Boom!
When Gu Hai entered the Cultural Dao Sage Palace, the doors closed behind him.
Bing Ji turned her head and looked around, but Gu Hai did not. Instead, he marveled at the palace hall before him.
The palace hall had already looked very large from the outside. However, he discovered that it was even larger than he imagined when he entered. The space inside was the size of several soccer fields.
There were many scrolls placed to the east, made of various materials: straw, hemp, bamboo, paper, even fire and water. Voices seemed to read scriptures aloud. Noble spirit hovered there but did not come out.
A voice suddenly rang out before Gu Hai. “Back in ancient times, when men were still primitive, they only used knots on ropes to record events. Even before written words appeared, the Cultural Dao Sage Palace was already here. Characters emerged over time, one after another, and compositions arose. All the compositions that affected the world are gathered here.”
Gu Hai turned his head to look and saw a translucent man floating there, providing the explanation.
“You are?” Gu Hai asked in confusion.
“I am the Cultural Dao Sage Palace’s item spirit. Heaven permitted me to guard the holy cultural texts of the world and function as a guide for everyone,” the translucent man said with a smile.
“Item spirit?” Gu Hai’s eyes lit up in startlement.
“That’s right. I can guide you. Look, the best compositions in the world are gathered in the east. Do you see the fairies in the west?” The item spirit pointed to the west.
There was a big tree in the west, with many fairies flying around it—millions, tens of millions, and even more—flitting and dancing.
“That is the music Dao. All the holy pieces of the music Dao in the world are sealed in the fairies. Look!” the item spirit said as he pointed at the fairies.
“Music Dao accumulations?” Gu Hai frowned slightly.
“That’s right. From the first sound in ancient times until now, it has everything. Now, look to the north. That is the painting Dao!” the item spirit said.
Gu Hai turned his head and looked.
Many paintings were hanging in the north.
There were paintings of waterfalls, mountains, rivers, and various states of various objects—all sorts of pictures. Most of them were ink paintings. However, Gu Hai also saw some simple sketches and oil paintings.
“Oil paintings?” Gu Hai frowned slightly.
“Oil painting was in vogue once. Unfortunately, it is already in decline, merely showing form without any conception. The ideology is there, but there are no accomplishments,” the item spirit explained.
Not far away, the Grand Mohist stood before a painting with her subordinate.
“What about the Go Dao?” Bing Ji asked curiously.
The item spirit turned to the south. Aside from the doors, there was a wall as well. However, that wall was pitch black.
“There used to be tens of thousands of Go game records there. Unfortunately, Heaven destroyed them one millennium ago,” the item spirit explained.
Gu Hai looked at the pitch-black wall and frowned slightly.
“Everyone, you only have ten days. Of music, calligraphy, and painting, which do you want to view? Or if you have a specific thing or category you wish to see and comprehend, I can help you to find it.”
If Gu Hai were another cultural cultivator, he would have been overjoyed. However, these held no attraction for him.
Gu Hai only focused on the Go Dao. If the Go Dao was gone, what was the point?
Calligraphy Dao? I don’t need it. I don’t even have the calligraphy Dao’s artistic conception. Furthermore, I have the accumulations from Earth and do not even need them for now.
The music Dao? I don’t have the music Dao’s artistic conception.
The painting Dao? Don’t even mention it.
“I would like to know if there is information on heavenly souls in this Cultural Dao Sage Palace?” Gu Hai asked gravely.
Heavenly souls?
Gu Hai wanted to find Chen Xianer’s heavenly soul. This was his primary purpose in entering the Cultural Dao Sage Palace.
“Heavenly souls? I don’t know. My scope is limited to this palace hall.” The item spirit shook his head.
Gu Hai frowned slightly.
“Do you want to look around?” the item spirit asked. “What cultural Dao would you like to look at? You have ten days.”
“What did the person who entered the Cultural Dao Sage Palace one thousand years ago look at?” Gu Hai asked curiously.
“One thousand years ago?” The item spirit frowned slightly.
“That’s right. One thousand years ago,” Gu Hai said gravely.
“What that person looked at might not be suitable for you. You are better off thinking about what you want to see.” The item spirit shook his head.
Gu Hai shook his head. “I want to see what he saw. Please point the way.”
The item spirit felt conflicted. After a while, the item spirit nodded. “Come with me!”
Gu Hai and Bing Ji followed the item spirit to the calligraphy Dao’s wall.
On the other side, the Grand Mohist and her subordinate ignored Gu Hai, making their way straight to the painting Dao’s wall. The painting Dao’s wall was extensive, filled with countless paintings. The two seemed to be looking for something.
Gu Hai’s group quickly arrived at a corner of the calligraphy Dao’s wall.
The item spirit pointed to a bamboo-strip scroll, saying, “That old man looked at this scroll. Do you want to—”
“Your Majesty, look!” Bing Ji interjected, her expression changing.
Gu Hai turned his head and saw the Grand Mohist’s group walk to a particular painting and step into it.
Buzz!
The Grand Mohist and her subordinate vanished from the palace hall.
“Let’s go quickly!” Gu Hai grabbed the bamboo-strip scroll that the item spirit pointed to, then rushed to where the Grand Mohist vanished.
“Hey! Wait! I have not finished yet!” the item spirit said anxiously as his expression changed.
However, Gu Hai did not have time to bother with the item spirit. When he arrived where the Grand Mohist vanished, there was a painting before him.
The painting was that of a long corridor with waterfalls and rivers alongside. Even though it was a painting, Gu Hai seemed to hear gushing water.
A palace hall lay at the end of the corridor.
“Soul Calling Hall?” Bing Ji said in shock as she frowned at the palace hall in the painting.
The two could see the Grand Mohist and her subordinate walking in the painting, heading towards the Soul Calling Hall and entering it.
“You cannot go in!” The item spirit anxiously gave chase.
“Let’s go!”
Gu Hai walked towards that painting with Bing Ji.
Buzz!
The two immediately vanished from the Soul Calling Hall, entering the painting.
Once Gu Hai and Bing Ji entered, they found themselves in another world.
“This is?” Gu Hai frowned.
“The world within the painting?” Bing Ji said curiously.
The river flowed in the surroundings, and the waterfalls crashed down rapidly. They looked real.
“Let’s go!”
The two headed down the corridor towards the Soul Calling Hall.
The Grand Mohist and her subordinate had entered the Soul Calling Hall.
Outside, the Cultural Dao Sage Palace’s item spirit appeared anxious as he called out, “You can’t go there! That is a restricted area!”
However, Gu Hai could not hear the sounds from outside.
Soon, the two arrived at the Soul Calling Hall’s entrance.
The doors were open, but the hall appeared very dark and eerie, with low visibility.
“Your Majesty, it looks very eerie. Should we enter?” Bing Ji asked worriedly.
“Let’s go!”
The two entered.
“Roar!”
“Roar!”
“Give me my life back!”
“I will drain your essence!”
“Souls! I want to eat souls!”
The moment the two entered, miserable cries rang out. What appeared to be malicious spirits pounced at Gu Hai and Bing Ji, trying to bite them and consume them.
Buzz!
Just then, a suction suddenly came from the black ball that Long Zhanguo gave Gu Hai.
Whoosh!
The suction pulled all the malicious spirits into the black ball.
Gasp!
Bing Ji inhaled sharply and trembled.
After the black ball sucked in the countless malicious spirits in the palace hall, the hall immediately turned bright.
There was an opened jade box in the center. The countless malicious spirits had come from it.
A powerful voice rang out. “The Ghost Sealing Box? It looks like the Supreme Ascendant’s group opened it to sabotage you. However, it no longer matters.”
“Huh?” Gu Hai’s face sank as he looked at the black ball in his hand.
The earlier voice had come from the black ball. It was Long Zhanguo’s voice.
Long Zhanguo’s voice came from the black ball again. “Well done. Gu Hai, just leave the black ball in this palace hall. You have already fulfilled our request. Quickly follow them. Take the third door on the left.”
“Alright.” Gu Hai nodded.
Gu Hai placed the black ball in the palace hall.
Whoosh!
A large amount of black liquid spurted from the black ball and spread through the palace hall. Then, what seemed like golden talisman scripts floated out of the black liquid.
Gu Hai watched with a frown before ignoring it. He looked around the Soul Calling Hall and saw many coffins lying there, more than a thousand.
A hall filled with coffins?
Gu Hai did not overthink this. He picked up the Ghost Sealing Box mentioned to have harmed him and headed for the third door on the left.
Boom!
The moment Gu Hai walked through the third door, more liquid erupted from the black ball, pouring out like a river and flooding the Soul Calling Hall. The torrent of black water even rushed towards Gu Hai.
Boom!
Gu Hai quickly closed the door behind himself.
The black water poured out endlessly, rushing in all directions. Soon, it flooded the entire Soul Calling Hall and spilled into the corridor outside. The rivers and waterfalls along the corridor turned black. The black water even poured out of the painting and into the Cultural Dao Sage Palace.
“What’s going on? What is this?” The Cultural Dao Sage Palace’s item spirit appeared confused.
Boom!
The black water continued flowing out, destroying everything in the Cultural Dao Sage Palace—the calligraphy Dao wall, the painting Dao wall, the music Dao wall, everything.
“No! No! Save me! No!” the item spirit cried out shrilly.
The black water drowned the item spirit in the next moment. The black water covered everything in the Cultural Dao Sage Palace, filling every nook and cranny.
Outside:
The Qian Nation soldiers surrounded Heavenly Yin City.
The Qian Heavenly Emperor stood on his platform, looking coldly at the Cultural Dao Sage Palace.
The sages frowned at the Qian Heavenly Emperor. After all, the Qian Heavenly Emperor’s threatening the Supreme Genesis earlier had upset them.
“Humph! The arbitrator of the Ten Thousand Sages Convention? Heaven gave you the chance to host the Ten Thousand Sages Convention. It is not for you to cause trouble and do as you please!”
“Are you planning to make enemies with the whole world?!”
“A heavenly dynasty’s heavenly emperor? Humph! I have seen many in my long life. There is nothing incredible about that!”
“You overestimate yourself!”
A hundred sages immediately criticized the Qian Heavenly Emperor.
“Humph!”
A cold snort rang out as Lifespan Beiming waved.
Rattle! Rattle!
A hundred chains appeared out of nowhere and shot at the sages.
“How dare you?!” the sages cried out furiously.
Rattle!
The chains immediately bound the one hundred sages who criticized the Qian Heavenly Emperor, pulling hard on them.
Boom!
The chains pulled the one hundred sages down from the clouds, causing them to crash into the plaza.
“To think that you insulted His Holy Eminence in the Qian Heavenly Dynasty! Behead them!” Lifespan Beiming said coldly.
“Hah!”
A group of soldiers rushed into the plaza, holding large sabers. Then, they raised the sabers at the one hundred chained sages.
“How dare you?!”
“You can’t kill me! My body was given by Heaven!”
The one hundred sages raged. However, they were helpless to do anything about the chains.
“Qian Heavenly Emperor!” The Future Buddha’s expression changed; he apparently wanted to plead for mercy.
One hundred Qian Nation executioners swung their sabers down.
Swish!
The heads of one hundred sages flew off.
“Killing heavenly servants? Is he starting a rebellion?” The Supreme Genesis’s expression changed.
