Chapter 289 - 288: Rainfall at Dragon Lake

One day on Blue Star, three months in the Northern Boundary.

Jiang Qiu hadn’t opened the entrance to the Secret Realm, so he had no idea what was happening on Blue Star. The entrance was currently in a strange, sealed state, as if protecting itself. However, if he wished, he could still use the aura left behind by the True Dragon to forcibly shake the Northern Boundary and open it.

However, that was clearly unwise, and the thought left him feeling deeply unsettled.

So he left a message for Lin Yu and the vice director, informing them he was entering seclusion. They would explore the Northern Boundary, search for a way out, and manage the population of over eight million people. Meanwhile, he would devote himself wholeheartedly to the Refinement of the world around him, forging it into the Dragon Lake.

Creating the Dragon Lake was akin to the Refinement of heaven and earth for personal use. It transformed an area into his personal Realm. To step into that area was to step into his domain. As long as his enemies weren’t overwhelmingly stronger than him, he would have absolute home-field advantage.

Jiang Qiu’s Realm, however, was different. The Cyan Simurgh Palace Cultivation Technique he practiced had granted him the Twin Celestial Realm upon reaching Perfection—a state that, while not a true Realm, possessed some of its characteristics. This was then integrated into ’My Dao,’ which he had inherited from Luo Beixing.

With the fusion of these two vital elements, a strange form of Realm began to unfold on the Northern Boundary Peak. Meltwater from the ice and snow gathered into streams, all flowing toward Jiang Qiu at the center.

Wind blew and snow drifted. Streams gathered into rivers, and rivers flowed into a great sea. Atop Northern Boundary Mountain, the very pillar of the Northern Boundary, a vast lake—large enough to contain an ocean—began to rise. An incessant rain fell from the heavens. Trickles grew into great rivers, and the Human and Demon Races living at the mountain’s base began to disperse, settling along the new tributaries.

The rain fell for three months straight. Suddenly, a Dragon’s Roar echoed from the Northern Boundary Peak. Every member of the Human and Demon Races who heard it shuddered, raising their heads to the sky.

The dark clouds, already a layered, pitch-black mass, grew ten times thicker than before. A torrential downpour seemed imminent.

Thunder rolled, as if to declare that a sacred, inviolable land had welcomed its True Lord. It also seemed to foreshadow a great calamity to come.

"Is Jiang Qiu the one causing this commotion?"

Inside a crude research institute in the central district of the Initial Land, Lin Yu’s heart skipped a beat. He squinted out the window, his expression grave. ’A resonance between heaven and earth... It seems [Chen] caused a similar phenomenon back in Kunlun City. Has he already grown powerful enough to rival the [Chen] of back then so quickly?’

...

The South Mountain Range served as a great natural barrier for the native Human Race of the Northern Boundary. For a long time, the many branch tribes, led by the South Mountain Tribe, had not ventured south across its border. They guarded their ancestral lands vigilantly, daring not to transgress.

However, since the end of the Contest of the Chosen, their lives had hardly improved.

Although the Spirit Charm was reviving and talented Warriors now had a chance to break through to the Jade Sinew Realm—with some even recalling unique Cultivation Techniques that promised advancement to higher Realms—the Demon Beasts deep in the South Mountain Range had also grown stronger. Occasionally, a few Top Tier Demon Beasts at the Jade Sinew Realm would emerge to wreak havoc!

No one knew how many Demon Beasts lurked in the depths of the South Mountain Range. The South Mountain Tribe simply continued to train Warriors to fight them, just as they always had, ensuring the tribe’s legacy would endure.

But on this day, a Dragon’s Roar suddenly echoed from the south, bringing with it a vast expanse of dark clouds that blotted out the sky. The tribespeople fell into disarray, their voices a flurry of anxious chatter.

"A Dragon’s Roar... heavy rain..."

The Young Clan Leader, [Ice], who had already cultivated to the Jade Sinew Realm, paused on the mountainside. He was dragging a carcass taller than he was, and his cold, gray eyes reflected the flickering bolts of lightning.

As the eldest son of the Main Vein Tribe’s direct lineage and the most talented genius in Cultivation since the departure of the Chosen One [Wall], he had inherited a wealth of knowledge from his father, secrets unknown to ordinary tribespeople.

In the ancient history of the Northern Boundary, before the Celestial Profound Great Realm was shattered, there lived a Demon Emperor of the Dragon Race with monstrous talent. He once established a foothold in Central State, the heart of the Human Race’s power. With the ancestors in seclusion, no one could match him.

There were many legends about him. Among the Demon Race, his power was said to be second only to a True Dragon. Even in the remote Northern Boundary, his fame was considerable—a memory carved into their very bloodlines, never to be forgotten.

It was for no other reason than eight words—

Rain from the Dragon Lake heralds a great calamity.

When that Demon Emperor’s Dragon Lake brought rain, dark clouds covered the skies across the Celestial Profound Great Realm. Not long after, the entire Great Realm was shattered—almost as an afterthought—by a True Dragon. The Northern Boundary was subsequently sealed by the ancestors, its Spirit Charm withering away.

Now, with the Dragon’s Roar and the great rain, it was as if they had been thrown thirty thousand years back in time. The bloodline memory of the Dragon Lake’s rain had been awakened!

’Is the Northern Boundary about to face another cataclysm?’

[Ice] took a deep breath. He casually tossed his kill to his attendant Warriors and broke into a run toward the tribe. Whatever happened next, he first had to recall all the tribespeople who were away.

...

Though the North Snow Tribe now numbered only six hundred and no longer had the support of a Witch Priest, its status as a Main Vein Tribe had not diminished.

As the tribe that had produced the "New Ancestor," its status had, if anything, subtly risen. Small, struggling tribes would occasionally seek to merge with them for mutual survival.

As for anyone targeting the North Snow Tribe? That was simply out of the question.

The West Ice Tribe, one of the four Main Vein Tribes, had been single-handedly annihilated by the "New Ancestor." The legendary Chosen One [Fan] from the East Shore Tribe had also instructed his people to maintain friendly relations with North Snow. And the South Mountain Tribe had always been on good terms with the North Snow Tribe, frequently sending their women for marriage alliances.

Besides, that was the tribe that produced the "New Ancestor." How could they not have some hidden trump cards?

What did it mean to be an "Ancestor"? It meant being the powerhouse who broke the seal on the entire Northern Boundary, ushering in an era of reviving Spirit Charm. It meant being the Human Race’s Chosen One who had ascended the Northern Boundary Peak and ended the Contest of the Chosen!

The prodigies of the major Main Vein Tribes had all been fortunate enough to see [Hill] in person, and they regarded him as an object of faith. How could they dare to offend him?

It was said that after the Contest of the Chosen ended, [Hill] personally returned to North Snow and delivered a decree: "Those who become Dharma Image Practitioners may leave the Northern Boundary!"

’Doesn’t that mean [Hill] can enter the Northern Boundary whenever he pleases?’

And so, the radiance of the "New Ancestor" had cut through the long night. From the High Heavens, he looked down upon all living things, causing the scalps of every contemporary who had witnessed his heroic visage to tingle with awe.

At this moment, the people of the North Snow Tribe, who took such pride in their "New Ancestor," were gathered below their Altar. They prayed in silence, led by their clan leader, [Hunt], whose temples were streaked with white as he prostrated himself upon the Altar.

Overhead, a tide of dark clouds rolled in, and Thunder rumbled through the sky.

The bloodline memory of "Rain from the Dragon Lake heralds a great calamity" seared their very Souls, and they all trembled with fear. They were terrified that the new era their "New Ancestor" had worked so hard to forge would come to a sudden, violent end.

This fear was shared by the vast majority.

But as this thought filled the minds of the crowd, a single child clenched his fists. He gazed into the distance, his line of sight leaping over the backs of the adults, over the back of his clan leader, and past the solemn memorial tablets on the Altar.

’Thunder can temper the body, and the waters of the Dragon Lake can hone the Soul. Within this calamity lies an opportunity for endless growth! I want to go south and see the legendary Dragon Lake for myself!’

The child made a silent vow, a resolute light shining in his eyes.

His father was [Pile]. He had come so close to awakening his Talent when the Witch Fragrance finally burned out. Unfortunately, he was a contemporary of [Hill], the greatest Chosen One in the tribe’s history. Filled with regret, he ultimately followed [Hill] and died an unsung hero’s death at the foot of Northern Boundary Mountain.

[Pile]’s long-cherished wishes were all entrusted to his son, whom he named [Tian Ming].

However, the name [Pile] shouted before leaving to meet his death sounded more like "Destiny"...