Scriptures as Kindling, Civilization as Flame

Such a temporal interweaving and unconventional reunion, traversing time and space amidst the bonfire, wandering through the Vanished Mythological World, exchanging silent messages, and quietly gaining insights, greatly benefited Wang Xuan's cultivation.

Once, twice...

Ten times, twenty times...

He watched as scenes of joy and sorrow unfolded, witnessing the lives of others in the past. He worried for them, sighed for them, and silently saw them off.

Those were all magnificent and awe-inspiring beings, but sadly, they fell in the past.

Before the Great Universe, when the extraordinary is exhausted, no matter how strong an individual is, they are nothing more than a fleeting ray of light illuminating a patch of starry sky, gone in an instant.

In the endless darkness of the universe, they are too insignificant. Those who are exceptionally talented are eventually brought down to the mortal world, without exception, and die of old age, leaving behind endless regrets.

Wang Xuan remained silent, the flickering firelight illuminating his face and also vaguely revealing his bleak future. He was contemplating the "abandoned laws" that had been discarded and deemed useless in the face of time.

"Useless teachings, misleading students, wasting time, better to discard them all, burn them!" The old voice echoed, and in the rough and aged hands, the last stack of scriptures was thrown into the fire, and both hands fell into the fire, burning together.

That was the manifestation of utter disappointment. They were unwilling to talk about it anymore, unwilling to struggle any longer, so they simply burned everything to ashes, letting the extraordinary sink into the ash.

"Waaah..."

Wang Xuan heard the crying. The scriptures had fallen into the fire. Someone was sitting cross-legged on them, weeping loudly. It was an unparalleled expert whom he had seen in the previous time-travel episode. He could shatter the sky with a single hand and break through the curtain of time, but now he was in such a state of disarray.

Why?

He and a few others stayed behind and personally burned all the books of this Supernatural Civilization!

Ultimately, there was too much reluctance. This was the culmination of their life's work, yet it had to be destroyed in this way, burned and buried by themselves.

A White-haired Man was both crying and laughing. After coughing up blood, he looked down at the papers stained with his real blood all over the ground. He let out a low roar and exploded, engulfed by flames.

"It's almost burned out. Transcendence and eternal silence. We can't hold on any longer. Even if there are successors, they will just be another similar shooting star appearing by chance. Farewell." Another person vanished.

"Don't forget, there's still our hard work to be done. Using all the scriptures as fuel and a mythical civilization as flame, we've forged a treasure ship. We don't know if it can cross over and get closer to reality..."

Beneath the bonfire, a lone boat emerges, leaping up in the firelight. This is a treasure forged from countless scriptures and the accumulated wisdom of a mythical Dao Script.

Inside, there is the true blood of various races, carrying their hopes, breaking through the fire, piercing through time and space, and then going far away.

"Go, and if you succeed, don't look back. If it happens again, it proves that you have failed, that you are on the way down. We don't know if our last efforts will be in vain, and that we have wasted our peaceful years."

It was a kind of sustenance, carrying their hopes, as the precious Flying Boat disappeared into the vast, dark end of the universe.

Wang Xuan's heart trembled violently. That was— the Carefree Boat? It actually had such a background!

"I advise those who come after me not to waste this precious time. It is meaningless to struggle in the void. Let us live peacefully and quietly in the Real World."

This is desolation, and also helplessness in despair. The supreme being of mythology advises people to stay away from the illusory transcendence and never set foot in such a realm again.

The firelight dimmed and was about to go out. Only one old man remained before the embers. His hands had been burned away. He turned back and looked at Wang Xuan and the Little White Tiger who were approaching.

"Langling, die." His eyes flashed with the last glimmer of light before he himself disintegrated, his body and soul annihilated. But the light in his eyes flew towards him, intent on strangling Wang Xuan and the Round-faced girl.

This time, Wang Xuan sensed something was wrong. Even across time and space, he felt as if he were in danger and might be killed.

The old man's gaze was like the last flicker of the Civilization Fire —it was terrifying.

Without hesitation, he God Slaying Banner and fled at top speed with the Little White Tiger.

Boom!

The flag was charred black and a corner was on fire. This shocked Wang Xuan. He had never seen anything like it before. The flag was actually burning.

Even at the edge of a meteorite crater, which is close to the real place, the flag was only scorched by the burst of red light. Here, people from countless eras and different times and spaces actually damaged the God Slaying Banner.

Despite being blocked by the God Slaying Banner, Wang Xuan and the Round-faced girl retreated rapidly, but they still exploded above the embers of the Great Dao Embers, turning into a rain of light.

This time, Wang Xuan felt as if he had been waiting for a very long time. He was trapped in darkness and could not concentrate his consciousness. He almost thought he was going to die.

Finally, his scattered consciousness gradually cleared, and his spiritual body condensed and reappeared in the remaining firelight.

The Round-faced girl gradually became clearer, her Primordial Spirit Body formed by a shower of light, and she immediately let out a howl, truly terrified.

"The Demon Lord and I have been through similar fires before, but why is this time different? Who is this old man? He's terrifying; he almost killed me!"

She darted back into her physical body with a whoosh, utterly terrified, feeling as if she had truly died, obliterated by someone's gaze in a chaotic spacetime.

Wang Xuan's spirit stood in front of the fire, lost in thought for a long time. If it weren't for the God Slaying Banner, he felt that he and the Little White Tiger would really be wiped out!

This is terrifying. They're clearly not in the same dimension, Space-time Intertwine. How could the last survivor be so strong?

He quickly went to look at the God Slaying Banner. The burning corner had gone out, and although it was partially damaged, the interwoven golden patterns allowed it to slowly recover.

"Okay!" He gripped the flag tightly.

Wang Xuan calmed down. The old man was also saying that he was a ghost, which was quite surprising. Did the definition of a ghost really need to be redefined?

If that's the case, then the astronauts he and Old Zhang saw in the bar can be understood and explained; they were beings from different times and spaces, observing this Mythological World.

However, the ancient-looking astronauts he found in the city where the Sun family lived were somewhat inexplicable.

In particular, the thought of the ghosts in the Land of the Dead gave him a headache. In the vast ocean, there were countless scarlet eyes, ranging in size from lanterns to mountain peaks. How many monsters were there?

If they are also caused by a distorted spacetime, then how many people must be observing him, all of them voyeuristic enthusiasts? It's almost... like they all have voyeuristic tendencies.

He shook his head. That couldn't be the case. The forms of ghosts are very complex and not all the same.

The fact that someone like him, whose existence is distorted by time and space, and who observes a later being from a previous mythological civilization, is also considered a ghost is indeed something that deserves deep thought and vigilance.

"Next time, we need to catch a few to study!"

The fire was about to go out, but it really did emit a near-real Energy Substance, in wisps and strands. The amount wasn't large, but Wang Xuan felt it was very valuable. Finding such a Super Material in the Real World was of great significance!

Soon, Wang Xuan discovered that the so-called True Energy Substance originating from the Real World was somewhat inaccurate; it seemed to be the burning and dissipation of the scriptures of that mythical deity.

As the fire gradually died down, Wang Xuan's physical body and spirit slowly grew stronger—a unique form of cultivation.

He is expected to break through the barrier. If he continues to accumulate power in this way, he can improve his realm in the mortal world without entering the Land of Nothingness.

He's incredibly close to reaching the seventh dan!

With a flash of light, the entire fire went out, and a mythical civilization was completely extinguished, but the surrounding square, buildings, and ancient streets remained.

At this moment, the God Slaying Banner was completely restored, as good as new; it was truly miraculous. Wang Xuan stood up, holding the banner, and searched through the ashes to see if anything had been left behind.

One of the Golden Bamboo Slip was found in the Great Dao Embers.

"I'll help you!" The Little White Tiger came running over in a flash, very eager, its chubby round face full of fake smiles, and quickly extended its paws.

As a result, she let out a painful cry and retreated. There were still embers beneath the ashes, and even her powerful body couldn't withstand it; she was almost roasted alive.

No need to think twice, this kind of campfire is too special!

Fortunately, she didn't actually venture into the remaining embers below; otherwise, Wang Xuan figured she would have turned into a round-faced white tiger with a missing arm.

There was something left behind under the fire!

This made Wang Xuan's eyes light up immediately. The firelight was about to die out, so could there still be supreme Divine Object and Supreme Scriptures?

A faint white light flickered; it was a page of scripture that he had pulled out using the God Slaying Banner. There was only this one page, and no others, which made him both excited and somewhat regretful.

Why is there only one page left? It should be a book.

Soon, the white light dissipated, leaving only an ordinary piece of paper, withered and dim, with dense scribbles on both sides.

Wang Xuan examined it closely. It was truly ordinary paper, of very common material; it was a miracle it had survived. If its material were exceptional enough, the entire scripture should have been preserved, right?

This is truly regrettable. Who left behind this scripture? Only one page remained. The text on it is likely not simple. Did the fire, if it possessed a spirit, not want it to be completely burned away?

Wang Xuan looked at it again and again, but he couldn't recognize a single character. He asked the Little White Tiger, "Do you have any knowledge of ancient writing?"

"Ah, haha... you don't recognize it?" The Round-faced girl suddenly perked up, proudly raising her chin, and said, "Beg me! I'm very knowledgeable about prehistoric civilizations Immortal Dao Supreme Skill. Every one of them has a history. We've studied the writing systems of various periods!"

Seeing her so smug and proud, Wang Xuan pressed down on her tiger head, rubbing it vigorously, and said, "Why say so much? Translate!"

"Awoo... stay away from me!" The Little White Tiger bared her teeth and brandished her claws. If it weren't for the fact that there were still buildings around and she was worried about being "hanged," she would probably be furious and fight him to the death. But now she could only endure the humiliation and push his hand away with disgust.

"What kind of rubbish is this? It looks like scribbles! I don't recognize a single word!" she exclaimed angrily. She looked at it again and again, but could only stare blankly, unable to translate it.

Wang Xuan snatched it away, no longer wanting to talk to her, and tried to communicate with her mentally to see if he could evoke a resonance.

Unfortunately, the paper did not react.

He thought for a moment, gritted his teeth, and threw the paper into the remaining embers under the ashes. When it emitted a faint white light again, Wang Xuan immediately protected himself with the God Slaying Banner and communicated with it spiritually.

The communication was successful, and both parties reached a consensus!

"What is real, what is illusion? I often think that the only real thing is myself..."