Sword Spirit or Heavenly Dao?

The dungeon remained unusually quiet, just as it had always been.

Sang Ying skillfully located the notch on the back of the bronze sun mirror and took out the badge she had picked up earlier.

Based on her sense of touch, the shapes of the two objects did indeed match.

Seeing that she hadn't made a move, the sword spirit couldn't help but urge her, "Didn't you want to know the secrets of this place? Why aren't you making a move yet?"

Sang Ying frowned. "The Beastmen separated from the God Race before you were born, so how do you know about them? And how do you know about this underground city?"

The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt, and she even became wary of the Dragon Abyss Sword.

"You don't need to worry that I will harm you. You should know that I was able to survive the Heavenly Tribulation and gain sentience by relying on your power. You and I are bound together by the Heavenly Dao. If something happens to you, I will not have a good end either." The Dragon Abyss Sword has probably existed for too long and seen too much, so even the sword spirit that was born not long ago gives people a mature and wise feeling.

Even without him saying it, Sang Ying could sense the subtle connection between them.

So after thinking for a moment, Sang Ying decided to take the gamble.

She placed the clan emblem from her palm into the recess on the back of the sun mirror, and then heard the sword spirit continue to guide her on how to rotate the sun mirror.

Three circles to the left, two circles to the right.

With a faint "click" sound, it seemed as if something had been locked.

Suddenly, the beautiful bronze mirror of the sun projected a beam of light, which quickly passed over Sang Ying's head and landed behind her.

A curtain of light slowly opened in mid-air, revealing a woman wearing a golden crown and holding a scepter.

The woman's skin was slightly dark, and she exuded a sunny and resolute aura. Looking at her upper body alone, anyone would agree that she was a rare beauty. However, this beauty's lower body was a thick, long snake tail!

Sang Ying silently gasped. She was right; this city did indeed belong to the Beastman Race.

"The Beastman Race have suffered an unprecedented calamity." The female Beastmen's gaze fell into the void, her expression tinged with sorrow.

"Our gods have abandoned us; our prayers and supplications are no longer answered. Temples have collapsed, yellow sand covers the land, vegetation has withered... Our people are dying one after another, yet the gods have not bestowed any blessings."

Tears welled in the Beastmen woman's eyes, leaving streaks on her rough face. "Our high priest told us that the Eternal City will eventually be buried underground, never to see the sun again. If we stay any longer, we will be buried along with the city."

"We made a difficult decision. We abandoned this city and, with our last strength, headed to the place left behind by the gods. It is said that our final path to survival lies there, and we will find a more suitable home. We left the mirror of the gods in this city, hoping it will help us protect the Eternal City..."

Hearing this, Sang Ying began to understand the origins of the city and the mirror, but what did this have to do with the calamity involving the Desolate Beast and the Lower Realm?

Hearing her question, the sword spirit simply said, "Keep reading."

Sure enough, the female Beastmen continued, "The high priest told us that this disaster is far from over. In the distant future, this sandstorm will return, and with it will come monsters born from it."

"But don't worry, when that time comes, a hero chosen by the gods will come to save everything and bring the Eternal City back into the light."

"Unknown warrior, do not fear the unknown, do not fear death. Death is the rebirth of all things. When you cross that door, you will find all the truth..."

The female Beastmen's scepter traced a symbol that Sang Ying couldn't understand on her chest. She lowered her head slightly and shifted her gaze.

Sang Ying felt inexplicably that she was looking at her from across a vast expanse of time and space.

"Unknown warrior, we stand with you."

After uttering the last sentence, the female Beastmen and the light screen slowly turned into fluorescent light and dissipated.

Before Sang Ying could even exhale the stale air stuck in her throat after reading all this, she looked down and met a pair of familiar eyes.

"I thought you were already asleep." She looked at Jiang Zhuoxue, who had appeared out of nowhere.

"Hmm." Jiang Zhuoxue nodded calmly. "I was going to sleep, but I woke up after you left."

This means that he had barely left when the other person followed him. So he heard everything the female Beastmen said?

Even though she didn't think she had done anything wrong, Sang Ying still spoke up under Jiang Zhuoxue's intense gaze, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have kept it from you."

But Jiang Zhuoxue shook her head and said, "You don't need to apologize. This was your own choice, and I understand."

He could hear the word "death" in the female Beastmen's words, and he knew that Sang Ying had already made her choice when she secretly came here to investigate the truth behind the backs of the three of them.

Jiang Zhuoxue felt a little regretful. It seemed that he hadn't really spent time with Sang Ying in a place just for the two of them before he was about to face a permanent separation.

If he had known this day would come so soon, he would have broken free of the seal long ago and come to the Flowing Light Sword Sect to find her.

"Did that female Beastmen say how to resolve all of this?" Jiang Zhuoxue approached her step by step.

Sang Ying moved her lips, about to speak, when the bronze mirror behind her stirred once more.

The sun-shaped bronze mirror seemed to have completed its mission, and under the watchful eyes of Sang Ying and Jiang Zhuoxue, it quickly shattered into pieces, causing the entire altar to collapse along with it.

The sound of sand and gravel falling overhead made the underground city shake.

Sang Ying quickly stepped off the altar, and the next second, the altar collapsed with a bang, replaced by flames that suddenly leaped in front of Sang Ying and the other person.

The flames were hotter than the sunlight on the ground; just getting a little close made Sang Ying feel as if she were about to melt.

With the Sun Mirror gone, the power that has been protecting the Eternal City has also disappeared. If Sang Ying doesn't make a choice soon, the yellow sand overhead will likely engulf the city and them all.

"Actually, saving the world isn't that difficult. All it takes is for those with destiny to surrender their power, Merit, and fortune. Heavenly Dao will naturally condense it and restore it to the damaged world. Everything will return to normal," the sword spirit's voice rang out again. "And you, all you need to do is jump down with me."

Sang Ying nodded. "That does sound easy. So, I'd like to ask, when did you descend upon the Dragon Abyss Sword, Heavenly Dao?"