Myriad Gods Mountain.
Tianxian Grotto-Heaven.
Here lived the scions of Pillar Tianxian, along with his subordinate gods.
An Nan looked at Qi Yuan with a cold, detached expression. "If Heitian hadn't aided me when I was still a Void God—if not for that immense favor—I would have avoided suspicion and refused to see you."
Among the Pillars, Tianxian and Tiankai were at odds with each other, and their scions rarely associated.
Someone like Heitian was, after all, an anomaly.
"I will remember Heitian's kindness," Qi Yuan replied mildly, maintaining his polite demeanor.
"I am deeply curious about the circumstances surrounding An Baxian's demise in the Abandoned Lands. I would like to see if any records were left behind. And if possible, I wish to pay my respects to An Baxian's remnant husk."
An Nan frowned slightly.
Truth be told, Qi Yuan's request crossed the line just a bit.
However, the favor owed to God Lord Heitian... could be settled right here and now. An Nan had no desire to become deeply entangled with God Lord Heitian.
"These are a few fragmented notes left by our ancestor while he was in the Abandoned Lands." An Nan handed a tattered book to Qi Yuan.
Qi Yuan took the book with great focus and flipped through it on the spot.
An Nan sat to the side, turning his head away and extending a hand, casually playing with a fish floating through the air.
*"In the Xuanling Realm, an anomaly occurred. Every inhabitant grew extra eyes... a grotesque sight. I erected divine statues, absorbed faith, and consumed the plane spirit."*
Generally speaking, when the True Gods of Myriad Gods Mountain descended upon various realms and planes, they would harvest faith and occasionally consume the plane spirit.
*"Yet after I swallowed the plane spirit, the extra eyes on the denizens of the Xuanling Realm vanished... No, they did not vanish! They transferred onto my own body!!!"*
The subsequent outcome was obvious: the bizarre affliction took root in An Baxian.
He was an almighty expert of the God Lord realm, equivalent to a Realm Lord in other universes.
Yet simply by swallowing the spirit of a mere plane, his body had mutated into a monstrous state, leaving him in agony and on the verge of death.
Even when a Dao God observed his condition, all the deity could do was shake his head; there was no saving him.
"So that's how it is. Once he refined the plane spirit, all the anomalies of the Xuanling Realm fell squarely upon his shoulders.
"Only when he could no longer endure it and died did the anomaly resume running rampant across the Xuanling Realm."
Qi Yuan extracted the crucial insights from the text.
Currently in the Sky Federation, the mei ran amok. Even though Qi Yuan's divine oracle specifically targeted the mei, unusual circumstances always managed to crop up, causing the Sky Federation's daily death toll to rise steadily.
If someone were to swallow the plane spirit of the Sky Federation, would the rate of accidental deaths finally slow down?
The problem, however, was that the Sky Federation lacked a plane spirit.
And... who would swallow it?
Even an expert of the God Lord realm had succumbed to death. To swallow such a thing, one had to possess an indestructible nature at the very least.
If anyone were to swallow it, it would probably have to be Qi Yuan.
After all, his game quest was to protect the Abandoned Lands.
"If you're done reading and still want to see that fellow's corpse, follow me," An Nan said, devoid of any reverence toward An Baxian.
Qi Yuan nodded.
The two entered an underground ley line where the temperature climbed steadily until it felt like the core of a star.
Flames and detonations spanned as far as the eye could see.
Yet at the very center lay an extreme, biting cold.
There stood a miniature iceberg.
Situated amid endless fire, it would never melt or decay.
Upon the iceberg rested a mangled divine corpse.
His expression was horrifyingly contorted, etched with abject terror.
Dense clusters of eyes covered his back, their gazes unfathomable as fresh blood seeped from them.
Beyond that, hair grew unnaturally thick and wild from within his body.
Strands of hair could even be found emerging from droplets of blood, looking utterly grotesque.
*Is this An Baxian?*
He had died a miserable death indeed.
*[Corpse of Misfortune. Burdened with catastrophic ill fortune, perished in twisted agony.]*
This was the hidden information Qi Yuan's eyes perceived.
"May I take an eye and a strand of hair?" Qi Yuan asked, glancing at An Nan.
"You may." An Nan gave him an odd look before offering a warning. "These things are intensely eerie. Avoid studying them if you can, and whatever you do, do not bring them into your divine kingdom, lest you be contaminated."
"Thank you for the warning." Qi Yuan smiled. Grasping an eye and a strand of hair, he took his leave.
***
In the days that followed, Qi Yuan's routine consisted of studying the eye and hair each day, as well as checking in on the Sky Federation to see if he could shelter a few more people.
After all, that was his quest.
As he observed the eye and the hair, Qi Yuan gleaned more useful information.
"The so-called misfortune is, in fact, the Curse of Sinking. To keep from plunging into the abyss, one must... forget."
After countless observations, Qi Yuan finally devised a method to counter this misfortune.
"Forge a Sword of Oblivion to carve away the flesh and blood corrupted by misfortune..."
Qi Yuan narrowed his eyes, thoughts churning in his mind.
He had found a way to safeguard the Abandoned Lands.
Naturally, it was far from an ideal method.
One might even call it excruciatingly agonizing.
"Gather every Curse of Sinking and all the misfortune of the Abandoned Lands onto myself... and use the Sword of Oblivion to sever the lethal misfortune."
Qi Yuan frowned.
"Anyone capable of doing such a thing is practically a saint," he marveled softly.
Misfortune and the Curse of Sinking came in varying degrees of severity.
Bearing all of it meant shouldering immense pain and enduring what ordinary people could never withstand.
On top of that, whenever a part of the body was eroded to a fatal degree by misfortune and the Curse of Sinking, the Sword of Oblivion had to be used to carve that portion away.
"Still, this is a game. No matter how agonizing it gets, it's all an illusion.
"Could it be that I'm afraid of suffering hardship even in a game?
"Compared to real saints, I fall far short."
Qi Yuan smiled faintly.
His mind was made up.
He would protect the Abandoned Lands using this very method.
Though there were risks and it promised to be painful, it was just a game, wasn't it?
All living beings were players; a little suffering was nothing.
"So the urgent task right now... is to forge a Sword of Oblivion?"
Qi Yuan's thoughts were a tangled knot.
"Feng Ye, I am preparing to enter seclusion. Do not disturb me."
Having given his instructions, Qi Yuan set to work crafting the Sword of Oblivion.
Granted, Qi Yuan was no expert swordsmith.
However, at his current realm of cultivation, combined with the artifact-refining techniques he had mastered in the Divine Wood Universe, forging a single blade was a trivial matter.
"Myriad Mother Gold Essence, Yin-Yang Nine-Truth Stone, Void Yin Fiend..."
Flames of various hues rose from Qi Yuan's hands.
Blistering heat, eerie chill, absolute frost.
As dazzling effects swirled, the various materials in his grasp melted into liquid.
"To forge the Sword of Oblivion, one must enter a state of complete selflessness.
"Nothing must remain in the heart save the concept of Oblivion!"
The most extraordinary aspect of the Sword of Oblivion lay not in its materials, but in the bestowed trait of 'Oblivion.'
At this moment, Qi Yuan activated the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture.
He entered a state of utter self-forgetfulness.
"Oblivion is the origin of all things.
"Oblivion is the end of time.
"The Cycle shall ultimately be broken by Oblivion."
A peculiar aura spread outward, and the materials Qi Yuan hammered emanated a terrifying presence.
It felt as though something truly monstrous was beginning to unfurl.
***
Meanwhile, in an unknown realm.
Boundless flames burned here, spanning an expanse that perhaps equaled a third of an entire universe.
The inferno incinerated everything. Space, time, karmic causality, and destiny itself seemed reduced to ash.
Just then, out of nowhere—
*Clang!*
The rattle of chains echoed.
*Clang! Clang!*
The sound grew faster, more frequent, and increasingly thunderous.
At the edge of this world, several God Lords snapped awake, their eyes filled with bewilderment.
"What is happening?"
"Why are there anomalies in the Endless Sea of Fire?"
"A sword... seems to be buried here!"
"Go report this to the Dao Gods!"
In an instant, several God Lords vanished.
After all, countless legends surrounded the Endless Sea of Fire.
Rumor had it that a peerless baleful sword was buried within these depths.
No one knew the sword's name.
Everyone who ever knew its name had perished.
In roughly the span of a single breath, the towering figures of three Dao Gods descended.
They raised their hands, their reach vast enough to encompass the entirety of the Endless Sea of Fire.
It was as though this space, spanning a third of a universe, was nothing more than a plaything in their palms.
"The sword... has vanished," one Dao God murmured, his voice heavy with conflicting emotions.
"Its traits were ground away long ago, forgotten by the world. All that remained... was a broken sword," another Dao God said.
"Even a broken sword... holds the power to slaughter us," the last Dao God remarked, worry written across his face. "This matter must be thoroughly investigated."
Hearing this, the other two wore equally solemn expressions.
Too much blood had stained that broken sword.
"Unfortunately, the broken sword touches no karmic causality, nor is it reflected in heavenly secrets. We cannot divine its whereabouts."
"Regardless, we must find it and uncover the reason behind its disappearance."
"Pass down the order: increase surveillance on the Land of Oblivion."
"May the calamity of the past never happen again."
"All we desire... is peace between heaven and earth, and the eternal preservation of our orthodox lineage."
***
"Did I make this sword?"
Qi Yuan looked slightly dazed.
Forging the Sword of Oblivion required the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture to operate, deceiving his very self.
At this moment, his head felt cloudy and his memory hazy.
Yet no matter how poor his memory was, basic common sense remained.
He had clearly been tempering a brand-new sword, yet the finished product was battered, worn, and broken.
The blade was not particularly long, marred by what looked like rust, with faint traces of fractures running through its center.
*[Sword of Oblivion, a broken blade.]*
"Could it be that because of the trait of oblivion, this sword forgot the passage of time and became broken as a result?"
Qi Yuan muttered to himself.
Under the influence of the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture, he remained in an empty, lucid state and thought no further of it.
"I still have this many materials left. I'll patch it up and then imbue the trait of oblivion."
Following Qi Yuan's movements, new materials melded into the fractured blade.
Qi Yuan channeled the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture, infusing the trait of oblivion into the steel.
"Oblivion is the foundation, the essence of all things, the root of the Great Dao!
"Only oblivion is eternal."
Guided by Qi Yuan's voice, the principles of the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture poured steadily into the Sword of Oblivion.
After an indeterminate amount of time, Qi Yuan opened his eyes, his complexion somewhat pale.
"Exhausting. Did it finally succeed?"
He shook his head, casting aside the meditative state induced by the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture.
Even so, his eyes still held the innocent, bewildered look of a naive college student.
"Strange. How come it feels like my Great Oblivion Heart Scripture didn't manage to fill this sword up?
"What an insatiable little minx of a blade," Qi Yuan remarked.
Even though it hadn't been filled to capacity, the sword's sheer might far exceeded Qi Yuan's expectations.
"To think my artifact-crafting skills had already reached such pinnacle perfection."
Qi Yuan gave himself a pat on the back.
This blade was infinitely more formidable than the lightsaber he had forged back in the Divine Wood Universe.
*Slaying a God Lord with a single strike of this sword would be child's play, wouldn't it?*
*Sigh, if I had sent this sword back to the time I killed Heitian and Heitu, wouldn't I have wiped out those lackeys without having to cultivate so hard?*
Qi Yuan let his imagination run wild.
Suddenly, however, he paused, a look of confusion crossing his face.
"Wait, did something happen while I was forging the sword?
"Damn it. Using the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture made me forget even the process of forging the blade...
"What happened back then?"
For reasons unknown, Qi Yuan felt as though he had forgotten something important.
"Oh well. If it's forgotten, it's forgotten. It was probably just junk data and useless memory anyway—no harm in clearing it out."
Clutching the newly reforged Sword of Oblivion, Qi Yuan was in high spirits.
This blade felt to him no lesser than supreme treasures like the Sole Palace or the Gate of Myriad Manifestations.
Qi Yuan suspected that forging it had been a stroke of pure serendipity.
If he tried to forge it a second time, he might produce another Sword of Oblivion, but... it would never be this extraordinary.
"So my luck is still quite good. How has it gotten worse?"
Qi Yuan thought smugly.
"Your Highness."
Just then, Feng Ye approached, wearing a grave expression.
"What is it? How long was I in seclusion?"
"Seven sevens, forty-nine days," Feng Ye replied, his solemn look unchanged. "Just thirty days ago, His Majesty Pillar Tiankai... departed for the front line."
"Has war broken out with the Broken Soul Bridge?" Qi Yuan inquired.
Myriad Gods Mountain had long held grudges against the Broken Soul Bridge, and the two factions clashed continuously.
Previously, however, conflicts had always been kept within a certain boundary. Although Pillar-level experts oversaw the front line, they were generally just figureheads.
Now that Myriad Gods Mountain had dispatched Pillar Tiankai to the front, the situation there had clearly shifted.
Such a shift was bound to affect everyone on Myriad Gods Mountain.
For Feng Ye, the one most impacted was none other than the godchild he served—Qi Yuan.
"Your Highness, please cultivate diligently and break through to the God Lord realm as soon as possible. Otherwise, if you are conscripted to the front line, you may face the peril of falling in battle," Feng Ye said earnestly.
Tiankai's departure for the front had been hasty.
Once the situation stabilized, the godchildren might very well be summoned to join the fight.
As Qi Yuan's Dao protector, Feng Ye would naturally have to accompany him.
"Mm, I'm already cultivating as hard as I can," Qi Yuan replied.
At present, he was continuously tempering his divine oracle in the Abandoned Lands.
The God Lord realm was not far off.
If his cultivation speed were made known, it would terrify anyone who heard it.
However, after consulting the books in the Library Pavilion, Qi Yuan had uncovered many peculiar facts.
For instance, God Lord Heitian had taken a mere ten thousand years to step into the God Lord realm, after which... he had remained stuck there ever since.
In other universes and within the Sixth Heaven of the Immortal Realm, such speed would be hailed as utterly earth-shattering.
After all, reaching the third tier of the Yang God realm in ten thousand years was extraordinary.
Yet here on Myriad Gods Mountain, there were quite a few people like that.
Most importantly, the majority required timelines counted in millions of years—and they were already considered peerless prodigies. Even more required tens of millions, or hundreds of millions of years.
All in all, this entire world was rather bizarre.
Chapter 603