9: The Tragedy of the Dharma-Ending Age

Inside a Nine Swords Sect cave dwelling on Lingxuan Continent,

Lin Moyan felt the system announcement echo in her mind.

A rare flicker of excitement appeared on her face, which usually resembled a block of ice to the world.

Without the slightest hesitation, she immediately sent a message in the group chat.

【Old Day Witness - Lin Moyan】: Thank you, Group Leader, for your trust. Moyan will not fail you.

The words were concise, but their weight was as heavy as a mountain.

This was not merely a thank you, but a vow.

Immediately after,

with a thought, she organized the 'theology' theories she had learned from Su Qingyuan over the past few days, along with her own witness of old day ruler's great power.

She uploaded a document she had compiled using the newly unlocked [Group Files] function.

【Ding! Administrator 'Old Day Witness - Lin Moyan' uploaded a group file: "Preliminary Exploration of the Theological Speculation on the Unquantifiable Great Power of the Group Leader.doc"】

The appearance of this document was like a depth charge dropped into a calm lake.

【Throne Interpreter - Su Qingyuan】: Wonderful! Wonderful! Fellow Daoist Lin's action is like lighting a bright lamp for those of us who are lost! It builds a ladder for our mortal thoughts to look up to the Most High! This document should be the first holy scripture of our group!

【Supreme Hype Man - Gu Yanci】: Holy cow! It really takes a cultured person! I was still thinking how to praise, and the Administrator just wrote an essay! In short, follow the Group Leader, three days nine meals... No, follow the Group Leader, even immortals will tremble!

【Future Heavenly Emperor - Huang】: ... (Silently downloaded the file, preparing to study it)

In the Sea of Concepts.

old day ruler “watched” the lively scene in the group, as if observing a group of interesting insects.

He didn't care for these praises.

However, Lin Moyan's loyalty and initiative, as well as the fanaticism of Su Qingyuan and others,

did bring a negligible ripple to his eternal stillness.

Since they were so 'pious,' then he would bestow some random rewards.

Gu Jianghan's will casually swept through his past memories.

Those 'trinkets' he had casually recorded after discerning their fundamental laws, simply because he found them interesting during his travels across countless worlds, could now serve as rewards.

【Ding! Group Leader 'Old Days Ruler - Gu Jianghan' uploaded a group file: "Divine Elephant Suppressing Hell Scripture"】

【Ding! Group Leader 'Old Days Ruler - Gu Jianghan' uploaded a group file: "True Phoenix Blood"】

【Ding! Group Leader 'Old Days Ruler - Gu Jianghan' uploaded a group file: "One Qi Transforms Three Pure Ones"】

Three consecutive notification sounds instantly silenced the previously lively group chat.

Everyone was dazed by these three resounding names.

This was no longer a reward; this was directly packaging the path to godhood and placing it before them!

Gu Yanci was the most excited; he almost instinctively clicked on the "Divine Elephant Suppressing Hell Scripture" with his mind.

The next second, his face turned deathly pale!

There were no words, no images.

What flooded into his mind were endless sacred runes composed of laws.

It was the roar of billions of ancient giant elephants suppressing hell, a grand torrent of information like the creation of heaven and earth!

He felt as if his brain wasn't receiving knowledge, but rather a complete universe being forcibly crammed into it!

“Ugh…”

Gu Yanci suddenly covered his mouth and dry-heaved in his rented room.

His eyes saw stars, and he felt as if he had been thrown into a tumble dryer, spun a hundred times, with the world spinning around him.

On the other side,

Su Qingyuan merely attempted to parse the title of "One Qi Transforms Three Pure Ones."

She felt an intense pain in her primordial spirit, as if being pierced by ten thousand needles, and quickly cut off her perception, her expression extremely solemn.

And Shi Hao, the moment he came into contact with the information of "True Phoenix Blood,"

his blood surged throughout his body, and tiny beads of blood appeared on his skin.

He was actually injured by the supreme bloodline aura contained within that information!

Only Lin Moyan, relying on the characteristics of the [Old Day Witness],

barely managed to glimpse a superficial understanding, but immediately felt her spirit utterly exhausted.

This wasn't some kind of spiritual contamination; it was purely and absolutely a knowledge gap.

The sheer volume of information and the depth of the laws contained within these cultivation methods

had far exceeded their current capacity.

For them, these were not scriptures.

Instead, they were three stars compressed to the extreme; merely approaching them would cause them to be torn apart by their gravity!

On Blue Star, in the Era of Dharma Decline, inside a rented room.

Gu Yanci could no longer endure this sensation, which was a hundred times more nauseating than a roller coaster.

He staggered out of his home and bought some motion sickness medicine from a pharmacy.

After taking it, his swollen brain felt slightly relieved.

On his way back to his room, as he passed an alley,

he saw a disheveled little girl rummaging for food in a trash can.

Gu Yanci initially didn't want to get involved and was about to leave.

Firstly,

there would be specialized departments to handle such matters.

Secondly,

in these times, with declining morals and tense international relations,

if he, possessing extraordinary powers, were to expose himself to the public, the consequences would be unimaginable.

He was not like the other group members who possessed immense power; he was merely an ordinary Qi Refiner.

Let alone intercontinental missiles, even a pistol bullet could cause him to perish.

But just then,

a black-furred cat rubbed against the girl's pant leg.

The girl affectionately stroked its chin, as if saying, “Don't worry, I'll find food soon.”

This scene made Gu Yanci stop.

That was... an intelligent demon beast?

He felt a long-lost spiritual energy from that cat.

One must know,

even for him, in this Era of Dharma Decline, the spiritual energy in his body was diminishing with each use, extremely difficult to replenish.

If it weren't for the Group Leader's red packet some time ago, which allowed them to gain some points,

Gu Yanci wouldn't even be able to easily activate his spiritual energy perception ability.

It was no wonder that earlier, the system prefixes of the group members' titles

one was a battle-scared weakling, another a little rookie, both carrying a sense of disdain.

And only he, Gu Yanci, was an ordinary Qi Refiner.

That miserable state, it was probably that even the system believed that he, Gu Yanci, was born in the wrong era.

This clearly showed the decline of extraordinary powers on Blue Star today.

Gu Yanci became interested in the girl. He was very curious how an intelligent cat demon would willingly recognize a human as its master.

Before he could go up and ask,

several strong, uniformed men surrounded the girl.

The girl trembled, shielding the black cat behind her.

“Don't you know there's a civilization evaluation going on here? Beggars like you can't be on the street! Do you know how much salary I've had deducted because of you parasites?!”

The leading man, clearly a captain from the urban management bureau, pointed at the girl and cursed.

“I'll leave, I'll leave right away.”

The girl timidly relented, picked up a few bottles from the ground, and was about to leave with the black cat.

“Wait! Leave that cat. According to regulations, ownerless stray cats and dogs must be euthanized.”

The girl was submissive and timid, shielding the black cat, tears falling, “It has an owner, please don't...”

She understood that the authorities, for the sake of the city's appearance, were vigorously cracking down on beggars and stray animals.

And the so-called euthanasia was not some painless treatment; that was just Yunlai City's excuse to deal with the media.

To save costs, stray animals were always beaten to death with sticks.

As for the millions of dollars raised for euthanasia, where did that money go? Heh heh, no one knew.

Gu Yanci sneered from the side, truly the heavens are benevolent, unable to bear the suffering of the poor, so they simply drive all the poor away.

Facing the girl's cries and pleas,

the leading man didn't care.

Because the previous inspection by the superiors was very dissatisfied, his four thousand yuan a month salary was reduced by a thousand or eight hundred.

Having learned his lesson, he stepped forward, intending to grab the black cat by the neck.

Just then, a sudden change occurred.

The black cat arched its back, its fur stood on end, and its sharp claws scratched at the man.

The man cried out in pain, hardened his heart, and picked up a stick to strike.

Gu Yanci could no longer bear to watch; he darted forward.

With a single hand, he caught the stick that was about to land on the black cat.

“Friend, isn't this inappropriate?”

The man was startled, not expecting his powerful blow to be casually caught by the young man in front of him.

Amidst his surprise and uncertainty, the man observed the newcomer's attire.

Seeing that he was neither a news reporter nor an important official, he immediately became annoyed: “Who are you? How dare you meddle in others' affairs and defy law enforcement!”

“I am Gu Yanci, Section Chief of the Seventh Department of the National Security Special Operations Bureau. How about it, do I need to make a call to your superior?”

Gu Yanci pulled out his ID card, embossed with the national emblem, and showed it to the man in front of him.

His other hand was on his phone, looking as if he was about to make a call.

“Oh no, sir, it's my fault for being blind. This matter doesn't warrant disturbing my superior.”

He realized he had run into a brick wall today.

The captain of the urban management bureau shrank his neck, filled with lingering fear.

If his superior found out, he would surely be dismissed.

He glanced at the girl on the ground, clutching the black cat, afraid they would affect his performance, so he cautiously said:

“Then this cat and that girl...”

“I will handle it.”

“Offending you, sir, was our mistake. We will definitely come to apologize another day.”

The captain of the urban management bureau breathed a sigh of relief, flattered Gu Yanci, and, along with the others, left in a disheveled manner.

Gu Yanci put away his ID and ignored the scurrying group.

He knelt down, stroked the girl's head, and gently asked her.

“Little friend, what's your name?”

The girl raised her head fearfully, still clutching the black cat.

“Don't take me to the rescue station, I'm scared.”

“Alright, alright, we won't go.”

Gu Yanci took the girl to a breakfast shop and bought some steamed buns.

The girl glanced at Gu Yanci, whose expression was normal, then cautiously took the bun, tore a meat bun into small pieces, and fed it to the black cat.

She herself, disregarding her image, her pink cheeks puffed out, devoured the remaining buns in large mouthfuls.

A brief conversation

allowed Gu Yanci to understand the girl's situation.

The girl's name was Jiang Ruoxue, a local. Her parents died young, and she had lived in the Yunlai City orphanage until then.

But a year ago, with the economic development of Yunlai City,

the orphanage's land was targeted by a gang leader, who wanted to transform it into a new commercial district.

The director, wanting a place for the children, refused to agree and was consequently hanged in the building by the gang leader's subordinates.

Afterward, the unobstructed commercial district flourished.

As for the black cat, Jiang Ruoxue had found it in a dimly glowing cave in the mountains while picking wild vegetables.

Gu Yanci understood, and let out a 'hmph', not expecting that he, having just been transferred from the imperial capital to this remote corner,

would, in just a few days, witness the tip of the iceberg of dark forces.

He had already decided to write a report and reflect this issue to the Chief of Public Security.

However, the most urgent matter

was to have the little girl take him to the cave where she found the black cat.

His intuition told him that a shocking secret was hidden there.

And in the bustling corridor,

a middle-aged man wearing a baseball cap was staring maliciously at the girl beside Gu Yanci.