Chapter 1709: Ruins of the Spirit Lyric World

When Shang Xia's Origin Star Avatar saw Guan Ziqing again, he was so shocked by the elderly appearance of the man before him that he was left speechless.

Shang Xia's Origin Star Avatar, inheriting Shang Xia's memories, naturally remembered what Guan Ziqing had looked like the last time they met.

Back then, even though Guan Ziqing already showed signs of aging due to the power he had been drawing from his world to fight back against Sage Yan Yu, he was only beginning to show signs of growing older.

However, in just a short span of 2 to 3 years, a sixth tier True Immortal was assimilated by the energy of his world to such an extent! It was completely beyond Shang Xia's Origin Star Avatar's expectations.

Based on Shang Xia’s Origin Star Avatar’s expectations, even if their lifespan was eaten up, with a True Immortal’s strong vitality, their life force shouldn’t deplete so easily.

There was only one possible explanation. Yan Yu's frequent assaults on the Spirit Tip World over the years forced Guan Ziqing to harness the power of his world repeatedly, accelerating the erosion of his own essence.

Although Guan Ziqing still barely maintained his cultivation at the level of Extreme Harmonization, Shang Xia's Origin Star Avatar could see that both his cultivation level and physical body were actually on the verge of collapse. Perhaps the next time Yan Yu attacked, or the time after that, Guan Ziqing’s lifespan would also come to an end.

Faced with Shang Xia's Origin Star Avatar's astonished expression, Guan Ziqing seemed not to notice at all. His aged face wore a gentle smile as he said, "Fortunately, Sage Shang came in a timely manner and graced us with your presence. Otherwise... Facing Sage Yan Yu’s assault today would be another huge challenge. Thanks to your assistance, I should be able to live for a little more...”

Shang Xia's Origin Star Avatar looked hesitant, but still said, "True Immortal Guan, you..."

Guan Ziqing smiled and replied casually, "I know my own body; it can still hold out for some time."

Shang Xia's Origin Star Avatar sighed softly, "Actually, if you were not deliberately maintaining your current cultivation level, perhaps..."

Before Shang Xia's Origin Star Avatar could finish, Guan Ziqing interrupted him. "Since this old man started this, it is best that I see it through to the end. Sage Shang, I appreciate your kindness."

Shang Xia's Origin Star Avatar sighed softly again and ultimately said nothing more. He simply nodded slightly.

In fact, Guan Ziqing should have lost his cultivation realm a long time ago.

If he had let his cultivation level fall at the beginning and handed over the task of manipulating the power of his world against Sage Yan Yu to the other high-level True Immortals of his world, his path as a cultivator would have ended, but he would have been able to live many more years as a True Immortal.

However, Guan Ziqing did not do so. He had always forcibly maintained his cultivation level, at the cost of depleting his own potential and vitality, burning himself out in just a few years.

Although Shang Xia found it hard to understand Guan Ziqing's approach of self-sacrifice, he deeply respected his courage.

However, Shang Xia's Origin Star Avatar also discerned from Guan Ziqing's recent words that the Spirit Tip World had indeed found, or was about to find, a way to resist Yan Yu’s attack and the Essence Du World.

That was probably why Guan Ziqing had decided to sacrifice himself, to prevent his world’s second sixth tier True Immortal from being assimilated with the world and severing their path.

Although Shang Xia's Origin Star Avatar could not enter the Spirit Tip World as a Sage, Guan Ziqing still warmly invited him to visit a floating continent outside the heavenly screen. It was a core location within the Spirit Tip World’s defensive formation system.

As they approached the heavenly screen, Guan Ziqing's aura became more refined, whereas Shang Xia's Origin Star Avatar's aura became somewhat scattered due to the rejection of the World’s Will.

It was also then that Guan Ziqing discovered that the Sage he was talking to wasn’t Shang Xia’s true body, which made him all the more incredulous.

"Back then, the 3 True Immortals of my world were fortunate enough to watch your ascension to the Martial Emptiness Realm... To think that in 2 short years, you managed to create a clone... This is truly admirable!”

Guan Ziqing's expression contained 3 parts admiration and 7 parts puzzlement.

Shang Xia's Origin Star Avatar smiled but did not explain. Instead, he turned to introduce, "This is Chu Jia, a Formation Grandmaster. Grandmaster Chu is the only rank six Formation Grandmaster in our world.”

Guan Ziqing had initially overlooked Chu Jia upon meeting her, seeing her as a mere Martial Dipper Realm cultivator with a casual glance.

However, hearing that Chu Jia was a rank six Formation Grandmaster, even with Guan Ziqing's centuries of experience, he hurriedly bowed in apology. "Ah! Grandmaster Chu! I was blind not to recognize you, my apologies, my apologies!"

Chu Jia laughed and modestly declined his greetings.

Guan Ziqing then turned to Shang Xia's Origin Star Avatar and asked, "Sage Shang, did you come because of the ruins of the Spirit Lyric World?”

Shang Xia's Origin Star Avatar showed a mix of surprise and disappointment. "Oh, so that is the ruins of a Spirit World?"

Even though Shang Xia had anticipated it, he still hoped against hope that the ruins would be from an Essence World.

Guan Ziqing nodded and smiled. "Indeed, it should be considered the ruins of a Spirit World, but the Spirit Lyric World is different from other Spirit Worlds."

"Oh?" Shang Xia's Origin Star Avatar asked curiously, "What is the difference?"

Though that was what he asked, he was already thinking of the implications of what Guan Ziqing said. It seemed as though the Spirit Tip World’s exploration of the ruins had already reached a certain level. Perhaps, Guan Ziqing’s confidence when it came to dealing with Yan Yu came from the ruins.

"It's a long story!" Guan Ziqing began to explain, "In fact, our world was not entirely ignorant of the Spirit Lyric World. Hundreds of years ago, when we were still an Azure World, breaking through the chaotic streams was difficult. Our understanding of the Spirit Lyric World was limited and it was mostly passed down by a few of our predecessors. There weren’t many records on it.”

"Because attacking other worlds was a way to grow, our predecessors came into contact with those in the Spirit Lyric World, but they dared not reveal our world. However, one day, 2 of them were invited to the Spirit Lyric World and never came back, thus severing the connection between us."

Shang Xia's Origin Star Avatar was struck speechless by his revelation. He gasped, "Wait, what about the reason behind the Spirit Lyric World’s sudden destruction?”

Guan Ziqing nodded, affirming Shang Xia’s Origin Star Avatar’s guess, but continued, "Afterward, not knowing exactly what happened, our world remained closed for a long time after the disappearance of the True Immortals until another Free True Immortal eventually appeared.”

"By then, more than 100 years had passed, and because of that, when we tried to look for the Spirit Lyric World, we could no longer find it.”

Seeing that Shang Xia's Origin Star Avatar showed no impatience, Guan Ziqing added, "Then another period of time passed. What was once our Azure World became the Spirit Tip World we are today. However, our efforts to find the Spirit Lyric World never ceased."

"Nearly 200 years later, we discovered a letter from the predecessors who disappeared in the Spirit Lyric World. They were left in a secret realm, and we picked it up by chance. Although it did not record the location of the Spirit Lyric World, it did reveal the reason they went there. The Spirit Lyric World was preparing to ascend into an Essence World!”

Finally, a look of astonishment appeared on Shang Xia's Origin Star Avatar’s face.

Guan Ziqing's gaze then turned to him, and a profound light flashed in his eyes, "Sage Shang, it is as you expect. The ruins of the Spirit Lyric World came about when they failed to ascend into an Essence World. The failure was most likely the reason behind their destruction!”