Han Yu rose to his feet without hesitation.
"I understand."
He followed them out into the corridor.
As they walked, his gaze briefly shifted toward the doors where his entourage had been staying. There was no movent, no sound, nothing to indicate their presence.
"They have already been guided to their own gathering," one of the guides explained.
Han Yu gave a slight nod.
He had expected as much.
This eting was not ant for subordinates.
Only the Legacy Disciples.
They continued walking until they reached a staircase.
Han Yu paused for a fraction of a second.
This staircase had not been there before.
When he first arrived, he had carefully observed the structure of the mansion. There had been no such path leading upward in this manner. The floors had been connected through conventional ans, each level accessible through clearly defined routes.
This staircase was different.
It was narrow, winding, and extended directly upward without any visible stops along the way. It did not connect to any interdiate floors.
It led straight to the top.
Han Yu’s eyes narrowed slightly.
’So it was hidden... or created.’
He considered the possibilities.
An illusion array could conceal such a structure, but it would be difficult to completely fool his senses, especially when he had actively scanned the area earlier.
That left another option.
’A transformation array.’
An array capable of altering the internal layout of the mansion itself.
It was not impossible.
But it was expensive.
Extrely expensive.
Han Yu followed the guides up the staircase, his mind quietly analyzing the implications. Each step felt stable, yet there was a subtle sensation beneath his feet, as if the structure itself was shifting in ways that could not be easily perceived.
After a short ascent, they reached the top.
Large doors stood before them.
The guides stopped.
"Please proceed," they said together.
Han Yu pushed the doors open.
And then he stopped.
For a mont, even he could not help but freeze.
What lay beyond the threshold was not a room.
It was sothing entirely different.
A forest.
Not a large one, but complete in its form.
Trees rose from the ground, their leaves swaying gently despite the absence of any visible wind. The air carried a faint freshness, tinged with the scent of water and vegetation. Soft light filtered through the canopy, illuminating the surroundings with a calm, almost dreamlike glow.
At the center of this forest was a lake.
Its surface was smooth, reflecting the sky above with perfect clarity.
And within that lake stood a pavilion.
It appeared delicate, almost ethereal, as if it had been painted rather than constructed. The structure rested upon the water, connected by a narrow path that seed to float just above the surface.
Han Yu’s gaze lingered on it.
He could not see inside.
But he did not need to.
That was where the gathering would take place.
Behind him, the two guides spoke again.
"This is a small isolated realm."
Han Yu finally understood.
A spatial construct.
Not rely a hidden room or an elaborate illusion, but a separate pocket of space, carved out and stabilized through advanced formation techniques.
He felt a faint stir of appreciation.
And caution.
Creating such a realm required more than just resources. It demanded expertise in spatial manipulation, sothing that very few within the sect possessed. Even among the Slaughtered Moon Divine Blood Sect, only a handful of formation masters could achieve sothing like this.
Four.
That was the number Han Yu knew.
And none of them were easily accessible.
’She went to great lengths for this,’ Han Yu thought.
Or perhaps she already possessed it.
Either way, it spoke of imnse wealth and influence.
Far greater than Han Yu’s own.
Han Yu stepped forward, crossing the threshold fully into the isolated realm.
The doors closed behind him without a sound.
And for the first ti since arriving at Good Well Town, Han Yu felt that he had truly entered Lady Rot Rose’s domain. A place where every detail was under her control. And where every move he made would be watched.
Han Yu inclined his head slightly when the two attendants inford him that he would have to proceed alone. Their tone carried no hostility, yet it made one thing abundantly clear. Beyond this point, there would be no guidance, no assistance, and certainly no protection.
"I understand," he said calmly.
The two figures bowed in perfect synchrony before turning away, their footsteps fading quickly into the layered quiet of the spatial realm. Han Yu stood alone at the threshold for a brief mont, his eyes sweeping across the vast scene before him once more.
Then he stepped forward.
The first thing he noticed was the weight.
It was subtle, but unmistakable.
The mont he moved deeper into the realm, he felt a faint suppression settle over his body. His Qi circulation remained smooth, his strength intact, yet sothing fundantal had changed.
He tried to lift himself slightly.
Nothing happened.
He could not fly.
Han Yu’s lips curved faintly.
"So even that is restricted."
He did not resist the limitation.
Instead, he accepted it imdiately and adjusted his posture, walking forward at a steady pace like a mortal. There was no point attempting to fight the rules of a domain that was not his own. In a place like this, control belonged entirely to the owner.
And that owner was Lady Rot Rose.
The path before him curved gently, leading him into the forest he had seen from afar. As he stepped beneath the forest canopy, the atmosphere shifted.
The air grew heavier.
Richer.
A faint fragrance lingered everywhere, subtle yet pervasive.
Han Yu slowed his steps slightly, his senses sharpening.
The forest was filled with flowers.
Not wild, chaotic growth, but deliberate arrangent.
And among them, one type dominated above all.
Roses.
They grew in clusters, in rows, in carefully arranged patterns that seed natural at first glance but revealed an underlying design upon closer inspection. Red roses, black roses, white roses, even rare hues that bordered on unnatural shades of violet and deep blue.
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