“You know my name,” Xu Zimo replied.

“I’m asking about your identity,” Xia Wanqing pressed.

“Even if I told you my identity, you wouldn’t understand,” Xu Zimo answered calmly. “In any case, I hold no malice toward you.”

“You never lost your memory, did you?” Xia Wanqing asked.

“To me, this world is strange and unfamiliar. Calling it amnesia isn’t wrong,” Xu Zimo said. “Besides, when we first met, we were strangers. Being cautious is normal, isn’t it?”

“I just don’t like being lied to, especially by you,” Xia Wanqing said softly, disappointment in her voice.

“Let’s check the palace first. Perhaps you’ll find clues about your ancestor, the Martial Heaven Emperor,” Xu Zimo suggested.

He took her by the hand, leading her forward until they stopped at the great doors of the palace.

He pressed his right hand forward. With a booming sound, the heavy gates rumbled as they slowly swung open.

The palace’s splendor was beyond imagination, here, even gold seemed ordinary.

The palace seemed built entirely from precious ancient materials.

A red carpet stretched beneath their feet, while crystals of solar essence lit the hall on either side.

“Has your Four-Domains ever produced any great figures?” Xu Zimo asked.

“What kind of great figures?” Xia Wanqing asked curiously.

“Not Grand Emperor, perhaps a Saint Sovereign?” Xu Zimo replied.

“It doesn’t seem so. In my memory, not just the Four Domains, even the entire Mortal Ascension Heaven, has produced only one Saint Sovereign,” Xia Wanqing shook her head. “No second ever appeared.”

“Which Saint Sovereign?” Xu Zimo asked curiously.

“Saint Sovereign Brahma. He is the strongest of the Mortal Ascension Heaven,” Xia Wanqing explained. “In the past one billion years, only he has emerged. “But Grand Emperor and Immortal Sovereigns, those have been quite a few. You don’t even know this? Sometimes I doubt you’re even from the Mortal Ascension Heaven.”

“Just think of me as having fallen from the heavens,” Xu Zimo replied.

“You think this place is connected to Saint Sovereign Brahma?” Xia Wanqing asked.

“Not necessarily, I just sense something strange here,” Xu Zimo said with a smile.

They entered the palace. As their feet touched the red carpet, the great doors shut themselves with a heavy sound, startling Xia Wanqing.

“It’s fine,” Xu Zimo reassured her.

Continuing forward, they came upon a small wooden hut within the grand palace, an odd sight, plain and rustic amidst such magnificence.

It looked like someone had once lived here, though it had long been abandoned.

“Let’s take a look inside,” Xu Zimo said.

Xia Wanqing nodded. The two entered. Inside was simple: a stone bed, a table, a few stools, nothing more.

On one wall hung a rolled-up painting.

“What’s this?” Xia Wanqing asked, curiosity piqued. She slowly unrolled it.

The moment the painting unfurled, light burst forth, and imperial might surged down in torrents.

Two figures stepped out from within the scroll.

One was a man in white robes, elegant and poised, long hair flowing though there was no wind, his eyes reflecting the vastness of the world.

The other was a woman in black robes, a moon-mark glowing on her forehead.

She looked like a celestial maiden, aloof and noble, an aura of ethereal grace surrounding her.

White and black robes interwove, like twin beams of light descending from the heavens to cover the eight wilds.

“It’s the Martial Heaven Emperor and the Nine Nights Immortal Sovereign!” Xia Wanqing exclaimed. “How could their portraits be here? Did they perhaps come here before they disappeared?”

Before she could continue, she realized both figures had turned their gaze upon them.

“Greetings to Ancestor and the Nine Nights Immortal Sovereign,” Xia Wanqing said quickly, not knowing if the images possessed true awareness.

Xu Zimo remained silent.

She tugged at his sleeve, but he showed no reaction.

“You’re a disciple of Martial Heaven?” the Martial Heaven Emperor asked after staring at Xu Zimo for some time, his gaze finally turning to Xia Wanqing.

“Yes,” Xia Wanqing nodded.

“How fares Martial Heaven now?” the Grand Emperor asked.

“It has declined. The descendants are weak, unworthy of restoring what you left behind,” Xia Wanqing said with downcast eyes.

“All things in the world rise and fall. It is the natural cycle of yin and yang,” the Grand Emperor said with a smile. “I understand your sorrow, but I do not grieve for it.”

“Ancestor, do you remain in the Mortal Ascension Heaven now?” Xia Wanqing asked quickly.

“Whether I am or not, I will never return to Martial Heaven,” the Grand Emperor said, shaking his head.

“Why not?” Xia Wanqing asked, confused.

“That place is too small, it can raise fish, but never dragons. Do you understand?” the Grand Emperor explained. “Perhaps the metaphor isn’t perfect, but that is the meaning.”

Xia Wanqing fell silent. She knew she could change nothing.

The Martial Heaven Emperor looked at Xu Zimo.

“And you, friend, what is your name?”

“Xu Zimo,” he replied.

“You are now within the War Palace of the Empress,” the Grand Emperor said.

“The Empress?” Xu Zimo froze for a moment.

The first figure that came to his mind was Hongtian Empress.

“What Empress?” he asked.

“She was a great figure of the ancient era. She had no name, we simply honored her as the Empress,” the Martial Heaven Emperor said in surprise. “Is there truly someone in the Nine Heavens who doesn’t know this? Friend, it seems you’ve come from the lower realms.”

He sighed.

“To stand out from millions, it seems you once stood at the peak.”

“The peak of that world was never the true peak,” Xu Zimo said, shaking his head.

“If you continue forward, you’ll reach the end of this world,” the Grand Emperor added. “If you’re interested, go take a look. You may find it worthwhile.”

Xu Zimo nodded slightly.

He glanced at the Grand Emperor, then at the Nine Nights Immortal Sovereign.

“Dao companions?” he asked.

“We are indeed Dao companions,” the Grand Emperor nodded. Turning to Xia Wanqing, he continued, “This painting contains my imperial will, it can be used once more. It is my final gift to Martial Heaven. Go back. The sect’s fate is ultimately in your hands.”

As his voice fell, the figures faded completely, and the painting returned to its original form.

Xia Wanqing carefully rolled it up, treasuring it deeply.

“Let’s keep moving,” Xu Zimo said.

They stepped out of the hut, following the red carpet onward. After about ten minutes, their path was blocked by a towering wall.