After a brief silence, Yuan spoke again, his voice calm yet tinged with amusement. "Well, Outer God or not, thereâs nothing I can do about this situation. And if you really are an Outer God, you wouldnât be trapped behind this door by a few formations. Arenât you lot supposed to be all-powerful?"
BANG!
In response, the Outer God slammed against the gate, and in the very next instant, every formation protecting it shattered like fragile glass.
Yuan was jumpscared and immediately distanced himself from the gate.
However, nothing happened even after many moments, almost as if the formations had no effect on the gates in the first place.
"It appears that the formations werenât holding it back in the first place, but something else," Yu Ning muttered.
"The hell? Then what was the point of that?" Yuan remarked.
"It was probably made as an assurance, but who really knows..."
"If itâs not the formations keeping it inside, then what is...?" Yuan mumbled as he stared at the sealed gate.
Suddenly, Yuan noticed a trail of red smoke seeping through the narrow gap between the gates. His body instinctively shifted into a battle-ready stance, preparing for whatever was about to emerge.
The smoke began to twist and swirl, slowly forming words until an entire wall of text hovered in the air before Yuan. However, the words werenât written in any human language and they closely resembled the strange inscriptions carved into the gate itself.
Since Tian Yang had deciphered the inscriptions in Han Zexianâs Cavern, he could somewhat understand the words before him.
"This is... a technique," Yuan muttered with raised eyebrows.
"A technique?" Yu Ning repeated.
"Iâm not certain, but I think so."
Yuan sat down and closed his eyes after memorizing the entire.
A few hours later, he opened his eyes and spoke, "Itâs definitely a technique, but I donât understand their language enough to decipher it right now. It will take some time."
Yuan stood back up and spoke out loud, "Why canât you just use my language? You clearly understand me, so why canât you use it?"
"..."
After a brief moment of silence, the red smoke began to shift once more.
Then, two massive words formed before him.
"OPEN SEAL"
This time, Yuan could read the words.
"Are you telling me that the technique just now would open the seal to this gate?"
Bang!
The Outer God acknowledged with a loud bang.
"So the gate can only be opened from the outside, huh? Anyway, why should I help you escape? Youâre an Outer God, and as far as I am aware, youâre nothing but bad news. It would benefit me and the entire world if you remained in there for an eternity."
The red smoke changed again, this time forming into a single word.
"FATE"
"..."
Yuan silently frowned at this word. Despite its vagueness, Yuan knew what the Outer God was trying to sayâthat they were connected in some way and that fate would lead him to opening the gate eventually.
Although Yuan did not like the idea of unsealing this unknown Outer God, he knew that not all Outer Gods were evil, as heâd recieved help from Shura.
âIf itâs true that weâre connected by fate, I will definitely remove the seal and release this Outer God eventually...â Yuan sighed inwardly.
âWho knows? Maybe I have another Outer God as an ally and just donât remember. Whatever. Iâll worry about it once I actually decypher the technique.â
"Can you not tell me the technique using my language?"
"..."
No response.
âIf he cannot translate the technique, then itâs likely because the technique would not make sense in our language. A technique used by Outer Gods, huh? How intriguing...â
Then, he spoke a moment later, "In that case, I can only return here later once I decipher the technique and learn it, so wait a little longer."
Bang!
The Outer God acknowledged.
"Then Iâll leave now."
Yuan turned around and left. This time, the Outer God did not try to stop him.
Once Yuan left the cavern, Yu Ning asked him, "Are you really going to release whatever is inside? I mean, it was probably sealed for a reason, right?"
"I doubt it was humans who sealed it. If itâs truly an Outer God, then it was likely sealed by another Outer God. Iâm also not sure what I should do. I guess Iâll figure it out as I try to decypher the technique."
"By the way, whatâs an Outer God?" Yu Ning suddenly asked.
Though sheâd listened to his conversation with it just now, she didnât understand its existence.
Yuan shook his head and said, "I would tell you, but it might destroy your soul."
"So theyâre an existence beyond my understanding, huh?" Yu Ning remarked.
"Youâre quite perceptive." Yuan smiled.
"Probably because Iâve already experience this before."
"You what?" Yuan suddenly stopped moving.
Yu Ning explained, "During the Primordial Era, shortly after cultivators gained the ability to traverse the Starry Sky, some claimed to have seen things out thereâentities so incomprehensible that those without sufficient soul strength would perish just from hearing about it. Some even began to revere them as gods. I believe they were also called True Rulers of the Universe."
"True Rulers of the Universe..." Yuan mumbled.
"What else do you know about them?"
"Not much. Since no one could prove their existenceâand those who claimed to witness them couldnât truly share what theyâd seenâthey eventually faded into myth. Some even consider it nothing more than a hoax," she said.
"Then, once the war with the Celestial Emperor begun, it became irrelevant to most people."
"I see... Well, in that case, thereâs a good chance these True Rulers of the Universe are Outer Gods," said Yuan.
"Theyâre basically beings that exist exclusively within the Starry Sky, so I canât fathom why one would be sealed here in the Nine Heavensâor what it must have done to be sealed away. Theyâre also unimaginably powerful. Even a Cultivation God would be like an ant in their eyes."
"A Cultivation God... akin to an ant...?" Yu Ning whispered, swallowing nervously at his words.