Chapter 125: Chapter 122: Characters from Huaxia

Song Ciwan put away the Ancestral Dragon Coins in her hand and stepped into a pillar of clear light by the street.

Xie Yunxiang summoned his courage, shut his eyes, and stepped into a band of light not far from her.

At that moment, the echo of the twenty-one chimes still seemed to reverberate through the city. In the gray, misty world, countless dark-red specks of Nether Qi floated around the bands of light, casting the entire world in a bizarre and motley glow that was both fantastic and dazzling.

As Song Ciwan ascended with the clear light, she glanced down and took in the scene.

This was a sight that could not be seen in the Mortal World. Song Ciwan’s pupils reflected it, and at the same time, she etched the image into her heart.

She thought: ’To witness the different sceneries of the worlds, whether in the Mortal World or an Otherworld... perhaps this is one of the meanings of a long life.’

As her thoughts drifted, Song Ciwan’s gaze suddenly froze on something below.

’Eh... What did I just see?’

As the clear light rose higher and higher, the entirety of Illusory Nether City was revealed before her eyes.

She suddenly felt that the city’s layout seemed somewhat familiar.

Although much of the city’s periphery was still shrouded in black fog, the main structure was clearly shaped like... like an inverted character for "Xia"!

The "Xia" from "Huaxia." The Han character "Xia" from her past life’s memory, not the "Xia" character of this world’s Great Zhou!

At that moment, Song Ciwan was stunned and bewildered. She almost suspected she had seen it wrong, but a thought in her subconscious insisted she was right. ’That’s it. That’s "Xia," the simplified Han character for "Xia." I’m not mistaken!’

After seeing the seal script for "Heaven and Earth" on the Ancestral Dragon Coins, she had now seen a simplified Han character in this world...

If the identical seal script could be explained as some sort of cultural convergence across wondrous space and time, then how could she explain a simplified Han character?

Amidst the fog, countless thoughts raced through Song Ciwan’s mind in an instant.

Just as every thought became a chaotic jumble, the clear light carrying her came to a sudden halt.

The clear light had finished its ascent, depositing her on a massive Floating Platform at the very top of the city.

Song Ciwan’s eyes swept casually across the area. Her gaze had just passed over the top of a colossal tower on the inner side of the platform when a thought finally broke through the chaos in her mind: ’The character for "Xia"... isn’t its simplified form written the exact same way as its traditional form?’

As this thought settled, the tension in Song Ciwan’s heart inexplicably gave way to a strange sense of relief.

She let out a silent breath, feeling that her momentary panic had been both amusing and odd.

Her thoughts returned to the present, and Song Ciwan carefully surveyed her surroundings.

All around, countless pillars of clear light were landing. On the massive Floating Platform stood row after row of tall towers, wreathed in arcs of light like planetary rings, standing at the apex of the sky.

Looking further into the distance, the mountain silhouettes rising beyond the city were shrouded in mist. They looked like an array of ink-black swords plunged upside down into this strange land, evoking a breathtaking sense of ancient desolation.

And on the huge Floating Platform, besides the Human Cultivators who had arrived with the clear light, there were countless Wooden Men gazing into the distance!

Yes, on the platform, in front of the towers, stood innumerable Wooden Men, their heads raised as they stared into the distance.

Those Wooden Men looked almost identical to the ones Song Ciwan had seen on the desolate mountain outside the city.

Similar, too, were the strange whispers that echoed among them.

"Xi gu du ne na ne ga na ah..."

"Wu ni gu ji du..."

"Xi Wu!"

"Xi Wu..."

Song Ciwan focused her mind and was able to remain almost completely unaffected, but she saw some of the Cultivators who had landed on the platform suddenly shout, "Xi Wu!"

No one knew what "Xi Wu" actually meant, but the Cultivators who shouted it and charged toward the Wooden Men would, at the very instant they came face-to-face with them, seem to dissolve into a watery mist—they charged right into the bodies of the Wooden Men!

It was as if a person had merged with an illusory Wooden Man. It was also as if the Wooden Man was Devouring the living person, or perhaps as if the living person had passed through the Wooden Man into some unknown world.

Without charging in themselves, it was impossible to know what the true outcome of this act was.

However, all the others who witnessed this bizarre scene—all those who had not yet charged at the Wooden Men—grew wary.

No one wanted to risk their own life to test this strange phenomenon.

Take Xie Yunxiang, for example. He had landed not far from Song Ciwan. When the cries of "Xi Wu" began to ring out around him, Xie Yunxiang slapped on a Divine Movement Talisman and used all his strength to dash to Song Ciwan’s side at the fastest speed he had ever moved in his life.

He said to Song Ciwan, his voice still shaking with fear, "Brother Xin, these Wooden Men... they’re terrifying."

Song Ciwan told him to stand behind her, adding, "Brother Xie, remember to keep your Space-Dominating Pearl on you, ready to be activated at any moment."

Xie Yunxiang nodded so fast his head became a blur and very consciously stuck close to Song Ciwan.

At this point, fewer and fewer pillars of clear light were landing on the Floating Platform.

Of all the Cultivators on the platform, those with strong Willpower stood their ground and cautiously observed their surroundings. As for those who were bewildered by the Wooden Men’s whispers and couldn’t control themselves, they had basically all merged with the Wooden Men.

Xie Yunxiang asked Song Ciwan, "Brother Xin, what... what should we do next?"

Illusory Nether City had sent down pillars of clear light, guiding the many Cultivators in the city up to this platform. But after they had all arrived, the voice that had previously echoed through the city was nowhere to be heard.

The so-called "birth of a Spiritual Treasure"—where could the Spiritual Treasure be?

Was it among these Wooden Men, or behind the platform, between those towering spires?

After another moment, one of the Cultivators on the platform tapped his foot. His figure was exceptionally agile, and he flew toward the towering spires with the speed of lightning.

Behind him, someone among the Cultivators whispered, "It’s a Demon Extermination Envoy from the Lantern Hanging Department! Jiao Zuo, known as the ’Divine Flash,’ Lord Jiao!"

Jiao Zuo moved forward at high speed. In just a moment, he had woven through the dense crowd of Wooden Men and arrived at the base of a tower.

Standing behind Song Ciwan, Xie Yunxiang said nervously, "Brother Xin, Jiao Zuo has made his move. He’s probably taking a gamble."

A gamble on what?

Illusory Nether City was filled with all sorts of oddities. It had rules, but it also seemed to have no rules. For a Cultivator within it, every step was potentially a gamble with their own life.

But so what? There would always be people willing to take that gamble!

Jiao Zuo stood at the base of the central tower, raised his head toward the spire, and announced in a loud voice, "This junior, Jiao Zuo of Pinglan, requests to obtain the Spiritual Treasure. This junior is thirty-two years of age, has practiced Cultivation for twenty-one years, has slain demons and exterminated monsters, and has protected the common people. I believe myself to be a man of merit and virtue."

"A Spiritual Treasure has a spirit of its own and belongs to the virtuous. This junior is willing to exchange these merits for the Spiritual Treasure!"

After speaking, Jiao Zuo stepped forward and placed a hand on the pair of enormous, carved wooden doors at the base of the tower.

The wooden doors were shut tight. Jiao Zuo channeled all his strength into his right hand and pushed.