Chapter 368: Ink Square

"Those kinds of Dao techniques have already degraded to this day; even if they only cover ten percent of the population now, they are still difficult to maintain. There is cultivation base and realm in name only, but no Dharma power to sustain it, and it is still continuing to degrade."

"Those unable to adapt and reside are increasing in number..."

"Our cultivation is shallow, being nothing more than True Men; it is difficult to glimpse the inner reality, and we are fundamentally powerless. We are truly ashamed!"

"The great limit is approaching, the population is shrinking; for ourselves and for the masses, it is of no use. At this juncture, the only way is to step forward and follow our predecessors; perhaps we can learn the reason from the surface and obtain a solution."

"If the disaster has passed, we should move back to the surface!"

"... No one has returned."

"For thousands upon thousands of years, all spirits have withered and shrunk, and we have merely been lingering on in a desperate struggle. Fortunately, until now, the underground habitat has finally reached a threshold that can barely be maintained, but, from start to finish, no ancestors have returned."

"Why is that?"

"Resources are tight once again, and even the spiritual Qi has begun to wither. Exhausting all means, we can only barely preserve the quantity and quality of the fifth stage. In this way, it is impossible for a Void Refinement True Man to ever appear underground again. Could it be that we are to be trapped to death underground forever?"

"... All the remaining True Men have gathered together, regardless of age or philosophy, because we want to find the answer. It is impossible to remain trapped here forever; such a future is merely a torment for us!"

"I am the exception entrusted with the watch; I am the last True Man underground..."

"Out, outside, there is a great terror!?"

"Finally, someone has returned, but all that was brought back was this one sentence, and then they hastily perished. Thus, I have known that everything is already over. The once glorious Queguang is now truly rejecting brilliance; it is a realm that can only be trapped underground, lingering in a place without light. I, I am not reconciled!"

Up to this point, the Queguang Star Realm's patchwork, barely-maintained underground habitat could be said to have declared its end, and it began to officially step into the next stage.

"Spiritual Qi exhaustion? But now, there are no such signs. It should have been drained by our sect first, and after True Monarch Huiqing took over, they chose to stop. After all, treating this place as one's own territory to manage, it becomes a rotten land if there is absolutely no spiritual Qi, and it has little value if there is too little."

"In other words, they followed one after another, holding on for nearly twenty thousand years, until the Immortal Sect increased its pressure, and only then did it begin to collapse, thereby entering the next stage."

"In other words, when the True Men of Queguang stopped going out to explore when their great limit approached, and instead grouped together to make a desperate struggle, they must have run into the muzzle of our sect's True Monarchs, or even the Supremes?"

"Is it that coincidental? Something is not quite right. Also, when other old True Men were fighting for their lives, the Immortal Sect Hegemony had not yet begun. Optimistically estimated, the Supremes had not even been born yet; it was only when the battle against the Five Great Dragon Supremes began later that the Supremes officially stepped onto the stage..."

Because the specific time is blurred and cannot be clarified at all, Du En can only make speculations. And ten thousand years ago, before the Immortal Sect Hegemony, that period of history always seemed strange and full of doubts.

However, the subsequent situation generally would not deviate from the facts, namely, that in the period when the Luoyu Immortal Sect began to enter the scene, there should have been two rounds of periods, with different people taking over and exerting influence on the Queguang Star Realm.

Next is the process of how the Queguang Star Realm, under the influence of the Immortal Sect, further evolved into what it is today.

A successor took over this log and also chose to leave writing on it.

Unknowingly, it has become a concentrated carrier of the history of this place! "Master is dead, I have taken over."

The extremely rigid handwriting highlights its uniqueness.

"Master was a True Man, I am only a Great Cultivator; actually, I am also about to die."

Calmly and coldly stating the cruel facts, it gives one a feeling of extreme calmness and silence.

"Resources are becoming increasingly barren, the crowd is beginning to riot, and the method of the Plant Dao has already degraded to the limit. Once the number of people increases, it cannot be covered, and it will give birth to a generation of immaculate infants, but the second generation will deform due to the environment. With my power, I cannot change it."

"There are also people from outside the star, continuously exerting influence. The surface cannot be returned to; they want to trap us underground, carrying out some kind of purpose."

"Therefore, in order to continue to maintain the Queguang Realm, to solve various difficult problems, and to deal with the enemies outside the star, I want to establish a brand-new, ideal Great Harmony Kingdom in this underground!"

The successor no longer has the attachment of the predecessors; they are a native of the underground, stating their goals and vision with handwriting as flat and regular as a blueprint, speaking words that contain a cold, steel-like will.

There is a rich, great Dharma power lingering on it, making it very difficult for Du En to read. Previously, Lou Mi yue or other visitors probably could not even read it, or even see it!

Because this was left by a Great Cultivator at the level of a Heaven's Pride! Even such a great soul, under the wear and tear of time, is still so deeply engraved; perhaps among the level of Heaven's Pride, they also belong to the extremely strong kind! "Moju, my name, is also the Daoist name given to me by Master."

On the last page, only this one sentence was left.

After Du En finished reading, this text suddenly burned like fire.

That flame was as cold as steel, burning away some of the text and consigning the inscription to the flames.

"Why burn it?"

"Because the log is already too dilapidated?"

"Or perhaps, it sensed that an enemy was looking at it?"

"A bit interesting..."

Du En could not understand that person's intention for a moment, but in any case, the hostility should not be great, otherwise it might not be like this.

So, perhaps it is because Du En had already helped the Queguang Realm solve three hidden dangers before this, and is currently fighting against the Spirit Mother, having invisibly obtained the other party's limited approval? "Not completely dead, or rather, some left-behind means are still operating coldly and mechanically..."

In short, by the time of that successor, this cave dwelling was officially abandoned.

A new era began at that time.

At this moment, it is already an old era.

That is already in the past tense. The current situation is that the Queguang Sect, which worships the Spirit Mother, has established a central camp, ruling the underground world of the Queguang Star Realm! However, even so, there are still people pioneering and trying to break through the predicament.

Blazing a trail through brambles and thorns, treading on thin ice, always failing, falling into the abyss...

"The Northern Land."

Du En perceived that the missing middle part was right at that final spatial fulcrum.

He did not stop his steps, put down the history in his hand, and turned to leave this place.

His face was calm, his steps were steady, and his pitch-black eyes could clearly illuminate the path ahead.

After exiting this ancient cave dwelling, he continued to proceed along the plank road.

That plank road actually still had a section, but it soon led into the Nether Abyss.

He stopped at the end, looking at the floating stones and boulders, and even small hills.

He quickly captured the traces left on the plank road, only to discover that the plank road should not have been a plank road; it was originally another type of road, but a part of it was later misappropriated and built into a plank road.

Carefully observing the plank road under his feet, one could see from some extremely subtle traces that it was actually built later, but the building materials used were more ancient, being those ancient roads that were moved over. Was it once completely abandoned, and then someone came searching for it later?

Who? Someone like Luo Heng?

Du En pondered and leaped up to begin walking along it.

The accumulated bones gradually decreased, the Nether Abyss began to turn, folding into the northeast, gradually heading toward the due north of the central camp, where the spatial fulcrum was in Du En's perception.

At the same time, the Nether Abyss was also becoming shallower, and the bottom could already be seen. It was very abrupt, as if it had jumped directly from the infinite to the finite, and the erratic Nether Wind also quietly retreated.

The stones no longer floated, the bones no longer piled up, and whether it was humans, demonic beasts, or other extremely rare creatures, all stayed far away from this territory.

Oppressive, stifling, enough to make one unable to catch their breath! Du En was unaffected by this, stepping into this land that was extremely desolate and also extremely deathly silent.

A vast, incomparable hollow appeared before his eyes, as if a plain had been carved out underground, and at the edge of the plain, toward the south, there was a tunnel that had been opened up, now blocked off completely tight.

The place that the people of Queguang currently avoid like the plague is precisely this place, the Northern Land!

Du En only glanced at it once, then, with his little tail in tow, continued forward, completely exiting the Abyss that resembled a dried-up riverbed, and arrived upon this Northern Land.

He saw it: a majestic city stood towering ahead, looking like an ancient demonic beast; although it was deathly silent, it brought a terrifying sense of pressure! It was not just for show; rather, it was truly such a terrifying existence!

Fifth or sixth-tier restrictions could be seen everywhere, with faint traces of seventh-tier fragments; it could be said to be a creation that condensed all the essence of the ancient cultivation world of Queguang, serving as the ballast for the civilization of this realm! Du En activated his Fiery Eyes, able to see some broken traces of struggle, and as his gaze followed these traces, it moved all the way to his side, then spread out to that endless Abyss.

"So that's how it is. True Monarch Huiqing once wanted to eradicate it, but she did not succeed. Even a True Monarch like her could not completely erase the glorious remnants of a realm."

"That Moju was also an extremely terrifying figure. Even gathering the last remaining foundation of a realm, how could a normal person cross two major realms to force back such a heaven-defying True Monarch?"

"The battle between the two directly split the strata, seemingly piercing straight through to the star core, which is what created that endless Abyss."

And even now, that drifting-stone Abyss still acts as a defensive line blocking demonic beasts, protecting the people of this place and this land as best it can! "Amazing Queguang; with such heavy foundations, it seems that the Queguang King Venerable of that time was likely also like those Divine Venerables, standing proudly in the world, invincible under heaven as long as the Supremes did not appear."

"However, even such a figure went missing at the beginning of the great upheaval. Calculating the time, it can be determined that they have already fallen, and the Queguang Star Realm, following that Great Cultivator Moju who could have turned the tide, sank all the way down, eventually choosing to abandon the glory of the past and completely seal off and sever all connections..."

Moreover, even this city, which True Monarch Huiqing was originally unable to eradicate, can now have a spatial anchor implanted by the Spirit Mother; clearly, it is no longer at its full strength from back then!

With various thoughts in his heart, Du En did not stop his pace, approaching the majestic city.

Upon arriving close by.

The name of the city came into view.

Moju!

Using one's own Dao title as the name, does it have some other intention? Du En had already largely seen through the situation of this city.

The circumference was around sixteen hundred li, the walls a hundred zhang high, likely cast by smelting the last remaining sixth-tier mineral veins underground in Queguang, with all sorts of techniques applied to it, leaving behind dense, countless restrictions.

These restrictions were twisted into strands, like steel chains, or like black dragons of restrictions, coiling and extending deep into the ground, not using the long-exhausted spiritual Qi as power, but reaching deep into the star core spiritual veins, turning the very foundation of the star that could not be moved into its own power.

With such a layout and various ingenious ideas, it is likely only lacking the method to initiate and drive it now; otherwise, it could still radiate the might of the past.

And before such a city, there was an extra, clumsy stone tablet, like a dog-skin plaster stuck on a handsome person's face, which could not help but make one frown, or even feel like laughing.

Du En shifted his gaze to look at it.

"Those who come later, retreat from here! Retreat! Retreat!"

There was a line of blood-colored characters on it, dim and mottled, manic and twisted.

He did not retreat but advanced instead, arriving behind the stone tablet, and sure enough, he saw more inscriptions.

"The predecessors of the past fled underground and cast a city here, claiming it was to correctly constrain human nature with the severity of rules and regulations, hoping to survive the long, dark underground period through this."

"But this is a scam! A scam! Everything is a scam!!!"

The writer used only ferocious and exaggerated words, with no beginning or end, only a suddenly derived conclusion, which made Du En frown slightly.

"Written by someone who doesn't know the past? Or perhaps, after the city was built, the past history was discarded?"

Combined with the abandoned ancient cultivation caves, perhaps that is truly possible.

What exactly was the intention of that Great Cultivator Moju? Du En was somewhat curious, so he turned his head to look at the city gate.

Taking another step, he soon arrived under the gate.

The heavy doors had long since been pushed open, and a layer of thick darkness permeated within, which even the Fiery Eyes found difficult to see through.

Du En's expression did not change; he had intended to leave the Innocent Infant here, but after thinking about it, it was safer to keep it with him, so he continued to carry it and headed into the city.

Passing through the darkness, light permeated.

Artificial light softly covered and shrouded every part of this city.

From the subtle changes in brightness, Du En perceived that this was a setting that imitated the time of day; although it did not necessarily correspond to the time on the surface, it was currently afternoon in Moju City.

Looking up, green hills and wild fields, ponds gathered; however, their main purpose was not for any natural environment, but for arrangements like producing food, filtering air, and so on.

And now, the seedlings in the fields were withered, all kinds of weeds were growing in profusion, and the trees and wilderness were also growing wildly; for the area they covered, he waved his hand, lifting the cover, and could see the people lying underneath.

Dead people, people who had been dead for a long time, yet they maintained the state of the final moment before their deaths.

Strange, eerie, especially looking at these people, each one appearing insane, despair showing in their eyes, having killed each other to death, which was even more hair-raising.

It seems, this place was indeed a scam?

At the very least, judging from this moment of the curtain falling, there were no such things as rules and regulations at all!

If one had come here to investigate first, one might have been induced and deceived, leading to preconceived notions.

But now, looking at this scene, Du En only felt it was full of strangeness, and then confusion arose, not knowing how the majestic city of the past eventually ended up in this state.

(End of this chapter)