"Elder,"
"Just call me Aunt Mei."
Bai Ran pursed her lips. "Aunt Mei, are you... human?"
The four great powers of the Nine Heavens - the Ghost Clan, Divine Realm, Demon Realm, and Beast Clan - had no trace of humans.
This forced Bai Ran to question whether the place she was in was truly the Nine Heavens.
Aunt Mei nodded with a smile, "Yes, I am a genuine human."
Seeing Bai Ran's confused expression, she shakily stood up, leaning on her cane, and adjusted the quilt for Bai Ran.
"Little one, are you perhaps wondering how a human could appear in the Nine Heavens?"
Bai Ran remained silent. Logically, there should be powerful humans in the upper realms who ascended to the Nine Heavens after reaching a certain cultivation level.
But why were there only the four great powers in the Nine Heavens, with no sign of humans?
Aunt Mei smiled and sighed, "How could there be no humans? This entire mountain range... is all humans..."
The whole mountain range was filled with humans? Bai Ran frowned. This meant this was a place where humans resided?
"Little one, get some rest. Your wounds will heal faster."
"Alright, thank you."
Bai Ran watched as Aunt Mei, supported by her cane, hobbled out of the room.
She lay on the bed, and every time she closed her eyes, the faces of Qing Feng and the others would appear in her mind.
"It's my fault..."
Bai Ran slowly opened her eyes, devoid of sleep, her heart filled with guilt and self-reproach.
If only she were stronger, this thought echoed in Bai Ran's mind, causing her to become dazed and lose her composure.
This led to the incident not long ago, where she forcefully enhanced her strength.
If only she were stronger, Qing Feng and the others wouldn't have died for her, and the Wu Shi Beast wouldn't have been buried in the chasm of time.
"If only I were stronger..."
Bai Ran gritted her teeth, covering her eyes with her arm, her heart sinking to the bottom...
"Master..."
In the spatial realm, Bai Hu watched Bai Ran on the bed, filled with self-blame, and felt immense heartache.
They wanted to tell her that it wasn't her fault, that she was just a fifteen-year-old child...
...
"What did the Demon Lord say?" Jiang Ye asked Jing Feng urgently, who had just put down the communication jade pendant.
Jing Feng tucked the jade pendant into his怀 and shook his head sadly at Jiang Ye. "Jing Yun answered the communication jade pendant. He said the sound of the Ling Long Bell..."
"The Lord also knows that Miss Bai has entered the Nine Heavens, but... the Divine Realm has sent troops..."
The destined daughter of the heavens, who had caused chaos in the Divine Realm, had appeared. The Divine Emperor would undoubtedly try to eliminate her.
Even the Five Great Holy Lords had been dispatched; the Divine Emperor was serious.
"To block the vast army of the Divine Realm, the Lord had to personally lead the troops to intercept them."
Now, if the Lord were to be distracted on the battlefield, the consequences would be unimaginable...
"The Five Great Holy Lords?" Jiang Ye's expression grew solemn. "They're making a move too?"
The Five Great Holy Lords were the masters of the Five Great Sacred Halls, beneath Bai Li Xiao, and were also the Five Great Divine Generals under the Divine Emperor.
If all five were to act together, although the Demon Lord alone could handle them, he would be completely occupied and unable to search for the young mistress...
"With the Demon Lord currently on the battlefield, finding Miss Bai will likely fall to us."
Jing Feng's face was stern, his expression weighed down with worry. "We can only pray that the teleportation portal Miss Bai opened is not leading to the Divine Realm."
...
"Little one, it's time to change your dressing—"
Aunt Mei entered, leaning on her cane, a gentle smile still on her lips.
Looking at Bai Ran on the bed, she sighed and put down the gauze and medicine. "You've been keeping your eyes open. Why aren't you resting?"
Bai Ran turned over on the bed. "Aunt Mei, if the people by one's side..."
"Died tragically for you, what can be done to compensate them even a little...?"
Aunt Mei chuckled, her wrinkled hands reaching out to gently pat Bai Ran.
"Little one, what compensation are you talking about?"
"What they wished for most was for you to live well."
Bai Ran's body stiffened, and a wave of sourness surged through her, making her eyes well up.
"Life and death are minor matters—"
"A lifetime is spent pursuing things that are important in one's destiny—"
Aunt Mei's voice was slow, soft, and tinged with a hint of a smile.
"Be it family, or love, or even insignificant friendships, there are those who would risk their lives for them."
"Little one, as long as you remember their goodness, that is enough..."
Bai Ran clenched her fists tightly, her pale lips trembling. "But... I caused their deaths..."
"Eh, you can't say that." Aunt Mei's smile vanished without a trace for the first time.
"Everyone dies eventually. If they can die for someone they cherish, how can you say you caused their death?"
As she spoke, Aunt Mei began to change Bai Ran's dressing, her movements as gentle as ever.
"Aunt Mei, thank you..."
"How many times have you said thank you? I'm not charging you a consultation fee, what are you thanking me for?"
Bai Ran's tears turned into a smile, the haze in her heart dispelled somewhat, and her injuries also improved considerably.
"No matter what you say, you saved me, and you enlightened me."
A fresh and elegant scent emanated from Aunt Mei, which unknowingly made one feel relaxed and at ease.
"Little one, try standing up. Your injuries should be healed enough for you to walk now."
Bai Ran nodded and, with Aunt Mei's support, got out of bed and took a few steps.
However, the moment she stood up, she was struck speechless by what lay outside the door, her eyes widening in shock.
"These are... graves...?"
Outside the thatched cottage, dense rows of graves stretched as far as the eye could see, a sea of white that was deeply impactful.
Suddenly, Aunt Mei's words echoed in Bai Ran's mind: 'How could there be no humans? This entire mountain range, it's all humans...'
The Tomb of Humans, the graves of humanity. By chance, Bai Ran had arrived here unconsciously.
So the Nine Heavens did not lack humans; it was just that all the humans who had ascended to the Nine Heavens had perished here...
Aunt Mei looked at Bai Ran's stunned expression, unsurprised. "Yes, they are all the graves of us humans."
"One dies, one is buried, and slowly it became like this."
"Why... did they die?"
Aunt Mei supported Bai Ran as they walked outside. Up close, she was even more shocked.
The entire mountain range was filled with small mounds, one every ten steps or so, all without tombstones.
"The Nine Heavens, it's a land of war. The Divine Realm and the Demon Realm are constantly fighting."
"Humans, being under the jurisdiction of the Divine Emperor, were forced to go to the battlefield and die with a simple word from him."
"Those of my age are discarded; the Divine Emperor disdains them."
Bai Ran was immensely shocked. The damage brought about by war was truly too tragic...