Liu Ruchen let out an emotional sigh. “All thanks to our Patriarch’s act of kindness all those years ago, we descendants are now left with a path forward...”
He suddenly paused. “Hm?”
“What is it?” Elder Huang asked instinctively.
“Something’s off,” Liu Ruchen said, frowning. “Why has the Medicine King Cauldron’s course deviated? Could there be an issue with the Waymark’s guidance?”
A moment passed.
“The cauldron itself is functioning normally,” Liu Ruchen murmured. “Then what could—”
Before he could finish, Elder Huang’s voice rang out in panic. “Sect Leader, something’s wrong! Why does it feel like we’re not moving forward at all... but upward?!”
The surrounding scene shifted abruptly.
Xiao Heng and the others watched in horror as the Medicine King Cauldron, which had originally been flying straight into the depths of the void, began to slowly alter its trajectory for no discernible reason shortly after breaking free of the Xuanhuang World.
It was as though something above was tugging at it.
Within the pitch-black void, the cauldron traced a curved arc. Powerless to resist, it began to fall upward, faster and faster.
Ahead lay absolute darkness. There were no starlight or landmarks, only a boundless blackness that now seemed to open like the gaping maw of a monstrous beast, patiently waiting for its prey.
A chill crept into Liu Ruchen’s heart.
He looked down at the glowing mass that was the Xuanhuang World, shrinking farther and farther away. In that instant, it felt as though a mocking gaze was looking back at him.
Suddenly, he understood why the Ten Immortal Dao Sects, despite knowing of their attempt to flee, had made no move to stop them.
They had known all along that there was no escape.
“Ten Immortal Dao Sects...” Liu Ruchen clenched his teeth.
By now, the Medicine King Cauldron was being pulled at a speed that exceeded its structural limits. It began to tremble violently.
“Sect Leader!”
Elder Huang cried out in terror as a creaking groan echoed throughout the cauldron.
Only a few breaths later, Elder Huang’s voice broke in disbelief. “Sect Leader, you—!”
“Disciples of the Medicine King Sect, heed my command...” Liu Ruchen’s voice resounded through the cauldron as he issued orders to all within, instructing everyone to return immediately to their chambers.
“Do not blame me...” His whisper echoed faintly, tinged with despair.
“With my strength alone, escaping that place is utterly impossible...”
Then, his tone hardened.
“But for the sake of the Medicine King Sect, I must do this.”
A vast expanse of green radiance erupted, enveloping the entire Medicine King Cauldron.
“Ten Immortal Dao Sects!!”
His roar brimmed with hatred.
The green light flared brilliantly.
The cauldron’s speed slowed dramatically, yet it still could not fully escape the fate of being dragged upward.
Slowly, thread after thread of the same green light began to stream out from the Medicine King Cauldron.
As the radiance grew ever brighter, the cauldron’s ascent slowed further, and further.
Until, at last, in that endless darkness, it came to a complete halt.
Moments later, more streams of green light were drawn out. Only then did the Medicine King Cauldron finally begin to reverse its trajectory.
It started to fall downward, avoiding the fate of being devoured.
During the descent, the green radiance flickered unstably, as though it were being rapidly consumed.
By the time the Medicine King Cauldron finally returned to the Xuanhuang World, the green light had dimmed to the point of near extinction...
The scene cut off abruptly.
"This is what happened back then," Linghu Chang said, his voice heavy with sorrow.
Xiao Heng and the others were still reeling from the shock of the vision they had just witnessed, unable to react.
A long time passed.
"What is that?" The usually fearless Su Xiaomei was now full of dread.
She didn't specify, but everyone present understood exactly what she meant.
"That is the Immortal Ruins," Linghu Chang answered. "In the distant, distant past, before the Immortal Path was severed, that was where the passage to the Immortal Realm once stood."
He paused before continuing, his voice low and heavy. "Our sect leader came to understand many things before the end. The Immortal Path lies hidden. Our connections to other cultivation worlds have been severed. All of it is because a terrifying existence like that now hangs above the Xuanhuang World.
"It devours everything. It can distort space and time itself.
"We merely circled before it once, and a thousand years passed in the world outside."
The weight of his words settled over them.
"And the Ten Immortal Dao Sects of that era knew this truth. They knew, and yet they watched us march to our deaths without a single word of warning."