The one who had been trapped for years at the bottom of the cliff, living in an environment unfit for humans, and finally dying filled with regrets in that place, never to be able to leave the hell that claimed him. All that he wished for, yearned endlessly for, was only to escape from this nightmarish prison.
Jun Wu Xie had always believed, that when a man died, his spirit remains.
That momentary illusory figure might have been a figment of her imagination, or it could be that that man's greatest wish had finally been granted and his spirit liberated.
But regardless of what that was, manifestation or not, she would bring the silver ring out of that place, which would also mean bringing far away, the last trace that man had left behind in the world away from his accursed hell, granting the long awaited release from the binding chains that had the man's spirit trapped, to finally rest in peace.
Jun Wu Xie got up slowly and turned around, her face completely calm, as she walked towards Qiao Chu and the others.
The blocks of stones that lay in a scatter over the scorched and blackened ground was gradually being covered by the foggy mist. Maybe after a few centuries or even a millennium, they would also disappear completely from the world, where no one would ever find a single trace that the stone house had once existed.
The journey back, would be much easier than when they had made their way here traversing paths unfamiliar and foreign to them.
Even with the all encompassing misty fog surrounding them, Fei Yan was still able to accurately point out the direction they had come in, even knowing which areas were safe for them to step on, through the sinkhole filled boggy marsh.
The companions travelled through the heavy fog, slowly returning to the point they had first stepped on, when they came to the bottom of the Heaven's End Cliff.
At the sight of the ropes still hanging down the cliff's face, all of them could not help themselves but break into smiles.
"Finally! We are leaving this accursed place!" Qiao Chu turned to look back at the thick swirling mist and said. This particular adventure, would forever leave an indelible mark in all their memories.
They were leaving, but there would come a day that they will return to this place once more.
Tearing through the layers of mystifying fog, and finding the Dark Emperor's treasures!
Before climbing up onto the ropes, Jun Wu Xie and everyone else used the spirit powers to check the condition of their ropes. After making sure they were still secure enough and able to hold their weight, they quickly jumped up onto the ropes and planted their feet firmly on the cliff's surface and began to climb up!
The hell that has brought them endless unease and caused them countless setbacks in the past days was being gradually swallowed up by the heavy white mist, slowly disappearing completely from their sight.
But they all knew deep in their hearts, that everything below the mist were still all there, and no matter whether it was the present, or in the future, all of these would continue to exist!
This living hell, would never ever disappear!
Having gained experience from the prior descent, everyone was a lot more reliable and they knew by now, the closer they were to the bottom, the more treacherous it was for them. They quickened their pace, trying their best to shorten the process as much as they could.
They soon passed through the great gusts of winds, leapt through the freezing mist and above their heads, they could see faint traces of light beginning to show through the swirling fog.
That was no longer the light that depended on the combustion of spirit stones, but a natural warm glow that came from the sun itself!
When they finally set foot atop the Heaven's End Cliff, facing into the blinding and welcoming sunlight, everything that had happened before at the bottom of that cliff suddenly felt just like a dream.
"We have finally made it to the top….." Fan Zhuo said, his face towards the sun he had not seen for too long, baking in its comforting warmth, and his heart that had been filled with dread for too long finally settled into some semblance of peace!
"Young Master Jun! You all are finally back!" Mu Qian Fan, who had been waiting on top of the Heaven's End Cliff all this time came running over excitedly the moment he caught sight of Jun Wu Xie and the others. His injuries were all healed and he had even removed all the bandages from his face. His face, that was filled with countless scars, had however broken into a genuine and contagious wide smile!
Jun Wu Xie did not reply. Her head was raised up, facing into the midafternoon sun, thinking that the sun was really blindingly bright.