The mountain's shadow stood there in solemn stillness, layer upon layer of an all-suppressing aura seeping out invisibly and filling the entire space. Beyond that grave aura, endless nine-colored mist drifted through the void like wind. Phantasmal colors blossomed amid its movement like lamp flames, while golden runes, large and small, flashed throughout the space. The large golden runes rivaled stars, their peerless aura nearly possessing the might to destroy galaxies; the small ones were no bigger than gnats, their faint aura like candle flames in the wind. Yet whether powerful or weak, the instant they touched the mountain-like shadow of light, they shattered. As they broke apart, the golden runes revealed their original strokes—they were all the character "Dao," written in countless different styles! Stranger still, whenever a shadow of light was extinguished, a "Dao" character appeared. Every "Dao" was different. Not to mention the ages from antiquity to the present—within the span of a finger snap alone, who knew how many "Dao" characters had appeared in this space, or how many had spread across it!
The mysteries of this place did not end there. Whenever a "Dao" character appeared, the strokes forming it transformed into chaos. Black and white emerged within that chaos, then a point of light appeared between them. As black and white melded together, every color of the rainbow emerged. At last, fish and insects, mountains and rivers, people and figures all manifested within those nine colors, like a Minor World. Yet once the nine-colored Minor World had fully formed, with a "pop," everything returned to a wisp of nine-colored mist.
Endless transformations, endless cycles, endless creation unfolded throughout the space. If those transformations were motion, then the mountain shadow was stillness. Nine-colored radiance shone upon it from time to time. The mountain shadow was revealed, silver-white in color, with tadpole-shaped runes engraved layer upon layer across it. Looking closely, the runes seemed like names, yet they flickered in and out of sight, and the silver-white light upon them waxed and waned, making them impossible to see clearly. But when viewed vaguely, all the runes seemed to gather as one, resembling a "Dao" character that held up heaven and stood upon earth!
That ripple of light was like a weary bird returning to its nest as it descended into the mountain shadow. A strange tadpole rune immediately emerged, but just as it appeared, an exceedingly dim thread of dark green light suddenly burst forth from deep within the mountain shadow and stabbed into the rune.
"Crack..." The silver-white rune shattered. Both the silver-white and dark green vanished, while the colorless rune merged into the mountain shadow. At the same time, a bolt of nine-colored lightning surged into existence out of nowhere. Rather than racing away, it struck the mountain shadow with repeated crack-crack sounds. In an instant, a deep fissure appeared on the mountain shadow!
"Whooo..." No sooner had the lightning vanished than another strange sound arose. In one corner of the space, a fist-sized vortex appeared. Earth, fire, wind, and lightning poured into it like a flood, and a silver humanoid figure arrived, stepping upon earth, fire, wind, and lightning. The instant the figure entered the space, the silver light around it disappeared, revealing a boy. When the boy saw the fissure on Mount Moban, his face drained of color. He cried out, "Mount Moban... cracked? How... how is that possible? Heavens! The masters ordered me to guard Mount Moban. How... how could such a calamity happen?"
Having said that, the boy did not have time to inspect anything else before hurriedly turning and leaving.
Shortly after the boy departed, light flashed in two other places almost simultaneously. The void was torn open, and two golden humanoid figures, each ten thousand zhang tall, flew in. Their golden light differed from the boy's silver radiance. Not only did it not fade, it shone ever more brilliantly, like flames, like lightning stretching ten thousand zhang.
The two figures landed before Mount Moban at the same time. First, four shadows of light swept across the fissure, followed by two Emanated Thoughts as immense as towering mountains. Then, the two figures fell into grim silence.
"Senior Brother..." The figure on the left spoke in a voice like thunder. "What do you think?"
"The Universe-Shaking Bright Stone has undergone such a change. There are no more than two possibilities..." The voice of the figure on the right rang throughout the space, and countless "Dao" characters shattered. "First, a heavenly secret capable of shaking the foundations of our Immortal Realm has appeared, disrupting the laws of the Universe-Shaking Bright Stone. Second, the fate of a disciple whose name is being inscribed upon the Immortal Roster is abnormal, and the Universe-Shaking Bright Stone cannot engrave their name. As for which it is, we must wait for Senior Disciple Brother to return, then the three of us can deduce it together!"
"Is it really that troublesome?" The left figure seemed to frown slightly and asked in puzzlement, "I see traces of shattered runes around this fissure. It should be an issue that arose while engraving a name. If merely the fate of some advancing disciple is abnormal, we can simply have the Celestial Venerables of the various immortal domains investigate carefully and report back to us, can we not?"
"Since our Immortal Realm was established, how many times have problematic fates appeared?"
"Two times, it seems..." The left figure laughed. "Especially the first time. Though several generations have passed since then, the matter caused quite a stir, and I remember it vividly. Senior Disciple Brother personally intervened and watched her for a long time. In the end, she has now become a Celestial Venerable, and nothing unusual has happened. Oh, what about the other one? It seems Senior Disciple Brother never mentioned it either."
As he spoke, the left figure raised a hand. An enormous golden finger touched the mountain shadow, and the runes upon it immediately rippled with light and shadow, flowing like pages being turned. After a moment, a rune appeared. Then, a beam of golden light descended from the right figure and struck the rune. It flashed several times before becoming a name. The right figure laughed. "It truly was her! And the other person?"
"Heh heh..." The left figure chuckled. "To be honest, Senior Brother, I have forgotten that person's name as well. We can ask Senior Disciple Brother later."
"I understand..." The right figure withdrew his golden light. The name shattered and became a rune once more, falling back into the mountain shadow. Only then did he say thoughtfully, "Junior Brother believes that although people's fates may differ, they merely stir fluctuations in the laws of the Immortal Realm and are insufficient to affect its foundations?"
"Exactly so!" The left figure replied with a laugh. "What does Senior Brother think?"
"I believe that though the matter may seem small, it cannot be taken lightly; though an immortal may be lowly, they cannot be ignored. Someone should investigate thoroughly!" the right figure answered calmly. "As for whether the matter is grave, we must wait for Senior Disciple Brother to return and deduce it together. However, Junior Brother, I have recently been having frequent premonitions. I always feel that some upheaval is coming. What about you?"
Unfortunately, the left figure answered beside the point. With a sweep of his sleeve, he said, "I knew it. My thoughts are always different from yours. Since you believe it requires a thorough investigation, then investigate it thoroughly. I shall immediately have someone issue a decree..."
"Junior Brother, do not be hasty..." Seeing the left figure's displeasure, the right figure hurriedly said, "Senior Disciple Brother has not returned for so long. I think..."
The left figure cut him off without mercy and said coldly, "What you think is unimportant. What is important is that you tell me once you have news of Senior Disciple Brother! Or, once you deduce the result, simply inform me."
Having said that, the left figure slashed with one hand. Golden light flashed, and a Spatial Rift appeared. His body flickered as he rushed into it and vanished. Watching the Spatial Rift swiftly close, the right figure smiled bitterly. "Sigh, Junior Brother's temper has not changed after so many cosmic ages. Must he wait until after the Great Tribulation before understanding once more?"
The right figure did not leave in haste. He stood in the void, staring at the fissure on the Universe-Shaking Bright Stone. After an unknown length of time, his form gradually turned incorporeal. First, he slowly became an enormous golden "Dao" character. Then it divided into two, two became four, and countless "Dao" characters written in different styles poured forth. As the "Dao" characters flew about, some phantoms appeared like streaming light. Yet in the end, all the "Dao" characters suddenly vanished, and the golden humanoid figure condensed from the haze.
"Could it be?" The figure's tone carried inexplicable astonishment. Yet after speaking only those two words, he hesitated again. "Impossible, right? How could that be?? Sigh, Dao gave birth to One, One gave birth to Two, Two gave birth to Three, Three gave birth to all things. The words are clear enough, but when it comes to actually doing it, it is difficult indeed! This matter must still be decided by Senior Disciple Brother..."
Having said that, the golden figure tore through space and left, leaving only the fissure upon the Universe-Shaking Bright Stone behind.
At the same time, with a "whoosh," another ripple of light appeared from nowhere and rushed into the mountain shadow. A silver-white tadpole rune immediately emerged. With a "pop," the silver-white rune shattered and became a name. Once the name was engraved upon the mountain shadow, the fragments of the shattered silver-white rune gathered together, becoming a bean-sized silver-white bead that flew toward where the ripple of light had come from...
No sooner had the silver-white bead departed than the boy appeared again. He did not dare approach, only gazing from afar at the newly appeared name. His brows lifted and his eyes smiled as he said, "Another person's name has entered the Immortal Roster. The fortune of our Immortal Realm is flourishing. The masters surely will not blame me again."
Within the ruined Reception Hall, that unlucky Guiding Emissary put away the Xingtian Immortal Artifact and the flag. He looked around in every direction and, after confirming that nothing had been left behind, finally walked out of the bronze-cast palace. Just as he prepared to leave, he stopped again. Pinching his chin, he thought for a moment before murmuring, "This trip has gone poorly. I fear I cannot report back to the Hall Master in time. Even if I find that bastard and capture him, it will surely be too late. Unfortunately, that bastard is alert. Even when I pretended to be Xu Zhi, he saw through me. I did not even trick his name out of him, so I cannot send any message to the Hall Master. Sigh, at present, I can only send a message to Senior Sister. I can only hope that when the Hall Master thinks of me, she will put in a few good words for me and plead for leniency."
After speaking, the Guiding Emissary went to another side hall of the palace. There was likewise an Azure Stone Array in this hall. His gaze swept over the azure stones covered in runes, and he smiled bitterly. "This place is so remote. I never expected such a mishap. The Space Origin Crystals I brought are only enough to return to Mingdao Continent. Now sending a message will consume some as well. Even returning has become a problem! Sigh, why is my fate so bitter?"
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