“The cosmos is the world of the realm monsters?” Lu Yun frowned slightly. “There’s a star map in my consciousness, but no realm monsters are labeled on it.”
Many hotspots of danger and safe zones were marked on the map, and there were even details of what exactly could be found in each area. The only thing that was missing was any mention of realm monsters.
“A star map?! You’ve seen mother??” A faint light flashed through the suncrow’s dim eyes. “Since mother’s given the map to you, that means you have the strength to enter the cosmos. You may pass.”
The figure that was the suncrow’s body slowly faded away.
Lu Yun heaved a long sigh of relief while Bai Zhaoju cast him a surprised glance. He hadn’t thought that Lu Yun would’ve made the acquaintance of Taiyi’s empress!
Lu Yun paused at the end of the passage without immediately pressing forward.
“White Emperor, I remember that when I first met you, you told me that the great monster beneath the earth is Yi’s body. But upon coming here, we’ve discovered that Yi’s corpse actually doesn’t exist anymore. So… what is that thing then?”
He’d previously tried to travel through the earth to avoid a flock of Bi Fang, but had been startled out of that plan by a shocking entity below ground. Bai Zhaoju had told him that it was the Great Yi’s corpse.
Bai Zhaoju started when he heard the question. “But, isn’t it the great god’s corpse? What we learn in the great wilderness is that the Great Yi’s resentment didn’t disperse upon his death, so his corpse turned into a zombie spirit and stands at attention beneath the ground, ready to do battle with Taiyi at any moment…”
He cut himself off, reminded of the murals that they’d just viewed. Taiyi and the Great Yi had jointly defended the world against the realm monsters, and those monsters were the real culprits responsible for Yi’s death. Therefore, that proved the great wilderness legends false.
“If it’s… not the Great Yi’s body, then what is it?” Bai Zhaoju looked lost.
“Yeah, what is it then?” Lu Yun frowned. “What’s the entity fighting Luo Houluo now? It’s definitely not a ghost formed of resentment…”
He’d deduced that what lay beyond the stairs wasn’t the cosmos, but the hero’s barrow of the Great Yi. His treasured bow was likely to be found there as well.
But now, Lu Yun hesitated.
If all of Suncrows Plain was a tomb, then what he’d seen below the earth was very likely in the tomb ahead of them. He and Bai Zhaoju wouldn’t be its match at all. The suncrow spirit they’d seen just now was a dead entity as well. There was just the tiniest bit of sentience left to it; it didn’t possess the ability to think anymore.
Tinkle.
A clear, pleasing jingle rang out from Lu Yun’s robes as the little fox shot to his head.
“I know who he is, we can go in. He won’t hurt us.” The Bell of Chaos glowed around her neck.
“Who?” Bai Zhaoju asked subconsciously.
“It should be the first connate god who died in Suncrows Plain,” the little fox responded softly.
“Kuafu?” Bai Zhaoju blinked.
The little fox nodded. That war had had enormous ramifications and dragged in a dozen connate demon gods. Kuafu had been the first casualty.
……
Lu Yun was right, the end of the stairs wasn’t marked by the cosmos, but by the main chamber of Yi’s tomb—a magnificent underground palace.
The art of burial was currently in its most primitive state. Absent were the frills and extravagances of tomb passageways and burial chambers. For the dead, there was only one enormous underground palace that couldn’t be measured. Four enormous pillars supported it, and they were respectively carved with the images of the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise. It was a formation of the four divisions.
“Those four great ones have come before?” Bai Zhaoju’s expression changed drastically when he saw the four pillars supporting the palace.
Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise were four connate divine beasts and gods on par with Taiyi and Leizhe. They were assigned to the four cardinal directions and wielded the rules of the four directions.
“While I don’t know if these four heavyweights ever paid a visit… I know for certain that Fuxi must have! No one in the great wilderness can set up this formation other than Fuxi!”
The formation in front of them was a connate formation, but one that showed clear signs of being shaped by another hand. With Fuxi’s strength and cultivation level, he absolutely had the ability to do so.
Bai Zhaoju didn’t understand formations, so he naturally couldn’t identify what the four pillars symbolized.
“The formation of the four divisions is an enormous seal that’s blocking the opening that leads to the stars.” Lu Yun glanced at the enormous sarcophagus in the middle of the palace. What lay buried within it wasn’t Yi’s body, or his bow, but the fissure that led to the cosmos.
He could sense the presence of the stars here.
“I’ve come here before, but I erased that part of my memories,” he suddenly said with a frown. He was trying very hard to recall something, anything, but only managed a vague impression. “Duh, this matches up! How could an explosion from a small ruin separate me and Xing Chen, and also gravely injure my primary body?”
Lu Yun finally put all the pieces together. He and Luo Houluo probably arrived in the great wilderness perfectly healthy and intact. They successfully made it to this tomb, but as for what happened after… he’d forgotten everything. And judging from Luo Houluo’s earlier behavior, he’d erased that part of his memories too.
However, there was something else that called to him from the tomb of the Great Yi and likewise, Xing Chen called out to Lu Yun.
“Xing Chen walked into the cosmos from here and took the bow with him.” Though Lu Yun had destroyed that memory, he could still speculate what had taken place here from a few traces and clues. “Ah, then Xing Chen probably destroyed this part of Luo Houluo’s memories as well.”
A smirk tugged at his lips while curiosity blossomed in his heart. What had it been to make him choose to destroy his memories and willingly send Xing Chen into the cosmos?
However, his mind was so resolute that he knew very well what he needed to do, despite erasing part of his memories. He needed to find Xing Chen so he could have the ability to go toe-to-toe with the Luo Houluo of this era and take the Constellation Willow from him.
“Shouldn’t be realm monsters…” Lu Yun looked back at Bai Zhaoju. “Shall we go in, White Emperor?”
Bai Zhaoju nodded. He needed Taiyi’s true feather to do something, so he wouldn’t shrink back no matter how dangerous the road ahead.
“This is a formation I set up last time I was here. Heh, looks like I knew I’d be coming back here someday.” Lu Yun grinned as he looked at a tiny formation rune carved into the side of the sarcophagus. This was his style alright, he’d always leave a contingency plan for himself.
“Don’t move!” The little fox suddenly tugged at his clothes and pointed a furry paw at the firmament of the palace.
Lu Yun raised his head subconsciously, then shuddered violently.
