Chapter Fifty-Seven: Helping Him Open His Meridians

The sound faded, and from the mist a phantom form flickered into view.

This time, Shen Wan was certain he was not dreaming; he was fully awake, yet he still could not discern the phantom's features.

"You old thing, who would have thought after all this time, you're still alive," Yemizhi said, turning to face the phantom.

The phantom, hearing such teasing, was not annoyed. Instead, he spoke calmly and unhurriedly: "More than ten thousand years have passed. Back then, my clan, the Shadow Tribe, exhausted most of our people searching for the Void Lock. If not for that, we might have survived the tribulation."

He paused, as if recalling the past, then sighed quietly and continued, "In the end, we found it—but what of that? Now the lock is part of me, and I alone survived. Ten thousand years is not long, but this emptiness... it's endless."

Another sigh escaped him, and Yemizhi shook his head.

"That tribulation was beyond overcoming; it was the destruction decreed by the heavens, the annihilation of the entire Sealed Heaven Realm."

Both gazed in the same direction. The phantom's expression remained unreadable, but Yemizhi's face was grave.

"Did you manage to enter the Realm Ring?"

"We did, but it was too late. The ten great priests, the three elders, and the rest of us prophets, including the chieftain, fought to seal the Realm Ring, striving to preserve a sliver of our bloodline. In the end, all perished in the calamity."

"At least you left descendants. I've wandered this world for ten thousand years and haven't found a single heir."

"What about the Turtle Clan and the Sea Dragon Clan? Are they gone as well?"

"Ha! You dare mention them? If memory serves, your Giant God Clan feasted on their flesh more than once."

"That was before the catastrophe. In the end, our clans set aside old grudges to resist the calamity together."

"The Turtle Clan is better off—they were always few in number. I saw them three thousand years ago, still sleeping beneath the sea. As for the Sea Dragon Clan, they were wiped out even earlier than we were."

"Ha, I do miss the taste of sea dragon meat."

"Ha ha ha..."

The two old monsters laughed heartily. Shen Wan could tell from their conversation—lighthearted as it seemed—that their hearts were heavy, and so he did not intrude.

"Dozens of clans vanished overnight. When Heaven decrees my end, I have no choice but to accept it!" Yemizhi laughed, but soon sighed in reflection, casting a glance at Shen Wan.

"This youngster is your chosen inheritor?"

The phantom nodded. "I searched tens of thousands of star systems, found him on a primitive civilization's planet. He's got a few screws loose, that's all."

"Uh..."

Shen Wan wanted to retort, but feared the two old fellows would team up against him, so he merely pouted and turned away.

"I remember you always claimed you'd discovered a new path of cultivation. We all thought you mad. Seems our vision was lacking after all."

---

"It's a pity—this thing is defiant by nature. I once thought it would help us withstand the catastrophe. Such naïveté."

"This youngster is promising, but has only opened one of the eight heavenly meridians. You haven't helped him?"

"That's his path; I'm merely the guide. Tut tut, Yemizhi, the fact that he made it here—do you think it's his destiny?"

"What, eyeing my Divine Tree? So that's why you've been lurking here, waiting for me."

"Ha ha ha, you shouldn't linger here either. Come find me. Playing chess with myself is boring."

"Hmm..."

Yemizhi fell into thought.

"Enough, my mission was meant to conclude today. If so, there's no reason for me to remain."

"He's arrived?"

The phantom was startled, hurriedly inquiring.

Yemizhi laughed. "I've waited ten thousand years, and at last, it's here. Old friend, I doubt we'll play many games before I go to join my kin. You'll have to keep amusing yourself, ha ha ha."

"When the time comes, I'll go with you. I refuse to believe you'll keep me out."

"Agreed. In that case, I'll give this tree to the youngster."

"Very well. Once you've finished your affairs, come find me in the Void Realm. I'll be waiting."

As his words fell, the phantom prepared to fade, but Yemizhi seemed to recall something and quickly asked, "Old friend, may I make a decision on my own?"

The phantom hesitated, glanced at Shen Wan, then chuckled. "If you find it suitable, do as you wish. I haven't the patience to mind this boy."

"Ha ha ha, excellent!"

Yemizhi laughed, and the phantom grew ever fainter until he vanished, the surrounding mist dissipating as well. Soon, the ice cave's appearance returned.

Gu Zhiping seemed to have calmed down, now excitedly waving his arms, oblivious that Shen Wan had just drifted into a trance.

Yun Yi, more perceptive, noticed both the Great Prophet and Shen Wan standing motionless. She did not disturb them, instead quietly keeping vigil at their side.

At last, Shen Wan shuddered, his awareness seeming to return.

"Hey, are you finished?" Yun Yi finally asked.

Shen Wan shook his head. "No, I just watched a silent film."

"Huh? Silent film? What's that?" Yun Yi was puzzled, but Shen Wan relished the mystery and did not explain. The words of the two elders had sent him into a kind of temporal reverie. Though he could not witness the catastrophe itself, their conversation conveyed its horror.

Yemizhi stroked his beard, looked once more toward a certain direction, then smiled at Shen Wan.

---

"Youth, are you ready?"

Shen Wan had been lost in imagining the catastrophe and hadn't heard the elders' latest words.

"Ready for what?"

"Uh... your mind truly is a bit muddled..."

Yemizhi finally agreed with the phantom's assessment, but, having promised, he prepared to fulfill his commitment.

"The Frost Divine Tree—an extraterrestrial seed, a thousand years of frost, ten thousand years of icy leaves, bark unbreakable, cold impenetrable. Today, I shall open your Heavenly Frost Meridian and further temper your mortal body!"

With a flourish, the old man swung his sleeve and struck the great tree behind him with his palm.

Shen Wan was startled. Hearing talk of heavenly meridians being opened for him, he immediately thought of that moss from Lake Yun.

He remembered the agony from that time—so intense he thought he might die. Glancing at the now-restored Gu Zhiping, Shen Wan knew his pain had been no less severe than the other's earlier suffering. Even now, Gu Zhiping's screams echoed in his mind.

He felt a chill below and, looking up, realized the old man was already in action.

"No, no, no, no, no... I don't want it!"

Shen Wan cried out in panic, but it was too late; he watched helplessly as the Divine Tree shattered, ice crystals gathering at a single point.

Yemizhi extended his hand, and from his palm a drop of icy dew soon condensed into a prism, glowing with iridescent light.

The ice prism grew larger, until finally it was the size of an adult's palm.

Now, the ice cave was devoid of all frost—the Frost Divine Tree vanished, leaving only a slight dampness on the bare cliff.

Yemizhi looked at the ice prism in his hand, melancholy.

It had safeguarded him for ten thousand years, yet now he must part from it. Though reluctant, his mission was nearly complete, and there was nothing left to regret.

"Old friend, you've accompanied this old man for so long. Today, I'll hand you to a younger successor, so you may endure for ten thousand more years."

With that, Yemizhi swung his palm directly at Shen Wan.

Shen Wan had already turned to flee, but a surge of cold struck from behind, making him shrink his neck in fright—nearly dropping to the ground.

Yemizhi moved so swiftly that Shen Wan barely had time to react before the ice prism pierced into his body.

"Ah!"

It was the same bone-crushing pain, even worse than last time.

Shen Wan cried out in agony, collapsing forward.

Yet his body seemed to be guided by some force; before his consciousness faded completely, he felt himself slowly rising into the air.