On The Three Pillars

Amid the lush forest, a small tear in space-time, a wound in the very fabric of reality, formed and rapidly grew in size. A stable and small portal that lead to the starless and empty void spring into existence.

An outstretched hand had appeared from the portal, followed by a foot, then head, and then body.

As Zhongming had emerged from the portal, he kept his hand before his face, shielding his eyes from the rapid change in brightness.

The first thing that hit him was the smell; it was earthy, fresh, and tainted with a hint of decay. There were also a few scents that were more... Alien was perhaps the correct word. These were smells that he had never encountered before.

As his eyes had adjusted to the level of brightness, he lowered his hand and took in the majestic view. It was prehistoric… No, it was much grander than that!

The gigantic trees that had towered over them were like nothing he had seen before. Even the most impressive rendition of the giant trees of prehistoric times were nothing compared to them!

The trees, if they could be called that seemed to go on forever, their canopies stretched endlessly up into the heavens; neither the sky nor the sun could penetrate the impenetrable barrier.

The entire vista was purely lit by various oddly colored and oddly shaped fauna and creatures.

How vast must this world have been to support the formation and growth of trees that easily dwarfed even the largest of mountains.

Indeed, once Zhongming had entered this world, he had felt the gravity increasing by an enormous amount; if he weren't at the peak of the Core Formation realm, he would have been squashed like a bug.

At this point, he was a bit surprised that his physical eyes could even perceive light, due to the immense gravity that should not have been possible… Perhaps the light that some of the fauna and creatures had emitted was unique, or perhaps the fundamental laws of physics were simply different here.

As Zhongming was marveling at the world around him, the other members of his group had also come out of the portal.

"Man," Gao Liang remarked in appreciation as he crossed over, "Each one of these trees could easily supply enough wood for several billion people."

"Yeah, it's quite amazing, isn't it?" Xuiying chimed in as she stood next to Zhongming and Gao Liang.

"When I had first visited this place, this was also my reaction; if you would like to study and explore the place, we should be able to spare a day or two," Hualing said heard their words.

"Can we really?" Zhongming, Gao Liang, and Xuiying had asked almost simultaneously.

"Lihua, this will lower our chances of winning this event. Are you ok with that?" Xue Jian asked.

"Ah, don't mind me," she answered, "I'm mainly here for some experience; I'm not really looking to become a state official."

"Then it's no problem. After all, as members of the Mo Sect, we shouldn't tie ourselves down to any particular state. Hualing and I are just here to hunt a specific type of spirit beast."

Zhongming's eyes lit up as he, along with Gao Liang and Xuiying, scampered off.

Zhongming had been ostracized as a nerdy geek in his past life, but here in the Mo Sect, his curiosity to learn and study new things was actively encouraged.

Maybe after observing and studying the otherworldy lifeforms, he would have some new revelation that would allow him to breakthrough into the next realm.

"You aren't going to join them?" Xue Jian asked the newest addition to the group.

"If there is anything that I can do to help, I don't mind staying behind; It's the least that I can do."

"Actually, there is something that we can use some help with. During the ceremony earlier, I had noticed the attendance of the Three Pillar of Ming, Deng, Yin, and Hui..."

Xue Jian paused for a bit to allow for the implications to sink in.

"Each of these three sects is filled with talented cultivators; of course, under normal circumstances, it's nothing that we can't handle. However, this time, each one of the sects has a problematic individual."

"Number one," Xue Jian continued this time, holding up his right hand and raising one finger, "Deng Xianliang from the Deng Sect, he is a cultivator of the Dao of Principles."

"Number two," this time he raised a second finger, "Yin Duyi from the Yin Sect, he is a cultivator of the Dao of Mirage."

"Number three," lastly he raised a third finger, "Yu Wenqian from the Hui Sect, she is a cultivator of the Dao of Consequences."

"Now the question is, if by pure happenstance we by run into a group of around twenty cultivators lead by one of them, what should we do if running isn't an option?"

"Can you elaborate a bit more on their abilities?" Lihua asked.

"I have had the chance to encounter Xianliang and Duyi," this time, it was Hualing who responded, "Both of these people are quite formidable. The Dao of Principles, in theory, is one of the closest in nature to the Supreme Dao. So, naturally, this makes it a very tricky ability to deal with."

"As far as I understand, it grants the user the ability to control, change, or destroy the fundamental nature of concepts themselves."

"That sounds ridiculously powerful..." Was all Lihua had to say.

"Indeed it is," Hualing nodded in agreement, "The Dao of Mirage is also a troublesome ability to deal with. In a sense, it almost gives the user the control over the duality of true and false."

"That's also ridiculous..." Again Lihua didn't have much to say.

"Wenqian, and the Hui sect, on the other hand, I don't have much experience with."

"I had some dealings with them in the past," Xue Jian said, "They basically have the ability to decide the outcomes of actions and or events."

"..." Lihua was simply speechless.