The Tianxuan ruins were utterly desolate. Wild vegetation had grown unchecked, swallowing the entrance gate whole. Withered ancient trees so large that a dozen people could not wrap their arms around them stretched their hard, dried branches toward the sky.

Within the collapsed gate, a figure stood utterly motionless — like a wooden post — without even a ripple of presence, as though turned to stone.

Walking from a distance, there had been no way to sense his existence at all. Only upon approaching closely did they suddenly realize: someone had been standing here for a long time.

His back was to the gate. His black hair fell like a cascade, his frame towering — impossible to see through at a glance, like a ten-thousand-fathom abyss, or an endless starry sky: utterly unfathomable.

The Great Black Dog had once been a great master. Though its cultivation had fallen since then, its discernment remained razor-sharp. Its fur rose in repeated waves, unable to make out the other’s depth.

“Impossible to fathom — terrifyingly extreme!” This was the Black Emperor’s secret transmission of appraisal. It realized its legs were going weak, and carrying Xiao Nannan on its back, it immediately turned and fled.

The Great Black Dog had absolutely no sense of loyalty. Without a word to anyone, it spun on its heel and vanished in an instant.

Ye Fan’s own heart lurched violently. He had initially assumed it was the old madman who had returned — but now doubts crept in. This figure’s silhouette was imposing and tall, his hair full and dark: utterly unlike that gaunt, withered, and unhinged old man.

“We should retreat too!” Li Heishui called out, stepping back one pace at a time. The person was blocking the entrance gate, which made provoking him a dangerous proposition.

But he also knew that with the other’s cultivation, he would surely have already sensed their presence. So he did not flee in a panic, but retreated slowly.

Ye Fan was equally bewildered, and did not say much. He withdrew along the original path. Unknown and terrifying existences — mysterious powerful figures whose battle power could not be gauged — were best treated with reverence and distance.

The figure remained utterly motionless, like an undying statue frozen in place within the collapsed gate — not a single trace of life’s aura.

“Gone — vanished!”

Ye Fan and Li Heishui had retreated some distance further. Their eyes had not blinked for even a moment, yet the towering silhouette had already vanished without a trace, as though it had never appeared at all.

“What kind of movement technique was that? Far too fast — as though it had never been there.” Li Heishui’s heart pounded in alarm.

“Remarkable speed. The Peerless Divine King has a rival! Truly, the world is never without extraordinary people,” Ye Fan too was struck with astonishment.

When they returned to Divine Physician Wang’s thatched cottage, the Great Black Dog was still muttering, “Damn it, what kind of person is that? I, the Emperor, couldn’t see through them at all — absolutely terrifying!”

“You dead dog — no sense of loyalty at all. You abandoned us and ran away!” Li Heishui said with contempt.

“Whether we flee or not, it makes no difference. It’s nothing but putting on a show — letting them know we are respectful and in awe. If they wanted to attack, even if I laid down formation runes and tried to cross through the void, they could slap down a single palm and collapse the space — and drag us back out of the void.” The Great Black Dog retorted.

Only Xiao Nannan remained relatively calm. Though the little girl was curious, she was well-behaved and did not ask many questions — she simply listened.

Divine Physician Wang walked out from his thatched dwelling. After hearing the full account, he drew a sharp breath. “Tianxuan truly is no simple place. Destroyed for six thousand years, yet a terrifying figure such as this still exists there — truly chilling.”

“This is a heaven-reaching land — every mountain range is a soaring great dragon. Such divine soil has not been seized by later people for a reason.” The Great Black Dog was suspicious.

“It is not that later people did not wish to seize it, but that this place has its own strangeness…” Divine Physician Wang said. Though he lived in its vicinity, he had not ventured to explore it more than a few times.

In the ancient past, Tianxuan at the height of its flourishing had left behind great divine hoards when it fell, all of which were divided among the other sacred grounds. Yet none had dared to fully occupy this stretch of divine soil.

Six thousand years ago, after failing in their assault on an ancient forbidden ground, the Tianxuan Sacred Ground — which had reached an unparalleled peak of power — was wiped out overnight. Only three or four people survived and returned, and not long after, even they withered away in body and soul.

For the other sacred grounds, this had been an immense feast. They had nearly stripped Tianxuan bare, and several supreme great sects had even moved in to take up residence.

But not long after, with every full moon, great weeping would ring out from within the Tianxuan sacred ground. Several Holy Masters went to investigate in the depths of the night, yet found nothing at all. This continued for many years.

In the years that followed, once every thousand years, the mournful weeping would emerge again in the dead of night — and it thoroughly intimidated every sacred ground.

From that point on, not a single person dared to covet this land. Even though they knew it was a heaven-reaching land capable of nurturing a path to the sky, none dared to lay hands upon it.

“Thinking carefully — a new millennium period has arrived again. The full moon is nearly upon us. Could it be that person has returned once more?” Divine Physician Wang’s brow furrowed deeply.

“Truly monstrous — appearing once every thousand years. Can the ages not erode him? Far too terrifying!” The Great Black Dog muttered with a trace of dread.

Ye Fan thought of something and asked Divine Physician Wang, “Senior, do you know what ancient scripture Tianxuan cultivated? What is the origin of those extraordinary movement techniques they mastered?”

The Great Black Dog had once said the old madman’s movement techniques bore the shadow of the “Movement” Secret among the Nine Secrets. He wanted to understand this more clearly.

“Tianxuan’s ancient scriptures were powerful and profound — but they have been lost to ash, never passed down. Their movement techniques were unrivaled in all the world, surpassing the Heavenly Peng’s extreme speed by a margin.”

Divine Physician Wang paused for a moment, then said, “Few in the world know this — but Tianxuan’s movement techniques were evolved from the Nine Secrets.”

“What?” Ye Fan was startled, feeling that the Great Black Dog had been right after all.

“In the ancient era, our lineage produced a saint, and he naturally knew something of those ancient secrets.” Divine Physician Wang began to speak at length.

Over a hundred thousand years ago, the assembled sacred grounds had surrounded and suppressed the Celestial Court, bringing about the fall of that remote ancient divine dynasty. Every great sect had gained something from this.

What Tianxuan obtained was the most precious of all: a corner, cut from the core sacred art of the Celestial Court — the ancient scroll of the “Movement” Secret — which became their highest confidential treasure, passed down through the generations.

The old madman’s movement techniques originated in the Celestial Court’s “Movement” Secret, but were incomplete. Tianxuan had continuously evolved it, eventually giving rise to their unmatched divine speed of later generations.

The full moon night arrived swiftly. Ye Fan and the others stood on a distant peak and gazed toward the Tianxuan sacred ground.

Silvery moonlight cascaded down. A great weeping cry rang out like heavenly thunder, resounding through the clouds, startling all beasts into a frenzy and shaking all the mountains.

“It’s him… that towering silhouette!” The Great Black Dog shuddered.

They saw the figure once more — drifting through the Tianxuan sacred ground like a ghost, appearing now here, now there, moving too fast for even the eyes to follow.

“Woo…”

The weeping was like thunderclaps, like rivers and seas roaring wildly — deafeningly loud. In the dead of this night it carried extraordinarily far, shaking the entire sky and earth.

“Sure enough — people from every sacred ground have come!” Divine Physician Wang said, his eyes gazing out into the distant sky.

The millennium period was a very special occasion. Every sacred ground wished to come and see whether that figure had returned — whether or not he had died.

One could imagine the shock within their hearts: the great weeping rang out again. In this millennium period, it had not been interrupted.

“Absolutely monstrous — taking a thousand years as one period, while generations of old Holy Masters die away, and he still comes here to weep!” The Great Black Dog muttered.

“Dead dog, lower your voice. Don’t talk nonsense!” Li Heishui warned.

In the distance, the people from every sacred ground withdrew in silence. They did not dare linger long — they had come only to confirm, and nothing more. After all, they had once taken away Tianxuan’s divine hoards, and their consciences were uneasy.

Now that this world-shaking figure was still alive, not a single person could remain calm. In the blink of an eye, the distant sky fell into utter silence.

Could he be the old madman or not? Ye Fan was perplexed. Apart from the old madman, could there possibly be yet another unimaginable existence that had survived in Tianxuan sacred ground? How could that be!

The weeping lasted for half an hour and only grew quiet at midnight. Ten thousand peaks ceased their trembling. The heaven-reaching land fell into peaceful silence.

“This time, he should have left. Legend has it that after each weeping, he disappears for another thousand years.” Divine Physician Wang sighed.

“Let’s go take a look!” Li Heishui said.

In the quiet of deep night, the Tianxuan ruins were utterly still. Broken walls and crumbling rubble lay everywhere — incomparably desolate.

Once glorious for a time, this supremely powerful undying sacred ground had come to this in the end — filling one with deep feeling. Truly, it was difficult for anything in this world to be eternal.

Green-stone steps were covered in thick moss. Wild grasses had swallowed the ground. Some of the great stone slabs bore carved ancient characters.

Six thousand years had passed. Anything precious had long since been carted away — nothing remained. Even the medicinal fields were now nothing but wild grass.

“You all wander around as you like. I want to study the layout of these medicinal fields more carefully,” Divine Physician Wang said. He had observed them before, more than once — but each time he found some remnant Dao patterns that could accelerate the growth of spiritual medicines.

Ye Fan and the others walked through the vast ruins. Rubble, broken walls — they lay everywhere. There were also some half-collapsed ancient halls, buried under thick layers of dust.

“An underground palace…” They discovered a vast underground palace whose inner structures were still largely intact.

But when they ventured deep inside, all of them drew sharp breaths. Endless graves stretched in connected rows — this was an underground mausoleum garden.

Flames of torchlight flickered. Before every grave mound lay paper offerings, along with some tribute items. Someone had clearly swept the graves here just moments before.

“Divine Physician Wang said that the one patch of divine soil belonging to Tianxuan sacred ground has never been found. Their ancient scriptures may be buried there. Could it be here, among these graves?” Li Heishui wondered.

Alas, even with the Black Emperor’s mastery of formation runes, nothing could be discerned. They paid their respects and withdrew.

Coming to the deepest part of the Tianxuan ruins, the scene was even more desolate: collapsed ancient halls, broken stone steps, a vast training ground…

Everything spoke of former glory and present ruin. The once-supreme sacred ground had completely become the past.

“Tianxuan’s most mysterious divine soil truly cannot be found. Their ancient scriptures really have turned to history’s ash…” All of them felt deep regret.

Overhead, the bright moon shimmered. Vast moonlight like white feathers fell across the wild woodland. Seven-colored radiance bloomed from Xiao Nannan’s body, and the small stone slowly sank into her.

“Nannan is going to forget the past again…” The little girl’s mood fell low, her voice very small.

On a full moon night, she would undergo a kind of rebirth — forgetting everything from before. But Ye Fan had long since prepared for this, and brought out a brilliantly gleaming piece of jade.

“Nannan, don’t worry. Everything you’ve experienced is recorded in here. In a moment, you’ll be able to know it all again.”

“Mm!” The little one nodded seriously.

Moonlight like flowing water poured down like thin mist. Seven-colored radiance shot from between Xiao Nannan’s brows, and a new small stone emerged.

She was utterly bewildered, no longer recognizing anyone, and looked around timidly and fearfully at everything around her.

Ye Fan pressed the jade that carried her memories against her brow. After a short while, the little girl quieted once more, delighted and happy. “Nannan didn’t forget the past.”

The seven-colored small stone between her brows grew ever more crystal-bright and radiant, on the verge of detaching — and just then, the little one suddenly cried out in alarm. “There’s a world over there!”

She stretched out her soft little hand and pointed into the void. Her small mouth fell open in an “O” shape, deeply astonished and curious.

“Nannan, what are you saying?” Ye Fan, Li Heishui, and the Great Black Dog all showed expressions of astonishment.

“Nannan sees a pure land. There are many crystal flower petals flying inside. But… the ground is covered everywhere with coffins, and there is a person!” The little girl cried out.

She stepped back timidly a few paces, still staring fixedly into the void.

“Could this be Tianxuan’s divine soil?!” All of them were stunned.

The stretch of void that Xiao Nannan pointed to lay high in the sky above the deepest part of the Tianxuan ruins. Even when Ye Fan activated his Divine Eye, he could see nothing — yet she had seen straight through it with a single glance.

“That person has risen from the one coffin without a lid. He is coming out. He is the same person we saw a few days ago — and he… has found us.” The little girl was even more frightened and fell into speechlessness.

Whoosh!

Without any sound, a towering figure emerged from the ground in the deepest part of the ruins. The person had walked out from within the divine soil.

He wore ancient cyan robes. His black hair was thick and dense. His eyes were hollow and empty. In a single step, he had crossed to within arm’s reach of Ye Fan and the others. He fixed his gaze on Xiao Nannan, then reached out his great hand toward her.