Crimson County Ancient Path

"Is this ocean where all the dead in the universe returned their souls? Does that mean the Underworld Netherworld of myth and legend did not fail to exist, but existed in the Microscopic World?"

After the terror and shock, everyone voiced their own opinions and launched into heated discussion.

"Science cannot find the Three Souls and Seven Spirits within the human body. Perhaps that is because the Three Souls and Seven Spirits are too tiny, existing microscopically in some special state. Once a person dies and the Three Souls and Seven Spirits lose their vessel, they naturally return to the microscopic Sea of Souls before our eyes."

"That's right! A person's soul is born within the womb. The soul had to be smaller than an embryo, otherwise how could it fit inside?"

Someone raised a question. "Are we really on Earth's microscopic level? Is Earth the underworld where the souls of all living beings in the universe return? I think that at such a microscopic scale, Earth's material state no longer truly exists. We might... no longer be on Earth."

"Or rather, we have arrived at a special plane entirely different from the macroscopic universe. We might really be unable to return!"

The three words "unable to return" were far too despairing.

They meant the future was uncertain and life or death impossible to predict. The atmosphere became oppressive.

Fierce souls had been howling in the sea all along. Strange cries like thunder occasionally rang out from the distant deep waters, leaving everyone unsettled as they secretly wondered whether demons and monsters dwelled within the Sea of Souls.

As the Bronze Ship sailed onward, more fierce souls tried to leap onto the Deck like moths flying into flame, but all died without even a burial place.

The power protecting the Bronze Ship was formidable. They could not break through it.

That was the only thing that gave them temporary peace of mind!

Amid the gloom and dread, there were naturally optimists as well.

Gao Huan stood at the very front of the Ship Bow, white bandages wrapped around his hands, and said excitedly, "I told you we definitely fell from the Arctic Ocean into the Underworld. Do you believe me now? The Arctic Ocean was the North Sea in ancient times! Tell me, if a Kunpeng thousands of li wide could not move freely in the Arctic Ocean, then in this boundless Sea of Souls before us, shouldn't it be able to overturn heaven and earth as it pleased?"

"Also, do you know why people say there is a First Seven after death? Because after seven days, the soul could never return! The distance from Earth to the Sea of Souls was seven days."

A brilliant third-year graduate student, yet he was absurdly superstitious, his mouth full of myths, legends, and wild speculation. In the past, everyone would surely have laughed at him inwardly, but now, every person's faith in science had collapsed. They could only, like him, use a jumble of guesses to explain everything before them.

Li Weiyi had no interest whatsoever in their baseless speculations. Since he was here, he would make peace with it. After cultivating some Transcendent ability, he was no longer as lost and bewildered as he had been when he first awoke.

His life now had a goal to pursue, motivation, hopes, and a direction in which to strive and advance.

Cultivate the Transcendent.

A still greater Transcendence.

He wanted to know how powerful a person could become at the end of the Transcendent path. Could one, as in myth and legend, fly through the sky and burrow through the earth, move mountains with sheer strength, drive the stars themselves...

Even if they had truly arrived in the Underworld Netherworld, the Ghost Wasteland World... so what?

He and Cai Yutong took the two elderly professors injured in the stampede to the Medical Tent for examination and treatment.

At that moment, the Bronze Ship was already very close to the stone peak stele on the sea, only a few kilometers away.

One of the elderly professors, whose leg had been injured, wiped his glasses and finally saw the four symbols clearly. He cried out in surprise, "These characters are completely different from the inscriptions on the Bronze Ship. They look very much like Oracle Bone Script and Bronze Inscriptions, sharing the same origin as Chinese Characters."

Though neither was a professional, both were enthusiasts of ancient scripts. They had spent the past several days studying the inscriptions on the Bronze Ship and attempting to decipher them.

The other elderly professor, whose chest had been trampled and whose face was ashen, was supported by Li Weiyi. He stared at the stone peak stele for a moment and said, "They are somewhat earlier than Oracle Bone Script and Bronze Inscriptions. The evolution of writing always leaves traces to follow. We should be able to decipher them."

The professor with the injured leg said, "I think they somewhat resemble the characters on the Cang Sheng Bird Track Stele. They may have existed in the same era."

There were twenty-eight bird-track characters in total on the Cang Sheng Bird Track Stele. Legend said they were the original forms of the pictographs created by Cangjie, the ancestor of civilization.

Li Weiyi was deeply shaken. "These four carved characters share the same origin as Chinese Characters? Does that not mean that, in an unimaginably distant past, humans from Ancient Huaxia reached this place?"

"Most likely... Let's decipher them first and see exactly which four characters they are."

The two elderly professors were intensely interested in writing and were in no hurry to examine their injuries. Each took ancient language books, fountain pens, and notebooks from their bags, then began discussing and studying the inscription in earnest.

Before long, they reached a conclusion.

They wrote four characters in the notebook—"Crimson County Ancient Path."

"Crimson County Ancient Path!"

Quite a few people had gathered around them, all utterly confused.

Why would a stone peak stele in the sea bear such four inexplicable words?

The Bronze Ship's sails were fully unfurled, and it raced like a galloping horse. It had already reached the base of the stone peak stele. From up close, its majestic and imposing pressure could be felt even more clearly.

No one knew how many years it had stood within this vast Sea of Souls. Steep and perilous, impossible even for apes or cranes to cross, it was so towering and eternal. There should not have been such a stone peak with smooth-cut faces in the sea. Perhaps some mighty being had brought it here.

The four words carved upon it seemed hewn by divine axes and celestial blades, every stroke like a fissure splitting the earth.

As he put away his fountain pen and brown leather notebook, the elderly professor with the injured leg said, "Crimson County is not the county you understand as part of a city or district!"

"The earliest record of Crimson County appeared in the Records of the Grand Historian, in the Biographies of Mencius and Xun Qing. Zou Yan called China's ancient name Crimson County Divine Land."

"Legend said that in ancient times, the land governed by the Yan Emperor was called Crimson County, while the land governed by the Yellow Emperor was called Divine Land. Ancient Huaxia came to be known as Crimson County Divine Land because of this."

Gao Huan exclaimed, "So the Crimson County Ancient Path meant the road leading to Crimson County Divine Land? The direction back to Earth?"

Li Weiyi looked back. The stone peak stele carved with the words "Crimson County Ancient Path" was receding into the distance. Farther away, lead-black Ethereal Clouds shrouded the sky and horizon. The Sea of Souls seemed to break off there, and no light could penetrate it.

The Bronze Ship had emerged from those black Ethereal Clouds.

Li Weiyi said, "With this stone peak stele, wanderers who fell into the Sea of Souls will be able to find their way home in the future. The Crimson County Ancient Path must be the route the Bronze Ship traveled over these seven days. Within those Ethereal Clouds, there must be countless secrets we cannot yet know."

The scene of Nine-Infant being seized from the Ethereal Clouds by a gigantic golden claw surfaced in his mind. Every time he recalled it, he was profoundly shaken.

"Unfortunately, the Bronze Ship is beyond our control. If it turned around, perhaps we could return to Earth." Director Yang spoke meaningfully, his gaze falling upon Li Weiyi.

Li Weiyi escorted the two professors to the Medical Tent. Not long afterward, Zhao Meng arrived.

"Come with me."

Zhao Meng never let go of his rifle as he pulled Li Weiyi beneath a secluded mound of graves. His expression remained grave the entire way.

Only after making sure there was no one around did Zhao Meng speak with utmost seriousness. "After the Ethereal Clouds dispersed, everyone's fantasy of returning to Earth was shattered. That means the law, the greatest restraint, has completely vanished. Some people who have been itching to make a move no longer have any scruples. I expect unrest will soon erupt aboard the ship. Weiyi, remember every word I say next."

"First, your injuries are too severe. If unrest breaks out, I'm afraid I won't be able to protect you. Tonight, once everyone is asleep, gather more food. Then find a grave mound deep in the Graveyard Forest and shallowly bury both the food and yourself. Make sure you hide thoroughly. Right, don't go near the Nine-Story Ship Tower. It's very dangerous there."

"Second, I buried the Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish and the Yellow Dragon Sword in the grave mound where you fell onto the Bronze Ship. A string of White Bone Wind Chimes hangs from the gravestone in front of it. Look carefully. It will be easy to recognize."

"Third, I don't know when this unrest will erupt, nor how many people are secretly plotting it. So although I have joined forces with a group of brothers and made some preparations... we truly have no chance of winning."

Zhao Meng gripped Li Weiyi's right shoulder, his eyes fervent and complicated. "Three days! We will use three days as the limit. Within those three days, no matter what sounds or disturbances you hear, do not come out, even if they use my life to threaten you."

"After three days, I will come looking for you in the Graveyard Forest and call your name. That will mean I have brought the situation under control."

"If you do not hear me call for you after three days, that means I am dead! At that point, you must know that your situation has become unimaginably dire... But no matter how difficult things become, you must understand this: never hand over the Dao Ancestor Yin Yang Fish. If you hand it over, you are dead for certain!"

"And do not trust anyone. Without the restraints of law and morality, when survival, profit, and desire are at stake, people have no bottom line. Morality, shame, and dignity can all become worth less than a penny. Before torture, even the toughest man cannot be certain he can endure."

Li Weiyi could feel his Senior Brother's concern and worry. "Is this why Senior Brother made the three-day arrangement with me in advance? Because you are worried that you may fall into their hands and fail to hold out under torture?"

"Who, without having endured torture, would dare guarantee that he could withstand it? If it truly comes to that, this three-day agreement will at least give me some room to buffer myself." Zhao Meng gave a bitter smile.

Li Weiyi hesitated, considering whether he should tell him now that his injuries had already healed and that he had cultivated the Transcendent ability their master had spoken of.

His Senior Brother could naturally be trusted.

But the people around his Senior Brother might not be trustworthy. Otherwise, he would not have said, "Do not trust anyone."

In the end, Li Weiyi decided to keep it hidden for now. When the time came, he could instead become a surprise force for his Senior Brother.

"Brother Meng, Brother Meng, the Backup Generator has been repaired! Hahaha!"

Chen Hong came running over in wild delight, gesturing excitedly, his body covered in engine oil stains.

He was the technician responsible for operating equipment on the Research Vessel. Zhao Meng had personally interviewed and hired him; in other words, he was Zhao Meng's absolute confidant. Li Weiyi was not unfamiliar with him and had seen him several times already.

The two stopped their private discussion.

Li Weiyi looked delighted. "With electricity, does that mean the Cold Storage can be put back into use?"

"Of course. For now, we have solved the greatest crisis. The food aboard the ship will last us at least several more months." Chen Hong beamed, sunny and optimistic.

Over the past few days, Zhao Meng had been leading people in repairing the Cold Storage and generator. Only by doing so could they fundamentally prevent conflict from erupting because of food shortages.

"Come, take me to see."

Much of the gloom in Zhao Meng's heart dispersed. In high spirits, he hurried with Chen Hong toward the overturned and broken Research Vessel.

Li Weiyi watched their retreating backs, a smile appearing on his face. "This world never lacks builders of civilization. No matter how difficult the circumstances, there will always be people patching things up."

Civilization and morality had arisen precisely to restrain human nature, so humanity could travel farther. Rather than returning to an age of savagery, where people slaughtered one another, enslaved the weak, and devoured their own kind.

When facing hardship.

Kind and brave people often chose to save the shared home of all people through civilized means, fighting against the destruction wrought by primitive human nature. Like Cai Yutong, who cultivated and planted, and Zhao Meng, who repaired the generator,

Self-serving and ambitious people, driven by primitive human nature, mostly chose to trample civilization rather than consider building it.

Ordinary people could only follow along.

Li Weiyi entered the sinister and terrifying Sea of Tombs and Forest of Steles alone, deciding to retrieve the Yellow Dragon Sword and Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish first.