"Where's that ghostly thing?"

"Dealt with it. First, tell me, why do you always attract all sorts of strange beings? Take your time, no rush."

Xi Yang swallowed a Pill, ate something, and drank hot tea. Gradually, he started to relax.

"I found an abandoned Grotto Heaven, very ancient, and there I discovered an altar.

A lot of records were left there, including a Residual Soul that had lost consciousness and merged with the altar.

The Residual Soul recorded many things.

Since the East Sea has been relatively calm lately, and the deep sea as well, I went there.

In the deep sea, I found a Grotto Heaven, a peculiar one, like a shattered Grotto Heaven that somehow hasn't collapsed—I don't quite understand it.

There, I found another altar.

I observed it for a long time, deciphering some information on the altar.

I even entered the Void through the shattered Grotto Heaven and found many fragments in the Void.

Those fragments were even more strange, with no Spiritual Energy, and some bizarre force.

Like the Abyss..."

"The Abyss..." Yu Ziqing squinted, instantly realizing that it was indeed the Abyss.

But it was the world of the Deities era, before it transformed into the Abyss.

And it wasn't a Grotto Heaven but rather a fragment of the world.

Only in this way could it remain broken like a Grotto Heaven that still hasn't collapsed.

"It's like the Abyss, but not quite. I've been to the Abyss many times."

"Hm, go on."

"I investigated for a long time without any findings; according to the Residual Soul's record, I found nothing.

So I followed the Residual Soul's records, worshipping with Spiritual Incense, attempting to activate it.

But to my surprise, the altar had lost its power, and I gained nothing from it.

It merely triggered some information that I haven't deciphered yet, then that ghostly thing suddenly appeared.

After that, I fled all the way, encountering those strange Cultivators who inexplicably started chasing me.

You know me, I never actively provoke Cultivators, aside from exploring relics and Grotto Heaven.

I've never held grudges against anyone over the years.

Most of the time, I don't even encounter people."

"Manifest the information you saw." Yu Ziqing finished speaking, then thought for a moment: "Enter the Seventh Floor."

Face to face, the two entered the ring of the Seventh Floor.

Inside, Xi Yang manifested all the information he saw.

They were very ancient runes, recording events in runes and also steps for performing sacrifices or rituals.

Though not complete, Yu Ziqing could roughly understand what was conveyed.

It seemed to say that there was once a group of ruthless people who destroyed a Deity's Divine Country, then captured the Deity and imprisoned it at the altar.

Under the guise of sacrifice, they maintained the Deity's power; meanwhile, they used the Deity to perform Sacrificial Techniques, borrowing the Deity's power, while concurrently trapping it on the altar.

The more devout the offerings, the more participants, the stronger the Deity who lost its Divine Country became, but the power holding it on the altar grew equally strong.

This formed a closed loop.

And these believers, with the power borrowed through Sacrificial Techniques, also grew ever stronger.

As time passed, even if the original group perished, the later people, for power, became only more devout.

This ensured that the Deity would never hope to escape.

Over the long years, after a very long time, the Deity was eventually forcibly altered in essence, no longer the original undying Deity.

It desired liberation, but it could only seek someone to oppose itself.

Much later, changes finally arrived, but the change was too tremendous.

Most of those who once believed in it were dead, while those opposing it remained.

And these people somehow found the original records, carrying out the ruthless people's initial will.

They sought to imprison it again, treating it as a portable power bank of Deity that could be used anytime.

To escape, to break free, it ordered its last remaining fanatic, who called himself a Saint, to flee deep into the sea.

The Deity hoped to dissolve everything over time, being a Deity, it didn't care about the passage of time.

Eventually, that sole fanatic, the one who called himself a Saint, also died, and the records ended there.

Seeing this, Yu Ziqing's expression turned strange.

Half Skull was once a Deity?

A Deity so pitifully tragic that it starved to death?

Goodness, no way.

But looking at these records, Yu Ziqing knew it was ninety percent likely.

The Deity's original idea was pretty good; with no one to worship, as its power weakened, so too would the power trapping it.

When it weakened to a certain extent, or even completely faded, it could naturally escape.

But it overlooked one crucial problem.

It wasn't the same as it once was; through countless years of sacrificial offerings, its essence had long since changed.

It became dependent on Incense Fire Wish Power to maintain everything, reliant entirely on external forces, with its foundation destroyed, as weak as a chick.

With many believers, it could be powerful enough to merely lend power to believers, letting them swagger.

When the believers were gone, with long periods without offerings, it might even starve to death.

Ha, laughable, a Deity starved to death that ultimately became a hungry ghost.

Yu Ziqing was stunned.

More stunned were the fanatics who served this being, calling themselves Saints.