Immortal Dao is dead, I am the mastermind behind it all.

Standing high in the sky, Shen Moyan gazed at the wisp of snow at the edge of the heavens. The sense of desolation caused by the wind and snow had not yet dissipated when a thought flashed through his mind.

"Azure...Azure Nether Pearl!"

"Wait, if my thinking is correct..."

He suddenly remembered the precious pearl that he had taken from Yi Shukuang in Feiguang Prefecture, and which was later transformed into the Qingming Inkstone by the "As I Write".

"Yi Shukuang's fragmented memories mentioned that the Azure Nether Pearl belonged to the Azure Nether Deity and was buried deep within the ley lines of Feiguang Prefecture. It was only because of the appearance of the Star River Enlightenment Deity that the Deity's Daoist aura dissipated, and thus it came into being..."

Shen Moyan focused his mind on the Azure Inkstone, using the Profound Azure Flame to burn and purify the unruly demonic energy within him. He then used the Record of Auspicious and Inauspicious Fates to deduce and search, accurately finding information about the Azure Pearl.

"As expected, this Azure Nether Pearl was originally buried in Feiguang Prefecture in ancient times, and no one has touched it for more than three million years."

This conjecture sparked a thought in Shen Moyan's mind.

If that's the case, the ancient Feiguang Continent hasn't yet collapsed due to the great war, and the earth's veins are still intact. The bead is very likely still buried in its original place, perfectly preserved.

"We must obtain it before the mountains and seas collapse!"

If I were to obtain the Azure Pearl again, would I still be able to refine it as before?

Shen Moyan was a little excited.

Yi Shukuang replaced Yin He Zhenren, and naturally also had the memory of obtaining the "Azure Pearl".

Shen Moyan specifically purified and collected this part of the memory, first determining the location where the Azure Pearl would appear in this life.

He took out the Mountain and Sea Map of the Biyang Sword Sect, and the pictures and texts of mountains and rivers entered his mind.

Then, through repeated deductions and comparisons of ancient and modern maps, it becomes clear that...

Millions of years have passed, and the terrain has changed drastically, making it two completely different places.

"No, I shouldn't think like that. I should look for those special ley lines and put myself in the shoes of the person involved..."

Soon after, Shen Moyan identified several special ley lines.

"Great, we have the general direction now."

Shen Moyan immediately activated the secret technique in the "Record of Auspicious and Inauspicious Causes and Effects".

Good or bad fortune? Know the result, seek the cause, and fulfill the conditions!

Back then, the Celestial Master used this very trick to find Shen Moyan through the karma of the death-exemption token.

"This is it!"

A startling light flashed in Shen Moyan's eyes!

The sword light rose again, and Shen Moyan tore through the wind and snow at top speed, heading in the direction predicted.

Along the way, he saw the devastation of the land intensify, and occasionally terrifying battle fluctuations came from the far distance, clearly indicating that the aftershocks of the great war had begun to spread.

The mountains rise and fall like swords, and the earth's veins twist and turn in strange ways.

According to the deduction, the Azure Pearl should be buried in a natural spatial fissure where the earth's veins intersect.

Without hesitation, Shen Moyan cleaved the earth with his sword, which sank into the ground.

Guided by the secrets of cause and effect, we traverse the intricate underground rock formations.

He found it soon after.

A pearl the size of a pigeon's egg floated quietly above a spiritual eye of the earth's veins, slowly rotating and absorbing pure spiritual energy.

Ancient Azure Pearl!

Suppressing his excitement, Shen Moyan reached out and beckoned, and the bead, as if possessing a spirit, obediently fell into his palm.

It was cool to the touch, with a restrained Daoist aura, yet it resonated mysteriously with the Azure Inkstone deep within his soul.

"I've succeeded!" A huge weight was lifted off his shoulders.

Another Azure Nether Pearl has been acquired.

However, the "as I wrote" section remained completely untouched.

On the contrary, the Azure Inkstone suddenly emitted an extremely dazzling azure light without warning.

Shen Moyan felt a chill run down his spine, hesitated for a moment, and then made a decision.

At this moment, the mountains and seas are fraught with danger, and any variable may contain the seeds of life or death. Rather than forcibly suppressing it, it is better to go with the flow and find out the truth.

In any case, his true self was still inside the Azure Inkstone, and the Azure Inkstone was made "as I wrote," so it was completely under his control.

With a thought, he released the restraints on the Azure Inkstone and used his divine sense as a bridge to guide the newly acquired Azure Pearl slowly into his sea of ​​consciousness, moving it closer to the ancient stone inkstone.

The moment the Azure Pearl and the Azure Inkstone came into contact, an obsession and memory that had been suppressed for countless ages flowed out along the sealing runes of "As I Write".

"Um?"

Shen Moyan was somewhat surprised.

A flash of blue light, and the scene before my eyes spun around me.

The next moment, Shen Moyan found himself suspended in an indescribable space.

All around me was eternal darkness and silence.

"The land of Xi Yi..." Shen Moyan was startled.

The feeling here is ninety percent similar to the feeling he had when he first saw the land of the Western Barbarians.

No, it's not completely empty.

Shen Moyan looked up.

High above this empty land, a deathly black sun hangs in the sky!

"The Xuanhuang Emperor..."

Shen Moyan was speechless, feeling an urge to bow his head and kowtow.

But beneath this suffocatingly dark sky, a faint yet incredibly persistent light stubbornly shines.

Shen Moyan's gaze was involuntarily drawn to that point of light.

The light comes from a lamp.

A lamp he recognized all too well, one he had seen before in the Qingming Inkstone Hut…

An ever-burning lamp!

But at this moment, the lamp was not burning quietly in the cozy little house, but stood alone on a scorched wasteland that seemed to have survived a cataclysmic disaster.

The lamp was covered in cracks, as if it might shatter at any moment. At the wick, a tiny, flickering blue flame was desperately trying to emit its last bit of light and heat.

Beside the ever-burning lamp, a person was kneeling.

He was a man wearing a blue long robe, which was torn in many places and covered in dust.

He was facing away from Shen Moyan, his back straight yet... filled with an indescribable hunchback and despair.

He had a woman in purple in his arms.

The bright purple clothes stood out starkly against the drab world around them, yet they also seemed devoid of life.

The woman's face was as pale as snow, her eyes were unfocused, and a complex curve remained on her lips, a smile that seemed to be mixed with a sigh.

She nestled quietly in the arms of the man in the blue robe, as if she were simply asleep.

In the despairing ruins shrouded in darkness, a boundless, deep-seated regret, powerful enough to distort time and space, surged towards Shen Moyan like a monstrous wave.

Gone...everything is gone...

The entire world... has become His plaything... it has lost all meaning...

It's all...my fault...

Everything returns to nothingness; this is the ultimate fate of mountains and seas...

At that moment, a familiar voice reached my ears, neither male nor female, as if all things were singing in unison:

"Why do you regret it?"

The owner of the voice inquired.

"Having fallen to this state, is it because we didn't try hard enough?"

Upon hearing this, the man in the blue robe trembled and replied.

[My true origins are that of an ordinary bird, yet I have cultivated myself to the unprecedented realm of the Great Fate Master, through more effort than any other being.]

"Is it because it's not powerful enough?"

If I were to regain all my power, I would likely be stronger than any being throughout history. Even if all twenty-one Immortal Venerables of the Other Shore Immortal Realm attacked me together, they would be no match for me.

Even if I were at my peak, I wouldn't be without a chance of winning against Him.

"Then why...?"

【because……】

I was more foolish than anyone else to have made such a grave mistake...

The man in the blue robe looked up at the dark sun in the sky and said something profoundly poignant.

Just then, another mutation occurred.

Around Qingming, four halos of different colors, yet all containing supreme Daoist charm, quietly appeared in the void.

A vast expanse of azure, like the sea, brimming with an aura of wisdom: "Wrong? No, Qingming, you are not wrong. This is the way of things, the will of Heaven. If I were you, I would have done the same..."

A crimson mass, as red as blood, radiated an aura of war and slaughter: "So be it, death is also an inevitable end, Qingming! Carry this guilt with you until the end of time!"

A pure white mass, as white as snow, exuding the majesty of judgment: "What can prove that we ever existed in this world? Only you, Qingming!"

The last cluster, a deep purple like a flower, exuded an unimaginable mystery: "Master, although I cannot see as far as you do, and cannot understand your thoughts, at least this time... have I been of any help to you?"

……

After a long silence, the man in the blue robe slowly lowered his head:

Ladies and gentlemen, I now know how to make up for the mistakes I have made.

He took a blue-green mask from the woman in purple and put it on his face.

Right after He finished doing this.

Around the black sun, stars shone brightly.