At most, face-to-face communication had turned into written exchanges.
Outside, Yang provided remote assistance, better than going in directly.
The village chief wanted to go, but Yu Ziqing wouldn't allow it; the future stronghold of Jinlan Mountain, the village's backbone, couldn't be allowed to wander off at this time.
Before confirming what was inside, Yu Ziqing wasn't planning on bringing anyone except for the Ten Thousand Soul Banner and Lou Huai.
Leaving Jinlan Mountain, Yu Ziqing headed southward.
As they neared their destination, they saw someone waiting.
"Old Chief Venerate, are you going too?"
"Since you're going, why shouldn't I?"
"Aren't you afraid of being trapped and dying inside?"
Yu Ziqing clasped his hands in respect and made a gesture of invitation.
Might as well let him go, Old Chief Venerate's Heart Demon, constantly acting as a radio telling stories, wasn't for nothing.
That old fellow, ruthless as he was, Yu Ziqing had no intention of traveling with him.
Watching Old Chief Venerate disappear into the archway, Yu Ziqing waited.
He approached the archway, reaching out to touch its pillars, feeling its aura, walking around every corner, memorizing each brick and tile.
After several days, Yu Ziqing finally stood before the archway, took a deep breath.
Stepping forward, his figure vanished instantly.
He plunged into the Void, losing his footing, his form continually falling.
Around him was the Endless Void, as if he was in the realm of An History Book, yet countless streaks of light swiftly zoomed past.
The Prefectural Governor Seal of Jiazi City hanging on him flew out by itself, suspended above his head, cascading strands of Divine Light, enveloping his entire body, stabilizing his form.
The surrounding light trails abruptly transformed into rapidly flowing, blurred images.
Yu Ziqing controlled his form, slowing his descent; the images became increasingly clear.
Then, before long, he recognized a familiar object.
Alien Fire ignited, flames swept across, continuously setting the entire world alight.
Each scene seemed to depict significant events from the past.
Yu Ziqing consciously slowed down further, observing carefully.
Each scene was like a movie playing around him, hundreds of movies at once.
Slowly, Yu Ziqing recognized more and more familiar things.
Seals he had once broken, seeing Jinlan Mountain fall, watching countless people starve into starving ghosts, witnessing the burning of the White Jade Building.
Ultimately, countless scenes were left behind as Yu Ziqing continued to fall.
At the very bottom, countless images converged into a massive scene, continually expanding, eventually forming a world that enveloped Yu Ziqing.
The brightness seared the eyes; closing and opening them, Yu Ziqing sensed the wind brushing his ears, a hint of fragrant wheat teasing his nose.
Before him lay a field of golden wheat, a sight indeed beautiful at first glance.
However, Yu Ziqing sniffed the air; alongside the wheat fragrance, there was a whiff of mold.
Upon closer inspection, some wheat grains had already fallen and were molding in the field, others even sprouting right on the stalks.
Stretching far and wide, a vast expanse of flat wheat field, yet not a soul in sight.
These long-ripened wheat stalks remained unharvested.
Yu Ziqing looked around, retrieved the Prefectural Governor Seal of Jiazi City, tested it, light circulated above but couldn't carry him away.
Trying with other Prefectural Governor and County Magistrate Seals bore no result either.
Just as he had expected.
This place seemed like a seal from An History Book, yet it was different.
Seals in An History Book had limits, but here Yu Ziqing had not sensed even a trace of Ninth Tier Strong, nor any human presence at all.
Yu Ziqing plucked a grain of wheat, rubbed it, and put it in his mouth, chewing slowly. A raw taste with hints of sweet wheat flavor emerged, containing a faint trace of Spiritual Energy.
Everything here was real.
This was Dadui, everything that had vanished in Dadui was here.
Yu Ziqing soared into the sky, overlooking the land, besides vast fields of wheat; in the distance, he could barely make out the existence of some buildings.
Yet the silence was overwhelming; no birds crossing the sky, no beasts roaming the earth.
Not a single living person in sight.
"Lou Huai, do you sense any living presence?"
Yu Ziqing descended back to the ground, concealing all his presence, donning a black hooded robe like Zhong Shouzheng's.
He slowly made his way toward the distant cluster of buildings.
Halfway through, as the sun set, twilight fell.
Moonlight began to spill over, vague whispers came floating from afar.
Under those chants, the moonlight twisted and transformed, gradually forming into slender threads of lunar brilliance, trailing down to the ground.
At this moment, the sounds of insects and birds emerged; field mice emerged from their burrows, gnawing on abundant food.
Cawing cries filled the air as vast clouds of black birds soared from distant mountains, rushing into the wheat fields.
Field mice, rabbits, and other small creatures were snatched by crows and carried into the air.
Amidst this, flocks of black crows swarmed to tear them apart mid-air, continuing to hunt for other prey.