by <unknown>
Taking advantage of the dense forests and the interconnected caves, Meng Chixin had fought the hundreds of Cultivators for a few months and killed almost a hundred of them before he broke out of the siege, shattered the obstacles in his way, and successfully returned to the Dark Cloud Prairies!
Everybody had been shocked after the news got out.
Although no sect was willing to admit it, everybody knew that it had to be the treachery of the Cultivators from the central plateaus led by the six major sects!
Their incompetence in their Cultivation was already shocking enough, yet they had done such shameless things!
Their shamelessness was shocking enough, yet they had even failed to achieve their purpose!
Hundreds of Cultivators had besieged one individual, but the guy had gotten away after killing almost a hundred enemies!
The Cultivators of the central plateaus had never been so humiliated!
The battle had also been the turning point for the Cultivators of the Great Qian Dynasty.
Before the battle, the barbarian Cultivators around and the Cultivators of the smaller sects within the Great Qian Dynasty had more or less revered the six major sects, the court, and the entire community of Cultivators. They had often had concerns when they were doing things and did not dare to act too insanely and blatantly.
However, the ineptitude of the Cultivators of the Great Qian Dynasty had fully been revealed through the battle. So, the age of turbulence had come. The ambitious guys around the world had all risen up to stir up trouble, pushing the entire Great Qian Dynasty toward the abyss!
The battle had also caused two unexpected things that greatly influenced the situation of the world later.
Firstly, Meng Chixin had gained unparalleled fame after the battle in the hundred thousand mountains and had been honored as 'Wolf God'. All the heroes on the prairies had joined him. A young man born from a minor tribe who was as humble as a slave had gone to him, too.
At that time, nobody had foreseen that the slender, taciturn young man who was good at nothing except for tending to the horses would become Meng Chixin's only true disciple after dozens of years of training, and that he would change his name to 'Han Baling' and establish the Eight Units System after uniting the entire prairies when Meng Chixin had been missing for a hundred years, challenging the shaking Great Qian Dynasty!
Secondly, among the Cultivators from the central plateaus, there had also been some sort of leader that commanded all the Cultivators, similar to Qi Zhongdao.
The 'leader of all the Cultivators' at that time had also been from the Grand Mystery Sect, the largest sect in the world. His name was 'Shi Zongyue'.
It was said that the battle to slay Meng Chixin had been planned and implemented by Shi Zongyue.
As for the truth about everything, it was already beyond any research after a hundred years.
However, somebody had to answer for the unexpected deaths of almost a hundred high-level Cultivators.
Since Shi Zongyue was the 'leader of all the Cultivators', naturally, he had been the best scapegoat for the entire failure.
All in all, shortly after the battle in the hundred thousand mountains, Shi Zongyue had died of mental derangement while he was training in seclusion.
Once he had gone into the coffin, everything about him had come to an end. The truth about the battle in the hundred thousand mountains was gone with the wind. All the insiders had kept their mouths shut forever, as if such a battle had never occurred.
The Cultivators of the central plateaus had been at peace, or rather, soundless, for decades.
Meng Chixin had been busy integrating the forces on the prairies and improving the eight hundred techniques, too. He did not launch any new challenges against the central plateaus recklessly.
Decades later, the truth about the battle in the hundred thousand mountains had been buried by the sands of time. When the Cultivators from the central plateaus were caught in the self-deceiving ambiance, someone had walked out of the desolate tomb of Shi Zongyue, the past 'leader of all Cultivators'.
It was a woman who was holding Shi Zongyue's Unreal Sword!
Wu Suiyun, Shi Zongyue's widow!
It was not until she had knocked down more than twenty experts of the six major sects with the Unreal Sword, like Meng Chixin had done in the past, that the other Cultivators had finally realized that she was actually a terrifying expert in the Divinity Transformation Stage!
Nobody knew why Wu Suiyun had challenged the experts of the six major sects, including her own 'Grand Mystery Sect', full of hostility.
Her behavior had far exceeded the accepted rules of normal matches and games. On the arena, even when she was faced with the Cultivators of her own sect, she still attacked aggressively without any restraint, heavily wounding a lot of experts!
However, the experts who had been heavily wounded by her did not have any doubts or complaints, as if they knew clearly why she was asking for their trouble.
Then, a lot of people had remembered the battle of the ten thousand mountains.
Gradually, rumors had spread that the battle in fact had nothing to do with Shi Zongyue. Those people below him had acted on their own and tried to capture Meng Chixin and elicit the secret techniques that had passed on for thousands of years on the prairies from him. However, after they fell victim to their own scheme and a great tragedy was caused, they had demanded that Shi Zongyue take the blame.
It was because Shi Zongyue had been infuriated by those people that he had died abruptly during his training.
Therefore, since Wu Suiyun had gone to challenge them angrily, the leadership of the six major sects who were guilty did not dare to complain at all even if their bones were broken and their Cultivation plummeted.
However, the issue had never been confirmed by Wu Suiyun, because after sweeping across the six major sects, the Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivator had gone directly north to the Dark Cloud Prairies for Meng Chixin.
Perhaps she had planned to further investigate the truth about the battle in the hundred thousand mountains decades ago.
Perhaps she had believed that Meng Chixin was also partly to blame for her husband's death.
Perhaps, although she hated the part of mischievous fellows in the six major sects, she had inherited her husband's will after all and assumed the responsibility as a representative for the Cultivators of the central plateaus!
In those decades, united under the invincible Meng Chixin, the Dark Cloud Prairies had witnessed a quick expansion of capabilities. Its rise had seemed unstoppable.
If she could not suppress the momentum, perhaps Meng Chixin would have fulfilled his destiny to change the world, and Han Baling would already have been spared of the trouble!
In the entire Ancient Sages Sector, Meng Chixin and Wu Suiyun had been the only two Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators, and they had been on different sides.
Their collision had been inevitable!
Their battle had taken place in the depths of the Land of Eternal Night.
Nobody knew the outcome of the battle. They only knew that, after ten days and ten nights of tempests and snowstorms, Wu Suiyun and Meng Chixin had both vanished on the snow field, never to be heard from again. That was… until they showed up in front of everyone side by side as two mysterious spectral Cultivators!
"Master, what happened? Why did you not send me any messages in the past hundred years if you did not perish?" Han Baling asked respectfully. Although his attitude was friendly, his tongue was still sharp. It was obvious that he did not lose his wariness just because of his master's identity.
The guy was his master, but so what?
Anything could happen after a hundred years had passed!
Qi Zhongdao also took a deep breath and, frowning, asked Wu Suiyun calmly, "Sister Wu, Meng Chixin is the greatest trouble of the Great Qian Dynasty. Why are you fighting side by side with him? Also, you have been hiding inside the Cloud Qin Gold Statue. Did you for
esee our arrival?"
Chapter 1505: The Real Deities' Realm! |
Wu Suiyun looked at Meng Chixin and casually replied, "Now that the two of us have decided to show up in front of everyone in our real appearance, we will of course tell you everything that has happened in the past hundred years and the world-threatening crisis that the Ancient Sages Sector is faced with. That is the only way that we can work together to weather through the troubled times!
"I believe that you will understand that it was perfectly normal for us to let go of our grudges and conflict and fight side by side after you listen to our explanation."
Pointing at 'Deity Raincloud', who had been constrained by more than ten different barriers by Qi Zhongdao and other super Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, she said, "Regardless of whether or not she is a 'deity', she wasn't wrong about one thing. After you truly perceive the existence of the deities' realm and how vast it is, you will discover that the love and hatred of the mortal world are absolutely meaningless. They are not worth quibbling over at all.
"Not just Meng Chixin and I, you should all let go of your grudges with each other!"
Everybody was exclaiming after hearing that.
"Quibbling?" Qi Zhongdao demanded angrily. "Sister Wu, what do you mean? Is the hundred-year contradiction between the Great Qian Dynasty and the Ghost Qin, which can turn the world upside-down, just 'quibbling'?"
Han Baling widened his eyes and stared at Meng Chixin, asking solemnly, "Master, what has happened in the past hundred years? You were the Wolf God on the prairies and considered it your responsibility to overthrow the Great Qian Dynasty and make the prairies rise!"
Qi Changsheng and Wan Mingzhu shrieked simultaneously, "Letting go of the hatred and grudges with those sanctimonious, corrupt guys? Impossible!"
"Stop flattering yourselves!" Ba Xiaoyu the Beggar grimaced and spat at Qi Changsheng and Wan Mingzhu. "Nobody has agreed to let anything go yet. Come on. Settle the rules first. This beggar is ready for a game at any time!"
"Exactly!" Emperor Phoenix gnashed his teeth. His eyes were bloodshot as he glared at Han Baling, Qi Changsheng, Wan Mingzhu, Wang Xi, and Meng Chixin. He clenched his fists and shouted, "I will certainly not pardon any of you. Whoever intends to lay a finger on the territory of the Great Qian Dynasty will be blown into smithereens and obliterated into nothingness!"
"Your Majesty, you might want to shut your mouth." Holding her arms, Long Yangjun leaned against the enormous foot of a Colossus and remarked sarcastically, "Adults are talking about national affairs here. I believe that given your juvenile attitude, Your Majesty, it will be better if you just listen while you are standing there."
"You—" Emperor Phoenix was almost going to devour Long Yangjun in one mouthful without adding any condiments.
The super Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators of the two sides immediately summoned all their flames of spiritual energy, which released cracking noises and explosions.
The temporary alliance formed because of Deity Raincloud's unexpected arrival immediately fell apart. The situation could not have been more chaotic!
Li Yao complained in his heart. It was not going to work out that way!
Glancing around, he noticed that Yan Liren was as calm and as indifferent as before.
He could not help but feel relieved. Thankfully, somebody there was still cool and rational.
Then, he suddenly heard Yan Liren's discrete message. "Fellow Cultivator Spiritual Vulture, the two Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators seem to have lost their bodies and ended up as spectral Cultivators. Their Cultivation has certainly plummeted, and it is impossible for them to maintain the peak state of the Divinity Transformation Stage!
"Do you think that there is a slim chance that I can slay the two of them at the same time if you distract their attention for a moment?"
"…" Li Yao.
"If I may interrupt…" Other than Li Yao and Yan Liren, Master Bitter Cicada had kept his tranquility. He bowed to Meng Chixin and Wu Suiyun and said, "I am a monk that has barely anything to do with the mortal world, and I don't have many grudges with anyone here. However, according to what you just said, Fellow Cultivator Wu, does the deities' realm really exist?"
It was indeed a critical question that immediately calmed down the simmering situation.
Yes. The conflicts and grudges between them could not be resolved anytime soon, but the existence of the deities' realm and the deities concerned everybody's future.
Also, Wu Suiyun and Meng Chixin were talking about the world-threatening crisis that the Ancient Sages Sector was faced with. What was that all about?
"Of course, the deities' realm exists. This 'Deity Raincloud' of mysterious backgrounds is some sort of deity, too."
Meng Chixin looked around with his tiger-like eyes, instantly suppressing the whole area with his daunting aura. All the Core Formation Stage Cultivators and the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators felt like they were soaked in a surging flood. They had an irresistible feeling and forgot their hostility with each other for a moment.
"However," Meng Chixin said unhurriedly, "the so-called deities' realm and deities may not be a world that is 'above' the Ancient Sages Sector, as we imagined in the past, but a boundless new world that envelops the Ancient Sages Sector!"
"A boundless new world that envelops the Ancient Sages Sector?"
All the locals of the Ancient Sages Sector were greatly surprised. Looking at each other in bewilderment, they were hooked by the fresh theory.
Li Yao and Long Yangjun glanced at each other thoughtfully while nobody around was looking.
He secretly felt lucky that he had been calm enough when he discussed the plans with Long Yangjun and he did not expose his trump card.
The two Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators had both guessed the existence of the world beyond!
Also, considering their cruelty and ruthlessness when they dealt with the locals who were not loyal to the Ancient Sages Sector and 'Deity Raincloud' who was apparently a female agent of the Imperium of True Human Beings, it was obvious that they were highly hostile to 'aliens'.
If Li Yao had exposed the secret that he was actually from a foreign land, he would have been tied up and ended up a slave at their mercy like Deity Raincloud did!
"By our rough estimation, the size of the deities' realm is at least ten thousand times larger than the Ancient Sages Sector. The ultimate treasures, the experts, and the powerful forces in the deities' realm are beyond our imagination, too!" Meng Chixin smiled bitterly.
"This 'Deity Raincloud' here will be our first clue. She was on her own, yet she was already capable of manipulating a prince of the Great Qian Dynasty as her puppet. She even supported the prince to take the crown and nearly overturned the entire Ancient Sages Sector!
"One 'deity' is enough to cause such dire consequences. Did I exaggerate when I said that we are faced with a world-threatening crisis if ten, a hundred, or even a thousand deities arrive at the same time?"
Everybody was greatly alarmed, as if somebody had poured a bucket of cold water on them. Their ecstasy from capturing 'Deity Raincloud' vanished.
Yes. Deity Raincloud was by herself, but she certainly had her backers. How enormous was the force hiding behind her exactly? Could the Ancient Sages Sector resist it?
Wu Suiyun sighed softly and said, "If the Ancient Sages Sector can be compared to an island, the deities' realm that envelops us is a boundless ocean!
"If the Ancient Sages Sector can be compared to a mouse, the deities' realm is a ferocious beast that's hundreds of meters long, and we are nothing more than the lice on the mouse!
"In the past, you all thought that the Ancient Sages Sector was a unique existence in the entire universe. It is all there is. To fight for control over the world, endless conflicts and contradictions have been raised!
"However, what if I tell you that the Ancient Sages Sector is but an insignificant corner in the entire sea of stars, and thousands of more worlds exactly like th
e Ancient Sages Sector are out there? Some of them are a hundred times larger and more mysterious than the Ancient Sages Sector and have a hundred times more spiritual energy. The 'deities' living in those worlds can crush us with absolutely no trouble at all!
"Then, what's the meaning of our competition?
"We are like crickets raised in a jar who have been fighting life-and-death battles against each other for insignificant rice and water, while the unimaginable deities and devils outside of the jar are watching our 'performance' in their boredom. That is the meaningless hatred among us!
"Meng Chixin and I spent decades understanding that before we let go of all the hatred and grudges. When the real picture of the universe was unfolded in front of us, the hatred and grudges of the past became hilarious and not worth mentioning at all. There is only one thing that is worth us, and you, pursuing, fighting for, and realizing!"
Li Yao took a deep breath and stepped forward. He stared at the two Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators, his eyes glittering. "What is it?"
"Survival," Meng Chixin said solemnly. "How to make us and our Ancient Sages Sector survive in the middle of the perilous, enigmatic deities' realm!"
"Qi Zhongdao, Han Baling, Ba Xiaoyu, Qi Changsheng, Master Spiritual Vulture…" Wu Suiyun voiced the names of the Three Saints, the Four Rapscallions, Li Yao, and Master Bitter Cicada. Then, after pondering for a moment, she turned her eyes to Emperor Phoenix and asked, "Are you the incumbent emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty? Although your Cultivation and your determination are slightly lower, you are deeply associated with the deity. So, we'll simply count you in!
"The ten of you are probably the top ten experts with the highest Cultivation and the vastest forces in the Ancient Sages Sector today. Just now, according to the secret observation of Meng Chixin and I, you were strongminded enough to not be enchanted by the 'deity', and you knew the importance of letting go of your previous grudges and fighting against a common foe when you were faced with a crisis!