Myth Beyond Heaven

A few minutes later, Yun Lintian calmed himself down. It wasn't the first time he'd regretted his decision. Had he personally taken Nantian Yu out of the city, she would probably still be alive. However, it had already happened. There was nothing he could do now.

Yun Lintian looked at Nantian Fengyu in his arms and asked softly, "Did you see it, Fifth Sister?"

"Mhm," Nantian Fengyu replied gently. "I could feel her emotions and thoughts. In fact, she had lost the will to live for a long time. Her trip to the Nine Firmament City was her last chance to enjoy the world."

Yun Lintian fell silent. He had, in fact, sensed a deep depression in Nantian Yu's heart during their time together. The impending marriage between her and Jin Yang was like the final nail in the coffin.

"It's alright now," Nantian Fengyu said softly. "She's finally free."

Yun Lintian gripped Nantian Fengyu's shoulders and looked directly into her eyes. "Can you promise me something, Fifth Sister? You must not give up on yourself like her, no matter what happens in the future."

Nantian Fengyu's eyes flickered slightly as she replied, "I promise you."

Yun Lintian slowly nodded. "Remember that."

Nantian Fengyu smiled but said nothing further.

After giving them some time, Lin Yitong asked, "What happened?"

Yun Lintian turned to face everyone and began recounting the situation.

The expressions of Lin Yitong and the others turned grave upon hearing this.

"The God of Death..." Yun Yi frowned deeply. "Did he truly initiate it?"

Lin Yitong gave Yun Lintian a long look and asked, "What's your take?"

Yun Lintian pondered for a moment before saying, "It was undoubtedly the Great Law of Death, and it was the most potent one I've encountered so far. As far as we know, the God of Death is the only one who wields such power. While I want to doubt him, it's undeniable that he must have been involved somehow."

He paused briefly and continued, "However, it doesn't make sense to me. Even if the God of Death was enraged, it wouldn't make sense for him to kill his own general. Though I don't know how strong Yin Sikong truly was, he was definitely one of the most powerful generals under the God of Death. There would be no benefit in killing him, especially with the Primordial War about to begin."

"Is it possible someone framed him?" Lin Yitong asked.

Yun Lintian turned to her, his curiosity piqued. "What's your take, Senior?"

Yun Lintian lacked any understanding of the true power wielded by Primordial Gods and True Gods. Their previous encounter hadn't revealed their full strength. Therefore, he couldn't determine whether someone framed the God of Death.

Lin Yitong, on the other hand, was a True God herself. She undoubtedly had a better grasp of the capabilities of both True Gods and Primordial Gods compared to him. Since she posed this question, it implied she believed framing was a possibility.

"Based on your account," Lin Yitong replied, "it's clear those beings only displayed a fraction of their strength. When True Gods clash, this entire city won't withstand the battle."

"There could be a few reasons why they held back. Firstly, they might be well aware of each other's ultimate abilities and waiting for the other to make a move first. Yin Sikong's deliberate attack on the city supports this theory."

"Secondly, there might be an external constraint on both sides. Didn't Huang Yiming mention something about the Celestial Realm? Perhaps this city originally belonged to the Celestial Realm. Logically, Yin Sikong should've aimed for a swift victory to avoid reinforcements from the Celestial Realm, yet he didn't. I'm unsure what truly hindered him."

"It's also possible he believed the Grip of Death was sufficient to handle Huang Yiming and the others."

Lin Yitong fixated her gaze on Yun Lintian. "Huang Yiming was on the verge of unleashing his true power, but the appearance of the Great Law of Death interrupted him. Don't you think that was a bit too coincident?"

Yun Lintian seemed to grasp something. "Are you implying…?" he asked.

Lin Yitong offered a gentle nod. "Whoever orchestrated this might have allowed the battle to progress just long enough to announce to the world that Huang Yiming and Yin Sikong, representing the God of Mortals and the God of Death, were locked in combat here."

Everyone instantly grasped the reason behind Lin Yitong's question regarding the possibility of the God of Death being framed. If the God of Death were truly enraged, he wouldn't have deployed Yin Sikong in the first place. He could have simply obliterated everyone in the city from the outset.

Yun Lintian meticulously replayed the entire situation in his mind, and a sense of suspicion grew stronger with each iteration.

"However, we can't rule out the God of Death's involvement," Lin Yitong continued. "Frankly, the information we have is negligible. It only confirms that the city's destruction involved someone wielding the Great Law of Death."

Everyone murmured their agreement.

"Now, the key questions are: who brought the city here? More precisely, who established the Kunlun Realm? Was it Huang Yiming himself or someone else? And why wasn't this place cleaned up?" Lin Yitong said, furrowing her brow.

Yun Lintian's mind flashed back to the silhouettes he had seen earlier. If anyone brought the Kunlun Realm to the Nine Heavens Realms, it had to be them... Who were they?

"Do you think this is your father's arrangement?" Long Qingxuan asked Yun Lintian.

Yun Lintian shook his head firmly. "No doubt it is. But I don't understand why he wanted me to see this, or the whole time travel situation for that matter."

Yun Lintian couldn't decipher his father's purpose in sending him here. What message was he trying to convey?

"Let's move on," Lin Yitong declared, exiting the inn.

Everyone exchanged brief glances before following her out.

***

"So many lives lost here," Yu Xinlan muttered, frowning at the mountains of skeletons before her.

A rough estimate revealed over five hundred thousand skeletons just in this area, not including those she'd seen on the way. This part of the city alone must have housed at least two million people.

"They seem to have perished before the battle even began," Huo Jinyang observed, examining the various rusted weapons scattered on the ground. It was clear these people hadn't even had a chance to fight.

Meanwhile, Lin Feng didn't say anything. His eyes firmly fixated on the majestic tower in front of him…