“Five thousand years ago, demons ravaged and preyed on humans. Our human cultivators paid an immense price to finally suppress them. However, we never expected another race to emerge at this time.” Xue Daoguang seemed to know Ye Yun’s thoughts and spoke with ease.
“The Divine Race! Is that right?” Ye Yun inquired.
“Partly right, partly wrong! To be precise, it was a united front of three major races: the Divine Race, the Feather Race, and the Immortal Race, collectively known as the Celestial Race! They learned from the lessons of the demon and fiend races and began to scout for talent among humankind, teaching them cultivation methods, attempting to overthrow the rule of human kings.”
“However, humankind, having endured the war five thousand years ago, had long forged a collective belief, and this collective belief was…”
Xue Daoguang paused here, then stated two words with solemnity.
“Human King!”
Boom…
Upon hearing these two words, Ye Yun felt like thunder struck him. He suddenly recalled the title he had obtained in ‘Heaven’s Dao’!
“The Human King became the supreme being among humans, allowing humanity to stand eye-to-eye with other races! To achieve this, humankind gathered the hearts and blood of millions, finally creating our human sacred city – Chaoge!”
The heavy blows came one after another, making Ye Yun’s head spin.
At this point, Xue Daoguang suddenly stopped. The entire cave fell into a heavy silence.
Ye Yun and Zhang Junbao already knew the rest of the story. Those cultivated by the Celestial Race successfully sowed discord among humans. After the ones cultivated by the Celestial Race successfully seized power, they recognized Heaven as their father and pledged allegiance to Heaven!
This led to a situation where, regardless of dynastic changes, rulers always referred to themselves as the Son of Heaven!
Heaven as the Father, and humans as the sons! From then on, humans lived under the Celestial Race, becoming their vassals, offering up the accumulated destiny of humanity for millennia. Thus, no one in the world cultivated immortality, and they were reduced to relying on physical strength and intellect, eventually only possessing intellect.
“You may rise now!” A halo of light lifted Zhang Junbao, allowing him to stand aside.
“Senior, did those who conferred the gods back then truly ascend to the Heavenly Realm?” Ye Yun’s heart stirred.
“How could that be? Towards the end of the God Conferral era, all cultivators were conferred titles by the Father of Shang and ascended. Unfortunately, they did not know that they were not ascending to the Heavenly Realm, but to the Immortal Realm, which is a sort of prison, a self-contained realm for self-reflection,” Xue Daoguang’s words were startling.
The Immortal Realm! Not only was it not the Heavenly Realm, but it was also a prison that formed its own world?
Ye Yun and Zhang Junbao gasped.
They never imagined that this world held such a secret! This was completely different from what history and mythology described!
“Senior, if what you say is true, then you are not cultivators of immortality, nor could you be cultivators of divinity. Then what do you cultivate?” Ye Yun was suddenly puzzled.
“Us? Hehe, we Daoists cultivate the True Way!” Xue Daoguang said with a slight smile.
Cultivating the True Way!
Combined with history and ‘Heaven’s Dao’, Ye Yun’s mind gradually constructed images, from the Primordial Era to the ancient mythical era, and then from the God Conferral era to the present.
“Senior, you said this demon cave was discovered four thousand years ago, and you said this is Shennongjia. Then why could we reach here from a cave in the United States?” Zhang Junbao asked at this moment, standing quietly like a disciple.
“Hehe, this spatial node was discovered by the first generation ancestor of our Southern Sect. When this node was discovered, the God Conferral had already passed. However, the First Ancestor still found that demonic creatures occasionally entered our realm through this node. Thus, the Southern Sect was established, guarding this place for generations.”
“Twelve hundred years ago, I succeeded as the leader of the Southern Sect. As my end approached, I opened the Heavenly Secrets and divined that my successors would be unable to hold the fort. Therefore, I set up the teleportation array and the demon suppression array. This is what you see now.”
“Now, the energy I left behind is dwindling. I never expected our human race to have such an opportunity, nor to encounter a genius like you. Are you planning to enter the Demon Realm this time?”
Xue Daoguang looked at Ye Yun and the ‘Heaven’s Dao Ring’ on his finger, smiling. Even Ye Yun noticed that this fellow seemed to have a special feeling towards him.
“If we hadn’t arrived here this time, what would the situation be?” Ye Yun frowned.
“Demons would descend, and demonic creatures would run rampant! Humanity would be decimated, surviving only in ones and twos, forever enslaved. However, you have come. I believe that with your strength, you can enter the Demon Realm and cause enough chaos to greatly delay their full invasion of this place! If we have ten years, I believe humanity, with this encounter, will be able to overcome this tribulation!” Xue Daoguang looked at Ye Yun with hope in his eyes.
“If you enter the Demon Realm, I can accompany you and guide you!”
Xue Daoguang felt a power emanating from Ye Yun that was even stronger than what he possessed in life. It should be noted that he was a True Person in his lifetime! Cultivating the True Way, just below the Mahayana stage, a mere realm away from sublimation into True Divinity, comparable to an immortal.
“Did Senior enter before?” Ye Yun was surprised, seeming incredulous.
“Haha, people of my Southern Sect used to venture into the Demon Realm to slay demons as trials. Unfortunately, my Southern Sect eventually faded into the river of history,” Xue Daoguang laughed heartily.
Ye Yun fell silent, some doubts lingering in his heart. However, on second thought, he had come for the demon cave in the first place, and he never expected that behind the demon cave lay the Demon Realm.
“If I enter the Demon Realm, how long will it take, and can I return?”
“Young friend, rest assured, my Southern Sect used the Demon Realm as a training ground, so naturally, there are many ways to return. If you are still uneasy, allow me to give you something first?” Xue Daoguang saw the hesitation in Ye Yun’s eyes. He gently waved his hand, and a ring detached from the finger of the sitting corpse, hovering before Ye Yun.
“This is the Sumeru Ring I used in life. It contains a small space of its own and a teleportation stone personally crafted by my master. Are you at ease now, young friend?”
Sumeru Ring?!
Ye Yun was stunned.
Zhang Junbao was dumbfounded.
As Chinese people, how many were unaware of such a legendary item? Yet, it had always remained a legend, unseen. There wasn't even a precise description of what it looked like in historical records.
“Old Man Zhang, you go back and keep an eye on the Dragon Palace for me!” Ye Yun didn’t speak, but turned to Zhang Junbao and said.
“General Ye, rest assured, I will definitely look after it for you. You go with peace of mind,” Zhang Junbao said, patting his chest vigorously.
…
You, you’re the one who should go with peace of mind, you old man with such low emotional intelligence!
Ye Yun turned his head, looked at the small black hole, and stepped forward. Xue Daoguang’s phantom image transformed into a beam of light and entered the ‘Heaven’s Dao Ring’ on Ye Yun’s finger.
Instantly, the ‘Heaven’s Dao Ring’ blazed with light…