# 1831
Chapter 1824: Remnants
"It was very difficult." Wang Mian paused for a moment. "Though not completely impossible to manipulate, the difficulty was at least twenty times greater than outside, and the range I could affect was extremely small."
"Then what you just said about the door—how did that happen?"
"After the two of us accidentally entered that Temporal Maze, the next moment we got separated... He took a step forward, and I stood still. Then, in my field of vision, he simply disappeared."
"He only took one step, but in this Temporal Maze, it triggered a temporal shift. He really did take one step, but that single step sent him to the position he had occupied a week prior."
"At that time, we still hadn't figured out what this Temporal Maze was. When I saw him suddenly vanish, I immediately went to look for him, and then I was sent to another time..."
"Later, I discovered the concept of the Temporal Maze and tried every means to find him across the different times. When I finally found him, he was already lying unconscious on the ground, covered in blood."
"In front of him stood a massive door..."
"What kind of door?"
"The material seemed to be some kind of stone, with a gray surface that looked extremely ancient. This door had many cracks on it, and there was even a chunk missing from the upper right corner. But whenever I looked at it directly, I felt my head swell and ache as if it were about to split open."
Hearing this, Lin Qiye's pupils contracted sharply.
"The Gate of Truth?!"
When Lin Qiye had fought An Qingyu, he had seen the shadow of the Gate of Truth that An Qingyu had summoned, and it looked exactly as Wang Mian had described.
"If he wasn't mistaken, the mist a hundred years ago that erased everything was created by the Key to the Gate at the cost of eternal slumber... And the location from which the mist poured out was also in Antarctica."
"So, the door Wang Mian and the others saw was likely the Gate of Truth itself, or rather... its remains?"
"That was the Gate of Truth?" Wang Mian asked in confusion. "But didn't you say the Key to the Gate was at the very top of the river of time, watching over everything?"
"The Key to the Gate is the guardian of the Gate of Truth, existing as something akin to a spirit artifact. They are not the same thing... And the Key to the Gate at the very top of the river of time is only the past version of Him."
"He can observe the entire river of time, but it would be difficult for Him to intervene in the present across the river of time, because in our current time, He has actually fallen into slumber and has no usable body."
Wang Mian nodded slightly.
"When I found Lu Wuwei, he was already at death's door, so I consumed my lifespan to forcibly manipulate time there. After many attempts, I barely managed to escape from within..."
Hearing this, Lin Qiye understood the sequence of events, then asked: "Did you find any traces of Nyx?"
"I didn't find her, but..."
Wang Mian reached into his chest and took out something, placing it into Lin Qiye's hand.
"However, while walking through the maze, I discovered this item. I'm not sure if it's related to Nyx."
Lin Qiye looked down. The moment he saw what it was, his mind shook!
It was a fragment of a black纱裙 (gauze skirt).
In Lin Qiye's vision, a thread of karmic connection extended from the gauze fragment, connecting to Lin Qiye, indicating that its owner shared a strong karmic bond with Lin Qiye.
This was definitely Nyx's belonging!
"As expected... Her disappearance is also related to the Temporal Maze and the Gate of Truth." Lin Qiye murmured to himself.
Lin Qiye patted Wang Mian on the shoulder. "This time, you've all worked hard."
After exchanging a few more words with Wang Mian, Lin Qiye pushed open the door to visit Lu Wuwei. As Wang Mian had said, his body wasn't severely injured, but he remained unconscious.
Lin Qiye stood by the hospital bed, head bowed, lost in deep thought.
If the remains of the Gate of Truth truly existed in the depths of Antarctica, it would undoubtedly be an opportunity for humanity... If they could find a method to deal with the Key to the Gate above the river of time, they could eliminate this threat from one of the Three Pillars at its root.
But the problem now was: how to handle that Temporal Maze? Moreover, Lu Wuwei certainly wouldn't have collapsed injured in front of that door for no reason. What had he encountered near that door?
Lin Qiye thought for a long time but still had no leads. In the end, they simply knew too little about the Key to the Gate.
However... there was actually one person who might know all the answers.
After hesitating for a moment, Lin Qiye immersed his consciousness into the Asylum of the Gods.
...
Shennongjia.
"So, not much has changed outside compared to before we entered the洞天 (cave heaven)... The only strange thing is that the moon is gone." After hearing the report from the three, Luan Lie pondered thoughtfully.
"Maybe the moon didn't actually disappear? What if it was just a cloudy night and we couldn't see it?"
Luan Lie raised his hand helplessly. "Go look at Old Eleven first before saying anything."
Everyone turned to look and saw a white-haired, red-eyed girl curled up in a corner, gazing pitifully toward the sky above, tears streaming down her face endlessly.
"The Jade Rabbit shedding tears... It seems the Moon really is in trouble."
The third brother murmured.
Just as they were speaking, several deep purple figures swept across the sky, as if they had discovered their location, and descended rapidly!
"Who's there?" Everyone frowned, instantly on guard.
Luan Lie was the first to clearly see the appearance of the person leading them. He hesitated briefly in confusion, then his eyes lit up instantly!
"It's Brother Fang Mo!!"
Hearing these words, everyone erupted into excitement, jumping and waving at the sky like a group of overjoyed children.
As the [Demon] Squad landed in the mountains, Su Zhe and the others watched这群疯跑而来的野人 (these wild men rushing over excitedly) with somewhat peculiar expressions.
"Were these the other eleven Golden Immortal representatives? Why do they all seem so... unreliable?"
"They were all children under ten when they entered the洞天. After sixteen or seventeen years in the洞天, without any contact with the outside world, they naturally retained their mentality from back then."
Fang Mo explained while waving back at them with a smile.
The group charged forward energetically and directly surrounded Fang Mo on the spot, their noses constantly sniffing the scent on his body as they spoke one after another:
"Brother Fang Mo!! It's been twelve years! How are you still so small?"
"That's right, Brother Fang Mo, the twelfth youngest looks more mature than you."
"Hehe, Boss! Look at my beard now—handsome, right?"
"Boss... so hungry~"
...
Fang Mo's mouth twitched slightly. Among these figures with an average age of twenty-five or so, he looked like a fresh university graduate, yet the mature aura he exuded made him seem out of place among the group.
After chatting with them for a long time, Fang Mo waved his hand. "Come on, I'll take you all to eat first."
As Fang Mo led them away from the mountains, a gray-furred mouse silently burrowed out from underground.
In those gray eyes, the clear reflection of the departing group was captured.