CHAPTER 949: CHAPTER 76: TIANYUAN MOUNTAIN (PART 2)

The dust filled the surrounding space, covering the original immortal atmosphere scene.

Zhang Xiaoman approached the corpse and saw that its face was gaunt, the skin dry and hard, having already turned into a mummified body.

First, he used Spiritual Vision to survey the surroundings, and after confirming there was no hidden danger, he slowly stepped forward to carefully scrutinize the body before him.

The corpse on the surface looked no different from an ordinary corpse.

However, Zhang Xiaoman understood that for the body to remain uncorrupted for such a long time, it was evident that the person’s cultivation in life must have been profound.

Looking again at his clothes, as white as snow and unstained by dust, occasionally shimmering with light on the surface, it was clearly an Immortal Magical Treasure.

Zhang Xiaoman did not rush to collect the treasure; he intended to first find out what had happened here.

The corpse was sitting cross-legged, but it held something in its hand, seemingly wanting to hand it over for someone to view later on.

Taking the object from the other’s hand, Zhang Xiaoman skillfully held it in his palm, transmitting a wisp of Dark Energy into it.

This object he was very familiar with, it was precisely the jade scroll he had once obtained through the system’s lottery.

Only it was more advanced than the jade scroll, it should be the upgraded Jade Soul.

With the infusion of Zhang Xiaoman’s Dark Energy, the Jade Soul responded, and a projection was cast out after a flicker of light.

The place within the image was the very peak he currently stood on.

It seemed like it was before it had fallen into disrepair, with occasionally glimpses of cultivators in gray robes walking through it.

Next, the scene shifted, and a handsome, ethereal white-robed man appeared in the projection.

The white-robed man’s sleeves fluttered, his grace unparalleled, like a Banished Immortal.

However, the expression on his face was especially solemn, making anyone who saw it feel inexplicably agitated.

"Sigh..."

The white-robed man sighed, his voice seeming to cross hundreds of years, falling into Zhang Xiaoman’s ears, as clear as reality.

This made the latter shiver involuntarily, instinctively turning his head to look at the corpse beside him, feeling as if the other had suddenly come back to life.

The sigh sounded as if it rang next to his ear, so realistic that even his current spiritual power struggled to hold steady.

Fortunately, the white-robed man merely sighed and then spoke:

"Heaven and earth in reverse, Taoist laws in chaos, spiritual energy depleted, cultivation severed, just as foretold, the End of Dharma era has ultimately arrived..."

The man spoke, lifting his hand as if intending to release a spell.

But after several finger gestures, nothing happened, clearly a failure.

His gaze was vacant, murmuring to himself:

"This is Heaven and Earth Swapping, calamity of Taoist laws, humans, demon beasts, even Immortals likely can’t escape this calamity. What can a mere Tribulation Crossing cultivator do..."

"Just that, with the End of Dharma arriving, Heavenly Demons will invade, I don’t know if the Ten Thousand Tribulations Soul Locking Array prepared by the Immortal Palace can withstand them..."

"Sigh..."

The white-robed man sighed again, suddenly looking towards Zhang Xiaoman, causing the latter to feel his scalp tingle.

It was as if the person in the image had come to life and was watching him.

Zhang Xiaoman knew it was his illusion, the man had already died, the corpse sat beside him, how could he suddenly come alive.

Then, the white-robed man slowly said:

"I am Master Xianfeng, Sect Leader of Tianyuan Sect, a Perfect Practitioner at the Tribulation Crossing stage, cultivating for over two thousand eight hundred years, just a step away from Mahayana Ascension..."

"Alas, with Heaven and Earth’s transformation, the prophecy of the ancient Great Witch has come true, the End of Dharma era is approaching, Heavenly Demons will inevitably invade this world, my path of cultivation is fated to end..."

"I have sent disciples to leave clues of seeking immortality in this world; if after a hundred years, spiritual energy recovers and someone finds this place, they shall gain this opportunity."

"Now, you have come here, which means you have a bond with my Tianyuan Sect. If you can inherit the immortal opportunity, please bury my remnants..."

"In a hundred years, with the invasion of Heavenly Demons, I don’t know how long the Ten Thousand Tribulations Soul Locking Array can hold... If you are willing, you may spread the Tao across the world to save living beings, which can gain you Heavenly Dao merit, providing you with an extra safeguard in your ascension..."

"I have little mana left, and it’s inconvenient to explain more..."

"On Tianyuan Peak, there’s a Book Collection Pavilion, you may take what you need..."

"..."

He murmured something else, but Zhang Xiaoman could no longer hear.

However, from what had been said so far, he had deduced a significant stream of information.

It turned out this world had already suffered the End of Dharma calamity hundreds of years ago.

Heaven and Earth Swapping, cultivation severed, even Immortals fell one after another.

Zhang Xiaoman didn’t know what the Tribulation Crossing stage represented.

But the white-robed man before him, merely his corpse and image, exerted great pressure on him.

This showed that at his peak, this man’s power likely exceeded that of the current Holy Angel Naphaya.

And yet such a man also perished in this calamity.

The Immortal Palace he mentioned set up the Ten Thousand Tribulations Soul Locking Array to seal off this entire space.

Presumably, this is why he couldn’t leave using ordinary teleportation methods.

But now, with the calamity arriving and hundreds of years passing, that Soul Locking Array should have partially failed.

Otherwise, Pei Laoliu wouldn’t have accidentally stumbled into this place through a teleportation technique.

Thinking of the Heavenly Demon invasion mentioned by the other, Zhang Xiaoman had many speculations.

Perhaps the so-called Heavenly Demons were the Alien Species that the Star Alliance had always been fighting against.

This left him conflicted, uncertain if all this followed the original trajectory or if the Sect Establishment Order had forcefully created this history.

But considering these things now was futile.

After all, he didn’t have a second Sect Establishment Order to alter the setting.

All he could do was protect himself while helping other planets as much as possible to navigate the crisis.

Zhang Xiaoman pondered and used a Dark Energy Shock to gently lift the white-robed man’s body, then utilized the Sword Control Technique to fly outside the hall.

After circling in the air, he found a beautiful small grove, and as he gazed, he discovered a porcelain white tombstone standing there.

Bringing down the white-robed man’s body, Zhang Xiaoman landed in front of the tombstone and found that there was not just one tomb, but two.

Each tombstone was inscribed with a single line:

Tianyuan Sect Elder—Tang Ru’s Tomb.

Tianyuan Sect Master—Qin Mian’s Tomb.

Notably, Qin Mian’s tomb was empty.

Looking at the person beside him, Zhang Xiaoman realized that it was Qin Mian, and it seemed he wanted him to bury him here.

He didn’t go to strip the other’s white clothing.

Though it looked good, having weathered the End of Dharma era, its spiritual energy had dissipated, and its dark energy fluctuations were like a Second Rank Daring Clothes at best.

Zhang Xiaoman didn’t want to strip the other’s clothes, so he buried them together.

With the sealing of the grave, an almost imperceptible dark energy fluctuation spread out.

If not carefully sensed, it might have been overlooked.

He quickly used Spiritual Vision to check, and saw a broken Array operating between the two tombstones.

With a series of "creak creak" sounds, the space suddenly warped, and an emerald green Jade Pendant dropped out of it.

Zhang Xiaoman’s eyes lit up as he quickly reached out to catch the Jade Pendant, which was engraved with four large characters—Sect Leader Jade.

"This is..."

He was slightly surprised.

The object in his hand was clearly emitting a dark energy fluctuation, and coupled with the words on it, it was obvious that this was the true inheritance of this place.

Taking a deep look at the tombstone, Zhang Xiaoman slightly bowed, paid his respects, then turned and left.