Chapter 00070: The Marks of the Celestial Pillar
# The Marks of the Celestial Pillar
Chapter 70
Novel: Above Destiny
Chapter 70: The Marks of the Celestial Pillar
"Do you have that function too?"
At that moment, Brother Ball spoke up, as Ji Jue and Xiao An crouched on the back of the little cow-horse, slowly sneaking toward the bell tower.
Fortunately, the area was filled with buildings, and for a time, no one paid them any mind.
The enormous bell tower also shielded many lines of sight, providing them the opportunity to approach quietly.
"Otherwise, do you want me to use my old bones to help you deal with that guy?" The Ghostly Work Ball spun proudly, "I, Qi Qi, am quite the technical tool, you know!"
As it spoke, the sphere trembled, a faint blue light emerging and enveloping the two, quickly absorbing the spiritual waves that swept past. “Hurry up! I’ve already blocked all the detection from the bell tower and temporarily placed a disguise on you.” Brother Ball whistled cheerfully, “Invisibility skill, kid!”
Ji Jue couldn't help scratching his head.
He was losing it.
Why was it that the things affected by his ability started talking more and becoming more opportunistic?
Nibbling on his chin, Ji Jue couldn’t help but feel terrified: could it be that he really was going a bit crazy?
"Is there a possibility that…"
The Ghostly Work Ball replied helplessly, "You mean, I as a heavenly tool really have my own consciousness?"
"But how come you seem so skilled at picking locks and sneaking around?"
Puzzlement filled Ji Jue's mind.
"How could Professor Ye install such sneaky tricks on you—oh, wait!"
Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly realized and pretended he hadn’t asked that question.
What sneaky tricks?
This was called clever resolutions, alright!
This showed the greatness of the master, the ambition of the professor!
If the mountain won’t come to me, then I will go to the mountain!
Looking back, it seemed that in his younger days, Professor Ye was also someone who embraced various strengths and gathered collective wisdom!
Such an excellent tradition from his master’s lineage shouldn’t be allowed to fade away!
Thus, Ji Jue and Xiao An crept forward, the little cow-horse suppressing its engine noise to the lowest, stealthily making a wide circle until they confirmed that no one was spying on them.
They cautiously leaned against the wall.
Brother Ball sprang up from Ji Jue's hand, and the moment it swept across the wall, a small opening appeared.
As the little cow-horse slipped through, it instantly closed without leaving a trace.
Not even a speck of dust fell.
Ji Jue was now inside the bell tower!
He couldn’t help but take a few deep breaths of cold air.
As he raised his eyes, he saw several massive puppets, standing like the guardians outside, frozen in the dust.
At least four of them were notable!
Unfortunately, after such a long time without maintenance, the large puppets were riddled with cracks and holes, almost falling apart, and could no longer be activated.
Two of them, upon sensing the intruders, lifted their gem-like eyes under their shattered visors, casting a red light that swept over Ji Jue and Xiao An.
What they read was only the identity circuit disguised by Brother Ball.
"Drop your weapons, we’re one of you."
Phew…
Ji Jue finally let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, feeling cold sweat almost trickling down his back.
He exchanged a glance with Xiao An, who slightly shook his head, “There’s no one living here.”
The bell tower was vast, but its interior was strangely simple and nearly empty.
The entire first floor was cluttered with various things—rotten tables and chairs, old tools, even a manual lawnmower from an ancient style, a wooden horse with peeling paint, and a beautifully crafted slide.
Dolls that little girls loved were covered in mold, and suits of armor made for tiny humans were scratched all over…
It was practically a whole children’s amusement park.
“Did we walk into the wrong place?”
“Upstairs.”
Brother Ball suddenly felt a bit regretful, wishing he had the function to roll his eyes back then.
Ji Jue looked up at the staircase winding up the tower, then turned back to wave at the little cow-horse and hopped up, pointing upward…
The little cow-horse fell silent for a moment, feeling quite dirty.
If it weren’t for Ji Jue’s order demanding silence, it would have loved to honk the horn twice with a rather unpleasant sound.
Thus, it lumbered, swiftly carrying the two upward.
Finally, just before the frame broke down from exhaustion, they reached the doorway.
But as they looked at the ordinary door that was merely ajar…
Ji Jue felt a chill run down his spine.
—This trip likely wouldn’t yield anything!
After all, such a door, with no defenses set up at all, and not even closed, certainly didn’t look like Mercury's workshop.
He cautiously picked up a pole and forced open a door that hadn’t been touched in who knows how many years.
With a sharp scraping sound, the door let out a deep thud.
The panel fell inward, and a breeze lifted the dust that had accumulated on the floor.
Visiting once again after hundreds of years, the sight that greeted them was nothing short of devastation.
Bookshelves had collapsed, scrolls lay scattered and decayed, the writing faded into the mold.
The surrounding spiritual circuits had collapsed, runes blurred, and the supreme totem faded away.
Great cauldrons were shattered, instruments rusted, furnaces extinguished…
Ji Jue let out a silent sigh, and his anxious heart finally fell silent.
The blue sky and white clouds… had sunk!
This was indeed Mercury’s workshop, but it was completely in ruins.
He could ascertain that the damage wasn’t caused in the last four hundred years; rather, this place had been abandoned long before that.
Some movable items might have been taken away ages ago, and what couldn’t be moved was left here, unmaintained for so long, utterly useless.
As for Mercury’s creations and outcomes, not a single thread remained.
Let alone the arrays.
He sighed again, ready to say something, when he suddenly felt a tug on his sleeve.
Pale-faced, Xiao An was cowering behind him, “Brother Ji Jue, not good.”
He lowered his voice, “What’s wrong?”
“What is it?”
Ji Jue was confused but followed Xiao An’s finger to see… and it felt like falling into an icy pit, nearly unable to suppress a curse: “No way—”
There really was a ghost!
The direction Xiao An pointed to was in front of the grand, colorful window of the clock face, where a half-rotted window stood.
Beneath the blazing sun, a vague outline was appearing.
It looked like a figure from behind.
Dressed in pure white lady's attire, seemingly drifting in the wind, her long hair nearly touching the ground.
An alluring and exquisite side profile gazed longingly into the distance.
Ji Jue found it almost hard to breathe.
Mercury!!
—The Sage of Mercury!
But there was no expected glance back, no cold smile, or a casual gesture that would obliterate both intruders along with their motorcycle.
Instead, it was complete indifference.
No matter how politely Ji Jue greeted or tested the waters, she remained unmoved.
Like a phantom.
To be precise, it was no different from a phantom.
It was but a remnant thought of the Sage, engraved within time; even if it lasted but a moment, it could never be erased.
Gathering his courage, Ji Jue moved closer, following her gaze into the distance… and saw, at the far end of the sky, a colossal pillar standing solemnly, as if supporting the heavens and earth.
The world’s axis lay here, at the very center of the heavens and earth.
Just by staring, he felt an inexplicable sense of awe and pressure, a suffocating urge to bow and worship.
Yet when Ji Jue focused his discernment, he found that her gaze didn’t seem to rest on the giant pillar, but rather fell below, at the other side of the clock tower.
That elegantly adorned sacred hall.
Ignoring the continuously rumbling sounds from the square, Ji Jue could vaguely hear music, playing sporadic, jubilant tunes.
A busy band performed merry melodies while cheerful guests entered, offering bouquets and blessings.
If those so-called historical experts hadn’t deceived him, judging from the drifting white veils and the flocks of birds above… it was a wedding.
A trumpet sounded once, all guests bore witness.
The trumpet sounded twice, and the elders officiated the ceremony.
By the time the third trumpet sounded, the couple, amid applause and blessings, became husband and wife.
But… there wouldn’t be a third trumpet call.
For what rolled through the entire rift was the echo of the heavens crumbling, the earth shaking, the sky collapsing, mountains heaving, cities trembling… and at that moment, Ji Jue saw again—
That pillar, akin to the axis of the universe, where dreadful cracks revealed themselves!
Grand inscriptions manifested from the towering spire, fleeting yet intricate and solemn, as if shrouding everything in an all-encompassing manner—far exceeding Ji Jue’s comprehension, that was the Emblem of Supremacy!
— [Heaven's Origin]!
Now, Heaven’s Origin had collapsed.
The grand destruction and disintegration began, the giant pillar shattered, split in half!
But it did not fall to the ground.
Countless fragments floated in mid-air, radiating a terrible glow throughout the rift, ascending, exploding!
As such, the stars lost their paths again, the sun dimmed, and an endless rain of flames fell from the sky, crashing down, creating waves and ruin.
Wails echoed from the once peaceful city.
Rising and falling, again and again.
The sacred hall collapsed, crumbling yet again.
Guests scattered in panic, and among the rising dust, Ji Jue vaguely caught a glimpse of a slender figure abandoned amidst the chaos.
A woman in a bridal gown, kneeling in the dust and debris, weakly cried out for help.
Yet no one responded.
In her arms, a man, half-buried under the wreckage, struggled as if speaking to her, desperately pushing her away.
A final goodbye.
In the deafening booming sounds, all was buried.
Only the dirt-covered bride staggered from the ruins, tears flowing down her face, washing away her makeup and dust, leaving an indelible scar.
She held her chest, stained with blood, shouting repeatedly at the debris, screaming until complete despair set in.
Thus, she was completely engulfed by flames.
No longer visible, only the fragmented wails lingered in the wind, covering everything.
Meanwhile, in the city, on the streets, as the pillar collapsed, all fell into chaos again, the sound of destruction echoed, and the divergence began.
Losing their fragile human forms, the manic puppets turned back into distorted monsters, slaughtering each other, destroying everything within reach, scattering.
From paradise to hell, seemingly only a moment’s time.
Ji Jue nearly forgot how to breathe.
A luminous, surreal flash fell from beside him, like tears.
When Ji Jue slowly turned back, he finally saw the Sage's eyes, which appeared hollow and void.
She looked on.
Watching past disasters, observing the repetition of calamity within the rift.
Silently waiting for either a miracle or true destruction to arrive.
In that moment, Ji Jue felt as if he understood something; perhaps this was the reason this rift had fallen to such depths: “Brother Ball, what just happened?”
Ghostly Work Ball remained silent for a moment before answering:
“Didn’t you see it with your own eyes? —The Fall of the Celestial Pillar.”
Sorry, I overslept.
(End of this chapter)