The silhouette of Gezi arrived at the heart of Molin Land. The sealed Gezi, emerging from the center of Molin Land, discovered it did not yet know how to find or awaken the incomplete will of the Heavenly Dao. What was to be done? Chen Tian had no solution for this; after all, he had little contact with the Heavenly Dao. If Chen Tian were here, he would likely know what to do. Gezi looked at the seal before it, a flat altar. The entire altar was shaped like a pentagram, with intersecting pentagonal arrays. Gezi had not studied array formations.
Now it was Gezi's turn to be troubled, not knowing what to do. It should have asked the Heavenly Dao how to awaken the incomplete will or open the seal. If Gezi's feeling was correct, the Heavenly Dao's will was slumbering below. Gezi needed to open the seal and enter to bring it out, but it knew nothing of formations and could only wait. If only Gezi had learned some array knowledge; it was truly a headache now.
Gezi's figure circled the array. It quickly realized the array seemed to be suppressing something. Although Gezi didn't understand much, the feeling was strong. What kind of being was being suppressed below, to warrant the direct suppression by the Heavenly Dao's will? Gezi was curious but did not tamper with the array itself. It was better not to forcefully break the formation; who knew what trouble lay beneath? Gezi's thoughts were correct; there was more than just trouble below, but earth-shattering trouble.
Gezi looked at the array, its eyes glowing. The array had no flaws, no point of entry. How could it bring out the will? Gezi shook its head and said, "Never mind, I'll try."
As Gezi's palm began to gather power, a figure appeared beside it and grabbed its hand. Gezi, being extremely vigilant, immediately turned to attack. The figure merely extended a hand, and Gezi's palm was firmly grasped. Gezi saw clearly that it was the mysterious figure who had fought with it earlier. The mysterious figure looked at Gezi.
With a look of apprehension on its lips, it said, "Stop. The entity below must not break the seal. You cannot touch the seal. This seal is weak when attacked from the outside."
"Who exactly are you? If you don't do this, how will the Heavenly Dao's will appear?"
Gezi's words made the mysterious man pause for a moment. Then he released Gezi's hand and said calmly, "So that's how it is. It seems the Heavenly Dao in the outside world has mostly recovered. However, you truly cannot affect this seal. What is sealed below is beyond the capabilities of you and me to contend with."
"Even all the beings in Molin Land are not its match."
"Even you are not its match?"
Hearing the mysterious man's words, a chill shot straight into the sky for Gezi. This mysterious man was not its match, let alone itself. Was there any hope of survival against the entity below?
"What kind of existence is sealed below? Could it be that your Molin Land exists to suppress this thing?"
Gezi suddenly understood. The man sighed and said, "If you don't mind, would you like to hear a story? After I tell it, you will understand."
"Alright."
"What I'm about to tell you comes from a thousand years ago. A thousand years ago, this world was quite a good world. Even though there was strife, and cultivators and beings clashed endlessly, humans and beings lived their lives. However, the top powers in the world researched a terrifying thing. That thing could grant humans and beings immense power. Humans and beings were captured as test subjects."
"But their experiment failed. They created beings that could not die. Due to their hatred, these beings broke free from their control, and the entire world faced annihilation. The core of those few powers perished in that battle."
"That entity, with its ability to be immortal and invulnerable, swept across the entire world. Their hatred for humanity and disappointment with the world drove them mad. They only wished to destroy the world. In the end, the Heavenly Dao's will intervened, but that thing had transcended the Heavenly Dao's control and could not be restrained. The Heavenly Dao had no choice but to transform itself into a seal and suppress it here."
"And the punishment of the Heavenly Dao for the descendants and bloodlines of those sinners was to guard this place for generations. Our clan was once glorious for a time, until the Heavenly Dao's command was issued, and our clan became its guardians here."
"You mean the being suppressed below is that entity from the story? Do beings that cannot die or be injured truly exist in the world?"
Gezi looked bewildered. Invulnerable and immortal? Even Sacred Beasts could not achieve this. Sacred Beasts at the peak of the universe still felt pain. The mysterious man shook his head. "I know you won't believe it, but that entity is indeed like that."
"When one is fixated on something, it can always trigger special effects. Beings created by mad experiments will, to some extent, transcend limitations."
Gezi nodded, indicating it understood. Just as the man said, Gezi had no intention of refuting.
Indeed, obsession could lead to great mistakes. To save oneself in advance, one must awaken in advance. Never be fixated.
Gezi then asked, "Then how can the Heavenly Dao's will be brought out, or awakened? I promised the Heavenly Dao that I would take it out and help it recover."
"This method is not nonexistent, but it is risky. This seal was formed by the Heavenly Dao itself. The Heavenly Dao's energy is all used to suppress the entity below. This altar and array are merely superficial. They would shatter at a touch. If the altar breaks, the array will also disappear, and the seal will dissipate."
"This is why I stopped you earlier."
Hearing this, Gezi basically understood. It could not resort to brute force. Gezi's eyes were firm. "I don't know what the method is, but I am willing to try."
Gezi did not want to delay further. The sooner it was completed, the sooner it could save Shu Zi. It had already consumed too much time. Although the flow of time was different in different worlds, Gezi's time was limited. Shu Zi only had so much time. It had to retrieve the Pure Heavenly Lock.
"You are not a being of this world, so that method will not work for you. However, I can try."
The mysterious man's words made Gezi pause. Did this mean he was willing to undertake the method in Gezi's place?
"Is there a risk?"
"Yes, but it is only to be trapped within the seal, becoming a part of it. That is the price."
The mysterious man spoke. Gezi wanted to refuse. If someone had to sacrifice themselves, Gezi did not wish for this person to be sacrificed.
As if seeing through Gezi's thoughts, the mysterious man sighed. "My existence has meaning in this. Moreover, you cannot be harmed. The entire Molin Land is still waiting for someone to arrive. This person needs you to meet them. When the time is not right, we cannot leave this place."
"Who is that person?"
Gezi asked. The man shook his head without speaking, looked at the altar behind Gezi, and as if making a resolution, slowly stepped onto the array.
Gezi watched all this. We have never met, yet Gezi truly did not wish for a life to be sacrificed for one matter. This did not align with Gezi's characteristics as a Paladin.