A charming adolescent girl was now standing in front of her three disciples.

“Shifu!”

“Shifu!”

“Congratulations, Shifu!”

Qin Xiao Lou, Wan Er, and Qing Rou spoke up in unison.

Xie Dao Ling still had her eyes closed, apparently recalling something.

Time slowly passed.

The presence that Xie Dao Ling exuded gradually grew stronger, but her eyebrows also became more knitted.

She started to perform a divination with her pearly white hands.

——as if she had run into a difficult problem, her fingers were moving increasingly faster, eventually taking out a tortoise shell to aid her efforts.

Qin Xiao Lou suggested: “What is Shifu trying to calculate? Should I help with your divination?”

“No need”

Xie Dao Ling opened her eyes with a grim expression: “If you know about what I’m trying to divine, then you’d all be in danger——-”

She then clasped her hands together into a hand seal and grunted: “Heed!”

As the void of space slightly shifted, wild dark flowers started to bloom all around them.

A mature woman slowly walked on cotton flowers as she arrived in front of Xie Dao Ling.

『 Your Majesty, we’ve been waiting for you for so long 』the woman said with clear excitement in her voice.

Xie Dao Ling looked at her with a nostalgic expression and asked: “So Li An was your daughter?”

『 She is 』the woman replied.

—-she was the Progenitor Demoness.

“Your daughter is currently serving by my disciple’s side, do you feel assured?” Xie Dao Ling asked.

『 I do 』the Progenitor Demoness answered.

Xie Dao Ling nodded and continued: “When I entered reincarnation all those years ago, I entrusted you with something, now that I’ve returned, I want you to report it to me”

The Progenitor Demoness replied: 『 Your Majesty, you only sung us a short children’s folk song before you left; you also said that there’s no need to keep it a secret, and that I only needed to keep passing it down 』

“Then it seems to be something that only I would understand—– sing it back to me” Xie Dao Ling said.

The Progenitor Demoness paused briefly before singing with a clear voice:

『 The deers call out, eating apples in the field;

We have an honored guest, zithers and bamboo flutes blow;

As clear as moonlight, but when can we meet;

From such worries grow, never to cease 』

Her singing had stopped, but the melody seemed to linger without fading away, almost as if there was more to come.

“Delightful” Qin Xiao Lou praised.

Wan Er and Qing Rou also appeared mesmerized.

But Xie Dao Ling didn’t say anything.

She was standing completely still, almost like a wax statue.

For some reason, a hint of sorrow could be seen from her visage.

…

The great tomb.

The depths.

A monster with blades for wings lay behind a dune of sand.

It was Gu Qing Shan.

He was silently observing the array of structures up ahead.

The structures were all created with lapis roof tiles and adorned with highly detailed pillars, done in the style of the Heavenly Palace.

But despite that luxury, they were all constructed out of black brick and engraved with terrifying patterns, which gave them a sense of gloomy maliciousness.

There were so many of these structures that it was impossible to count, they had varying heights but were all built right next to another, which stretched all the way until the end of his vision.

——they formed a relatively complete city!

After observing for a while, Gu Qing Shan muttered: “How strange, was there originally a city within your Phase Realm?”

The Delimitation Divine Sword’s voice answered from the void of space next to him:

「 There was, but it used to be empty 」

Gu Qing Shan clicked his tongue: “Then that’s very troublesome, it actually built a city here like this; furthermore, as far as I can see, the city is surrounded by a strict array of formations—— we most likely won’t be able to enter”

The Delimitation Divine Sword replied: 「 You’re mistaken, it didn’t construct all of this. In reality, I had actually followed the will of my original wielder and created a Phase Realm inside of my sword hilt. All of these structures and buildings were manifested from pure thought while being indistinguishable from reality 」

“Then, everything here was made using your sword hilt’s Thaumaturgy?” Gu Qing Shan asked.

「 Yes, of course it was my Thaumaturgy 」the Delimitation Divine Sword replied.

As soon as it confirmed that, a miraculous fluctuation enveloped him and the divine sword.

——this was something highly familiar to any swordsman of sufficient level.

Wielder recognition!

However, this was still only the initial phase of recognition, which was still far from the complete mutual recognition between the sword and the swordsman.

A few lines of bloody red text appeared in the void of space:

[You’ve listened to the sword spirit explaining one of its Thaumaturgy]

[Description: This sword is capable of constructing a Phase Realm within its hilt following the wielder’s will, manifesting all things from pure thought while being indistinguishable from reality]

[Attention!]

[You’ve learnt of one of the Delimitation Divine Sword’s Thaumaturgies]

[If you hear the explanation of its three other Thaumaturgies, then you will have become its true wielder]

Gu Qing Shan was stunned.

The divine sword was also stunned.

「 “What are you doing!?” 」

They both exclaimed.

「 Why did you ask me about my Thaumaturgy? 」the divine sword angrily questioned.

“I was asking about those structures, not about your Thaumaturgy” Gu Qing Shan loudly refuted.

「 Be more careful, absolutely do not ask me about my Thaumaturgies again! 」the Delimitation Divine Sword sternly scolded him.

“Don’t worry, I’ll definitely keep that in mind” Gu Qing Shan solemnly replied.

—–I absolutely have to avoid becoming this sword’s wielder, otherwise, I will never be able to retrieve the Six Paths Great Mountain sword!

Ignoring this small intermission, Gu Qing Shan and the sword continued to observe the inside of the city.

“How strange” Gu Qing Shan muttered as he observed it.

「 What’s the matter? 」the Delimitation Divine Sword asked.

“The decorative patterns and statues inside those structures… it all looks like they were built in the Wraith realm’s architecture” Gu Qing Shan commented.

「 Perhaps when the Samsara became shattered, some of the wraiths hid inside my sword hilt, and their leader had taken over control of it 」the Delimitation Divine Sword replied.

“But there isn’t a single soul inside the city, what’s going on?” Gu Qing Shan asked.

「 I don’t know, the entire city can change at their single thought, so you’ll have to enter it to know what happened inside 」the Delimitation Divine Sword explained.

Gu Qing Shan fell into thought.

I must enter that city if I want to find the sword hilt.

So regardless of the situation, I’ll have to take a risk.

He turned his gaze towards the city again.

Only to see that the city was being isolated by an array of formations, but the insides of the city was filled with fragmented sprites of light that occasionally flew out of some buildings before ascending with the wind.

—–it looked almost dream-like.

But even so, he didn’t notice a single entity.

This was a completely empty city.

Or rather, perhaps there existed a secret that nobody knew about inside this city?

Gu Qing Shan pondered: “Do you have a way to take me through the formation array?”

「 There is, since this is a manifestation of my Thaumaturgy, but you’re on your own after we enter the city 」the Delimitation Divine Sword replied.

“Why? Can’t you just summon your sword hilt?” Gu Qing Shan asked in surprise.

「 I can’t, the other party seemed to have used some sort of technique to become one with my [All-Encompassing Sword Realm], so I can’t control that world, nor can I summon my sword hilt—— it’s been hidden at the heart of that combination technique 」

“Then I suppose I have no other choice” Gu Qing Shan sighed.

「 Wait a minute—— are you going to enter as an Apocalyptic monster? 」the Delimitation Divine Sword asked.

Gu Qing Shan’s body shifted and turned back into his original form.

“To avoid being surrounded, I’ll rush into that city in an instant, so you have to open the formation array as quickly as possible” Gu Qing Shan said.

「 Leave it to me 」the divine sword said.

Gu Qing Shan nodded, then his figure abruptly vanished.

Ground Shrink!

He had directly traveled through the thick layers of formation to silently enter the city in a relatively reclusive street.

There wasn’t a single soul around him.

Gu Qing Shan held his sword for a few breaths’ worth of time, preparing to react to any situation.

—–but still nothing came.

It felt almost like the entire city was dead.

Gu Qing Shan couldn’t help but mutter: “What exactly hap—-”

Before he finished his words, the entire world suddenly faded away.

Lines of bloody red text swiftly appeared in front of his vision:

[Caution, you’ve entered the range of a combination Divine Skill]

[This Divine Skill is called: Exhausted Life Reincarnation]

[You will enter a piece of repeating memory]

[It will show you many things that you’ve yet to faced and witness crucial pivotal points in history]

[The Sequence suggest that you immediately enter it and see the truth of history with your own eyes]

[—–be careful, a blessing and a curse is only a hair’s breadth apart]

All the bloody red text faded away.

His surroundings gradually became clearer.

Gu Qing Shan now found himself standing in front of a magnificent destroyed temple.

Around him were wraiths with gigantic bodies and ferocious faces.

Their bodies were covered in wounds, almost as if they had gone through several tough battles in a row, and only now did they get a bit of precious breathing time that they could use for recuperation.

Gu Qing Shan looked down at himself.

—-I’m also a wraith.

Suddenly, a solemn voice resounded from the center of the temple:

「 Tomorrow will be the decisive battle between the Samsara and the Apocalypse, so we of the Wraith realm must come up with something to help resolve the Heavenly Emperor’s issue—— 」

「 I have decided that we will conduct a Void Summon 」

As Gu Qing Shan turned around, he saw a jet-black wraith wearing a full set of armor, the wraith was holding a pale bow in one hand and a blood-colored talisman in the other; currently sitting on top of a throne.

——-it was the same wraith that was hiding inside the sword hilt earlier!

Gu Qing Shan was shocked.

So it turns out this wraith was actually the previous Ruler of the Wraith realm!

But how is that possible?

Didn’t the Ruler of the Wraith realm betray the Heavenly Emperor?

Another wraith spoke up:

「 Wraith Lord sir, you can’t, that Void Summon ritual is truly powerful, and it has indeed helped us many times before, but we cannot predict what exactly we would summon each time 」

The black wraith on the throne replied: 「 Cease, we don’t have any other choice 」

「 ——If we don’t come up with something, the Samsara will be broken by the Apocalypse, and all of us will die 」

Hearing that, Gu Qing Shan felt even more shocked.

Suddenly, the Samsara Delimitation Divine Sword flew out by itself and spoke with a hurried voice: 「 Let’s go! This is a secret of the Samsara’s past, we musn’t peek 」

Gu Qing Shan paused, then hesitantly said: “But I can’t, there’s no way of leaving this place”

「 I’ll bring you outside! 」the divine sword worriedly said.

Gu Qing Shan stared straight at the divine sword.

—–the Supreme Sequence told me to carefully explore this history’s secret.

But the divine sword is telling me to leave.

Seemingly noticing that he wanted to leave, the wraith on the throne suddenly turned its head to look at him: 「 These are the events that occurred all those years ago, are you not curious at all? 」

Before Gu Qing Shan could say anything, the Delimitation Divine Sword had already raised its voice: 「 Don’t listen to it, if you witness this piece of history in its entirety, you will meet the same outcome it did! 」

Gu Qing Shan furrowed his eyebrows.

He finally managed to recognize some sort of hidden danger.

In the past, the Ruler of the Wraith realm had betrayed the Heavenly Emperor and took over the Samsara, finally becoming the new Heavenly Emperor.

However!

HOWEVER!

The previous Ruler of the Wraith realm is currently right in front of me, while the Heavenly Emperor was merely a substitute body of the Eternal Mind Seizer.

What exactly happened all those years ago?

Gu Qing Shan remained silent for a few moments before a face suddenly appeared in his mind.

Xie Dao Ling.

This matter concerns Shifu, how can I not investigate it to the end?

—-furthermore, the Supreme Sequence wouldn’t suddenly slip like brakes on ice at such a crucial moment.

Gu Qing Shan sighed and said: “I won’t leave”

「 Gahahaha, that’s right! If you don’t know anything at all, how would you take care of yourself within the Samsara!? 」the black wraith began to laugh maniacally.

The Samsara Delimitation Divine Sword said in a harrowing voice: 「 Gu Qing Shan, there are countless untold dangers hidden in this moment, if you don’t leave now, it’ll be too late 」

“I need to first know exactly what happened before I can consider other matters” Gu Qing Shan said resolutely.

Immediately afterwards, the black wraith stopped talking to him and returned to how it was earlier.

「 The clash between the Samsara and the Apocalypses is already imminent, the war has fallen to a stalemate, countless living beings have lost their lives in battle, from which the Heavenly Emperor has become downcast 」

It slowly stood up from its throne and ordered: 「 Open the altar, we need to summon more power to aid us during tomorrow’s decisive battle 」

「 Yes sir! 」

The wraiths responded in unison.