Xu Xian had left. To Chi Ji and Huang Xiao, he claimed he was going on a long journey; to the outside world of the Demon Abyss, he claimed he was entering seclusion.
The Emperor's inheritance required time.
It was a perfectly reasonable excuse that no one could find fault with.
However,
Not every demon believed it. At least, more than half of the Ten Great Demon Gods remained skeptical.
In this world, Jin Qing was far from the only clever person.
But they did not care. Perhaps the only thing they truly wanted to know was what the Emperor's inheritance actually was.
And they weren't the only ones; the entire world wanted to know.
Shortly after Xu Xian left, the Demon Gods received something from Jin Qing.
They were told it was a gift from the Young Lord. With faces full of confusion, the Demon Gods opened the new books.
At first, it seemed fine.
There was nothing out of the ordinary.
But as they read further, a chill crept up their backs, surging from their spines to the tops of their heads.
In an instant, their scalps went numb, and cold sweat poured down.
Their hands trembled unnaturally.
"How ruthless..."
"That was close..."
"We were too careless after all."
"Just how deep was this grudge..."
A gift?
It was indeed a gift—a monumental one.
If they had continued to practice the old versions without these new manuals, they couldn't imagine what kind of end would have awaited them one day in the future.
Would their cultivation realms have plummeted?
Would they have perished, soul and body dissipated?
Or would they have been reduced to madness?
God only knew.
While they were secretly alarmed by this Young Lord, a sense of awe also grew within them.
It was a type of reverence born from fear, terror, and the unknown.
A single thought echoed in all their minds simultaneously.
Never provoke him.
Bai Mang was truly capable of anything.
At the same time,
they understood that the only reason he had exposed this was not because Bai Mang had suddenly found his conscience. It was simply because the current Young Lord finally had the confidence to not fear them.
The legacy of the Emperor's Tomb was certainly no simple matter.
..................
On the other side,
Having bid farewell to the others, Xu Xian concealed his aura and traveled without rest.
With his great ascension stage cultivation, it took him only half a day to reach the Blazing Fortress.
After stepping out of the fortress, he did not leave. Instead, he disguised himself and went to inspect the collapsed tomb gate.
Under the dark, gloomy sky, among the yellow sands of the desert, a pile of rubble lay scattered in a messy heap. Demon cultivators still stood guard around the perimeter, forbidding anyone from entering.
Inside,
Several historical "experts" from the Demon Dao Pavilion were excavating the collapsed tomb gate, seemingly trying to find some connection or uncover some unknown secret.
Xu Xian appeared silently and leaned down to pick up a small fragment of stone.
It was ordinary.
Completely unremarkable.
"There's nothing special about it..."
The tomb gate had not just collapsed; the Emperor's Tomb had also closed. The connection between the two was severed, and the aura had dissipated.
"He... might have come out." Shuer's cautious voice resonated in the youth's mind.
Xu Xian frowned. "What makes you say that?"
Shuer explained patiently, "The Emperor's Tomb is His derivative world; only He can close it. This tomb gate wasn't destroyed by external force. It collapsed because the Emperor's Tomb closed, severing the connection with it..."
"In that case, the other tomb gates must be the same," Xu Xian added.
"Yeah, there's no doubt about it," the little book spirit confirmed.
Xu Xian's expression grew increasingly solemn. "You say He might have come out, but you said before that the sword strike that erupted from my body heavily injured His divine sense. The seal is still there; can He really get out?"
Shuer analyzed, "His main body definitely can't get out. But splitting off a wisp of intent or a fragment of a soul shouldn't be difficult. Since He is a Great Emperor who once ruled an era, He would have such methods."
Xu Xian's thoughts grew heavier.
Shuer hurried to comfort him, "But Master can rest easy. He won't be able to do anything to you in the short term. Even if His methods are brilliant, the laws of this world were born because of Him. With the suppression of the Heavenly Dao's power, He can't stir up much trouble."
"And in the future?" Xu Xian asked suddenly.
Shuer stroked its chin and looked around at the sky and earth. "According to what that old tortoise said, it had been sleeping all along. It only woke up because the seal has been continuously weakening over the past ten thousand years."
"The power of the seal and this world are interconnected. Over the long passage of time, the two have long since merged into one, capable of operating automatically and mending any gaps. Logically, it should be impossible for it to weaken..."
"The weakening of the seal's power might have something to do with the decline of this world's fortune."
"Ten thousand years ago,"
"Your master sealed the Sky Gate."
"Ten thousand years ago,"
"The power of the seal began to decline and has continued to do so."
"These two events are definitely more than just a coincidence. I reckon that the loosening of the seal is related to the Sky Gate being closed."
Xu Xian pondered for a moment. "According to you, as long as the Sky Gate can be reopened, the seal can be reforged?"
Shuer wasn't certain and gave a vague answer, "Maybe... perhaps..."
Xu Xian understood. If that was truly the case, it would explain why his master had left a secret room on the fifth floor of the Immortal Pavilion with a map of Fanzhou carved below, waiting for a single lamp to light up.
The implication should be that when Fanzhou has an immortal and the Sky Gate is reopened, the world will see the light again.
But...
If that was the case, why did his master go through the trouble of sealing the Sky Gate in the first place?
It couldn't be that his master, as a descendant of the Li family, closed the Sky Gate just to release this suppressed Twilight Emperor, could it?
What would the motive be?
To take revenge on the clan, just like Jin Qing?
Or was there some kind of bond between him and the Twilight Emperor?
Or perhaps his master wanted to use the Twilight Emperor's power to accomplish something...
Xu Xian didn't know, but he couldn't rule out those possibilities.
Or maybe...
The Sky Gate wasn't closed by his master at all, but by someone else?
Xu Xian's thoughts became increasingly chaotic.
The Twilight Emperor,
The Sky Gate of Fanzhou,
Master Taibai,
Above the heavens,
The Era of Primal Chaos, the Era of Ancient Immortals...
All these matters were tangled together without any clear thread, leaving him with nothing but wild guesses.
What Shuer said might not be right, and what he thought might not be wrong.
Hearing is hollow,
Seeing is believing.
The answer to the problem might only be found by opening that door Senior Brother Yun Zheng mentioned, entering that place, and finding Li Taibai and his four senior brothers.
His anticipation grew stronger.
His worry deepened as well.
Xu Xian desperately wanted to uncover the truth of everything, yet he was equally worried about the massive crisis lurking beneath these hidden secrets.
His intuition told him that this definitely wasn't a good thing.
He didn't know where to get an Immortal Soul,
And he didn't know when the Twilight Emperor would wake up.
For now,
the matters in Fanzhou were imminent. It was truly a mess.
He asked Shuer, "How long is the 'short term' you just mentioned? A hundred years, a thousand years, or ten thousand years?"
Shuer rolled its eyes. "A thousand or ten thousand years? You call that a short term?"
"Then..."
"A hundred years, fifty years, or maybe ten years. It could even be next year," Shuer said with a straight face.
Now it was Xu Xian's turn to be speechless. "That really is short enough."
Shuer said nonchalantly, "Anyway, it's enough time for you to figure out the truth. Once you figure it out, you can find a way to solve it."
It even shook its head and said, "Nothing is impossible in this world..."
Xu Xian interrupted, "If you're willing to give up."
Shuer felt depressed. "Be serious..."
Xu Xian asked, "Which one of us isn't being serious?"
Shuer pointed a finger at him. "You..."
Xu Xian said, "Alright, let's hurry. We'll talk more when we get back."
Shuer replied, "Mhm."
Xu Xian added, "By the way, you're so calm. Is it because there's still another sword strike left in my body?"
Shuer said, "Nope."
Xu Xian asked, "Really?"
Shuer said, "Truer than true..."
Xu Xian scoffed, "Tch..."
Shuer asked, "You don't believe me?"
Xu Xian replied, "Heh."
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