Chen Chao continued along the passageway for an indeterminate period until the scenery before his eyes suddenly opened up, and he actually walked out of a stone cave.
The mouth of the cave was covered with moss, indicating many years of existence.
Before the cave was a cliff, with clouds and mist swirling beneath it. An iron chain suspension bridge stretched across the middle, disappearing into the clouds. It was unknown what lay opposite, nor how long this cable bridge was.
Turning around, Chen Chao discovered that the cave was within a cliff. When he looked up, all he could see was the towering rock face disappearing into the sea of clouds, with no sight of the palace at the end. Perhaps there was no palace up there at all.
But he had clearly walked out of that palace. Why was it like this?
This seemed to be the lowest point of the palace, but Chen Chao could not be certain.
He looked at the suspension bridge in front of him and without hesitation, started walking across it.
The suspension bridge might have existed for many years, but it showed no signs of rust up to this day. The iron cables seemed as if they had just been forged. As Chen Chao stepped onto the bridge, it began to sway.
However, the amplitude was moderate and still acceptable.
Gripping the broken saber tightly, one of Chen Chao's hands remained on one of the iron cables. He wanted to ensure his safety in the event anything happened.
Fortunately, he soon arrived on the other side within a mass of clouds.
The suspension bridge was about a thousand feet long but had nothing particularly noteworthy about it, appearing like an ordinary iron chain bridge.
Upon reaching the other side, Chen Chao saw a massive stone monument.
The texture of this stone monument was identical to the one in the cemetery, but the style was different. Under the stone monument, a huge turtle was carved, and the stone monument stood behind it.
According to legend, the nine sons of the dragon were all different and not actual dragons. This creature was one of the dragon's offspring, named "Baxia." Due to committing a great sin, it was suppressed by ancient gods with the stele. Many years later, both the cultivators and the common people of later generations often carved Baxia when carving stone monuments, resembling a turtle-shaped stele.
Chen Chao had naturally heard of this ancient legend. After nodding slightly, he began examining the inscriptions on this monument with some curiosity.
Similar to that piece of rock he had seen in front of the mountain pass gate, the inscriptions on it followed the same pattern. While he could guess that the sect was called the Rongshan Sect based on the previous stone, this time he could not rely on such a method. The inscriptions were too numerous, and none of the characters were recognizable to Chen Chao.
These characters were not those used in any region in the contemporary era but were the script prevalent during the time of the Rongshan Sect.
At that time, perhaps thousands or even tens of thousands of years ago, everything was different from the present. The script used by those cultivators probably differed significantly from that used in the contemporary era.
There was a gap in history, and no one knew what had happened many years ago, just as no one knew of the existence of the Rongshan Sect or why it had been destroyed.
Chen Chao took out that page. He had not had the time to study the secrets of the paper during these days and could only recognize the first character.
That character was not of the current era's script either. Chen Chao took it out just to make a comparison.
He wanted to know if the characters on the paper were the same as those on the stele.
Although it was only one character, Chen Chao shook his head after he saw the content on the paper.
The difference in the scripts was too significant; they were not the same type of script.
This also meant that the powerhouse who wrote this page was not from the Rongshan Sect.
One could even say that the powerhouse who wrote this page might not even be of the same era as the Rongshan Sect.
Thinking up to here, Chen Chao's heart sank.
The Rongshan Sect obtained this page of paper by a stroke of luck and preserved it. However, they did not expect that one day, the entire sect would be destroyed. Many years later, this ancient ruin was discovered by someone. A young man found the page here and took it out, only for it to fall into the hands of the Sublime Bright Sect's sect master.
After that, Daoist Master Ironcloud kept studying this page until one day, a young martial artist took it away and brought it here.
Chen Chao reviewed the connections, feeling a bit overwhelmed. He had initially assumed that there might be other histories from thousands or even tens of thousands of years ago in the historical gap he did not know about. But he had never expected that there was already a gap in history that he was unaware of.
Were these different eras completely disconnected from each other?
Chen Chao did not know the answer, he just silently recorded the inscriptions. Although he did not know the meaning of this stele, he was confident that someone would.
He had immense faith in that young girl.
After recording the inscriptions and confirming that there was nothing else here, Chen Chao walked past the stele and continued forward. It did not take long for him to see the Dao Enlightenment Platform he had previously seen on the mural.
It was an open space, and in the center, the ancient stone platform stood there silently.
Previously, when he saw the Dao Enlightenment Platform in the mural, there was even the sound of Great Dao. But at this moment, seeing this Dao Enlightenment Platform here, there was no man on it. Even the tree behind the Dao Enlightenment Platform had withered, leaving behind a sense of desolation and decay.
In fact, this was also a trace of history.
Previously, he had seen the grand palace, the cultivators sitting on the square, the lush spiritual herbs, and that clear ancient spring.
All of it now seemed like an ethereal immortal realm; something from a dream.
Although many years had passed, the feeling these things gave off was not quite normal.
At the very least, it felt incredibly fake.
Almost dreamlike.
But now, as he looked at the dilapidated Dao Enlightenment Platform, he truly felt the sensation that time had brought.
Time never came out of nowhere one day. It was like the spring rain, nurturing quietly and unobtrusively. Yet, with the slow passage of time, one gradually felt its impact.
Chen Chao sighed. Countless immensely powerful sects and geniuses have appeared in history, but it seemed that no one could truly contend with time.
He walked towards the Dao Enlightenment Platform. After taking a few steps, he suddenly saw brilliant radiance blooming on the ancient tree that had already withered. The light gathered and scattered, eventually coalescing into a human form on the Dao Enlightenment Platform.
A beautiful man appeared on the Dao Enlightenment Platform as if he had walked out of a painting. His features were picturesque, with long black hair cascading casually over his shoulders. His figure was slender, exuding an ethereal aura. How could he be an ordinary cultivator? He clearly resembled an immortal who had descended from the clouds.
After appearing, he slowly sat down and looked at Chen Chao with a smile. "Young friend, where did you come from?"
The moment he opened his mouth, his voice was ethereal, akin to celestial melody.
Chen Chao furrowed his brows, looking at the man who had appeared out of nowhere. He was exceptionally clear-minded at this moment, understanding that he was not ensnared in any sort of illusion or array formation.
What he saw before him should be real.
But who was this man, and why did he seem like an immortal?
When the man saw Chen Chao remain silent, he smiled and asked again, "Young friend, I see you possess considerable wisdom. Why not sit down and discuss the Dao with me?"
His voice remained ethereal and clear, as if it contained no impurities; purer than the clearest stream in the mountains and whiter than the flowing clouds in the sky.
Chen Chao found it difficult to find the right words to describe it. But if he had to, there was only one word: clean.
"Young friend, you hold a saber in your hand and seem cautious. You must know that in this place, killing you would be as easy as turning my hand over. Why the need for such vigilance?"
The man looked at the broken saber in his hand, his demeanor indifferent, which gave off a sense of detachment instead.
Chen Chao had no intention of letting go of the saber hilt. He just looked at the man in front of him and asked, "Senior, were you a cultivator of the Rongshan Sect?"
The man nodded and said calmly, "If I'm not a cultivator of the Rongshan Sect, why could I show up here?"
Chen Chao asked again, "But now that the Rongshan Sect has been destroyed, how is Senior still alive?"
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