The white-haired man,who had been silently watching the entire conversation,finally moved.He stepped closer to Xu Yang and he smiled."Now you're thinking correctly."Xu Yang looked at him."You knew this?"The man's smile disappeared."I suspected it."Xu Yang frowned."Then why didn't you tell us?" The white-haired man looked toward the threads."Because knowledge given too early can become another kind of chain."
Yan Luo's expression sharpened."You speak as if you've seen this before."The white-haired man simply looked toward the shrine. "I've seen what happens when people try to control something they don't understand. "Chen Yu frowned."And what happened?" The man looked at him. "Everything they tried to control eventually controlled them." Lin Chen glanced uneasily at the threads. "That's exactly what happened here."The white-haired man nodded once."Yes."Xu Yang looked back toward the sky."Then there has to be a way to restore them."
Qing Li slowly stepped toward the center of the shrine."There is."Everyone turned toward him.Qing Li's eyes moved toward the stone under their feet."But we need to find the source first."Chen Yu immediately asked,"The First Weaver?"Qing Li nodded. "The First Weaver created the original threads."He looked toward the enormous network."If we want to understand what they were meant to be,we need to understand the one who created them."
Yan Luo folded his arms."Then where is the First Weaver now?"Qing Li became silent and wind passed through the shrine, carrying several white petals across the floor. Qing Li's eyes lowered for a moment before he finally answered."Gone."Lin Chen frowned."Gone?""Yes."Qing Li looked toward the deepest part of the shrine."No one knows whether the First Weaver died, disappeared,or simply left this world."
Chen Yu stepped closer."Then how can we find something that no one knows is still alive?"Qing Li slowly shook his head."We don't need to find the First Weaver."Xu Yang's eyes narrowed."Then what do we need?"Qing Li's gaze shifted toward the Heart Blossom."Before disappearing..."He paused."...the First Weaver left something behind."Xu Yang noticed the hesitation in Qing Li's expression and took a step forward."What did it leave?"Qing Li looked around the shrine.Grand Elder and heavenly members exchanged uneasy glances.Lin Chen noticed their reaction."Why are they afraid?"Qing Li's eyes hardened."Because some knowledge was forbidden."
Chen Yu looked toward the Heavenly cultivators."What did Heaven forbid people from knowing?"Xiao Ren immediately lowered his head and Mu Chen quietly stepped backward.Qing Li's expression became colder."The truth about the First Weaver."Xu Yang's grip tightened around the Heart Blossom."What truth?"Qing Li finally looked directly at him."The First Weaver did not leave behind a weapon..It left behind a heart."
Everyone froze.Xu Yang stared at him."A heart?"Qing Li slowly nodded.He pointed toward the Heart Blossom in Xu Yang's hand."Not that flower."Then he pointed toward the center of the shrine."Something much older."The white-haired man's expression immediately changed.He walked toward the floor and knelt beside an ancient circular pattern that had been hidden beneath layers of dust and broken stone. "This formation..."he murmured.
Xu Yang stepped closer."What is it?"The man brushed his fingers across the carved symbol and faint golden light immediately traveled through the lines beneath his hand. The entire formation began glowing."It's a seal."Chen Yu's eyes widened."A seal protecting the heart?"The white-haired man shook his head slowly."No."He looked toward the deepest part of the shrine."A seal keeping something inside."
The ground suddenly trembled and deep, pulsing sound echoed from beneath them.It sounded almost like a heartbeat.Everyone went silent then sound came again.Xu Yang's eyes widened as the Heart Blossom in his hand suddenly began glowing."That... "he whispered."Did you hear that?"Hei Long slowly stepped closer,his face pale."It sounds like..."Another pulse shook the shrine."...a heartbeat."
Qing Li stared at the ground in disbelief."The Heart of the First Weaver."The moment he said those words,the Heart Blossom reacted violently and brilliant light burst from the crystal flower,and a rose-shaped symbol appeared across the ancient formation.The Threads above the shrine suddenly stopped moving.Every black strand turned toward Xu Yang at once.
Xu Yang's expression changed."Why are they looking at me?"Qing Li's eyes widened."Because they recognized the Heart Blossom."Yan Luo immediately drew his weapon."Everyone,stay alert."The Heavenly cultivators were ready to fight as the ground cracked open.A massive circular staircase slowly emerged beneath the shrine,leading downward into complete darkness.
From somewhere below,a faint sound echoed through the chamber.A voice so old that it seemed to belong to the mountain itself whispered through the darkness. "Who..."The group froze.The Heart Blossom shone brighter in Xu Yang's hand."...has awakened..."The threads trembled violently above them."...my heart?"Xu Yang looked down at the Heart Blossom in his hand.The crystal flower was glowing brighter than before,and faint silver light was slowly spreading through the veins of the petals. "That voice..."he murmured,his eyes fixed on the flower."It sounded like it came from beneath us."
Qing Li's expression became tense.He immediately stepped closer and lowered his voice."Don't answer it yet."Chen Yu turned toward him,confusion appearing on his face."Why?"Qing Li glanced toward the dark staircase,his eyes filled with caution. "Because we don't know whether the First Weaver is speaking..."He paused as another deep pulse echoed from below."...or whether something else learned how to use its voice."
Xu Yang's fingers tightened around the Heart Blossom."You think it could be a trap?""I think,"Qing Li answered carefully, "that anything capable of surviving beneath this shrine for thousands of years is something we cannot approach carelessly." Yan Luo looked toward the staircase,his expression cold and alert."Then we don't separate."He raised one hand slightly. "Whatever is waiting below,we face it together."Hei Long quietly moved closer to Qing Li."Do you think that voice knows we're here?"Qing Li looked at the glowing Heart Blossom."It already knows."
The moment he finished speaking,the walls suddenly illuminated a ancient lines of silver light spread across the stone pillars like veins,traveling rapidly from one pillar to another until the entire shrine was covered in glowing patterns.The broken statues surrounding the chamber began to tremble and their stone heads slowly turned toward Xu Yang.One after another,their empty eyes ignited with pale silver light.Lin Chen took a step backward."Did those statues just move?"Chen Yu immediately raised his staff."They did."Lin Chen stared at them nervously. "That's not something statues are supposed to do."Yan Luo raised his hand and his voice became firm."Everyone stay together.Don't touch anything."
One of the statues suddenly opened its stone mouth,but no sound came out. Instead,a thin silver thread emerged from inside its chest and connected to the floor. Xu Yang stared at it."They're connected to the formation."Qing Li nodded."They're guardians."Chen Yu glanced toward him. "Guardians of what?"Qing Li looked toward the staircase."The heart."The floor beneath them suddenly flashed with silver light,and the stone surface became transparent like a sheet of crystal.
Far below them,an enormous underground chamber appeared.The chamber was so vast that its edges disappeared into darkness.At its center floated something that looked like a gigantic crystal heart.It wasn't beating like a human heart.Instead, each pulse released thousands of thin threads that traveled outward through the walls and disappeared into the earth.Xu Yang stared at it,his breath catching in his throat."That's..."The white-haired man quietly finished his sentence."The Heart of the First Weaver."
Chen Yu's eyes widened as he looked at the enormous crystal structure."It's been down there all this time?"Qing Li slowly nodded. "The First Weaver disappeared,but its heart remained."Lin Chen looked toward the Threads spreading from the heart."Then every Thread in the world is connected to that?""Yes."Qing Li's voice was quiet."Every Thread was born from that source."
Yan Luo's expression became grim as he studied the enormous heart."Then if Heaven corrupted the Threads..."Qing Li looked toward the heart with a heavy expression. "They corrupted its connection to the world." Chen Yu frowned."So the corruption didn't begin with Shou Heng.""No."Qing Li shook his head."Shou Heng became trapped inside something that was already damaged."Hei Long's eyes darkened."Then he was never the beginning of all this."
Qing Li looked at him."No.He was one of the people caught in the consequences."Hei Long clenched his fists."Then maybe..."His voice became quiet."...he can still be saved."Qing Li didn't answer,his gaze shifted toward the enormous heart beneath them.Xu Yang continued staring at the heart. "Then restoring the heart could restore every thread."The white-haired man looked at him."Perhaps."Xu Yang turned toward him."You don't sound certain."
The man shook his head."Because restoring something is different from awakening it."Xu Yang frowned."What's the difference?"The white-haired man's golden eyes remained fixed on the heart."If the heart wakes in the wrong state,it may not restore the threads." His voice became colder."It could amplify everything inside them."
Chen Yu's expression tightened."Including the corruption?""Including grief."The words caused Hei Long to freeze.The white-haired man continued,"Every memory Heaven forced into the threads.Every emotion that was suppressed.Every regret that was never allowed to disappear.If the heart absorbs all of it..."He paused."...the entire world may begin experiencing those emotions at once."Lin Chen's face paled."You mean everyone's memories could collapse together?" "Not only memories."The white-haired man's gaze moved across the group."Fear, Regret, Anger, Loss and Love. Everything carried by the threads could spill into reality."Yan Luo's expression hardened. "Then we cannot simply wake it."
Xu Yang looked down at the Heart Blossom. "But we still need to restore it."Qing Li nodded."Yes."Xu Yang's eyes narrowed. "Then what do we do?"The white-haired man looked directly at him."The heart must recognize a connection that hasn't been corrupted."Xu Yang stared at him."And you think that's me?"The man didn't answer immediately.His gaze dropped toward the rose mark on Xu Yang's hand."I think the shrine does."Xu Yang looked down at his palm.The rose-shaped mark beneath his skin had begun glowing again and silver light moved through its petals like something was breathing beneath his skin.He touched it cautiously. "Why me?"Chen Yu looked at the mark with concern."Maybe because of that mark."Xu Yang frowned."
The white-haired man looked toward the Heart Blossom in Xu Yang's hand."Because the shrine recognized its bearer." Xu Yang stared at the flower."Bearer..."he repeated. "The same title that mirror mentioned."Qing Li's eyes widened slightly. "You remember?" Xu Yang nodded."The mirror called me the Bearer of the Heart Blossom."Chen Yu looked between them."Then the mirror wasn't simply showing you memories."
Qing Li's expression became serious."It was identifying you."Xu Yang's gaze returned to the enormous heart beneath them."But if I really am the bearer..."He slowly clenched his fingers around the Heart Blossom. "... what happens if I place it there?"The shrine suddenly trembled and deep pulse rose from beneath the transparent floor,and every thread in the chamber below suddenly turned toward Xu Yang.The statues surrounding them lowered their heads at the same time.Xu Yang's eyes widened."I think we already have our answer."Yan Luo immediately stepped forward."Wait."Xu Yang looked at him. "What?"Yan Luo pointed toward the staircase."The shrine is responding to you."He narrowed his eyes."But we still don't know whether it wants to welcome you..."His gaze shifted toward the glowing statues."...or consume you."
Xu Yang looked at the Heart Blossom.Then he looked toward the darkness below."Either way..."His expression slowly hardened. "...we need to find out."Qing Li immediately caught his arm."Xu Yang."Xu Yang looked at him.Qing Li's expression was unusually serious."If you go down there,you may not be able to come back the same."Xu Yang was silent for a moment.Then he gave a faint,almost tired smile."After everything that has happened to me..."He looked toward the enormous heart beneath the shrine."I'm beginning to think coming back the same was never an option."
The Heart Blossom suddenly released a brilliant pulse of light and staircase illuminated step by step,leading downward into the chamber where the First Weaver waited.And from the darkness below,a second voice whispered through the shrine. "Come..."Everyone froze.Xu Yang's expression changed.The voice continued, softer this time."Bearer..."The rose mark on Xu Yang's hand burned with light."...return what was taken." Xu Yang stared into the darkness."What was taken?"No answer came immediately.
Instead,Heart blossom pulsed again,and a thin silver thread slipped out from the darkness below.It rose through the staircase and stopped directly in front of Xu Yang, slowly curling around his wrist without touching him.Xu Yang lowered his eyes toward it."You want me to follow you?"The Thread suddenly tightened and pulled him one step toward the staircase.Xu Yang's expression changed."Wait..."
Chen Yu immediately stepped forward."Xu Yang,don't move."Xu Yang tried to pull his hand back,but the thread didn't release him.Instead,the rose mark on his wrist suddenly flared,and for a brief instant,a strange image appeared inside the silver thread a small child's hand reaching toward another child's hand beneath a moonlit sky. Xu Yang froze.His breathing stopped for a moment."What...was that?"
Qing Li's expression changed instantly."You saw something?"Xu Yang stared at the thread."A memory."Yan Luo narrowed his eyes."Whose?"Xu Yang slowly shook his head."I don't know."The thread suddenly released him and pointed toward the darkness below.Chen Yu looked at it suspiciously."It showed you something before asking you to follow."Xu Yang's expression became serious."Maybe it wasn't asking me."He looked toward the enormous heart."Maybe it was reminding me."Lin Chen frowned."Reminding you of what?"Xu Yang tightened his fingers around the Heart Blossom."That's what I'm going to find out."Qing Li immediately grabbed his sleeve."Then don't go alone."Xu Yang looked at him."Qing Li!"
The Heart Blossom continued glowing in Xu Yang's hand,its light pulsing in rhythm with the enormous crystal heart beneath the shrine.For a moment, everyone remained completely still.The darkness below seemed to breathe with every pulse of the heart,and thousands of threads moved through the walls.Then suddenly,a violent golden light descended through the broken ceiling.The entire shrine flashed brightly,and everyone instinctively raised their arms to shield their eyes.A powerful pressure spread across the chamber,forcing loose stones and broken pieces of wood to rise from the ground before crashing back down.
A group of remaining Heavenly cultivators descended through the opening,landing around the entrance of the shrine.Their robes moved violently in the spiritual wind, and golden seals appeared beneath their feet.Tian Xuan stepped forward.His eyes immediately locked onto the enormous crystal heart beneath the transparent floor."Seal the chamber."Several Heavenly cultivators immediately raised their hands and Golden formations appeared across the broken pillars,one after another,and began connecting around the staircase.
Chen Yu stepped forward,his staff striking the ground with a sharp sound."You're still trying to stop us?"Grand elder Tian Xuan looked directly at him."You don't understand what you're awakening."Xu Yang stepped between them.His eyes remained fixed on Tian Xuan."Then tell us...If you know something we don't,then stop hiding behind orders and explain what is beneath this shrine."Grand elder stared at Xu Yang for several seconds.His gaze eventually dropped toward the Heart Blossom glowing in Xu Yang's hand."The First Weaver..."he said slowly."...was not merely a creator."The surrounding cultivators became silent. Grand elder continued,"It possessed the ability to connect every living mind in existence."
Lin Chen's eyes widened."Every person?" "Every person."Grand elder looked toward the crystal heart."Every memory,Every emotion,Every bond and Every thought that could be connected through the threads could eventually become part of one vast network."Chen Yu's expression changed. "Then the First Weaver could hear everyone's thoughts?"The Heavenly leader shook his head."Not exactly."He looked toward the heart with an expression that seemed almost fearful."It didn't need to control them.It allowed them to understand one another."
Qing Li's eyes hardened."Just as we said." Tian Xuan ignored him."But if that connection is restored completely..."He paused."...Heaven will lose its ability to control the Threads."Yan Luo's eyes narrowed immediately."So that's what you're afraid of."Tian Xuan said nothing.Xu Yang slowly looked around at the Heavenly cultivators."You weren't sent here to protect the world."His gaze became colder."You were sent here to protect Heaven's control."
The leader's expression tightened."You are making assumptions about matters you cannot understand."Xu Yang gave a quiet laugh."Then explain them."The leader's jaw tightened."The Threads are dangerous." "Because Heaven made them dangerous." Qing Li immediately said.Grand elder Tian Xuan looked toward him."You believe that because you have seen only one side of the truth."Qing Li stepped forward."Then show me the other side."Grand elder remained silent.
Qing Li's hands slowly trembled,but his voice remained steady."Tell me how many people Heaven changed."No answer."Tell me how many memories you erased.Tell me how many lives you decided were safer without their own choices."The surrounding Heavenly cultivators began exchanging uneasy glances.Grand Elder spoke."We prevented countless disasters."
Qing Li's eyes became colder."And who gave you the right to decide which disasters were worth preventing?"Grand Elder Tian Xuan's expression hardened."Someone had to make those decisions.""No."Qing Li shook his head."Someone chose to make those decisions."He stepped closer."There's a difference."The golden formations around the staircase suddenly flickered and Heart Blossom responded with a pulse of silver light,and several Heavenly cultivators instinctively stepped backward.
Chen Yu noticed their reaction."You're afraid of it."One of the younger Heavenly cultivators lowered his weapon slightly."We were told that if the heart awakened,the threads would become uncontrollable."Yan Luo looked at him."And do you believe that?"The cultivator hesitated."I..."His eyes moved toward the crystal heart."I don't know anymore."Tian Xuan immediately turned toward him."Hold your position."The young cultivator stiffened,but his weapon did not rise again.Another Heavenly cultivator quietly lowered his sword as well."We've been told for centuries that the threads were born from chaos."His voice was uncertain."But if that's true..."He looked toward the heart."...why does it feel peaceful?"
No one answered and crystal heart pulsed again.This time,the light traveling through its surface was not dark.It was soft and silver, and for a brief moment.Lin Chen stared in amazement."It's not attacking us."Qing Li nodded."Because it isn't trying to destroy us."Tian Xuan's expression became increasingly tense."Enough."He raised his hand."Seal the chamber now."
The remaining cultivators hesitated.Grand Elder Tian Xuan's voice sharpened."That is an order."Several golden formations began strengthening around the staircase,but their movements were slower than before.Chen Yu stepped forward and raised his staff."If you activate that seal,you could damage the heart."The leader looked at him."That is preferable to allowing it to awaken."Xu Yang's eyes narrowed."You would rather destroy the heart than lose control of the threads."Tian Xuan looked directly at him."If necessary."
Xu Yang's expression became cold."Then you really haven't learned anything."Tian Xuan's eyes flashed."You know nothing about the burden Heaven has carried."Xu Yang tightened his grip around the Heart Blossom."And you know nothing about the people who carried that burden for you."The leader's expression froze.Qing Li stepped forward."All these years..."His hands trembled slightly."You weren't protecting the world."The Heavenly cultivator looked at him.Qing Li's voice became colder."You were protecting your control over it."The leader's face hardened."Control prevented chaos."
Qing Li immediately answered,"Choice is worth more than your version of peace."The words seemed to strike something inside the surrounding heavenly cultivators.One cultivator looked at his own hands as though seeing them differently for the first time. "Choice..."he whispered.Another looked toward the heart."If the First Weaver really created the Threads to connect people..."He slowly lowered his sword."...then perhaps we've been fighting the wrong thing all along."
Grand Elder turned sharply."Do not question Heaven's orders."The cultivator looked at him."And if the order is wrong?"Tian Xuan's expression changed."What did you say?" The cultivator swallowed,but this time he didn't look away."If we were protecting people,why were we never allowed to tell them the truth?"Another Heavenly cultivator lowered his weapon."Why were the records sealed?"A third slowly stepped backward. "Why were the original purpose of the threads erased?"Grand Elder Tian Xuan stared at them in disbelief."Enough!"
Some still held their weapons,but their eyes were filled with doubt.Qing li looked at them. "You have a choice now."The Heavenly cultivators looked at him."You can continue obeying because you were ordered to..." Qing Li glanced toward the crystal heart. "...or you can finally decide for yourselves what you believe is right."Tian Xuan's expression became dark."You would divide Heaven's forces against each other?"Qing Li shook his head."No."His gaze remained steady."Heaven divided you long before we arrived."
The Heart Blossom suddenly released another pulse and golden formations around the staircase cracked with thin lines of silver light.Tian Xuan looked down in alarm."Stop him."The order came sharply."Do not let Xu Yang reach the heart."Chen Yu immediately stepped beside Xu Yang."You'll have to come through us."Grand elder Tian Xuan's eyes narrowed."You think three or four people can stop Heaven?"Yan Luo stepped forward,his expression cold."No.We think you won't have to fight us at all."Tisn Xuan frowned."What does that mean?"
Yan Luo glanced toward the Heavenly cultivators who had already lowered their weapons."It means your own people have stopped believing you."Tian Xuan looked around.Several cultivators avoided his gaze. "Raise your weapons!"he ordered."Seal the chamber!"No one moved for a moment. Chen Yu gave a quiet scoff."They're choosing for themselves."The leader's hand slowly tightened into a fist."You don't understand what will happen if that heart awakens."Xu Yang looked at him."Then I will face whatever happens."Tian Xuan stared at him."And if the Threads consume you?"
Xu Yang's fingers closed around the Heart Blossom."Then I'll make sure they don't consume anyone else."Grand Elder Tian Xuan's expression changed slightly."You speak as though you understand them."Xu Yang looked toward threads moving across the shrine."Maybe I understand them more than you do."The Heart Blossom suddenly flashed and deep vibration passed through the entire chamber and transparent floor beneath Xu Yang's feet cracked with lines of silver light.