After that final bow, Sir Dust-Sun respectfully left. It wasn’t lost on him that Seventh Prince had actually been watching him closely the entire time. That was why he hadn’t made any effort to conceal his reactions. Whether it was his reluctance, or his feelings of relief, he allowed them all to show plainly on his face.

After he was out of the palace and some distance away, he straightened up, smiled, and headed in the direction of his residence. Along the way, he would call out friendly greetings to people he recognized.

He didn’t use his second-stage Void Returning cultivation base as a reason to be arrogant. From beginning to end, he carried himself in a gentle and refined manner. Once inside his residence, he lit some incense, then sat down at his Go board to play a casual game with himself. If you looked closely at his eyes through the swirling smoke of the incense, you would see something innately sinister. It was like a viper hidden in the belly of a sheep!

The first day I came, I mentioned the cauldron issue with Seventh Prince. Back then, he didn’t seem to care…. But today, he suddenly summoned me and brought it up again….

Sir Dust-Sun smiled warmly. That was an instinct of his. Whenever he pondered tricky situations he would always smile.

The High Commander and his army, along with Soaring Cloud… went missing in Sea-Sealing County. And now, Seventh Prince wants me to go get the cauldron….

His smile became even warmer, and the sinister look in his eyes became even more deeply hidden.

He was fully aware that Seventh Prince was no simpleton. The prince was young, but he was born into the imperial clan, and as a result, had learned from a young age how to be a profound schemer. In other words, there were always going to be layers hidden beneath layers.

On the surface, it seems like he wants me to get the cauldron. But the reality is that I’m just a pawn. He’s using me to probe Sea-Sealing County and see what’s really going on there. He hopes to use me to figure out what happened to his missing army. As for him, he puts himself in the position to either attack, retreat, or defend at will. And if something happens to me, he can claim that I was acting on my own.

Sir Dust-Sun smiled and picked up a game piece. Then, though he didn’t actually make a move, two pieces appeared on the board in front of him.

Although that might not seem impressive, if another Void Returning expert had been present, they would have been shocked. That was because that simple action contained magical laws so sublime in their usage that they surpassed the level of Transform 10,000 Veracities.

The Void Returning level consisted of the following stages: Space-Shattering 1,000 Daos; Transform 10,000 Veracities; 100,000,000 Thoughts Split Heaven; 1,000,000,000 Magics Combined.

“I really like the number three,” Sir Dust-Sun murmured with a warm smile.

***

Back in Sea-Sealing County, in the underground Forbidden by the Immortal, the door of the large phoenix palace opened. As it did, darkness swallowed up everything. It wasn’t just the physical forms of Xu Qing and Plumdark that were engulfed. Their minds were also made one with the darkness. Then, they saw a scene playing out that they had no way to confirm the reality of.

The hall was spacious, and also as empty and cold as a dungeon. In the middle of it was a statue. It depicted a middle-aged woman who resembled Plumdark to a degree, but obviously wasn’t her. The woman’s features were elegant, and she was smiling faintly. Her eyes seemed merciful, and she had crow’s feet visible at the corners of her eyes. She was looking down at her hands in front of her.

In her hands she held a lamp.

The lamp seemed to be an incredibly valuable treasure to her. Perhaps the most valuable. It was made of violet stone, and resembled a blooming bauhinia flower. Resting atop the flower was a violet phoenix with its wings spread. It was very life-like.

Upon seeing the lamp, Xu Qing’s mind reeled as his lost memories suddenly returned. He turned to look at Plumdark, all while thinking back to the images he had seen that related to her. He remembered seeing a young woman standing in front of this statue that looked exactly like Plumdark. He also remembered the door opening and a man walking in. He remembered them talking. That man… was Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity’s son! All of that entered Xu Qing’s mind, becoming like a lightning bolt that smashed into his psyche.

Meanwhile, Plumdark trembled as she looked at the statue. Her expression was one of sorrow as she released Xu Qing’s hand and murmured, “In my dream, everything is dark except for a lamp. It’s extinguished, but I imagine that it looks like a blooming bauhinia, with a violet phoenix resting atop it. This is the same lamp from my dream. My dark, lightless dream. The world of the dream is this place.”

Plumdark’s voice seemed somehow empty, as though it were being projected into this life from countless years in the past. She walked forward to stand in front of the statue. At the same time, the version of Plumdark that Xu Qing remembered seeing… suddenly appeared.

She was an illusion, and she was currently standing in the same spot as the real Plumdark, so the two were superimposed. She looked at the statue, her eyes full of both admiration and bitterness.

The same scene played out that Xu Qing remembered. The imperial prince appeared, walking through Xu Qing to stand in front of Plumdark. He wore an imperial robe with a four-clawed dragon on it, and an imperial crown with nine pearls. Overall, he seemed impressive and mighty.

The imperial prince said something, but Xu Qing couldn’t hear it. All he could see was Plumdark looking out at the world beyond the palace, her eyes full of sorrow and the reluctance to part.

This time, something different happened compared to last time. He could hear Plumdark speaking.

“I’m not leaving!” she said furiously. “Father is making the wrong decision. He’s abandoning the people and abandoning our home. He’s turning the heaven beyond heaven into a holy land. But what’s the point of living out there all alone? He’s turning a blind eye to the catastrophe striking Revered Ancient all just to save his own life? He… doesn’t even deserve to be an Ancient Emperor!”

Her words caused Xu Qing’s heart to pound.

After a long moment passed, the imperial prince reached out, as if making one final attempt to convince her. Plumdark decisively shook her head. In the end, the desolate prince took out a violet bottle and used it to place a few drops of liquid onto the lamp in the hands of the statue. Depositing the bottle on the ground off to the side, he turned and left, his face a mask of sorrow and bitterness.

He left, walking through Xu Qing, and then making his way off into the distance.

After he was gone, the doors of the hall slowly closed. The palace was completely and utterly silent. However, the flame in the lamp burned, issuing a soft hissing sound as it illuminated the palace hall.

It also illuminated the sorrowful face of Plumdark as she approached the statue, knelt in front of it, and wept silently.

This was where Xu Qing’s memories stopped. However, there were more events playing out now.

Time didn’t seem to have any meaning in this palace. It slipped by silently, until anguished wailing could be heard outside. Blood-colored light spread everywhere. People screamed for help.

Plumdark stood. A suit of armor appeared on her as she strode through Xu Qing and out of the palace.

Xu Qing couldn’t do anything other than watch. Time passed, and the sounds from outside faded away. Plumdark appeared again. She looked exhausted and weak as she trudged back into the palace. Her armor was battered and mostly broken. She was covered in wounds. But she had the head of a fish in her hands. The moment Xu Qing saw it, he realized it was the head of the god that had been sleeping in Forbidden by the Immortal.

Holding the head, Plumdark walked back up to the statue. Her face was ashen, but her expression was tender.

“Mother,” she said softly, “all I could do was behead the outsider god once. Years from now, hē’ll awaken here. That said, when hē does, hē’ll no longer have the personhood of a High God. What’s more, I used the curse you taught me to make sure that hē’ll die the same brutal death again in the future. Sadly… I won’t be here to see it.”

Plumdark wanted to pick up the violet bottle and use it to add some oil to the lamp. Unfortunately, she was too weak. In the end, all she could do was slump down in front of the statue and close her eyes. Her spiritual souls took flight. Her physical souls dissipated. The lamp continued to burn, but without any oil added to it, the flames dimmed and eventually winked out. The palace once again became pitch black. With the fire gone, the cold returned. Darkness devoured everything.

Time passed. Years and years went by. After an indeterminable amount of time in Forbidden by the Immortal, everything suddenly trembled. A will of awakening appeared, joined by the howl of a god. Flesh appeared in Forbidden by the Immortal, spreading out, covering all the palaces.

More time passed. A lot of it. One day, in the darkness of that palace, in front of the statue, a violet circle of light appeared. The moment it did, an intense rumbling filled Forbidden by the Immortal. 𝖋𝖗𝔴𝖇𝖔𝖛𝖑.𝖈𝖔𝖒

A roar of rage echoed out, along with a terrifying divine will that filled the depths of the place. As the divine will swept out, a hand reached out of the violet circle of light. It grabbed the extinguished lamp and dragged it into the circle. The hand wanted to grab the violet bottle, but didn’t have time, as the divine will of the god arrived with mountain-toppling, sea-draining force. It slammed into the circle and the hand.

The circle shattered, becoming innumerable fragments that dissipated into the air. The hand shivered, and though it kept its grip on the lamp, the wick fell off and disappeared into nowhere.

Everything ended.

Xu Qing’s vision ceased. Everything vanished, including the palace and the statue.

The entire area became ruins once again. Like a dream.

With the dream over, everything was gone except for Plumdark, standing there in the ruins, like a lone plum in a snowy ravine. It didn’t matter whether or not there was someone else present looking at her. She looked like the picture of loneliness as she looked up into the sky, her expression desolate.

After a long time, she said, “Let’s go.”

Xu Qing walked over to her. And together, they left Forbidden by the Immortal. Neither of them spoke.

They had come when it was nighttime. When they emerged, it was daytime, several days later. The sky was azure, and the sun shone down brightly.

Xu Qing looked at Plumdark as she walked away forlornly.

“Plumdark,” he said.

She stopped and looked back at him.

“Can I see your palm?”

As the sun shone down, she held out her hand. Every line and crease was visible. Like fate.

“Do you know what’s in your palm?” Xu Qing asked.

Confused, she shook her head.

Looking into her eyes, he said, “Sunlight.”

Her eyebrows fluttered as she looked at her palm. And then… she smiled.