Chapter 1883: Tampered Memories

The words of Saint Danzun immediately plunged everyone into a deep, heavy silence.

How could they not have cross-examined this exact point?

Over the past few months since their return, aside from the occasional discussion regarding the allocation of the Saint Blood Bodhi, they had dedicated the vast majority of their intellectual energy to deciphering this precise puzzle.

An entity as blindingly supreme as the God Race could be wiped from reality overnight. To the Human Race, this was similarly an incredibly heavy, ringing alarm bell.

"The matter regarding the God Race is perfectly obvious," remarked Saint Jinyang. "Their Realm Lord grew arrogant and drunk on his own achievements, foolishly believing his individual strength was sufficient to challenge the absolute authority of the Supreme Qingming Alliance. He attempted to usurp their position, and consequently reaped exactly what he sowed."

"This development doesn't have a single bit of relation to our Human Race. There is absolutely no necessity to waste our breath discussing it."

"Perhaps this fire won't manage to cascade down upon the shoulders of the Human Race for several million epochs, but that absolutely does not mean the underlying danger is non-existent," Saint Danzun countered with cold detachment. "What are your actual thoughts? What possible justification could a supreme Realm Lord have to launch an active rebellion?"

"It might fundamentally have nothing to do with a rebellion, but perhaps he simply backed the wrong faction," suggested Saint Wandao.

"High-level political struggles invariably exist within the upper echelons of the Supreme Qingming Alliance. Given our shallow strength, we are entirely incapable of catching even a glimpse of that realm, so we naturally couldn't even begin to understand the nature of their civil wars. The narrative of a rebellion might very well be nothing more than a convenient excuse cooked up by the victors."

Saint Danzun let out a soft, heavy sigh. "During this purge, even an ancient titan like Saint Long was directly interrogated and threatened. Furthermore, our Nether Ruins sector operates directly under Saint Long's jurisdiction. My primary fear is that sooner or later, this fire will cascade down to our own flesh."

"Every entity here had best begin formulating contingency plans ahead of schedule. Even a clever rabbit maintains three distinct burrows. We cannot afford to discard our vigilance simply because the current destiny of the Human Race appears to be flourishing with blazing fire. A race thrives through profound awareness of its vulnerabilities, yet faces total extinction the moment it settles into comfortable complacency," stated Fang Lie calmly. "Currently, the most strategically ideal territory for a race migration would be the exact world previously occupied by the Demonic Beast Race. However, not even the vicious Flame Race managed to pry the precise coordinates of that domain from their lips, let alone our people."

Listening to that, Fang Chen let out a profound, silent sigh of realization. Based on the broader historical timeline, a massive stretch of eras still separated the current era from the eventual event where the Human Race is completely routed and fled the Divine Realm. Right now, the race's fortune was at an absolute zenith, burning like oil tossed onto an open furnace. Yet, the gathered supreme Saints were already actively plotting their ultimate retreat, a display of strategic caution that could not be deemed anything less than masterful.

Only he possessed the absolute historical foresight to know that the Human Race would indeed eventually locate and migrate to the Nine Realms, violently seizing the territories of the Demonic Beasts Race.

However, the humans of this era possessed zero awareness that the Nine Realms, the ancestral domain of the ancient Demonic Race, was actually monitored directly by a Heavenly Dao. Not even the Saint Races of the Divine Realm possessed the authority to launch a formal military conquest against it.

If the Human Race had discovered the Nine Realms during this specific era, they would have been entirely incapable of handling its unique mechanics. Only by entering the Nine Realms after the Human Race had been systematically stripped of every single active Saint would the Heavenly Dao find its hands tied by foundational laws. Because under those conditions, the human survivors were executing a desperate race migration and asylum seeking, rather than an active military invasion or sovereign conquest.

"During that time, the fallen God Race had already mutated into what the post-collapse eras termed the Demon Race, having long been violently purged and driven out of the Divine Realm. This proves that the narrative cooked up regarding the God Race's treason is already set in stone at this exact moment. There exists zero structural possibility of a historical reversal.

Following that, the Heavenly Dao of the Nine Realms would execute a classic 'besiege Wei to rescue Zhao' counter-strategy, attempting to weaponize the fragmented Demon Race to launch a crusade against the humans, purely to allow the native Demonic Beasts Race to reclaim total sovereignty over the Nine Realms.

However, what that Heavenly Dao completely failed to anticipate was that during that exact dark era, a brand-new, independent Heavenly Dao would miraculously manifest from the depths of the Demon Race itself! That unexpected variable caused both entities to engage in a devastating war of attrition, culminating in a mutually destructive stalemate.

Ultimately, the invading Demon Race severely fractured the foundational bedrock of the Nine Realms. But it still failed to drive the Human Race out, while the native faction failed to harvest even a shred of advantage. It was an absolute, three-sided tragedy of mutual destruction.

The specific contingent of the Demon Race that originally descended upon the Nine Realms during that ancient war was highly likely the direct, immediate descendants of the God Race from this exact era. The Supreme Bones woven into their lineages had not yet entirely dissolved into nothingness, which is precisely why they commanded such terrifying, non-human divine abilities. Shattering the Immortal Realm and the Underworld, and nearly punching a hole straight through the mortal layer of the Nine Realms.

Subsequently, the moment that the initial generation of God Race descendants perished in battle, the remaining survivors... mutated into the modern Demon Race encountered in the post-collapse eras, possessing—just like the Human Race—not a single shred of a Supreme Bone left in their bodies. That was precisely why they lacked the strength to resist a minor, lower-tier family operating under the umbrella of the Supreme Qingming Alliance.

That was precisely why they were desperate to execute a total migration into the Nine Realms. That was precisely why they completely lacked the raw military capacity to reclaim the Nine Realms through a direct frontal assault, ultimately resulting in that long, agonizing geopolitical stalemate.

As for the old man and my master... choosing to tread the unique Yang Gods path was likely an absolute, desperate measure born of zero alternatives. They must have already tasted absolute death at least once. Every single true Saint of the Human Race from this era is destined to fall in battle...

While Fang Chen was deeply immersed in his profound historical calculations, those gathered had apparently brought their strategic evaluation of the global landscape to a close. One by one, the magnificent gateways of the Inner Domains dissolved into the void. Soon, only Fang Chen and Fang Lie remained standing within the empty space.

"This Saint Blood Bodhi... I shall temporarily hold and preserve it on your behalf. If you carry a supreme treasure of this tier directly on your person, it will inevitably invite the dangerous calculations of malicious entities," declared Fang Lie. "Once you successfully condense your own Inner Domain and achieve the rank of Half Saint in the future, we can evaluate the situation to determine whether you should consume it. Relying entirely on external medicinal catalysts to force open the Saint gate will invariably leave subtle flaws within your foundation."

Fang Chen murmured after a moment of careful deliberation, "Ancestor Lie, it would actually be far better to give it to me right now."

"Oh?"

Fang Lie's expression shifted subtly, a deep trace of gravity coloring his gaze. "Can you tell me why? Do you believe it is safer in your hands than under my personal protection?"

Fang Chen chose to remain silent. In truth, he had been constantly cross-examining a single, critical question.

What exact nature of existence does this History Immortal Book represent?

Was the Fang Lie standing right before his eyes the literal, historical reality of the man who would eventually be known to the post-collapse eras as Fang Zhentian?

If everything manifested before him was merely a collection of history "recorded" through some unimaginably divine method, why on earth could the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower be physically anchored and concealed within this space? Why was he fully capable of consuming immortal herbs within this echo to successfully elevate his cultivation base?

Fang Lie let out a soft, helpless sigh, breaking the tension. "Forget it, there is no harm if you are unwilling to speak. Back when that entity personally delivered the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower into my custody, they mentioned something. The moment you cultivators from the Reincarnation Immortal Sect choose to depart a timeline, the memories of every single existence who ever interacted with your person will be systematically and thoroughly tampered with. To this very hour, I cannot even definitively establish whether the entity who originally handed the tower to me was a man or a woman."

Fang Chen's face stiffened, greatly surprised. "If that is the case... what do you still remember?"

"I only retain the absolute, unshakeable directive that I must return the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower to its rightful owner. As for whether the tampered memories I remember are genuine historical facts or total fabrications, I have zero desire to investigate, nor am I willing to care. None of those macro-level calculations have anything to do with me."

Having delivered his piece, Fang Lie stepped forward and personally placed the matured Saint Blood Bodhi directly into Fang Chen's hands. "Utilize its properties well."

Fang Chen received the supreme herb with an exceptionally grave expression, safely storing it away into his internal space. With this item secured, his certainty of successfully breaking through the Saint Realm in the future had instantly been elevated by several degrees.

Fang Lie suddenly inquired, his tone casual, "By the way... when exactly are you planning to depart this timeline?"

"I still require a few more decades."

"Mm. If that's the case, I won't be around to see you off personally when the time comes. I have to embark on a long journey out of the realm shortly."

Fang Lie laughed robustly, reaching out to pat Fang Chen's shoulder with deep warmth.

In the next second, a flash of spatial energy erupted, and Fang Chen found himself instantly transported back into the quiet courtyard of his private residence.

Fang Chen fell into thought for a moment before casually gesturing with his hands, weaving an intricate network of supreme restrictive formations. With a single thought, two brilliant, rhythmic halos of light materialized in the air before him.

One halo radiated a dense, blood-red vitality, within which floated a pristine Flesh and Blood Dragon Ginseng. The other halo emitted a soft, magnificent golden luster. The refined essence of an Ancient Immortal Immortal Register, of which Fang Chen had a few others.

"Everything is ready. Once I successfully break through to the seventh transformation, it will officially be the hour of my departure," murmured Fang Chen softly to himself.

Over the next several decades, word systematically rippled through the upper echelons of the Xie Zhi faction that Ancestor Fang Chen had entered into an absolute state of death-seclusion within his private quarters. Even when Fang Ding and Fang Han personally arrived to seek an audience, they were uniformly turned away at the gates by the restrictive formations.

The gathered cultivators dimly deduced that he was likely attempting a direct breakthrough to the seventh transformation realm.

At that precise moment in history, Fang Chen's status within the Xie Zhi Division had reached a level second only to Ancestor Li. Even veteran Limit Breaking ancestors like Fang Qianxue did not necessarily command a higher tier of unshakeable loyalty within the hearts of the common Fang Clan disciples than Fang Chen. After all, they had personally witnessed him fight match after grueling match, tearing through everyone to bring home a historical triumph. He had snatched first place for his own level at Longsheng City.

Because of this historical milestone, the broader human population across the Nether Ruins experienced an immense, surging wave of psychological elevation, their internal drive to practice supreme divine abilities hitting unprecedented heights.

On that specific day, a highly unusual guest arrived at the Xie Zhi faction.

Lang Daochun's distinct, unmistakable God Race features instantly drew sharp, highly alert side glances. The moment a few sharp-eyed veterans recognized him as the peerless genius who had claimed the absolute number-one spot of the ninth transformation realm during the Saint Tower Battles several decades prior, a massive wave of pure shock rippled through the crowd.

"Brother Lang, I am genuinely not spinning any tales to deceive you. Old Fang is currently deep within an absolute state of death-seclusion. If you refuse to take my word for it, you can directly interrogate Fang Han," Wang Chongsong explained, a look of profound helplessness mapping his features.

Lang Daochun snorted icily, a deeply bitter, resentful trace flashing across his dark eyes. "Seeing is believing. How on earth am I supposed to know whether he has simply taken a look at the current pathetic, fallen state of my God Race and decided he is entirely unwilling to deign to meet my face?"

Fang Han opened his mouth, intending to offer a word of diplomatic mediation, but ultimately chose to remain entirely silent. He understood with absolute clarity that the geopolitical standing of the remaining God Race survivors was incredibly awkward and fragile. This was especially true for the peerless genius standing before him, who appeared to be actively fleeing a calculated assassination campaign. If Fang Han spoke out of turn, it would inevitably be misinterpreted as a kick delivered to a fallen titan.