This world conceals countless cave dwellings.
The methods used to open these cave dwellings vary, and thus their structures naturally differ as well.
Some cave dwellings are simple and unadorned, perhaps consisting of only a single stone chamber.
Others are luxurious and imposing, resembling palaces.
There are also cave dwellings of breathtaking beauty, poetic and picturesque, even akin to a fairyland.
Majestic mountain ranges, verdant lawns, towering peaks, tranquil bamboo groves, and clear streams.
In the azure sky hangs a bright, clear moon.
On the mountain peaks, white cranes soar.
In the mountain forests, a troop of monkeys frolics.
Within the bamboo groves, a few adorable yet clumsy pandas munch on bamboo, and even in the streams, one can see schools of fish swimming about.
This scene might not be described as breathtakingly beautiful, nor poetic and picturesque, and certainly not akin to a fairyland, yet it gives one a very comfortable, pleasant feeling, brimming with the vitality of spring, refreshing the heart and mind.
This is not a cave dwelling, for a cave dwelling could not possibly contain a sky, let alone an azure sky with a bright moon hanging in it.
This is a secret realm.
Only a secret realm can transcend the laws of nature.
Inside the secret realm, the climate is mild and pleasant, with a gentle breeze caressing the air.
A woman stood quietly by the stream, watching the fish swim merrily, as if lost in thought, somewhat absent-minded.
The woman wore white robes, her appearance peerlessly beautiful, like a celestial fairy. She stood peacefully by the stream; as the gentle breeze arrived, her long, flowing hair, naturally cascading down her back, fluttered softly in the wind.
Her beauty, though capable of toppling cities and kingdoms, was not in the least ostentatious, nor was it coldly aloof.
Her beauty was serene.
Serene like the moon, not dazzling, yet impossible for anyone to ignore.
Behind the peerless beauty stood another woman.
Perhaps it was a woman, though she was exceptionally tall, over three meters, wearing a peculiar long robe, her hair tied in a long ponytail. She resembled a middle-aged woman, her face solemn, standing there like a peak of cold iron.
"Qian Shan, when we were in the Nine-Hua Alliance, do you remember if there was a person called Chijiu Ye?
Or perhaps it was a title?"
The peerless beauty asked softly.
The woman called Qian Shan pondered for a moment, then shook her head.
The peerless beauty slightly furrowed her willow-leaf brows.
Due to some special reasons, she had once stayed in the Great Northwest region for a long time and was quite familiar with the Nine-Hua Alliance, yet she had never heard of a figure named Chijiu Ye within it.
Could it be someone who emerged in recent years?
She did not know.
Nor could she be sure.
After all, she had been away for many years. Almost every year since the Great Calamity, various geniuses emerged, and this was true across the whole world. Presumably, the Great Northwest region was no exception. She didn't know if this Chijiu Ye was one, but she would definitely investigate thoroughly when the time came.
Hmph!
That damned fellow.
Don't let me catch you.
Otherwise, you'll be in for it!
The peerless beauty was not a petty, vindictive woman. It was just that earlier, while she was bathing, this fellow had suddenly appeared. If she didn't teach that fellow a lesson, how could that be acceptable? That wasn't the important part. The important part was that she was far too curious about that fellow. She very much wanted to know what kind of person dared to absorb the Breath of Judgment.
"Qian Shan, pack our belongings. We leave tomorrow..."
"Leave?"
The woman called Qian Shan was taken aback and asked, "Where does the Young Lady intend to go?"
"The Great Northwest region."
Upon hearing the words 'Great Northwest,' Qian Shan's expression suddenly changed. "Is the Young Lady going there this time... still for the sake of Karma?"
"Karma?
No."
The peerless beauty shook her head slightly and smiled. "I promised Yeye I would visit her this year. You know her bloodline has always been unstable. I'll also take the opportunity to see a few old friends in the Great Northwest."
"Young Lady, why must you deceive yourself?"
Qian Shan hesitated for a moment before speaking. "You understand better than anyone what kind of end awaits those who delve into Karma. Throughout the ages, how many great powers have fallen into the Sea of Bitterness of Karma, suffering eternal torment? You...
why must you rush into the flame like a moth?"
The peerless beauty knew she couldn't hide it from Qian Shan and could only shake her head helplessly, remaining silent.
Seeing her silence, Qian Shan continued, "Moreover...
The Karma you divined for yourself belongs to someone who died three hundred years ago. That is simply too bizarre."
"Yes...
It really is too bizarre."
Gazing at the bright moon hanging in the azure sky, the peerless beauty murmured with a rather helpless expression, "Who would have thought my Karma would be tied to someone who died three hundred years ago? Yet my divination was not wrong. Could it be that he didn't die..."
"Young Lady, three hundred years ago, after that person obliterated the Immortal Dynasty, he suffered the Judgment of the Immortal Dao. Many people in this world witnessed it with their own eyes back then. He was judged, his soul and spirit utterly destroyed. And...
Young Lady, ever since you awakened from the cycle of reincarnation, you have traveled almost all over this world to verify this matter. Whether he is dead or not, aren't you clear about it by now?"
"But...
I feel he is not dead."
"Young Lady, although rumors of his reincarnation have circulated in this world for over three hundred years, they surface every year, and impostors claiming to be him pop up every now and then. Furthermore, a hundred years have passed since the Great Calamity. If he truly reincarnated, he would have awakened long ago..."
"No, you don't understand."
The peerless beauty said softly, "Ever since I divined my own Karma, I have been collecting everything related to him. I've been to his birthplace, to the places where he lived in seclusion. I've visited almost every place he ever stayed. His writings, his various paintings and calligraphy, his musical arts—I have studied and comprehended them all..."
"I discovered that person was truly remarkable, no...
'Remarkable' is no longer sufficient. His existence was simply..."
The peerless beauty thought for a long time but couldn't find the words to describe the man in her mind. She gazed at the bright moon, closed her eyes slightly, and took a deep breath. After a while, she said, "A monster. That fellow was simply a lawless, unrestrained, domineering, and immensely powerful monster. A monster who once managed to cleave this world apart. I don't believe he died under the Judgment of the Immortal Dao. Don't forget, he not only achieved the Immortal Dao but also the Demonic Dao."
"An existence that successively ascended to the unparalleled pinnacle of both Immortal and Demon...
Throughout the three thousand great worlds, across all ages, how many have accomplished such a feat?
Yet he did. How could such a person die by the Judgment of the Immortal Dao?
I don't believe he is dead...
But if he isn't dead, where is he?
After the Great Calamity, even the Heavenly Realm collapsed. Where could he have gone?"
"Young Lady, please say no more...
I also urge you not to delve into this Karma any further. Whether that person is dead or not, I do not know. If he is dead, all the better. If he is not dead... then you especially should not seek out this Karma."
Qian Shan clasped her hands respectfully. "Having successively ascended to the thrones of Immortal and Demon, he is already burdened with sin. Moreover, in this world, he obliterated an Immortal Dynasty, slaughtering tens of millions of Immortals. He has long been listed by the Nine Heavens as a Great Immortal Criminal. Furthermore, that person once cleaved the sky, challenging the Heavenly Dao...
Even if he is alive, he is inevitably a person of profound sin. And such a sinful person fundamentally cannot survive. If the Immortal Dao doesn't kill him, the Demonic Dao will. If Immortals and Demons don't kill him, the Heavenly Dao will..."