Zhao Qingcang listened in silence, his expression gradually turning solemn.

“I told Marshal Deng all about my suspicions and the bizarre deaths of the Classer outside.”

“I begged him, begged him to get out of the coffin immediately.”

“But...”

Qi Zhenyun sighed softly once more.

“However, Marshal Deng didn't believe me at all. He was like someone possessed back then, becoming exceptionally stubborn.”

“He insisted it was just a coincidence, that some unknown exotic beast from the ruins had escaped and was committing those crimes outside.”

“The spirit sealing coffin restored his Origin power, giving him hope of survival.”

“So, no matter what, he refused to leave the spirit sealing coffin.”

“He was still hoping, hoping that this coffin would completely heal his injuries and allow him to return to his Peak.”

“I had no other better way at the time.”

“The only thing I could do was find a way to minimize the impact.”

“In the name of the Military Department, I classified those ruins as a maximum-Level restricted area, and then drove away all the Classer within a ten-kilometer radius.”

“I originally thought that as long as we cut off the source of life, the Divine Artifact's devouring would stop.”

The car had stopped at some point.

The driver didn't turn off the engine, simply waiting quietly.

Qi Zhenyun pushed open the car door and stepped out.

Zhao Qingcang followed closely behind him.

This was a sanatorium on the outskirts of the Imperial Capital, with a quiet environment and tight security.

Qi Zhenyun continued his narrative as he led the way.

“The incident happened half a year later.”

“In Simon City, which was nearly fifty kilometers away from the ruins...”

“Overnight, nearly ten thousand people died in the western district of the city.”

“Men, women, young, and old—none were spared.”

“Nearly ten thousand people?”

Zhao Qingcang gasped, his footsteps faltering.

He finally understood just how heavy the so-called 'mistake' Qi Zhenyun spoke of truly was.

The horror of this spirit sealing coffin was not in the least inferior to the Pendulum of Life.

One used the lives of countless people as fuel to resurrect a single person.

The other prolonged a single person's life at the cost of countless others.

In essence, there was no difference.

Both were evil Divine Artifacts built upon mountains of bones.

Qi Zhenyun didn't seem to notice Zhao Qingcang's daze. He kept leading the way and continued speaking.

“Upon receiving the news, I immediately used the name of the Military Department to completely block all information in Simon City.”

“At that time, the defending general of Simon City wanted to investigate thoroughly, but I forcibly suppressed it with a military order.”

“I couldn't let this matter get out.”

“Otherwise, Marshal Deng's lifelong reputation would be completely ruined.”

“At that time, I wanted to go to the ruins to find him again, tell him about the deaths in the city, and try to persuade him one last time.”

Zhao Qingcang subconsciously asked, “And the result?”

Qi Zhenyun's footsteps stopped in front of a detached two-story building. Without turning around, his voice carried a sense of exhaustion.

“As it turned out, we discovered that the entrance to the ruins had been quietly sealed off by a powerful Formation at some unknown point.”

Zhao Qingcang's brow furrowed tightly.

“Sealed off by someone?”

“What on earth is going on?”

Qi Zhenyun shook his head and pushed open the door to the building.

“We didn't know either at the time.”

“I was afraid of more soldiers sacrificing their lives in vain, so after I led our people out of the ruins, I didn't dare to station guards outside at all.”

“I didn't expect that someone would take advantage of that exact moment.”

“The other party's attainment in Formations was extremely high.”

“Our accompanying Formation Masters tried everything they could, but they couldn't break it at all.”

“That Formation seemed to have been set up solely to seal off the entire entrance to the ruins, preventing anyone from entering, as if to stop us from waking Marshal Deng inside the spirit sealing coffin.”

At this point, Qi Zhenyun gave a bitter laugh.

“Only then did we realize that we seemed to have gradually walked into someone's trap.”

“What's even more ridiculous is that to this day, I still don't know who the other party is or what their purpose was.”

“Fortunately, after nearly ten thousand people died in Simon City, there was no further news of mysterious deaths.”

“I could only play along with their hand, claiming to the public that high-level exotic beasts were roaming that area to completely seal it off, while secretly sending people to crack the Formation outside the ruins.”

“And so, things remained peaceful for over twenty years.”

“We still hadn't cracked the Formation, and Marshal Deng never came out of the ruins.”

The two walked up to the second floor and arrived in front of a bedroom door.

Qi Zhenyun didn't go in. He just stood at the doorway and continued.

“Then, we came to ten years ago.”

“The bizarre deaths of people in Simon City occurred once again.”

“At first it was just one or two people, but then more and more died, their state of death exactly the same as twenty-odd years ago.”

“Actually, the Old City Lord at the time, Chen Guanyi, knew a bit about the situation.”

“More than twenty years ago, I had already told him the whole story.”

“After all, I couldn't stay in Simon City forever; I needed someone in the know to report the situation to me in a timely manner.”

“So when bizarre deaths started occurring one after another in Simon City, he called me immediately.”

“He said he was preparing to take a group of people into the ruins to take a look.”

“I urged him to stay calm back then, as the situation in the ruins was complex, and to wait until I arrived before doing anything.”

“But Chen Guanyi was very anxious at the time and couldn't listen to my advice at all.”

“By the time I was preparing to rush to Simon City, news had already come that Simon City was hit by a beast tide.”

“Presumably, they triggered some kind of trap inside the ruins when they entered.”

Hearing this, Zhao Qingcang knitted his brows and interrupted him.

“Didn't you say earlier that the ruins had been isolated by a Formation?”

“How did they get in?”

A look of confusion identical to Zhao Qingcang's appeared on Qi Zhenyun's face.

“This is also something I have found strange all this time.”

He shook his head, his voice filled with helplessness.

“Thinking about it now, even the beast tide back then was calculated step-by-step by someone.”

“Perhaps their goal from the very beginning was to destroy the entire Simon City.”

As he spoke, Qi Zhenyun gently pushed open the door.

The door hinges turned, making a barely audible click.

An elderly man was sitting quietly on a wooden chair by the window.

He wore a simple white shirt, spotless, and his silver hair was combed neatly.

Faint wrinkles lined his face, yet they were not the hollows of decay, but rather looked like patterns carefully sculpted by time.

The moment Zhao Qingcang saw the elderly man, although he had already made countless speculations and preparations in his mind...

His body still trembled slightly, out of control.

The other man's appearance was actually exactly the same as it had been forty years ago.

Without the slightest difference.

Just then, the elderly man in the room slowly opened his eyes.

His gaze pierced through the dim room, landing accurately on Zhao Qingcang at the doorway.

Following that, a gentle smile appeared on his face.

“Qingcang, I didn't expect you to be so old now.”