[Dao's Lingering Calamity]
The pool water was viscous, a deep gray almost like ink.
Qi Yun casually cast a Water-Avoidance Incantation. The dark gray pool water touched the spiritual light and silently slid away as if encountering a natural enemy, forming a waterless passage leading straight to the bottom of the pool.
The two sank down, surrounded by absolute darkness and deathly silence that seemed to devour all light. Only the aquatic light reflected off the cold, smooth rocks of the pool wall, covered with strange patterns.
"Really----"
As he continued to descend, the pale golden sword mark between Qi Kun's brows grew slightly hot.
His gaze pierced through the light and darkness, looking down at the increasingly expansive view, and he spoke in a low voice.
The pool seemed extremely deep, as if it connected to another dimension.
After descending about a thousand feet, the view suddenly opened up before us!
The dark gray pool of water disappeared, replaced by a vast, empty, and desolate underground space, seemingly located deep within the earth.
The space is an irregular sphere, the diameter of which is difficult to estimate.
The dome and walls are made of cold, dark blue-black rock covered with natural grooves, exuding an eternal chill.
In the center of this vast space, there are towering, independent stone chambers, each as large as a mountain!
These stone chambers appear to have been carved directly from some kind of black divine metal.
Each one is a perfectly square, with sides exceeding a thousand feet in length, and a surface as smooth as a mirror, with a subtle, dark luster flowing through it.
The stone chamber's tightly closed door was engraved with extremely complex sealing runes, each stroke containing a chilling power of suppression and confinement.
Even just looking at it from afar, one feels a piercing pain in their Divine Soul, as if looking at it for too long would draw them in.
Through the gaps in those stone chambers that were not completely sealed, one could vaguely see...
Inside each stone chamber, a figure sat cross-legged.
These figures were all imposing, and even seated cross-legged, they exuded an aura of towering stature. They wore ancient garments of various styles; some wore simple Daoist robes, others were clad in fierce armor, and still others wore magnificent long robes.
Without exception, all of them had their eyes closed, lifelike, as if they had simply fallen into a deep sleep.
However, the aura emanating from them was extremely terrifying!
It was a solidified, deathly still, yet immensely powerful pressure!
Like volcanoes that have been dormant for hundreds of millions of years, their interiors contain terrifying energy powerful enough to incinerate the heavens and boil the seas, yet they are frozen at absolute zero, presenting an eerie stillness.
"The aura of Fruition Status— " Qi Yun's gaze sharpened, his eyes sweeping over the thousand-foot-tall floating stone chambers like the most precise carving knife, a chill running through him.
"What's sealed here are... the remains of reincarnated True Lord?"
His gaze swept quickly across the area, silently counting in his mind: one, two, three—ten—twenty—thirty—a full thirty-three stone chambers!
This means there are at least thirty-three such deceased Dharma Body!
"The Holy Sect —so many remains of True Lord are sealed here? Could they all be the Holy Sect Ancestor True Lord passed away or were reincarnated throughout history?"
Qi Yun felt a sense of doubt.
According to common sense, when True Lord is reincarnated, he will entrust himself to the Fruition Status.
Once reincarnation is completed, one can communicate with the Fruition Status, reclaim the Dharma Body, and thus quickly recover some or even all of the True Lord's cultivation, instantly becoming a Lord!
But the sight of these remains of Dharma Body gave him a strange feeling.
Although the oppressive aura was overwhelming and the aura of a high-ranking official was Fruition Status visible, there was still a sense of unease, a deathly stillness tinged with an eeriness and a solemnity concealing chaos.
The light emanating from that phantom of the Fruition Status seemed to be covered by a layer of grayish dust.
At this moment, Cai Kun, who had become unusually silent and solemn since entering the place, slowly spoke. His voice was exceptionally clear in the deathly silence, and it carried an unprecedented solemnity and apprehension. "No, Qi boy, you've misjudged."
This is no ordinary Dharma Body left behind by a reincarnated True Lord.
The patterns on his golden robe dimmed slightly, and his gaze was fixed intently on the stone chambers.
"These things are [the Dao's Lingering Calamity]."
"[The Dao's Lingering Calamity]?" Qi Yun's expression shifted, and he turned to look at Cai Kun.
He considered himself well-read and knowledgeable, having dabbled in everything from Xuanhuang histories to demonic secrets and even High Antiquity mysteries, yet he had never heard of this term before.
Cai Kun took a deep breath, as if to dispel the invisible oppression in the air, and slowly explained, "Even if the Dao is destroyed and the body perishes, the obsession will not dissipate!"
When malevolent energy condenses, it can bring disaster!
He spoke each word slowly, with a heavy tone, as if describing the existence of something forbidden.
Those who can become True Lord are all people with firm will and clear understanding of the Dao, who have experienced countless tribulations and seen through life and death.
Even when the path to the Great Dao comes to an end, with all merit dissipated, the Dao vanished, and the body and soul perished, most can face it calmly, returning to nothingness, rarely harboring strong resentment or unwillingness.
He paused, then pointed to the stone chambers. "But—nothing in this world is absolute."
"The True Lord is also a living being, with seven emotions and six desires, and with things he cannot get, things he cannot let go of, and things he cannot accept."
If, at the moment of death, one's attachments are too deep—a complex interplay of extreme emotions—forming a monstrous, unyielding obsession and malevolence, and if, by fortuitous opportunity, this malevolence does not completely dissipate with the true spirit, but instead invades the remains of the Dharma Body left behind, which contain immense Dao power and connections to Fruition Status's attainment—"
Cai Kun lowered his voice slightly. "Then, this remains of the Dharma Body will transform into a being driven by pure evil and obsession—[The Dao's Lingering Calamity]."
It possesses the original's power and Divine Ability, and inherits that overwhelming resentment and destructive desire, making it almost a pure evil version of the True Lord.
Moreover, because of its unyielding obsession, its very existence is a distortion and pollution of the Principle of heaven and earth, making it extremely difficult to deal with and extremely rare.
This is also the first time I've ever seen so many [Dao's Lingering Calamity] sealed away in one place.
Cai Kun's words were cryptic, but Qi Yun instantly understood their deeper meaning.
[Dao's Lingering Calamity] is rarely seen.
However, within this secret realm of the Holy Sect, a total of thirty-three deities were sealed away!
What does this mean?
This is clearly not because the Holy Sect True Lord has a strange hobby of collecting "True Lord figurines".
These [Dao's Lingering Calamity] are sealed here, which must have a deeper, more chilling purpose or secret.
Qi Yun's gaze swept over the silent stone chambers once more, his eyes deep and thoughtful.
He could almost see that behind each of those tightly closed stone doors lay a once mighty and powerful monster, now reduced to nothing but resentment and destruction— True Lord- level monster.
The waters of the Holy Sect were far deeper than he had imagined.
However, his purpose in this trip was not to investigate the secrets of the Holy Sect.
Suppressing the shock and doubt in his heart, Qi Yun said in a deep voice, "This place is strange, we should not stay any longer. Senior, can you sense the specific location of the Luo Hetu?"
Upon hearing this, Cai Kun composed himself, closed his eyes, and focused his mind. Faint golden ripples spread around his body as he carefully sensed the faint yet unique connection between the two Imperial Weapon of the same origin.
After a moment, he pointed deeper into this vast underground space. "The sensation is very faint, heavily interfered with by the aura of these [Dao's Lingering Calamity], but the general direction—it's over there."
Without further delay, the two activated their Water-Avoiding Spiritual Light, transforming it into two barely perceptible Flowing Light. They carefully flew towards the depths of the space, skimming the edges of the suspended thousand-foot stone chambers.
Along the way, Qi Yun's Divine Sense, like the most sophisticated radar, swept across each stone chamber.
Besides the thirty-three ominous stone chambers emanating from the [Dao's Lingering Calamity] statues, he "saw" much more.
In some relatively small stone chambers, which seemed less tightly sealed, were stored a large number of strange and ancient objects.
There are ancient war weapons, broken and tattered, yet still exuding a terrifying Sha Qi, their spear tips stained with dark golden divine blood that seems to never dry;
There was the heart of an unknown behemoth, sealed within a transparent crystal, still slowly beating; each beat caused the surrounding void to tremble slightly.
There are black stone slabs inscribed with twisted and eerie characters, so dark that a single glance at them can make one feel dizzy Divine Soul;
There were strange fruits, presented in a jade box, emitting an alluring fragrance yet instilling a sense of danger in those who held them in their hearts;
Even more bizarre creations, whose forms and uses are completely incomprehensible, seem to come from foreign lands or ancient times.
Each piece exudes a chilling ancient aura and powerful energy, clearly indicating that it is no ordinary item; it may even be a treasure or forbidden object left behind by a certain era or civilization.
"It seems that this place is not only the burial ground where [Dao's Lingering Calamity] was sealed, but also a true treasure trove where the Holy Sect collected rare treasures and forbidden items acquired throughout the ages."
Qi Yun thought to himself, "This is probably where the Holy Sect's true strength lies."
Just as the thought crossed his mind, "Found it!"
Suddenly, Cai Kun beside him let out a low shout, suppressing his excitement, and abruptly stopped. His gaze was fixed intently on a stone chamber in front of him that looked unremarkable, even smaller than the other stone chambers, and had the dimmest runes on its surface.
Qi Yun instantly moved to the side and stood next to Cai Kun, his gaze falling on the tightly closed black door of the stone chamber.
This stone chamber is located at the very edge and in the most inconspicuous corner of all the stone chambers, and would be easily overlooked if not for Cai Kun's precise perception.
The runes on the stone gate were ancient and mottled, with many parts worn away and missing, as if they had been neglected for a long time. The seal's energy was so weak that it was almost imperceptible.
However, just as Qi Yun and Cai Kun's gazes focused on this stone chamber...
A light, serene voice, seemingly devoid of emotion yet possessing an all-knowing wisdom, rang out unexpectedly beside them. "Darkness beneath the lamp, a veil before the eyes."
I searched and searched, but I couldn't find it.
Not far away in the sky----
The voice paused, carrying a faint, almost imperceptible sigh and guidance that seemed to transcend eternity, "Looking down, you find—it's right beneath your feet."