Chen Siyao listened from the sidelines, taking notes and occasionally pointing out the rough meaning of the text.
The information they finally pieced together went roughly like this...
After the war, the Jie Sect and Chan Sect factions had indeed ceased fighting. But not because they had reached an agreement.
It wasn't because either side had persuaded the other. The murals recorded no negotiations, no drafting of terms. There was only one sentence...
"'With this path before us, what is there to fight over?'"
Eight characters.
Professor Li pondered it for a long time without arriving at a definite interpretation. "What path does 'this path' refer to?" he asked three times. No one could answer.
But the outcome was certain... the struggle had ended. Neither side had won, nor had either conceded defeat. Both had simply stopped fighting at the same time.
The next records concerned a migration.
"'In year fifty-three thousand of the Upper Origin Calendar, all cultivators of the Nine Provinces departed their homeland.'"
"Everyone left?" Chen Siyao asked.
"Everyone," Professor Li said. "It says 'all' here. Not a single person remained."
"Did they go to the Thirty-Three Heavens?"
Professor Li studied it for another long moment. "No. The next part says—'The Thirty-Three Heavens were abandoned as well. In the end, they departed for—'"
He stopped.
"For where?"
"The characters after that—" Professor Li tilted his magnifying glass and frowned at the inscription for quite a while. "They've worn away. This section of stone shows signs of weathering. I can't make out the last few characters."
"Nothing at all?"
"I can make out one component." Professor Zhao squeezed in. "It looks like the character for 'realm.'"
"Some sort of realm."
"It could also be the bottom part of the character for 'heaven.'"
"We can't be sure." The three