Lin Yi's heart skipped a beat: "Are you talking about that ominous premonition, the one about all the 'Original Apostles' falling into ruin, or...the Principal being contaminated and turning dark?"

Tian Bufan remained silent, staring intently at the mountainous remains floating on the black sea, the thick black mist seemingly about to engulf his soul.

After a long time, Tian Bufan let out a long sigh: "I don't fear one of them happening, I fear both happening at once..."

Lin Yi was deeply shocked, contemplating whether to move closer for a better look, but Tian Bufan stopped him: "Don't get any closer, Old Lin! The 'Fog Nightmare Hunter's domain is prowling there, and if we're captured, there will be no escaping our doom!"

"'Fog Nightmare Hunter'? Is that the honorary title of one of the 'Original Apostles'?" Lin Yi asked, surprised.

"No." Tian Bufan replied, "The 'Fog Nightmare Hunter' is not an 'Original Apostle' but a collective term for a certain 'identity' from the Black Mist Era."

"Even though their power doesn't match the 'Original Apostles', their origin predates the 'Original Apostles', and their strength shouldn't be underestimated either."

"Their origin is earlier than the 'Original Apostles'? Wait a minute... Weren't the 'Original Apostles' around before the dawn of human civilization?" Lin Yi was confused.

Tian Bufan was speechless, disdainfully saying: "Weren't the 'Original Apostles' born of mothers? Did they pop out of rocks? Were they born as Original Apostles?"

"Uh..." Lin Yi's mind wandered, "So you're saying that before the 'Original Apostles' appeared, or rather, before they 'proved their way', the 'Fog Nightmare Hunters' already existed, is that it?"

"Yes." Tian Bufan replied, "But you don't need to worry about their origins, the pressing issue now is to understand the situation here."

"We cannot intrude upon the 'Returning Ruins', whether it's because of the 'Fog Nightmare Hunter's domain or for other reasons, as soon as we get close, the 'Originals' here will perceive us…"

"Are there 'Original Apostles' here?" Lin Yi asked.

"Of course." Tian Bufan said, "This area of 'Returning Ruins' was formed after the 'Original Apostles' got lost, as I mentioned, the 'Originals' don't die easily, they hover in some state between life and death…"

Lin Yi seemed to grasp something: "Like those contenders for the emperorship, sealing themselves with 'source' as written in Emperor Chen's Book, waiting for an era to come?"

"Indeed..." Tian Bufan nodded sincerely.

The 'Original Apostles' have all reached the pinnacle in their respective domains. After the exile of the layers of the Black Moon Outpost, there's so little contamination accessible in the real world, like an eerie version of a spiritual energy resurgence world, a truly global mystical development history might have just begun in the twenty-some years from X999, even if there are entities of 'Principal' level, they are very rare. Globally, you might not count more than five on one hand.

Given this vast disparity, the 'Original Apostles' might not even bother to glance sideways.

"But the question is..." Lin Yi asked, "How will they perceive us? I mean, do they perceive any creature approaching the 'Returning Ruins', or...very specifically, perceive 'us'?"

Tian Bufan paused for a moment: "They will perceive any unit entering the 'Returning Ruins' range, and as for 'us'...we are particularly of interest."

"Damn... Are we really that significant?" Lin Yi was sweating like a waterfall, could it be true, sir? It feels like the mechanism specifically targets us!

"That can't be right, we've never been here before, what makes them single us out?"

Tian Bufan slowly explained: "Because after the 'Black Moon Blood Calamity', we are among the few who could directly threaten them…"

Lin Yi was secretly startled: "Our position is that high? What exactly are we? Could we possibly be 'Original Apostles' too?"

He had this speculation, not without reason.

In the flashbacks of memory, since he had learned forging skills from the Divine Craftsman, Kuai Kuai learned a sliver of astrology, and Young Master Tian and Maozi seemed very familiar with Contractors, just using the 'Dream Boundary' to infiltrate time and intersect with the 'Original Apostles' seemed not quite sufficient to explain.

The biggest possibility is that they themselves are one of the 'Original Apostles', and for various reasons, became what they are now.

Since there are 'Original Apostles' lost at sea, naturally, there can be those who for various reasons change their state and remain at Black Moon Outpost or even in the layers of reality.

However, Tian Bufan directly denied it: "We're not 'Original Apostles'."

Lin Yi pressed further: "Then what are we?"

"We..." Tian Bufan hesitated, then continued, "are not 'Originals', yet more than 'Originals'."

"Are we 'Fog Nightmare Hunters'?"

"Don't weirdly learn-use 'identity' immediately…" Tian Bufan said helplessly, "Just consider us members of the 'Time Council', these unrelated matters needn't concern you, when your memories return, all these things will come back to you."

"Alright…" Lin Yi then turned his attention to 'Returning Ruins', his expression gradually darkening, "Young Master Tian, what if... all the 'Original Apostles' buried here have already fallen... is it still necessary for reality to exist?"

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