Fairy Lingyue did not rush to answer. Instead, she asked Lü Daoxuan, "Old Lü, if Taiping fails this trial, what do you intend to do?"
Only after a moment of silence did Lü Daoxuan answer:
"The Bronze Coffin holding Taiping's Origin Beginning Clone has long since been imbued with special temporal restrictions by our eldest. If Taiping fails this trial, the Bronze Coffin will take him into hiding within the river of time."
"Until... until Qingxuan falls, True Martial Heaven falls, and Shangqing falls, using the power of time to escape this great calamity."
At his words, Fairy Lingyue grinned and said:
"Old Lü, you really did leave Taiping a way out."
Behind the Bronze Gate, Lü Daoxuan gave a bitter smile.
"It wasn't me. It was the Taixuan Sect, the Five Elders, who left this way out for the human race."
"Once this Great Void Calamity has been evaded, the divine power of these nine Bronze Coffins will be completely exhausted."
"Those who survive inside the coffins will have only themselves to rely on as they live in the ruined world after the Great Void Calamity."
"That may not necessarily be a good thing."
Fairy Lingyue shook her head.
"As long as a thread of hope remains, that is enough."
Then, having received a satisfactory answer, she revealed to Lü Daoxuan the greatest secret buried in her heart-
"Old Lü, have you ever heard of Taiqing Paradise?"
Lü Daoxuan's expression changed, and he immediately asked:
"Fairy, do you mean the fabled Taiqing Paradise, which once stood alongside Shangqing and Sumeru as the Three Realms, where any being possessed of intelligence could seek the Dao and ascend to heaven?"
Fairy Lingyue nodded.
"That's right."
She continued:
"When Sumeru fell, I received a secret decree from an elder of my clan."