The Last Sentinel

Darkness, deathly silence.

The oppressive feeling, almost oozing out of the screen, came crashing down from all directions.

The thick fog, like a heavy curtain, was a mixture of gray and white with purplish-black, churning and rolling, reducing visibility to less than a hundred meters. The damp, cold miasma clung to the skin, seeping into the bones in wisps, and even breathing carried a rusty, decaying smell.

"Cough cough—"

A figure slowly emerged from the deep fog.

Qi Tian's strength completely dissipated. His frail mortal body could no longer bear the immense weight of the Aquarius Gold Cloth. He removed the dazzling gold and blue armor and discarded it behind him. The metal struck the rocks with a dull thud before dissipating into the vast mist. He moved forward step by step with only his flesh and blood.

With each step, the scorched, decaying earth crumbled and crumbled beneath my feet. The ground was scorched by the intense heat, melting and solidifying the soil and rocks into glassy particles that creaked and cracked underfoot.

The deeper one ventures into the island, the denser the giant bones become. Broken ribs and enormous teeth are scattered among the miasma-covered forest, the white bones covered with a layer of gray-black mold, silently telling the story of that ancient, brutal battle.

Qi Tian suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Facing us, a colossal, ten-zhang-tall ape skeleton stood majestically amidst the thick fog.

He stepped forward slowly.

The stark white bones, the chilling aura emanating from them, and the indomitable majesty that pierced through the thick miasma all around. Though time had eroded their bones, it could not contain the untamed and ferocious spirit they possessed in life.

The entire skeleton resembles a small mountain, nearly ten stories high.

Each spine stood straight and tall, every bone as thick as a rock. The surface of the bones was covered with dense, intricate cuts and axe marks, interspersed with large patches of charred and burned marks. The skull was enormous and ferocious, with deep-set, black, empty eye sockets that seemed to hold the lingering rage of ages past. The jaw was clenched tightly, as if still roaring silently even in its skeletal state.

The ape skeleton's right arm was raised high, its withered white finger bones tightly gripping a ten-zhang-long bronze club. The club was covered with thick, emerald-green rust, pitted and uneven, yet its imposing size remained. The tip of the club was angled upwards, frozen in a posture of forceful smashing, as if it would smash all the enemies before it to pieces at any moment.

Qi Tian's pupils contracted slightly, and his gaze fell heavily on the ape's heart.

A jet-black divine spear, its shaft covered in barbs and engraved with twisted, mysterious runes, pierced fiercely from the back, exiting through the chest. The spearhead tore through the entire sternum, embedding itself firmly into the rock behind, locking the massive skeleton in place.

The divine spear, over a hundred meters long, was imposing and massive, standing shoulder to shoulder with the mountain-like skeleton of the demonic monkey. A chilling, eerie light flowed across its body, and dried, dark brown blood clung to its groove. The stark contrast between the pale bones and the dark spear created a gruesome image of a battle-scarred figure.

Qi Tian raised his head, gazing silently at the corpse of a fallen warrior. His chest heaved slightly, a profound shock churning within him. His brows furrowed, his lips pressed together, and for a moment he was speechless.

Beyond the celestial canopy, billions of beings on Earth witnessed this magnificent and bizarre scene from Qi Tian's perspective.

Zhou Yunyi, the Director of the Imperial Observatory, suddenly stopped speaking calmly. His face paled, his mouth opened slightly, and he was speechless.

"This, this..." Zhou Yunyi steadied himself, forcibly suppressing the shock churning within him. He leaned forward slightly, bracing his hands on the table, his gaze fixed on the transmitted image. "This is definitely not human remains! Human skulls never have this shape! In my judgment, these are the remains of an ape! It is still half-bent over, its true height is already sixty or seventy meters. If it were standing upright, it would be nearly a hundred meters! Such a colossal beast has never been recorded in the historical records of the Great Xia Dynasty!"

He spoke faster, his voice rising: "Look at the manner of its death! This ape was killed by this terrifying hundred-meter-long spear, pierced through the heart, a victim of external slaughter!"

Zhou Yunyi's eyes flashed with a sharp light: "It's unimaginable what kind of unparalleled divine power a being capable of wielding such a giant spear must possess!"

He composed himself and shouted into the communicator, "Dr. Qi Tian, ​​can you hear me? That ape is holding a giant bronze staff; there seem to be characters on the end, but they're blurry. Could you come closer?"

Upon hearing this, Qi Tian composed himself, lifted his foot, and slowly walked towards the giant staff.

As expected, beneath the mottled rust at the end of the bronze rod, four lines of ancient characters faintly emerged. The characters were severely eroded, most of them blurred, and difficult to decipher.

"Don't move!" Zhou Yunyi shouted urgently, his fingertips rapidly tapping the control panel in front of him. "I'm immediately activating the Imperial Observatory's Nebula AI Super Brain Analysis! — Handwriting capture and analysis complete! It's Ouyang Xiu's Ouyang style regular script, the official font of the Tang Dynasty!"

Qi Tian raised an eyebrow and asked in a deep voice, "What exactly was written?"

Zhou Yunyi stared at the rapidly refreshing screen on the AI, his breathing becoming slightly heavier: "It's a poem."

"The vast ocean meets the sky, and the raging waves roll up like snow and wind."

Azure waves surge and swallow distant islands, while raging torrents shake the sky.

Fish and dragons leap and dive in the abyss, while mirages float and sink in the vast ocean.

Looking out over the vast Eastern Ocean, its boundless waters blend seamlessly with the sky.

Qi Tian's eyes widened slightly, and he repeated in a low voice, "These are poems describing the East Sea."

Zhou Yunyi stared intently at the screen, speaking rapidly: "AI comparison and retrieval complete! This poem is adapted from Chapter 28 of 'Journey to the West,' where the demons of Flower Fruit Mountain gather in righteousness, and Tang Sanzang encounters a demon in the Black Pine Forest. After the three battles with the White Bone Demon, Tang Sanzang banishes Sun Wukong, and the Great Sage crosses the East Sea to return to Flower Fruit Mountain, gazing upon the Eastern Ocean as he composed this poem!"

Qi Tian's eyes widened suddenly, his eyelids trembling slightly as he stared incredulously at the mountain of skeletons before him. His voice trembled slightly: "A line from Journey to the West? Could this ape skeleton be the remains of the demon monkey from Flower Fruit Mountain?"

Zhou Yunyi was equally excited, his face full of shock: "If it's true, Dr. Qitian, the island beneath your feet is very likely the legendary Flower Fruit Mountain in Aolai Country of the Eastern Continent! The grotto-heaven of the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Sun Wukong!"

Qi Tian suddenly turned his head, pointed at the massive black spear piercing through the bones, his eyes burning: "Is this divine spear the artifact that the Heavenly Army dropped when they suppressed Flower Fruit Mountain?"

Zhou Yunyi grew increasingly excited, urging, "Mr. Qi! Quickly check if there are any inscriptions on the gun! If you find any, this will be an incredible opportunity for you!"

The hundred-meter-long spear tilted at a sixty-degree angle, firmly piercing the ape's skeleton and pinning it to the mountain rocks. To see the inscription on the spear, one must climb onto its surface.

Qi Tian took a deep breath, tensing all his muscles. Without the protection of his holy armor, his bare body faced the piercing cold of the spear. He leaped into the air, his hands and feet gripping the rough texture and barbs of the spear, inching his way upwards. Crushed stones and rust fell down, disappearing into the thick fog below. His gaze swept over every inch of the spear, not wanting to miss a single trace.

Beyond the celestial canopy, the five billion people of the Great Xia Dynasty were in complete uproar.

Countless people stood up in front of the screen, and a cacophony of discussion arose everywhere—in streets, houses, and government offices. Some stared in disbelief, some shook their heads in shock, and some clenched their fists, their breaths ragged.

Is Journey to the West true? Did Flower and Fruit Mountain actually exist?

"How could that be! That's just a mythological novel!"

"If Sun Wukong is real, then are the ancient tales of the war between the Lich King and the Demon King, the calamities of the three religions, and the creation of the world also true?"

"The Keren Alliance never told us any of this!"

"But they never asserted that it was all fake!"

"If Qi Tian could find the Seventy-Two Transformations and the Great Celestial Immortal Technique, he could ascend to heaven in one step!"

"Qitian, Qitian... Isn't that the title of the Great Sage Equaling Heaven? Could he be the reincarnation of the Great Sage?"

The clamor of discussion was overwhelming, and it seemed to travel through space and reach the secret realm even through the sky.

At this moment of jubilation, Qi Tian, ​​perched atop the giant spear, shouted, his voice piercing through the thick miasma: "Found it! There are writings! Lord Zhou! Can you capture it? Most of the writing has been peeled away!"

Zhou Yunyi perked up and immediately replied, "Capture is possible! The AI ​​is analyzing it, please wait a moment!"

After a few short breaths, the control panel glowed brightly, and Zhou Yunyi suddenly threw his head back and laughed, his face beaming with ecstasy. He shouted, "Analysis successful! It's another poem!"

"Auspicious clouds rise and reach the heavens, and a magnificent palace of glazed tiles stands tall in the south."

Crimson rainbows surge like a thousand waves, while purple mist floats gently in ten thousand winds.

The marshal held his banner and stood on the jade steps; the divine man held his halberd and stood on the cloud wall.

"Looking out from the Heavenly Gate, the celestial palaces seem near; the thirty-three palaces come into view."

"This is a poem lamenting the South Heavenly Gate! It comes from Chapter 4 of Journey to the West: 'The official title of Bi Ma Wen (弼马温) is not enough; the name Qi Tian (齐天) is not enough to quell my discontent!' Taibai Jinxing (太白金星) led Wukong to Heaven, where he was given the title of Bi Ma Wen. Upon learning of his lowly rank, the Great Sage angrily attacked the South Heavenly Gate and fought his way back to Flower Fruit Mountain! This is the inscription on the weapon of the Heavenly Soldiers guarding the South Heavenly Gate under the command of the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, the Prison Warden of the Heavenly Court!"

Zhou Yunyi's voice was impassioned, each word ringing out: "Dr. Qi Tian, ​​your deduction is entirely correct!"

"You are currently in the very place of Flower Fruit Mountain, the place of enlightenment for the legendary Monkey King, Sun Wukong, the Victorious Fighting Buddha!"

"I, Zhou Yunyi, hereby formally declare to the world by order of the Ming Dynasty's Grand Secretariat: The account in 'Journey to the West' is not a fabrication; the legendary Flower and Fruit Mountain of the Great Sage has been found today!"

The announcement has been made, and the official endorsement is complete.

The five billion inhabitants of the Great Xia on Earth were all in an uproar.

A deafening roar erupted from the streets and alleys, as countless eyes were fixed on the sky, falling upon the mysterious island shrouded in miasma.

Everyone knows that Blue Star has achieved a new breakthrough. In addition to the Fourth Wall Dynasty dungeon track, it has opened up a new track: the Myth track!