On the Altar, everyone fell into the loop. They experienced Madman Chu’s pain again and again.

Feeling it that way caused them to feel like they become Madman Chu. They wanted to continue his hatred and wanted to make his will theirs.

That was the goal of the altar!

Just as Yang Jian and the others entered the fifth cycle, the chess piece on their foreheads that Little Fox left behind suddenly lit up.

A strange energy surfaced, waking them up from the cycle.

After that, their surroundings started to ripple, allowing them to leave the restrictions of the altar.

Yang Jian and the others did not hesitate to move forward and leave it.

When they went past the altar, they still turned to look back in fear.

Cultivator Junjun patted his chest, “Little Fox saved us.”

If Little Fox did not leave them that chess piece, they would not have been able to escape. They would have lost themselves in the cycle.

“Madman Chu built the altar to let everyone feel his pain and inherit his will. He wanted everyone to firmly stand on the opposite side of Wisdom, enticing them to fuse into Wisdom and become the master of the heavens!” Yang Jian said in shock.

The rest of them fell silent.

They experienced five cycles, and they all felt Madman Chu’s Pain. His courage to go against the heavens for his lover gained their respect. So, they did not know if Madman Chu was right or wrong at that moment.

As a cultivator, they always went against the heavens. So, having the thought to fight against the heavens was normal. They pursued longevity and immortality, all of that was against the heavens!

So…

Madman Chu’s heaven-defying ways were… actually quite normal.

They hurriedly shook their heads, tossing the thought aside.

No matter what, Madman Chu was the one who corrupted Wisdom. So, he was their enemy. They could not be brainwashed by him.

Everyone continued moving forward.

They noticed that the world after the altar was even more barren, but there was a cold and miserable aura in the air.

The aura was incredibly strange, but it affected everyone. Yang Jian and the others felt their eyes starting to redden as if they were sad for the existences that passed on before…

“Is this… the sorry of the heavens?” Xiao Chengfeng slowly said as he wiped away his tears.

Only heaven’s sorrow would leave that kind of misery in the air. It was heaven crying for the people that passed away there.

Who was it that could cause heaven to weep? Why did they pass away?

Yang Jian and the others quietly moved forward, as if they grieved.

Very quickly, a corpse was seen in front. A spear pierced through it, pining in on the ground. It knelt on the ground, looking up at the skies. It was as if it was questioning the heavens, causing them to be even sadder.

After that, another corpse appeared. It was a massive beast, lying on the floor like a dragon. Its body was filled with thousands of holes. Even as a skeleton, its aura was still incredibly shocking.

“It was no longer just a normal supreme being. It was probably at the peak, but it still died,” Xiao Chengfeng mumbled as it reached out to touch the bones.

From the aura, even if that skeleton’s skills were not up to the drunkard’s standards, it was probably close.

For its undying body to look like that, the war must have been unimaginable.

Everyone moved forward silently.

There were not many corpses there, but every one of them was an existence that could not be seen anywhere outside. Every time they saw one, their sorrow would intensify.

At some point, they reached the deepest part. They could no longer control the sorrow in their heart, and tears started to flow from their eyes.

They were nearing the end, and they noticed five figures. Those figures were no longer skeletons, but… statues!

Yang Jian and the others only noticed when they got closer that the five of them turned to stone and had a protective stance. All of them protected a lamp!

The lamp was just a regular oil lamp, and a small flame danced on it. It looked like it would be extinguished with a small breeze, but it still stubbornly burned away. It was hard to tell how long it burned, but it was an undying flame.

“This is the flame of hope, we can let it go out!” Yang Jian suddenly said incredibly firmly.

“You’re right,” The others nodded.

The moment they saw the oil lamp, they seemed to have received a revelation that they had to protect the flame!

Yang Jian and the others did not know who the five were, but they still bowed respectfully to those statues. They must be the protectors of the world. Even in their final moments, they wanted to protect that sliver of hope.

After that, they tried to look for anything else. After all, the golden page said that the way to cleanse the gray mist was here. Yet, they could not find anything.

Suddenly, Juling Shen stopped at an empty spot between the five statues, saying curiously, “Huh? Is this spot empty? I feel like there’s one person short.”

Cultivator Junjun looked at it in detail, and said in surprise, “That’s true.”

Based on the stances of the five statues, there should be another statue.

“Could someone have come before us, and moved the statue?” Yang Jian voiced his guess but quickly rejected the thought.

For one thing, the place was sealed for countless years. They were the first to enter. Even if someone came before them, the status still held its will before it died. Even a supreme being would not have an easy time moving it.

“I think… one of the statues is still alive!” Xiao Chengfeng voiced an absurd thought.

“Still alive? How’s that possible?!” Cultivator Junjun immediately shook his head, voicing his disbelief.

Everyone could see what a miserable state the whole place was in. How could someone still be alive?

Xiao Chengfeng had a complicated expression on his face, “Back then, Madman Chu was the nightmare of countless cultivators. Even supreme beings would choose to flee!”

He thought of the Sword Tyrant.

Even though the Sword Tyrant had the most tyrannical swordsmanship, even though he was unrivaled in the way of the sword, he still… did not dare to face Madman Chu in the end.

Madman Chu was the strongest during ancient times. He was a dark figure in everyone’s hearts.

In the war, even supreme beings could choose to flee!

They did not dwell on the topic, since no one could tell what happened before.

Boom!

At that moment, an earth-shattering sound could be heard from the altar.

Yang Jian and the others looked over in shock. They saw a massive black hand reaching out from the skies!