"Boom!"
Just as Xu Taiping was about to tip back his head and drain the jar of Hidden Immortal Wine, a violent Qi Explosion suddenly thundered overhead.
He looked up.
The Pearl Relic House Master, still suspended in midair, suddenly released an immense surge of Vast Righteous Qi, scattering the surrounding black fog in an instant.
Then, under Xu Taiping's astonished gaze, the Pearl Relic House Master's voice, now somewhat hoarse but still utterly resolute, suddenly rang through the pitch-black world-
"My Heart Is Bright!"
No sooner had the words fallen than the heart held aloft in the Pearl Relic House Master's hand suddenly erupted with a dazzling light.
From afar, that burning Literary Heart looked like a tiny sun suspended in the heavens.
In an instant, this pitch-black world became as bright as day.
Xu Taiping stared blankly at the scene before him.
An indescribable surge of heroic spirit suddenly welled up in his heart.
Beside him, Old Daoist Huang likewise spoke with deep feeling:
"Long ago, when the Nine Abysses first descended, the entire Shangqing Realm was like this world now, darkness blanketing heaven and earth."
"And back then, what illuminated this world were the utterly sincere cinnabar hearts of the Confucian Sect's scholars."
"Without that first ray of light from them, the Shangqing Realm of today would not exist."
"And precisely because of this, no matter how far Confucianism has fallen now, the cultivators of the Shangqing Cultivation World still hold the Confucian Sect's scholars in great respect."
Hearing this, Xu Taiping's gaze toward the Pearl Relic House Master grew still more respectful.
Just then, another thunderous boom rang out, and flames formed from Vast Righteous Qi engulfed the Pearl Relic House Master's figure along with his Literary Heart.
In an instant, the Pearl Relic House seemed