Baby with Daoist Monarch System

Following her master’s vague guidance, she advanced deeper into the restricted area.

Every step was exceedingly difficult; the ground beneath her feet could suddenly collapse, the space around her might instantly tear apart, and even the decaying atmosphere in the air could corrode her body.

She encountered terrifying creatures twisted and mutated by the power of the restricted area.

These beings might have once been cultivators who ventured into this place or monsters born from the area itself.

Their forms were distorted and full of aggression.

Battle with these creatures greatly honed Xu Qinghan’s Jade Sword Skill and spell techniques.

She hovered on the edge of life and death, each victory accompanied by scars. But her state of mind grew more resilient through this tempering, strengthening her Dao Heart.

She learned how to survive in such extreme environments, how to sense danger, and how to utilize the surroundings.

No longer a flower nurtured in a greenhouse, she was transforming into a hardy blossom blooming in despair.

In a corner of the restricted area, she discovered a massive, collapsed ancient architectural ruin.

The style was ancient and grand, different from any architectural style currently found in the Southern Celestial Star Cosmos.

The ruins emitted a subtle aura, distinctly different from the decay of the restricted area.

It was a calm, ancient, resilient aura.

”Is this... the aura of a Guardian?” Xu Qinghan’s heart stirred.

Her master had mentioned that Yu Kong bore the aura of a Guardian. Though she had never truly seen a Guardian, she felt this aura closely matched what she imagined one to be.

She cautiously entered the ruins.

The interior was dark, and fine dust floated in the air. The walls were engraved with blurred murals and runes.

She attempted to decipher these ancient traces.

The murals depicted scenes she couldn’t comprehend: colossal shadows enveloping the cosmos, countless beings wailing.

Figures in peculiar armor stood out, engaging in fierce battles with the shadows...

The runes were also beyond her grasp, yet she could sense they contained a potent and ancient power of law, similar to the cultivation technique her master taught, yet more profound.

In the center of the ruins, she found a shattered statue.

The statue’s face was indistinct, but it seemed to be of a warrior clad in armor.

The statue was posed with a straight back, facing the direction from which the shadows descended, exuding an unyielding will even in brokenness.

”Guardian...” Xu Qinghan murmured softly. She seemed to see the figure clad in dark gold armor, felt its burden of sorrow and loneliness.

She bowed deeply to the broken statue.

”Senior... did you fight against the darkness for the sake of protecting this cosmos?”

A sense of sadness welled up within her. These powerful beings, who fought to protect all life, eventually fell in a forgotten corner, even becoming forgotten.

She lingered at the ruins for several days, trying to find some clues about combating the darkness from the remnants of murals and runes.

Though she couldn’t fully comprehend it, that ancient will, that indomitable spirit, deeply affected her.

Her Dao Heart underwent sublimation at this moment.

The power to fight against the darkness might not merely be some cultivation technique or magical treasure, but rather that indomitable will, that determination to protect even at the cost of shattering into pieces!

As she left the ruins, she accidentally touched a loose stone brick at the base of the statue.

Under the stone brick was a hidden recess. In the recess lay an ancient Jade Scroll in silence.

The Jade Scroll emitted a faint light with no powerful aura, yet it carried a heavy sense of time.

Xu Qinghan picked up the Jade Scroll, feeling a cold touch. She plunged her divine thought into it.

Instantly, a tremendous and ancient stream of information flooded into her mind!

This wasn’t a cultivation technique, nor was it a magical treasure’s usage method.

It was a memory sealed within the Jade Scroll, a memory belonging to an ancient Guardian!

She witnessed a soul-stirring scene: the cosmos first opened, light and darkness coexisted.

Darkness wasn’t evil, just a part of the cosmos.

However, as time went by, the will of darkness began to twist, developing a desire to consume everything.

She saw an existence named ”Master of Nothingness,” not a single entity, but a collective of countless twisted wills and powers, a manifestation of the deepest malice in the cosmos.

She saw the origin of ”seeds,” used by the Master of Nothingness to infiltrate and control the cosmos, as a carrier of its descent.

She saw the ”Awakened,” life forms polluted or controlled by the power of the Master of Nothingness, acting as its claws in the cosmos.

She saw the birth of the ”Guardians.”

These beings weren’t inherently powerful but awakened within the cosmos during crisis, born from creatures with steadfast will and a Heart of the Guardian.

They gathered the power of cosmic origin, crafting strong armor and weapons, engaging in a prolonged war with the Master of Nothingness.

She saw the Celestial Fall Battlefield, where the Guardians and the minions of the Master of Nothingness fought decisively, ultimately sacrificing themselves to seal away part of the Master of Nothingness’s power and its minions there.

The dark gold armor was the remnant left by one of the mighty Guardians after they fell.

She witnessed the Eternal Restricted Area, a former base for the Guardians and their final resting place.

Here, they left behind legacies and information, waiting for the future awakeners.

She also saw that the force opposing the Master of Nothingness was not merely strength, but the will, the belief, the Heart of the Guardian!

The Master of Nothingness was powerful, yet it lacked a true ”self,” lacked emotion, lacked a reason to guard. And this was the Guardians’ strongest weapon!

The information stream ended, Xu Qinghan trembled slightly. She opened her eyes, filled with shock, sorrow, and... unprecedented determination!

She finally understood the true reason behind the fall of the Kao Mountain Sect!

Brother Xu Ran... was chosen by the Master of Nothingness, becoming a dreadful ”seed”!

And the sect... might have been a move by the Master of Nothingness to activate or acquire the seed within Xu Ran!

That mysterious adversary... those twisted laws... all were the power of the Master of Nothingness!

She also understood Yu Kong! He resonated with the armor at the Celestial Fall Battlefield, inheriting the will of the Guardian!

The aura he emitted matched those possessed by the Guardians in the memories within the Jade Scroll!

So... he was a Guardian too!

Xu Qinghan held the Jade Scroll tightly, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

Sorrow for Brother Xu Ran’s fate, comforted by Yu Kong still alive and carrying on the path of the Guardian.

She now had a clearer goal. She wanted to completely digest the information in the Jade Scroll, comprehend the strength and duties of the Guardians.

She aimed to find a method to counter the Master of Nothingness. She would find Brother Xu Ran, no matter how slim the chance, she would try to save him! She also needed to find Yu Kong, and fight alongside him!

The Eternal Restricted Area is a treasure trove left by the Guardians! There were ancient legacies here and also hope against the darkness!

Xu Qinghan took a deep breath, her eyes shimmering like the stars.

”Master of Nothingness... seeds... Awakened... Guardians...” she whispered those names, as if carving them into her bones.

”I will find you all... whether it’s the brother consumed by darkness... or Yu Kong who inherited the Guardian Will...”

Her figure appeared fragile in these ancient ruins, yet the unwavering will she emitted burned like a flame!

...

Deep within the Celestial Fall Battlefield.

Yu Kong sat cross-legged, the surrounding storm of laws rendered harmless.

A domain with a diameter of several yards formed around him, laws stabilized, brimming with vitality, starkly contrasting the deathly silence and chaos around.