“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Xu Zimo said with a faint smile.
“It’s because you’ve returned,” Elder Zhuoqiu replied. “When you came back, it came alive, blooming and shedding its flowers once more. Your words have never failed to come true.”
“Do you plan to stay here?” Xu Zimo asked.
“I’m... uncertain,” the old man said quietly. “I want to search for the answers within my heart. Perhaps, when that time comes, I’ll reappear.”
“And you? Are you leaving?”
“I’m heading to Unfinished Palace to find San,” Xu Zimo nodded.
“Take care,” Elder Zhuoqiu said. “And no matter what, thank you for telling me so much,” Xu Zimo said with a smile before turning to leave.
“Wait,” the old man suddenly called out.
Xu Zimo turned his head. Elder Zhuoqiu stood in silence for a moment, then waved his hand. Ripples spread across the air, and from the trembling void he drew out an object.
It was a book, its surface shrouded in celestial light.
The divine energy surrounding it was thick and alive, and faint roars of beasts echoed from within, carrying the aura of a thousand creatures stampeding together.
“This is the Beast Compendium,” Elder Zhuoqiu said.
“It contains the fates of sixteen beast races.”
“Sixteen beast races?” Xu Zimo frowned for a moment, then understood.
“The Upper Eight and the Lower Eight beast races?”
In one of the Nine Heavens, the Azure Mystic Heaven, monstrous beasts ruled supreme.
Among them, the Upper Eight and Lower Eight races reigned as sovereigns, the strongest of all the realms, the rulers of every beast in existence.
Xu Zimo looked at the Beast Compendium in amusement.
Sixteen beast tribes represented the entire beast race, yet here in this small, simple book lay control over their collective fate.
In this world, nothing could be more absurd.
“This Beast Compendium once belonged to the Heavenly Court,” Elder Zhuoqiu explained. “I stole it from them. It has been in my possession for hundreds of thousands of years, but it serves me no purpose. I’m giving it to you.”
As Xu Zimo took the mirror, the old man continued, “For now, it hasn’t yet been linked to the destinies of the sixteen races. You’ll need to seek them out one by one and forge that connection yourself. I believe it will be useful to you.”
Xu Zimo flipped open the book, it was mostly blank, save for a few faint outlines of beasts.
“Thank you,” Xu Zimo said, putting the mirror away.
“I hope one day you can clear the fog before you and realize what your heart truly seeks,” Elder Zhuoqiu said solemnly.
Xu Zimo and Xie Changliu mounted Chaos once more and departed, heading back toward North River City.
Elder Zhuoqiu stood in place, muttering something inaudible, before turning again to kneel before the great tree.
“When we return to North River City,” Xu Zimo said, “I’ll go to see San, and I don’t want anyone interfering.”
“Don’t worry. Leave that to me,” Xie Changliu replied.
Chaos was much faster than their old airship. In just ten days, the hazy outline of North River City came into view.
As they approached the gates, Xu Zimo noticed a wanted poster plastered on the wall.
It was issued by Grandmist Mountain, still hunting him for the death of the Mist Prime Emperor. They apparently didn’t yet know he had gone to the Azure Frontier, so their bounty remained active across the Four Domains.
“Isn’t that the man on the wanted poster?” someone at the city gate whispered in shock.
But before the words spread further, a companion grabbed the speaker and dragged him away.
“Are you insane? He killed an emperor! Do you want to die?”
Once inside North River City, Xu Zimo moved through the streets with the familiarity of someone who knew his way around.
He knew it wouldn’t be long before Grandmist Mountain’s spies learned he had returned.
North River City, Heaven District.
Xu Zimo arrived before Unfinished Palace. Xie Changliu remained at the entrance, standing guard, while Xu Zimo stepped quietly inside.
Nothing had changed. The ruins stood as they always had, and only one grand hall remained intact.
“Follow the cycles of the heavens, and act according to the Dao,” came a faint, murmured voice from within the hall.
It was the old man, San.
As Xu Zimo entered, the old man opened his clouded eyes and slowly rose from the meditation mat beneath him.
“You’ve come again,” the old man said.
“I have something to ask you,” Xu Zimo replied.
“If it doesn’t defy the Heavenly Dao, I may help,” the old man said.
“I want to enter the Land of Exile of the Primordial Demon Cave,” Xu Zimo said. “Do you know a way to break through the spatial wall?”
“Your obsession runs too deep,” the old man said, shaking his head. “If you’d only let go of some things, you would gain much more, far more than you have now.”
“If I let go,” Xu Zimo smiled, “then I wouldn’t be myself.”
“I can tell you,” the old man said quietly, “but you will not succeed.”
“You don’t know until you try,” Xu Zimo replied.
Just then, a thunderous sound erupted outside.
A voice boomed like rolling thunder.
“Xu Zimo, get out here!”
A surge of power streaked across the heavens like rainbows, filling the entire sky with blinding force.
“Grandmist Mountain’s response was faster than I expected,” Xu Zimo said, amused.
But with Xie Changliu standing guard outside, he wasn’t too worried.
Turning back to the old man, he said, “I’m the sort who, once I hit a wall, will keep bashing my head against it until it breaks. So if you’re willing to tell me, I’ll be grateful.”
“There’s no such thing as true invincibility,” the old man said. “Even the Heavenly Dao only claims to control all things. In truth, countless uncertainties lie beneath it.”
“If you want to enter the Land of Exile,” he continued, “you must shatter the barrier between the Nine Heavens.”
“That’s right,” Xu Zimo nodded. “But the Nine Heavens are a Great World. Even a Saint Sovereign can’t pierce that barrier.”
“The reason it cannot be broken,” the old man said, “is simple, insufficient power.”
“Do you know what the most powerful law in the Nine Heavens is?”
“The Ten Divine Laws?” Xu Zimo guessed.
“In a sense, yes,” the old man nodded. “The Ten Divine Laws are indeed the mightiest Dao accessible to mortals. How much do you know of the Nine Heavens’ history?”
“From the New Era to the Ancient Age, a little,” Xu Zimo said.
“In the Ancient Age,” the old man began solemnly, “the Ancient Gods reigned supreme. They plucked stars from the sky, stepped across the seas and the eight wildernesses. Each of them sought the Dao and attained their own understanding of it. All the Daoist arts of later generations trace back to what the Ancient Gods once created. There were nine Ancient Gods in total, and from them came the Nine Heavens. Each left behind one of the Nine Divine Secrets.”
“The Nine Divine Secrets…” Xu Zimo murmured.
“If you can gather all nine and merge them into one,” the old man said, “you’ll have the power to break the barrier of the Nine Heavens and enter the Land of Exile.
But the danger and difficulty of doing so, you must weigh for yourself.”
“Life’s only interesting when it’s full of challenges,” Xu Zimo said with a grin.
“Otherwise, what’s the point?”