Ask... ask what?
Xu Xian was momentarily dazed.
He asked himself in his heart: what should I ask?
It seemed there was nothing left to ask.
The things he most wanted to know had already been answered in the story just now.
Fanzhou...
The Sky Gate...
Li Taibai...
The Sword Tower...
The Twilight Emperor...
Even the definitions of the three unfamiliar terms—Sword Bearer, Sword Protector, and Sword Attendant—had been clearly established.
The Sword Bearer.
This referred to the fated one. Simply put, whoever obtained the inheritance of the sword stele was the Sword Bearer.
The Sword Protector.
Within the Li lineage, these were the people responsible for guarding the sword stele and the Sword Mound.
There was more than one.
Li Taibai was merely one of them.
As for the Sword Attendants, from what he saw before him, they were the followers of the Sword Protectors.
If he absolutely had to ask something...
Xu Xian’s gaze once again fell upon the Sky Gate, and he asked, "If I were to ask what the state of things above the heavens is like now, you probably wouldn't be able to answer me, right?"
The five individuals looked dejected. Li Taibai’s head, covered in tangled, withered hair, shook repeatedly.
"Hmm... we indeed cannot answer that question."
A ten thousand years had passed, and Fanzhou had experienced vast changes. The realm above the heavens was naturally the same.
Time never stops moving forward simply because a plane of existence changes...
Even when the little book spirit controlled the time flow of the Cloud Sea Sword Tower world back then, it was merely a concealment spell used to deceive one's consciousness.
Four days?
Time had still passed for four years.
Only the perception had changed.
Li Taibai’s tone shifted as he analyzed:
"However, one can generally guess. In the first millennium after the Dark Era began, the Boundary Sea fell completely. By the third millennium, the Ten Lands fell. By the fourth millennium, the Nine Heavens fell. By the forty-fifth century, more than half of the 3,000 Great Provinces were gone. The dark creatures grew stronger and their momentum was at its peak. Now that ten thousand years have passed, perhaps all of Cangming is gone. Maybe Fanzhou is the last pure land, or perhaps there are other places like Fanzhou... I cannot say for certain."
If that were truly the case, the pressure on Xu Xian was quite immense.
Ascending?
Becoming an immortal?
If he truly ascended and became an immortal, only to find that he was the only immortal in the entire world...
Then...
Going up would be equivalent to seeking death.
He asked again, "Then what about this gate? How much longer can you all hold out?"
This was also a roundabout way of asking how many years of peace he had left to enjoy. If it were a few thousand years or even ten thousand years, Xu Xian thought he would be quite satisfied.
Li Taibai looked directly at Xu Xian and said meaningfully, "A century, a millennium... it is hard to say. That was before you arrived, but now that you are here, perhaps it could be longer, or it might be sooner. It depends on you."
"Me?"
Xu Xian was speechless. He was just at the great ascension stage; was he supposed to shoulder such a massive burden as soon as he arrived?
Li Taibai said slowly, "I believe you can sense the baleful aura continuously emanating from the Sky Gate that does not belong to this world."
Xu Xian nodded.
He had noticed it from the first moment he saw the Sky Gate upon entering.
"That is the Breath of Darkness," Li Taibai explained. "You can think of it as the scouts of the Spirit-Devouring Tribe. The Breath of Darkness will travel toward places with light and life."
"The appearance of the Breath of Darkness..."
"...is a sign that destruction is descending."
"Fanzhou is shrouded by the Chaos Mist, leaving only this Sky Gate. The Breath of Darkness detected Fanzhou's existence long ago and has been trying to pierce through this gate to reach Fanzhou for nearly ten thousand years."
"We sit here in this withered state, sealing the Sky Gate specifically to keep the Breath of Darkness out of Fanzhou."
"But even so, the Breath of Darkness remains pervasive."
"It is only that..."
"...before it can set foot in Fanzhou, it is burned to nothingness by the Five-Element True Flames of this place."
"However, as time passes..."
"...the Breath of Darkness grows thicker while our power is gradually depleting."
"As one waxes and the other wanes, there will eventually come a day when the Breath of Darkness will spiral out of control and escape into Fanzhou. It won't be long before the dark creatures set foot here."
"When that time comes, this tiny Sky Gate will not be able to stop them."
"It is not that our strength is exhausted."
"It is that Fanzhou's fortune will eventually run out."
Xu Xian’s eyes narrowed. He understood.
But...
He told Li Taibai and the others, "The Twilight Emperor has already awakened. Did you know that?"
Li Taibai remained as calm as ever.
"I guessed as much."
"Hmm?"
Li Taibai explained, "With the Sky Gate sealed, spiritual energy cannot pour down from above the heavens, so the seal will continue to weaken. Furthermore, because the five of us are sealing the gate, we are constantly consuming Fanzhou's Five-Element power. It was only a matter of time before he awakened."
"Oh..."
Li Taibai lowered his gaze and gestured with his eyes. "Under this lava lake, it connects to the Qi Fortune Spiritual Veins of the various races of Fanzhou, providing energy for the five of us at all times. If not for that, our spirit essence and blood would have been exhausted long ago during these ten thousand years."
Xu Xian was somewhat surprised. He tried to peer into the ground with his Pupil of Insight, but because it was too deep and blocked by the great formation, the Pupil of Insight was powerless.
Originally...
He had thought that the people outside saying the Wendao Sword Sect had suppressed the qi fortune of their various races was purely a rumor.
Now it seemed...
There really was such a thing.
"So the rumors in the outside world were true..." he muttered in a low voice.
Li Taibai asked, "What rumors?"
Xu Xian recounted everything exactly as he had heard it.
Li Taibai gave a bitter smile, saying that this was also a last resort. Severing the fortune for a time was better than the entire realm being extinguished.
Xu Xian returned to the main topic. "Since you knew the Twilight Emperor would awaken, do you have a plan to deal with him?"
Li Taibai scrutinized Xu Xian for several moments before asking tentatively, "Have you already had contact with him?"
From the moment Xu Xian arrived and mentioned the Twilight Emperor, the wariness in his eyes was unmistakable.
Logically speaking...
The creatures of the lower realm should not know of this person's existence.
But clearly...
Xu Xian’s reaction was very different.
Xu Xian did not hide anything and told them the truth about the giant tortoise under the Nether Pool.
Li Taibai said he had an impression of that giant tortoise; it was indeed on the list of those sealed in the past.
Then, Xu Xian recounted the events of the Emperor's Tomb in detail.
He even shared the conversation between himself and the Twilight Emperor in the Twilight Burial Realm without reservation.
Xu Xian rarely was so honest with others.
However, these individuals before him were an exception.
He would usually keep a wary eye out.
But these people had willingly endured ten thousand years of roasting flames in this place for the sake of the living beings of Fanzhou and the survival of Cangming.
Even though it was their first meeting, the admiration in Xu Xian’s heart was beyond words.
Regarding such existences, Xu Xian felt he could open his heart and be completely transparent.
The five of them listened very intently.
When they heard that Xu Xian had actually rejected the inheritance of the Twilight Emperor, they could not help but be somewhat surprised, and their appreciation for the youth grew a bit stronger.
Risking his life to refuse eternal life.
It was hard not to look at him with new respect.
This strength of character was truly rare. From this perspective, he was the fated one not just because of luck.
"You actually refused. That is truly surprising."
One of them still could not help but remark with emotion.
Xu Xian smiled and did not explain. What else could he do but refuse? Did he even have a choice?
Xu Xian followed up, "Is there any way to break this?"
With internal troubles and external threats, Xu Xian thought he should at least resolve the internal trouble first.
Li Taibai shook his head.
Xu Xian’s heart skipped a beat.
Li Taibai comforted him, "Actually, you don't need to worry about this."
"Why?"
Li Taibai said in a profound tone, "Whether it be the myriad spirits of Fanzhou or the Twilight Emperor, they might be your enemies for a time, but they are definitely not your destined enemies for life."
"Hmm?" Xu Xian raised an eyebrow.
Li Taibai gazed at the Sky Gate. "As the Sword Bearer, your enemies are not in Fanzhou, but outside Fanzhou, above the heavens."
He paused for a moment before saying word by word, "The dark creatures, the Spirit-Devouring Tribe!"
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