Zhang Tianxing pondered for a moment, "From here to the farthest Heavenly Sword Sect, it takes two days to fly by sword. A round trip takes four days, plus the time for gathering and discussions, it will take about seven or eight days. During this time, I will have someone set up a sealing array on the outer perimeter to slow down the spread of Demonic Qi as much as possible."
Snow Empress nodded. "Then let's split up. I'll take these next few days to investigate those cracks again, especially the largest one; I feel something's off deep inside it."
"Something's not right?" Zhang Tianxing looked at her. "What did you discover?"
Snow Empress hesitated for a moment, but still didn't mention the dark red light. She only said, "I suspect those cracks aren't just natural fissures in the boundary wall; there might be other forces at play. We need to investigate further."
Zhang Tianxing didn't ask any further questions and agreed to her request.
Over the next few days, Snow Empress patrolled the area around the Ziwei Sect every day. She went to the demonized village in the east and watched Li Qingyun set up a sealing array on the village ruins. She went to a barren mountain in the north and found a newly appeared crack on the hillside. Although it was not large, all the vegetation around the crack had withered, revealing a bare, scorched yellow ground. She went to a river in the west and saw fish floating belly up on the surface of the river. The reeds on both banks lay flat on the water, as if they had been crushed by something.
At each location, she would crouch down to carefully observe the edges of the cracks, sensing the Demonic Qi surging from them. The Demonic Qi felt similar to hers—dense, scorching, and malevolent. Only the dark red dot of light deep within the largest crack felt different. The aura emanating from that dot, though also enveloped in Demonic Qi, possessed an inexplicable sense of familiarity, as if it were something she had touched long, long ago.
On the evening of the fourth day, she returned to the vicinity of the massive crack. Li Qingyun had already set up a sealing array there, with a golden light membrane covering the crack and blocking most of the Demonic Qi. However, faint cracks had begun to appear at the edges of the light membrane, indicating that the Demonic Qi was corroding the crack faster than expected.
Snow Empress squatted at the edge of the light membrane, looking through the thin layer of golden light at the dark red speck of light deep within the crack. The speck of light continued to flicker, its rhythm steady. She watched for a long time, and suddenly a bold idea came to her.
She wanted to go down and take a look.
The thought startled even herself. The Demonic Qi in the rift was so dense; who knew what she would encounter once she went down? Perhaps thousands upon thousands of demons lurked within, or perhaps the rift led directly to the Demon Realm, and she would never be able to come back up. But the dark red light kept calling to her, and the feeling grew stronger and stronger, as if someone was holding a lamp deep inside, waiting for her to go down.
She took a deep breath and stood up. After hesitating for a moment, she made her decision.
She summoned Li Qingyun and Zhao Wan'er, telling them she was going down to inspect the depths of the crevice. Both strongly objected, saying the crevice was too dangerous, they didn't know what was down there, and what if something happened? Snow Empress simply said, "I will be careful," then lifted a corner of the sealing array and leaped into the crevice.
The descent was longer than she had anticipated. The crevice wasn't as narrow as she had imagined; instead, it widened as she descended, eventually becoming a vast underground space. Demonic Qi surged around her, and she shielded her body with her Spiritual Power to resist its Demonic Qi influence. The darkness beneath her feet felt like a gaping maw, threatening to swallow her whole.
After falling for about several dozen feet, her feet finally touched solid ground. The ground was hard, and it made a hollow echo when she stepped on it, as if there was nothing underneath. She took out a luminous pearl from her bosom and used its faint light to look around.
This is a naturally formed underground cave. The cave walls are covered with a layer of dark red crystals, which emit a faint glow, casting an eerie dark red hue over the cave. In the center of the cave, there is a circular platform made of black rock, on which sits a Bronze Lamp. The flame inside the lamp is also dark red, flickering and emitting the same light as the spots of light deep within the cracks.
Snow Empress walked towards the platform. The closer she got to the Bronze Lamp, the more clearly she felt that familiar call. Her heart beat faster, and her steps became lighter, as if afraid of disturbing something.
She walked to the platform and looked down at the Bronze Lamp. The lamp was ancient in shape, its surface covered with fine patterns, not runes, but more like some kind of ancient script. The flame burned quietly on the wick, without smoke or heat, only a dark red light spreading out in circles.
She reached out, wanting to touch the lamp. Before her fingertips even touched the lamp, the flame on the wick suddenly flared up, and a voice echoed in her mind, hoarse and weary, as if coming from a very, very far place.
"You've finally arrived."
Snow Empress's hand froze in mid-air. She looked around; there was no one else in the cave except her. The voice rang out again, still in her mind.
"No need to look anymore. I am just a remnant soul, residing in the flame of this lamp. I have been waiting for you for a long time."
"Who are you?" Snow Empress asked, her voice echoing in the empty cave.
"I am Xuanjizi."
Snow Empress's pupils suddenly contracted. Xuanjizi —the ancient Mighty One who sealed the Chaos Pearl, Zhang Tianxing's grandmaster—he actually still had a wisp of his remnant soul here?
"Senior Xuanjizi?" Snow Empress withdrew her hand and respectfully took a step back. "What brings you here?"
The flame flickered twice, and the voice carried a bitter laugh, "After I sealed the Chaos Pearl, I discovered that I was being corrupted by Chaos Pearl power. Although it wasn't outwardly apparent, my consciousness was slowly being devoured. I sensed that I would eventually become a puppet of the Chaos Pearl, so I took precautions. I separated a portion of my soul and stored it in this Bronze Lamp, leaving it here to await a destined person in future generations."
"Waiting for the destined one?"
"Wait for someone to come and repair the boundary wall." Xuanjizi's voice turned serious. "You think the cracks in the boundary wall were caused by the Demon Venerable breaking the seal? That's just the trigger. The real reason is that the Chaos Pearl has been sealed underground in the Ziwei Sect for ten thousand years, and its power has been quietly eroding the earth's veins. After the earth's veins were eroded, the foundation of the boundary wall loosened. The Demon Venerable's attack only knocked down the last wall."
Snow Empress was shocked. "So the damage to the boundary wall is simply irreparable?"
"It can be repaired," Xuanjizi said, "But it requires one thing—your blood."
My blood?
Xuanjizi's flames flickered more violently. "How much do you know about your background?"