440: Chapter 440 The Scripture Pavilion (Part Two)

Tao Zhe glanced at Su Mingyuan.

Su Mingyuan's expression didn't change; he just nodded slightly, gesturing for him to continue.

“In the next few volumes, the recorder's tone begins to change. The original text reads: ‘Recently, the Palace Master has been living in seclusion, refusing to see outside guests or attend to Sect affairs. The Elders have requested audience multiple times, but all were rejected. The Palace Master stated: The secrets of the Evil Bone Skeleton have not yet been fully exhausted, and it is not appropriate to be distracted.’”

Tao Zhe put down this Jade Slip and pulled out the next one right beside it.

After opening it, he paused for several seconds.

“The handwriting has changed.”

Su Mingyuan: “What do you mean?”

“In all the previous scrolls, the handwriting belonged to the same person. But starting from this volume, the script is completely different. Moreover, at the very beginning of this volume, a sentence is written—”

Tao Zhe read it aloud:

“‘The former chronicler died suddenly in his residence on the night of March 7th, cause of death unknown. I have taken over by order of the Palace Master and will continue writing the Sect's chronicle from this day forward.’”

The stone chamber fell silent for a moment.

“The new recorder's phrasing is more direct than his predecessor's,” Tao Zhe continued reading. “He wrote this passage: ‘Since the Evil Bone Skeleton was retrieved, seven Disciples within the Sect have vanished without a trace. The Elders are extremely tight-lipped, and the Palace Master remains silent. I dare not comment recklessly, and only record the facts as they are.’”

Tao Zhe paused, then read another passage.

“‘In April, another Disciple went missing. The next day, the Palace Master emerged from seclusion, his cultivation having progressed. I dare not think too much of it.’”

Tao Zhe put down the Jade Slip and looked at Su Mingyuan.

Su Mingyuan did not speak.

Disciples went missing, and the Palace Master's cultivation progressed. The chronicler had only written the facts without any commentary, but anyone reading it would understand what had happened.

“Keep looking further back,” Su Mingyuan said. “Three hundred years ago. The record of Daoist Wan Shi stealing the Evil Bone Skeleton.”

Tao Zhe quickly flipped through several slips and soon located the corresponding year.

“‘Year 4739 of the Era, the night of June 13th. An unidentified demonic Cultivator sneaked into the Sect's Forbidden Ground and stole the Evil Bone Skeleton. Three guarding Disciples lost their lives on the spot. The Palace Master was furious upon hearing the news and dispatched six Elders to pursue, to no avail. Upon subsequent investigation, the thief calls himself "Daoist Wan Shi", a member of the Demonic Path, with a cultivation level of at least the Soul Transformation Stage.’“

Su Mingyuan listened in silence the entire time.

When he heard the name 'Daoist Wan Shi', his pupils contracted slightly.

As expected.

It matched what was recorded in Perfected Lord Yushou's Jade Slip.

Daoist Wan Shi stealing the evil object, attracting three other demonic Cultivators to fight over it, and the four of them falling into the Lower Realm after a massive battle—this sequence of events was also verified by the chronicles of the Danding Heavenly Palace.

The source of the evil object was right here.

He turned to look at the thousands of neatly arranged Jade Slips on the walls of the Scripture Pavilion, suddenly feeling that the things hidden within this quiet stone chamber were far heavier than he had imagined.

“How many more are there after this?” he asked.

Tao Zhe checked the remaining number of volumes.

“From Daoist Wan Shi stealing the Evil Bone Skeleton to the destruction of the Sect, there is a span of about three hundred years. There are only several dozen volumes left of the chronicle.”

His finger rested on the very last Jade Slip.

“The year of this final volume is the very year the Danding Heavenly Palace was destroyed.”

He pulled it out and infused it with spiritual energy.

After reading just two lines, his expression changed.

Usually, he translated the contents of Jade Slips very quickly, typically scanning through one in just a minute or two.

But he held this one in his hands and read it for nearly five minutes, pausing twice in the middle as if repeatedly verifying certain words and phrases.

Su Mingyuan did not rush him.

Han Li and the others also remained silent, waiting inside the Scripture Pavilion.

The pale yellow light of the illumination stone shone on Tao Zhe's face; his brow had not unfurled since he started reading.

Five minutes later, he lowered the Jade Slip from his forehead and looked at Su Mingyuan.

“The handwriting in this volume of the chronicle is not from the same person as the previous ones,” he said first. “The writing is extremely scribbled, and in some places, strokes weren't even finished before jumping to the next word. The person who wrote this volume was not in a normal state of mind.”

“Read it,” Su Mingyuan said.

Tao Zhe looked down at the Jade Slip in his hand and dictated the contents passage by passage.

The first passage.

“‘There have been unusual movements beyond the heavens for several months. According to observations from the Zixiao Peak Observatory, there are large-scale spiritual energy fluctuations in the Void Realm, affecting an extremely wide area. Several Elders conducted a joint deduction and concluded as follows: at least four Soul Transformation Stage Cultivators are battling in the Void Realm. The intensity of the battle is high enough to tear open spatial barriers. In the end, all four perished together and fell into the Lower Realm.’“

Tao Zhe paused, then read the second passage.

“‘The news of the great battle in the Void Realm quickly spread throughout the cultivation world. At first, it was just rumors, but in less than three months, more and more details surfaced. Someone identified the four Soul Transformation Stage Cultivators: Daoist Wan Shi, Daoist Yuling, Perfected Lord Yushou, and the Gu Mother. All four are members of the Demonic Path.’“

When he read up to this point, Tao Zhe's voice paused. He looked up at Su Mingyuan, who nodded slightly, signaling him to continue.

“‘The object the four were fighting over has also been identified—a Demonic Path "evil object". Once the news spread, someone traced the origins of the evil object back to our Sect. Three hundred years ago, it was indeed from our Danding Heavenly Palace that Daoist Wan Shi stole the Evil Bone Skeleton.’”

The third passage.

“‘Even greater trouble followed. A rumor began to circulate in the outside world that the Evil Bone Skeleton is merely the head of the ancient evil entity, Scourge, and that Scourge's body remains missing. Since the Danding Heavenly Palace had held the Evil Bone Skeleton for hundreds of years, the outside world believes that Scourge's body is highly likely to be in our Sect as well.’”

When Tao Zhe read to this point, his voice lowered slightly.

“The Palace Master urgently convened an Elders' meeting. At the meeting, the Palace Master clarified that the Evil Bone Skeleton was indeed sealed in the Sect's Forbidden Ground by the first Palace Master, but the ancestral teachings of the founder never mentioned Scourge's body. The theft of the Evil Bone Skeleton happened three hundred years ago; whether the body exists and where it is hidden is unknown to anyone in the Sect.

The Elders agreed to clarify this matter to the outside world to set the record straight. However, the Palace Master said: The Demonic Path will not believe it.”

The air in the stone chamber seemed to freeze.

Tao Zhe scrolled through the Jade Slip, and the content that followed began to grow fragmented. There were fewer and fewer complete paragraphs, replaced instead by brief, almost diary-like entries.

He continued reading.

“July 12th. Fluctuations of unidentified Cultivators' auras were detected on the outer perimeter of the Sect, in at least three locations. Scouts reported: The vanguard of the Demonic Path has arrived.

July 13th. The number of arrivals has increased. The number of aura fluctuations on the perimeter has risen from three to seventeen. The Elders' council urgently assessed the situation and determined that the enemy is still gathering and has not yet launched an attack. The Palace Master ordered the entire Sect to enter combat readiness.

July 14th. A transmission jade talisman was delivered outside the mountain gate. The content was just a single sentence: Hand over Scourge's body, and you shall be spared.”

Tao Zhe's voice became very flat, as if he were suppressing something.

“The Palace Master did not respond.”

“‘July 15th.”

At this point, Tao Zhe paused for two or three seconds before continuing.

“The allied forces of the Six Demonic Sects appeared below the Pilgrimage Path.”

He paused.

“According to the Elders' investigation, the number and cultivation of the enemy Cultivators are as follows: Soul Transformation Stage, at least twenty-seven people; Nascent Soul Stage, over ten thousand people; below the Golden Core Stage, countless.”

Su Mingyuan's expression didn't change, but the knuckles of his right hand tightened involuntarily.

Twenty-seven Soul Transformation Stage Cultivators.

No wonder the Danding Heavenly Palace was destroyed.

This battle had no suspense from the very start.

Tao Zhe continued.

“The afternoon of July 15th. The Six Sects sent envoys to deliver another message, demanding that the Palace Master step forward to negotiate. The Palace Master refused.

The Hour of You on July 15th. The allied forces of the Six Sects began their assault on the mountain. The vanguard consisted of seven Soul Transformation Stage Cultivators leading about five thousand Demonic Path Nascent Souls, launching a frontal assault from the Pilgrimage Path. The Palace Master led all the Elders to meet the attack.

July 16th.”

The record for this day was only a few short lines.

“‘The battle raged through the night. Eleven of our Elders have fallen, and over half of our Nascent Soul Stage Disciples are casualties. The enemy's losses are unknown, but their offensive has not weakened in the slightest. The Outer Sect has fallen. The Inner Sect is barely holding on, but the Formation is heavily depleted and will not last through the second night.’

The Palace Master was heavily injured and retreated to the Palace Master's Hall to heal behind closed doors.

July 17th.”

Tao Zhe's finger lingered on the Jade Slip for a few seconds.

His Adam's apple bobbed, and then he read the final passage aloud.

“The Inner Sect has fallen. All of the enemy's Soul Transformation Stage Cultivators have entered the field. They are unstoppable.

The enemy once again demanded the handover of Scourge's body. The Palace Master replied: I do not know its whereabouts.

The enemy did not believe him.”

There were only three lines left after that.

“The Six Demonic Sects joined forces to set up a grand Formation in the core area of our Sect.”

“The demonic Formation was activated.”

The final line had only a few sparse words.

Moreover, the handwriting was crooked, and the final stroke dragged out into a long scratch, as if the writer's hand had suddenly lost all strength.

“The Danding Heavenly Palace is finished!”