Chapter Sixty-Seven: The Forsaken City (Part One)

"Little girl, I've already said more than enough. Think it over carefully, and once you've made your decision, tell me whether you're willing to undergo the inheritance trial, all right?" As Ji Mo struggled to break free from the memories of the past, Ao Feng's voice reached her ears once more.

"All right," Ji Mo replied softly, then slowly closed her eyes. She sat quietly on the ground, leaning against the crystal wall behind her. In the blink of an eye, ten days passed.

During those ten days, she did not move, nor did she cultivate. Though she had not reached the stage where she could go without food, it was as if she had forgotten hunger altogether, forgotten everything, becoming like a lifeless statue, silently passing the time.

The Peony Fairy, perhaps out of fear of Ao Feng or for some other reason, remained utterly silent throughout, not making a single sound. Ten days later, Ji Mo opened her eyes and rose to her feet. The confusion and resistance in her gaze had faded away, leaving only calm. Looking up at the empty expanse above the crystal palace, she spoke, "Senior Ao Feng, I have decided to accept the inheritance trial. Please tell me how I should proceed."

Ao Feng chuckled. "I knew you'd come around, little girl. These nine trials are not so difficult for you. The first three are tests of innate talent, and with your gifts, you may skip them entirely. Your assessment will begin with the fourth trial, which tests your heart, will, and comprehension. Let me send you to the fourth trial."

As his voice faded, Ji Mo suddenly felt a lightness under her feet; the scene around her shifted. She now stood before a dilapidated, ancient city. The streets were thick with dust and fallen leaves, and every so often, a few ragged mortals passed by. Ji Mo called them mortals because she sensed no trace of a cultivator's aura from them, yet each harbored a startling strength within.

What unsettled Ji Mo most was the pallor on their faces, their eyes dull and lifeless, utterly devoid of hope. There were no shops or vendors on either side of the street; everything before her spoke of utter ruin and desolation. Even Ji Mo, who had never truly ventured out before, could sense that there was something deeply wrong with this city.

"Ma'am, excuse me—could you tell me where I am? Is there an inn nearby where I could stay?" Ji Mo stood for a while before stepping forward, stopping a woman who looked to be about fifty or sixty, with a dark, deeply lined face.

The old woman paused, surprised at being stopped, then slowly raised dull, lifeless eyes to look at Ji Mo. As she took in Ji Mo's features, her blank gaze began to change—at first bewildered, then she blinked, still uncertain, then blinked again.

After the time it took half a cup of tea to cool, her wooden expression began to crack, and a look of incredulous ecstasy rose in her previously vacant eyes. Trembling, she dropped to her knees and bowed her head to Ji Mo, knocking it forcefully on the ground.

Startled, Ji Mo quickly reached out to help her up, but found she couldn't move the woman at all and had to awkwardly let go. "Ma'am, what are you doing? Please, get up."

"Immortal... Immortal Lady, please... save us," the old woman said, bowing nine times before finally lifting her head, her clouded eyes filled with desperate longing. Perhaps she hadn't spoken in a long time, for she managed to say that one sentence only with great effort.

"I... Ma'am, you've misunderstood. I've only just arrived and know nothing about this place. Could you tell me where we are, and what I might do for you?" Ji Mo stammered, at a loss.

But the old woman did not answer. Instead, she turned and, in a hoarse, broken voice, cried out to the ruined street behind her, "Everyone, come out! Come and pay your respects! The Immortal Lady we've waited countless ages for has finally arrived!"

Though she was a mere mortal, and though she possessed a strange strength, she had no spiritual aura or inner power. Yet that cry of hers seemed to echo through the entire ancient city. Ji Mo jumped in shock, her gaze filled with bewilderment and apprehension.

As the woman's voice faded, staggering figures began to appear along the silent street—old and young, men and women, some in groups, others alone, slowly gathering from near and far. In less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick, thousands had assembled before Ji Mo, all gazing at her with an intensity that made her scalp prickle and her palms break out in a sweat. For a moment she nearly wanted to turn and flee, but those fervent stares rooted her in place. Clearing her throat nervously, she addressed them, "Ahem, my name is Ji Mo. I'm a stranger here, unfamiliar with your ways. Could someone tell me the name of this city and how I might help you?"

Though each of these people looked half-dead, Ji Mo could sense a terrifying strength within them. Should she anger them, she was certain she would be torn to pieces in an instant.

As her words fell, an elderly man with white hair and beard, thin and wizened like a centuries-old pine, shuffled out from the crowd. The others made way for him without a word. He walked to within two meters of Ji Mo, bowed deeply, and finally spoke: "Immortal Lady, this city is called Heaven's Forsaken. All who live here have been abandoned by the heavens."

"For countless generations, our ancestors have dwelled here. How long this city has existed, we do not know. When one generation dies, the next is born, and so it goes on—we cannot leave. Aside from the beast tide that comes once every ten years, no outsiders ever enter."

"Were it not for a painting in the city's temple, with a verse that gives us hope to go on, the people of Heaven's Forsaken would have long since perished."

"What does the painting show?" Ji Mo asked, enthralled, unable to resist as the old man paused.