The sound of the Twilight Drum was like immortal music that shook one’s soul. When it reverberated in all directions, it set off an invisible wave of air.
When the old woman, who was trapped by the Ancient Dragon Shield, heard the sound of the Twilight Drum, her eyes were filled with fear. Her skin and bony spikes began to rot and collapse. It was as if snowflakes had fallen into magma. Countless fine black smoke rose from her pores, and her body quickly melted. She was only formed by the resentment on the black stone tablet. The woman could not resist it at all. She only lasted for a few breaths before she disappeared, leaving no trace behind.
It was as if everything that had appeared before was like an illusion.
The Twilight Drum’s sound seemed to carry an indescribable magical power. When Ou Yangming heard it, the distracting thoughts in his mind disappeared, turning into an ethereal and mysterious state.
This state lasted for more than 10 breaths, and every cell in Ou Yangming’s body relaxed.
It was at this moment a memory was fed into Ou Yangming’s spiritual world.
In an instant, Ou Yangming’s spiritual world fell into a chaotic and hazy state where white mists drifted everywhere.
His thoughts kept drifting into the sky, turning into a thin and long leaf in a stream. As the river water moved up and down, he saw all kinds of things in the world and experienced the vicissitudes of life. He drifted farther away.
All of a sudden, Ou Yangming’s felt his eyes light up. Following that, a scene that he had never seen before appeared in front of him.
The ground was filled with devastation and broken walls. A strong smell of blood filled the air. Fresh blood gathered and painted the soil red. The ground kept sinking like a large red swamp.
A desolate northern wind whistled past. Snowflakes that were like goose feathers fell from the sky, scattering into layers before they fell to the ground. They separated the sky and turned it into mottled and small fragments. Nonetheless, these snowflakes were not white, but blood-red. They were as red as fresh blood and were terrifying. Outside the red ground, a huge city could be seen standing tall, and its pressure swept outwards. At the center of the city stood an altar that was about 33 meters tall. Its material was very ordinary, but it faintly exuded indescribable holiness.
When Ou Yangming saw this, he knew it was the Seven Stars Altar, and the scene he saw was the inherited memories that were carved into the Twilight Drum.
What happened to the big city around it? Why was a single trace not left behind? He was like a passer-by or a phantom in the other dimension, quietly watching all of this but unable to change anything.
Ou Yangming saw that above the altar, there was an old man sitting cross-legged. He wore a beast robe, and his face was covered in brown spots and wrinkles. His eyes were like the vast ocean or the boundless starry sky. A path conception appeared on his body, making people feel at ease. This feeling was similar to that of Master Kurong, but it was more profound.
Not far behind him stood a Twilight Drum that was engraved with the traces of time.
Below the altar, countless people were kneeling and worshiping, and they spread out in circles. There were young and old people, and their Bloodline Powers were burning fiercely. Their eyes were full of piety, and there was a faint madness in them. It seemed that as long as the old man said a word, they would give up their lives without any hesitation. The surroundings were silent, leaving only the whimpering sounds of the winds. The people on the altar seemed to be waiting for something. The beast-robed old man on the altar looked at the sky, and his index and middle fingers were pinched together as if he was doing fortune-telling.
At this moment, “Clack, clack…”
A hair-raising sound came from all directions. It was thin and sharp. Following that, densely packed foreign beings suddenly appeared. It gave people the feeling that they had passed through a wormhole. There were at least tens of thousands of them, and their auras were powerful as they shook the void.
The elder in a beast robe sighed and said, “The great disaster has lasted for 100 years, and half of the Humans’ 36 prefectures have been lost. Armies are retreating in defeat, and our hope is slim. As the White Phoenixes, we’ll be using ourselves as bait and form a seal with the blood essences of our entire race. We’re willing to fight for a chance of survival for the Spiritual Realm. My people, burn your blood!” His voice was not loud, but it was filled with righteousness. For the sake of the beings of the Spiritual Realm, he and his people were willing to burn their bodies and bloodline. They were willing to use the power of their entire race to gamble on that slim hope.
“Blood, burn!” All the members of the clan roared at the same time. Their voices were firm and resounding throughout the world, and the Phoenixes’ bloodline in their bodies burned fiercely.
Half of the sky was lit up by this burning light. For the sake of righteousness and hope, they burned their lives and lifespans. Even if they were to turn into ashes, even if their souls were to be destroyed, they would not hesitate.
Ou Yangming’s expression darkened, and he only felt a lump in his throat. His heart was blocked by a sorrowful emotion. Just like the land in front of him, he looked devastated as he muttered softly, “Is this righteousness?”
He thought of Xu Junqing again and said in a deep voice, “As a man, you should regard the sky as the chessboard and stars the chess pieces.”
The 2 images kept merging in his mind, and his eyes lit up. He uttered softly, “The world’s a furnace, and no one can escape from it. Once the great calamity comes, all wonders and hope will be crushed into powder without any resistance. Previously, I was being too comfortable. I didn’t want to care about it, nor did I have the ability to. For the sake of Old Craftsman, for the sake of the 3 of them, and for the people I cherish, even if I’m not able, I have to try.”
The White Phoenixes in front of him had turned their blood essences into a seal. It affected Ou Yangming too much, such that the people of the nation and the world filled his heart. This time, he wanted to try. He wanted to stop the catastrophe, and he wanted to save the world.
Just as Ou Yangming’s thoughts were churning in his mind, the old man in the beast robe gently patted the altar. He stood up straight and pushed his shriveled palm outward. His Qi burst forth and collided with the Twilight Drum.
An earth-shattering sound resounded and reverberated.
The Bloodline Powers of the members of the White Phoenixes below the Seven Stars Altar burned fiercely. Countless white threads spread out from between their eyebrows and condensed into a white mark in the sky. In just an instant, these people aged countless times. Their black hair turned white, their faces were no longer exquisite, and the corners of their eyes were full of wrinkles. Every breath they took was changing as they became older. Even the bodies of children were filled with decaying auras.
Nevertheless, their eyes were still firm, and there was even a bit of hysterical madness in them.
A sorrowful feeling filled Ou Yangming’s heart. His eyes were bitter, and his body trembled incessantly. His eyes were filled with tears, but he resisted the urge to cry.
The beast-robed elder also turned into a ray of white light. He shouted in a hoarse voice, “The White Phoenixes are willing to die. As long as we can fight for a chance of survival for the Humans in the Spiritual Realm, we’ll have no regrets!”
“No regrets!” This voice exploded in Ou Yangming’s mind.
All of a sudden, rays of white light twined around and covered the universe. They turned into an invisible prison that enveloped the foreign beings. The space shattered, revealing a pitch-black light that made one’s heart palpitate. The white light suddenly shrank, and the ripples that swept in all directions gathered in the center, turning into a dark light that gushed into the stone tablet. All sorts of voices that affected one’s mind spread out. Greed, love, and hatred appeared one by one, but they were still useless. They were sealed into the black stone tablet, turning into a prison and a shackle.
As for the remaining white light, it burned fiercely, turning into a black flame that burned in all directions. Wherever it passed, all life was extinguished. With the city as the center, everything within 500 kilometers was covered in blood.
The memories did not stop. They rolled over from afar like a tide.
It stimulated Ou Yangming’s nerves. Even though he had a spiritual world unique to the Phoenixes, he could not withstand it. His mind felt a stab of pain, and he gritted his teeth to persevere.
After an unknown time, the scattered memories calmed down.
Ou Yangming sorted out the long memory in his mind and opened his eyes. He said softly, “The great disaster was caused by the foreign races. There isn’t much time left. The reason the Big Ruins is called the cursed land is that this is a lost ancient battlefield, but the reason for the war is unknown.” This was the answer he had come up with after analyzing for a long time. He then continued to search through the memory and wondered, ‘How intense was this war to be able to blast a continent into such a state? Did Xu Aoran have anything to do with this?’
He shook his head, and the doubts in his mind grew.
After letting out a breath of turbid air, he slowly walked down the altar. He cupped his hands and bowed heavily, saying, “Seniors, I’ll never forget your righteousness, nor will I dare to forget it.”
Subsequently, he turned his head and took a deep look at the black stone tablet that had tens of thousands of foreign creatures sealed inside. He sneered and pointed his finger at the sky as he uttered coldly, “Head, devour them!” The remnant souls in the stone tablet had not only pulled him into the illusion from the start, but they were also the main culprit of the great catastrophe. Now that the disaster was coming and was causing trouble in the Big Ruins, how could Ou Yangming let it be?
Before his voice could fade away, the head flew out, and a powerful Devouring Power burst forth.
It swallowed the remnant souls in the stone tablet.
The head opened its mouth slightly, and a hint of satisfaction appeared in its eyes. After spitting out a mouthful of black gas, it fell into a deep sleep. This force was too powerful. Even the head needed a long time to refine it.
Without warning, something odd happened. The entire desert shook, and the sand kept sinking. Rustling sounds came from every corner of the space as if many evil ghosts were grinding their teeth. One could feel the madness in the sounds.
Even Ou Yangming, who was at the center of the desert, could feel the sand sinking. His mind thudded, and he could only think, ‘Something happened!’
Without any hesitation, he rushed out. He did not know what had caused the change in the desert, but he had a bad feeling about it.
He spread out his arms, and a muffled sound of thunder came out of his body. He turned into a white pillar, passing through the white light ring and dashing out.
As the head devoured the souls of countless foreign creatures, the pressure that came from all directions mysteriously disappeared. As a result, Ou Yangming was very fast. He was like a white electric arc that flashed rapidly. With every step taken, he advanced more than 33 meters.
