Thinking too much is pointless. We're already in here, so no matter what dangers lie ahead, we have no choice but to grit our teeth and keep going. It's better than being swallowed up by the anaconda right now.

With this thought in mind, Lu Zhaozhao glanced at the serpent that was still stubbornly guarding outside the formation, made up her mind, rubbed her sore shoulders, wiped the dark blood from her mouth, picked up her sword and walked inside.

The walkway wasn't long, and in no time she walked out to the open space in the courtyard. Directly opposite her was a Buddhist pagoda.

This left Lu Zhaozhao completely bewildered.

The Qing Dynasty Huizong Temple was a place for Taoist cultivation, and all the disciples of the sect followed the path of attaining immortality. However, in the most heavily guarded and restricted area within the sect, there was a temple and pagoda.

As Lu Zhaozhao approached, she saw the plaque hanging on the tower, with the three large characters "Nine Mirrors Tower" written squarely on it.

“Zuo Rong, a native of Danyang, built the Futu Temple on Yangshan Mountain, two miles southwest of Xiapi City. The Futu Temple was built with golden plates on top and a multi-story building below, which could accommodate more than 3,000 people. Inside the Futu Temple, there was a pagoda with nine golden plates on it: eight facing the eight directions and the middle one facing the sky, hence the name Nine Mirror Pagoda.”

Wei Zhanjie's voice came.

After hearing this, Lu Zhaozhao was puzzled and asked, "Since the Nine Mirrors Tower was built in Xiapi City, why is it here? Moreover, I don't think I've ever heard of this tower before."

“This tower was destroyed by war a thousand years ago, so it’s normal that you don’t know it,” Wei Zhanjie said.

"Then how do you know?" Lu Zhaozhao raised an eyebrow. "Or are you someone from a thousand years ago? Wei Zhanjie, who exactly are you? Ancient books even record the most heinous demon lords, so why is your name not mentioned?"

"I don't believe you're just an ordinary person. After all, the Soul Separation Technique is extremely evil, and you can't master it without profound skill. Yet, you've been separated from your soul for a thousand years and your consciousness is still clear. You must have been someone important in your previous life. If you were someone important, ancient books would surely have recorded you!"

After Lu Zhaozhao finished speaking, she stared intently at the semi-transparent soul in front of her.

Wei Zhanjie listened and laughed, occasionally nodding, as if he hadn't taken these words to heart.

He slowly approached, bent down, and stopped just an inch away from Lu Zhaozhao. He chuckled and said, "So you went to your sect's library before entering the mountain to investigate me?"

He spoke lightly, his eyes sparkling, as if he had just listened to a piece of music and offered a few innocuous comments to someone else.

Lu Zhaozhao frowned slightly. She had indeed checked Wei Zhanjie. The Qinghui Sect had stood in the cultivation world for thousands of years, and its collection of books was countless. It could be said that it possessed eight of the world's ancient books.

However, there is no one named Wei Zhanjie in these ancient books, and there has not even been a person with the same name for thousands of years. It seems that this name has been deliberately avoided.

"So, your name is fake?" Lu Zhaozhao asked softly.

What do you think?

Wei Zhanjie smiled in front of her, and Lu Zhaozhao only needed to raise her eyes to see his face clearly.

In fact, Wei Zhanjie looks quite young, with handsome features, and coupled with his nonchalant attitude, he could even be described as a natural beauty.

Unfortunately, he exuded a sense of desolation at all times, and this emotion was so intense that the first thing one could feel upon seeing him was this desolation, which obscured his appearance.

She stared straight at Wei Zhanjie, and Wei Zhanjie looked back at her with a smile.

There was silence for a moment.

After an unknown amount of time, Wei Zhanjie straightened up and looked past her to the pagoda behind him.

“I’m not lying to you. My name is indeed Wei Zhanjie, and I was a significant figure in my lifetime. As for why those books didn’t record me, that’s beyond my control.”

Wei Zhanjie withdrew his gaze and continued to look at Lu Zhaozhao, resuming his previous nonchalant demeanor.

"After all, they probably don't want the fact that the entire cultivation world has been defeated by me to be passed down."

Lu Zhaozhao had thought he was going to say something important and was listening intently, but then he blurted out such nonsense, leaving her speechless for a moment. She couldn't help but tease him:

"If you were truly that powerful, how could you have perished and vanished, leaving only this wisp of a soul? Anyone can talk big!"

"How dare you speak like that, junior! I am a senior, after all. Is this how Emperor Huizong of Qing taught people?!"

Wei Zhanjie seemed to have been hit where it hurt, and pointed his finger at her forehead.

However, he was a remnant soul and could not touch Lu Zhaozhao.

Then, Lu Zhaozhao let out a cold laugh:

"I've heard that the appearance of a soul is exactly the same as its appearance at the end of its life. Judging from your appearance, you're probably no more than thirty! You might not have even been cultivating for as long as I have!"

Wei Zhanjie rubbed his forehead, not wanting to continue this low-level argument, and changed the subject: "Do you still want to leave?"

"Yes, so do you have any other insights about this tower?" Lu Zhaozhao immediately agreed, after all, she didn't expect to find out Wei Zhanjie's background in just a few words.

Seeing that she was no longer pressing the matter, Wei Zhanjie secretly breathed a sigh of relief and continued:

"When I was alive, Zen Buddhism had just been introduced from the northern regions, and in just a few decades it attracted countless followers. I also learned a little about it."

At that time, before the Buddha stood a seven-jeweled stupa, five hundred yojanas high and two hundred and fifty yojanas in length and width, rising from the ground and residing in the air. Adorned with various precious materials, it had five thousand railings, countless niches and chambers, and was decorated with numerous banners and pennants, adorned with jeweled necklaces and countless jeweled bells. The description of the stupa in the Lotus Sutra is extremely magnificent, and the believers, based on this description, built the first stupa in the region, namely the Nine-Mirror Stupa.

The Nine Mirrors Pagoda is octagonal and nine-tiered, with upturned eaves on each level. The pagoda's interior and exterior are adorned with 480 Buddha sculptures, decorated with golden robes. A spiral staircase of 148 steps leads to the top. This pagoda attracted almost universal attention at the time, and even the Futu Temple was renamed 'Nine Mirrors Zen Temple' because of it.

Lu Zhaozhao listened, feeling something was amiss, and asked, "To build such a massive pagoda, there must have been a large number of followers, at least comparable to those of Emperor Huizong of the Qing Dynasty. Why was such a holy site with so many followers destroyed by war?"

"Zen Buddhism talks about reincarnation, which is meant to give people hope. As more and more people believe in it, some will naturally try to take advantage of the situation."

Wei Zhanjie's eyes turned cold. "The distorted and altered doctrines better suited their desires, so another force arose. They practiced Tantric Buddhism, acted recklessly, and even skinned women to make drums and altars. Their actions were comparable to those of Rakshasa."

"So, the cultivators took action to wipe them out?" Lu Zhaozhao asked, frowning.

"No. These things haven't affected their interests, so they won't take action." Wei Zhanjie regained his calm demeanor.

Lu Zhaozhao felt nauseous listening to this and blurted out, "No one objects to this?"

"Not really. The monks within the Zen sect who insist on ascetic practice also tried to help, but unfortunately, it was too late."

Wei Zhanjie looked regretful and continued:

"The Tantric Buddhists made a deal with the demons, wanting to overthrow the cultivation world and create what they considered paradise. Thus, the war between humans and demons began."

This war lasted a century, causing immense suffering and destruction; magnificent palaces and towering buildings were reduced to dust, and even the iconic Nine Mirrors Tower was destroyed.

As Lu Zhaozhao listened to his words, she turned to look at the pagoda in front of her.

The tower is covered in mottled marks, and the stones on top have fallen off, revealing the wooden frame inside.

The Nine Mirrors, which had become famous, naturally no longer exist.

"Few Zen Buddhist sects survived that catastrophe, and they returned to the snowy region, never to venture out again."

Wei Zhanjie's voice came with the sound of the wind, full of desolation, as if he had told the story of the rise and fall of the tower, but he was not just talking about the tower.