The stone man looked like he was answering her, but what came out of his mouth wasn't what she wanted to hear at all. He was obviously hiding something.
Song Wanníng's eyes sharpened, and she immediately released her pressure.
The stone man, who'd just managed to keep his head up, was instantly crushed down, trembling all over. Only then did he realize Song Wanníng was truly angry, and he finally began to speak seriously.
"I'll talk, I'll talk!" His voice was trembling with nervousness, carrying a hint of helplessness. "I saw the prophecy on the stone tablet behind me!"
It sounded ridiculous. The tablet hadn't shown a single sign of power since the day that prophecy appeared. He worried she wouldn't believe him.
"Oh?"
Song Wanníng raised a brow, already half-convinced, and turned her gaze toward the tablet behind him. "It looked completely ordinary. Could something like that really reveal prophecies?"
"I wouldn't dare make things up, Senior! The prophecy came from that tablet!"
The stone man explained everything that happened that day. Even recalling it now made his scalp prickle.
"Senior, my life wasn't meant to end. I found this stone body and came back to life. Even if I can't advance anymore and can only live quietly for the rest of my life, I don't want to die!
If the prophecy's true, the Cultivation Realm's doomed!" The stone man lifted his head with great effort, eyes full of desperate hope as he looked at Song Wanníng.
"Wuyang City's the only safe place left! Senior, why don't you take me there, and we'll seize it together? That city was my father's to begin with! The current City Lord's a butcher—my father didn't die because of me!"
His words started drifting away from the topic, turning into a tale of grief and resentment.
Song Wanníng frowned impatiently and cut him off.
"If I want to enter Wuyang City, I don't need to fight my way in. If the Cultivation Realm really collapses, what's the point of taking over one little city?"
She gave him a flat look. Even now, he was still trying to use her to get revenge?
She wasn't that kindhearted.
Still, could there really be something off about that stone tablet?
Song Wanníng walked closer to it. According to the stone man, it had suddenly glowed a few months ago, displayed a line of text for half a moment, then went dark again.
Since then, it hadn't shown a single sign of power.
Could the tablet be connected to the world's reformation?
For the first time, Song Wanníng felt a flicker of hope. She told the stone man to wait outside, leaving Long Ling and the others to keep an eye on him, while she examined the tablet herself.
But no matter how many times she circled it, scanning every inch, she couldn't find a single clue. So she stepped back out to question him again. "That night, was the weather strange? Anything unusual happen?"
Maybe the tablet needed a specific condition to reactivate.
"Hmm… let me think."
The stone man frowned in thought. After a moment, he said, "That night, there was a thick fog—so thick you couldn't see a thing around you. I remember because I was going to hunt, but I couldn't even leave my cave."
He wasn't completely sure, but that was the only strange thing he could recall.
Song Wanníng nodded and turned back into the cave.
When all her checking proved useless, she decided to wait—wait for the fog to return. So, for the next two months, she stayed there, cultivating by day and studying the stone tablet by night.
The stone man, meanwhile, didn't dare cause any more trouble in Wuyang City. Every day he went hunting, then came back to roast meat for Song Wanníng.
Two months later, something finally happened.
They'd just finished eating when a faint mist started to spread around the mountain.
Song Wanníng stopped what she was doing and stood up at once.
The stone man froze, then ran over in excitement. "Senior, the fog's back! It's here again!"
Finally, it was happening.
Only Heaven knew how terrified he'd been during these past few months.
"Mm."
Song Wanníng stayed calm, watching as the fog thickened rapidly around them.
In less than a minute, visibility dropped to nothing.
Her expression shifted slightly, and she went straight into the cave.
The fog rolled in almost immediately, filling the space until only the vague outline of the stone tablet could be seen.
She spread her divine sense, locking onto every change in the tablet.
Drip, drip.
The sound of water echoed through the cave, like a clock counting down.
The stone man crept in after her, waiting nervously for something to happen.
If the prophecy appeared again, it would prove he hadn't lied—and maybe she'd finally let him go. He just wanted to live quietly now, far away from Song Wanníng's terrifying presence.
Then, under their anxious gazes, the stone tablet flickered.
A soft light spread across its surface, and a line of glowing words appeared.
"Two Realms Become One."
Just four words—but they made Song Wanníng's heart tremble. Her eyes stayed fixed on the stone surface. No one understood the meaning of those words better than she did.
"Wait, what? What does that even mean?"
The stone man was completely confused. "Senior, that's not what I saw before! I swear, I didn't lie! Maybe it changed because you're here!"
He was terrified she'd think he was making it up.
But Song Wanníng wasn't even listening. Her attention was locked entirely on the words.
Was this the Heavenly Dao's guidance?
Had it led her here to show her how to rebuild the world?
Her heart raced. If that was true, then this tablet might be the key.
She flew closer, reached out, and brushed her fingertips across the glowing words. The surface felt ice-cold, but the moment her palm touched it, the letters began to shimmer, then burned with light.
A sudden, violent pull yanked at her.
She didn't resist, though she stayed on guard.
In an instant, the tablet swallowed her whole.
The fog surged, completely hiding the stone tablet from sight. Even the stone man couldn't see it anymore.
"Senior? Senior?"
He shouted her title again and again, but the only reply was his own echo bouncing off the cave walls.
Once he realized she was gone, he didn't hesitate for a second. He turned and bolted. If he didn't run now, when would he?