Chapter Ten: Cave Murals

With the help of Han Tianyue and his companions, Jin Di and the others recovered quickly. Crossing Black Mountain was no longer an option; now their only path lay through this cavern.

"Is everyone ready?" Han Tianyue asked, gazing into the pitch-black cave. The group nodded in silent affirmation.

Each person held a piece of wood. Mao Xuanzi stepped forward, touched each with his palm, and instantly the wood burst into flames. Carrying these burning sticks as torches, they ventured into the unknown depths.

As their footsteps carried them deeper into the cave, the torchlight revealed faint images painted on the stone walls.

"Look, everyone! It seems like something is recorded up there," someone exclaimed.

The paintings were immense, rendered in rough strokes. Shapes resembling clouds and mountains mingled with figures of people and palatial structures. Linking these ambiguous images together, the narrative unfolded: a palace suspended among mountains and clouds, people floating amidst the clouds, and a lively, bustling scene.

"These paintings are quite fascinating," they remarked as they walked, taking in the scenes. Then the images changed to a shattered sky; palaces and people once floating on the clouds had fallen, and ruin stretched all around.

"The Shattered Nine Heavens! Yes, that's it—the Shattered Nine Heavens!" Jin Di suddenly cried out, realization dawning, "I know what these records are—they depict the Shattered Nine Heavens!"

"What? The Nine Heavens shattered?" Han Tianyue recalled Da Li mentioning this event, but had never given it much thought.

"That's right, the Nine Heavens were broken!" Jin Di led them to the center of the wall paintings, where three enormous figures were depicted. Jin Di shouted, "These must be the Celestial Deity, the Immortal King, and the Demon Lord! If I'm not mistaken, they caused the destruction of the Nine Heavens, and afterward, they all disappeared!"

Jin Di searched further, finally locating the places where the Celestial Deity, Immortal King, and Demon Lord vanished. The Nine Heavens shattered, the Celestial Deity was sealed, the Immortal King was broken into nine fragments scattered across the world, and the Demon Lord fell into eternal slumber.

"So that's what became of the Celestial Deity, Immortal King, and Demon Lord!" Jin Di exclaimed in sudden understanding. But the paintings now showed another great figure appearing from beyond the heavens. "Who is this?"

No one knew of any other figure besides the Celestial Deity, Immortal King, and Demon Lord.

"It seems that within heaven and earth, aside from these three, there exists a primary force—or perhaps even more," Mao Xuanzi said seriously.

"Then what exactly is the Celestial Tome?" Han Tianyue wondered aloud. He had always regarded becoming the Human Sovereign as his ultimate goal, but now it seemed that even the Celestial Tome was merely a part of the greater heavenly order.

"Perhaps these paintings mean nothing at all," Fang Zhe stepped forward to examine the wall. "Who could know these things so clearly as to carve them here?"

Fang Zhe's words made sense, for the tales of the Shattered Nine Heavens and the disappearance of the three sovereigns were told in countless versions. Perhaps this was just the speculation of some later observer, etched here in stone.

Regardless of the contents of the wall, a more pressing problem confronted Han Tianyue and his group: the path ahead was blocked. It was clearly intentionally sealed, for there were obvious gaps between the stone and the cave.

"What should we do now?" Han Tianyue and his companions could not move such a massive stone.

Jin Di smiled, "That's easy!"

Like Jin Qian, Jin Di possessed a soul of the metal element, adept at both attack and defense—and just as skilled at tunneling. Once Jin Di carved a passage deeper into the cave, their true battle began.

Seeking gold medals, seeking to be collected, seeking recommendations, seeking clicks, seeking comments, seeking red envelopes, seeking gifts—seeking everything, whatever you have, throw it all my way!