"Lord Sacrificial Spirit, you... can't see him?"
Tao Ye was aghast. That brief sentence revealed far too much. The Divine Vine, the Sacrificial Spirit that had lived from ancient times until the present and served as the Heaven Mending Pavilion's greatest pillar of support, actually could not see Di Yi.
How was that possible?
Even he could see Di Yi, and clearly at that. Yet the Divine Vine said there was no one beside him. It made his hair stand on end.
He could not help shuddering as he thought of the Elder Paranormal.
Could Di Yi, who had been following beside him, also be an exceedingly uncanny Elder Paranormal? Like the Ghost Old Man who appeared every few hundred years, was he not truly alive?
"Beings without physical eyes cannot see me if they rely solely on spiritual heavenly eyes cultivated through practice or on divine perception," Di Yi said. He had considered this question back in Cloud-Rushing Town, and now he had found the pattern behind it.
The Heaven Mending Pavilion's Sacrificial Spirit shared a trait with the one in Cloud-Rushing Town and Stone Village's former Sacrificial Spirit: none possessed physical eyes or organs capable of directly observing the outside world.
In other words, these life-forms-plants, minerals, and the like that gained spirits through cultivation-had a different form of life from his. They had no flesh, no bones, and no meridians.
"I understand. Your level of life is many orders of magnitude above mine. The Dao and principles contained throughout your body cannot be perceived. Are you from the Upper Realm?" As expected of a being that had survived from ancient times until the present, the Heaven Mending Pavilion's Divine Vine understood at once, and even more deeply than the Sacrificial Spirit in Cloud-Rushing Town.
"The Upper Realm? I don't know what the Upper Realm is." Di Yi was puzzled. He did not know what the Upper Realm was, but he was certain he had not come from there.
"Is that so... Heaven and earth are vast, filled with so many unknown secrets." The Heaven Mending Pavilion's Divine Vine seemed to gain some insight. "May I ask your name?"
"Just call me Di Yi," Di Yi replied. "Let's put the small talk aside. I came to deal with that Elder Paranormal. He's causing far too much trouble, and this needs to be resolved. Otherwise, I won't be able to cultivate in peace here at the Heaven Mending Pavilion."
"You are currently cultivating at the Heaven Mending Pavilion, Sir Di Yi?" Its Sacrificial Spirit was astonished. Someone even it could not perceive was obviously immensely powerful. What value did the Heaven Mending Pavilion have that could make him stay here to cultivate?
"There is indeed quite a bit here worth learning." Di Yi gave only a brief reply before turning the conversation back to the Elder Paranormal.
He felt that explaining everything clearly would be too troublesome. It was not something he could clear up in a few words. Hadn't that elder with white crane-like hair and a child's youthful face, whom he met upon entering the mountain gate, initially refused to believe him?
It was easy to imagine that the Heaven Mending Pavilion's strongest fighting force, its Sacrificial Spirit that had lived from ancient times until now, would let its thoughts branch out even further.
"That Elder Paranormal... actually isn't an outsider. He was the Heaven Mending Pavilion's first Pavilion Master. He planted me here, where I grew and protected the Heaven Mending Pavilion." The Divine Vine revealed a earth-shaking secret, identifying the Elder Paranormal's origins.
"What? That man is... our founding ancestor?!" Tao Ye was deeply stirred. This secret was far too explosive.
He had never imagined that the Elder Paranormal who had troubled the Heaven Mending Pavilion for countless years was its founding ancestor, the godlike man who had established the pavilion single-handedly.
But after his excitement passed, he calmed down.
He had thought of an important question: why had the Lord Sacrificial Spirit never spoken of this secret?
"It seems you've realized it. Yes, the man who planted me died in ancient times. Now only a remnant soul remains, without a clear mind." The Heaven Mending Pavilion's Divine Vine seemed filled with endless sorrow. "His soul returned to its homeland, his heart unwilling to accept its fate, his obsession refusing to disperse."
"If he's the Heaven Mending Pavilion's founding ancestor, why is he still causing trouble here?" Di Yi asked. He felt there had to be something behind this.
"To secure a thread of hope for the Heaven Mending Pavilion. The man who planted me needs his sword,
to bear his remnant soul, allowing him to give off light and heat once more." The Heaven Mending Pavilion's Divine Vine sighed softly. "My life is nearing its end. Unless something unexpected happens, I have only a few decades left. I cannot withstand the great calamity to come." "What do you mean?" Di Yi felt that the pavilion's Sacrificial Spirit was deeply pessimistic, as though it had long foreseen the future.
"This is a cycle. I once heard the man who planted me say that one day, the mountains, rivers, and all things here would cease to exist, just like the ancient age that passed away. Perhaps my death will raise the curtain on that great calamity." The Heaven Mending Pavilion's Divine Vine let out a long sigh.
"What cycle?" Di Yi frowned.
"It is difficult to put into words. I only know that such things have happened more than once. Just as ancient godlike figures and Saints lie buried in the Hundred Broken Mountains, all the mighty were like blades of grass. Some died, and others disappeared."
"The mighty were like blades of grass. Some died, and others disappeared... Was the man who planted you the same?"
"It is difficult to say. I was still very weak then and did not know the details. But as the ancient age passed, as I grew stronger and the Heaven Mending Pavilion grew more prosperous, I learned some horrifying things."
"Horrifying things?"
"Both the Primordial Era and the ancient age suffered great calamities, but all the truth was erased. Even the causes and the truth behind them were wiped away. Ninety percent of the Venerables vanished into thin air. Most importantly, those below the Venerable level suffered no calamity, as though it targeted only beings at the Venerable level and above."
"Something like that actually happened? From your description, why does it sound like harvesting chives? The ones that have grown well are harvested, while those that haven't matured are left for later."
"I have had that thought as well, but I dared not think too deeply about it. If that truly is the case, it would be far too terrifying. No one beneath heaven and earth could escape. All would have to undergo the great calamity, without a thread of hope for survival."
"But why do this? There's no reason. I've only ever heard of the weak needing the power of the strong, never of the strong needing the power of the weak."
"That I do not know. But this cycle keeps repeating. There must be a reason for it."
"There must be a reason... The man who planted you should know something. Unfortunately, he's become a ghost now, and we can't communicate with him."
Unlike the composed Di Yi, Tao Ye could not remain calm after learning of such horrifying matters. His entire body went cold, a chill rising from his head to his toes.
The entire world went through cycle after cycle. From the Primordial Era to the ancient age, the truth could always be concealed, and every lineage had been kept in the dark. What kind of power could accomplish that?
He even had the feeling that the chive-harvesting theory fell far short of the truth and did not encompass the entirety of the great calamity.
"Lord Sacrificial Spirit, can the coming great calamity truly not be avoided?" Tao Ye was deeply anxious. Although the calamity targeted only beings at the Venerable level and above, if something like that happened, the Desolate Region would surely fall into chaos.
Who could remain outside it then?
Everyone would inevitably be dragged in.
"It cannot be avoided. If it could, there would be no cycle." The Heaven Mending Pavilion's Divine Vine sighed, but soon changed its tone. "Of course, if Sir Di Yi is still in the Eight Regions-Heaven, Earth, Mystic, Yellow, Space, Time, Vast, and Desolate-when that day comes, I imagine he could bring this cycle to an end."
Hearing this, Tao Ye looked toward Di Yi, as though he had swallowed a pill that steadied his heart. Yet his spirits soon sank again.
In a few decades, when that great calamity descended, would Di Yi still be in the Eight Regions-Heaven, Earth, Mystic, Yellow, Space, Time, Vast, and Desolate?
He might well have left long before then.
Before you continue