As the phantom image gradually grew clearer, a scene of snow swirling beneath a gloomy sky appeared within it.
Seeing no Azure Profound Sect disciples in the image, Xu Taiping inexplicably felt considerably more at ease.
But as the scene gradually enlarged, shifting from distant mountains to a dense forest, then from the forest to a thatched cottage, Xu Taiping's heart suddenly clenched.
He murmured in disbelief:
"How could it be... here?!"
Ping'an and Bai Yu also cried out in unison:
"The Green Bamboo Abode!"
Indeed, the thatched cottage in the image was none other than the small courtyard where Xu Taiping had lived before becoming an Inner Sect Disciple-the Green Bamboo Abode.
But after briefly losing his composure, Xu Taiping immediately calmed down again and murmured:
"Since Half-Immortal Kang Cangzi already knew my origins, it makes sense that he would set the scene reflected by this moonlight stone here."
Ping'an asked in confusion:
"Eldest Brother, isn't the Taixuan Ghost Domain in Yunmeng Marsh? Why would a scene from our Azure Profound Sect appear?"
Without turning his head, Xu Taiping explained:
"The Azure Profound Sect was part of the Taixuan Sect Ruins in Yunmeng Marsh to begin with."
"Or rather, the Azure Profound Sect was simply the part of the Taixuan Sect Ruins that hadn't been sealed."
"One jiazi ago, Master sensed that the Demon Mother was about to awaken. To suppress her, and to fulfill the Taixuan Sect's promise to the True Martial Great Emperor, he chose to merge the Azure Profound Sect with the Taixuan Sect Ruins, allowing him to continue guarding the Taixuan Ghost Domain for another jiazi."
"That was precisely why the Azure Profound Sect's former mountain gate became part of the Taixuan Ghost Domain, just like the Taixuan Sect Ruins."
Understanding immediately dawned on Ping'an's