If the Dragon Lord had not been here by chance, Zhang Ruochen doubted he could have survived this ordeal. With the War God Belt alone, how could he possibly withstand the true form of Xiuchen Tianshen?
Zhang Ruochen realised his situation was far more perilous than he had imagined.
“You are the descendant of the Great Venerable and the heir of the Holy Monk. Your identity is too sensitive. The more outstanding you perform, the more uneasy some gods in the Hell Realm will become, and the more dangerous your situation will be,” the Dragon Lord said.
Zhang Ruochen understood clearly that the Dragon Lord was suggesting he return to the Kunlun Realm.
“If you return to the Kunlun Realm, I can take you as my disciple and announce your identity to the gods of all realms. You don’t need to answer me now. Everything can wait until we rescue the Island Lord. If the rescue succeeds, you can return without facing criticism, for you will be the greatest contributor, returning in triumph,” the Dragon Lord said.
Clearly, the Dragon Lord intended to attribute all the credit for rescuing the Island Lord to him, to silence any gossip.
Zhang Ruochen’s heart grew heavy. He nodded, took out the Tianshu Needle, and handed it to the Dragon Lord.
The Dragon Lord took the Tianshu Needle, examining the divine artifact closely. After a while, he pulled out a seven-inch tall, multicoloured, exquisite small tower and tossed it to Zhang Ruochen, saying, “Xiuchen won’t give up so easily. Though his true body and divine source were shattered, no longer as powerful as in the Middle Ages, he is still at the level of a Taixu True God. Ordinary means cannot stop him. This tower contains a trace of my power. Use it cautiously.”
“One of the ten divine artifacts, the Divine Dragon Sun and Moon Chaos Tower,” Xiao Hei screamed, its eyes nearly popping out.
“After rescuing the Island Lord, I will reclaim this tower, and the Tianshu Needle will be returned to you.”
The Dragon Lord grabbed Xiao Hei and dragged it away.
“Help, save me, someone save this emperor,” Xiao Hei cried out, but it was futile. Who would dare challenge the Dragon Lord?
Zhang Ruochen saw that the Dragon Lord bore no ill will toward Xiao Hei, so he did not intervene. Besides, intervening would be pointless.
A figure of the Dragon Lord’s calibre was someone even gods might not be worthy to speak to directly.
The reason he spoke so much to Zhang Ruochen was likely due to his identity as the heir of the Sumo Holy Monk and the descendant of the Immovable Wisdom King, as well as his displayed talent and temperament.
Zhang Ruochen glanced down at the multicoloured small tower in his hand, recalling Xiao Hei’s cry of “Divine Dragon Sun and Moon Chaos Tower.” His scalp tingled, and his heart thundered.
A legendary divine artifact, just casually tossed to him?
What if it was lost?
The tower contained a trace of the Dragon Lord’s power. How strong was it? Could it kill Xiuchen Tianshen?
Zhang Ruochen felt no excitement, only a heavy burden pressing down on him, making it hard to breathe. He thought to himself, please don’t do this. I’m just a Hundred-Shackle Realm Great Sage. Why entrust me with a world-suppressing divine artifact? If it’s stolen, I can’t afford to compensate for it.
The greater the power one wields, the greater the responsibility.
How could a Hundred-Shackle Realm Great Sage bear such a responsibility?
Though the tower held a trace of the Dragon Lord’s power, could he use it?
Of course not.
Before rescuing the Island Lord, the Dragon Lord himself could not act, and his power could not be sensed by the gods of the Hell Realm.
Unless he faced Xiuchen Tianshen again and was in mortal danger, only then could he use it as a last resort.
Zhang Ruochen treated the artifact not as a divine tool but as a fragile egg, carefully storing it away, terrified of dropping it.
It was said that if a divine artifact fell, it could smash through an entire world.
Why, then, did the Tianshu Needle and the Divine Dragon Sun and Moon Chaos Tower seem to lack such immense energy?
…
On a piece of cosmic rock, only Granny Haitang and Zhang Ruochen remained.
“There’s no need to persuade me, Granny. In truth, my mother never told me anything. I chose to stay in the Hell Realm of my own accord,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Granny Haitang’s face was bitter as she said, “Because of those two children?”
Zhang Ruochen was silent for a long time before saying, “Perhaps that’s part of the reason, but, I don’t know why. I just feel that no matter where I am, it’s all the same, filled with killing, darkness, and deceit. What difference is there between the Kunlun Realm and the Hell Realm?”
“That’s how the world has always been, since ancient times, everywhere,” Granny Haitang said. “You’re avoiding something, aren’t you? You don’t dare face Chi Yao.”
Zhang Ruochen didn’t want to discuss this further and said, “Granny, can you tell me what happened eight hundred years ago? Where did my father go? Why did he leave my mother waiting alone in the Endless Abyss for eight hundred years without ever appearing? Was he murdered?”
“Chi Yao said my father was controlled by my mother, turned into a puppet for her to control the Central Holy Empire and the Kunlun Realm. I don’t believe her. I know you must know what happened back then. Don’t lie to me, please tell me.”
Granny Haitang sighed, her aged eyes filled with sorrow. “You’ve grown up. It’s time you knew some things. In truth, no one was wrong. It was the fault of the era, the fault of this great age.”
Granny Haitang, weary, sat down and said, “It all began a hundred thousand years ago, no, even earlier, three hundred thousand years ago.”
“Do you know what the current Heavenly Court Realm was called before?”
“The Holy Realm,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Granny Haitang nodded. “The holy energy of the Holy Realm was dozens of times richer than the current Heavenly Court Realm, with holy veins and divine veins everywhere. Any cultivator from the myriad realms who reached the Half-Saint realm could ascend to the Holy Realm to cultivate.”
“With such an excellent cultivation environment, the Holy Realm gave birth to countless powerhouses, the strongest twenty of whom were known as the Twenty Heavens.”
“The Twenty Heavens maintained order across the myriad realms, deterring the tribes of the Hell Realm. The world was peaceful and prosperous, a picturesque era with countless heroes. For all cultivators who lived through that period, it was likely the most glorious time.”
“But three hundred thousand years ago, a cataclysmic event occurred.”
“The Twenty Heavens united to undertake a great task. With their cultivation, any one of them could sweep through star rivers and shake the cosmos. Together, what could they not accomplish?”
“Yet they failed, and only three returned alive.”
“This had a profound impact on the entire Holy Realm and the myriad realms, marking the end of an era. The Upper Ancient Era ended, ushering in the Middle Ancient Era.”
“Perhaps due to the fall of the Twenty Heavens, or perhaps for other reasons, the tribes of the Hell Realm began to stir, no longer content to remain in the Yellow Spring Star River. Eventually, they launched a world-destroying war.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “The war between the Heavenly Court and the Hell Realm began three hundred thousand years ago?”
“To be precise, there was no Heavenly Court then. It was the Holy Realm and the myriad realms against the Hell Realm. The outbreak of war marked the start of the Middle Ancient Era.”
Granny Haitang continued, “In the early stages of the war, the Hell Realm’s active participants were the Dark Temple, the Nether Clan, the Ghost Clan, the Bone Clan, the Stone Clan, and the Asura Clan. They sought to grow through slaughter and strengthen through death. The Temple of Fate was neutral at the time.”
“Although the Twenty Heavens had fallen, leaving the realms leaderless, the Holy Realm and the myriad realms were still powerful. The Dark Temple and the five clans could not gain an advantage in battle. The conflicts remained localised, not escalating to full-scale war.”
“That is, until the cataclysmic event a hundred thousand years ago.”
Zhang Ruochen listened intently, sensing that what followed would be monumental, no less significant than the fall of the Twenty Heavens.
After all, the Middle Ancient Era ended a hundred thousand years ago.
“That cataclysmic event a hundred thousand years ago nearly annihilated all the worlds in the vast cosmos, nearly wiping out all living beings. I still remember the Kunlun Realm turning into a fireball, the sky ablaze with divine flames for three full months. If not for the efforts of the Heavenly Lord, the Holy Monk, the Island Lord, and the Dragon Lord, the Kunlun Realm might have been destroyed, reduced to lifeless scorched earth.”
Recalling those three months of dread, fearing the world’s end each day, Granny Haitang’s heart grew heavy.
Zhang Ruochen felt shock and oppression. “Who did it?” he asked.
Granny Haitang shook her head.
“What happened after those three months?” Zhang Ruochen asked again.
Granny Haitang looked at him gravely and said, “The Holy Realm, the heart of the myriad realms, was destroyed. Countless gods fell, holy cultivators died in droves, divine temples collapsed, sacred mountains were razed, and divine veins were ruined. The Sealing Platform of the True Domain and Heavenly Domain is one of the few surviving relics.”
Zhang Ruochen felt as though something was lodged in his throat, his heart constricting.
After a long pause, he exhaled and said, “Did the Hell Realm destroy the Holy Realm?”
Granny Haitang shook her head again. “I don’t know. Perhaps only the Dragon Lord and others know the truth, but they’ve never told anyone. But, how could the Hell Realm have destroyed the Holy Realm, as powerful as it was?”
“Some speculate this world-ending disaster was a continuation of the events three hundred thousand years ago, a calamity brought by the Twenty Heavens.”
“If it was related to what the Twenty Heavens did, why did retribution come two hundred thousand years later?” Zhang Ruochen said.
Granny Haitang shook her head once more. “Such profound secrets are likely unknown even to the most powerful gods.”
She continued, “After the great calamity, the myriad realms grew weaker, forced to resist the Hell Realm and prepare for potential unknown enemies. Everyone realised they could no longer be scattered like sand. They had to unite to survive.”
“Under the pressure of internal and external threats, the Heavenly Court was established, led by Haotian, one of the surviving Twenty Heavens.”
“After this calamity, all realms were gripped by fear, sparing no effort to grow stronger.”
“The Holy Monk, the Heavenly Lord, the Dragon Lord, and others, perhaps learning some hidden truth, were awakened. They activated the Sundial to aid the cultivators of the Kunlun Realm in their practice, preparing for the next world-ending calamity.”
“During this period, a monumental event occurred in the Hell Realm.”
“The peace-loving leader of the Yanluo Clan vanished in the Dark Abyss.”
“In the Temple of Fate, the Life God and the Auspicious God, who opposed war, died mysteriously. The war-hungry Death God and Ferocious God took control, falsely accusing the Kunlun Realm’s Ten Tribulations Heavenly Lord and Sumo Holy Monk of killing the two gods.”
“Thus, using the pretext of avenging the two gods and claiming the Kunlun Realm sought to rule the cosmos and destroy the Hell Realm, the Temple of Fate led the ten clans in a retaliatory assault on the Kunlun Realm. The spark was lit, and a full-scale war between the Heavenly Court’s myriad realms and the Hell Realm erupted.”
…
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