Fu Manman attempted to search for the memories she saw in the river of time, but no matter what she did, she couldn’t recall them. Once she left the river of time, her memories of some historical events became blurry. This included the era that shaped the Cultivation Realm, historically known as the "Enlightenment Era." Before the Enlightenment Era, the concept of "cultivation" didn’t exist in the Cultivation Realm.

Fu Manman pondered, "Could it be that the names of the True Gods in the Celestial Court are also borrowed from historical figures of an even more ancient past?"

"It feels so complicated." Bai Yihuan gave up thinking, "Let’s just focus on the trial issue for now."

Fu Manman exhaled, "You’re right, overthinking isn’t good."

The two continued their trek towards the mountain peak.

On the way up to the peak, the vegetation became sparse, almost entirely exposed rock. Fu Manman noticed that some of these rocks appeared very smooth, intentionally so, as if crafted by human hands. Judging by the remaining marks, it might have been done within the last decade.

"Sister, look here." Bai Yihuan crouched in front of a stone slab.

Fu Manman felt that though this Female Warrior God seemed carefree, she was very adept at noticing subtle details.

She walked over to take a look. On the slab were two small figures drawn, one large woman and a smaller boy, with a sun above them. The artwork was quite rudimentary, looking like it was drawn by a child.

This simple and straightforward sketch immediately reminded Fu Manman of Chan’Er’s Qi Mechanism Comics.

Below it was a line of small characters—

"Sunbathing with Junior Brother."

Fu Manman suddenly paused. She then looked further ahead and saw several more such slabs. Her breathing became somewhat labored as she quickly walked to the next stone slab.

This one still depicted a pair of figures, this time with a moon, accompanied by a line of small characters,

"Watching the moon with Junior Brother";

The third stone slab,

"Watching stars with Junior Brother";

The fourth stone slab,

"Reading with Junior Brother";

"Eating with Junior Brother";

"Bathing with Junior Brother";

"Sleeping with Junior Brother";

"Junior Brother has grown taller";

"Junior Brother called me slow again, feeling sad";

"Junior Brother taught me how to fold my quilt";

"Praised by Junior Brother, hehe";

... These were chiefly various daily mundanities until they reached a slab full of cracks, where the senior sister appeared notably sad. The drawing of tears was extravagantly exaggerated—

"Junior Brother was bitten by a red monster, nearly died. Master was right, Junior Brother is ill, I must save him";

Fu Manman’s gaze was moved.

Bai Yihuan, having seen up to this point, said, "It feels like bad things are about to follow."

She was right.

In the drawings on the following slabs, the senior sister never smiled again,

"Purple Gold Dragon Fish, doesn’t work";

"Celestial Heart Leaf, doesn’t work";

"Blood Hand Fruit, doesn’t work";

"Junior Brother has grown much taller, reached my nose";

"Found a whole bunch of things, but none work";

"Caught crying by Junior Brother, I said it was sweat from the eyes, Junior Brother believed me, I’m so clever";

"Junior Brother is as tall as me now";

"Junior Brother is taller than me, but I still haven’t found a way to save him. I’ve decided to visit the Sea of Eternal Life before he turns fifteen, I’ve heard there’s a type of jellyfish there that extends life";

"Met a little girl, she was as pitiable as Junior Brother. I taught her to draw, she loved it, wanted to come with me, but I couldn’t take her, so I entrusted an old man to take care of her, will take her with me when I return";

"I’ve become stronger, no one can defeat me, but I’m not happy at all";

"Miss Junior Brother";

"First time drinking alcohol, doesn’t taste good, but the tipsy feeling is quite nice";

"Dreamed of Junior Brother";

"Sailing out to catch jellyfish";

"Caught jellyfish, but got trapped. I devised a way to send the jellyfish out, not sure if Junior Brother can receive it";

"Fate";

This stone slab bore no illustrations, just the two characters "Fate."

The next stone slab bore a splattered drop of blood.

Bai Yihuan suddenly inhaled sharply, "This... what does the blood signify?"

Fu Manman quickened her pace, eager to find out what happened next. But every subsequent stone slab was marked only with drops of blood, each one more than the last. The way the blood splattered was dizzyingly captivating. Eventually, the blood even stained the entire slab, startlingly vivid.

Fu Manman’s heart clenched as she murmured, "What exactly happened?"

Bai Yihuan noticed the weight of her emotional expression and asked, "Do you know the person who drew these?"

Fu Manman simply nodded, saying nothing more.

Biting her lip, she pressed forward, finally coming across another stone slab with writing—

"I won."

Fu Manman’s shoulders trembled slightly, and she swallowed hard, 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"This... what exactly is going on here?"

A man’s voice suddenly sounded nearby, "Looks like an individual’s journey of the heart."

Bai Yihuan exploded with a bolt of lightning, stomping her foot so hard that it cracked the ground beneath her. Her Qi immediately locked onto the speaker as she demanded, "Who!"

Fu Manman turned to see a man of upright demeanor, average appearance, but with a deeply restrained aura and a calm expression, standing not far away. He wore a perfectly fitted Daoist Robe and carried a Peach Wood Sword on his back.

"My name is Zhang Yuan, one of the Trial Takers. I’ve seen both of you ladies before."

Bai Yihuan asked, "Are you the one who came here first?"

Zhang Yuan nodded.

Fu Manman frowned and asked, "What did you just say, journey of the heart?"

Zhang Yuan walked over, looking at those slabs. "Mount Daiyu, as a Daoist Immortal Mountain, isn’t really a place for cultivating or comprehending the Dao. Its greatest function is to record the deeds of various characters, akin to a ’Book of Personalities.’ That’s why the valley below is filled with the monuments of the True Gods of the Celestial Court."