Firmament Sword

"The biggest mistake I've ever made in my life was back then... I knew someone was plotting against the two of you from the shadows, but I didn't warn you... which led to you hating me to the bone, and I had no way to defend myself."

"For one... you wouldn't have believed my explanation, because I've always been an insidious and cunning guy..."

Zuo Mingyu gave a bitter smile and continued, "And for two... I *couldn't* explain it to you!"

"Who was it?" Yuwen Ji asked, looking at Zuo Mingyu with hazy, drunken eyes. "You can finally tell me now, can't you?"

But Zuo Mingyu just shook his head. "I can't say. There's no way I can. You should be able to figure it out yourself, you just don't want to believe it."

"What am I supposed to figure out?" Yuwen Ji's tone sounded somewhat unnatural.

"Heh, it's been so many years. Even if you knew the truth... what then? Would Qiaoqiao come back to you?" Zuo Mingyu said with a bitter laugh. "Besides, the person you should have truly blamed back then... was yourself!"

"You're right... If I hadn't been so stubborn back then, she wouldn't have really left." Yuwen Ji sighed and took a large gulp of wine.

"Today... if you hadn't come to my Scripture Pavilion on your own, I'm sure I still wouldn't be saying any of this to you. I've already said too much." Zuo Mingyu muttered, then added, "But... you bastard, you really found yourself a good disciple!"

Hearing this, Yuwen Ji's expression immediately turned wary. He glared at Zuo Mingyu. "Zuo, let me make this clear. He's my one and only precious disciple. If you dare to try anything with him, I'll fight you to the death!"

"Why so serious? Your disciple... my disciple... what's the difference? Honestly!" Zuo Mingyu grumbled, pouting.

"Absolutely not. What's mine is mine, and I'm definitely not sharing him with you!" Yuwen Ji looked at Zuo Mingyu with a cold smirk. "You can go find your own!"

"Fine, I'll find one! What's the big deal? You found a combat powerhouse to inherit the Medicine King Ring, so I'll find a medical genius to inherit the Scripture Pavilion!" Zuo Mingyu said indignantly.

Yuwen Ji burst out laughing. "Alright, if you can find a disciple like that, then I'll be impressed!"

"Just you wait! I do what I say!"

「...」

Xu Luo, having entered the stone door, was naturally unaware that two Elders who seemed to share a deep, bitter grudge... a profound enmity... were drinking just outside, separated from him by that very door.

The moment Xu Luo stepped inside, he felt an icy blast of air wash over him.

This stone chamber was frigid. The temperature inside made even someone of Xu Luo's cultivation level feel uncomfortable.

The Shadow Shaking Heart Method began to circulate on its own within his body, and the chill immediately lessened somewhat.

Xu Luo winced and muttered, "Did they store Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice in here? Why is it so cold?"

Then, Xu Luo's gaze fell upon the most conspicuous object in the stone chamber. There... stood a broken stone stele.

And the bone-chilling cold was emanating from this very stele.

The inscriptions on the stele were faded and blurry, exuding an ancient, weathered aura.

'Could this... be the world-renowned... Soul Scripture?' Xu Luo murmured to himself as he slowly approached the stele.

The closer he got, the more intense the cold became. By the time Xu Luo stood before the stele, the fierce chill was making even someone like him, with his vigorous qi and blood, feel unwell.

The Shadow Shaking Heart Method circulated rapidly, alleviating the discomfort in his body.

Xu Luo couldn't resist reaching out to touch the ancient stele, which had stood there for who knows how many years.

The moment his fingertip made contact, an extremely frigid pulse shot out from the stele, nearly freezing Xu Luo's very soul!

Xu Luo quickly retracted his finger, his brow furrowing in surprise. He had sensed something unusual!

Normally, he wasn't the type to get carried away by excitement and rush in recklessly. But upon entering this chamber, it was as if he couldn't control his emotions. He had been irresistibly drawn to the stele, then subconsciously reached out to touch it...

'Could it be... that there's something strange about this stele?' Xu Luo raised an eyebrow. Then, he did something incredibly bold.

He opened the Bronze Divine Hall and directly... pulled the stele into the Bronze Divine Hall World!

In the process, however, Xu Luo was nearly frozen into an ice sculpture. He also discovered that this broken stele, which looked to be less than ten feet tall, was unbelievably heavy!

Xu Luo could barely move it!

This shocked Xu Luo immensely. With his current strength, he could easily uproot not just a stone stele, but an entire mountain!

Wasn't the Saint Emperor's Treasure Vault an entire mountain, complete with all sorts of seals? He had moved that away directly.

And now, a broken stele was heavier than a mountain?

Xu Luo wondered inwardly, 'What is this thing made of? It would probably be great for smashing people...!'

With that thought, Xu Luo entered the Bronze Divine Hall World himself to look at the broken stele he had brought in.

The cold from the stele was still present, but this was Xu Luo's own world. Empowered by its laws, the stele's influence on him was greatly diminished.

Xu Luo focused his gaze on the inscription. Though the characters were blurry, a miraculous Dao-like rhythm remained upon them—something not to be seen with the eyes, but to be sensed with the mind.

The instant his Spiritual Power touched the stele, a strange suction force emanated from it, as if trying to seize his Spiritual Power.

Startled, Xu Luo immediately withdrew his Spiritual Power and stared at the stele with a suspicious expression.

His master, Yuwen Ji, didn't know much about the Soul Scripture either. Most of his knowledge came from the accounts of his predecessors. He had only said that the stele was obscure and profound, extremely difficult to comprehend, and that countless geniuses had failed to decipher it in their lifetimes.

But he had never mentioned the cold emanating from the stele or its tendency to absorb one's Spiritual Power.

'Could it be... that I'm the only one who feels this?' Xu Luo muttered, frowning. He thought, 'If only Cyan Dragon and White Tiger were still here. They might know more about this.'

Ever since arriving in the Divine Domain, Xu Luo had a feeling that this vast and mysterious world wasn't quite what he had imagined. It seemed people here knew less about ancient legends than those in the Lower Realm.

However, that might just be because his own understanding of the Divine Domain was still shallow.

He hesitated, then tried a few more times. Each time, he felt the same thing.

As soon as his Spiritual Power touched the stele's inscription, a powerful suction force would emanate from it...

Xu Luo frowned and circled the stele a few times. He gritted his teeth and thought, 'Screw it! Today, I'm going to find out exactly what secret is hidden within this stele engraved with the Soul Scripture!'

With that resolve, Xu Luo once again poured his Spiritual Power into the stele.

The immense suction force returned. This time, Xu Luo didn't resist. He allowed the stele to frantically devour his Spiritual Power.

The terrifying pull felt like it was about to tear his very soul into the stele along with it. Several times, Xu Luo thought of giving up, but in the end, he gritted his teeth and persevered.

Xu Luo's Spiritual Power was as vast as the ocean, far surpassing others at his level. Even so, as his Spiritual Power drained away, he began to feel a splitting headache.

It was a pain that an ordinary person could never endure. His entire head felt like it was about to explode!

Xu Luo's face grew paler and paler. In the end, he simply drew upon the fortune of the entire Bronze Divine Hall World to empower himself. Otherwise, the stele would have long since drained all of his Spiritual Power.

But the consequences of doing so... were also quite severe.

As the stele continued to absorb, the internal world of the Bronze Divine Hall began to destabilize. The once-perfect laws... started to show cracks.

All the living beings within the Bronze Divine Hall World could feel this change. They looked up at Cangqiong in terror, not knowing what was happening.

The little girl, Nannan, who was chatting with Master Tao and Song Banban, suddenly furrowed her brow. She looked up at the sky and said, "Big Brother is here!"

"What? What's that kid doing? Why do I get the feeling this world is in trouble?" the Ancient Peach Tree grumbled with concern.

Song Banban, however, said thoughtfully, "I seem to feel... a peculiar aura has appeared in this world."

Little Nannan said, "I have to go find Big Brother! He needs help!"

As she spoke, the little girl transformed into a streak of light and vanished.

"Hey... Wait a second!" Master Tao called out, but Little Nannan's figure had already disappeared.

Master Tao looked at Song Banban and said, "Let's go take a look too!"

Song Banban nodded. "We both owe him. We're able to live carefree lives in this world thanks to him. Of course, we should go see what's happening."

With that, Master Tao and Master Song, the two ancient trees, also chased off in Little Nannan's direction.

As the stele continued its absorption, a true crisis finally befell the Bronze Divine Hall's world. The sky on the distant horizon began to collapse!

The laws of the sky there had completely disintegrated, caving downward. The ground was no longer solid, splitting open into bottomless chasms that stretched all the way to the world's center!

At this point, all the living beings in the Bronze Divine Hall World began to panic. It felt like the apocalypse had come, and they all scattered, fleeing for their lives.

But with the entire world on the verge of collapse, where could they possibly run?

When Little Nannan reached Xu Luo, she found him already unconscious, his face so pale it was completely devoid of color.

"Big Brother... what's wrong? Little Nannan is here to see you! Open your eyes, don't scare me!"

The little girl's clear voice rang out. Xu Luo managed to pry his eyes open a crack. He wanted to offer a smile, but he simply couldn't.

At this moment... the entire world had begun to tremble!

And the ancient, broken stele... was still absorbing frantically, as if it would never stop.

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