"What about Mei Yi?" Old Liu glanced at Ye Xiu, discerning the subtle affection Ye Xiu held for her. "She certainly wouldn't want you taking such risks."

Ye Xiu slapped his own forehead. Women were a mystery he’d never solve in a lifetime, so he chose the wisest course: to ignore the issue altogether. "Can't worry about that much now. Let's run as far as we can, haha. Su Su should be out soon."

"Master, you finally remembered me. Where is that beautiful elder sister? You aren't with her." Su Su teased Ye Xiu as she emerged. "Master, I really am not used to you being alone."

"Don't I still have this perennial supporting character?" Old Liu pointed to himself, teasing Su Su. "Little beauty, why have you lost that initial burst of dazzling charm? It's throwing me off my game."

"Hmph, mind your own business!" Su Su pouted playfully, her feminine charm evident even within the purple mist. "Master, where are we heading this time?"

Ye Xiu paced, his thoughts a whirlwind. "You should have felt the energy of that demon we just encountered, right? Wherever it went, that's where we're going. I want to see if this thing really headed for the Earth Vein Purgatory Realm."

"Let me try." Su Su floated to the spot where the demon vanished, happily circling around Ye Xiu and Old Liu as she spun playfully. "This next place is going to be very, very mysterious."

"We can get straight to the Purgatory Realm?" Old Liu clenched his jaw. Honestly, returning to his birthplace made him tense. However, as the purple smoke billowed and settled before them, a magnificent, gilded hall materialized. This time, he felt no dizziness; he had arrived in a thoroughly familiar setting. "Damn it, Su Su, where have you brought us?"

"Mei Yi's place!" Ye Xiu slapped his face and collapsed onto a sofa, having already spotted Mei Yi's faintly malicious grin. "Su Su, what are you doing!"

"You two rascals! I knew you were planning to ditch me. Good thing I managed to chat with Su Su one day while you were sleeping—I found out you really were going to do it." Mei Yi stood with her hands on her hips, ready to deliver justice. "I knew something was off between you two since we returned from Mount Li. You were definitely thinking about that Earth Vein Purgatory Realm. Alright, now what are you going to do about it?"

"Go, Su Su! Don't mess with me this time, or I’ll get angry." Ye Xiu shot a cold glance at Su Su; he didn't want to say another word to Mei Yi.

"Hey, Ye Xiu! You..." Mei Yi started to charge forward, but a small ball of dark flame suspended in the air blocked her path. "What are you doing!"

"Whoa, is that how you say goodbye?" Old Liu felt Ye Xiu was going too far, especially since Ye Xiu had now encircled Mei Yi with purple flames. "Be careful not to hurt her."

Ye Xiu sighed, knowing he was forced into this action. Some things were just difficult for him to express. "Mei Yi, just wait for me at home... That's... that's all..."

With a surge of purple flame, the opulent hall returned to silence. A single tear tracked down Mei Yi's cheek, though she didn't cry excessively. Even though Ye Xiu hadn't said it, she understood the care he held for her. The difficulties awaiting them in the Earth Vein Purgatory Realm must be immense; even Ye Xiu, the God of Death, couldn't guarantee a safe return. So, he simply turned and left without another word.

When the purple smoke cleared, the two men found themselves amidst a mountainous landscape. The eastern sky was just beginning to pale, and the deep crimson light illuminated the scenery behind them—truly magnificent.

"Is this Guizhou?" Old Liu felt as if he were in a desolate mountain range; it wasn't as beautiful as he had imagined. "What exactly is this Red Cliff Heavenly Script? Is it really a Heavenly Script?"

Ye Xiu stood on the precipice, gazing into the distance. They were currently on Mount Shaijia, where the Red Cliff Heavenly Script was located. He shot Old Liu a derisive look. "It’s your own fault for spending all your youth studying Daoist arts. Historical things are truly like the heavens to you. Do you even know where we are?"

"Alright, stop mocking me. I don't believe your history is any better than mine. I know the Huangguoshu Waterfall is in Guizhou. I haven't been, but I hear it's quite nice." Old Liu tried to mask his perceived lack of worldly knowledge, but as he looked back at their location, a question lingered. "You call this Mount Shaijia? How did it get its name?"

Riding the light of the dawning east, Ye Xiu felt his way along the mountain path, occasionally glancing back to explain. "During the Three Kingdoms period, you must have heard of Zhuge Liang's seven captures of Meng Huo, right? The Shu army, unaccustomed to the damp southern air during their campaign here, once spread out their armor to dry on this slope. That's how it got its name."

"I really don't get it. Do the legends of the Purgatory Realm even connect back to the Three Kingdoms era!" Old Liu haphazardly plucked a blade of grass and looked toward the summit, where a giant, fan-shaped boulder stood prominently. He pointed at Ye Xiu. "That huge rock ahead is quite imposing. Why aren't there many tourists here?"

"Come on, it's barely dawn. Do you think everyone else chases after demons like us?" Ye Xiu also noticed the line of stones at the summit. The stones were massive, clearly covered in moss, but the central sections appeared remarkably smooth, with faint symbols subtly flickering. "Let's get a bit closer. Maybe that's the legendary Red Cliff Heavenly Script."

The sunlight slanted down. The air in the Guizhou region was fresh, and the gentle dew, kissed by the sun, made one feel pleasantly lazy.

Old Liu stretched just as he lifted his head, and the sunlight hit the stone tablet directly above them. "Hey! Death God, hurry up! There really seem to be red characters on this rock."

It turned out that upon the vast mountain face was a cliff, burning like fierce fire—the wondrous Red Cliff of the Prefecture Clouds. It spanned nearly a hundred meters wide and over thirty meters high, possessing an imposing majesty. From a distance, it resembled a pillar of crimson stretching to the heavens. As the sun illuminated it, the lush green of ten thousand mountains made it stand out even more vividly. In a nook before this red cliff, on a sheer rock face spanning several dozen square meters, were numerous symbols resembling ancient bronze bells and tripods. Their arrangement was peculiar, their style ancient, immediately evoking a sense of antiquity, as if time had slipped back into the distant past. These things, resembling tadpoles or entwined snakes, whose era could not be discerned, were precisely what was called the Red Cliff Heavenly Script—the enigma of a thousand years!

Ye Xiu raised his hand to his forehead. He had only seen sights like this in books and on television. Now, seeing that magnificent spectacle directly before him evoked a strange sense of familiarity. Could the Red Cliff Heavenly Script also be connected to the Death God? "It's a sheer cliff face up there. Looks like we both have to jump up there to get a clear view."

"Demon-Breaking Sword!" Old Liu flew up on his sword, taking the lead toward the red cliff face. He focused intently on the markings, but they looked more like patterns than writing. He looked vaguely at Ye Xiu. "Hey, Maya said this is a passage to the Purgatory Realm. Don't tell me we have to solve the mystery of this Red Cliff Heavenly Script first."

"Who the hell knows." Ye Xiu leaped up and grabbed hold of one of Old Liu’s feet. Hanging in the air, he stared intently at the red patterns. They curved back and forth, sometimes connected word-like, sometimes crossing paths—they couldn't possibly be writing. He grunted, and Old Liu dropped back to the ground. "Alright, let's come down. If some tourist sees us flying around, that'll be even stranger than the Red Cliff Heavenly Script itself."

Old Liu drooped his head and landed. He sat at the base of the red cliff, looking utterly helpless. "People say the Red Cliff Heavenly Script hides many unknown secrets. Do you know what they are?"

Ye Xiu nodded. He had certainly come across such rumors. "Some say the Red Cliff Heavenly Script came from Zhuge Liang during the Three Kingdoms period—perhaps it's Zhuge Liang's military formation map. Others claim it involves Wu Sangui and Chen Yuanyuan, or even aliens. But there is one theory I find most plausible."

"Even though I didn't read much, I can tell these aren't ancient scripts." Old Liu clearly hadn't slept well; trying to rack his brain now just made him tired. "Just tell me which one you think is most reasonable. I can't be bothered listening to the rest."

Ye Xiu rested his chin on his hand and sat on the grass, his thoughts drifting far away. "Some researchers theorize that the Red Cliff Heavenly Script is actually a combination of characters—meaning someone took various familiar characters and deliberately arranged them this way."

"Is that like creating a secret code?" Old Liu became interested. To display characters for the world to see, yet fear observation—it must be a coded message. "Hurry up and tell me, who was that person? Which troublesome fellow went to all this trouble?"

Ye Xiu paused, then looked up at the red cliff. "Have you heard of Emperor Jianwen of Ming, Zhu Yunwen?"

"Oh, the grandson of the beggar emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang, right? A weak and incompetent emperor. He was on the throne for barely any time before his throne was seized by his uncle, Zhu Di. Correct?" Old Liu was relieved to hear a familiar name and spoke with authority. "Among the Ming emperors, Zhu Yuanzhang and the usurper Zhu Di were the most adept at warfare. But it's said the cause of Zhu Yunwen's death has always been a mystery."

"Exactly. Some historical records suggest that when Zhu Di usurped the throne, he never actually killed Zhu Yunwen, or perhaps Zhu Yunwen escaped. After that, this person seemingly vanished from the dynasty records." Ye Xiu picked up Old Liu's thread, elaborating. "Legend says Zhu Yunwen fled the capital and came to this southern barbarian region. This Red Cliff Heavenly Script is the declaration of war he composed against Yan (Zhu Di)."

"A declaration of war against Yan? Calling on people to rise up against King Yan, Zhu Di?" Old Liu wasn't entirely uneducated. He stood up, looking somewhat amused at the patterns on the cliff face. "What declaration of war? He just randomly combined some characters; how could anyone respond to something no one can understand?"

Hearing Old Liu's spontaneous outburst, Ye Xiu turned his back to inspect everything on the cliff. "Perhaps for Zhu Yunwen, rallying forces against Zhu Di was merely a wish buried deep in his heart. He knew no one would respond, and he would simply live out his life in melancholic obscurity."

"Hahahaha, Death God, what fine leisure! You still have the energy to analyze the Red Cliff Heavenly Script here?" Sunlight slanted across, and sitting upon the face of the Red Cliff Mountain was another person. The young man wore a white Daoist robe and held a Qingyuan Essence-Dotting Brush. His features were handsome, surpassing Pan An, but his expression was profoundly serious. "Bold Death God! You clearly know this is the entrance to the Purgatory Realm, yet you linger here feigning propriety. Speak quickly! What is your purpose here!"

Ye Xiu was startled by the sudden voice. He looked at the young man dressed like a Daoist and immediately nudged Old Liu. "Hey, he seems to be from your lineage. Want to say hello?"

"Forget it. How old was I when I began my path in the Dao? For some reason, all my memories were wiped clean." Old Liu felt a momentary excitement seeing someone from the same spiritual path, but it quickly turned to melancholy. "Actually, I always emphasize that I am a practitioner of Ancient Strange Dao, yet I don't even know how I started cultivating. My childhood memories are fragmented pieces; I only started gaining coherent memories after becoming an adult."

Ye Xiu gave him a thumbs-up in comfort. "Don't be so sad, old brother. In terms of memory loss, we're actually quite alike in our experiences."

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