"Little master, don't you feel something is wrong?" Jiu You suddenly asked.
"I noticed. We're surrounded." Xiao Man looked at the empty square and said faintly. The place that should have been ruins had changed its scenery. Pavilions and towers, birds and beasts, and people coming and going.
Xiao Man closed her eyes and opened them again. Nothing had changed.
At this moment, a sonorous bell rang, striking twelve times. Countless disciples began to gather on the square. Xiao Man stood at the forefront, watching the tall disciples quickly assemble. The disciples of the Sky Shield Sect had excellent physical qualities and were tall, making them the best meat shields.
Xiao Man couldn't hear what they were saying, only knew what was happening. The sect leader of the Sky Shield Sect was announcing something. At this moment, countless meteorites fell from the sky. Things happened too fast for the Sky Shield Sect to react. The Sky Shield Sect, which had been suspended in the air, sank into the ground under this fierce attack!
"Is this a natural disaster?"
"This is not a natural disaster, it is man-made!" Jiu You explained. "This is the Meteor Fire Stone from the Dustless Dao, specifically designed to counter the defenses of Sky Shield Sect disciples. No wonder the resentment is so strong. Not a single Sky Shield Sect disciple could escape, all perishing in this Meteor Fire Stone rain."
"Doesn't the Sky Shield Sect have a Nascent Soul stage mighty figure?" Xiao Man asked. "Can't a Nascent Soul stage mighty figure withstand this Meteor Fire Stone?"
"Meteor Fire Stone also has a name called Divine Stone. This kind of stone can imprison the cultivation of cultivators, making them unable to resist."
"What a good thing. If I take a piece of this stone back, can I kill a Nascent Soul stage mighty figure?"
"Your thoughts are beautiful!" Jiu You said with disdain. If it could roll its eyes, it would have rolled them to the heavens. "Ordinary people cannot touch Meteor Fire Stones at all. To mobilize such a large area of Meteor Fire Stones is not something humans can do. The Sky Shield Sect has encountered divine punishment!"
"Divine punishment?" Xiao Man narrowed her eyes. She was very averse to the words "divine punishment." The Qin Dynasty imperial family of the past was burned to ashes. In the vast imperial city, not a single person escaped. Thinking about it carefully, it was remarkably similar to the scene of the Sky Shield Sect.
"With such a feat, who else could do it but a god?"
"Jiu You, do you think there are really gods in this world?"
"My master once said that gods are also humans, with emotions and desires, and they make mistakes. Since gods are human, can humans also become gods?"
"So, your master was suppressed not because he cultivated demonic arts, but because he attempted to replace God?" Xiao Man asked faintly. Yu Ju wanted to replace God, hence he was suppressed. Why was the Sky Shield Sect destroyed? Not even a trace of the Sky Shield Sect's existence remained!
Then who destroyed the Qin imperial city, and was it the same person who destroyed the Sky Shield Sect?
"Little master, what are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking, what exactly is this Meteor Fire Stone, and why can it restrain cultivators? With such a thing existing, isn't it against the rules?"
"My master also said that there are many things in this world that are against the rules. Cultivating demons, like cultivating immortals, leads to the same destination, ultimately to achieve oneself."
"But human cognition is limited, and people are deliberately misled. Cultivating immortals is highly respected, while cultivating demons has become a public enemy." Xiao Man interjected, "What kind of person was your master?"
"My master is a very arrogant person!" Jiu You thought for a long time before saying this. "He always says shocking things, he always thinks he's the best in the world. Although he cultivates demons, although he is arrogant, he only kills those who deserve to be killed. If such a person is an irredeemable sinner, then what kind of person is good?"
"No one is absolutely good, and no one is absolutely evil. It depends on how you define it." Xiao Man looked at the Sky Shield Sect, once one of the four great sects, inexplicably destroyed. A strange thought flashed through her mind, but she couldn't grasp it.
"Little master, will you end up like my old master one day?" Jiu You's voice became somewhat dejected. It didn't know what fate awaited it. The reason it could escape calamity was that its old master had timely broken the contract, saving it from destruction.
"I don't know." Xiao Man walked forward. The scene before her was tragic. This was a slaughter, indiscriminate slaughter. The six sects besieging the Five Poison Sect was nothing compared to the annihilation of the Sky Shield Sect, a mere trifle!
"However, I will not sit idly by!"
Jiu You flickered, as if laughing mockingly.
Xiao Man glanced at it without speaking, because she understood that her words sounded weak. Even such a powerful sect could be annihilated overnight, let alone her!
"Little master, do you feel something is very wrong?" Jiu You stopped.
"We haven't felt right since we entered here." Xiao Man's gaze shifted forward. They had walked in a circle and returned to the square, back to the headless statue, or rather, they had never left this square at all. Xiao Man stared at the headless statue. Was it calling her?
"We're back where we started."
"No, we have never left from beginning to end!" Xiao Man said calmly. "Everything we saw was an illusion. We have been within the range of this statue."
"Is there something wrong with this statue?"
Xiao Man walked up to the statue, picked up the head that had fallen to the side, brushed off the dust, then leaped onto the statue's shoulder and placed the head back.
A majestic statue, with a confident and gentle expression, as if everything was within its grasp.
Xiao Man leaped down. When she looked back, she broke out in a cold sweat. The statue's eyes were looking at her!
"Master, has this person come to life?"
"How can a statue come to life?" Xiao Man comforted herself. "It must be my eyes playing tricks on me."
Xiao Man took a deep breath. When she looked again, she couldn't help but swallow. The statue was indeed looking at her, its eyes even turning, as if it were a living person.
"Senior, we were persecuted by villains and unintentionally stumbled in here. We did not intend to disturb you, please forgive us."
The statue's eyes turned again, as if pondering the truth of Xiao Man's words: "Who are you?"
A voice echoed in Xiao Man's mind, like a thunderous bell, making her heart unstable, but she forced herself to calm down: "I am Xiao Qin, a rogue cultivator."
"Rogue cultivator, no. You have a familiar scent." The voice sounded again. "It's the scent of a curse."