Chapter 625: The Origin of the Men Clan

Chapter 627: The Origin of the Door Clan

The instant Princess Mingmei's finger fell, the sounds of time echoed into the present. At the same moment, the Crown Prince unfurled his own authority.

Unlike Princess Mingmei, the Crown Prince's authority allowed him to alter perception. He could change not only the awareness of all living beings but also the properties of rules and laws, and even the very thoughts of everything in the world!

By altering beings and objects, and influencing laws and the very fabric of the world, he could deceive the heavens themselves, causing the Heavenly Dao to disregard the events unfolding and even gods to lose their vision momentarily. This ensured that the entire Moon-Sacrificing Domain, including the Red Moon Temple, remained oblivious to everything happening in this place.

This authority was terrifyingly potent. The only drawback was that even for the Crown Prince, who possessed divine essence, maintaining such absolute control was only possible for a maximum of ten breaths. For anyone else, ten breaths would be insufficient. However, this limitation did not apply to Princess Mingmei.

The river of time flowed between her fingers, and everything within the village became indistinct. Faintly, he could discern children, adults, and elders. As he observed, countless figures throughout the village seemed like a continuous playback of a recorded scene. A nursery rhyme echoed repeatedly within this endless loop.

Perceptually, everything stretched, feeling as though ten breaths had passed. Yet, in reality, all events transpired within a mere three breaths. It was as if someone had compressed all information and forcibly contained it within that brief timeframe. This compression created a terrifying sensation of collapse. If an outsider, lacking a divine body or sufficient cultivation, had been in Xu Qing's position, their soul would have disintegrated at that moment.

This was Princess Mingmei, the most astonishingly talented of the Sovereign's children before Old Ninth was born, praised even by ancient emperors. Xu Qing was profoundly moved by the sight. "Time..." he murmured, his eyes gleaming with wonder as he gazed at Princess Mingmei. In that instant, the whispers of the village's departed souls transformed into a thunderous roar. Their nursery rhyme, reverberating endlessly, coalesced into a dreamlike figure between heaven and earth.

The figure appeared to be a woman, her back to the onlookers, head bowed as if weeping. Countless departed souls could be seen tearing at her, leaving her body a bloody mess, while numerous red chains bound her. Both her form and the chains were indistinct, not truly existing in the world but only within the nursery rhyme. Though she had manifested, she constantly twisted and dissipated, unable to remain for long.

"Xu Qing," Princess Mingmei's voice entered his mind. Without hesitation, Xu Qing unleashed the full power of the Purple Moon within him, simultaneously activating the Red Moon authority. Blood-colored light radiated from his entire body, and countless drops of blood swiftly rose into the air. Under Princess Mingmei's guiding hand, this blood surged towards the nursery rhyme. In a blink, the crimson hue enveloped the indistinct vision, dyeing everything red and solidifying the weeping figure from its ethereal state into reality.

At this moment, illusion and reality seemed to overlap. The resulting ripples were incredibly intense; the entire scene trembled, and the red chains began to shake violently, finally cracking and showing signs of imminent breakage. With a single step, Princess Mingmei walked from reality into the dreamlike scene, approaching the weeping figure and embracing her. "Fifth Sister, don't cry," she whispered. "Big Sister will take you home." The weeping figure trembled violently, and the cracked chains around her body shattered explosively. All the departed souls wailed, then disintegrated into ash and vanished.

The tenth breath arrived. The Crown Prince's figure vanished, Xu Qing's form dispersed, and the dreamlike scene in the world disappeared without a trace. It was as if the river of time had never appeared, and the departed souls had never existed; everything returned to normal. The residents who had emerged from the village, though initially dazed, quickly reverted to their usual numb expressions. The only change was the content of the children's nursery rhyme.

"Rag doll, rag doll,With big eyes and black hair,I want to take you home.

Rag doll, rag doll,Don't be afraid of thunder in the sky,Always smile happily."

The Door Clan was a highly unique group within the Moon-Sacrificing Domain. They possessed no traditional homeland; instead, their coming of age was determined by whether they found their personal door within the Door Tomb. Once a door was found, they were destined to wander in all directions, traversing the Moon-Sacrificing Domain without cease until they had visited every accessible region.

This was not only their custom but also their way of life and method of cultivation. No one knew why the Door Clan lived this way; even the clan members themselves didn't understand, treating it as an innate instinct. Another unique aspect of this clan was that whenever the Crimson Moon of the Red Mother appeared, their bodies would perish, but the doors they carried would remain.

Furthermore, before each arrival of the Red Mother, this clan remained notably calmer than others. Its members would gradually return from all corners of the world to a single location, where they would set down their doors. This place was known to the clan as the Door Tomb.

The Door Tomb was situated within a vast canyon in the eastern part of the Moon-Sacrificing Domain, a place outsiders referred to as the Great Earth Abyss. This canyon was not only astonishingly long but also of unknown depth. Within its abyss lay countless doors of all sizes, styles, shapes, and materials. A pervasive sense of decay emanated from the area, lingering indefinitely. Cultivators generally avoided this place, as mysterious events and disappearances were rampant both inside and outside the canyon.

However, at this moment, four figures appeared on the canyon wall: two grandmothers, one grandfather, and the fourth was Xu Qing. Today marked their fourth day since leaving Black Centipede Mountain.

The additional grandmother, notably thinner than Princess Mingmei, wore a long black robe that accentuated her high collarbones. Her demeanor was not kindly but rather appeared harsh, imbued with a deep, persistent gloom. This gloom intensified whenever she looked at the Crown Prince. Only when facing Princess Mingmei did a flicker of familial warmth appear in her expression. Towards Xu Qing, however, her gloom considerably diminished, replaced by the gentle benevolence of an elder observing a junior. Xu Qing sensed that this black-robed grandmother was not adept at expressing kind emotions, and her attempts at amiability were clearly made with great effort.

"Eighth Brother was sealed here," the Crown Prince softly stated from the cliff face. "He was trapped within an ancient door, which was then shattered into countless pieces, giving rise to the Door Clan in this world. The Door Clan itself has no homeland, but the doors do. This place is their homeland. Every single door is a part of Eighth Brother, and each time someone is teleported, it consumes a portion of Eighth Brother's divine soul. This consumption creates invisible karma, which continuously torments him..."

Princess Mingmei's gaze drifted to the canyon below. Beside her, the Fifth Grandmother let out a gloomy snort, pointedly ignoring the Crown Prince. There was clearly some past conflict between them, though Xu Qing didn't know the specifics. He did, however, notice a subtle hint of guilt in the Crown Prince's expression. Listening to the Crown Prince's words, Xu Qing suddenly recalled his own near-attempt to use the Door Clan's teleportation. Remembering it now, it seemed the Crown Prince had deliberately prevented him from entering.

"Therefore, to release Eighth Brother from his seal, relying solely on Third Sister and me would ultimately be imperfect. Little Sister, this requires the power of your authority..." The Crown Prince's voice softened as he looked at his Fifth Sister. Princess Mingmei, standing nearby, sighed inwardly and clasped her Fifth Sister's hand. The black-robed grandmother remained silent for a moment before nodding. The Crown Prince sighed internally but rallied himself. As before, he would be responsible for concealing all fluctuations, while Princess Mingmei would descend into the canyon to retrieve the ancient door that sealed Eighth Brother.

"Little one, give me a drop of your Purple Moon blood," Princess Mingmei requested, looking at Xu Qing before she left. Without hesitation, Xu Qing immediately unleashed his Purple Moon power, transforming it into a vast, generous quantity of blood. This gesture brought a smile to Princess Mingmei's face, and the black-robed grandmother subtly nodded, her amiable gaze towards Xu Qing becoming noticeably more natural.

Taking Xu Qing's Purple Moon blood, Princess Mingmei strode directly towards the canyon below. With her departure, the cliff face instantly became quiet.

"Kid," the Crown Prince remarked, "you've been rather idle these past few days. On the way back, you can't use your Purple Moon power. You'll have to walk back on your own."

"Nonsense!" the black-robed grandmother scoffed.

Hearing this, the Crown Prince offered a wry smile and looked at his Fifth Sister. "Little Sister..."

"Shut up!" she snapped.

The Crown Prince's eyebrow twitched with a flicker of anger, but seeing his sister's weakened aura, he sighed again, channeling his irritation into a sharp glance at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing merely sensed it, and an overwhelming feeling of danger enveloped him. He could well imagine that something utterly terrifying resided within the canyon.

A moment later, the fluctuations ceased. Princess Mingmei's figure appeared silently on the cliff face, looking completely at ease, without any trace of having exerted herself. In her hand, she held a palm-sized wooden fragment, which she waved to float in mid-air. "The ancient door that sealed Eighth Brother has completely shattered and cannot form a proper vessel," she explained. "I gathered dust from below and molded it in the river of time, and this is all that could be formed."

A profound sense of ancientness and vicissitude continuously emanated from the wooden fragment. Xu Qing, sensing this, instinctively looked at the black-robed grandmother. He wanted to know what her authority was.

The black-robed grandmother gazed at the wooden fragment, then raised her withered right index finger—which appeared incapable of healing itself—and gently touched it. With that single touch, her body visibly aged further, but the wooden fragment trembled violently and began to visibly restore itself. It continuously grew and expanded, and within just five breaths, it formed an ancient, grand door that stood imposingly between heaven and earth. The door had a black frame and white panels, adorned with intricate vine patterns. On the door itself, these carved vines intertwined to form a gray morning glory flower. This flower was eerily captivating and capable of shaking souls. Waves of ancient time passing emanated from it, creating an oppressive force that seemed to shatter the surrounding void. The moment the wooden door appeared, violent knocking sounds erupted from within it.

*Bang, bang!*

The sound was like rolling thunder.

"My authority was not cultivated; it is innate," the black-robed grandmother stated, turning to Xu Qing. "It can revive all things, but for myself, it is irreversible."