Chapter 756 – A Thousand Years of Bloodshed Beyond the Sky, A Gourd of Beasts at His Waist, Ah Ting Returns - Part 3

In the mortal world, time flowed on. Heaven and Earth ground against each other like a great millstone, and a hundred years passed in the blink of an eye.

That same millstone had already crushed the blood and bones of countless heroes.

The young emperor who had once burned the Yellow Crane in a fit of rage had long since turned to dust in his grave.

And by Li Yuan’s lakeside, the ripples came and went. They spread across the water, scattered, then spread again.

The children who once played behind him had grown up. And now, there were new children.

Children who had never seen the world beyond the blossoms. They clung to their elders, begging them to describe the outside world, wide-eyed and full of wonder.

Meanwhile, the Underworld grew colder and heavier.

The three great halls north of the Yellow Springs had become six.

One day, Li Yuan felt something stir in his heart. He left the Peach Blossom Sanctuary and came to the place where the voidveil touched the Ancestral Land. There, he gazed at a strange little red dot.

It was larger than before.

Its outward force felt like a wound in the fabric of reality.

The world was trying to heal itself, but all it could do was slow the spread.

That tiny red dot was the Outer Region.

It was the mark of the Great Shattering.

Li Yuan brought Yan Yu’s soul fragment to examine it. They tried for hours, but she couldn’t see the red dot at all.

It was born of the voidveil.

To see the voidveil, one had to transcend the Three Realms, step beyond the Five Elements.

And under the Heavens, only Li Yuan had managed it.

Not even Yan Yu could.

So, Li Yuan told the manifestation of Yan Yu what he had seen.

Yan Yu’s soul fragment merely said, “If everyone’s doing their part, then surely we’ll succeed... At the very least, we’ll have no regrets.”

Li Yuan gave a faint smile.

He had spent the past hundred years by the lake, quietly watching the world unravel under wave after wave of slaughter.

He had seen far too much joy and sorrow, far too many scenes of mortal hell.

Sometimes, he’d intervene, saving a few poor souls in secret. But the tides of blood kept rolling forward. The killing never stopped. It spread like wildfire, until even the Great Tang Empire teetered on the brink of total collapse. The land stood on the edge of falling into a chaos unlike anything before.

Yan Yu’s soul fragment asked again, “How’s the preparation coming along?”

Li Yuan knew what she meant, the three ancient halls.

This was a matter of immense importance. It involved three of the greatest treasures in all of Heaven and Earth...and perhaps, the ultimate Dao Fruit.

This expedition could change everything. Hidden within those ruins might be the secret that could reverse the course of fate.

He nodded silently.

Beneath first rank, he was already unmatched.

No matter how many peak second rank cultivators this world produced, none could challenge him.

Even if the Ancestral Land itself shifted and no longer remembered him, it would make no difference. He was beyond that now.

Yan Yu couldn’t leave the Underworld, so the only ones who could explore were Li Yuan and her soul fragment.

“Good,” Yan Yu’s soul fragment said. Then she added, “By the way...that little world you gave me? It’s started to spawn some truly terrifying creatures. If you have time, you should take a look. When they stabilize, I want to throw them all into the gourd world, let them fight to the death in there. I want to see what sort of life emerges from that kind of crucible.”

“I have time now,” Li Yuan replied. Then, with a wry smile: “Time is just about the one thing I haven’t been short of these years.”

“Then let’s go,” Yan Yu’s soul fragment said.

She pulled out a staff. At its head dangled colorful beads that jingled softly with a glow, along with an old gourd. This was a chain of pocket worlds. The beads had been gifted by Li Yuan himself for her experiments.

Li Yuan began stepping into them, one after another.

He saw creatures with tiger paws and human faces, fangs hanging from their mouths, covered in long bristling fur, all third rank.

He saw monsters with goat bodies and human faces, tiger teeth and clawed human hands, and eyes beneath their armpits that fed on flesh, also third rank.

He saw winged, feral tigers, third rank.

He saw a nine-headed serpent, each maw spewing venom, its body like a coiling nightmare, third rank.

He saw a blue-headed, black-scaled snake so large it could circle a pocket world in its entirety, and this too was merely third rank.

Third rank beasts like these were virtually nonexistent in the known world.

And yet here they were, one after another.

But in truth, they weren’t exactly

beasts

.

None of them could reproduce. They were unique singular beings in all of existence. And their flesh, their blood, was filled with a strange and terrifying corruption. Not just physical corruption, spiritual, too.

It was like the flame gods and ghost domains were acting upon them at once.

After touring the worlds inside the gourd, Li Yuan stepped out.

“What do you think?” Yan Yu’s soul fragment asked. Then, with a glint in her eye, she added, “How about we try extracting some of their flesh and tossing it into the outside world to see what happens?”

Li Yuan shook his head. “In the state the world’s in right now, losing even one of those creatures would be a disaster.”

The mortal world was already a slaughterhouse. If one of those contamination-laced abominations got loose, it wouldn’t just cause a tragedy. It could poison the entire human world.

Yan Yu’s soul fragment thought it over and nodded. “You’re right. Then forget it. Once these things stabilize, I’ll merge them all together. When that’s done, I’ll call you over to check out the result.”

“Better call me

before

you merge them,” Li Yuan said. “If that fusion spawns a second rank monster, and it figures out the laws of its world...it might actually break out of the gourd.”

He gave a wry smile. “And if that happens, Yan Yu will kill you before the monster even gets a chance.”

The soul fragment’s expression froze for a moment, then she nodded earnestly. “Right. Got it.”

The two parted ways again.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Over a decade later.

Yan Yu’s soul avatar stood atop a remote snowy mountain, shouting into the wind, “Li Yuan! Get out here!”

She called three times, and just like that, Li Yuan appeared at her side.

“I’m starting the experiment today,” she said. “I’m going to merge all the monsters from the pocket worlds into the gourd world.”

Li Yuan simply replied, “Go ahead.”

She began shaking the staff that held the miniature worlds, transferring the monstrous creatures from each one into the gourd world. The process was wildly dangerous. But with Li Yuan present, even disaster seemed like a child’s game.

After a full day and night, the

great relocation

was complete.

The gourd world immediately plunged into utter terror.

Yan Yu’s soul fragment stared at the gourd, then suddenly saw its surface

sink

inward on one side, while the other side bulged out violently.

“Whoa!” she cried, startled. She reached out to press down the bulge, but just as her hand moved forward, the surface began rising again in needle-like spikes, sharp and eerie as if the gourd itself was bristling with resistance.

Li Yuan’s expression grew serious. He extended a hand. “That’s enough. Give it to me. The creatures inside are pushing that world to its limit. You won’t be able to control it anymore.”

“Then take it,” she said quickly, tossing the gourd to him. “And if it becomes unstable again, don’t give it back, okay?”

She exhaled long and deep, wearing a look of pure relief, like a worker finally free of a monstrous overtime shift.

The gourd, which had been warping and writhing in her hands, fell into Li Yuan’s palm and instantly went still.

Li Yuan gave the old gourd a long, searching look before finally hooking it onto his belt.

Then he turned to ask, “Yan Yu, what are you planning to do next?”

Yan Yu’s soul avatar didn’t hesitate. “After centuries of nonstop experiments, I’m exhausted. I plan to eat, drink, and have some fun.”

She was refreshingly blunt.

Li Yuan raised a brow. “The world’s not exactly in a state where you can just kick back and enjoy yourself, you know...”

She smiled brightly. “That’s fine. I’ll pay for my meals.”

Li Yuan blinked. “You have money? Want me to give you some?”

“You’re my main body’s husband. I don’t want your money.” She made a big

X

with her arms and scoffed. Then she added proudly, “I’ve got my own way to make cash.”

Li Yuan was intrigued. “What way?”

“I’m going to sell joss paper.”

Li Yuan looked even more puzzled.

“I’ll trade joss paper for real coins. Most of the Underworld’s Yin energy is still concentrated below, sure. But some of it lingers here in the Ancestral Land. A lot of wandering spirits and mindless ghosts have started crawling out again. With so many dead lately, so many unburied souls, there’s bound to be mutations,” she explained.

“I’ll sell paper money so the living can buy themselves a little peace of mind. Once those ghosts get the joss paper, they’ll obediently make their way to the Underworld.” She gave him a playful wink. “They’re brand-new ghost items, specially designed so even ordinary mortals can use them.”

Li Yuan smiled knowingly. As expected, Yan Yu might claim she was just out to have a good time, but in truth, she was still walking the mortal world, still finding her own way to hold things together.

He didn’t believe for a second she was

just

selling paper money.

As for her safety...he doubted there was anyone in this world who could truly threaten even a fragment of the Underworld’s ruler.

“Mountains high, rivers long, farewell for now!” Yan Yu’s avatar gave him a cupped-fist salute. Then, glancing once more at the gourd, her expression grew serious as she warned:

“Hey, main-body hubby, take good care of that thing, alright? If anything inside slips out, our world might just meet its end a little sooner than planned.”

Li Yuan rarely saw this playful side of Yan Yu. With a chuckle, he returned her salute and said, “The green mountains remain, the rivers flow on, until we meet again.”

He didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he stood there in the wind and snow, gourd at his waist, gazing up at the gray, overcast sky.

Somewhere far beyond his sight, the entire realm of reincarnation was drawing near.

And at its forefront was the three ancient Halls of Life, Solar Yang, and Lunar Yin.

“Daddy, you’re really just gonna let Mommy leave like that?”

A soft, dazed voice sounded beside him.

Li Yuan looked down and saw her. It was Ah Ting,

his daughter with Yan Yu

.

“I want to go with you to the ancient halls,” she said, looking up at him with wide, unblinking eyes. She clenched her tiny fists and waved her arms. “I’m really useful. I won’t slow you down!”

Li Yuan gazed at her, heart stirring. He wanted to say yes, but suddenly he felt pain. A sharp, stabbing sensation surged through his consciousness. He looked at her again, and though every part of his mind screamed

this is my daughter

, something inside whispered that something was wrong.

He widened his eyes, forcing himself to look deeper, and then he saw it.

Buried inside that small, innocent body...was an enormous eye.

A single, massive pupil. No warmth, no malice. Just cold, supreme indifference. It watched through some unseen fissure, peering in from beyond.

Li Yuan drew a deep breath and asked, “Senior...who are you?”

The moment he spoke, Ah Ting vanished.

𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

He stood there alone, a dull ache blooming behind his eyes. He felt like something had just happened.

Or maybe...nothing had.

He stood there for a long time, trying to remember. But the more he thought, the foggier it became.

Finally, he muttered to himself, “Forget it. Let’s go back to Peach Blossom Sanctuary first.”