Starting as the heir of a marquis's mansion, I gained access to a summoning system.

The ruins of Tianji City resembled the skeleton of a giant beast stripped of its skin in the twilight.

The official road breaks off here, with rubble and broken bricks forming a gentle slope. The top of the slope was once the observatory of the Tianji Pavilion, but now only half of a stone pillar remains, leaning towards the sky. The wind comes from the west, carrying fine sand from the edge of the desert, which rustles against the carriages.

Xiang Yutian got off the car first.

He tapped his iron staff on the ground, pausing slightly the moment the tip touched the broken bricks, then turned to look at the carriage:

"Young master, there's a living presence. Only one."

Dongfang Wei Wo stepped out of the carriage.

Seven days have passed. This is the first time he has traveled this far from White Emperor City since the night the outer starship was destroyed.

When the wind rustled his clothes, no one saw any spiritual energy emanating from him—his pupils remained a void gray, devoid of light or pressure, and even his dantian seemed as silent as if it were dead.

But as he took his first step, all the broken bricks within ten feet sank three inches at the same time, and the entire ruins emitted a dull thud, like a giant beast turning over in its sleep.

Ximen Chuixue leaped down from the other side of the carriage shaft, his sword still sheathed, his gaze already locked on a certain spot at the top of the slope. Ye Gucheng followed half a step behind him, his white robes motionless in the wind.

"Young master."

The old man's voice came from the top of the hill, hoarse but clear, "My legs are weak, so I trouble you to come up here for a chat."

When Dongfang Weiwo stepped on the first broken brick, the dust from the entire ruins simultaneously rose into the air.

The tiny stone chips floated in mid-air, as if held up by some force field, neither falling nor scattering. Xiang Yutian squinted slightly, the cracks on the iron staff gleaming a dark red in the twilight.

The top of the slope was flatter than I had imagined.

The old man of the Heavenly Secrets sat on a waist-high stone slab, his trousers below the knees billowing in the wind, and used a copper paperweight to weigh down the sheepskin map spread on his legs.

He was thinner than when he was summoned three days ago, with high cheekbones and deep-set eyes, but his eyes were surprisingly bright, like two burning embers.

Within a three-zhang radius around him, broken bricks and wood were cleared into a neat circle, the edges of which were covered with runes drawn in vermilion.

Those runes are recognized only by me in the East—they share the same origin as the ancient array patterns scattered when the Dark Gold Giant Shadow dismantled itself.

"Things that couldn't be explained in the communication talisman can now be said." Dongfang Weiwo stood opposite the stone slab without sitting down.

The old man of the heavens observed him for three breaths.

Then he laughed. The laugh started at the corners of his mouth and slowly spread across his entire face, his wrinkles like a cracked riverbed being moistened by water, revealing a hint of youthful joy.

"It's half done."

He said, "The upper body skeleton is complete, the array on the right arm has been completed up to the shoulder blade, and the key seal's rotation speed has slowed down but is still linked to the earth's veins. In the battle seven days ago, the Demon-Sealing Bloodline did not let this world down."

Dongfang Weiwo did not respond.

The old man of the heavenly secrets didn't wait for him to take it, and pushed the sheepskin map forward on his own.

The map depicted the entire Tianxuan Continent, but it was not an ordinary map—the mountain ranges were depicted as meridians, and the miniature, continuously rotating dark gold vortex in the very center of the continent corresponded to the rotation of the key seal within the Eastern Weiwo Qi Sea.

"Do you know what this is?"

"Earth veins."

"Yes. No, and no." The old man with the celestial secrets poked his withered index finger at the vortex in the center of the map. "That's a keyhole."

The wind suddenly stopped.

Down the slope, Xiang Yutian's fingers tightened slightly as he gripped the iron staff, while Ximen Chuixue's sword trembled faintly in its sheath. All the dust within a hundred feet simultaneously settled, a stillness as if frozen in time.

"The phrase 'bones are the lock, and the key is the unlocker' in the talismanic message is exactly what it sounds like."

The old man withdrew his hand, looked up and stared directly into Dongfang Weiwo's eyes, "The upper body skeleton pieced together from the six remains of gods and demons within your body is the outline of a lock."

The key imprint is like a key inserted into a lock. You always thought the key imprint was helping you absorb and fuse with the bones, but you're wrong—the key imprint is 'turning'. Each turn twists it a full turn deeper into the half-lock within your body.

"Which way should I turn it?"

Turn it to the 'locked' position.

The old man with the secrets of the heavens took out half a broken bone fragment from his sleeve. It was about the size of a thumb, with charred edges, as if it had been burned.

This was the last thing Lu Moshen left behind before he departed. He said, 'The bones are all in place, the key is turned, and the door will open. After it opens, don't rush in. Lock the door first.'"

"Should we lock the door first?"

"You can only lock the door after you open it." The old man of the Heavenly Secrets tossed over the half-bone fragment, which Dongfang Weiwo caught. It was icy cold to the touch, and inside the fragment was a faint, almost extinguished trace of will—the aura of the Demon God Lü, which he recognized.

The moment the bone fragment touched his hand, all six remaining bones within his body emitted a low, resonant hum. The key seal in his dantian suddenly accelerated and spun half a circle before abruptly stopping, causing the entire earth's veins of the Tianxuan Continent to tremble slightly with that pause.

"What about the eighth piece of remains?"

"Not 'somewhere,' but 'sometime.'"

The Celestial Elder said, "The bone fragment you obtained contains the last words left by the Demon God Lü: 'When the lock is turned to its final turn, the door will open in the same spot. The first arm that flew into the void will appear before you at the very moment the door opens. You don't need to go looking for it; it will come to you.'"

Dongfang Weiwo stared at the charred bone fragment in his palm and remained silent for a moment.

"So, I have to collect the seventh piece before the eighth piece will appear automatically?"

"Yes. The seventh piece completes the lower body skeleton, making the entire skeleton whole, and only then is the outline of the lock complete."

Then the key is turned again, twisted to the last turn—the door opens. As the door opens, the arm in the void will follow the light filtering through the crack and return on its own.

"What about time?"

The old man of the Heavenly Secrets closed his eyes, his fingertips tracing the loose trouser legs above his knees:

"The Demon God Lu calculated it. After 'opening the door,' the door will remain open for three breaths. Within those three breaths, you must do two things—first, reach into the void and pull the arm back. Second, lock the door with your complete skeleton. The order is crucial; pull first, then lock. If you lock it too early, the arm won't come back."

"If you pull it out too early, the door won't be locked when the arm comes back, and things from outside the realm can squeeze in."

He opened his eyes, his gaze sharp as a knife: "Three breaths. You only have three breaths."

The wind began to blow again. The iron staff pointing towards Yutian at the bottom of the slope struck the gravel with a dull thud. Ximen Chuixue turned his head to the side; the last rays of twilight were sinking on the distant horizon.

"The seventh piece is in the heart of the Southern Frontier Demon Realm." Dongfang Weiwo put away the bone fragment, his tone calm. "It's something the Burial Emperor owes me."

"He owes more than just one life," the Old Man of Heavenly Secrets suddenly laughed. "He owes the entire Black Tide. You took that sword for him, and the Black Tide wasn't destroyed. You carved the words 'owed' and left, and he's been restless these past few days."

"He's waiting for me to come over."

"He's waiting for you to name your price."

Dongfang Weiwo turned and walked down the slope. After taking three steps, he stopped without looking back: "Tianji City cannot be saved. You must come with me."

The Old Man of Heavenly Secrets laughed loudly: "Where can an old, crippled man like me go?"

"Go to Baidi City. The broken sword from Wanjie Valley is still in its armory. You can't reattach your leg, but you can sit next to it and look at it. It's too much for Xingyan to guard the formation alone; Tianxuan Mansion needs someone who knows how to monitor formations."

The old man's laughter stopped.

After a long pause, he said in a low voice, "You're exactly like your father when he was young. You never hold back your words."

"My father is currently guarding the desert on the western front and doesn't have time to pick you up."

"...Alright. Alright. This old man's bones can at least take one last look at how well the lock is secured."

Xiang Yutian had already taken three steps to reach the top of the slope. He held his iron staff horizontally, bent down, and lifted up the old man Tianji along with the sheepskin map on the stone.

The old man was incredibly light. He steadied himself by slightly lowering Xiang Yutian's arm, and when he turned and leaped back down the slope, his footwork precisely avoided all the cinnabar runes on the ground.

Ximen Chuixue and Ye Gucheng had already climbed onto the carriage shaft. Before Dongfang Weiwo, the last to board, glanced back at the silhouette of the ruins of Tianji City.

Dusk had completely fallen.

On the horizon in the far north, a very thin blue light suddenly appeared, flashing and disappearing in an instant, like someone tapping a window with their knuckles in the night sky. The light was too faint for ordinary people to see.

But the moment Dongfang Weiwo saw it, the key seal in his Qi Sea trembled slightly—it was a signal sent back by Meng Chixing, carrying the chill from the depths of the icy plains.

"Young Master?" Xiang Yutian asked in a low voice from behind the carriage curtain.

"There's news from the north." Dongfang Weiwo stepped onto the carriage, pausing briefly as he placed his hand on the doorframe. "First, we'll return to Baidi City to settle Elder Tianji. Then—Southern Xinjiang."

The carriage started, rolling over broken bricks and tiles as it headed home. The old man Tianji leaned against the corner of the carriage wall, closing his eyes to rest. A sheepskin map lay open on his lap, his fingers unconsciously tracing the keyhole of the cinnabar painting.

Dongfang Weiwo sat opposite him, holding the charred bone fragment in his palm.

The will of the Demon God Lu was almost extinguished, but there was still a last trace of warmth inside the bone fragment, like the last lamp left by a person in the long night. There were no words or sounds in that warmth, only a very faint, almost illusionary "wait".

Wait for the door to open. Wait for the arm to come back on its own.

Complete those two tasks within three breaths.

The blue light from the north still lingered in his mind, and the results of the exploration of the Meng Chixing Ice Plains should be forthcoming soon. But the matter in the southern border could not wait any longer—the truce of the Burial Emperor would not last forever, You Yuan's gaze was still lurking in the shadows, and the Undying Guards of the Taiyuan Dynasty were unusually quiet after retreating to the desert.

The wind rushed in through the car windows, carrying fine sand from the edge of the northwestern desert and the chill of the far northern ice fields. The two winds met in the center of the carriage, swirling and dispersing.

Dongfang Weiwo closed his eyes.

The key seal in his dantian slowly rotated, circle after circle, connecting with the pulse of the entire continent's ley lines. The six pieces of bone resonated silently deep within his skeleton, like a large lock taking shape, waiting for the seventh piece to complete the final tenon and mortise.

The sense of being watched from beyond the heavens remained. Ever since Silver Palace was released to send a message, that gaze from beyond the heavens had never truly disappeared; it had simply shifted from a direct attack to a sidelong glance, from a fierce assault to a mere observation.

They are waiting.

Wait for him to open that door.

He is waiting.

The moment the door opens.

The carriage rolled over the last stretch of rubble at the edge of the ruins and turned onto the official road. The lights of Baidi City were still far away, but the direction was clear. And further away in the southern borderlands, deep within the demon realm, the Burial Emperor should already be waiting for him.

"I owe it."

Dongfang Weiwo opened his eyes and whispered those two words.

Hearing this from outside the carriage, Xiang Yutian tapped his iron staff lightly on the carriage shaft, a smile appearing on his lips.