Very soon, the Bronze Gate’s eye was once again defeated in the balance game with Shang Siteng.

A memory orb belonging to it, another secret, was acquired by Shang Siteng.

Regrettably, it was not about Emperor Chong’en and the Queen Mother of the West.

The memories described by the bubbles she burst earlier were not in these memory orbs at all.

"Again! Again!"

The Bronze Gate’s eye now really was like a gambler red-eyed from loss, staking all it had and hoping to recover it all in the next game.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard the Bronze Gate’s eye tried, it was destined to never defeat Shang Siteng.

Unless it also brought out the civilization memories inherited for millennia.

But clearly, it couldn’t do that.

Bang!

Another loud noise.

The victory scale tilted once more towards Shang Siteng.

"Again!" The Bronze Gate’s eye spoke with a hoarse, unwilling tone.

"That’s enough." At this moment, a voice rang out, stopping their continued duel.

Upon hearing this voice, Shang Siteng’s eyes brightened suddenly.

She had heard this voice, and not long ago!

Therefore, the owner of this voice was Emperor Chong’en!

Thinking of this, Shang Siteng looked in the direction from which the voice came.

She saw the bloodshot eyes of the Bronze Gate close completely, and the Bronze Gate, immovable until now, was slowly pushed open from inside.

Emperor Chong’en’s voice was actually coming from behind the Bronze Gate.

As the Bronze Gate opened, the scene inside was revealed to Shang Siteng for the first time.

Inside the vast expanse of the Bronze Gate, at the moment it opened, a flood of bubbles began uncontrollably surging out, scattering everywhere.

As the white light gradually receded, Shang Siteng finally saw that the only thing inside was a "mountain" so large it defied description in words.

This mountain was formed from countless densely packed bubbles.

Those bubbles that flowed out of the Bronze Gate originated from there.

"As you can see, this is my true form."

Emperor Chong’en’s voice continued from within that "mountain."

"To pursue my own Dao, I sought vast knowledge, collecting almost all the world’s knowledge, to force the Realm of Saints."

"But ultimately, I failed. After the failure, my body began to mutate, these memories of knowledge could no longer be contained, emerging from within me, piling into a mountain, dispersing everywhere."

"To prevent their further spread, I could only dwell inside the Bronze Gate, as I do now."

Emperor Chong’en’s words allowed Shang Siteng to understand several things.

The Dao chosen by Emperor Chong’en was likely related to knowledge, requiring him to exhaust the knowledge of the entire Kunlun Twin Fruit World to make a breakthrough.

But he failed to achieve Ascension to Saint.

The bubbles deep within Fangzhang Immortal Mountain were the memories spilled forth after his failed breakthrough.

Yet Shang Siteng still had many questions.

"Emperor, why is there no one else living in the vast Fangzhang Immortal Mountain?" she asked frankly.

A burst of laughter came from the "mountain" formed by bubbles.

This laughter was obscure and unclear, revealing no joy or anger.

"You, fairy, are quite interesting."

"Then let me ask you, have you seen anyone else in the Kunlun Immortal Court all this time?"

Emperor Chong’en posed a question in return.

This left Shang Siteng silent.

Kunlun Immortal Court... Since entering the Kunlun Immortal Court, they had been tirelessly completing tasks, unlocking Realms, indeed not paying attention.

But thinking back now, apart from that "death-like" Taibai Jinxing and guards, there really was no one else.

No other Celestial Soldiers, no other maidservants, nothing at all.

"Because we are all dead, and indeed have been dead for a very, very long time."

Emperor Chong’en’s next words left Shang Siteng completely stupefied, shocked on the spot.

Dead...?

Did Emperor Chong’en say they are all dead?

"Emperor, do not joke with me." Shang Siteng forced a smile onto her face.

Her figure imperceptibly retreated half a step backward.

The Nuwa Stone gathered inconspicuously in a place behind her.

"No need to be nervous, I bear you, or rather, you ’Explorers’ from elsewhere, no ill will."

Emperor Chong’en continued to speak.

He knows we are Explorers from elsewhere? He knows my true identity?

Shang Siteng suspiciously looked towards the giant mountain inside the Bronze Gate.

She had experienced something similar before in the Peach Garden, so she did not immediately believe him this time.

"Emperor’s behavior is rather strange, unlike the other Immortal Family." Shang Siteng asked.

Emperor Chong’en did not pause, directly answering: "Because the Dao I cultivate is different from theirs."

"Moreover, before encountering misfortune, I was already close to achieving the Realm of Saints, taking that step."

"Therefore I possess clearer memories than those ’Immortal Family’ you have encountered. But that’s all there is to it."

After listening to Emperor Chong’en’s words, Shang Siteng pondered for a while, eventually deciding to temporarily believe him.

"Why are you all dead, why did you encounter misfortune? Could it be because of... the Queen Mother of the West?"

"It seems you have already guessed part of the truth." Emperor Chong’en did not deny Shang Siteng’s speculation, but continued to say,

"The Queen Mother of the West severed our path to Ascension to Saint, the Flat Peach Banquet, from start to finish, was an unabashed scam."

This is a lot of information to take in, no, it is too much!

"Is it the same as your previous guessing?" Shang Siteng quickly asked.

This time it was Emperor Chong’en who paused for a moment, "It seems there were memories about this in those bubbles you burst."

"However, I do not recommend you burst more of them. Although they represent more secrets, memories, and knowledge, sometimes they also represent danger, disaster, and burden."

"The memories of others have a deadly allure, subtly sparking your curiosity, luring and tempting you to step deeper into others’ memories."

"That’s also why I initially made the Bronze Gate appear, to prevent you from bursting those bubbles."

As a practitioner of the Knowledge Dao, Emperor Chong’en had absolute authority on the assessment of knowledge and memory.

Hearing Emperor Chong’en say this, Shang Siteng trusted his words even more.

"Let’s continue discussing the matter of the Flat Peach Banquet," Emperor Chong’en corrected the topic, "Indeed, my previous speculation was correct, but I still underestimated the Queen Mother of the West’s viciousness."

"She killed everyone, especially those Immortal Family qualified to achieve Ascension to Saint."

"What you see now, including ’me’, is all just part of a time loop."

"We will die again, on the day of the Flat Peach Banquet."