122. Into The Past
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'I must find the black butterfly!'
Bruised and battered, Fei Yun struggled to his feet, hacking out a spatter of blood as he cast a few seals.
The black butterfly had long vanished from his side, but he wasn't completely foolish... Nor was he entirely a lost cause.
He had known full well that the black butterfly was linked to the cloaked woman, and that allying with them meant betraying Sky Realm and working with demons, so he had planted a trail on the butterfly as a form of apology to Tianlong.
A hidden crystal feather which would lead Tianlong to the cloaked woman if anything happened to him.
But now, he intended to use that trail to find the cloaked woman himself!
'There's no way it's A-Fen beneath that cloak!
'Right...?' He thought- hoped, as he performed a hand seal and vanished, following his own feather trail...
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The City of Yu Shui, once known as a serene, beautiful, peaceful, prosperous city, had been revealed to be a lie lasting thousands of years, and the luscious and perfect landscape had been replaced by desolation and decay as far as the eyes could see.
Adding to the sorry state of the city, so much was happening this night, that none present could remember the beautiful luscious city which they had admired mere hours ago.
At the heart of the City sat the arena and platform, now reduced to a collection of fog and ruins, the depressing view somehow worsened by the same brief and salty rain which had been their salvation.
But the Mortals, almost a thousand in total, barely registered their surroundings as they silently watched Immortal Yin Xing, the Night Immortal.
By now, most had dried themselves, using internal qi to restore their robes and visage back to some semblance of elegance, and they watched as Yin Xing performed a few hand seals.
The black starry orb over his hand pulsed and swiftly expanded to cover the skies, surrounding them all with millions of twinkling lights.
"With the permission of the Sky Emperor himself, I'm here to show mortals all the events that have led to the recent catastrophe..."
More than a few necks craned in expectation as excitement rippled through the crowd.
Never in history had mortals been allowed to glimpse beyond the mortal veil, and most had only heard tales of Sky Realm - glorious stories brought down by those rare geniuses who ascended through cultivation.
Of course most of the older mortals had experienced the expedition to Caoyang, but that began with the very mortal journey to Red Grove City, where the Fate Immortal, Fei Yun, picked them up on his giant eagle and flew them right to Caoyang.
Along the way, nothing could be seen through dense clouds, and Caoyang itself was a constant battle for one's life, leaving them with no chance to appreciate its breathtaking views.
Those who survived were picked up again from Caoyang's base, and delivered right back to Red Grove City, so no true mortal, except perhaps Xu Weiyan, had truly seen Sky Realm!
And this was evident at the moment, as even the Grand Wulin Master wasn't daring to blink!
There were gasps as the stars around them glinted, unfurling into patterns that blossomed like silver petals, and the desolate ruins melted away, replaced by a sight that stole every breath.
A palace of divine magnificence suddenly appeared, looming into the skies, radiant and surrounded by pure light. It was a palace of countless arches and pillars of gold and white, with six petal-like tiers towering beyond the clouds.
Even the air felt different, with a light feeling, yet weighted by pure qi, and a pleasant fragrance wove around, drawing gasps and exclamations from the awed mortals.
"Wah!"
"What a delightful place!"
"So this... this is Sky Realm?"
"Even the air is impressive!"
Someone whispered with a trembling voice, "'The mountains and rivers of Heaven outshine mortal dreams, and the jade palaces gleam beneath endless spring'!"
"Indeed!" Another murmured, eyes wide as round moons. "Isn't the mortal realm dust compared to this...?!"
The golden glow bathed their faces, and for a moment, every heart was lost in the boundless majesty of Sky Palace.
But then...
"The tale began from an ancient moment, about five hundred and fifty thousand years ago..." A familiar voice spoke, jarring them to the memory of why they were there!
"Isn't that the 'Narrator'?" Sect Leader Huo's brows had formed two perfect arches, and most of the mortals nodded in recognition.
This was indeed the voice which guided them on the dangers of Caoyang! A faceless voice attached to the safety scroll given to the cultivators who wished to challenge Caoyang each year.
"In the great battle between the heavens and the underworld, the last phoenix fell, sacrificing her core and essence to defeat the demon King..." The Narrator continued, and the scenes around the mortals changed again, as Yin Xing's spell encompassed the entire Yu Shui City...
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Throughout the city, Yin Xing's spell was descending, sending everyone into trance-like visions of thousands of years past.
In the past two months, Luoyin had sent Yin Xing to investigate Yu Shui city even further, but instead, Yin Xing had secretly approached Tianlong...
"Don't bother attacking me... This is a clone." Yin Xing had said, sending Tianlong his most perfunctory bow yet.
"Hmph. You don't even pretend to respect me anymore?" Tianlong smirked. "I wondered how you held yourself back for so long... I could always sense your hatred, but even through my foolishness, I knew you were the one person I couldn't touch, or A-Bai really would never forgive me."
"He shouldn't forgive you even now! Between you and Immortal Fei Yun, do I even need to say who he cared about most?!"
A hurt expression crossed Tianlong's face and a silence stretched between them.
But surprisingly, Yin Xing suddenly dropped to one knee, linking his thumbs in a proper salute.
"I'm determined to clear my brother's name." He said.
"I already sent out an edict clearing his name." Tianlong replied, but Yin Xing scoffed.
"Hmph. You also sent out an edict proclaiming him guilty in the past and even attached visions as evidence... Now would anyone even believe a simple edict?
"Besides, Sky Realm once accused you and the late Sky Emperor of playing favourites. Won't these present enemies do the same? Hmph, they might even go as far as turning this whole war around and pinning it on my brother's head.
"For most people, 'seeing is indeed believing', which is why..." He bowed his head. "Permit me to use the Golden Star Edict!"
The Golden Star Edict was a sealed golden scroll which permitted the Night Deity to unlock the stars of the most highly-ranked or powerful deities and immortals, including the Sky Emperor himself.
By Sky Law, every Immortal above High Immortal Status had their stars protected from prying eyes. The more powerful an immortal, the more enemies might eye them unfavorably, so this law was put in place to prevent their weaknesses or vulnerabilities from being glimpsed.
Only the Star Edict could permit the Night Immortal to view those stars, and much like with the Fate mirrors, trying to use the Star Edict without permission would drain the Night Immortal's vitality to a point of near-death!
"I was going to disregard you and find a way to break the Star Seal..." Yin Xing continued. "But Sky Realm has seen enough betrayals from within. If we continue like this, what can the mortals look up to?"
Tianlong sighed, simply shaking his head. "You're more like him than you realise... I knew you would never touch that edict without coming here, so I already expected you."
Yin Xing shot him a surprised look and Tianlong smirked.
"Oh? You really thought you could have reached me so easily without a summon...?"
Either way, Tianlong had granted permission...
He had been hesitant, simply watching the golden scroll hover before him.
Handing it to Yin Xing would put his own shortcomings, desires, weaknesses, and even his foolish actions on display!
And yet...
It was a small price to pay after what he had done.
So he had waved the scroll toward Yin Xing...
And with the Golden Star Edict, Yin Xing and the Starry Pavilion disciples had compiled an accurate sequence of events which revealed most of what happened in the past.
First, he had revealed these events throughout Sky Realm causing mass outrage.
And now at present, his spell was casting a trance on all mortals within Yu Shui city, forcing them into the unfolding tale...
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Meanwhile, west of the city's center, Qin Yuelian remained unaffected by the spell so she still rushed at Weiyan, throwing earth-shattering attacks at her.
But a vast barrier had surrounded Weiyan, shielding her from Qin Yuelian's attacks, and within the shield, Yin Xing's spell was affecting Weiyan a little differently.
Rather than follow the 'Narrator', Weiyan had entered a daze of her own and could no longer hear her attacker, her eyes remaining fixated on the familiar couple beneath the shade.
'What... is going on?' She wondered. 'I have no such memories!'
Yet, there was no mistaking the faces, except that the white streaks in Luoyin's hair were absent.
"A-Bai... Do you really think it's here?" The strange 'Weiyan' asked, her fingers now creeping across the strange 'Luoyin's' chest.
He caught her hand. "Weiwei! How can I focus like this?!" He playfully demanded, but she only gave a smug smile, leaned up, and quickly kissed his lips.
Weiyan flushed and swiftly swivelled to look away.
'How bold! Out in the moonlight!' She thought, only to conveniently recall the numerous moonlit nights at the Yan Pagoda where Luoyin had done something similar!
But then she froze.
''A-Bai'...?' That was what her lookalike just called Luoyin, and Weiyan turned back to the two.
'It's Yin Bailong...!'
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