Gou Zai Fei Men made up myths

The dark passageway was silent, save for the faint echoes of three people's footsteps, as if they were treading on the dust of history.

The unease and tension of exploration that I felt upon arrival have now been replaced by a heavy sense of responsibility, a mixture of shock, enlightenment, sorrow, and an indescribable feeling.

Su Xiao and Shi Tie followed behind Shen Mo, looking at the sect leader's straight back. They felt that beneath that seemingly calm figure, there was as if a volcano about to erupt was being suppressed, or a bottomless ocean.

They saw the crystalline skeleton reduced to ashes, the shattered fragments of the measuring ruler, the long silence after the sect leader touched the jade slip, and the fleeting, resolute look in his eyes after that silence, a look that seemed to have seen through the ages.

They knew that the sect leader must have learned a shocking secret in that secret room.

But they didn't ask; they simply suppressed all their doubts and awe in their hearts, silently following and guarding them.

The return journey seemed much faster than the way there. Perhaps it was because there was no longer any need to explore, or perhaps it was the heaviness in their hearts that urged them to leave this desolate and sorrowful place as soon as possible.

Passing through the chaotic gate opened by the Myriad Laws Source Pearl and still in an open state, they returned to the outer edge of the bizarre and chaotic Ruins of Return. When they saw Zhao Qingyan, Li Xiaocao, and the old sea dog on the "Black Sturgeon" looking anxious and looking forward to their return, the three of them felt as if they had been in another world.

"Sect Leader!"

"Senior brother!"

"Senior Shen!"

Seeing the three return safely, Zhao Qingyan and the others visibly breathed a sigh of relief. However, when they saw the unfathomable look in Shen Mo's calm face, the bundle wrapped in a Taoist robe on Shi Tie's back that he was carrying with unusual care, and the still-serious look in Su Xiao's eyes, they immediately became anxious again.

"Sect Leader, is everything alright? Inside..." Zhao Qingyan stepped forward, her gaze sweeping over the bundle on Shi Tie's back, then hesitated to speak.

"We'll talk about it when we get back." Shen Mo waved his hand, his voice calm but carrying an undeniable weariness and melancholy. "Leave this place."

The old sea dog had been waiting anxiously, and upon hearing this, he felt as if he had been granted a pardon. Without saying a word, he immediately started the "Black Sturgeon," turned the bow around, and carefully sailed back in the direction he had come from.

This time, perhaps because they were familiar with the way home, or perhaps because they were eager to return, or perhaps because of the invisible pressure emanating from the secret behind the Gate of Chaos, the eerie shadows and hidden spatial folds along the way were greatly reduced, and the return journey was much smoother than the way there.

Only when the "Black Sturgeon" completely sailed out of that gelatinous, lifeless "Sea of ​​Nothingness" and re-entered the outer gray fog, feeling the omnipresent, yet much "milder" than the core area, deathly aura of reincarnation and chaotic Dao rhythm, did the frozen atmosphere on the ship ease slightly.

Shen Mo gathered everyone inside the cabin and set up several layers of soundproofing and protective barriers. The cabin was dimly lit, with only a few luminous pearls emitting a soft glow that illuminated the various expressions on everyone's faces.

Shen Mo slowly sat down, his gaze sweeping over everyone. Zhao Qingyan's delicate brows furrowed slightly, her eyes filled with inquiry and worry; Li Xiaocao pursed her lips, her small hands nervously twisting the hem of her clothes.

Shi Tie carefully untied the bundle from his back and placed it aside, while Tong Ling's eyes still held shock and confusion.

Su Xiao remained aloof, but a turbulent emotion stirred deep within her eyes.

The old sea lion wisely stayed in the corner, keeping his eyes down and not daring to breathe, but his perked-up ears betrayed his curiosity.

The cabin was completely silent, save for the low groans of the chaotic air currents rubbing against the hull of the "Black Sturgeon" and the occasional, chilling hissing from a spatial rift in the distance.

After a long silence, Shen Mo finally spoke, his voice low but clear, each word striking a chord in everyone's heart:

"We found it."

He paused, seemingly considering his words, or perhaps trying to calm himself.

"Found... the remains of the Qingyun Ancestor, and the jade slip he left behind as a legacy."

"boom--!"

Although they had a premonition, when Shen Mo clearly uttered those words, it still sounded like a thunderclap in everyone's ears.

"The remains of the Ancestor... the Ancestor?!" Zhao Qingyan exclaimed in shock, her beautiful eyes widening instantly as she looked incredulously at the bundle wrapped in a Taoist robe beside Shi Tie, her body trembling slightly with excitement and shock.

In the hearts of all disciples, Qingyunzi, the founder of the Qingyun Sect, is an almost mythical figure, a symbol of the sect's origin and glory.

And now, his remains are right before my eyes? And in this desolate place?!

Shi Tie jumped up abruptly, pointing at the bundle, stammering, "Sect Leader... this... this really is... really the Ancestral Master? But... but didn't the Ancestral Master... ascend to heaven? How could he be in a place like this..."

He was a little confused. According to the Qingyun Sect, the founder, Qingyunzi, had mastered the Dao and ascended to immortality, leaving behind a lineage and legend.

But the remains brought back from the Desolate Zone clearly tell another cruel story.

But the remains brought back from the Desolate Zone clearly tell another cruel story.

Li Xiaocao covered her mouth, her eyes wide open, looking at the bundle, then at Shen Mo, her face pale. Su Xiao didn't say anything, but her cold eyes suddenly narrowed, and her breathing became slightly rapid.

Shen Mo did not directly answer Shi Tie's question, but slowly said, "It is not the founder we are familiar with. Rather... it is an ancient powerhouse with the same Daoist name, 'Qingyunzi,' from a far more distant past."

His gaze swept over the shocked faces of the crowd, and he continued in a calm yet powerful tone, recounting the key points of what he had seen in the secret chamber—the crystalline skeleton, the broken measuring ruler, the complete jade slip, and the information left by Qingyunzi on the jade slip about the ancient war between immortals and demons, guarding the Samsara Palace, ultimately burning his Dao foundation and divine soul to delay the great calamity, and mentioning that the "Eye of Return to the Void" was the root of the chaos.

He concealed the shock and doubt caused by the high degree of consistency between his "fabricated" history and the truth, and also omitted the mysterious resonance between the Myriad Law Source Pearl and the Qingyunzi lineage. He only said that he passed the test of the restriction and obtained the inheritance by relying on the aura of the Qingyun Sect's techniques and the guidance of the beast bone map.

Even a brief description contains enough information to shock and leave everyone speechless.

Ancient Calamity! Extraterrestrial Demons! The Palace of Reincarnation Guards! A Sacrifice to Unite the Formation! A Dao-Burning Sacrificial Artifact! The Eye of Return to the Void! The Cruel Task of Mending the Heavens!

Every word felt heavy as a mountain, suffocating them. This was completely different from the romantic legends they had heard since childhood about their ancestor, Qingyunzi, roaming freely through the world and ultimately ascending to immortality!

This is an epic filled with blood and fire, sacrifice and despair, responsibility and tragedy! And the protagonist of this epic is actually the same person as the founder worshipped by their Qingyun Sect, and they share the same lineage of Dao!

"So... our Qingyun Sect's lineage might very well originate from this ancient Qingyunzi senior?" Zhao Qingyan was the first to recover her senses from the shock, her voice a little dry. "And this senior didn't ascend to immortality, but... died here in battle? To suppress reincarnation and delay the great calamity?"

"That's one way to understand it." Shen Mo nodded, his gaze falling on the bundle, his tone filled with deep respect. "In the jade slip, Senior Qingyunzi said, 'The Dao was perfected here, and the Dao perished here, yet I have no regrets.' His ambition shines as bright as the sun and moon, and his achievements cover mountains and rivers."

"For us younger generations to be able to enter this hall, see his remains, and carry on his will is a tremendous opportunity, but also... a heavy responsibility."