Words Become Spirits, and Their Words Startle the World

"In my hands?"

Qiu Yan was taken aback, then a thought struck Spiritual Light. He lowered his head and his gaze fell on the Eight-Character Ancient Seal Inscription.

These eight characters, like swimming fish, are flowing and lingering in the palm and around the hand.

"Could it be... these words in my hand?" Surprised, Qiu Yan turned to the text. "Could it be that you are a spirit of words? Words can become spirits?"

"Mountains, forests, soil, and rocks can all become spirits, and Painted Skin lanterns can all become demons, so why can't words?" The Eight-Character Ancient Seal Inscription seemed somewhat displeased upon hearing Qiu Yan's words, and surprisingly offered a reasoning, "Besides, I was originally an old man who came to this Spirit Land and gained insights into the Heavenly Fire and Human Fire, which is why I wrote this line of characters. Such insights, after being refined over time, could become spirits, so what's so strange about that?"

This question gave Qiu Yan some insight, and he nodded in agreement. Then, he seized on a few points in the other person's words and asked them questions.

"Hey? You're asking about the meaning of this Spirit Land? You want to know the old man's identity?" Hearing Qiu Yan's question, the Eight-Character Ancient Seal Inscription revealed a clear smile. "Sure! But as I said, if you want to know the answer, you'll have to offer a thousand pieces of gold first."

Qiu Yan frowned slightly upon hearing this, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. "To be able to make a single stroke of the pen bring the characters to life, the Sage who wrote your name deserves to be worth a thousand pieces of gold per word, not just a thousand pieces of gold, but priceless. But this is not your achievement. If you do not wish to speak of it, I will not inquire."

As if sensing something, the Eight-Character Ancient Seal Inscription" suppressed its smile and continued, "On the day the character was created, I was still devoid of intelligence, and there are some things I don't know clearly. However, you were able to move me using a clever method, so it's only right that I make things difficult for you. In other words, this is a test. You must be sincere and willingly let me manipulate you!"

Upon hearing this, Qiu Yan didn't say much. He exerted force in his hands, his divine power surging, and squeezed hard, seemingly intending to crush the Ancient Seal Script completely!

"Wait! Wait!" The Ancient Seal Script moved, calmly breaking free. "Although I am merely a character, in terms of sturdiness, I am not something Fifth Grade deity could destroy. However, judging from your appearance, if we continue to entangle, it would be undesirable. Since that's the case..."

As they spoke, a symbol flew in from the white light; it was the Li Trigram.

Then the Eight-Character Ancient Seal Inscription said, "Because you took shortcuts, you did not inherit the knowledge, but you have gained some understanding of the concepts of Heavenly Fire Human Fire. According to the old man's original intention, this divination can be given to you."

Seeing that Qiu Yan seemed somewhat dismissive, it added, "Don't think these are just a few Knot Cord. These Knot Cord are left behind by our High Antiquity ancestors, forming hexagrams. Didn't you just see their power?"

Looking at the Li Trigram floating before him, Qiu Yan's eyes flashed with a sharp light, but he shook his head calmly and said, "The power of this hexagram isn't necessarily that great. Apart from that old demon, it didn't show any particularly astonishing power on anyone else. Even the old demon only lost the power of the hexagram after his demon body was destroyed and his Demon Core cracked, ultimately causing his Heart Fire to self-destruct."

"What!" The Eight-Character Ancient Seal Inscription suddenly raised its voice. Its voice was already childish, but with this increase, it immediately turned into a scream. "You actually look down on this Li Trigram! You are a deity, and your Divine Office are related to fire. If you obtain this Li Trigram, regardless of your own benefit, thousands of believers will benefit first. Those who believe will have great fortune, and those who are wise will understand their destiny. The gap between you and other deities will be widened immediately!"

"Whether it works or not, we'll have to try to find out," Qiu Yan said, raising his hand to grab a scroll of tattered bamboo slips. He then put the Li Trigram into the scroll and continued, "As for the rest..."

The Eight-Character Ancient Seal Inscription suddenly said, "Ah, I see. You didn't touch the Knot Cord just now, so you didn't know the power of the Li Trigram. No wonder you had doubts."

It seemed to be trying its best to argue its point.

"However, even though I haven't experienced it myself, I have seen what others look like. Putting aside the bird demon, just look at that Dong Grand Preceptor. You should know that he has been in charge of this tribe for many years, thinking that he has comprehended the principles of heaven and earth and can construct the Netherworld. He is arrogant all day long, but when he was Li Trigram, he immediately revealed his true colors and realized that he had gone astray for a hundred years."

"A century-long detour?" Qiu Yan frowned upon hearing this. "Could it be that what he said is wrong, that there is no principle of heaven and earth at all? High Antiquity gods?"

"What he said is not wrong," the Eight-Character Ancient Seal Inscription, unknowingly, fell into Qiu Yan's rhythm. "The principles of heaven and earth certainly exist, but he only comprehended the principles of heaven and earth in this Spirit Land, not those outside. He has already gone out and should soon discover the difference. It will probably be an interesting thing, but it's a pity that he can't witness it firsthand." At the end, its words revealed a hint of regret and schadenfreude.

Hearing this, Qiu Yan's heart stirred, and he thought of himself.

"The Spirit Land's must refer to the Land of the Divine Remains. Could it be that the principles of heaven and earth here are different from those of the outside world? In that case, were the insights that I and the Metropolitan City God gained in vain?"

"You will have no problem comprehending the principles related to fire here, and you will be able to apply them even after you leave. However, the Earthfire outside will not be as common," the Eight-Character Ancient Seal Inscription seemed to have seen through Qiu Yan's thoughts, or perhaps it wanted to show off its knowledge, and offered guidance. "As for that goddess, there is no need to worry about her either. Conquest and slaughter do not distinguish between inside and outside. No matter which Spirit Land or Grotto-Heaven you are in, even if you are traversing Continent, it will not change."

With just one sentence, the Eight-Character Ancient Seal Inscription revealed a lot of information, but Qiu Yan did not ask any questions. He simply continued the conversation, talking about a god and a line of characters. It was quite a while before the Eight-Character Ancient Seal Inscription came to its senses.

"No! No! I just said I'd charge a thousand gold coins for answering a question, but you've asked so many questions and I've answered them all, yet I haven't received a single coin! You're too cunning! Just like that old man!"

Qiu Yan ignored the other party's protest and simply said, "If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."

"You want to leave?" The Eight-Character Ancient Seal Inscription paused for a moment, as if suddenly remembering something. "I almost forgot. Although you took a shortcut, you still have the right to leave. If you want to go, you have to go through that step."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Yan glanced at the Eight-Character Ancient Seal Inscription. His body was still suppressed by the white light and he could not move freely. If he wanted to take his leave, he would need the other party to make a move. If he could not sense the peaceful State of Mind in the white light and know that it was the Sages' Legacy, he would not have believed a word demon so easily.

At this moment, the Eight-Character Ancient Seal Inscription suddenly rose up, hovering in the air, emitting waves of spiritual energy, and a warm aura slowly emerged, filling the surroundings.

Suddenly, a spark appeared.

"Um?"

Upon noticing the light, Qiu Yan immediately focused his attention on it. What he saw was a small flame, flickering and swaying, as if a mere gust of wind could extinguish it.

However, as soon as his senses enveloped the flames, Qiu Yan was immediately shaken. Although the flames appeared in his field of vision, Qiu Yan could not detect a trace of fire. Instead, he grasped a trace of mortal aura, as if it were not a wisp of fire, but a city full of people living peacefully.

"This..."

"This is the true inheritance, the real thing the old man left behind. That Li Trigram was just an afterthought," the Eight-Character Ancient Seal Inscription noticed Qiu Yan's surprise and seemed quite satisfied, with a hint of pride in its tone. "When the old man came to this Spirit Land, he plucked a sun from the sky. It was the gentlest point in the Fire God’s Domain, which the old man condensed into the Human Path Fire and left here, buried underground in this tribe, awaiting a wise man."

"Is this tiny flame the same sun as it was back then?"

A simple sentence, yet it stirred up a monstrous storm in Qiu Yan's heart!

"Countless gods and cultivators have come to this Land of the Divine Remains, hoping to pluck the sun and obtain its remains. Even Dong Grand Preceptor of the previous dynasty, who oversaw it for a century and schemed from all sides, only managed to ascend to heaven and pluck the sun, yet ultimately failed. In the entire history of these relics, only one person has ever successfully plucked the sun— the Sage left behind such a legacy. But unexpectedly, the sun that was plucked was not taken away but instead appeared before me!"

At that moment, no matter how calm Qiu Yan's State of Mind was, even with the Sage Manuscript suppressing it, it still stirred, and at the same time, a strange feeling arose, and he was somewhat skeptical.

"That former Grand Tutor of the previous dynasty lived here for over a hundred years, yet he didn't know that a sun was buried right beneath his feet? And how could a sun turn into a tiny flame? With such a long history in this entire ruin, could it be that no one discovered it? Even that Tongshan Old Monster was able to find information, so how could anyone else..."

"I thought you were indifferent to everything," the Eight-Character Ancient Seal Inscription interrupted Qiu Yan's thoughts. "But don't be too happy yet. This Human Fire is more like mortal fire, incompatible with the Divine Path. To comprehend it, one needs mortal insights and a worldly State of Mind. According to the old man, one cannot attain the Dao without entering the world. You are a deity, so it is Innate Realm difficult to subdue you. It would be more likely for a cultivator to do so."

"Oh? There's such a saying?"

With such a treasure before him, Qiu Yan couldn't help but be eager to try. Moreover, although his true form was a god, he also had a scholar avatar who could still navigate the mortal world and might just gain something from it.

As Qiu Yan was thinking, a flash of light suddenly appeared in front of him, and the flame in his field of vision suddenly grew larger and flew over on its own, hitting Qiu Yan on the forehead with a "smack".

Startled, Qiu Yan had no time to react before his body exploded into a ball of flame, startling even the Eight-Character Ancient Seal Inscription beside him, which quickly moved aside.

Immediately afterwards, the ball of flame soared high into the sky at incredible speed, breaking through the white light and reaching the heavens. From afar, it looked like a rising sun, causing the already apprehensive cultivators and deities within a hundred miles to change color.

At the same time.

Outside, in Wuxin City.

In a spacious house, an elderly man sat in the head seat, surrounded by a group of scholars. Suddenly, a loud thud sounded from a corner of the room, as if a heavy object had fallen. This was followed by Luo Jiayun's panicked cry—

"Brother Qiu, Brother Qiu, what's wrong with you?"