Blue Silver Remnants, the Shadow of Fate?

Gu Changsheng's gaze tightened slightly at the prompt appearing in the Myriad Heaven Book before him.

"Found it. That's the one!"

Upon hearing this, Chrysanthemum Douluo slowly stepped forward, his narrow eyes falling upon the silver-gray patterns on the surface of the dead tree.

"Are you sure?"

Gu Changsheng did not reach out to touch it immediately. Instead, he held his hand half an inch away and sensed the faint fluctuations lingering within the pattern.

"This isn't a trace left behind by an ordinary Spirit Beast. Ordinary Spirit Beasts would at most leave behind aura footprints, perhaps residual Soul Power."

"But this pattern is completely different. It seems to be recording something, and it also seems to have been deliberately left behind."

After Gu Changsheng finished speaking, a trace of approval flashed through the eyes of the Tracking Attribute Spirit Saint beside him.

He slowly crouched down and carefully observed the few silver-gray streaks. After a moment, he nodded lightly.

"Young Master Changsheng is right. The direction of these patterns is indeed not one of natural diffusion. They are slowly retracting toward the depths of the forest."

"The target is most likely up ahead. Should we go straight over?"

Yan crossed his arms upon hearing this, his tone carrying a hint of disdain.

"With Elder Yue Guan here, are we supposed to fear some mere eight- or nine-hundred-year-old Spirit Beast? I say we chase after it directly!"

Gu Changsheng suddenly glanced at Yan.

"Senior Brother, Mental Attribute Spirit Beasts are best at making you think they pose no danger. We cannot let our guard down."

Hu Liena, standing nearby, smiled softly.

"Did you hear that? Junior Brother is reminding you not to get careless!"

"Do I need him to remind me? I..."

Just as they were still bickering, Chrysanthemum Douluo directly cut off the three of them.

"That's enough. Keep moving. Everyone, restrain your mental focus and do not touch any patterns carelessly."

"The Spirit Pattern Book Demon may not be very old, but its mental interference is extremely powerful. I can protect one person, but not all of you!"

Everyone slowly nodded. His words had also brought a faint sense of unease to the group.

When they reached the depths of the forest, the atmosphere around them began to grow increasingly strange.

The once-dense woods gradually became somewhat sparse, and unusual broken stones began to appear across the ground.

Most of those stones were covered in dirt and moss. Without close inspection, it would have been difficult to realize that they had once belonged to some kind of structure.

As they proceeded farther, the stone walls ahead had already mostly collapsed. Moss and vines covered them, and in some places, only vague traces remained. Perhaps too much time had passed.

"Ruins! They look like ruins..."

Hu Liena looked around, as though she sensed something familiar in the surroundings. She spoke quietly as she examined the area.

Yue Guan also felt that the surroundings were far too quiet. Even the chirping of insects had vanished.

Gu Changsheng stood at the edge of the ruins, his palm warming slightly as the Myriad Heaven Book gently turned within his Soul Sea.

[Incomplete Ancient Array detected.
[Mental record patterns detected.
[Unknown life remnants detected!]

Each line was more shocking than the last. Gu Changsheng stared fixedly ahead.

"Wait... unknown life?"

He looked up and saw a patch of utterly unremarkable Blue Silver Grass growing between the ruined walls. Blue Silver Grass was simply too common on Douluo Continent.

There seemed to be nothing special about this Blue Silver Grass. Its leaves were slender and faintly gleamed with blue light as they gently swayed within the dim ruins.

At that moment, a new sensation came from the Myriad Heaven Book.

[Life remnants: Unknown Blue Silver Bloodline.
[Level assessment: Far above ordinary Blue Silver Grass.]

[Traits: Life, inclusiveness, lingering imperial aura!]

Those words seemed to make Gu Changsheng's pupils contract slightly. He appeared to have thought of something.

"An imperial aura? And Blue Silver Grass..."

This scene reminded him of the Secret Letter he had opened earlier: Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, innate full Soul Power, Nuoding City. All the clues pointed to one person—Tang San.

And the true secret hidden behind Tang San was the Blue Silver Emperor, A Yin!

Impossible. Why would A Yin be here?

Hu Liena noticed that something was wrong with him and edged half a step closer.

"Junior Brother, did you sense something? Why does your expression look so terrible?"

Gu Changsheng immediately came back to his senses. He suppressed the turmoil in his heart and shook his head.

"No... it's nothing. I just think this aura is somewhat strange."

"What aura is strange?"

When asked that, Gu Changsheng did not directly mention the Blue Silver Emperor. Some things could not be revealed yet, so he could only look toward the broken stone wall ahead.

"This doesn't seem like a simple Spirit Beast nest. It looks more like an ancient site for keeping records. Look at the inscriptions left on the ground—they seem to be recording something."

Yue Guan was both the most shocked and the most excited at that moment. Rather than releasing his Soul Power, he carefully stepped forward.

"Keeping records?"

As he spoke, he extended a fingertip and gently brushed across the moss-covered stone surface. His Soul Power scattered a thin layer of dust, revealing even more shattered patterns beneath.

"I never expected the Star Dou Great Forest to contain ruins like these. This place appears to be more valuable than we imagined."

"Who cares about some ancient ruins? Aren't we here to hunt Spirit Beasts? How did this turn into archaeology?"

Yan could not stand it any longer and spoke with obvious dissatisfaction.

But just after he finished speaking, pale mist suddenly rose around them. It was not dense, yet it carried a faint silver-gray gleam.

It was as if countless tiny leaves were rustling through the air. The soft, rasping sound was incredibly oppressive.

"Something's coming!"

Xie Yue's gaze turned cold, and Moon Blades instantly appeared in his palms.

The Defense Attribute Spirit Saint behind them immediately stepped forward. A Soul Power barrier unfolded and directly enveloped Gu Changsheng and the others within it.

The Tracking Attribute Spirit Saint said in a low voice:

"Mental fluctuations are gradually intensifying. There's something bigger in the depths of the ruins!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the mist and saw a pale, dead Ancient Tree at the center of the ruins suddenly light up.

Not a single leaf grew upon the Ancient Tree, but its trunk was covered in silver-gray patterns. They resembled ancient writing, their light flowing across the bark as though the entire tree were breathing.

Upon seeing this, the Myriad Heaven Book automatically appeared before Gu Changsheng, and he once again poured Soul Power into it.

[Target confirmed: Spirit Pattern Book Demon.

[Estimated age: One thousand years!

[Mental fluctuations abnormally active.

[Warning: Target is releasing a group illusion!]

Gu Changsheng's expression changed drastically in an instant.

"A thousand-year Spirit Beast? This is bad. Everyone, do not look at those patterns!"

The instant he gave the warning, even brighter silver patterns lit up across the trunk ahead, blazing brilliantly.

The air around them seemed to twist. Stone walls, vines, and even Chrysanthemum Douluo's figure became blurred amid the fluctuations before their eyes.

Countless whispers drifted into their ears.

"Can you see it?"

"The future you fear most..."

In the next instant, everything before his eyes vanished. The sky above Pope Palace had been torn apart, and the banners symbolizing Spirit Hall's dignity burned amid blood-colored winds.

A figure walked through the sky above.

Rings of golden-blue divine light surrounded him, while the Trident in his hand radiated an oppressive might capable of suppressing heaven and earth.

Gu Changsheng could not have been more familiar with this person. It was Tang San—and Tang San after becoming a god!