Chapter 545: Me, It's Me!

The thirteenth day of the westward journey.

Qi Yun had lost count of how many wastelands he had crossed and how many barren mountains he had scaled. It felt as though, guided by some unseen force, he had stepped into another realm. After all, given his pace, let alone the Profound Yellow Origin Realm, he should have traveled extremely deep into the Outer Realm by now. How could he still be advancing? Furthermore, the Spiritual Qi here was so thin it was virtually nonexistent, and an indescribable deathly stillness permeated Heaven and Earth.

Yet, the wisp of residual thought in his sleeve throbbed with increasing intensity. Qi Yun did not suppress it. He merely followed its guidance, continuing all the way west.

The Mountain and River Cauldron hovered by his side, the swimming motions of its nine divine dragons becoming slow and solemn. Cai Shen remained silent, but the rapid fluctuations of his spiritual nature betrayed his inner turmoil.

“Fourteenth Brother,” he finally could not help but speak, his voice somewhat tight. “Did you feel that?”

The Mountain and River Cauldron fell silent for a moment before letting out a low HUM. Within that hum lay the vicissitudes of eternity, a bone-deep sorrow, and a trace of… indescribable awe.

“That place… has His Majesty’s aura.”

Cai Shen’s spiritual nature trembled violently, almost bursting out of the cauldron. Qi Yun’s brow also furrowed slightly, multicolored light flowing in his eyes.

His Majesty’s aura… Was it the Great Emperor of the Golden Tang Dynasty?! Could the source of this residual thought actually be that Supreme Being who had been missing for eons? He did not ask any further, simply accelerating his pace.

After traveling for another three days, the Celestial Vault ahead began to change.

The eternal, leaden gray clouds had at some unknown point grown thin, revealing a profound darkness that was almost solid. In the deepest depths of that darkness, a faint, incredibly distant speck of light could vaguely be seen.

The light emanated a bizarre purple-gold hue, completely different from any color Qi Yun had ever seen. It was neither blinding nor scorching, yet it carried a majesty that compelled an irresistible urge to worship. It seemed like the source of all creations, the center of the heavens—the starting point and ultimate end of all existence.

Qi Yun’s Heart and Spirit wavered slightly, but were immediately stabilized by the Dao of the Primordial. Taking a deep breath, he pressed onward.

Half a day later, the ancient city finally appeared before his eyes.

It floated within that profound darkness, its entire structure flowing with the utmost noble purple-gold luster. Its walls soared ten thousand fathoms high and stretched for an unknown tens of thousands of miles, severing the void into two distinct worlds—inner and outer.

The city gates were tightly shut. Suspended high above the lintel was a plaque, engraved with ancient, vigorous calligraphy spelling two large words: Chang’an.

Qi Yun stopped before the city gates. He tilted his head back, gazing at this indescribably towering ancient city. Multicolored light swirled in his eyes as he circulated the Dao of the Primordial to its maximum, attempting to see through its true essence.

He saw the Dao Patterns densely layered upon the city walls. Those Dao Patterns were not Acquired carvings, but rather Innate formations—marks naturally nurtured by this ancient city over countless eons. Every single pattern represented a complete set of Heaven and Earth Laws; every single vein bore the weight of a world.

This was not a city. It was a world. A vast world that had been compressed, folded, and sealed within a square inch.

The Mountain and River Cauldron let out a low HUM, as if in response. Within that hum lay eternal sorrow, as well as a trace of relieved absolution. Qi Yun said no more.

He raised his hand, retrieving the grayish-white wisp of residual thought from his sleeve and holding it in his palm.

The moment the residual thought left his sleeve, it suddenly erupted with an unprecedentedly radiant light! The brilliance was so intense that it illuminated the entire dark void, turning it bright as day! At that exact moment, the city gates, sealed shut for eons, slowly creaked open.

Behind the gates were not the palaces and pavilions Qi Yun had imagined, but a long, straight street. Flanking both sides of the street were rows of Marketplaces, manors, and multi-story pavilions. Everything remained exactly as it had been eons ago; time had stopped flowing here.

But there was no one.

No merchants, no pedestrians, no playing children, and no patrolling officials. There was only an eternal, heart-stopping silence.

Qi Yun slowly walked down this long street with the Mountain and River Cauldron hovering by his side. The nine divine dragons swam with extreme slowness, their dragon eyes flashing with light, as if trying to recognize something.

“This place…” Cai Shen’s voice emerged from the cauldron, carrying a trace of daze. “I think I have been here.”

“Of course you have been here,” the Mountain and River Cauldron’s deep voice sounded. “This is Chang’an.

“It is our home.”

Cai Shen fell silent. Of course he remembered. Eons ago, at the peak of the Golden Tang Dynasty, all Twenty-four Imperial Soldiers had gathered here to guard the Great Emperor and suppress the karmic luck of the heavens. Those were their most glorious days, and this was the homeland they could never return to.

Qi Yun did not disturb them. He merely followed the long street, continuing straight ahead.

At the end of the long street stood an indescribably towering palace. Above the palace’s main gate hung another plaque, inscribed with three large words: Black Tortoise Sect.

Qi Yun stopped before the hall doors. He raised his head, gazing at those words, multicolored light flowing in his eyes.

“Come in.”

A voice suddenly echoed from within the hall. The voice was very soft and faint, as if it were merely a sigh. But falling upon Qi Yun’s ears, it was like a clap of thunder, exploding with a violent BOOM deep within his Heart and Spirit.

Qi Yun’s pupils contracted slightly. He took a deep breath, stepped forward, and entered the Black Tortoise Sect.

Inside, the hall was even emptier than he had anticipated.

There were no resplendent decorations, nor were there civil and military officials paying homage. There was only a single stone dais, and upon it, a single figure.

The figure sat cross-legged on the stone dais, dressed in a profound black imperial robe and wearing the Heaven-Peace Crown. His face was blurred and impossible to see clearly.