When everything Leylah fought for showed nothing but inevitable failures, her heart broke. Her seclusion turned into prolonged periods of self-isolation, with each moment spent in going down to the depths of abyss. Invisible fluctuations protruded from her frail body, affecting the world around her. Her comprehension of the Dao seeped out at this exact moment.
Leylah was found to possess dual earth and metal high-grade spirit roots. Later on, she chose the Dao of Unshaking Earth to comprehend, consisting of Permanence, Time, and Life. The Dao of Time was exceptionally difficult to comprehend, yet Leylah succeeded in the past five hundred years. She utilized the Dao of Metal as an entry point for Permanence; the Dao of Earth for Life.
Through her efforts, she derived the meaning of Unshakable Earth. It was not unfeeling, nor was it self-centered. It was the capability to remain steadfast no matter what happens, something embodied by Shi Tian's unchanging nature.
Leylah's Tao Heart cracked at this moment, questioning her comprehension of its meaning and giving birth to heart demons!
Crack-!
The images in front of Shi Tian cracked. The surrounding space split into dozens of pieces, each containing Leylah's memories. The familiar pitch-black void surrounded him. It was none other than the space exclusive for in-depth divination.
The further the memory fragments went, the more blurred they became. Something with high status acted unconsciously, shrouding them with mysteries. It reminded him of the time with IX. He attempted to divine IX directly before, only to be warned about its potential repercussions.
'Something as dangerous as an Aeon… is it the Sea of Quanta?'
Shi Tian read through the techniques and saw a concept regarding the 'Heavenly Dao' and 'World Will'. These theories state that a world could develop an independent consciousness of its own, capable of deciding which is harmful and which is beneficial to oneself.
'An autonomous will… it doesn't surprise me anymore.'
Shi Tian scanned the plethora of shattered glass-like fragments and chose the most clouded one. He walked right in front of it. His right hand pressed onto it.
Ripple-!
Hum-!
The fragment's surface rippled, clearing its cloudiness in one go.
Crack-!
Then came the fine cracked lines. Shi Tian's overbearing power damaged the fragment in the process of removing its shroud.
Buzz-!
Screech-!
As soon as the sound of a rewound tape rang out, the fine lines spread evenly on its surface disappeared. Remembrance controls all aspects regarding memories. Shi Tian was divining the past causes, not the future. The eighth-level Tao Heart within himself resonated strongly with his will. He unleashed 80% of its strength in one go, clearing everything that turned this specific fragment blurry.
Like a refocused camera, Shi Tian saw the scene inside in high-definition. It made him stop for a second.
"This…"
It showed the Moon turning blood-red. The same went for some part of Earth sharing the same scarlet hue. It spread fast akin to an unleashed virus.
Before he could explore further…
Swoosh-!
Splash-!
…a wave of blood-red liquid covered the rest of the fragment. The power exerted by Remembrance was forcibly cut off. It served as a great cushion, still. Shi Tian didn't suffer any drawbacks from this forceful disconnect.
"Drowning in the pyre…"
The last line of his divination gave this seemingly contradicting description. How could one drown in a pyre? Being burnt is a more apt choice for it.
Facing that blood-red sea explained everything. It was a force that erodes everything, burning everything it touches into corrupted blocks of data.
The Sea of Data intertwined with the Sea of Quanta's influence, the Cocoon's remnant power and Leylah's Heart Demon. It turned into a horrifying existence at the Dao Integration Realm!
A moment later, the faint gray fog in Shi Tian's golden pupils dissipated. He exited the special space for divination and returned to reality. He turned to look at his two partners. One of them was the quiet Senti. Her rowdiness was suppressed with Shi Tian's presence. She bore semblances to Fu Hua's silent and taciturn attitude. The other was Queen Mei. She maintained her silence, but her eyes darted towards Shi Tian every now and then.
The eleven-person team was divided into three. Shi Tian, Kiana, and Seele became the leaders. Nothing could be said for Shi Tian. He was one of the two who possessed Emanator-level power out of everyone. Kiana was the same as him, though the power she could borrow from the Cocoon was lesser. Maintaining the imaginary barrier's enhanced effects takes a great toll. Finally, Seele and Veliona could legitimately borrow the Sea of Quanta's power.
All three of them possessed trump cards that could deal with the Dao Integration Realm. The rest also has several eighth-grade artifacts and talismans in their possession. All that was left now is to find where Leylah is.
Currently, Mars is shrouded in the Sea of Data's power. Everywhere they looked, there was only a thin blood-red mist. Movement wasn't a problem, but when it came to extending their mind externally, they encountered trouble. Its range, as a Void Refinement Realm Star Lord, spanned star sectors. However, this blood-red mist suppressed its capabilities.
Their minds' external projection could only go as far as a quarter of an average city. Shi Tian was affected less, allowing him to retain the radius of a continent. Worse, the ground beneath their feet emitted the same glitched effect purely made up of black-red lights. Shi Tian told them first-hand not to try its effects.
It is simply that dangerous.
Maintaining their fastest flight speed, they circled around Mars' atmosphere several times, but to no avail. They scanned the entirety of Mars, to the point they came across the two other groups several times.
"Something changed."
Shi Tian's eyes caught a tiny detail. The majority of Mars' surface only has ruined and half-buried ruins. The only thing that remained fully functional was the Supercomputer. It took the shape of an unassuming meter-tall obsidian obelisk.
However, that wasn't the case now.
"A lake."
Senti looked towards a natural cliff. The corrosive black-red light wasn't seen in its vicinity. Beneath the cliff, there was a large lake. A small swing stood tall at the cliff's surface.
"Tian…"
Queen Mei called out to Shi Tian before pausing. A tinge of blush spread on her cheeks.
'It's because of them…'
She often hung out with Veliona. Calling him by the name of 'Tian' rolled smoothly out of Veliona's tongue. It didn't help that Queen Mei practiced several times in secret.
"Hm? What's wrong?"
Seeing him not mind this small 'transgression', Queen Mei felt slightly relieved. Along with it was a guilty yet satisfying feeling. It felt like she was doing something behind Mei—something that one-ups her after every grievance she had thrown at Queen Mei.
"I spoke with Leylah several times. She mentioned in one of our casual talks that she used to play on a swing on top of a tall cliff…"