The Ancient Gods' Whisper

Tang Ling adjusted her monocle, gazing intently at the patterns on the rock wall, and murmured softly, "But this new life isn't evolution—it's merely a stepping stone for someone else's evolution."

Gu Jianlin looked at the subsequent murals and suddenly felt a chill of terror.

Because the ghost shadows in the mist all had dragon-like features!

Candle Dragon Clan!

Gu Jianlin's first thought was the Candle Dragon Clan.

"So this so-called 'Penglai Ascension Array' is actually an ancient evil technique?"

He frowned and asked, "This is far too bloody—Has Xu Fu gone mad?"

Afterward, even the Scholar had reviewed "Xu Fu's Record."

Yet the description of this array was no more than a passing mention.

"Xu Fu's Record" holds its greatest value in describing the deepest tomb within the Qilin Immortal Palace, along with documenting the natural disasters and man-made calamities he witnessed upon reaching the East Sea, scenes akin to apocalyptic destruction, and some accounts of the Ancient God Realm.

Tang Ling paused for a moment, then shook her head, saying, "Not necessarily; that's precisely why I find it so odd. When the Qilin Immortal Palace appeared in our time, I asked my teacher about the history during the Qin Dynasty. To be honest, according to 'The Emperor's Chronicles,' Xu Fu was an extraordinarily high-level Ascender."

She paused again, adding, "He even faced ancestor-level Ancient Gods yet remained untainted."

Gu Jianlin was momentarily stunned.

"It's said that this human transmutation technique was personally abolished by Xu Fu, who was remarkably loyal to the Emperor. Over two millennia ago, amid Emperor's relentless campaigns, he even confronted an Ancient Supreme, draining too much of his own life force. Consequently, Xu Fu volunteered to journey to the East Sea to seek a secret medicine for prolonging the Emperor's life."

Tang Ling elaborated, "Moreover, at that time, the Qilin Venerable had already exhausted the entire East Sea's Power of Nature. Natural disasters and man-made calamities were rampant; many Holy Land Level individuals perished there. Yet Xu Fu insisted on heading east, true to his character—placing life and death beyond concern. Of course, this doesn't rule out that he may have succumbed to madness or demonic possession in his later years."

Gu Jianlin pondered for a moment, saying, "If he encountered the Candle Dragon Venerable, he wouldn't have had much choice."

For that ancient monster was undeniably the pinnacle of two species.

Undoubtedly the strongest.

Running into her? That level of bad luck would be astronomical.

"Indeed, and Xu Fu serving as a Gatekeeper is quite intriguing."

Tang Ling, with her scholarly brilliance, gave him a meaningful look: "Remember when we were in the Returning Burial Forest? We found tree burials from the Han Dynasty, didn't we?"

Gu Jianlin nodded, "Yes, the Qilin Immortal Palace was sealed during the Qin Dynasty, yet the Ancient God Realm contains tombs from the Han Dynasty. This means that over two thousand years, outsiders have entered."

Tang Ling's eyes grew serious. "Taixu once calculated that the odds of accidentally falling into dimensional turbulence and entering the Qilin Immortal Palace are less than one in a trillion. I've never done the math fully, but from the Han Dynasty to today, it's hard to say whether Earth has even had that many people born. And the Qilin Immortal Palace contains more than one post-Qin-era tomb."

"Which suggests that if Xu Fu achieved immortality, then over the course of several millennia, he did not fulfill his Gatekeeper duties. Instead, he allowed wave after wave of people inside."

She paused again: "These people were all human."

Gu Jianlin suddenly thought of something.

It was "Xu Fu's Record!"

Xu Fu had even left behind a specific map, guiding people directly to the deepest part of the Qilin Immortal Palace!

Turns out, he did it intentionally.

Luckily, that map fell into the hands of the Pharmacist—a complete novice.

Otherwise, if a competent or intelligent person got hold of it, disaster would surely have struck.

Someone like Old Gu, for example.

The first encounter with Ancient Divine Language didn't kill anyone, by sheer luck.

But any mishandling—he'd have been doomed.

Or perhaps, after killing the first wave, more would come.

In that scenario, Gu Jianlin's life story might have been cut short by Chapter Four.

"Hmm, this assumption is quite logical. If we say Xu Fu, during his eastern expedition, witnessed the battle between the Candle Dragon Venerable and the Qilin Venerable, he had already achieved his goal by witnessing the divine miracle—and surviving it."

Gu Jianlin spoke softly: "Yet he ended up being detained by the Candle Dragon Venerable and forced to become the Gatekeeper. Perhaps he didn't disappear voluntarily but was compelled. He wanted to leave but couldn't."

Tang Ling nodded: "Exactly, that's what happened."

Gu Jianlin remarked sincerely, "Your erudition is truly impressive. I am in awe."

Hearing those compliments, Tang Ling's vermilion eyes suddenly brightened significantly. She acknowledged modestly with a gentle "Mm": "But his persistent act of letting people in still raises questions. What's the real motive behind it?"

Their gaze shifted to the third mural.

This mural depicted a grotesque figure covered in scales, taking a deep breath.

Those mist-like souls were consumed into its body.

Then the creature began to convulse wildly, bellowing skyward.

"As suspected, these souls are merely supplementary elixirs."

Gu Jianlin expressed disgust: "It's utterly revolting."

Tang Ling agreed with a sneer: "All for evolution, of course. Look at those souls—they all exhibit features of the Candle Dragon Clan. And that grotesque creature consuming the souls is clearly on the verge of evolution. I suspect it's because the evolution of the sacrificial subject was incomplete, so they needed those souls to filter the Ancient God's power."

Gu Jianlin suddenly realized, "And then consume these souls afterward?"

Tang Ling clicked her tongue and walked away: "Something like that."

They arrived at the final mural.

This mural depicted an all-encompassing black dragon, coiled at the edge of the sky, overlooking the Azure Sea.