it'll be too late to regret it?" The young woman grinned, appearing quite affectionate towards Yun Jian, and grabbed his arm, laughing, "With you here, big brother, what am I afraid of!" Yun Jian shook his head and smiled wryly, saying, "How did I end up with such a carefree sister? By the way, Black Wolf just came from... "He's leaving here, heading into the valley." His younger sister, the one named Yun Xiaoqing, exclaimed "Ah!" and glanced towards the valley. She then complained to Yun Jian, "Really! Brother, why didn't you stop him? You knew I had something to say to him." Yun Jian shook his head. "It's important. He needs to deliver the Soul Crystal to the 'Great Garuda Formation' in the valley. When the 'Divine Summoning Incantation' is activated, he also needs to assist Father and the other elders. He really can't linger here too long."