CHAPTER 827: CHAPTER 374: CASE CLOSED (PART 2)

"Blissful Sky Curtain Technology was taken away by that Spirit Cultivator at the time."

Wang Jixuan asked: "Was that Spirit Cultivator named Po Suo?"

"No," He Ruli shook her head, "The first contact was with a man who called himself Hei Yao."

"Hei Yao?" Nierdamon frowned tightly.

"You know him?"

"An arch-enemy," Nierdamon said in a low voice, "He’s a wanted criminal in our civilization."

He Ruli continued: "About a thousand years passed, Hei Yao brought six Spirit Cultivators, including that Po Suo you mentioned, and they took away the second batch of technology, and indeed brought thousands of souls."

"Souls?" Wang Jixuan asked, "You asked them for souls?"

He Ruli lowered her head and sighed: "Yes, Cloud City can produce various types of energy, except one kind, the power of wise life souls."

"What did you need souls for?"

"To sustain myself a bit longer and awaken the souls of the sleeping pioneers."

Wang Jixuan fell silent.

He Ruli said: "I am from the opposition; the demise of the civilization stemmed from our opposition, which makes me deeply ashamed. The only way to save our civilization is to have the Great Pioneer lead us once again."

Amina asked: "Did you tell Hei Yao and Po Suo about this?"

"Yes," He Ruli said, "At the time I trusted them immensely and even took them to see where you were."

"May I interrupt," Wang Jixuan asked, "Can I know what happened to me back then? I remember you once said that the Three Realms Wanderer broke through the void and went to another world."

"That was my lie because I couldn’t explain everything to you back then."

He Ruli said apologetically:

"Actually, the opposition dared to unite with foreign enemies and wage war because of your weakness.

"After leading us for a long time, you returned to the peak of the Mahayana Realm.

"You tried to tear open space-time, using the method we summoned you here, to open the space-time barrier and return to your world. We were immensely grateful to you and then started the experiment.

"But the world presented by the opened space-time barrier wasn’t your original Cultivation World.

"You were greatly disappointed, yet you didn’t go to that unfamiliar world but started preparing here to impact the Immortal Ascension Tribulation... You failed.

"Failed a second time.

"You were well prepared, and although you failed, you weren’t struck dead by the Heavenly Tribulation. Only your Dao Body and cultivation were mostly destroyed, and you fell into self-doubt and quickly self-collapse, leaving only a strand of soul in eternal slumber.

"Your failure also solidified our opposition’s ideology.

"Whether collective or individual ascension, it is an unattainable pursuit. Our civilization has reached a bottleneck, so we should increase its width rather than height, focus on individual interests and rights, and strive to enhance our cultural heritage.

"That’s about it.

"And your followers, the majority of our civilization’s individuals, have become irretrievable in pursuing the path of individual ascension."

Wang Jixuan said sincerely: "Actually, the ideology of your opposition faction is quite good."

He Ruli closed the Book of Civilization.

Wang Jixuan roughly sorted out the timeline.

[The Yina Civilization tried to use energy to open the space-time barrier, and the failed Nierdamon fell from the void, becoming the pioneer of Yina Civilization;

He shared a bunch of cultivation tips, and Yina Civilization began to transform;

He returned to the peak, back to the Mahayana realm, and failed to impact the Heavenly Tribulation, his self-will deteriorated, and his residual soul fell into slumber.

Internal divisions arose in Yina Civilization, and his failure allowed the opposition to rise, eventually evolving into war;

The opposition invited wolves into the fold, Yina Civilization suffered heavy blows, and opposition ideology prevailed;

Uprisings by various races ruled by Yina Civilization led to its destruction, Cloud City went into hiding.]

Regarding the Spirit Cultivators:

[Seven thousand years ago, a rogue Spirit Cultivator named Hei Yao arrived here and took a batch of technology.

Six thousand years ago, Hei Yao brought his companions and arrived here for the second time, taking the second batch of technology and learning about the so-called Pioneer, which is Wang Jixuan.]

"And then?" Wang Jixuan asked, "Tell me about the Hei Yao and his accomplices’ line."

"Yes," He Ruli naturally used a respectful tone.

She said in a low voice: "The souls brought by Hei Yao, I absorbed their power for three purposes: one to maintain stability, one to attempt awakening the previous pioneers and leaders in the Sleeping Temple, and another to supplement the sleeping Great Pioneer."

He Ruli lowered her head and sighed:

"Hei Yao and his accomplices were involved throughout the process.

"I didn’t tell them the history of the civilization because I feared they would harbor ill intentions towards this city, so I deliberately exaggerated your brilliance.

"I told them that he is the Pioneer who led the Yina Civilization to glory, not a life form of this world but from a Cultivation World, and his technology is the origin of our Yina Civilization’s Spiritual Power Technology.

"If Yina Civilization is the father of the Spirit Cultivation Civilization, then he is your grandfather.

"Then I noticed they showed great interest in you.

"After that, they maintained a frequency of coming once every thousand years, and altogether brought over a hundred thousand wise life souls, from which I regained some power."

Amina, who had been silent, suddenly asked: "Was their method of reaching here by releasing their Core Circuit?"

"Yes," He Ruli said, "With my guidance and imprint, they released the Core Circuit, from which it could reach here."

Amina asked again: "Was it just one Spirit Cultivator who came last time?"

"Hmm," He Ruli said, "The last time one arrived here, it was the one you call Po Suo. It was her third visit here, and she brought soul energy that could sustain my thinking, so although I was puzzled why she came alone, at first I didn’t suspect anything."

"How long ago was that?" Wang Jixuan asked.

"Twenty-six years and three months ago."

He Ruli said: "Then, she stayed here for several months, always lingering outside the pioneer’s sleeping palace. I asked her about it, and she excitedly said she could hear the pioneer’s summon, then... She suddenly attacked me, and I defeated her easily with the power of Cloud City, but what I didn’t expect was she chose to end her own life."

"Ended her own life?"

"Yes," He Ruli closed her eyes, "She shattered her Core Circuit using a technology that was once taken out of here... I still can’t forget her smile at the brink of death, it was extremely bizarre and incredibly ironic."

He Ruli fell silent for half a minute, seemingly stabilizing her emotions.

"After that, her soul entered between the sleeping pioneers, and the entire Cloud City began to tremble continuously, hindering the operation of formations everywhere.

"She was like a virus, a plague.

"She attempted to seize control of this city but was stopped by me. I nearly exhausted my power, and just as I fell into weakness, three meteors left here.

"The Great Pioneer, a soul of a leader awakened by me, and that madwoman’s soul left Cloud City simultaneously."

Wang Jixuan asked: "Twenty-six years ago?"

"Approximately."

The Daoist suddenly became restless.

If accounting for a human’s ten-month pregnancy, that number is about right;

Mu Liang was actually him, but only when Mu Liang committed suicide did his past life memories begin to awaken.

The long-standing doubt of Wang Jixuan;

He, Gao Huating, and Ye Zi simultaneously appeared in a Fortress, was it coincidence or some arrangement?

Now the mystery is finally solved.

Now Wang Jixuan has only one puzzling aspect, which is why, after waking this time, he doesn’t have memories of Yina Civilization and Three Realms Wanderer.

However, the answer should be close at hand.

Wang Jixuan stood up and directly said: "Take me to the place where I used to sleep."

He Ruli’s eyes slightly flickered.

"This is the Pioneer’s command," Wang Jixuan lowered his head and looked over.

He Ruli’s gaze dodged, and she lowered her head and said, "Yes."