The rolling hills separating Li Yang and Mei Kongxu only covered a handful of kilometres, but Li Yang was still slowed down greatly by the array he had inscribed on his chest. As such, despite the sun just barely setting when they left the forest, it was already the dead of night when they reached the city. Mei Kongxu would usually start showing some signs of tiredness at this point, but her eyes were gleaming with energy as she looked at the city stretching out ahead of them.

"I'm a bit surprised that they've elected to build a city and then not defend it with a sturdy pair of walls. But it's still standing despite the passage of time so there should be at least one extremely powerful person guarding the city at all times. Maybe a duty passed down through a special family?"

Cities were filled with people so it only stood to reason that they looked like buffets for Demonic beasts, especially a city that was extremely close to a forest. So surrounding the city with enchanted walls was just par for the course, otherwise, beasts could just swarm in and start a massacre. Li Yang also looked at the city, but his eyes were much more unfocused, practically swimming around.

"I'm not sure if there really is a family that would push such a boring responsibility on to their children, but I can tell you that the city isn't as defenceless as it looks. There's an array here, hidden in the earth itself, so deep that it can't be seen."

Li Yang had undone his bloodline activation and pulled back the illusory tail, keeping both of those active while walking through the city would be far too inconvenient. But luckily he had gotten to spend a bit of time training and getting accustomed to the heightened gravity so he was able to walk even without keeping those two active, it was just that each step would take about one minute.

Mei Kongxu looked down at the ground in surprise after hearing Li Yang's confident statement, crouching down and placing her hand on the cool earth. But she couldn't sense the slightest thing no matter how she probed, so she tilted her head at Li Yang.

"If it's hidden so deep that it can't be seen, then how are you so sure that it's there? Did you receive intel on it beforehand?"

It wasn't something that was too hard to guess, there probably weren't more than five or so cities on this continent that actually dared to leave themselves without some form of defence around them. But guessing that there was an array surrounding the city was different from being able to confidently say that it was hidden inside the earth so it was clear that Li Yang knew at least a little that she didn't. But he shook his head, he really hadn't been told anything about this city.

"No, I only noticed it as we got closer. As for how I know it's there, I can feel it, that's the best way of saying it. Power pulsing in the earth, a heart-palpitating sense of danger, it's a rather unfamiliar sensation actually."

Li Yang himself couldn't properly explain why he sensed the array beneath them. Just being knowledgeable about arrays wasn't enough to actually sense the existence of one, especially one that wasn't active. But he could sense it beneath his feet, he even felt like he would be able to trace the runes that composed the array if he spent a bit of time here.

But he wasn't interested in taking the time to do so, because his current condition left quite a lot to be desired. He maintained his usual expression as best he could, but it seemed like that alone wasn't enough, Mei Kongxu questioning him with faint curiosity.

"Are you planning on talking about why you're pale?"

His back was still slightly bent thanks to the overbearing gravity, but she had walked next to him for the last few days so she knew that just the strain alone wasn't enough to make him as pale as he was now. And the unfocused state of his eyes was another thing that tipped her off, it was quite a contrast to the usual focus and slight arrogance his pupils carried.

Li Yang smiled a bit bitterly, his current state wasn't one that could properly be used to tease Mei Kongxu so he hadn't really planned on saying anything about it unless it got worse. But since she had already noticed it and even asked about it, he decided that he might as well just tell her.

"That noticeable, huh? I don't have a proper explanation, I just started to get a headache and was overcome by strong nausea as we got closer to the city. The closer we got the worse it became, it's kinda reminiscent of the feeling you get when you try to approach something that's trying to repulse you. And this wretched burning smell isn't making things better, I really wish they'd clean the place a bit more often."

The sensation had first struck him when they left the forest and saw the city, but then it had only been at the level of a slight nuisance. By now it felt like his head was filled with so many noises that they formed an indistinct symphony, his stomach practically tossing itself around his body. The fact that the air around the city seemed to be terribly polluted only made things worse, but Mei Kongxu's furrowed brows made it clear to Li Yang that things might not be exactly as he thought.

"Burning smell? I'm not picking up anything like that, but I get the feeling this isn't part of your usual trickery so perhaps your auditory visions have taken a step forward now that we're closer to a possible connection?"

She sniffed at the air a few times just to make sure, but the only thing she could pick up was the scent of the surrounding flowers. It could be a symptom of some disease, but they also couldn't leave out the possibility that it was tied to the fact that they were approaching a place that had a possible tie to their visions. Li Yang was, of course, aware of the same fact, but it still made him grimace slightly, flipping off the city.

"Geh, if that's the case then it really can go screw itself, I'd rather not have things like this happen every time we approach a place like this."

They were planning on visiting at least three of the places that might be tied to their visions, if they had the time they would definitely visit more of them. If he was going to feel things like this every time they stopped by such a location then he felt that he might as well just bash his head against a rock to make sure that he had a headache at all times.

Mei Kongxu moved her gaze between Li Yang and the dark silhouette of the statue that stood in the distance, her finger unconsciously tapping her chin as she thought. She eventually stretched out an arm to point at the statue while giving her proposal, but she was instantly shot down by Li Yang.

"I'll be entering, but you can stay here if you think going further will make things too uncomfortable."

"Yeah, not happening. How could I let my dear Wifey wander around on her own, how could I possibly live with myself if you get attacked?"

He smirked in his characteristic manner and placed his hands behind his head, stepping forward to smoothly enter the city. But while his expression and aura matched the part, the gravity pushing down on him slowed his steps to such a degree that he only looked comical.

Mei Kongxu's lips twitched a few times as a very quiet giggle snuck through her closed lips, but Li Yang was sadly not able to hear it since it was just swallowed up by all the other noise in his head. Mei Kongxu walked after him, matching his pace as the two walked through the dark and empty streets.

Li Yang did his best to focus on his steps, but it became harder with each step he took forward. The burning stench got stronger, the slightly metallic scent of blood emerging and mixing with the already present stench. And then, after he took his 27th step into the city, the noises he heard in his head gave way to voices. But the voices didn't ring out inside his head, they came from his side.

"Please...Please don't do this...please..."
"Get away from her, you monster!"

Li Yang's head swivelled to the side as he traced the voices, a one-legged woman who was missing a large chunk of her right shoulder kneeling a few steps away from him. A man clad in slightly scorched leather armour was charging at Li Yang from the side, seemingly intending to stop him from approaching the woman.

Looking at the two, Li Yang noticed something rather strange. The city was no longer dark, a crimson hue covering both the buildings and the ground. The buildings around him were broken and reduced to rubble, some of the ruins still burning brightly. Corpses littered the streets around him, men, women, and children of all ages scattered about like broken puppets.

A bolt of lightning shot at the man and the woman, it seemed to come from his own position but Li Yang couldn't quite tell if it actually came from behind him or not. The lightning tore through the two people, their bodies tearing themselves apart in a strange manner as a bored and even somewhat annoyed mutter reached Li Yang's ears.

"Hm... still nothing, perhaps it was a bit naive to think something as small as this could lead to grand destruction."

Li Yang felt himself blink once, and when that split-second of darkness faded, the surrounding city had returned to normal. His headache had returned and so had the nauseous feeling, both fading slightly. He had apparently stopped his steps, Mei Kongxu was now two steps ahead of him and was turning back to look at him, Li Yang's brows furrowing as he looked at his own hand.

"It's getting worse?"

"Now they're all getting in on it, there're even some traces of physical sensation."

He was certain that it had just been a vision, the second complete vision he had ever seen. But even though it should be just a simple vision, a faint sensation of warmth lingered in his left hand, as if part of him was still standing in that burning city. He shook his hand a few time and stepped forward to catch up with Mei Kongxu, they would hopefully be able to get at least some answers in this city.

The sun had already started to rise by the time to two reached the towering statue, the streets already starting to fill up with people as the citizens woke up and prepared to head to their workplace. They might not know that Li Yang and Mei Kongxu were new faces, but one was an enchanting beauty while the other was a pale and handsome youth so it was inevitable that the two drew some attention.

But neither of them cared about their surroundings, inspecting the statue standing in front of them. The statue featured a man who seemed to be in his 30's, a tightfitting armour strapped onto his body. He carried a disdainful expression and had seven small horns that curved together to form something akin to a crown on his head.

One hand was placed on his waist in a casual stance, but his other arm was wrapped around a crooked and jagged scythe whose blade was resting on his own neck. The entire monument gave off an oppressive and threatening aura, but that didn't stop Mei Kongxu's lips from forming a nearly imperceptible sneer, nor did it stop Li Yang from absentmindedly interrupting her.

"So that's the statue they erected to make sure the attack wasn't forgotten... Heh, it's supposed to be a grand gesture of remembrance, but they..."

"They got it wrong, it wasn't horns he had... The weapon is also wrong..."

By the time his mutter escaped his lips, Li Yang's left hand was already covering his left eye. The moment they stepped in front of the statue, the world in front of Li Yang's eyes started to change. The ruined version of the city blinked in and out of existence, changing places with the thriving city that he was actually standing in.

It blinked in and out of existence faster and faster, to the point where it became impossible to actually tell which one he was looking at. But shortly after it reached this point, the two cities stopped changing place and instead appeared at the same time.

His left eye saw the burning city, his left ear hearing the roaring of the fire, crackling of lightning, and screams of the dying. But his right eye saw the city as it was right now, his right ear picking up the sounds of the peddlers setting up their shops and hawking their wares.

As for how he knew that the statue wasn't accurate, it was because his left eye just so happened to see a puddle of blood. And in that puddle, he saw the reflection of a man who almost perfectly matched the statue.

Arrogant yet bored blue eyes and brilliant golden hair that cascaded down his back, his hand lazily holding onto a golden sword covered in a wavy purple pattern. The man walked around seemingly without aim, Li Yang's left eye following along and seemingly taking in the surroundings from the man's point of view.

But his right eye continued to see the normal city around him so he was currently experiencing part of his vision moving around while the other part remained stationary. And that alone was more nauseating than the strong churning of his stomach that had assaulted him ever since they left the forest.

Mei Kongxu could tell that although his paleness had receded slightly suddenly, the pupil in his right eye was swimming more than ever so his state had clearly gone through a change. And since she had read the same records as him in the archives, she could guess somewhat at what he was experiencing, receiving a somewhat cryptic response from Li Yang.

"I don't remember the archives containing a description of him. Did you learn something new?"

"A vision reflected in blood, quite a nasty sight really."

He didn't give a cryptic answer on purpose, it was just that he was still trying to get used to the experience of seeing two different worlds at once. Mei Kongxu also didn't take it to heart, partly because she could tell that his way of seeing these visions was vastly different from how she saw her visions, and partly because of what it meant that he was suddenly seeing visions after coming here.

"This is good. At first, we only had guesses, but now it's becoming more and more apparent that we, or at least you, have some ties to the things we've seen and heard in our visions. It sounds obvious when you first say it, but it's important to properly understand that there is an actual tie, that it isn't all just a coincidence. Maybe it's a bloodline connection that's slowly awakening thanks to the proximity to something the bloodline remembers, it's not entirely impossible that one of your ancestors was one of his children."

Some bloodlines transcended logic and common sense, they contained the gathered memories and skills of their previous holders. Of course, this was mostly limited to Divine Beasts and Demonic beasts that got lucky and were born with a great deal of Divine Beast blood in their bodies. But if a human trained their body to a great enough degree then this would also be possible for them, their future children would all have the chance of awakening the bloodline and learn about their ancestor's memories and techniques.

Some sects apparently had techniques to increase the chance of this awakening happening, but they were always one of their most guarded secrets. After all, this way they could more easily pass down the techniques of some of their stronger elders, it was to the point where even the bloodline of the elders became a type of currency.

Li Yang removed his hand from his left eye, covering it did nothing to stop the vision it was seeing, the same was true for covering his ear. He twisted his mouth slightly and raised his gaze, his pupil sweeping over the grand statue.

"True, it's not impossible. But with how little we actually know, it's not like we can really call anything impossible, everything has to be considered an option."

This was an undeniable fact, the two of them actually knew not a single damn thing about the visions they were experiencing. And when you didn't know anything, you didn't really have the right to disregard any possibility, no matter how outlandish it seemed to be. Mei Kongxu continued to glance at Li Yang from the side, the unmistakable light of curiosity starting to surface in her pupils.

"You're probably the only person in the universe who would look displeased upon learning that there is a chance that you might be going through a bloodline awakening."

A bloodline was a fast pass to grow stronger, especially when it was one so strong that it came with inherited memories. Just about every cultivator in existence would kill for such a bloodline so that they could get their hands on free techniques and skills. But Li Yang didn't look happy in the slightest, he even looked like he was disdaining it. And he didn't reject her statement, giving a simple nod of his head.

"Can't be helped. I don't know about the things you've seen in your visions, but from what I've heard over the years, and what few things I've seen after entering the city, I can only say that this Pristine Tyrant truly is dull. What a boring person he seemed to be. What point is there in trying to walk further on the road of cultivation if you're going to look so bored and uninterested while doing it?"

He saw it every time the vision in his left eye passed by a puddle of blood or water, it was apparent in the man's reflection that he didn't feel a single thing as he moved about. He just looked so bored that it seemed like he would have more fun sleeping. And when he coupled that sight with the things he had heard from his auditory visions, he could only come to the conclusion that the man, who was likely the Pristine Tyrant himself, was a terribly boring man.

Li Yang kept looking at the statue for a few seconds longer, going over the engraving that had been carved into the base of the statue. He then took out the map that his father had given him before the two left the sect and pointed at the section that marked this city.

"My parents knew someone living in this city, they've been here for longer than us so they should know more about where we can find information about that dullard."

Li Yang turned away from the statue as he spoke, it was a place where the Pristine Tyrant had caused a massacre before so it was highly likely that they had a library or something that contained more detailed information about him. Or it could contain nothing at all, they did get his appearance wrong after all, but it was better than nothing.

Mei Kongxu had no reason to refuse his offer, it would indeed be better to talk to people who had lived here for a while, they might know about some lesser-known places where they could find information. Li Yang was still walking extremely slow thanks to the gravity enhancement so the two only drew more attention as they walked, practically everyone they walked past turned to look at them.

The two didn't care about them and kept walking, Li Yang's right eye continuing to swim around as if it was trying to match the movements that his left eye saw. But when you drew as much attention as the two of them, it was inevitable that you also drew some bad attention.

A man clad in somewhat ragged and dirty robes staggered out from a side alley and then started to make his way down the street. An open gourd was strapped to his waist, the strong scent of alcohol wafting out from the gourd and spreading through the surroundings. The man staggered towards them but didn't even look at them, his eyes cloudy as they drifted around aimlessly.

And since Li Yang was moving at his incredibly slow pace, he didn't manage to move out of the way in time before the staggering man bumped into his left shoulder. The man's arm stealthily flashed towards Li Yang's waist, his ragged robe just long enough to cover his movements.

But the moment his hand moved, Li Yang's own arm shot out. His left eye swivelled towards the man and turned sharp, his left hand latching onto the ragged man's throat and lifting him into the air. Li Yang's hand clenched so hard that his nails pierced through the man's skin, but his right hand shot out and grabbed onto his left arm just as the man's neck was about to snap.

Li Yang clenched down on his own arm until his bones creaked, his right eye turning gloomy as he exerted more force. The sharp light in his left eye finally faded just as the bones in his left arm were about to break, his grip loosening and allowing the ragged man to fall to the ground. The man fell on his rear but quickly stood up, glancing somewhat fearfully at Li Yang before running away at full speed.

Li Yang spat out a long breath and pulled back both of his arms, his right eye glaring dangerously at his left arm. His body had simply moved when the man bumped into him, it was to the point where he couldn't even call it instinct. Mei Kongxu hadn't known Li Yang for long, but even she could tell that what had just transpired wasn't normal.

"That... seemed like a slightly uncharacteristic reaction, which may not mean much coming from me. But I'm also surprised that you stopped, you may as well just have finished the job, saves you the trouble in case he tries to come back."

The way Mei Kongxu saw it, that man probably wasn't working alone, people like him rarely did. Letting him go now only increased the chances of him coming back, probably with friends this time, so it would have been better to cut him off before he became a loose end. But Li Yang didn't really pay much mind to her statement, sighing once before his right eye grew sharp.

"Haah, this city isn't good for me, it's a damn pain in the ass. As for me stopping, only I get to decide what I do. No one and nothing else gets to decide how I react to something and how I act afterwards, only I."