Put it all together, and this place is no Blessed Land. It’s a Cursed Land! It’s a tomb of defiance against the Heavens!”
His words entered the ears of the others, and turned cold. Xie Jie’s and Xu Youdao’s expressions changed. Meng Hao took in a deep breath to settle his shaking nerves. The gray-robed man’s words resonated inside of him, creating a sense of familiarity. Perhaps this place… really was a tomb.
He thought back to the vision he had experienced outside of the cauldron, and of the man’s voice he had heard when the lightning struck it.
“You are unwilling to let me take this cauldron from here. Then… I will lay in rest here forever, waiting for the day on which you fall.”
Meng Hao took a deep breath and thought back to the other archaic voice he had heard from within the cauldron.
“It is thy wish for the vault of Heavens to replace the stars, to cover my eyes with the dome of the Heavens, the World Tree would not capitulate, shattered under the stars. My master may be slumbering, but can he still exist under the same sky as Ji?!”
The voice seemed to echo in Meng Hao’s mind. His heart beat rapidly, and he thought back to the legend of the Spring and Autumn tree 1, and how the World Tree had voluntary collapsed rather than acquiesce to the Heavens. He also thought of the destruction of the Ancient Doom Clan 2, as well as the flag of three streamers 3, which was currently inside the Blood Immortal mask. That flag had the character Ji written on it!
He also thought back to the requirement of the Blood Immortal to refine the bloodline of Ji!
“Fellow Daoists,” said Han Bei, “there’s no need to be alarmed.” Her clear, bell-like voice echoed out. Although it couldn’t outmatch the sound of the thunder, everyone could hear her clearly. “I don’t know whether or not this place is a tomb, but as you all can see, the person holding those ancient scrolls is my ancestor. The statue has been cracked open by Heavenly Thunder. That was how the first volume of the Classic of Time came out of this place, and was eventually acquired by later generations.” She turned to look at Meng Hao and the others. “In fact, of all the treasures here, only these scriptures can be taken away. All the other statues are perfect and unharmed.
“I’ve attended quite a few secret meetings; the fact that you all saw my message shows that you are destined to be here. You all have your own reasons for coming here, and are surely backed by powerful forces. Naturally, I am aware of that, and really don’t care who you represent.” She continued in a soft voice, “I only hope that for the sake of the Nine Mystical Stars, you will all keep your promises. Right now, we can only look, but when we draw near to the statues, I have a way to acquire the two scriptures. Then we can make copies for everyone.
“Actually, my only real purpose in coming here is to pay my respects in front of the statue of my ancestor.” Her voice seemed to contain some strange power that made everyone calmer. The gray-robed man’s complexion slowly returned to normal. Now that Meng Hao thought about it, he began to wonder if the man had purposefully said such crazy things.
He was also a bit skeptical of Han Bei’s words “for the sake of the Nine Mystical Stars.”
“It’s not far now,” continued Han Bei. “However, next I must ask for help from Fellow Daoists Xu and Sima. There will be more lightning after this point, and the going will be more difficult. Originally, we should never have had the chance we do. But the year that the first volume of the classic flew out, it carved out a path. Inside the path, we will be much safer. More importantly, the power of the lightning will not be as strong.