But most of the writing had already been corroded by turbid qi, leaving it blurred and illegible.
Su Ming walked up to the stone wall and brushed away the dust on its surface.
The surviving words finally came into view.
"I ventured three hundred li into the depths of Ruins before sensing something amiss."
"The abnormal qi was not born of Ruins. It seems..."
The writing that followed had been completely corroded into a stretch of indentations. Its contents could no longer be made out.
Su Ming gently ran his fingers over that line of carved words.
The strokes were bold and powerful, imbued with the bearing of one who ruled all beneath heaven.
It was the Human Emperor's handwriting.
The Human Emperor had come here all those years ago, too.
And he, too, had discovered the truth that the abnormalities had not been born within Ruins.
Unfortunately, he had never finished what he wanted to say.
Su Ming stood before the stone wall in silence for a long time.
So someone had already walked this path countless ages ago.
The Human Emperor had uncovered clues, but had failed to reach the end.
Now it was his turn.
Just then.
From the darkness deep within the Dao Platform.
Three low chuckles suddenly rang out.
They were not loud, yet they seemed to resound directly in the depths of his soul.
"Su Ming."
"You came, just as expected."
"My master has been waiting for you for a very long time."
Su Ming abruptly looked up.
His gaze turned as sharp as a sword.
Three figures slowly emerged from the depths of the darkness.
The one in the lead was tall, with an arrogant face and undisguised contempt in his eyes.
It was Arrogance.
The figure to his left was bloated, his