The bearded Qinghuo Heng harbored no doubts regarding Qinghuo Gaochi’s final decision.

However, his heart was heavy.

Qinghuo Gaochi’s personal guarding of the Bottomless Abyss of Wuzhi signified that he believed the upcoming situation within the abyss might exceed Qinghuo Heng’s ability to handle.

This was a terrifying conjecture!

What kind of danger awaited? How dreadful would it be?

Even… what if even Qinghuo Gaochi couldn’t hold it?

Once the Star Beasts breached the defenses, the Totem Pool of the Qinghuo Tribe would wither, never to recover.

History was replete with tribes whose abysses were breached, without exception.

The consequences of a withered Totem Pool were clear to every denizen of the Floating Land.

Furthermore, Star Beasts bathed in the starlight of Tianshu would become a calamity. Tribes that failed to defend their abysses were considered sinners against the Floating Land.

For all tribes of the Floating Land, guarding the abyss was always the paramount task, surpassing all else.

“I must stay here,” Jiang Wang declared.

Qinghuo Gaochi gazed at him, awaiting his explanation.

“My swordsmanship requires refinement, and this will improve my chances in the Game of Life and Death. Star Beasts are suitable opponents,” Jiang Wang stated, after deliberation.

Jiang Wang’s identity was that of a Skycomer from the Azure Heavens, a Star General, and the Chess Master representing the Qinghuo Tribe in the Game of Life and Death. He was not subservient to the Qinghuo Tribe.

Therefore, no matter how influential Qinghuo Gaochi was within the Qinghuo Tribe, he couldn’t forcibly command Jiang Wang.

On the contrary, the Qinghuo Tribe would try to satisfy any reasonable request Jiang Wang made.

Moreover, his assistance in guarding the abyss was beneficial to the Qinghuo Tribe. Qinghuo Gaochi himself had witnessed his power.

“I will not interfere with your decision. But there is one thing: if you encounter insurmountable danger, please retreat first.”

As Qinghuo Gaochi spoke, he further instructed, “Qinghuo Yuanchen, you are responsible for ensuring this. Our ranking in the Game of Life and Death might be our chance. The safety of the Star General is of utmost importance.”

“Rest assured, Chieftain,” Qinghuo Yuanchen replied. “Although my combat strength is inferior to Star General, if we encounter an insurmountable danger, I will definitely stand in front.”

Jiang Wang naturally had no objections, although he believed he didn’t require protection. If he encountered a danger he couldn’t overcome, adding Qinghuo Yuanchen into the mix would hardly make a difference.

In the end, only Qinghuo Heng departed from the Bottomless Abyss of Wuzhi. It was as if Qinghuo Gaochi descended into the abyss solely to switch their responsibilities.

With the Star Beast tide temporarily subsided, Qinghuo Gaochi did not adjust Qinghuo Heng’s arrangements. Two teams remained on standby, two teams were on alert, and the rest were resting.

He himself sat down on a stone platform at the edge of the chasm, and beckoned to Jiang Wang: “Skycomer from the Azure Heavens, please sit.”

Jiang Wang understood that the leader of the Qinghuo Tribe likely had something to say, so he sat down next to the stone platform.

“Does your world have a Nether Heaven?” Qinghuo Gaochi asked suddenly, gazing at the pitch-black Nether Heaven.

“At least, I have never seen it.”

“They say that Heaven has emotions, and that all things have their reasons. What reason is there for a place like the Nether Heaven? It is a misfortune within misfortunes, the root of all suffering in the Floating Land. The light of the Azure Heavens fades at night, showing that light cannot last forever. But the Nether Heaven is forever the Nether Heaven. Is there truly eternal darkness in this world?”

Qinghuo Gaochi asked Jiang Wang: “You came from a world above the Azure Heavens. Can you solve my confusion?”

It was evident that even a warrior as formidable and resolute as him felt bewildered at times.

Guarding the abyss was a difficult, arduous, and seemingly endless task, with no glimmer of hope in sight. Ordinary warriors could rotate and rest, but beings like him and Qinghuo Heng had to face the abyss for their entire lives.

Jiang Wang did not feign or embellish, and said honestly: “I am merely an ordinary cultivator, and I am insignificant in my world. Perhaps there are people in my world who can resolve your doubts, or perhaps I myself may one day be able to, but at least, I don’t have such ability now.”

“What do you think of Qinghuo Qiming?”

“He is a pity.”

“A pity?” Qinghuo Gaochi paused for a moment. “Yes, he is a pity.”

Qinghuo Gaochi asked again: “You were the last person to communicate with Qinghuo Qiming before he leaped into the Nether Heaven. Do you think his jumping into the Nether Heaven was something he planned all along?”

Perhaps this question was what he truly wanted to ask.

Jiang Wang shook his head: “When he communicated with me, he did not reveal any intention of dying. Moreover, his fear of the Nether Heaven was deeply ingrained, and not feigned. Combining it with what he said at the end, I believe he was bewitched by something.”

“Bewitched…”

Qinghuo Gaochi pondered for a moment.

Then he smiled wryly: “Although the time of contact was very short, he seemed to trust you very much, and in the end only had something to say to you.”

“Because of his fear of the Nether Heaven, he was out of place here,” Jiang Wang said. “He didn’t just have something to say to me. He said that only I was willing to listen to what he had to say.”

After a moment of silence, Qinghuo Gaochi clasped his hands together and recounted a piece of history.

In an unknown generation of the Qinghuo Tribe, a shaman, through years of research on the Nether Heaven, came up with an idea.

That was to tamper with the Totem of Fire and create a Totem of the Nether based on it.

The idea was that people who possessed the Totem of the Nether could come into contact with the Nether Heaven, and even… control the origin of the Nether Heaven.

If they could control the origin of the Nether Heaven, the Star Beasts might no longer be a problem.

This was undoubtedly a brilliant idea.

However, creating the Totem of the Nether seemed feasible, but in reality, it was almost impossible to achieve.

All the original totems of the Floating Land to this day are said to have been left behind by the God of Creation, “Kong.”

How could human power create such a great totem?

In the end, the shaman failed to complete the plan in his lifetime.

But perhaps the fear brought about by the Nether Heaven was too long-lasting, and this castle in the sky-like plan was not shelved.

The shamans of the Qinghuo Tribe have been working hard for this, one after another paying for it, and it can be said that they have poured their life’s efforts into this plan. There was even a shaman who used his body to feel the Nether Heaven, and after using his limbs to touch the Nether Heaven, and they were all dissolved, he orally recorded his feelings and completed the last leap…

In this way, generation after generation, finally, in the hands of the previous shaman, Qinghuo Zhushu, who was known as the strongest shaman in history, the “Totem of the Nether” was initially completed.

The totem is ultimately to act on the human body.
With such research underway, test subjects were naturally required.

As one of the tribe’s few powerhouses, Qinghuo Qiming’s grandfather deeply believed in this plan, willingly offering himself as a test case. However, he was advanced in age and had cultivated the Fire Totem to an extremely profound level. Thus, Qinghuo Qiming’s father had become one of the test subjects from a young age.

Over the long years, all those who underwent the “Nether Totem” experiment undoubtedly failed.

But Qinghuo Qiming’s father, with his astonishing talent and an affinity for the “Nether Totem” that surpassed ordinary people, gave the shaman Qinghuo Zhushu great hope.

To better facilitate the acceptance of the “Nether Totem,” all test subjects were kept unaware of their true role. Under the guise of possessing special combat abilities, they lived ordinary lives, and were even exempt from guarding the subterranean caves, until the final “experiment.”

When Qinghuo Qiming was five years old, his father’s strength reached a certain threshold.

Thus, the shaman Qinghuo Zhushu believed the time was ripe. He sent Qinghuo Qiming’s father into the caves for the first time.

There were three test subjects in total.

The outcome was unfortunate.

The other two were silently dissolved by the Nether Heavens.

And Qinghuo Qiming’s father, upon discovering his role as a test subject, displayed fierce resistance. Knowing that the so-called “special totem” on his body was merely a test for contacting the Nether Heavens, he recklessly destroyed his totem with extreme violence, and avoided the subterranean caves for the rest of his life.

Qinghuo Qiming’s grandfather, a brave warrior who had fought for the tribe his entire life, could not tolerate his son’s cowardice. He personally killed him and turned to nurturing his grandson instead.

From a young age, he used his father’s “cowardice” as a negative example to establish and cultivate Qinghuo Qiming’s courage.

Despite his advanced age, he descended into the subterranean caves every year to set an example for his grandson.

Even his eventual “accidental” death in battle was to motivate Qinghuo Qiming.

After the successive deaths of Qinghuo Qiming’s father and grandfather, the shaman Qinghuo Zhushu adopted Qinghuo Qiming, nominally as a foster son, but in reality, to keep him under close observation and personally groom him.

Qinghuo Qiming was the “Nether Totem” imprint bearer of this generation.

As Qinghuo Qiming gradually grew, he indeed became a brave man, filled with hatred for the subterranean caves, and repeatedly requested to fight in the caves.

But people are not plants, how could they be without emotion? In their long-term association, Qinghuo Zhushu slowly came to regard Qinghuo Qiming as his own child.

Driven by the immense inertia of history, he continued to push forward with the idea of the “Nether Totem.” Yet he increasingly considered Qinghuo Qiming’s safety.

He even explicitly told Qinghuo Gaochi that he didn’t want Qinghuo Qiming to follow in the footsteps of those brave souls, only to be dissolved by the Nether Heavens.

The “Nether Totem” became increasingly concrete, and the grand concept seemed close to its conclusion. But Qinghuo Zhushu began to reflect more and more on the right and wrong of this concept, even questioning the meaning of so many generations of shamans’ efforts.

No one knows what he discovered in his later research. The only thing known is that he adamantly began to completely deny the idea of the “Nether Totem.”

He passed on the shamanic inheritance to Qinghuo Qiming, imprinting the unique Fire Clan shaman’s Fire Mark between his eyebrows, and never mentioned the “Nether Totem” again, nor did he allow anyone who knew about it to mention it to Qinghuo Qiming.

Qinghuo Qiming had always believed that the totem on his body was merely a secret, failed special Fire Totem. And his power came from the shamanic Fire Mark.

On that final descent into the subterranean caves, Qinghuo Zhushu had originally intended to bring Qinghuo Qiming along, but for some unknown reason, he left Qinghuo Qiming outside the fortress, and descended into the caves alone.

He sat at the cave entrance for three days and three nights, without sleep.

Finally, blood streamed from his eyes.

He only left behind the words: “The Origin Totem cannot be achieved by mortal strength. To presumptuously seek the power of creation with limited strength, only to waste lives and harm geniuses, is utterly preposterous!”

Then he leaped into the Nether Heavens.

No one knows what the shaman Qinghuo Zhushu, hailed as the strongest in generations, saw in the final moments of his life. This will perhaps be a perpetual enigma.

Utterly preposterous!

The entire Qinghuo Clan, countless generations sacrificed, fought for this, advancing wave upon wave.

In the end, only these two words were left as judgment.

How despairing!

History naturally has its profound weight.

After quietly listening to Qinghuo Gaochi’s account, Jiang Wang roughly understood his feelings.

But understanding does not mean agreement, and comprehension does not mean respect.

“So what? You want to revive that concept?” Jiang Wang questioned, “So you sat by and watched the clan’s neglect and disdain towards Qinghuo Qiming, watched him tread cautiously and suffer ridicule, all to force him to face the subterranean caves, to force him to restart the Nether Totem?”

“To Qinghuo Qiming, I may be a vile person. But for the entire Qinghuo Clan, I am willing to dedicate everything, including my morality and reputation. My conscience is clear.”

Qinghuo Gaochi said, “It is only right that he resents me, but I do not regret my choice.”

“I don’t know what Qinghuo Qiming truly thinks deep down. I don’t know if he has ever resented you.” Jiang Wang shook his head, “But I know one thing, Qinghuo Zhushu, who pushed the ‘Nether Totem’ to its final stage, certainly understood the Nether Heavens better than you. Have you ever considered why he gave up?”

“If you haven’t even thought about this question, or if you have thought about it but can’t figure it out. If you don’t even know why he gave up, if you don’t even understand why he despaired! Then where do you get the courage to continue pushing this forward?”

These words left Qinghuo Gaochi speechless.

Jiang Wang certainly had the desire to stand up for Qinghuo Qiming.

But upon self-reflection, if he were in Qinghuo Gaochi’s position, in such an environment as the Qinghuo Clan, facing the seemingly endless tide of star beasts, facing the seemingly unsolvable calamity—that once seemingly within reach possibility—how could he not regard it as a lifeline?

Qinghuo Gaochi’s choice may not be wise, nor may it be honorable. But in his position, it seemed like the natural thing to do.
“In truth, you are also gripped by fear, are you not? Qinghuo Qiming’s sudden, bizarre leap into the Nether Heavens, the star beasts, seemingly a myriad of starlight, approaching and then departing… you realized you simply cannot explain any of it. You discovered that despite all your knowledge, all your understanding, you still comprehend nothing of the Nether Heavens, nothing of that ‘Nether Totem.'”

Jiang Wang pressed on, “In truth, you are deeply afraid, aren’t you? Everything seems to have slipped from your grasp, and only now do you understand the extent of your own ignorance.”

“Yes, I am indeed afraid because of this.” Qinghuo Gaochi did not deny it.

He is a clan leader who haggles over every bit of Totem power; a decision-maker who coldly calculates worth, sending elders to the arena of life and death; a warrior who has spent half his life battling the Earth Caves, forever standing on the front lines; a fellow who is willing to sacrifice others, but at the same time, a man willing to bear responsibility.

He said, “Therefore, I have decided to personally guard this place. I know not what transformations will occur here. If the ending is favorable, the glory will belong to Qiming. If the ending is wicked, I will bear the blame.”

“I wish for a good outcome,” Jiang Wang said. “Although I do not agree with your choice, although I believe Qinghuo Qiming probably has no need of glory… I still wish for a good outcome.”

ps: Large 4k chapter, two chapters merged into one. So no update tonight, no need to wait.

The above sentence was written yesterday, so there’s a ‘but’……

Thanks to book friend 慢西慢看书 for becoming the Alliance Master of this book!

So there will be a complete bonus chapter tonight!