Longzang

Chapter 1152 Fire
Even with Wei Yuan's composure and thick skin, he remained stunned for several breaths before finally speaking.

But before Wei Yuan could speak, the woman said, "Shut up! You don't have a father."

Wei Yuan obediently shut his mouth, and then the woman gestured for him to follow her. A broken doorway appeared before them, its destination unknown. She stepped through the doorway and vanished.

Wei Yuan glanced around. Feng Tingyu and the others were all looking at him with strange expressions—not shock, but confusion. None of them had looked at the woman in black, nor at the doorway. A thought suddenly occurred to Wei Yuan: Could it be that they couldn't see the woman in black?

Looking at the doorway shattered into countless fragments, Wei Yuan felt a chill run down his spine, sensing that he would surely be torn to pieces if he went through it, but he still gritted his teeth and walked in.

The moment Wei Yuan passed through the portal, he felt his body being cut into countless pieces by those fragments. Each piece was clearly separated from his main body, yet strangely maintained a sense of wholeness.

Passing through the portal, the world instantly changed, and Wei Yuan's body was reassembled. But now he only appeared to be a single entity; the separated parts were still independent.

This is an incomparably magnificent world, devoid of sun and light. The origin of brightness is unknown, nor is the elusive source of darkness. The earth is barren, devoid of any life, save for wisps of mist-like gas settling upon the rugged, rocky landscape. As far as the eye can see, decay stretches endlessly.

In the distance, a mountain range, a million feet high, stretched across the land, its end nowhere in sight. Even a single glance from Wei Yuan revealed a range of hundreds of thousands of miles to its edge, yet the end remained elusive. But as far as the eye could see, the mountain range grew ever higher and more magnificent.

The mountains were dark gray and black, devoid of any color. The peaks had a layer of grayish-white on their summits, but the texture was not like snow; rather, it resembled ash from a catastrophe.

Traces of the river still remain in the mountains and on the land, though the riverbeds are now filled with dark, sticky, and foul-smelling mud. If this great river weren't thousands of miles wide, Wei Yuan probably wouldn't have been able to see any trace of it at all.

The earth was dark gray, covered with mounds of dark gray mud of varying sizes and heights, some as high as ten thousand feet, others only a few hundred feet.

There is no wind, no spiritual energy, and no primordial energy of heaven and earth. The sky is dark, but not the kind of black that comes from emptiness. From the heavens to the earth and mountains, an eerie glow emanates, illuminating this desolate world.

The entire world was like a colossal beast that had been dead for countless years, cold and lifeless, devoid of any vitality, yet infinitely magnificent. Even with all his divine sense, Wei Yuan could only cover a few scales and claws of this beast.

"Here." That indifferent, cold voice echoed in Wei Yuan's mind, pointing him in the right direction.

Wei Yuan followed the sound and flew towards a towering peak at the end of the vast mountain range. This peak stood out abruptly, towering far above its surroundings. From a distance, Wei Yuan felt as if this place resembled the skeleton of a giant dragon winding across the land, with the peak being the dragon's single, skyward-pointing horn.

The summit of the precipice was also rugged with rocks, and the woman in black sat casually on a rock, blending into the cliff behind her. If she hadn't summoned him, Wei Yuan wouldn't have seen her at all.

Wei Yuan approached her, bowed deeply, and then waited quietly for what was to come.

The woman raised her hand and waved it lightly, indicating to the entire world, and said, "From the perspective of the human race, this is your father, and I am your mother."

"You are..." Wei Yuan was still completely confused; her words were essentially meaningless.

The woman in black split open between her brows, revealing a third eye that shot out a thin beam of light that entered Wei Yuan's consciousness. Then, a cloud of earth suddenly exploded within the ancient full moon, and the Moon Laurel Fairy shot into the sky like a cannonball, fleeing in a disheveled state.

A large shadow rose in the middle of the moon, slowly revealing the head of a three-eyed bird. For the first time, there was a clear sign of life in its eyes, and its cold gaze swept across the entire world of the mind.

At this very moment, Ji Liuli, Bao Yun, Feng Tingyu, and others were all busy amidst the bustling world, focusing their efforts on analyzing the brilliant, shimmering light they had just witnessed, as well as the mysterious immortal technique that had suddenly pierced through it. Princess Ningguo and the Sixth Princess were also doing what tasks they could within their abilities, while simultaneously training their divine senses.

Therefore, they were all seen by the three-eyed bird head and none of them escaped.

The entire mental world suddenly fell silent, and every living being suddenly felt as if a great calamity was about to befall them, as if they would lose some part of themselves if they moved even slightly.

Fortunately, the three-eyed bird's head only appeared for a moment before turning into shadow and retreating back into the depths of the ancient full moon, never to reappear.

Although the three-eyed bird's head had disappeared, all living beings in the bustling world were still shaken, and it took them a while to gradually regain their activity. Yuegui silently deleted the design plans for the Taiyin Spiritual Palace, which she had been working on for a long time. It was originally a magnificent and splendid complex, complete with a mountain. But now, she felt apprehensive even about building a small thatched hut.

In the celestial realm, a colossal shadow appeared behind the woman in black. It was the head of a bird, tens of thousands of feet tall, but only one eye in the center gleamed faintly; the other two eyes were tightly closed. The bird's head surveyed the entire world, and suddenly an indescribable, overwhelming sorrow filled the heavens and earth. Wei Yuan was powerless to resist, and tears streamed down his face.

After a brief glance, the bird's head drooped again, disappearing into the mountains. But in that last instant, Wei Yuan vaguely saw two other sleeping bird heads.

The woman in black remained silent for a long time, seemingly processing the shock of immense grief, before finally saying, "Here, the Heavenly Dao has shattered, and time has no meaning, so I don't know when I last woke up, or when I will wake up this time."

"You offered me two immortal spirits, which gave me the power to strike. The one who seeks to kill you, though of high rank, is subject to numerous restrictions of heaven and earth, and is not a threat in the short term. But unless I receive more spirits, I cannot act. The more spirits I have, the less energy I expend when I strike."

Seeing that the light in the woman's eyes had dimmed, Wei Yuan quickly asked, "What exactly are you referring to as your parents?"

"...Back then, when this world was on the verge of destruction, a batch of seeds were condensed from the last remaining life force of the world. I ignited this life force and cast them into all the heavens and myriad worlds to serve as the spark for future revival. You are one of them. Mortal parents are merely the eggshell that protects your growth; once you hatch, they are no longer needed."

Ignoring his shock, Wei Yuan hurriedly asked, "What caused the destruction of this world? Are there any historical records?"

This is extremely important. With history, we can understand the development and evolution of our world, what major events occurred, why they led to destruction, and what lessons we can learn. Knowing this will allow us to make targeted plans to deal with potential calamities.

But at this point, the woman in black suddenly hesitated noticeably: "History...historical records...no, the Great Dao has shattered, cause and effect have vanished. There is no more history here..."

Her immortal power rapidly dissipated, her voice grew slower and slower, and she gradually retreated, merging into the stone wall behind her. Wei Yuan suddenly felt a distinct repulsion, and involuntarily floated into the air, flying towards the portal he had come from.

Fortunately, Wei Yuan was quick-witted and nimble-fingered. Before he could float into the air, he quickly grabbed an ordinary black stone from the ground and was then sent out of the gate.

As Wei Yuan passed through the portal, the sense of separation and fragmentation he felt vanished, and he was once again a unified whole. Then the portal disappeared, and everything returned to normal. However, the black stone in Wei Yuan's hand suddenly shattered into hundreds of pieces. All the fragments separated from each other, yet they were also interconnected, forming a self-contained world, like a miniature, tangible cave.

At this moment, everyone was staring at Wei Yuan, and many faces had just begun to show surprise. Wei Yuan moved his divine sense and already knew the time in this world; it turned out that less than a breath had passed.

The expressions on everyone's faces varied, some were doubtful, some were expectant, but most were filled with lingering fear and dread. Apart from a very few genius Dharma Aspects, the vast majority of cultivators were stunned by the vast, approaching river of glazed light. Throughout the entire Azure Netherworld, whether high-level cultivators or mortals, everyone felt as if a great calamity had befallen them. Countless people stood frozen in place, or sat on the ground weeping.

The morale of Qingming was clearly beginning to collapse, and a large number of scholars were in a state of confusion. They had been convinced that humans could overcome fate, and even immortals, but in the face of that vast, luminous immortal light that seemed to exist alongside heaven and earth, they were shocked to discover how insignificant mortals were before true immortals! In the eyes of the great beings, mortals were not even as good as ants. An ant can only be crushed underfoot, while under the power of immortals, billions of mortals could only turn into ashes.

Wei Yuan sensed something was wrong and quickly reviewed all the information in his mind. He immediately said, "Everyone, there's no need to worry! Although the enemy is treacherous and shamelessly launched a sneak attack, we are under the protection of a powerful immortal! What kind of powerful immortal lord is that on the other side? In the end, they couldn't withstand even a single finger from her and were severely injured and forced to flee!"
The fairy's name is Jiutian Xuan...Nü!

Wei Yuan stopped abruptly, changing "Nine Heavens Mystic Mother" to "Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden" to prevent others from using this to divine the cause and effect between mother and child.

As expected, everyone in Qingming was invigorated! Teaching cultivation basics in the academy had become an important part of Qingming's compulsory education. Therefore, everyone had some understanding of the titles and honorifics of immortals. Although they didn't know exactly who the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden was, she sounded powerful, and indeed she was powerful, annihilating the Glazed Light River with a single strike.

Unfortunately, no one was able to see the true face of the Mysterious Woman, which was quite a pity.

When Wei Yuan said this, he was quick-witted. According to the woman in black, his opponent was in a special state and couldn't freely use his immortal power; after one strike, there should be no further action. So Wei Yuan directly announced that the powerful opponent was already seriously injured and unable to fight anymore. This statement had an immediate effect, greatly boosting public morale!
Wei Yuan then distributed tasks through the various realms, instructing scholars in each city to spread the word that Qingming was protected by a powerful being and had won a great victory in the magical duel. Anyone who dared to question the outcome was to be arrested first. At this time, opposing Wei Yuan meant being either a spy from an enemy country or a troublemaker who opposed everything.

Wei Yuan believed that most of them were spies from enemy countries, and a small number were troublemakers. As a result, more than a thousand people were arrested on the first day. After careful interrogation, it was discovered that there were only a few spies from enemy countries, and the vast majority were troublemakers.

Wei Yuan issued a series of orders, and half an hour later, a Qingming unit in central Ganzhou deployed on the spot, raising hundreds of long-range missiles.

After confirming and reviewing the instructions, the commanding general issued the order, and the entire position was engulfed in flames as powerful long-range missiles were launched and flew toward the ancestral land of the Lü family!

Wei Yuan used these missiles to make his stance clear: The Lü family is finished!

(End of this chapter)