Within the immortal city, cultivators and beings of every race came and went, creating an immensely lively scene.
On both sides of the broad streets stood various shops, pavilions, and palaces, wreathed in cloud and misty haze. Deep within, divine light shimmered brilliantly, with many floating divine mountains and islands.
At first glance, it was not all that different from those ancient cities of the outside world.
Ji Yu led the Crescent Moon Sect group, first finding an inn to stay at for the night, before going off to meet with the ruler of the First Heaven with that purple-robed man.
Gu Xian'er and the others looked at the fluttering, ancient-styled flag outside the inn, unable to help but marvel. Even the simple inn they were lodging in seemed to exude a sense of ancient, weathered iron and blood.
The innkeeper was a portly, prosperous-looking middle-aged man whose cultivation was at the half-step Immortal Emperor realm.
If such a person were to appear in the outside world, it would certainly cause a sensation. Yet here in the Land of the Nine Heavens, it seemed rather commonplace.
"Truly worthy of being the Land of the Nine Heavens that countless cultivators and beings yearn for. This journey was not in vain..."
The elders and disciples of the Crescent Moon Sect were filled with deep emotion.
The innkeeper, hearing their tone, was also quite surprised. It had been a long time since the Land of the Nine Heavens had seen anyone from the outside world, and he was very curious about their origins. He then took the initiative to chat with them, proving to be extremely talkative.
Several elders of the Crescent Moon Sect also wanted to quickly learn about the Land of the Nine Heavens and thus began chatting with the innkeeper as well.
Only then did they learn that, aside from those with special statuses, once the inhabitants of the Land of the Nine Heavens left, they could never return.
Even if one memorized the route to the Land of the Nine Heavens, it was almost impossible to come back.
Because a certain eerie interference, akin to words becoming law, would appear from the unseen, causing one's memories to become confused. In the end, after circling around, they would return to where they started.
This was also the reason why the Land of the Nine Heavens had so many inhabitants, yet for so many years no strangers had come here.
Furthermore, even if someone with a special status managed to return to the Land of the Nine Heavens, if they wished to bring outsiders in, they still needed the consent of that Gravekeeper at the entrance...
Various factors like these caused the shroud of mystery around the Land of the Nine Heavens to grow thicker and thicker, with the outside world knowing less and less about it.
However, this didn't mean the Land of the Nine Heavens was uninformed about matters of the outside world.
During this period, the many major events occurring in the Vast Expanse had long since spread throughout every layer of the Nine Layered Heavens, stirring up widespread commotion.
Whether it was the Heaven-Slaying Alliance, the Alliance of Righteous Unity, or the Dark Clans, all had already become practically household "terms" in the Land of the Nine Heavens.
Even the Immortal Dao Alliance, which was about to be established during this time, had long since become known throughout the Land of the Nine Heavens.
But unlike the trembling anxiety and urgent unease felt by the various races and true worlds of the outside, the inhabitants of the Land of the Nine Heavens viewed these matters with the attitude of spectators, feeling it was none of their concern. They believed the flames of war could never reach the Land of the Nine Heavens.
The Land of the Nine Heavens had always remained transcendent beyond the world, untouched by external karma.
Even if a dark calamity descended, it could still remain unaffected.
In some large gambling dens within the Land of the Nine Heavens, one could even see various clan forces participating, setting up betting pools to guess which outside faction would be the first to fall and be swallowed up.
Many cultivators and beings, when chatting idly over tea or after meals, would also talk freely about external affairs, discussing the dynamics and situation outside, as if commanding authority and commenting on the vast landscape of the Vast Expanse.
The members of the Crescent Moon Sect, listening to the innkeeper talk about these things, were all stunned speechless, deeply shaken, and for a long time could say nothing.
This feeling was complex and hard to describe, filling their hearts with both bitterness and bewilderment.
Was this not akin to the merchant's daughter who knows not her kingdom's fall, still singing songs of the pleasure quarters across the river?
The situation in the Vast Expanse outside was already so urgent and turbulent that clan and orthodox factions who had been in seclusion for countless ages had all stepped forward and begun choosing sides, lest a single misstep bring the calamity of annihilation.
The land of darkness that once sealed the Lord of the Dark Calamity was also approaching the Vast Expanse, and before long would connect with the myriad worlds...
The reappearance of the Lord of Heaven's Proxy in the world meant that boundless darkness would once again shroud the land.
How could the beings within the Land of the Nine Heavens be so leisurely and content? Did they truly believe that the calamity would not reach them?
For a moment, the hearts of the Crescent Moon Sect members were heavy.
Although in Ji Yu's introduction, the Land of the Nine Heavens was indeed transcendent, free from external strife, and stood apart from all worlds,
now in their eyes, the inhabitants here were merely a group of ignorant fools born in hardship and content in comfort.
Gu Xian'er remained silent, only feeling a deeper sense of urgency in her heart.
"This is unreliable..."
Lan Xin could not help but murmur, her beautiful eyes filled with worry.
"Without witnessing the might of the Dark Beings firsthand, relying solely on hearsay, it is indeed difficult to truly comprehend that despair." A Crescent Moon Sect elder sighed.
Before the Dark Clans reappeared in the Vast Expanse, they too had not taken those legends and records seriously.
They had even believed that the past Black Calamity Catastrophe was somewhat exaggerated, that the Black Calamity Era had merely been embellished by later generations.
However, the day they witnessed with their own eyes the endless dark tide surging from the other side of the embankment defense line, everyone profoundly understood what oppression felt like, what despair was.
And such cruelty and despair was still far from reaching even one percent of the Black Calamity Era.
"Miss Xian'er, you must be wary of that Ji Yu. On the journey here, he kept his connections to the Land of the Nine Heavens secret, refusing to reveal the slightest bit. Now that we've arrived, he's shown his true colors, not even bothering to pretend anymore."
"There must be something on you that he wants. Although the Land of the Nine Heavens is transcendent, how much difference is there really from those true worlds outside? In fact, the inhabitants here are even more arrogant and ignorant."
The inn's rooms were like cave abodes, filled with immortal mist. Jade beds, tables, stools, incense burners, and meditation cushions were all fully provided.
Four people to a room, and it just so happened that Gu Xian'er, Qing Nan, Lan Xin, and the woman in white shared one.
After returning to their room and confirming no one was spying or probing, Qing Nan softly spoke.
She wore a loose cyan robe, her hair bound with a wooden hairpin. Her features were correct and delicate, with a pair of especially clear and bright eyes that were very striking, giving off a warm, down-to-earth feeling.
Along the journey, perhaps because she had been saved by Gu Xian'er, she had grown closer to Gu Xian'er and the others, while having little interaction with the Crescent Moon Sect members.
Hearing this, Gu Xian'er smiled in return. "Sister Qing Nan, rest assured, I understand. Ji Yu has always been coveting the legacy that Senior Mad Granny left for me. His intentions are impure. Back at the Crescent Moon Sect, he already had conflicts with me, and I've been on guard against him all along."
She didn't know why, but she held a certain fondness for Qing Nan, the woman they had rescued partway through their journey. Thus, she didn't mind revealing such private matters.
Gu Xian'er also thought it might be because Qing Nan's brows and eyes always gave her a familiar feeling, even bearing a slight resemblance to someone at first glance.
So sometimes, when she stared at Qing Nan, she would inexplicably fall into reminiscence.
This often made Qing Nan feel strange and puzzled, prompting her to ask if there was something on her face.
Such simple and naive questions always caught Gu Xian'er off guard, causing her great embarrassment. Later, realizing the reason, her cheeks would even flush red, at one point making Lan Xin suspect she had certain... preferences.
Thus, facing Qing Nan, whose mind seemed so plain and simple, sometimes as if missing a screw, Gu Xian'er gradually let go of her initial guarded caution and slowly became familiar with her.
"The Land of the Nine Heavens is a place where we know no one and nothing. It's always good to keep an extra eye open."
"But Miss Xian'er, you may rest assured. You saved my life and I am indebted to you. If Ji Yu tries anything against you, I will naturally find a way to protect you." Qing Nan spoke earnestly, her crystalline, jade-green eyes revealing sincerity.
Gu Xian'er felt somewhat moved and shook her head with a smile. "Sister Qing Nan, you needn't worry too much. No matter how bold Ji Yu is, he probably wouldn't dare do anything to me right now. Now that you've come to the Land of the Nine Heavens, you should focus on your cultivation and strive to avenge your master soon."
Qing Nan nodded upon hearing this.
Even so, Gu Xian'er still had many worries in her heart. She naturally had no fear of any open schemes from Ji Yu.
But she feared Ji Yu might resort to underhanded tricks, like targeting Senior Sister Lan Xin beside her.
"Elder Chen Yi went to the Heaven-Slaying Alliance, and her life or death is still unknown. This has filled Senior Sister Lan Xin with deep hatred and resentment towards the Heaven-Slaying Alliance. And back then, I told Ji Yu that I came from the Heaven-Slaying Alliance. This matter could very easily be exploited by Ji Yu..." she sighed inwardly.
Senior Sister Lan Xin had always taken care of her, just like a true older sister.
Yet at a time like this, she couldn't even assure her about Elder Chen Yi's safety. Not to mention, what the current situation of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance in the Vast Expanse truly was, Gu Xian'er had no idea.
"Senior, have you recently recovered more of your memories?"
Gu Xian'er had a headache. Even Big Red Bird had been listless lately, hiding in his sumeru ring. This left her with no one to confide her innermost thoughts to, forced to suppress them in her heart.
However, the only thing that could currently be considered good news was that the woman in white, whose origins were a mystery and whom she had accidentally saved, was in a much better state than before.
Her cultivation and strength were also recovering at a rapid pace. Presumably in a while longer, she would be able to return to her former peak.
It was just that her memories seemed to be extremely fragmented and broken. Her soul had likely been severely wounded by someone, causing her to be unable to recall many things.
Gu Xian'er often saw her staring blankly at a certain spot, as if trying with all her might to remember something. But each time, the pain would cause her memories to break off, and in the end, she would recall nothing.
"I have recovered some, but not much."
The woman in white wore a light veil, her dark brows like distant mountains, naturally dark without any makeup. Her stature was graceful and tall, breathtakingly lovely. Upon hearing this, she merely shook her head, her tone cool and detached.
"Has Senior recalled your origins?" Gu Xian'er asked with a hint of expectation.
The woman in white still shook her head. "No, but I have remembered my enemy."
Hearing this, Gu Xian'er grew even more curious and ventured a guess. "Senior's enemy must surely be the most vicious and merciless kind of person."
She had seen the woman in white's true face with her own eyes. That kind of beauty, as if it shouldn't even exist in this world, merely furrowing her brow seemed enough to break one's heart. What kind of person, capable of wounding her so severely, could be described with mere words like "vicious and merciless"?
If it were her, she wouldn't even bear to harm this white-clad senior so grievously.
"Far more than just vicious and merciless. He is an out-and-out wicked villain."
The woman in white's cool tone finally seemed to ripple with emotion at this moment. Gu Xian'er even detected a hint of gnashing teeth.
Her beautiful eyes widened, utterly shocked. What could have possibly happened to make this profoundly transcendent and otherworldly, cold and otherworldly senior so angry that she was grinding her teeth?
Lan Xin beside them couldn't help but show a strange expression.
Even Qing Nan, who had already seated herself cross-legged on the jade bed and closed her eyes to rest, opened her eyes and looked over.
The woman in white seemed to realize something was off with her tone and quickly reverted to her cool, faint demeanor. "I can't remember many things clearly, but the one thing I remember very distinctly is that he gave me much humiliation and torment..."
These words once again sent Gu Xian'er and Lan Xin into flights of imagination, feeling something indescribably strange, yet unable to pinpoint exactly what.
Early the next morning, a commotion arose outside the inn, waking Gu Xian'er and the others from their meditation.
Many disciples and elders of the Crescent Moon Sect went out curiously to see what was happening.
The usually bustling street had been cleared, leaving an open area. In front of the inn, the innkeeper stood there, stunned and at a loss.
Ji Yu, his expression ugly, stood beside his protector, Uncle Lan, and a purple-robed man with a somewhat sinister complexion who wore a crown adorned with seven stars.
Before them were several young men and women, their bodies wreathed in divine radiance, bearing extraordinary presence. They followed beside an old man wearing a grayish-white robe, his hair graying but his spirit vigorous and sharp, all seemingly waiting for something.
"Isn't that the master of the Purple Star Palace of the First Heaven, the Purple Star Great Sage?"
"It can't be wrong. It's absolutely the Purple Star Great Sage. Hundreds of thousands of years ago, he once lectured on the Dao at a corner of the Heavenly Sea. I had the fortune to listen. Though I was far away at the time, I saw him very clearly. This aura is definitely his..."
"Why would the Purple Star Great Sage appear in a place like this? And who are these people? Did they come from another heaven?"
In the distance, many cultivators and beings who saw this scene were all shaken and astonished, unable to believe their eyes.
The ruler of the First Heaven, the Purple Star Great Sage, a mighty existence who had passed five Heavenly Decline Tribulations, as elusive as a divine dragon, was actually standing outside the door of an inn.
How could this not shock and astound people?
Was some peerless expert reclusively living in this small inn?
And from the current situation, this Purple Star Great Sage even seemed to be overlooked. Though clearly the ruler of the First Heaven, he now appeared like an outsider.
"What happened?"
Several elders of the Crescent Moon Sect emerged from the inn and were equally shocked and shaken by the sight.
Among them, the elder with the deepest cultivation felt his entire body tense up the moment the smiling old man before him swept his gaze over. He felt as if all his secrets had been seen through.
"Excuse me, is there anyone here with the surname Gu?" the old man in the grayish-white robe asked with a genial smile, his tone warm and amiable.