Chapter 114: The Mural

"Th-this is..."

He gazed at the murals, unable to stop himself from swallowing hard.

In these images, humanity stood behind seven gargantuan stone statues; looking out, the crowd was so dense it seemed infinite. Yet, even so, this could not mask the overwhelming power of these individuals. Even through the murals, he could feel the formidable aura radiating from them. In particular, the seven towering, majestic stone statues at the forefront—and the figures standing atop them—gave him a sensation more vast than the world itself.

More importantly, one of these seven statues was identical to the one he had seen in his memory while practicing the Small Heavenly Cycle Visualization Technique.

"What, what exactly is this?"

He suppressed the restless irritation rising within him and forced himself to continue looking.

In the imagery, the entities opposing humanity were seven-colored dragons. No, to be precise, the seven-colored dragons were only a part of it; there were many others—creatures he had never even heard of. In these scenes, there were seven-colored dragons that had taken human form, others that had shifted into different shapes, and still more that existed in their primal, bestial states. Yet, for some reason, the moment he looked at them, he could instantly identify what they were. There were scenes of them treating humans as food, and others where they adorned themselves with countless stolen treasures of mankind.

Though the scenes were numerous, no matter how many there were, they all revealed the same inherent traits of the seven-colored dragons: bloodthirst, greed, and unparalleled power.

Thus, it was not until he reached the end that he saw a scene entirely different from the rest.

The image depicted a vast, boundless cosmic expanse. In a corner of the starry sky, endless nebulae formed a dense sea of mist. Deep within that mist, three planets loomed, appearing as if they were small islands suspended in the universe.

For some reason, the instant he saw this image, the inexplicable agitation in Tu Lu's heart surged violently. Bizarre, incomprehensible images began to flash through his mind, though they were extremely blurred—present, yet impossible to see clearly.

"Ah!"

Finally, he let out a pained cry, tearing his gaze away from the mural. He let out a long breath and slumped to the ground. Unnoticed, his back had been drenched in cold sweat. These were clearly just murals, yet they made him feel as if he were facing a formidable enemy, especially that inexplicable sense of agitation.

And those blurred images in his memory—could they be the memories of the seven-colored dragons? He remembered that when he had inscribed the Nine Dragon Pattern for Gongsun Yan, he had accidentally received a sliver of enlightenment and memory inheritance from a seven-colored dragon. He had always been able to access the flash of enlightenment, but the memory inheritance had remained locked away; perhaps this was its source.

"The priority now is to heal my wounds!"

He took a deep breath, sat cross-legged, and entered the deepest state of meditation.

Elsewhere, Gongsun Yan and Xiao Cai were both in seclusion. Had Tu Lu seen them now, he would surely have been shocked, for in just a few short months, the aura radiating from them had reached the pinnacle of the Deity Transformation Realm. Gongsun Yan, in particular, faintly exuded a profound aura that seemed to transcend the Deity Transformation Realm itself.

Yet, at their feet lay dozens of human corpses. The weakest among them were of the Purple Mansion Realm, and the most powerful one emanated the aura of a half-step Profound Heaven practitioner.

Just then, Xiao Cai suddenly opened her eyes. Shortly after, Gongsun Yan also opened her eyes, letting out a laugh as she teased, "Haha, Xiao Qi, the one you've been pining for has arrived. Aren't you going to see him?"

"Sister!" Xiao Cai frowned tightly. "Now is not the time to meet with the young master. Please, stop joking."

"Haha, very well, I won't tease you anymore. I'll have Lei Hu go instead!" Her expression grew more serious as she added, "But if he stands against us, do not go soft on him when the time comes!"