The setting sun was beautiful, but dusk was approaching.
A few solitary birds flew across the sky as golden light poured down from above.
Arriving in front of the stone stele, Jiu You bit his finger and let a drop of blood fall onto it.
With a loud "rumble," explosions echoed from all directions.
The ground beneath their feet began to crack, with fissures spreading outward, followed by a temple slowly rising from beneath the earth.
“What’s this?” Xu Zimo asked.
“The God Temple. It can only be opened with our divine blood. Normally this is one of our contact points, no one else can detect it,” Jiu You replied.
The temple wasn’t very large. Its exterior was a pale white, built from a special crystalline material.
The top of the temple was brown. A large door was tightly shut.
There were no windows on either side, and two silver-colored copper rings were attached to the door.
Jiu You stepped forward, grasped the copper rings, and pushed hard. With a creaking sound, the long-sealed doors were opened.
As if untouched by fresh air for many years, a cloud of dust burst out. The air inside was thick with particles.
The two entered the temple, which was simply furnished.
On either side hung pale yellow curtains, and three meditation cushions were placed below.
At the head of the hall stood a statue.
The statue was entirely blue, with deep blue eyes and an extremely handsome appearance.
It had eight wings, four on each side, and sat solemnly in the lead position, gazing forward.
Within its azure eyes, it seemed as if thousands of divine realms were evolving.
Clearly, no one had visited this temple in a long time. Aside from the statue, the altar table before it was covered in dust.
Jiu You walked behind the statue and pressed gently on its back. It turned out to be hollow inside.
Inside was a box. Jiu You opened it to find it completely empty.
“Looks like no one’s been here in ages,” Jiu You said.
“We should head to the God Valley next. The chances are better there.”
“Who’s being worshipped here?” Xu Zimo asked.
“The Sovereign God,” Jiu You replied. “Said to be the former ruler of our God Race, someone powerful enough to rival the Demon Race. But those times were long ago. Even we descendants know little about it.”
“Let’s go,” Xu Zimo said, glancing at the statue a few more times before leaving the temple.
Once the two exited, the temple sank back underground, and the cracks in the earth sealed as if nothing had happened.
...
As the two headed toward the God Valley, Xu Zimo asked, “Can you tell me about the God and Demon Races?”
“What do you want to know?” Jiu You asked.
“No rush. Just tell me everything you know,” Xu Zimo said.
“I don’t know that much either. Both my parents were descendants of the God Race. I’ve lived here since birth. Although our bloodline is weak, it can still be awakened. This battlefield isn’t just home to divine descendants, there are also demon descendants. Both groups uphold the traditions of their ancestors. There are frequent secret skirmishes between us,” Jiu You explained.
“Millions of years ago, during the God-Demon Era, there was said to be a great war here. No one saw the battle directly, but the sound of it shook all four domains, and the tremors were felt across the entire Eternal Lands. After that battle, both the God and Demon Races disappeared. Some say they all died. Others say they were sealed away. There are many theories.”
Xu Zimo pondered for a moment and retrieved the Demon Locking Bell from his storage ring.
The somewhat damaged bell spun in his palm, exuding an ancient, boundless aura, as if awaiting some mysterious call.
“You think this Demon Locking Bell was used to imprison members of the Demon Race?” Xu Zimo asked.
“That’s just a guess. We’re not even sure if it’s really the Demon Locking Bell,” Jiu You replied.
“I saw records in some of our race’s books. They said that if we couldn’t kill powerful demons quickly, we’d trap them inside the bell and seal them.
It was considered one of our clan’s greatest treasures.”
“How far are we from the God Valley?” Xu Zimo asked.
He noticed that the further they walked, the darker the ground beneath their feet became.
From a higher perspective, one would see a blue sky overhead.
But as they neared the horizon, the sky grew darker, more blood-red.
In this space, Xu Zimo vaguely sensed the long-lost aura of demonic energy.
“Still some distance to go,” Jiu You shook his head.
By now, night was falling. The setting sun had disappeared, and an autumn wind howled through the land.
So far, Xu Zimo hadn’t encountered much danger.
But neither had he come across any treasures.
He looked up at the gloomy sky. A full moon hung high overhead.
It was a strange moon, half was a blood moon, the other half a blue moon.
The two halves seemed to repel each other. The entire moon radiated a mysterious aura.
“Let’s rest for the night and continue tomorrow,” Jiu You suggested. “I haven’t been here in a long time. I don’t want to go the wrong way.”
Xu Zimo nodded, not in a rush.
The two found a large tree to rest under. The trees in this battlefield had a divine nature and grew to towering heights.
Jiu You lit a fire and sat against the tree.
She hugged her knees, staring blankly at the moon overhead.
“What’s wrong?” Xu Zimo asked with a smile.
“I miss my parents,” Jiu You said with a soft laugh. “I can’t forget the scene under the blood moon that night, my family lying in pools of blood.”
“You’re almost ready for revenge,” Xu Zimo said with a slight smile, leaning his head against the tree.
Just then, the sound of footsteps approached from the side.
“Who’s there?” Jiu You quickly turned, alert.
Three people emerged from the distance, two men and one woman, all wearing matching purple robes.
“Don’t be alarmed. We just saw your firelight and wanted to rest here too,” said the young man in the lead, smiling.
“Wind Thunder Tower?” Jiu You asked cautiously, recognizing their robes.
“Yes, yes,” the three quickly nodded.
As they approached, the firelight revealed their worn and disheveled faces, with hair in disarray and dried blood covering their clothes.
“What happened to you?” Jiu You asked.
“Don’t mention it. A demon stronghold up ahead was opened. We got ambushed and barely escaped with our lives,” the man shook his head.
Then he looked at Jiu You and smiled, “I’m Feng Changnian. This is my junior brother Feng Changyin, and junior sister Feng Yuer. You two are rouge cultivators, right?”