In Taoyuan.
In Zhang Rongfang’s eyes, Dipa didn’t even resemble a human figure at this moment.
Although he was hanging on the rock wall, his entire body exuded an eerie, elusive feeling in the Eye of the Netherworld.
It was like a mirage in water, swaying with the ripples.
Dipa was also slowly twisting with the surrounding wind.
The key point was, on the surface of his body, countless tiny particles were rising and disappearing every moment.
Upon closer inspection, each of these particles was actually a small, agonized, and despairing human face.
"Why are you looking at me like that? I might get shy," Dipa asked, licking his lips while facing Zhang Rongfang.
"Nothing... I..." Zhang Rongfang did not reveal what he saw, instead choosing to maintain an expressionless demeanor.
"My question this time is, I want to ask you if you know about a place, where..."
He carefully described the situation of the Decaying World to Dipa.
After listening to the description, Dipa fell into a slight silence, seemingly recalling, or perhaps thinking.
After a long while, he smacked his lips.
"It seems a bit familiar. However, the Spirit Eye Race doesn’t call that place the Decaying World; they just refer to it as Yi, meaning change. That place..."
He paused and did not continue.
After waiting for a long time, he spoke again.
"That place harbors something extremely troublesome. It is called the Sound of Silence."
"Sound of Silence? What is that?" Zhang Rongfang didn’t think the previous chaotic noise could be something silent.
"It’s not that it is silent itself, but it makes everything around it silent," Dipa replied, grinning, "There aren’t many records from the Spirit Eye Race, just that they opened a space portal and were approached, invaded by the Sound of Silence, resulting in many deaths. I don’t know the rest."
"So, the space portal not only brings the White Pupil closer but also allows the Sound of Silence from the Decaying World to invade?" Zhang Rongfang suddenly began to understand the Spirit Eye Race of the past.
They had paid such a horrific price and had no choice but to cut ties completely with space transmission technology, turning instead to study embarking on spaceships attempting to escape.
But unfortunately, they still ultimately failed.
"Exactly. You understand it well," Dipa nodded.
"Is there any way to avoid the White Pupil and the Decaying World?" Zhang Rongfang asked again.
He roughly guessed what the forces that helped him block Yi’s entry were.
Maybe those are the other two great seals.
"No. Or maybe, it’s just that I haven’t heard of any," Dipa shrugged.
Zhang Rongfang was momentarily silent.
But the world was gradually heading towards destruction, there was no doubt about it, and there were already many signs to verify it.
Moreover, the long-distance portal was tied to his hope of going home. It was something he must do; he couldn’t give up.
"Any more questions?" Dipa asked again.
"No. Then shall I take you to the palace below?" Zhang Rongfang offered.
"Thank you, you’ve always been so considerate dealing with people, truly a good man," Dipa sincerely admired.
Zhang Rongfang nodded in agreement.
"I also feel that if I weren’t too soft-hearted, many things wouldn’t be so troublesome."
Then he asked some miscellaneous questions about the Spirit Eye Race, gaining a more comprehensive understanding of this completely extinct ethnicity.
This was originally an extraterrestrial civilization, arriving abruptly, living for hundreds of years, blending with the native residents, and then, due to the impending destruction of catastrophes, ultimately perishing early by their own actions.
Before the Spirit Eye Race’s arrival, this land was entirely in an ancient agrarian era, without any advanced technology; rather, martial arts and skills were extremely prosperous.
After inquiring about many details, Zhang Rongfang gradually began to suspect Dipa’s identity.
But without evidence, it was hard to be certain.
He led Dipa to the meeting palace below, allowing him to settle in.
Then, floating mid-air, he overlooked the vast Sea of Oblivion below.
Under the gaze of the Eye of the Netherworld, even the Sea of Oblivion presented new, completely different changes.
Countless black seawater, where previously only occasional vague humanoid and gigantic creatures roamed.
But at this moment, in Zhang Rongfang’s vision, the Sea of Oblivion was crowded with innumerable black shadowy spirits immersed in the black waters.
Each of these shadowy spirits was a human-faced black smoke.
They clustered together, the bottom part of their bodies completely fused, linking in the vast Sea of Oblivion.
’So many shadowy spirits!?’ Zhang Rongfang now understood why he could once use soul capture to seize the Soul Crystal from the Sea of Oblivion’s objects...
Because the whole Sea of Oblivion was indeed soaking numerous shadowy spirits.
But the spirits here were different from those outside the canopy.
The spirits here lacked the distinctive aura of the Decaying World. They were just purely shadowy spirits.
This left him somewhat puzzled.
Hovering above the Sea of Oblivion, Zhang Rongfang’s mind stirred, and the vortex of the Ghost Mansion appeared behind him.
Instantly, a strong pull spread from behind him.
Hiss...
In the water below, several human-faced shadowy spirits were attracted and flew up, showing delighted expressions, ready to enter the Ghost Mansion.
But half of their bodies were firmly stuck in the black Sea of Oblivion, unable to escape.
The power of the Ghost Mansion couldn’t resist the Sea of Oblivion and had to give up.
Noticing this scene, Zhang Rongfang made no other moves but flew straight towards the core of the Sea of Oblivion.
On the island at the core of the sea, Long was not in his original spot. Only those statues remained in place.
Because of Long’s issue earlier, he had never approached here before.
This time, he had an opportunity.
With a slight thought, Zhang Rongfang flew straight to the center of the island, overlooking a group of huge statues.
Numerous humanoid statues stood towering like a forest, each striking a different posture, as if they were guarding or praying.
All the faces were blurred, making it impossible to discern any features.
"This place..." Zhang Rongfang felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity here.
But it was obvious he had never truly been here before.
The details of these statues were incredibly lifelike, intricate and gentle, and each statue was as natural as a real person.
Zhang Rongfang, looking at them as a whole, had a feeling that these statues seemed to be guarding something.
Silently noting these details in his heart, he turned and flew off into the distance.
*
*
*
Yuan City.
In front of a tavern.
Ounan and Gongsun Yi stood at the alley entrance, watching as the last person, Gorvi, walked up quickly.
"How did it go?" Gongsun Yi asked first.
"Very smoothly, but... the Celestial Lotus Palace doesn’t seem to have reacted," Gorvi replied with a frown. "It seems the Blood King Daoist Ancestor is busy with something else. Even though they don’t care much about the rumors in the city, they don’t seem bothered either."
"Do they not care, or do they not believe it?" Ounan asked with a frown.
"Perhaps both," Gorvi replied after a brief pause.
The rumors had been spreading for so long, the Celestial Lotus Palace should have known about it long ago. But they still haven’t shown any response, indicating that their higher-ups likely do not care.
"We don’t know the exact relationships between the three alliances; mere rumors can’t affect the big picture," Gongsun Yi frowned.
"Chana Tower has already started sending people to hunt us," Gorvi continued. "It seems Sol over there couldn’t protect our information. I’ve heard the news from a few caravans inside the city. Someone from the Eternal Palace has gone to investigate."
Hearing this, Ounan and his companion both looked grim.
"If they can find the Eternal Palace, they can definitely find this place. We can’t stay any longer," Ounan said in a low voice.
"Let’s return separately and scatter the targets. We’re too conspicuous in Yuan City and Chana Tower. The targets are too big," Gongsun Yi replied.
All three were calm and rational people, and despite the urgent situation, they did not panic.
"Alright, let’s exchange specific contact information and regroup later," Gorvi said.
"Okay."
The three decisively exchanged contact details and swiftly dispersed.
Ounan, holding a small black card, quickly spent money to board a carriage heading to the nearest area where people gathered.
The carriage, though named a horse, resembled a horse only in shape; otherwise, it bore no similarity.
With eight legs, black wings on its back, and eyes that randomly appeared in various places on its body.
Sitting inside, Ounan watched the others, long accustomed to them, with their red eyes, suddenly feeling like more of an outsider.
The journey was uneventful, and he returned smoothly to his base, re-entering the Human Alliance town through a hidden entrance.
The patrolling guards spotted him from afar and happily welcomed him in.
"Ounan, why did you return so early? Didn’t you say you were going far?" the leading girl, Yuri, asked happily.
"It ended midway, and now there should be no problem," Ounan replied, recalling the experiences of this period, feeling as if he were in a dream.
"If there’s no problem, that’s good! You all have big tasks, if you’re okay, then surely everything is fine," Yuri said happily.
Ounan smiled but didn’t reply.
Following the route home, he quickly bid farewell to the patrol and walked back alone.
Just as he was about to reach his doorstep, he suddenly noticed a shadow of an old man leaning against the door on the right side of his residence.
It was also a small house, painted white on the outside, apparently recently built.
And the old man sitting in front of the door was none other than Yue Dewen, the Moon God he had saved before.
Hearing the footsteps, Yue Dewen looked up, glancing towards Ounan.
"Little Ou, weren’t you all out?" Yue Dewen set down the stone carving knife in his hand with a cheerful smile, looking up and asking.
"Yue Shi, you mentioned before that you came from a large interaction district. Is it called the Great Spirit?" Ounan asked, his heart stirring.
"Yes... but now the Great Spirit has completely changed," Yue Dewen sighed. "Why are you asking?" He had unconsciously used various Martial Arts from Great Spirit when teaching others before, and had not concealed it since.
"I just heard that the Blood Alliance also seems to originate from a super large interaction district," Ounan replied.
Yue Dewen looked at the young man before him. He had once saved his life, allowing him to sit here peacefully and enjoy his old age.
But now, it seemed he was in trouble.