Chapter 723: Together We Open, Our Hearts in Unison
Forbidden by the Immortal, which was located in the depths beneath the old Corrections Division, was one of Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity’s old palaces. There were other such locations throughout Revered Ancient, and in the ancient past, every single one of them was considered a holy palace. Only the imperial clan was allowed inside.
Forbidden by the Immortal was the only such palace located in the Holytide Region. After the broken face of the god arrived, and Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity left, it became the resting place of the fish skeleton god. That was when the imperial clan’s Immortal Estate became Forbidden by the Immortal.
The many treasures inside became completely inundated with mutagen. Neither mortals nor cultivators could get inside easily. Later, Emperor Eastglory didn’t want to risk starting a war with the god inside, and thus kept the place sealed.
Some years ago, the reigning emperor ordered Forbidden by the Immortal to be opened. That was when Crimson Mother awoke in the form of Zhang Siyun to devour the god inside. After that event, humans once again had full control of Forbidden by the Immortal. It was only natural that, after Sea-Sealing County gained autonomy, they decided to explore the place. Although the majority of the treasures inside had been taken away by Seventh Prince, there were still some left behind that were extremely valuable.
Xu Qing and Plumdark currently stood at a formation located beneath the old Corrections Division that formed the entrance to the place.
There was no way Xu Qing could have refused Plumdark’s offer. That was especially true considering he really wanted to know why that timescape bottle had a familiar sigh inside. The sigh almost didn’t seem real, but as Xu Qing thought back to that moment, he was certain he had heard correctly.
What was most relevant was the fact that he had lost three days of memories there. Even now, his memories of that phoenix-shaped temple complex weren't very clear. Everything seemed to revolve around the timescape bottle. It was a very thought-provoking sensation. After everything he experienced in the Moonrite Region, especially gaining enlightenment of the will domain of amnesia, he had a much better understanding of memory.
I must have encountered something there that was too much for me to actually look at, and therefore, I don’t remember it.
He told everything he knew to Plumdark along the way. Upon arriving, they didn’t hesitate at all to drop down. A moment later, a majestic underground palace appeared below them.
It looked a bit different than the last time Xu Qing saw it. Back then, the mutagen was so dense it was like a mist that distorted everything around it, and most of the ground had been covered by creeping flesh. As of now, the mutagen was ninety percent gone, and the ground didn’t have any of that flesh covering it. That said, there were few palace structures that were whole. Most had collapsed. The sensation of ancient time filled the entire place. There were numerous pillars that loomed over the landscape, casting out brilliant light to illuminate everything.
Apparently Plumdark had been here on more than just a few occasions, as she knew her way around very well. Taking a deep breath, she headed in one specific direction, and Xu Qing kept pace. They moved quickly. Before long, a crumbled section of ruins appeared up ahead.
“This is the place,” Plumdark said softly.
Xu Qing’s heart was already pounding. This was definitely the place where he’d acquired the timescape bottle. After looking around, he walked forward without saying a word. He approached until he was standing right in front of the ruins. The strange effect he had discovered on his first visit didn’t occur again.
After I took the timescape bottle, the effect went away. It doesn’t transform as you get closer. It’s an actual ruin now.
Looking at the crumbling walls, he felt a sense of familiarity and a sense of unfamiliarity, both at the same time. Within the familiarity, there was unfamiliarity. And within the unfamiliarity, there was familiarity. More than ever, he got the feeling that his memories had been altered. Eventually, he recalled how the stone lion and the head retrieved the timescape bottle.
He looked back at Plumdark. She stood a short distance away, her garments whiter than snow, her features beautiful but somewhat cold. Her eyes were like black jade, within which swirled a mist of confusion. She seemed extremely lonely.
Xu Qing’s heart thumped. A long moment passed.
“Plumdark.” This time, he didn’t use the title Arch-Immortal.
She slowly turned to look at him.
“This is where I got the timescape bottle. I’m not sure what will happen if I put the bottle back in its spot. Maybe my memories will be affected again. Are you sure you want to find out why this place is familiar to you? Is it possible the only reason you feel that way is because of that dream? What if you wanted to forget about everything from the past?”
Plumdark didn’t seem sure how to respond at first. Eventually, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked at Xu Qing with eyes that glistened like the deep waters of a lake. “The dream has been bothering me for years. I want to know... what exactly that lamp has to do with me.”
Xu Qing closed his eyes. A moment later, his god trove rumbled as the timescape bottle flew out from it, drifted over, and landed on the spot where it had once been. The moment it touched the ground, the bottle trembled and emitted a field of dazzling light that illuminated the surrounding ruins. Instantly, everything blurred.
Phoenix-like palaces with bright red walls rose up. A courtyard formed. And there was one palace that was larger than all the others, which formed the center-most palace. There were a total of nine palaces.
As Xu Qing looked at the scene, splitting pain filled his head. It was as if what he was seeing was awakening a memory within his sea of consciousness.
Plumdark trembled as she looked at the big phoenix palace and everything around it. Her heart was racing.
“I’ve been here before...” Plumdark murmured. “I came here in my dream....”
She walked forward slowly, passing the other palaces as she walked toward the large, central palace. In front of it, she stopped and looked back at Xu Qing.
Speaking in a tremulous voice, she said, “I think... I used to live here once.”
The biggest secret in her life was that recurring dream of darkness. Because of that dream, she had always been seeking light, in the hopes that it would drive the darkness away and bring warmth. And now, it seemed that the source of that dream was right in front of her. Yet for some reason, all she felt was sadness building up within her. The sadness got stronger and stronger, turning into a deep loneliness that threatened to overwhelm her.
Her words struck Xu Qing to the core. His gaze shifted from her to the big palace, and all of a sudden, it was like a lightning bolt flashed through his mind, illuminating memories that had previously been erased. They were the lost three days of memories from this place.
Within those memories, Xu Qing saw himself walking through the entrance of that big palace. The memories of what lay inside were blank.
Xu Qing looked at Plumdark and saw that she was shaking physically. It was hard to take the sight of it. In his mind, Plumdark was emotional, but confident and peerlessly graceful. She took the initiative in things, and was definitely not the type of person you would use the word ‘weak’ to describe.
But right now, he was seeing a different side of Plumdark. She was like a little girl, trembling in anxiety, nervousness, and fear. What was more, she seemed profoundly lonely.
Xu Qing walked to her side, reached out, and took her delicate hand in his, using the warmth of his body to dispel the icy cold in her.
She turned to look at him, tears in her eyes. She squeezed his hand like a drowning person clinging to life. In fact, she squeezed so hard that her hand turned white, and she didn’t give any sign that she wanted to let go.
After a long moment passed, she took in a shaky breath and then forced a smile onto her face.
“Forgive me for being so rude.”
He shook his head. He didn’t release her hand.
Plumdark closed her eyes for several breaths of time. When she opened them, all signs of weakness were gone. She seemed determined. And with that, she put her hand on the door to push it open.
Xu Qing reached out with his other hand and put it on the door next to hers.
“Together,” he said.
Heart racing, she looked at him. He looked back at her. Finally, they pushed it open together, and a loud creaking noise filled the courtyard as the door opened.
The dark, inky interior swallowed them up.
***
What had once been the capital city of Emperor Heavengale in the Holytide Region now belonged to Seventh Prince. He had made the place his government headquarters, and it was now full of his countless subordinates. In addition to his personal attendants, there were also many people present from his mother’s clan. That, coupled with the godly might of King Heaventide, ensured that there was no other place like this in the Holytide Region. It really was just like a personal fiefdom.
Even Grand Duke Holytide had to back down in the face of King Heaventide. Although it wasn’t a case of outright servitude, the relationship between the two was very peaceful.
The only thorn in Seventh Prince’s side was Sea-Sealing County. It had once been a random county that Seventh Prince didn’t care much about. But Sea-Sealing was different now. That was the place where he had suffered his first major setback. That was the place where a person named Xu Qing was from.
Because of that, Seventh Prince had been paying very close attention to Sea-Sealing County during the conscription efforts. Everything had been going according to plan; the county had slowly been fractured, making it ripe for invasion.
As the Nightshade war went on, Sea-Sealing County had been put into the position to either acknowledge allegiance or be crushed.
When the conscription forces there were routed, Seventh Prince was surprised, but at the same time, not very surprised. Because information was locked down, he didn’t know the details of what happened to the armed forces he had sent there. That was what he found surprising. Obviously, Sea-Sealing County had been holding reserve powers in secret this whole time. What wasn’t surprising was the choice made by the county. He had predicted all along that something like this might play out. Therefore, when he received news that his army had disappeared without a trace, he ordered his subordinates to pass the news on to King Heaventide. Then he looked outside of his palace.
There were two people there waiting for an audience, dressed in scholarly fashion. One of them was the president of the Eight Sect Coalition.
“Sir Dust-Sun!” Seventh Prince said in a cool voice.
The president immediately bowed at the waist and stepped into the palace. There, he clasped hands reverently. “Here, sir!”
Fiddling with a jade slip, Seventh Prince continued, “You can go ahead and fetch that cauldron you mentioned from Sea-Sealing County. I’m curious to see if it’s as profound as you claim.”
Sir Dust-Sun wasn’t eager to comply, but at the same time, felt somewhat relieved. Smiling, he bowed again.
“Yes, sir!”