Chapter 255: Reigning Over the World (24)

Outside the hall, the Demonic Path cultivators stood rooted to the spot, their gazes lingering on the two figures stepping into the ancestral hall.

The few words exchanged between the two Deity Transformation cultivators had been vague and cryptic, yet they were enough to put the Nascent Soul experts on high alert. They sensed a heaven-shaking upheaval approaching the Heavenly Abyss Sea, one likely tied to the rumored Blood Demon that had once plagued the realm.

Committing this to memory, the cultivators began making their own preparations. They needed to stabilize their sects and guard against any territorial anomalies ahead of time, securing at least a sliver of a chance at self-preservation when the great chaos descended.

Inside the ancestral hall, the atmosphere was solemn and heavy.

Jiuyou took the seat of honor while Hongce settled into the guest seat. The two Deity Transformation cultivators sat across from each other in silence. Their auras were completely withdrawn without a single ripple, yet they naturally exuded a towering bearing that seemed to encompass heaven and earth.

Hongce slowly broke the silence. His voice was low and distant, carrying the weathered weight of ages.

"Back in Ganzhou, I already exchanged messages with four of our fellow Daoists. Myriad Manifestations and Xichen have set out; their true bodies are hurrying back to the Inner Sea of the West Sea. Once they wrap up their mundane affairs, they will arrive in the Heavenly Abyss Sea within a year or two. Yuan Huang has been in seclusion for a long time, but his emergence is imminent. As for Bai Xuanyi, he is already approaching our borders as we speak."

Before he even finished speaking, the two men sensed something simultaneously and raised their eyes toward the sky outside the hall. A clear, distant strand of Divine Sense pierced through the air—steady and drawn out. It was the unmistakable Dao rhyme of Bai Xuanyi.

Jiuyou sent a telepathic message to the Nascent Soul guard outside, ordering him to welcome the guest according to protocol. He then withdrew his gaze and looked at Hongce, his tone flat but laced with probing intent.

"Fellow Daoist Hong, when all of you joined forces to suppress the blood fog menace back then, did you uncover the Blood Demon's true origins?"

Hongce shook his head slightly, his eyes turning heavy as he recalled the ancient past.

"I lack the ability to peer into its true origins. Back then, our group of Daoists merely arrived at the right time. Taking advantage of the Blood Demon's initial awakening before its power could fully recover, we borrowed the might of your Heavenly Abyss Sea's supreme treasure, the Demon Purification Platform, to barely manage suppressing it in the Abyss of Return."

"Fragmented ancient records note that when this demon first descended upon our world, it tore the firmament apart with its bare hands, ripping open a spatial rift that stretched for ten thousand li. A massive amount of the world's origin spiritual qi bled away into the void, triggering endless cataclysms. More than a dozen ancient Deity Transformation experts joined forces and waged a bloody war that lasted for years. Several top-tier cultivators fell in combat, paying a tragic price just to barely seal it away."

He paused slightly, his eyes flickering with thought as he revealed a hidden secret.

"Rumor has it that what sealed the Blood Demon wasn't a formation or a restriction. It was a peerless artifact forged by smelting countless spirit treasures together. It formed its own prison dimension, trapping the demon so completely that escape was impossible. That artifact... is Tianyuan Mountain."

"And it was precisely that ancient cataclysm that thoroughly shattered the foundation of our world. The world's spiritual qi has waned day by day, the laws of the Great Dao have grown fragmented and weak, and the spatial barriers are riddled with holes and incredibly fragile. The ascension pathway left behind from ancient times was swept up and annihilated by the chaotic spatial currents of that era, vanishing without a trace. Later generations of cultivators have exhausted their entire lives searching for it, only to turn up entirely empty-handed."

Hongce sighed softly, highlighting the stark contrast between ancient and modern cultivation.

"The ancient laws were complete and stable. Back then, although Deity Transformation cultivators couldn't harness the spiritual qi of the world for their own use, nor could they easily shatter the void, they were deeply favored by the Heavenly Dao. They were guaranteed a lifespan of three thousand years, and their divine abilities were in no way inferior to those of our realm today. In contrast, even though modern Deity Transformation cultivators like us can manipulate the mighty forces of heaven and earth and roam freely across the realm, our lifespans are capped at a mere two thousand years. The deficit of the Great Dao is plain to see."

"A lifespan of three thousand years."

Jiuyou repeated the phrase in a low voice. A faint trace of surprise flickered in his eyes, but it was instantly swallowed back into their deep, pool-like depths without a single ripple. The disparity between ancient and modern eras, the hidden truth of the fragmented Heavenly Dao—it was all quietly verified in this moment.

A profound silence fell over the great hall.

Just as the two men were deep in thought over these ancient secrets and the looming threat of the Blood Demon, the sound of steady footsteps echoed from outside. Unhurried and calm, the sound pierced the solemn tranquility of the ancestral hall.

A weathered, peaceful voice drifted into the hall, breaking the silence.

"To be chatting and discussing the Dao here... you two fellow Daoists certainly are in high spirits."

Bai Xuanyi strolled into the hall. As all three men were Deity Transformation peers, they simply offered each other slight nods in calm greeting.

Once Bai Xuanyi had comfortably settled into a side seat, the atmosphere in the hall grew heavy once more. Jiuyou raised his eyes and spoke, his tone even but laced with a desire to consult.

"You arrived at the perfect time, Fellow Daoist Bai. Hongce and I were just discussing the history of the Blood Demon. This matter is of grave importance. If you know any hidden details, I ask that you speak without reservation. If we Daoists share what we know, we will have a greater chance of success and fewer unpleasant surprises when we finally confront this creature."

Bai Xuanyi nodded slightly, his expression serene, as if he had fully expected this inquiry.

"My knowledge regarding this demon is equally limited. What Brother Hong just shared are well-known events recorded in Ganzhou's ancient records; they can hardly be called secrets. When we moved to suppress it back then, it was nothing more than a mass of blood-colored mist that had barely taken human form. Its true body had not yet manifested, and it was still transitioning out of its slumber. That was the only reason we managed to seize the opportunity and temporarily seal it away."

He changed the subject slightly, voicing a theory he had harbored for years. His words carried profound implications.

"The world calls it the Blood Demon, but to me, it felt more like a human—yet not quite human either. By my estimation, its true cultivation has likely long since reached the Peak Deity Transformation stage. It's only because no one has ever seen its true face throughout the ages that the world has erroneously labeled it a demonic beast. After all, if that thing were truly human, it should have passed away from old age tens of thousands of years ago."

"But these speculations are minor details," Bai Xuanyi said, returning to the main point with a solemn gaze. "The true crux of the matter is that broken ancient spatial pathway."

Before he even finished speaking, a warm golden glow surged from his palm, forming into a radiant jade slip that drifted slowly toward Jiuyou.

"This is a compilation of all the intelligence Old Hong and I have gathered on the Blood Demon, compiled from years of scouring ancient records and our own personal experiences. Feel free to take a look, Fellow Daoist. Our goals align. When it comes to a matter that concerns our very survival, there is no need for you to keep your guard up against us."

At this, Bai Xuanyi raised his eyes slightly, a probing glint hidden within them.

"Though, I am rather curious. When you ventured into the Mount Tianyuan Mystic Realm alone back then, what exactly did you encounter inside?"

Jiuyou raised his hand and received the glowing jade slip. His Divine Sense swept over it, committing its entire contents to memory. He closed his eyes and pondered for a moment, tracing back the myriad experiences of his foray into Tianyuan Mountain nine hundred years ago. Stripping away the superfluous and isolating the critical details, he slowly recounted the events of that time.

The three old Deity Transformation monsters, each having lived for over a millennium, sat within the ancestral hall and shared their secrets without reservation. Together, they pieced together the fragmented clues of the past, verifying the details of the Blood Demon, the ancient cataclysm, and the crumbling spatial barriers one by one.

Once they had thoroughly exchanged their secrets, Hongce and Bai Xuanyi did not linger. The two stood, cupped their hands, and took their leave. Their immediate destination remained unknown. Whether they were heading to the Mount Tianyuan Mystic Realm to inspect the entrance or roaming the realm to observe the shifting of heavenly secrets, no one could say for sure.

In the blink of an eye, Jiuyou was left sitting alone upon the seat of honor in the vast Cinderless Ancestral Soul Main Hall.

The great hall fell perfectly silent, solemn and empty.

Jiuyou sat quietly with lowered eyes, sinking deep into his own thoughts. One by one, he began to sort through and review all the intelligence he had gathered today, analyzing the others' speculations alongside the ancient secrets.

The Blood Demon's true body, the broken pathway, the ancient Deity Transformation cultivators, the fragmented laws of this world... Countless clues intertwined in his mind, faintly allowing him to brush against the hidden rift that had been buried within this world for ages.