As soon as Su Qing died, Gu Qing Shan discovered something.
The river stream was flowing backwards.
Gu Qing Shan was absolutely sure that there was no one unleashing any techniques around him.
He looked up at the sky.
It was currently midday, but the intense sunlight was quickly setting to the East.
The sky was becoming dark.
Time was reversing from midday to dawn.
Then dawn was swallowed up by the darkness.
Under the shade of the night, the waxing moon appeared from among the clouds, illuminating the ground below with its faint light.
The moon rose, then set.
The darkness once again receded.
A beautiful twilight.
Right at sunset, the orange sun filled the sky with its hue, but the radiant sunlight was flying back up the sky, becoming brighter and brighter, eventually reaching the center of the sky as it became the brightest.
The middle of noon.
Once again, the middle of noon.
Gu Qing Shan stood still without moving, cautiously observing his surroundings.
The river flow had returned to normal, once again flowing downstream.
Su Qingâs body had abruptly disappeared.
A flare talisman arrived from afar, hovering in front of Gu Qing Shan.
As soon as Gu Qing Shan accepted this communication talisman, an anxious voice sounded from within.
âSu Qing, itâs already been confirmed. Tomorrow at dawn, the Disciplinary Elder will publicly evaluate your matter!â
Su... Qing?
How did I actually turn into Su Qing now?
Gu Qing Shan put the communication talisman away, then looked at the jade tag in his hand.
âââthis was the jade tag that Su Qing had left me before he died.
According to Su Qing, this would help me.
Gu Qing Shan circulated some spirit energy from his Dantian to activate the jade tag.
A second later, Su Qingâs voice sounded from the jade tag:
âFellow Dao seeker Gu, you must listen carefully to what I have to say nowâ
âFor the past countless years, the world of Kunlun had experienced the same day over and over, from noon of the first day to noon of the second day, repeating every event without exceptionâ
âAlmost no one had discovered this, Iâm the only exceptionâ
âBecause on this day, I was the only cultivator who chose to commit suicide. As if some sort of technique was broken whenever my soul leaves my body, which allowed me to always remember how I died whenever the day has resetâ
âI donât know why this world has turned into this form, but Iâve remembered every repetition of this single day for all these long years. After every death, I would enter Kunlun city as a soul to look through every person, every event, everything, and I still couldnât find an answerâ
âOnly very recently, when I died once again, a fragment fell from the sky in front of meâ
âIndeed, it was the fragment that you wantedâ
âAs it descended, a strange phenomenon occurred: the heavenly beings of Jasper Pool all abruptly disappeared, only after I hid the fragment did the heavenly beings returnedâ
âPerhaps this is the keyâ
âRegretfully, I am helpless to do anything but die day by day, continuously enduring this suffering, unable to even change my fate, let alone achieve ascensionâ
âBut now, I can finally rest, leaving you in this world to fill my placeâ
âThink of a way to travel to the Jasper Pool Heavenly Palace, there is a method of ascension in all Seven Institutes, itâs just that there is no one capable of achieving complete cultivation and achieve the conditions of ascension within a single dayâ
âBut you came from the outside world, and are very powerful, you surely have hope to resolve this worldâs secretâ
âI... can no longer endure this world, farewellâ
The voice stopped here.
After a few moments of silence, Gu Qing Shan glanced at the black thread on his hand.
The black thread was still there, pointing towards a different location in the city.
Regardless, letâs retrieve the Delimitation Divine Sword first before thinking about anything else.
Having decided, Gu Qing Shanâs figure flashed and flew towards where the black thread was leading him.
A minute later.
He stood in front of a tattered Buddhist temple, solemnly evaluating it.
This temple was already terribly tattered, but it still took up a large amount of space, while there were numerous people all around, no one even bothered to look at the temple, let alone enter it.
The black thread attached to Gu Qing Shanâs hand went through the ancient formations on the walls, reaching deep into the temple towards the unknown.
The entire temple was covered in a strange power, which nullified inner sight as one entered a certain range of it.
âThis is the power of Buddhist scriptures... itâs truly been a long time since I met a monkâ
Gu Qing Shan muttered, walked up to the gate of the temple, then loudly called out: âIs there anyone inside?â
No answer.
Gu Qing Shanâs figure flashed and he entered the temple.
There was dust everywhere.
It had been a very long time since someone came here.
Gu Qing Shan calmed down.
No visitors meant that the fragment was intact and hadnât been taken by others.
Since inner sight wasnât usable, he could only walk through the building bit by bit.
Stepping on the long steps, crossing several corridors, and across the main temple hall, Gu Qing Shan reached the deepest part of the temple.
He stopped in front of a certain hall.
A hole the size of a small fist had been broken through the roof of the hall, allowing sunlight to pour in, illuminating the statue of a single monk.
This monk statue was smiling sincerely, gentle and intimate, his body covered in dust as if it hadnât been cleaned for many years.
A sharp fragment lay in the hand of the statue.
ââthe Samsara Delimitation Divine Sword fragment.
Gu Qing Shanâs gaze fell onto the fragment.
He thought briefly then clasped his fist towards the statue: âFellow Dao seeker, that fragment in your hand is greatly beneficial to me, I wish to exchange something else for it with youâ
The monk statue trembled a bit, shaking off the dust on his body.
âAmitabha... Iâve finally waited to this dayâ
The statue opened his eyes to observe Gu Qing Shan, then slowly turned his gaze to the fragment.
The monk statue held the sharp fragment of the Divine Sword in his hand and asked: âBenefactor, may I ask, who went into reincarnation within Kunlun city?â
ââhe actually came back to life.
Gu Qing Shan silently watched this, then quickly pondered the implications.
âSu Qingâ he replied.
The monk statue said: âThen, benefactor had now turned into Su Qing?â
Gu Qing Shan replied: âIndeedâ
The monk sighed, then told him: âWe made numerous calculations many years ago, discovering that while the world of Kunlun had become abandoned and would no longer draw the wraithsâ attention, as time went by, the wraiths would also grow increasingly more powerful, more resolute on achieving their goal. At that point, they would eventually decide to destroy the world of Kunlun that is an annoyance in their eyesâ
âââ-but right before the time of destruction, a unique object would fall into Kunlunâ
Their gazes both fell onto the Samsara Delimitation Divine Swordâs fragment.
âYou mean, this thing can save Kunlun?â Gu Qing Shan asked.
âNoâ the monk statue replied, âit is merely an opportunityâ
âAn opportunity?â
âIndeed, as you can see, it had led you to Kunlun, and also allowed the very first person in countless years to escape this sufferingâ
Knowing that the other party was referring to Su Qing, Gu Qing Shan asked directly: âYou want me to help you?â
The statue raised the fragment and asked him in return: âBenefactor, do you want this?â
The statue flicked the fragment forward.
It fell into Gu Qing Shanâs hand without trouble.
âThank you very muchâ Gu Qing Shan swiftly put it away.
The thread on his hand disappeared.
This meant that there were only two fragments of the Samsara Delimitation Divine Sword within the world of Kunlun.
Understanding this, Gu Qing Shan wanted to leave this world right away.
ââ-but now that he had replaced Su Qing, he would have to repeat this day indefinitely. How should he escape from this state?
While he was thinking, the monk statue continued: âThe wraiths will soon arrive. You will need to quickly ascend and reach the Jasper Pool Heavenly Palaceâ
Gu Qing Shan looked down.
At some unknown point, a black thread had appeared from his hand, reaching through the sky and infinitely far away from Kunlun city.
The other party wasnât wrong, something was indeed hot on his pursuit.
The shadow of death slowly appeared in Gu Qing Shanâs spirit sense, giving him an unknown sense of urgency.
Gu Qing Shan asked: âDid your grace not need my help saving Kunlun? Why do I need to ascend?â
The monk statue was completely emotionless and calmly replied: âYou will need to quickly escape, and take the entire world of Kunlun with you while you doâ
âDo you think that Iâm not a match for the wraiths?â Gu Qing Shan laughed and asked.
The monk statue chuckled, then put his hands together in a praying posture: âAmitabha, benefactorâs killing intent is truly immense, this monk appreciates thatâ