Gou Zai Fei Men made up myths

"The jade slip is incomplete and ancient. Whether it's a coincidence of sharing the same name or title is still unknown," Shen Mo said slowly, his tone calm and unwavering. "However, the shape of the magical artifacts in the murals is quite similar to the 'Measuring Ruler of Heaven' recorded in our sect's scriptures, which is an indisputable fact."

"In any case, it is probably not untrue that the lineage of my Qingyun Sect is connected with ancient events."

Shi Tie scratched his head and muttered, "Sect Leader, what do we do now? That place is terrifying, and those bastards from the Xuan Yin Sect seem to be eyeing it too..."

"The Black Swamp Reincarnation Palace has become a place of great trouble and unpredictable danger."

Shen Mo said in a deep voice, "In the short term, our alliance should not explore further. Shi Tie, send more elite troops to strengthen the blockade and monitoring of the Black Swamp's perimeter, and strictly prohibit any force from entering on a large scale. However, we should not provoke the Blazing Sun and Heavenly Sword Sects too much. We can release some real information about the danger to make them back down."

"The key is to keep a close eye on all the movements of the Xuan Yin Sect, especially any clues that may be related to the blood sacrifice in the Northern Desert and the Samsara Palace."

"Yes!" Shi Tie solemnly accepted the order.

"Junior Sister Zhao, you are in charge of organizing all the mural rubbings, organizing reliable people, conducting secret research, and focusing on analyzing the details of the war between immortals and demons, the image of the Taoist in green and his magical artifacts, as well as any graphic or textual information that may be related to 'Qingyunzi,' 'reincarnation,' and 'suppression.'"

"This matter is classified as a top secret of the sect, and participants must swear a soul oath."

"Qingyan understands," Zhao Qingyan solemnly replied.

"Junior Sister Li, the Pill Hall is working at full capacity to research and stockpile high-grade pills to deal with soul attacks, purify evil and deathly energy, and quickly restore spiritual power. The same goes for the Weapon Hall and the Array Hall; the standard is to prepare for threats at the Nascent Soul level." Shen Mo looked at Li Xiaocao.

Li Xiaocao nodded emphatically: "Sect Leader, rest assured, the Pill Hall will do its utmost!"

"Elder Han, you oversee the overall situation, stabilize the alliance internally, and strengthen control over the various affiliated forces. At the same time…"

Shen Mo paused, a deep light flashing in his eyes. "In my name, use all available channels and spare no expense to collect all information related to the word 'Guixu'—whether it's ancient books, legends, travelogues, broken steles, or even mythological ramblings. As long as there is even a single mention, collect and compile it all and send it to me."

"The Ruins of Return?" Han Lin was slightly taken aback. He vaguely recognized the term; it seemed to refer to the end of the world, the final resting place of all things, mentioned in some extremely ancient and absurd myths—a place of ethereal mystery, always considered the imagination of the ancients. Why was the sect leader suddenly interested in this? And why was he placing such importance on it?

"Yes, Guixu." Shen Mo's tone left no room for doubt, but he didn't explain why. "Remember, it's at all costs, but it must be done in secrecy. This matter is also classified as top secret, and must not be leaked to anyone except those present."

Seeing Shen Mo's solemn expression, Han Lin, though puzzled, dared not ask further and bowed, saying, "I will remember."

Shen Mo's gaze finally settled on Su Xiao: "Junior Sister Xiao, the Shadow Guard is fully mobilized. In addition to monitoring all forces, there is another top-secret mission—to investigate whether there are any other records or accounts of the name 'Qing Yunzi' circulating after ancient times, especially outside the Southern Region, and even in the Central Region, the Northern Desert, the East Sea, and the Western Wilderness. Similarly, any clues, whether true or false, no matter how absurd, must be reported."

"Yes." Su Xiao replied simply, a hint of understanding flashing in her clear, cold eyes. She vaguely guessed that the sect leader had probably discovered more unspoken secrets in the Samsara Palace, and the key was the "Return to the Void" and the deeper information about "Qingyunzi".

"Everyone," Shen Mo looked around at the crowd, his voice deep and powerful, "the matter of the Samsara Palace is far more complex than we had anticipated. It not only contains ancient secrets, but may also concern the safety of the Southern Region and even the balance of this world."

"The Xuan Yin Sect's ambitions are not small, and the Lie Yang Sect and Tian Jian Sect are also eyeing us covetously. Our Qing Yun Alliance may seem to be in a position of glory, but in reality, we are already standing on the edge of a storm. From now on, we must be more cautious and more decisive in our actions. I hope that everyone will work together to overcome these difficult times."

"We will obey the sect leader's command!" the crowd replied in unison, their expressions solemn.

The meeting ended, leaving Shen Mo alone in the private room. He sat alone under the lamp, his fingers unconsciously tapping on the cold jade table, producing a monotonous tapping sound.

"Guixu... Qingyunzi..." he murmured to himself, his eyes as deep and unfathomable as a pool.

Although the "causal editing" was successful, he knew it was merely a "reasonable deduction" based on fragments, a possible "answer," not an irrefutable "truth." He needed more evidence and more clues to verify or revise this conjecture.

The "Return to the Void" place is a possible location that he deduced from the outcome of "the body merging with the Heavenly Dao".

If "Qingyunzi" really completed the task of mending the sky there, then perhaps there would be scattered records about "Guixu" in the world, even if they are just myths and legends.

The search for the spread of "Qingyunzi" in other regions is to verify the breadth of influence of this ancient great being and the extent to which his deeds have been forgotten or distorted by later generations.

This was a needle in a haystack, with little hope. But Shen Mo had no other choice.

This concerns the foundation of the Qingyun Sect, the source and limit of his own power, and how to deal with the crisis that seems to be hidden in the shadow of history and is gradually approaching.

This concerns the foundation of the Qingyun Sect, the source and limit of his own power, and how to deal with the crisis that seems to be hidden in the shadow of history and is gradually approaching.

Time slipped by quietly amidst the calm and undercurrents. The massive machine that was the Azure Cloud Alliance operated efficiently under Shen Mo's will.

The Black Swamp's blockade was tightened, and the infamous reputation of the Samsara Palace was deliberately spread through various channels. Coupled with the news of the previous losses of spies from the Blazing Sun Sect and the Heavenly Sword Sect, many covetous individuals were indeed wary and temporarily backed down.

Within the alliance, various combat readiness efforts are being carried out intensively, and on the surface, the situation remains prosperous and stable.

While recovering from his injuries and handling daily affairs, Shen Mo awaited the results of the investigation into "Gui Xu" and "Qing Yunzi". He often went alone to the forbidden library on the top floor of the Scripture Pavilion to browse through the ancient books and fragments that no one had bothered with, hoping to find some clues to confirm his findings.

However, the results were meager. Among the ancient books collected by Qingyun Sect, "Guixu" was only mentioned in two miscellaneous books that were almost myths and strange tales. The descriptions were vague, only stating that it was "the end of heaven and earth, the place where all waters flow, a place of nothingness and desolation," without any further details.

As for "Qingyunzi", apart from his own "Travel Notes", there is no record of him in any other books in the sect.

As the days went by, Shen Mo's inner tension did not ease. He knew that the storm had only been temporarily suppressed, not gone away.

The Xuan Yin Sect's conspiracy, the unusual activities of the Reincarnation Palace, and the seemingly predetermined karmic entanglements all hung like swords over their heads, ready to fall at any moment.

Six months later, in midsummer.

On this day, Shen Mo was reviewing official documents submitted from various places in the Liuyun Hall when Han Lin suddenly requested an audience, his old face showing a rare mix of excitement and disbelief.

"Sect Leader! There's news! It's about 'Guixu'!" Han Lin's voice trembled slightly as he held a sandalwood box sealed with a special restriction in his hands.