Lian Yunzhi did not know how long he had slept, for the world had already fallen into a half-destroyed state—one half dissipated, the other half frozen still. There was no distinction between day and night.
Yet when he opened his eyes, he discovered that Mu Cheng was still gazing at him with eyes wide open, the pupils shifting to follow his movements.
Lian Yunzhi: “…”
Hmm, wasn’t he a bit too foolish?
Should he clean a little more Black Mist from his Primordial Spirit?
Pressing his forehead against Mu Cheng’s and probing with his Divine Soul, Lian Yunzhi abandoned the idea—it was too dangerous. He had only left a tiny bit as it was; cleaning any more might cause Mu Cheng to fully awaken.
After pushing Mu Cheng aside and ordering him not to move, Lian Yunzhi entered a meditative state once more. He spread out his Divine Sense, probing the edges of the Pure Bottle in search of a way out.
Suddenly, Lian Yunzhi’s Divine Sense snapped back, fixing on a corner of Spirit Mountain.
The Black Mist was on the verge of collapse, the world teetering on the brink. Every person manifested from the Black Mist here either collapsed suddenly into a coma or dissipated directly into nothingness. In short, not a single one remained “alive.”
But Lian Yunzhi spotted someone alive. Someone moving.
A familiar face.
His friend—Fang Tianxin.
.
The young Mu Cheng, once nailed to the tree, had told the Spirit Capturing Grass everything he had seen over those seventeen years, including matters of the Fang Family. But when it came to his peers in the Fang Family, he always glossed over them—claiming they were not close, just a bunch of fools.
Thus, Lian Yunzhi had no idea what role Fang Tianxin had played ten thousand years ago, but it surely was not a major one—Fang Tianxin’s Black Mist was the thinnest, merely a faint layer clinging to him, as if it could be blown away by the wind at any moment.
Upon closer inspection, Lian Yunzhi realized Fang Tianxin was not alone. He was carrying someone on his back, though that person’s vitality was feeble, their aura so faint that Lian Yunzhi’s Divine Sense had initially mistaken them for a bundle.
“A Qing, hang in there… We’re almost there. There’s my brother’s Cave Mansion on this Spirit Mountain. He’s incredibly powerful, already at Golden Core Peak. Before he left, he gave me the Access Token to his Cave Mansion. There are so many good things inside—he’s bound to have some treasure that can save you…” Fang Tianxin said through choked sobs.
Lian Yunzhi: “…”
Lian Yunzhi guiltily touched his nose.
Before leaving Xiaoze State, he had indeed sent Fang Tianxin a Message Paper Crane, informing him that he was not dead and entrusting his Cave Mansion to him. However, he had already emptied the Cave Mansion of its treasures beforehand. He had given Fang Tianxin the token merely to have him clear the weeds periodically.
But… Spirit Mountain?
This was clearly the Spirit Mountain from the outside world.
Lian Yunzhi extended his Divine Sense further outward and soon understood the reason—the world had collapsed by more than half. The rough outer world had turned to nothingness first, while the Spirit Mountain he occupied had overlapped with the one in Xiaoze State due to their striking similarity in elevation.
Naturally, the Restriction over Xiaoze State was gone as well.
In an instant, Lian Yunzhi teleported in front of Fang Tianxin.
A person suddenly appeared before Fang Tianxin, startling him. But when he looked up and saw the face, he froze.
Then he burst into tears and lunged forward: “Lian Yunzhi—”
.
He did not reach Lian Yunzhi, for the person on his back hindered his movements, and Mu Cheng suddenly appeared to yank Lian Yunzhi into his arms, barring anyone else from touching him.
Fang Tianxin choked up.
He glanced at Lian Yunzhi, then at Mu Cheng, tears dangling blankly from his cheeks.
Lian Yunzhi shoved Mu Cheng away and asked Fang Tianxin, “What happened? Why are you here?”
Fang Tianxin snapped to attention. He hurriedly unloaded the person from his back: “Yunzhi, this world is done for! My family’s all gone, spiritual power doesn’t work anymore, and A Qing is dying after saving me. Please save him…”
A Qing was Fang Tianxin’s servant boy; Lian Yunzhi had met him a few times.
After examining A Qing’s injuries, Lian Yunzhi took out several Pills and handed them to Fang Tianxin: “What exactly happened? Tell me slowly.”
Fang Tianxin carefully fed the Pills to A Qing. Seeing his breathing truly stabilize, he let out a breath of relief and began recounting the events.
When the world collapsed, Fang Tianxin had been recuperating at home—yes, from the injuries Mu Cheng had inflicted when he slaughtered the Fang Family.
Everything had been fine at first, but suddenly the sky caved in and the earth split apart. The Fang Family estate turned to nothingness, and everyone in sight scattered like flying sand. He had been utterly terrified, watching helplessly as half his own clothes vanished.
But at that moment, A Qing lunged forward, enveloping him in a Magic Artifact that saved him from the disaster. However, the artifact seemed tied to A Qing’s life force, leaving him gravely wounded as a result.
Fang Tianxin had been at a loss, unable to use spiritual power or find any Pills. Yet from afar, he spotted this Spirit Mountain largely intact, with only a small portion collapsed. So he carried A Qing up the mountain in search of a way to survive.
Fang Tianxin: “Yunzhi, what’s going on here? And you—you went to the outside world, didn’t you? When did you come back? And Mu Cheng… Wait, that’s not the point. The point is, how did the world turn into this?! Is this real?! Are we still in an illu—”
“Cough!”
Lian Yunzhi immediately cut him off and glanced at Mu Cheng, only to find him still staring blankly at him, eyes devoid of emotion, as if he had not heard Fang Tianxin’s words at all.
Lian Yunzhi handed Fang Tianxin a Pill: “It’s a long story. Take this Pill first.”
Fang Tianxin took the Pill and swallowed it.
Then, with a thud, he toppled over stiffly. Fortunately, Vines caught him in time, preventing a nasty fall.
A Qing abruptly spat out a mouthful of blood and sat up, then spat another due to emotional agitation: “What did you do? What did you give him?! He trusted you so much—”
Lian Yunzhi’s Vines pressed A Qing’s shoulders, pinning him back to the ground: “Don’t get agitated. I just put him to sleep. Fang Tianxin is my friend; I would never harm him.”
A Qing closed his eyes and regulated his breathing, struggling to regain composure. But Lian Yunzhi’s next words shattered it once more.
“So this is the face beneath your Mask.”
A Qing’s body went rigid.
He then tugged at his lips in an ugly smile.
“Actually, I knew I’d be exposed the moment you saw me.”
.
Guessing that “A Qing” was the Cyan-Clothed Person was no challenge at all. With the world on the brink of reboot, everyone mere phantoms of Black Mist, how could an ordinary person casually produce a Magic Artifact to protect Fang Tianxin?
Thinking this way, many things fell into place.
For instance, when Mu Cheng slaughtered the Fang Family, the Cyan-Clothed Person had forcibly gathered everyone to discuss ways to kill Mu Cheng—rather urgent, that.
