Qi Yue Pavilion Courtyard.

“Lingyue, sister?”

Xu Taiping stood before the bamboo grove in the courtyard, looking puzzled at the figure within.

The figure wasn’t the familiar Fairy Lingyue he knew, but a young girl dressed in plain clothes with her hair tied in a bun, looking as delicate as a porcelain doll.

“Did I scare you?”

The girl spoke in a tone and manner that didn’t match her age at all.

“No, I just didn’t expect it.”

Xu Taiping shook his head with a smile.

The voice and the way of speaking confirmed it for him—this little girl was indeed Fairy Lingyue.

“The Earth Fruit hasn’t matured yet, and my body isn’t fully restored, so what you’re seeing now is my childhood appearance,” Fairy Lingyue said with a hint of helplessness.

“But Taiping, you’ve suffered a lot during this time. That Blade Ghost will pay for what he’s done.”

After giving Xu Taiping a once-over, her previously clear and pure eyes suddenly filled with intense killing intent.

Compared to before she fell asleep, Xu Taiping had become much thinner, and his blood energy was frighteningly weak. She immediately concluded that the Blade Ghost had tortured him into this state.

“Give me the hand with the Ghost-Sealing Talisman,” Fairy Lingyue extended her hand towards Xu Taiping, as if ready to settle the score with the Blade Ghost right then and there.

“Lingyue, sister, we can talk about the Blade Ghost tonight. There’s no rush.”

Xu Taiping shook his head.

“Why?”

Fairy Lingyue looked at Xu Taiping, puzzled.

“It’s not just the Blade Ghost. While you were asleep, I also fought with demonic cultivators from the Nine Mansions. There are many things I need to confirm with you.”

Xu Taiping spoke seriously.

“Nine Mansions? Demonic cultivators?”

Fairy Lingyue’s expression turned grave upon hearing this.

…

That night.

In the stone chamber of Fan Tower.

“The Ruins of the Cloud Dream Marsh are actually the remains of the Tai Xuan Sect from the Sumeru Realm?”

After listening to Xu Taiping’s account, the little girl-like Fairy Lingyue’s mouth opened slightly, revealing a look of astonishment.

“Lingyue, sister, have you heard of the Sumeru Realm?”

Xu Taiping asked excitedly.

During this time, he had searched through many ancient texts, but none, whether travelogues of cultivators or sect records, mentioned the Sumeru Realm.

Fairy Lingyue nodded and then looked at Xu Taiping seriously, saying, “I come from the Sumeru Realm.”

Hearing this, Xu Taiping was stunned again.

He had originally guessed that Fairy Lingyue came from one of the other realms of the Shangqing Realm, never expecting that she wasn’t from the Shangqing Realm at all.

“But Taiping, regarding the Sumeru Realm, there’s actually very little I can tell you at the moment.”

As if knowing what Xu Taiping wanted to ask, Fairy Lingyue immediately added.

“Why?”

Xu Taiping was puzzled.

“There are a few extremely powerful beings in the Shangqing Realm who have been searching for cultivators from the Sumeru Realm.”

“One of them possesses a divine artifact called the ‘One Leaf Book.’ This artifact can calculate destiny through cause and effect. After sealing many Sumeru cultivators into the One Leaf Book, as long as you are tainted by the cause and effect of the Sumeru Realm, your name will appear on that leaf, allowing him to find you.”

“The more you know, the easier it is to get entangled in the cause and effect of the Sumeru Realm.”

Fairy Lingyue warned Xu Taiping with a serious expression.

“So that’s why you told me not to easily use the Red Crow Golden Flame Technique in front of others?”

“That’s part of the reason.”

Fairy Lingyue nodded.

Hearing this, Xu Taiping suddenly understood.

“I can only tell you that a catastrophe once occurred in the Sumeru Realm, almost turning the entire realm into ruins. The beings who caused this catastrophe were so powerful that they could destroy entire worlds with a mere gesture.”

“Even the powerful beings in the Shangqing Realm are like ants before them. They are desperately searching for the remnants of the Sumeru Realm, hoping to find a trace of the great Dao left by those beings.”

“And all this, you don’t even have the right to know until you reach the Transformative Realm. So from today on, you must not seek anything related to the Sumeru Realm.”

To prevent Xu Taiping from being curious and seeking information about the Sumeru Realm, Fairy Lingyue thought seriously for a moment before deciding to explain further.

“Rest assured, Lingyue, sister. Before I break through to the Transformative Realm, I won’t mention this matter again.”

Xu Taiping solemnly promised Fairy Lingyue.

It was the first time he had seen Fairy Lingyue so serious.

Fairy Lingyue nodded with a smile.

“Then the two techniques I obtained from the Tai Xuan Sect, should I also avoid using them in front of others?”

Xu Taiping asked Fairy Lingyue for confirmation.

“That’s not necessary.”

“They won’t be detected by the One Leaf Book?”

“Before the catastrophe, the Tai Xuan Sect had already disappeared from the Sumeru Realm for tens of thousands of years. Everything about the Tai Xuan Sect is undetectable, as if it vanished into thin air. Even in our generation, very few know of its existence.”

Fairy Lingyue said solemnly.

“What about the Great Void Catastrophe?”

Seeing that the Tai Xuan Sect could be mentioned, Xu Taiping immediately asked Fairy Lingyue about the Great Void Catastrophe.

“I’ve never heard of the Great Void Catastrophe.”

Fairy Lingyue frowned and shook her head.

“But since it could make a sect like the Tai Xuan Sect disappear overnight, we should treat it cautiously and avoid mentioning it to the outside world.”

She reminded Xu Taiping again.

Hearing that even Fairy Lingyue didn’t know what the Great Void Catastrophe was, Xu Taiping couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed.

“As for the demonic cultivators from the Nine Mansions, they should be a branch of the Nine Abyss.”

Fairy Lingyue suddenly added.

“What is the Nine Abyss?”

Xu Taiping had seen the name Nine Abyss in a letter from Duan Tianya.

“The Nine Abyss are nine deep abysses hidden within the various realms of the Shangqing Realm. It’s said that they connect to the void, and the original demonic seeds and demonic embryos came from the Nine Abyss.”

“But during my travels in the Shangqing Realm, the Nine Abyss had been mostly sealed by the cultivation world of the Shangqing Realm. Some were even destroyed, like the Sea-Suppressing Tower in Youyun Prefecture of Youyun Heaven, which is actually a sealing site of one of the Nine Abyss.”

Fairy Lingyue explained.

“Do we have any old sites of the Nine Abyss in Zhenwu Heaven?”

Xu Taiping asked curiously.