"Pioneer of Hongmeng."

Walking on the corridor paved with white jade, Immortal Zhenyuan asked Sun Wukong: "Younger brother, what does that mean?"

"I don't know."

Sun Wukong shook his head.

He truly did not know.

Clearly, the Shouma Emperor was still hiding something.

However, this concealment wasn't important—as long as the curse on the Shouma people was lifted, Sun Wukong would know the reason.

Under the guidance of the archivist, Sun Wukong and Immortal Zhenyuan walked through numerous winding corridors, and after several twists and turns, they saw a pavilion built beside a pond.

The pavilion was a hundred feet tall with golden tiles covering its roof, forming a sea of undulating golden waves with the rest of the Imperial Palace's buildings.

"Two immortals."

The archivist led them to the front of the pavilion: "Ahead is the Tianlu Pavilion."

"Does it truly contain records of the curse?"

Immortal Zhenyuan asked after looking for a while.

"Yes."

The archivist clasped his hands together, replying: "The collection in the Tianlu Pavilion records the history and wisdom of the Shouma people."

Sun Wukong said to Immortal Zhenyuan: "I will go in alone."

"Alright."

Knowing he couldn't be of help, Immortal Zhenyuan said: "I'll stay outside to keep others away."

Sun Wukong nodded and strode into the Tianlu Pavilion.

Immortal Zhenyuan watched him leave, then waited by the pond with the archivist.

"Where did this curse come from?"

Immortal Zhenyuan asked casually: "Your immortal bodies are transparent, it doesn't seem like you are afflicted with a curse."

"Strictly speaking, it is not a curse."

The archivist replied: "It is a spell that helped us survive a disaster."

Originally, when demon beasts descended from the skies, devouring shadows, the Heavenly Emperor used a spell to take away the shadows of the Shouma people, allowing them to be spared.

But after the disaster passed, they couldn't undo the spell.

"I see."

Immortal Zhenyuan nodded, his expression filled with confusion: "If it is a spell, why did it later become a curse?"

He believed that Sun Wukong would not make a mistake.

Moreover, the great reaction of everyone in the hall also proved that it was a curse.

"Initially, all we lacked were shadows."

The archivist replied: "However, now we cannot even see ourselves in a mirror."

He pointed to the surface of the lake, and when Immortal Zhenyuan looked, he only saw his own reflection and not the archivist's.

Immortal Zhenyuan's expression darkened, realizing that, due to the lengthy passage of time, the spell had deteriorated and become a curse.

"Although shadows seem useless, we only realized their value after losing them."

The archivist said: "We, the Shouma people, have no shadows, cannot be seen in mirrors, and sometimes cannot even recognize ourselves."

"After a long time, this became a curse for everyone."

Immortal Zhenyuan fell into thought.

As an outsider, it was difficult for him to understand the Shouma people's plight.

Meanwhile, Sun Wukong was searching for books in the Tianlu Pavilion.

He walked among the rows of bookshelves, with the unique scent of books wafting toward him.

Sun Wukong liked these smells, he liked books, all books.

In this world of books, he looked around curiously, his eyes sparking with the light of a child.

Sun Wukong saw many interesting books he had never encountered before and couldn't help picking them up to leaf through.

This browsing took quite a long time.

After coming to his senses, Sun Wukong slapped his own head.

"No, that's not right."

Reading books was not his main focus for today.

He plucked out a monkey hair, turned it into hundreds of clones, and found the book about the curse in the Tianlu Pavilion.

This book was extremely thick and remained untarnished.

Sun Wukong reached out and flipped it open; in that instant, a spell within the book activated.

A great pulling force came from the book, causing Sun Wukong to slightly frown.

"Heavenly Book?"

He thought for a moment, offered no resistance, and his divine soul was drawn in.

Amidst the misty clouds, he arrived at a city.

The city was vast and prosperous, teeming with all sorts of creatures dressed in extravagant finery.

Exquisite jade palaces were built in the mountains, on the water, and in the air, where mortals knelt on the stone slabs in front of Immortal's Daoist Temples, bowing their heads Seeking Immortality.

For a moment, Sun Wukong thought he had returned to two hundred years ago, to the Wanling Country.

The world was so beautiful, yet in an instant, the sky grew dark, and a tide of beasts fell from the heavens.

The exquisite jade palaces plummeted from the sky, the city was engulfed in roaring flames, and all creatures perished in the fire.

People attempted to flee, but Demon Beasts rose from their shadows, devouring them, sparing not even the children.

Yet in the darkest of times, someone wielding the Radiant Treasure Tree led the last group of people out of the city.

"Great wisdom seems foolish; only by learning to forget, can one survive."

That person handed the Radiant Treasure Tree to the crowd, then was eaten by the pursuing Demon Beasts.

The crowd, carrying the Radiant Treasure Tree, ran; many died and even the tree could not be safeguarded, but in the end, some survived.

They nurtured a new sun, forgot everything, and lived on the fringes of the world.

This... is the history of the Souma people.

Sun Wukong returned to his own body.

He lowered his head again, the book in his hand had turned into a regular book, with ordinary text written on it.

"To learn to forget, is to survive..."

He recalled those words said by that person.

The Souma people moved here; is it because they learned to forget?

"It is so, once again..."

Sun Wukong closed his eyes in sorrow.

At this moment, he confirmed once again that he hates Buddha Beads.

After a long time, he reopened his eyes.

Having obtained the clue to the curse, this book was no longer of use.

Sun Wukong intended to close the book, but still flipped through the last few pages.

He suddenly froze.

On the final page, blood-red words were striking.

"Revenge."

"Revenge."

Those were the words of revenge, written in over a dozen different handwritings.

Sun Wukong seemed to see one after another person holding this book.

They stood here, with eyes red, writing down revenge.

Those who left their vows were the successive emperors of the Souma people.

In that instant, Sun Wukong understood in his heart.

Forgetting might be easily said, but had the Souma people really forgotten?

The eyes of the people who left the city were clearly filled with tears and hatred.

Sun Wukong sighed.

He closed the book and walked to the top of the Tianlu Pavilion, sitting down cross-legged.

"Begin evolution."

A glowing Rune flew out from his hand, followed by a second, and a third, countless lights soaring into the sky.

At Weiyang Palace, the Souma Emperor looked out the window toward the position of the Tianlu Pavilion.

"Your Majesty."

The Empress approached and asked, "It's already dark, shall you retire for the night?"

"No need."

The Emperor shook his head: "Let's wait a little longer."

At that moment, lights began to shine from afar.

The lights flew up into the sky, gradually morphing into the illusion of a tree.

"That is..."

The Emperor gripped the carved window ledge tightly.

"The Radiant Treasure Tree!"

The tree that had absorbed the shadows of the Souma people, the hope lost in the great catastrophe, was taking shape.

"It really can..."

The Emperor's body shook violently.

In this world, there actually exists someone who can create something that has vanished, with just a glance.

That person is indeed the hope of changing everything!

Flames ignited in the Emperor's eyes.

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