Gou Zai Fei Men made up myths

In the center of the stone chamber, there is a broken stone platform, and next to the platform, a relatively complete skeleton lies lying down.

This skeleton was different from the one in the passage. Its bones were as clear as jade, and even under the endless erosion of death energy, it still faintly emitted a spiritual light, indicating that it had a very high level of cultivation in life.

The skeleton was in a rather strange posture, with half of its body leaning against the broken stone platform, and one hand outstretched forward, as if it wanted to grab or touch something on the stone platform before it died.

Its head turned towards the entrance of the passage, its empty eye sockets staring at the path Shen Mo had come from. Its jaw was slightly open, as if it were silently shouting, or as if it were telling of endless resentment and... a warning?

Shen Mo's gaze was instantly drawn to the outstretched hand of the skeleton, and a dull, half-buried object in the dust and rubble not far away.

The object was about the size of a palm, irregularly rhomboid in shape, grayish-white in color, with broken edges and cracks all over its surface. It looked like an ordinary piece of jade that was about to break.

However, the Myriad Laws Source Pearl in Shen Mo's sea of ​​consciousness trembled violently the moment it saw the jade piece, transmitting a clear wave that was almost "desire" and "resonance"!

That's it! This is the thing that triggered the resonance of the Myriad Laws Source Pearl!

Shen Mo's heart pounded as he slowly stepped forward, taking each step with extreme caution. His divine sense, like a spider web, enveloped the surroundings to confirm that there were no hidden restrictions or traps.

He first carefully examined the jade skeleton to confirm that it was completely dead, with not even a trace of its soul remaining, before turning his gaze to the jade piece.

A wisp of pure spiritual energy gathered at his fingertips, and with a flick of his wrist, the dull jade piece trembled slightly, rose from the dust, and fell into Shen Mo's palm.

It feels cold to the touch and has a rough texture, like a piece of ordinary gravel.

But when he cautiously probed a wisp of his divine sense into it—

Om-!

A soft hum, seemingly from a distant time and space, exploded in his mind! It was not an attack, but a sigh that was... weathered, sorrowful, and yet carried a hint of relief.

Immediately afterwards, a large number of incomplete and chaotic fragments of information, like a flood bursting its banks, rushed into Shen Mo's mind along with that wisp of divine consciousness!

"Ah—!" Shen Mo groaned, caught off guard, his head throbbed with pain, his vision went black, and he swayed.

He hurriedly severed most of the divine sense connections, leaving only a faint trace of perception, while simultaneously operating the Myriad Laws Source Pearl with all his might to suppress and sort out the massive influx of chaotic information.

Fragmented images and disjointed audio recordings, mixed with intense emotional fluctuations—despair, resentment, anger, longing, and resolve—impacted his mind.

He saw... an endless sea of ​​stars burning, a huge meteorite burning with pitch-black flames tearing through the sky, dragging a long tail of flame, crashing into a blessed land of immortals shrouded in auspicious clouds...

He saw... a blurry figure shrouded in a hazy blue light, wielding a magical artifact that was neither a ruler nor a sword, soaring into the sky to meet the destructive meteorite. With a swing of the ruler-sword, the Milky Way seemed to reverse...

He saw... a vast and boundless "ocean" composed of countless laws and Dao principles. The azure figure sat in the center of the "sea," chanting incantations. Heavenly flowers rained down, and golden lotuses sprang from the ground. Below were countless shadowy figures bowing in worship...

He saw... a deep, dark, and wailing Netherworld, where a figure in blue stood alone against an endless tide of ghosts. Wherever his sword pointed, all the ghosts fled, and a turbid river of the Yellow Springs was forcibly cut off...

He saw… Finally, the scene froze before a magnificent, ancient, yet dilapidated palace. A figure in blue, covered in blood, stood with his back to the palace, facing countless hideous, terrifying, and world-destroying black shadows in the sky. He let out a sigh and roar that shook the ages, and then… transformed into an eternal blue radiance, rushing into the endless darkness…

The images shattered, the sounds dissipated, and the emotions receded like a tide. What remained was an extremely faint, almost imperceptible, fluctuation of thought, interspersed with a few indistinct words that, like thunderclaps, exploded in Shen Mo's heart:

"...I...Qingyunzi...at Meteor Cliff...repelled the extraterrestrial demons...and protected...the peace of this region..."

"...spreading the Way...the source of all laws...three thousand years...education for all...may the Great Way...never cease..."

"...The Nine Netherworlds are in turmoil...The Yellow Springs flow backward...He sacrificed himself...and is stationed in...The Palace of Reincarnation...May those who come after him...be cautious...and heed this warning..."

"Qingyunzi!"

Meteor Cliff!

"The source of all laws is the ocean!"

The Palace of Reincarnation!

These words, like a red-hot branding iron, were fiercely seared into Shen Mo's soul!

The words "Qingyunzi" in particular caused him to tremble violently, almost causing him to drop the broken jade piece in his hand!

Qingyunzi! It really is Qingyunzi!

It wasn't the fictional founder of the Qingyun Sect, "Qingyunzi," but rather the ancient, powerful figure clearly recorded in this ancient, broken jade slip that had existed for countless years: Qingyunzi, who had repelled extraterrestrial demons at "Meteor Cliff," preached for three thousand years at "Sea of ​​Ten Thousand Laws," and finally sacrificed himself to suppress the turmoil in "Reincarnation Palace."

Shen Mo was also familiar with the place names "Meteor Cliff" and "Origin of All Laws"!

In his compilation, "The Travels of Master Liuyun", he mentioned that Master Liuyun "Qingyunzi" traveled around and attained enlightenment by the "Falling Star Sea" and obtained treasures in the "Source of All Dharmas"!

Shen Mo was also familiar with the place names "Meteor Cliff" and "Origin of All Laws"!

In his compilation, "The Travels of Master Liuyun", he mentioned that Master Liuyun "Qingyunzi" traveled around and attained enlightenment by the "Falling Star Sea" and obtained treasures in the "Source of All Dharmas"!

Although he fabricated the "Sea of ​​Fallen Stars" as a secret realm and obscured the "Origin of All Laws," how similar are the core images of "fallen stars" and "all laws" to the "Meteorite Cliff" and "Sea of ​​All Laws" in this jade slip?!

No, this is not just similar, it's almost... identical!

And the magical artifact held by that blue figure, which resembled neither a ruler nor a sword, overlapped once again with the "measuring ruler" on the mural and the divine weapon of his "fabricated" ancestral master!

Coincidence? What kind of coincidence could there be so many, so precisely timed coincidences?!

Place names, deeds, ritual implements, Taoist names... they all match up?!

This can no longer be explained by "capturing ancient marks"!

This is practically... the story he fabricated back then was a direct copy of the real experiences of this ancient powerful being, "Qingyunzi"!

No, it might even be more bizarre—was it a story he "fabricated" that somehow "influenced" or "echoed" a truth that already existed in the long river of history?

Or... the other way around?

Shen Mo felt a bone-chilling cold rise from his spine and spread throughout his body in an instant, even his fingertips were trembling slightly.

He gripped the broken jade slip tightly, his fingernails almost digging into his palm.

Within his sea of ​​consciousness, the Myriad Laws Source Pearl spun at an unprecedented speed, radiating a scorching light that resonated intensely with the faint, extremely weak, primordial fluctuations remaining in the jade slip! It was as if long-lost kin had finally reunited!

This jade slip... the trace of primordial aura remaining in this jade slip, belonging to that ancient "Qingyunzi," is actually from the same source as the Myriad Laws Origin Pearl?!

A more absurd, more terrifying, yet seemingly the only plausible explanation, thought, like a venomous snake, burrowed into Shen Mo's mind and lingered there—

Could it be that... the Myriad Laws Source Pearl he refined was not a rare treasure born of heaven and earth, but rather... related to this ancient powerful being, "Qingyunzi"?

Even, perhaps, his relics, or part of his legacy?!

And Shen Mo's ability to "fabricate" the story of "Ancestor Liuyun" that highly overlaps with the deeds of "Qingyunzi" was not accidental, but rather due to the subtle influence of the Myriad Laws Source Pearl, or perhaps...

He himself had some inexplicable connection with this "Qingyunzi" that transcended time and space...?

Is it reincarnation? Is it a successor? Is it entanglement of cause and effect? ​​Or... something else entirely?