Nightfall

After a long time, Ning Que gradually woke up from his shock. However, he still felt confused.

The back of the mountain of the Academy was also one of those Unknown Places in the legends. However, it only exuded gentleness and warmth, unlike the harsh mental impact that this place gave off. He thought to himself that this must be the difference that Mo Shanshan talked about the other day. The back of the mountain of the Academy connected the divine and the secular world while the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine stayed indifferently above the secular world.

The Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine had long been abandoned after being buried in snow for decades within the Tianqi mountain. It looked utterly desolate and its emptiness and magnificence made it even more so. Ning Que thought back to when the Devil’s Doctrine was still going strong and how numerous believers knelt on the stone beams to worship and could not help but sigh.

The abilities the Desolate Man wielded were unbelievable, for they were able to dig such a huge space within the Snow-capped Peak a thousand years ago. Ning Que thought about how it was the Great Tang empire that had managed to chase these Desolate Man out of the Wilderness and to the Far North Cold Region. He sighed and a strong sense of pride welled up within him.

Then, he thought of a few more things as he looked at the majestic and otherworldly structures before him. The Devil’s Doctrine was not of this world because cultivators of the Devil’s Doctrine had forced the heavens and earth within their bodies, going against Haotian. Perhaps the Great Divine Priest of Light who had formed the Devil’s Doctrine had had the Desolate Man dig out such a space within the Tianqi Mountains to prove that humans could have the same abilities as Haotian did?

In a world where Haotian’s brilliance shone upon them, this silent way of expressing disrespect for Haotian could be described as extreme arrogance. It was no wonder why Enlightenment Doctrine was called the devil.

After looking at their surroundings in silence, Ning Que helped Mo Shanshan walk on the stone beams.

The thick stone beams joined the insides of the Snow-capped Peak together and met each other in the air. The stone beams were wide enough for four-horse carriages to travel on it side by side. Looking at the collision marks and the rubble, it was certain that nothing could smash these beams since they landed from above a thousand years ago. There was no way that the beams would even shake as the two walked on it.

However, the beams were suspended high up in the air and provided no cover on the sides. The wind whistled and swept through space, echoing through it. It was extremely scary. Ning Que looked at the empty world beyond the stone beams and listened to the wind. He felt his legs stiffening up. He thought that if the wind blew him away beyond the beams, he might stay in the air for a long time before falling into the depths of the ground.

The walk to the central beam was long. The two walked for a long time and had not even covered one-third of the distance. The temple on the suspended beam hanging afar looked minuscule. The feelings of fear and insignificance from walking in such a magnificent space faded as they walked on.

Ning Que and Mo Shanshan steps were faster than before. They even looked at the scenery around them even though it was dark and nothing could be seen.

And then, he noticed that there appeared several deep lines beneath his feet. These lines were gouged deeply within the stone beams. The lines extended wildly with no sense of order and tiny rocks rolled about within the lines along with the mountain wind.

Ning Que examined it seriously by the light shining from above. He realized that the lines formed a simple drawing when assembled together. The strokes were fierce and powerful and looked as if it was made by a metal weapon such as a blade or an ax. It looked like an ancient petroglyph.

The petroglyph moved along with their steps and gradually revealed before them.

The petroglyphs were large and there were many of them.

The first petroglyph was of a monstrous flood.

A man with blurred facial features stood on a cliff by the flood. He wore a grass skirt around his waist and held a pick in his hand. He yelled at the skies angrily in the rain.

The second petroglyph was of a wildfire in the mountains.

Several women with blurred facial features stood by the forest alight with flames. They wore short skirts made of coarse cloth and held pots of water in their hands. They wept pitifully beside wheat fields.

The third was of a world blanketed in snow.

Dozens of farmers with blurred facial features wearing thick clothing made of beast pelt held various types of tools in their hands. They ignored the falling snow above their heads and were focused on fixing the roof.

The forth petroglyph was of a tremoring land.

Thousands of unidentifiable black spots stood in the fields of scarred land. They seemed to be burying their dead and saving those who survived. They did not yell angrily nor cry but continued living their lives.

Every petroglyph was of Haotian’s releasing his wrath upon the world. The drawings were of mankind’s suffering and struggles. The people in the drawings were blurred out, but their human identity was clear.

The petroglyphs on the stone beams continued to spread. Following mankind’s ability to wield tools, their firm willpower, and understanding of nature, they became calmer in the face of various disasters. Their hearts might be burdened with sadness and anger, but no matter what, they would survive and they had survived until today.

Ning Que and Mo Shanshan looked at the petroglyphs below their feet as they continued walking. The expressions on their faces turned grave gradually. Even though they were unable to completely understand or confirm the true reason behind why those from the Devil’s Doctrine had carved these petroglyphs, they certainly felt something as a member of the human race.

The last petroglyph at the front of the stone beam was extremely simple. There were fewer lines than the previous petroglyphs. At the bottom were three rows of straight lines interspersed with numerous small stone caves. They probably represented the human race that had multiplied and had taken over the world. The round caves looked like men’s hands raised in the air for celebration.

Above the three straight lines were a circle and a semi-circle.

Mo Shanshan frowned lightly and looked at the picture beneath her feet that was so simple but hard to understand. She thought about the messages that could be hidden within it, but did not think of anything no matter how she thought about it.

Ning Que stared at the last petroglyph. His hand that was holding Mo Shanshan up started to tremble slightly. He felt his body becoming slightly cold and could vaguely guess something. However, he felt that his guess was too ludicrous.

It was a pity that he was in the desolate Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine. There was no time for him to think it through carefully. He had no time to think of the Fauvism symbolisms or problems surrounding Fauvism. Even if he had wanted to think about it, the petroglyph on the platform suspended in the middle of the Snow-capped Peak would not allow him to.

…

…

Numerous stone beams gathered here, forming a natural platform. The stone platform was suspended in the middle of the air, several feet from the ground. The wind from the outside blew inwards, blowing the dust off that temple.

There were several white skeletons heaped outside the temple. The dust fell through the cracks of the white bones and flew up again. The cycle had repeated countless times over the years. Under the white bones laid a thick layer of dust, which made others feel that they laid in a muddy river.

Walking down the stone beam, the first thing that Ning Que saw was the Devil’s Doctrine’s temple eaves. The second was the pile of bones lying in the aged dust outside the temple. He could not move his eyes from that.

The Devil’s Doctrine had experienced fierce battles when they were destroyed then. Many had died outside the temples. As the time went by, their bodies turned into white skeletons. Only the sharp marks on their bones and the scattered broken bone bits laying around were witness to the brutality that had happened then.

Ning Que helped Mo Shanshan through the pile of bones. They came to the steps near the temple and discovered several intact corpses. Their heavy armor had protected the bones within it and these bones did not scatter. Some bones that looked like branches were still holding on to their weapons. Even death could not make them release them.

He had seen too many deaths in this life. He had seen even more cruel ones, which was why he could remain calm. He even knelt down and examined the complete corpses. However, Mo Shanshan had never seen such terrifying or cruel things. Her beautiful face was pale and she wrung her hands together, unable to speak.

The weapons clutched in the bony hands were extraordinary. They remained pristine even after decades. Ning Que noticed that there was a strong Fu character aura on their armor and was even more surprised. He thought that these men must have been the powerhouses of the Devil’s Doctrine then.

He extended a finger and wiped the dust off the armor. He had wanted to take a closer look at the Fu character. When his finger touched the surface of the armor, a crisp click sounded. The armor that had looked indestructible cracked open instantaneously.

The crisp clicks sounded one after another. The armor of the previous generation of powerhouses from the Devil’s Doctrine cracked. The aura of the Fu character left behind on them also dissipated in the air and could no longer be felt.

The crack in the armor was smooth and shiny and was obviously made with a sharp object such as a sword. Who could cut through such a powerful armor so easily with a sword? Furthermore, the sword style was one that cut through objects and yet not left behind any trace. It had stayed in the armor for decades and only appeared when Ning Que’s fingers touched it today.

Ning Que knew the answer to that question. He stayed silent.

Mo Shanshan was shocked at first. She looked at Ning Que who was silent, and then calmed down and looked slightly ashamed. After that, she experienced several other emotions as well.

The two walked up the stairs and pushed open the temple doors.

They opened the door to see a mountain. There was a stone stele that was as huge as a mountain.

The stele was made from an entire piece of stone. Its surface was extremely smooth.

“A no-word stele?”

Mo Shanshan was the first to notice the stele. She thought of the legends she had heard and said in surprise.

Ning Que was looking at their surroundings alertly. He asked subconsciously, “What’s a no-word stele?”

Mo Shanshan replied dazedly, “When the Great Divine Priest of Light founded the Devil’s Doctrine against Haotian’s will, he said, ‘Only time will know me and my sins.’ That was why he requested that not a single word should be written on his stele so that the world could comment on him freely.”

“So the body below this stele belongs to the Great Divine Priest of Light?”

Ning Que raised his head and looked at it. His expression turned into shock immediately.

Words had appeared on the no-word stele.

A line of words that were beyond this world.

“Ke Haoran of the Academy vanquished the Devil’s Doctrine here!”