Zhu Qinglan stared at Zhi Xuan. Her ocean-crystal eyes narrowed, piercing through the layers of cold defense the Black-Haired Devil had erected. She saw a false calm on Zhi Xuan's face, but beneath it, she sensed a tremor of excitement.

  Zhi Xuan was not afraid; he was thrilled. He saw danger as an opportunity, and he was using Zhu Qinglan’s Binding Decree as an excuse to demand guidance, flipping the punishment into a demanded service.

  Silence descended upon Jade Immortal Peak. Zhu Qinglan sighed, a subtle exhale that carried a hint of soft defeat. She knew she could not stop Zhi Xuan. The Black-Haired Devil was a manifestation of an unbendable destiny. Forbidding him to go would only tear the promise of Dao pointers she had just made, which in turn would reduce the weight of the Binding Decree.

  "You are audacious," Zhu Qinglan hissed, her tone no longer containing anger, but a mixture of suppressed admiration and deep annoyance. "You truly do not fear Heaven and Earth, Zhi Xuan. You are the person I despise the most. And, did you not hear me? The Annual Disciple Celebration is in six days!"

  Zhi Xuan nodded, his posture remaining calm. “The Annual Disciple Celebration is a duel arena for Transformation cultivators, Holy Fairy Zhu,” Zhi Xuan countered, his voice flat and indifferent. “My Perfect Five Divine Organs foundation is stable, and no one below the Five Element realm is worthy of my fear. On the contrary, facing the clash of will in the Primordial Ancient City will be a more valuable trial."

  “Fine,” Zhu Qinglan finally conceded. This decision felt like one burden was released, only for another to be placed on her shoulders. She glanced at Mei and Ling’er. “Leave us. Fetch the jade teacups and take us to a quieter cultivation pavilion.”

  Mei and Ling’er bowed deeply and immediately retreated, moving with a silent efficiency that reflected Ancient Clan training. The Water Law curtain around Zhu Qinglan rippled, and she stepped out of the Formation boundary, moving towards Zhi Xuan. Her graceful posture now felt closer, more threatening.

  “You force my hand,” Zhu Qinglan hissed, she was not looking at Zhi Xuan, but her ocean-crystal eyes were staring at the distant Sect Peaks, as if warning all senior disciples not to approach. “If you fall into the trap of the Dao will there, then I myself will shatter your soul so that you do not have a chance at reincarnation."

  Zhi Xuan shrugged slightly, ignoring the Holy Fairy's threat. He knew Zhu Qinglan’s threat was not driven by mortal hatred, but by worry about the karmic consequences if the impulsive Black-Haired Devil failed and brought disaster to the Zhu Clan.

  "A generous threat," Zhi Xuan countered, his tone flat. "If I fall, then I am not The Herald of Devil."

  Zhu Qinglan snorted softly, a cold, voiceless scoff. She led Zhi Xuan to a smaller pavilion, made of golden sandalwood that radiated an aura of tranquility and protection. As soon as they sat on the silk cushions, surrounded by a powerful Sound Sealing Formation, Mei and Ling’er returned, serving hot spiritual tea in jade cups before disappearing again.

  Zhi Xuan waved his hand, taking his teacup. The sweet scent of heavenly herbs touched his nose. He did not waste time. He stared at Zhu Qinglan, his sapphire eyes radiating cruel sharpness.

  “The Taiyin Holy Pool,” Zhi Xuan said, his voice calm and measured, cutting the silence. “What do you know about that Primordial Ancient City? Not the whispers told in the Mission Hall, but the truth of the Ancient Clan.”

  Zhu Qinglan slowly sipped her tea, a graceful and controlled movement, an attempt to regain the composure Zhi Xuan had ruined. She knew Zhi Xuan would not be satisfied with a shallow answer.

  “The Primordial Ancient City is the ruin from the era when the Great Emperors fell,” Zhu Qinglan countered, her voice now containing the deep weight of history. “The city was built by sects that worshiped the cycle of Yin and Yang, long before the concept of cultivation realms emerged in the Lower Realms. The Taiyin Holy Pool there is a spiritual spring."

  "For tens of thousands of years, the Nine Plains had not yet appeared in the Lower Realms." Zhu Qinglan continued, her voice lowered to a cautious, ancient whisper. "The era of the fall of the Great Emperors triggered the fragmentation of the Single Plain into the Nine Plains. Cang Hai, Huang Tu, Yao Gu, Xing Luo, Feng Mie, Chi Di, Ling Wu, Mo Yan, and finally the Fallen Petal Ruins."

  Zhi Xuan clenched his jaw. The list of Plains names resonated with the knowledge of the Great Saint in his mind. Most of those Plains were places outside the Xing Luo Plain, where Zhi Xuan stood in the Lower Realms, or dangerous, inaccessible places.

  “So,” Zhi Xuan muttered, his voice as cold as ice splitting the ocean, digesting the ancient knowledge Zhu Qinglan had just revealed. “The Primordial Ancient City is something older than the Nine Plains. A remnant of a civilization that worshiped the cycle. Then, why does the Ancient City forbid contact with the ground?”

  Zhu Qinglan placed her jade teacup down with a gentle movement. Her gaze now radiated absolute seriousness. She did not hide anything anymore, even though it literally violated her wisdom as a Holy Daughter. She waved her hand and a small formation sealed the sound.

  “Because the Ancient City itself is a Tomb,” Zhu Qinglan whispered, her voice so low that only the Sound Sealing Formation and Zhi Xuan heard it. “Besides the Great Emperor's Tomb located in the Ancient Wasteland, the Primordial Ancient City is the Tomb for the Ancient Beings who fell to the Lower Realms.”

  “The Tomb for the Ancient Beings who fell to the Lower Realms,” Zhi Xuan repeated, his tone flat, but a layer of cold steel enveloped his voice. The blood-red rings around his sapphire pupils pulsed slightly. He finally understood why the Ancient City radiated such a distinctly dangerous aura. It was not just a ruin; it was a final resting place that rejected mortal life.

  “Ancient Beings,” Zhi Xuan muttered. He looked into his teacup, no longer caring about its sweetness. “Not spirits, not ghosts. Ancient Beings. Entities that transcend the concept of realms we know. What did they worship?”

  Zhu Qinglan sighed, her voice containing the weight of secrecy she did not want to share. “They did not worship; they were the Worshiped. They were entities that lived in the era when the Lower Realms was still part of the Unity of Heaven and Hell. The Zhu Clan and other ancient clans have little historical record of them. They are referred to as Primordial Progeny.”

  “Fallen Primordial Progeny?” Zhi Xuan asked, he was not entirely unfamiliar with this concept. The memory of the Ancient Devil Ruo Xianxue did not store any stories about entities that did not choose the side of Immortals or Devils, but stood as the very pillars of Heaven and Earth.

  “Yes,” Zhu Qinglan countered. “When the era known as the Fall of the Nine Heavens ended, and Heaven and Earth separated, these Primordial Progeny fell. Their majestic bodies were destroyed, and their eternal souls were torn apart. That Primordial Ancient City was built on the fragments of the Ancient Being’s body, an attempt by their followers to immortalize the remnants of their Dao.”

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Zhu Qinglan leaned slightly forward, her ocean-crystal eyes staring straight into Zhi Xuan's eyes, a look that warned him of the impending danger.

  “That Ancient Being is still alive, in the form of will scattered in the air and the ground,” Zhu Qinglan whispered. “The prohibition to touch the ground is not a sect prohibition; it is one of the Ancient Supreme Laws. Every strand of soil, every grain of dust in that Ancient City is a fragment of the fallen Ancient Being's flesh and bone. Touching the ground means touching their will."

  Zhi Xuan narrowed his eyes, his sapphire pupils surrounded by red rings now radiated sharp, cold light. He understood. This was far more dangerous than an ordinary realm battle. The clash of Dao with Xu Sheng was merely child's play compared to the risk of a Will clash with an entity that lived in the Primordial era.

  “The Ancient City, as a Tomb, has a Supreme Law that functions as a Prison. Every cultivator, both from the Ancient Clan and ordinary Sects, who has violated the Supreme Law by touching the ground, their Dao will is plucked from their mortal body." Zhu Qinglan paused for a moment, she grabbed her teacup with a subtly trembling hand before regaining her composure and continuing. "Their bodies may return, but their souls… their souls remain trapped there, weeping endlessly. That is a cruel Tomb, a purification that demands an unimaginable price.”

  Zhi Xuan fell silent. He no longer saw this as a quiet training arena to test the Heaven-Grade Martial Art. This was a journey to hell where the will of his Consciousness Transformation cultivator would be torn and snatched away by the Ancient Being who refused to die.

  "Primordial Progeny," Zhi Xuan murmured. He had never seen such a record, but now he knew that if Zhu Qinglan was trembling, then it was truly an unimaginable Ancient Being. "Are there also sect envoys or cultivators wandering there?"

  Zhu Qinglan nodded, the graceful movement carrying the weight of genuine exhaustion. She took a deep breath, calming the ripples of water essence around her.

  “Yes, there are,” Zhu Qinglan countered, her voice returning to a more controlled tone, but still encased in a layer of steel. “The Primordial Ancient City is connected to territories disputed by the Hongmeng Empire. It is a gray area, a place traversed by various factions."

  She leaned her back against the golden sandalwood armrest, her ocean-crystal gaze radiating cold analysis. “But all factions there respect the Ancient Supreme Law. No one dares to touch the ground. They all operate in the air, or use powerful flying artifacts. So, Zhi Xuan, if you step in there, you will not only face the Will of the Ancient Being, but also bloodthirsty factions.”

  Zhi Xuan nodded slowly. He did not ask why the Thousand Heavens Sect would risk sending disciples to such a dangerous location just to set up a Sect Formation near the Taiyin Holy Pool. The reason was clear. The Thousand Heavens Sect wanted to harvest the extremely rare pure Yin Essence from the Taiyin, and they were using a mid-grade mission as bait to test the courage of their disciples.

  “I understand,” Zhi Xuan said, his voice flat. He sipped his spiritual tea, letting the calming scent of the herbs wash away the tension created by the tale of the fallen Primordial Progeny. He looked at Zhu Qinglan, a thin and cruel smile twisting his lips. “Thank you for this very valuable Dao guidance, Holy Fairy Zhu. You have given me a much-needed map to enter that hell.”

  Zhu Qinglan snorted softly. She was not pleased to be praised for helping the Black-Haired Devil enter fatal danger. “Do not thank me. I gave this not because I want you to be safe, but because if you fail, the karma that binds us will drag me into ruin,” Zhu Qinglan countered, her tone cold and formal.

  "Do not worry," Zhi Xuan said coldly, filled with deep calmness. "I will not forget to enter the Divine Stone Mine. And, to find the Seven Lotus Yin Fruit for the Holy Fairy."

  He rose from his silk cushion, his posture as calm and sharp as a newly forged sword. Even though the threat of fatal danger from the Primordial Progeny's Will had just been revealed, Zhi Xuan's expression did not show the slightest fear. Instead, there was a cruel calculating glint in his sapphire eyes.

  Zhu Qinglan stared at him. This sudden departure of Zhi Xuan felt like a bitter victory. He had forced her to reveal the most hidden secrets of the Ancient Clan, simply with the threat of a mid-grade mission.

  "Wait," Zhu Qinglan cut in, her voice slightly louder. She rose, the distance between them now only a few steps. The pure water aura around her rippled, a sign of her internal tension. "You are entering the Primordial Ancient City today?"

  Zhi Xuan stopped, his hand that had just been raised to cup his hands, paused in the air. He slowly turned to face Zhu Qinglan. He saw deep anxiety in the Holy Fairy's ocean eyes, a small frown on her beautiful brow that could not be hidden. That worry was not about Zhi Xuan’s safety as an individual, but about the continuity of the karma that bound them.

  “I have one month, and the Annual Disciple Celebration is in six days,” Zhi Xuan countered, his voice flat and cold, reflecting the calculation he had just made. “I will enter the Primordial Ancient City before dawn tomorrow. Six days, I will return."

  Zhu Qinglan held her breath. Six days. Too short a time for a mission fraught with primordial will and a Supreme Law that demands soul plucking. She saw a deadly calm in Zhi Xuan's eyes, a calmness that only belonged to an existence that did not value his own life or was extremely confident in his Dao.

  “Six days,” Zhu Qinglan repeated, her voice now carrying a much heavier weight than a threat. She stepped forward, her hand raised for a moment, as if to reach for Zhi Xuan, but then fell again, realizing the boundary of honor and danger that separated them. “Zhi Xuan, you are impulsive. You cannot enter that Primordial Ancient Tomb with an arena duel mentality.”

  "An arena duel that forges my blood and Dao," Zhi Xuan countered for the last time, he cupped his hands and turned to leave. However, he stopped at the threshold of the cultivation pavilion door. "And, I am not one who breaks promises."

  With that, Zhi Xuan did not look back and carved runes on his feet. In one step he became a streak of dark purple light and left the Pavilion, disappearing behind the cloud mist of Jade Immortal Peak. Behind him, Zhu Qinglan stared far into the distance where Zhi Xuan was before.

  Zhu Qinglan stood stiffly in the middle of the golden sandalwood pavilion. Her incomparably beautiful face now radiated cold alienation. The pure water aura around her swirled restlessly, as if the crystal sea within her was raging.

  Six days. A short time for a mission that carried the danger of the Primordial Progeny's Will and a Supreme Law that demanded soul plucking. She had tried to bind the Black-Haired Devil with the Binding Decree, but instead, she allowed Zhi Xuan to gain the most secret information of the Ancient Clan and validated his choice to step into danger.

  She sighed, an exhale that carried the weight of deep powerlessness. Her hatred for Zhi Xuan was no longer pure personal hatred, but hatred for the destiny that forced her to rely on that impulsive Black-Haired Devil. She needed Zhi Xuan for the Great Emperor's mission.

  If Zhi Xuan collapsed in the Primordial Ancient City, the karma that bound them would tear her own Dao, or worse, hinder their chance to enter the Ancestral Tomb. Zhu Qinglan walked slowly to the edge of the pavilion, her gaze sweeping across the mist-shrouded Sky Sword Peak. There, the newly forged Devil was preparing his journey to the Ancient Tomb.

  "Mei, Ling'er!" Zhu Qinglan called. Her voice contained a sharp and irresistible authority.

  Mei and Ling’er immediately appeared from the shadows, bowing deeply. They could feel the deep uneasiness of their Holy Fairy.

  “Immediately send a secret message to the Elder Hall,” Zhu Qinglan commanded, her eyes radiating cruel calculation. “Say that Zhi Xuan, the resident of Sky Sword Peak, has taken a mission to the Primordial Ancient City. Ask them to monitor the situation, but do not send aid. Let him face that danger alone.”

  “Holy Fairy Zhu,” Mei countered, her tone sounding anxious. “If Young Master Zhi Xuan succeeds, won't this further boost his prestige before the Annual Disciple Celebration? If he completes that dangerous mission in six days, his reputation will be unimaginable.”

  Zhu Qinglan snorted, the look in her eyes now radiating the fire of cold intelligence. She turned her face away from the sight of Sky Sword Peak, as if she could not bear to look at the object of her anxiety.

  “Of course he will succeed,” Zhu Qinglan countered, her tone containing bitter conviction. “He is a Devil forged by the Heavenly Thunder Calamity, how could he collapse just because of a scattered will of an Ancient Being? I do not doubt his Dao, Mei. I doubt his arrogance.”

  She stepped away from the edge of the pavilion, returning to the center. Her posture returned to cold composure, but a layer of steel wrapped around it.

  “The Annual Disciple Celebration, Mei, Ling’er,” Zhu Qinglan said, her voice now returning to a formal decree tone. “That Celebration is an opportunity for the Zhu Clan to expand its power in the Thousand Heavens Sect. And, I rely on that Devil to become one of the pillars of my ascent to Soul Transformation.”