C78 The Truth of the Legend!
At the summit of the altar, there were no items for sacrifice—only a stone wall was present.
Chu Yi alighted gracefully beneath the wall.
The wall itself wasn't particularly large, and the altar seemed modest in size, especially when compared to the colossal coffin stretching for miles beyond. Yet, Chu Yi sensed something utterly distinct here.
It radiated an aura of antiquity and desolation, imbued with a sense of tragic grandeur.
The moment one stepped onto the altar, they would be involuntarily enveloped by this pervasive aura.
Chu Yi looked up at the stone wall before him.
It bore no profound secrets or arcane spells; the only thing present was a simple mural.
Studying the mural, sketched with the most basic of lines, Chu Yi's brow furrowed slightly.
The depiction was exceedingly simplistic, featuring merely a figure wielding a massive axe.
The figure was too vague to discern any details.
But in the next instant, Chu Yi noticed a dramatic transformation!
The simple lines seemed to spring to life, and suddenly, countless lines began to interlace and stretch across the wall.
Almost immediately, a lifelike scene unfolded before Chu Yi...
...
Wielding the Heaven Splitting Axe, he surged into the void.
In that moment, with a single swing, the axe shattered the fabric of time and space!
Chu Yi witnessed an immense fissure cleave through the void that seemed to encompass the universe itself!
The following instant, a multitude of beings ascended alongside the mighty warrior.
Creatures of all forms—human, beast, serpent, sheep, colossal dragons, and resplendent phoenixes—charged toward the gaping rift!
Among them, Chu Yi spotted innumerable humans!
Indeed, humans!
Yet these were not like the humans of Earth; their formidable power made even Chu Yi's heart quiver.
Though merely depicted in the mural, these humans seemed to rival the most extraordinary immortals and demons from every epoch of their legendary era.
An elder on a green ox, a youth with four immortal swords, a majestic middle-aged man—they stood at the forefront of their race, leading the charge against the daunting cavern with a force that could shake the very world.
Then, just as suddenly, the entire scene vanished.
Chu Yi gazed at the simple mural before him, his eyes filled with an extraordinary sense of awe.
"What on earth is this...?"
"What is it?!"
"What is it!!!"
Chu Yi was on the verge of madness!
If Chu Yi had truly been ignorant, knowing nothing at all, perhaps he wouldn't have been so astounded.
But that was not the case!
Chu Yi couldn't remember if he had been such a person in a past life. After his return, he had forgotten far too much.
However, in his previous existence, within a simple world devoid of martial arts, immortals, and demons, he, Chu Yi, was not such a person!
Therefore, Chu Yi knew, he understood.
He was familiar with those ancient tales and had heard of the great sages.
Pangu splitting the heavens and earth, Zhulong controlling the sun and the moon—these were myths Chu Yi knew well.
But, oh, but...
Chu Yi was no fool. If he had merely witnessed the muscular man cleaving through the void, he might not have given it a second thought.
But upon seeing the legendary beasts and deities emerge, he was convinced that their leader was none other than Pangu, the legendary creator!
And yet, and yet!
"Wasn't Pangu the one who split heaven and earth?"
"Weren't the Three Pure Ones born from Pangu's essence after his demise?"
"Why, why would they exist simultaneously?"
The transformation of myth into reality was shocking enough.
But when Chu Yi discovered that the myths he knew were seemingly incorrect, it transcended shock—it bordered on insanity.
Pangu created the world, and from his demise, the Three Pure Ones were born. Nuwa formed humans from clay, and later, the Three Pure Ones led and enlightened all beings. The foremost of the Three Pure Ones, Old Lord Taishang, even founded the Human Sect, achieving immortality through his boundless virtue.
This was the history Chu Yi was aware of.
But what he was witnessing now was entirely wrong, utterly wrong!
Chu Yi took a moment to steady his racing heart and turned his gaze to another stone wall.
It, too, was marked with incredibly simple lines. As expected, as soon as Chu Yi immersed his consciousness within, everything transformed.
The myriad lines seemed to spring to life, infusing the entire mural with vitality. Though still rendered in shades of gray, the scenes depicted were vividly clear!
And then, Chu Yi saw it!
A beam of light emerged in the boundless void, a solitary beacon piercing the darkness.
In a split second, the heavens shattered and the earth split open!
The fabric of countless dimensions fractured, and a fearsome rift tore through the firmament.
Chu Yi beheld a figure defying the very heavens—a being with the body of a human and the tail of a snake, stirring the ancient cosmos!
Her arm rose slowly, sweeping through the boundless void, and in a flash, it was sundered.
Time and space, along with all things that ever were or weren't, were consigned to history in that moment.
Once more, a dreadful fissure marred the sky.
The spectacle bore an uncanny resemblance to what Chu Yi had witnessed previously.
The sole difference lay in the fact that it was Pangu who had once forged the world, whereas now, Nuwa wielded the power to shatter eternity!
Chu Yi stood, dumbstruck.
Wasn't it Nuwa, according to legend, who mended the heavens? Why then was she now the one to rend them asunder?
Something was amiss, terribly so!
Yet, Chu Yi's daze vanished in the blink of an eye, for he distinctly saw something emerge from the shattered temporal rift.
But what it was, Chu Yi could not discern. It was beyond his sight!
All Chu Yi could ascertain was that something had indeed emerged, stepping out from the fractured continuum to stir colossal waves in this realm!
Chu Yi watched as a host of formidable beings defied the heavens, clashing with those ineffable, unseen entities in the void. In moments, the sky crumbled, space was nullified, and all that was and ever had been began to fade.
Such was the horror of this shock.
In the previous vision, Chu Yi had not seen what followed; all had vanished when Pangu led the multitude of creatures into the abyss.
But here...
Though Chu Yi saw nothing, he sensed that something was battling them, waging war alongside the creatures led by Empress Wa!
Regrettably, Chu Yi could see none of it, and could only gaze on, helplessly.
The battle was beyond Chu Yi's comprehension, surpassing anything witnessed even in the five millennia of the Immortal Demon World.
In a fleeting trance, or perhaps an eternity, all vanished.
Tranquility was restored between heaven and earth.
Chu Yi caught sight of a figure ascending through the void, clutching five-colored soil, and ultimately sealing the shattered cavern completely.
Nuwa...
Mending the heavens...
All imagery faded away.
Chu Yi was overwhelmed with emotion.
He was eager to see the remaining images.
Yet, when Chu Yi went to observe, he discovered the other murals were barren.
Not entirely barren, though.
There were a few simple lines, but sadly, these lines failed to even form basic shapes.
It was as if some fearsome force had obliterated all of history in the temporal stream, leaving not a single trace behind.
Chu Yi stood bewildered on the altar, staring blankly at his surroundings, at the world...
...
Time passed before Chu Yi snapped out of his stupor.
He recalled the myths and legends from his memories, and all that he had witnessed.
But something was amiss!
No, it was all incorrect!
The visions before him, everything he saw, it was all wrong!
This was fundamentally different from his understanding!
Chu Yi's heart was seized by an indescribable shock.
His eyes were clouded with bewilderment, facing experiences Chu Yi had never before considered.
The myths and legends were just that, mere stories, which Chu Yi had previously dismissed.
But since entering the Immortal Demon World and encountering those Immortals and Demons, Chu Yi realized that perhaps Earth's myths and legends were more than just tales.
Thus, he had gradually come to believe in those ancient stories.
But now, confronted with these entirely different myths and legends, Chu Yi felt an indescribable disturbance within him.
It was a profound challenge to his own convictions.
Chu Yi struggled to accept this new reality.
"Is this the true myth?"
"Is this the historical truth of the myth?"
"But what, in the end, is it?"
Chu Yi felt on the verge of madness.
"Pangu creating the world, Nüwa repairing the sky—what was the purpose behind it all?"
"Kuafu chasing the sun, Gonggong not colliding with Mount Buzhou—what was the reason?"
"What was the meaning behind these tales?"
A profound silence followed, then a deep sigh.
Chu Yi knew he couldn't discern the truth at that moment, as the images were incomplete.
Suddenly, his eyes widened in shock!
He saw that everything around him was dissolving into nothingness, fading away.
In just a moment, the entire altar had become insubstantial.
And then, it vanished...
Chu Yi stood amidst the void, his gaze wandering aimlessly through the surrounding emptiness.
Merely moments before, an altar that appeared to hold the true history of the Mythological Era had stood here, but in an instant, it had all disappeared.
He continued to stare into the endless void, lost in thought, until at last, he let out a deep sigh.
His eyes held an indescribable mix of emotions.
Suddenly, Chu Yi vanished, and when he reappeared, he was right next to Lee Zi.
Seeing Chu Yi's return, Lee Zi, who had been waiting in distress, breathed a sigh of relief.
During Chu Yi's absence, Lee Zi had forsaken her cultivation, her mind consumed by anxious anticipation.
Though the concentration of spiritual energy in this place exceeded all imagination, for Lee Yi, nothing was more important than Chu Yi's safety.
Having witnessed the array of Chu Yi's capabilities, Lee Zi understood that he would not have left without being fully assured of his plan. Yet, her worries had been uncontrollable.
Now, with Chu Yi safely back, Lee Zi's fears were finally put to rest.
