Chapter 457: The Olden Times of the Myriad Domain

“When did you break through to the origin realm, Jiang Chen?” Dan Chi suddenly asked this random question out of nowhere.

Jiang Chen started, “A few days ago actually. I’ve been solidifying my grasp after my breakthrough all this time.”

In reality, he was holding back the truth.

He’d actually broken through today, and the phenomenon that occurred in the heavens was related to him as well.

Except, this matter was simply too astounding, and so he subconsciously wanted to conceal it.

Dan Chi sighed lightly when he heard this, appearing to have not received the answer he wanted. He wasn’t discouraged however, “Did you see the stunning phenomenon earlier today?”

Jiang Chen grew cautious as he nodded his head. “I saw it from the Precious Tree Garden as well. This disturbance was the reason why I stopped training and prepared to leave.”

His response was flawless.

It wasn’t that Jiang Chen was a dishonest person or that he purposefully wanted to deceive anyone, but that he knew that if he admitted to have caused such a stunning disturbance by merely breaking through to the origin realm, the consequences from his words would cause utter chaos.

He would absolutely become the center of attention if he spoke truthfully.

This was an unwise decision for Jiang Chen. The more he stood in the limelight before he had enough strength to dominate the Divine Abyss Continent, the more dangerous it would be for him.

For a mere origin realm cultivator like him to have caused so much disturbance would certainly elicit the interest of many old monsters, not to mention other things. If anyone became curious and nabbed him for further study, he’d be in great trouble then.

Therefore, he decided to craft a white lie with regards to this question.

The look in Dan Chi’s eyes suddenly became exceedingly deep.

“Everyone, the current situation in the sixteen kingdoms is but the tip of the iceberg. According to my calculations, the Myriad Domain will encounter even more chaos from now on, and rough times possibly await the entire Divine Abyss Continent as well. This may be the arrival of a grand era, or the harbinger of great disaster.”

“Perhaps you might think me to be a bit of an alarmist, but the truth is, the Myriad Domain will certainly fall into chaos within ten years, and the entire Continent will fall into disarray as well.”

Dan Chi’s tone had suddenly become quite grave.

A thought struck Ye Chonglou as he heard these words, feeling that great minds think alike.

He’d spoken similarly in the Precious Tree Sect the other day, mentioning that the territory of the sixteen kingdoms was where the seal of the ancient demons was located.

“Sage Dan Chi, does the disaster you speak of have anything to do with the ancient demon race?” Ye Chonglou plucked up his courage to ask.

Dan Chi sighed. “Not just the demon race. Different races live in great numbers throughout the entire Divine Abyss Continent, split between thousands or even tens of thousands of different factions. From my perspective, I can’t tell what the future of this world will be in the slightest.”

If even an expert at Dan Chi’s level was saying so, that made the others even more apprehensive.

“Jiang Chen, I have been inferring the development of the Myriad Domain everyday for the last twenty years. There is not a single factor that I haven’t considered. You, however, are an unknown factor. I never predicted your appearance, and there is a subtle fortune about you that even I am unable to predict. If the great disaster arrives in the future, then you may be the only one in the Myriad Domain able to break the stalemate.”

“What?” Even the Vice Head Xuan Zhen beside Dan Chi was slightly surprised by his head’s words. “Palace Head, even you are unable to resolve the situation?”

Dan Chi laughed slightly. “Me? Xuan Zhen, although I am proud and have confidence in myself, I am merely the head of a fourth rank sect in the end. When this disaster arrives, even the first rank sects may not be able to remain unscathed, much less me, a mere Dan Chi!”

Everyone felt an immense weight press down on their hearts after these words. Everyone felt a stifling sensation.

Forefather Thousandleaf couldn’t help but ask, “Honored sage, just how strong is a first rank sect?”

“How strong?” Dan Chi’s tone was full of admiration and yearning. “I’m unable to describe how strong they are, but ten Regal Pill Palaces, no, even a hundred may not be enough to contend against a first rank sect. The heavyweights of the first rank sects are all Titled Great Emperors.”

“Titled Great Emperors?” Thousandleaf and Ye Chonglou exchanged glances. They were wholly unfamiliar with this division.

“The emperor realm ranks above the sage realm, and only those at the peak of the former have the right to attempt becoming a Titled Great Emperor. To become a Titled cultivator, one must have two victories over two other Titled cultivators, or have four other Titled cultivators vouch for them in order to receive this title.”

Any of the Titled Great Emperors were lofty personages with unparalleled self-assurance. A group vouching for a candidate was almost impossible.

Therefore, the only way to become a Titled Great Emperor was to defeat two in battle and remain undefeated by them.

“Sage one, how many Great Emperors might there be in the many domains of the Divine Abyss Continent?”

“How many?” Dan Chi shook his head with a wry smile. “Those who are known to the outside world aren’t that many, but the true number of Great Emperors are absolutely not as few as it seems. The lifespan of a Great Emperor is at least three thousand years. Apart from those who have accidentally fallen to death, how many reclusive Titled Great Emperors might there be since ancient times? This is a tough riddle to answer.”

A Great Emperor could live at least three thousand years, at most six thousand. If they grasped more profound secrets to life, it was possible that they could even live beyond ten thousand years.

Therefore, to Titled Great Emperors, the conflicts of the mundane world were often insufficient to peak their interest.

Their pursuit lay in the even more mysterious heavenly law, garnering the ability to cast off their mortal body and peer at the heavenly law, ascending to an even higher stage of life.

The Divine Abyss Continent was as vast as the open seas, the size of its territory was far beyond what Thousandleaf and the others could imagine. Even the numbers of Titled Great Emperors couldn’t be calculated, much less the total number of experts in the emperor realm.

“Setting aside the Titled Great Emperors, experts in the emperor realm are numerous in the Continent. However, there isn’t a single one in the Myriad Domain. With this contrast, it should be enough for all of you to understand the gap between the Myriad Domain and the truly preeminent powers.”

There wasn’t a single emperor realm expert in the Myriad Domain, yet there were plenty in the entire continent.

“Ai, our sixteen kingdoms have always been frogs at the bottom of a well. We’ve always been worried that the various powers in the Myriad Domain would give up on us, but now it looks like that the Myriad Domain is in an equally awkward position in the Continent.”

Ye Chonglou was well-travelled and had seen his fair share of things. If even he was expressing such sentiment, then it was easy to imagine the emotions in the hearts of others.

“The Myriad Domain shouldn’t have been thus. We weathered a catastrophe six hundred years ago, several of our emperor realm cultivators falling at the time. The once mighty Myriad Empire also disintegrated as if a house of cards. From then on, the Myriad Domain was gravely injured and never regained its former glory. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have no emperor realm cultivators at all even if we are just a lower region.”

None in the Precious Tree Sect knew of this old history.

The Myriad Empire?

“This is to say that the Myriad Domain once had emperor realm cultivators?” Ye Chonglou was shocked.

“Naturally. There are more or less a few emperor realm cultivators holding down the fort in other lower regions. The Myriad Domain is the one that’s an anomaly. There are less than a hundred years until the redrawing of the territories that occurs once a millennium. If we do not produce an emperor realm cultivator in the next hundred years, then our downfall will be dreary indeed. We will either be swallowed by others and become their vassals, or we might even be thoroughly split up and lose our title as one of the lower regions.”

Jiang Chen found this a bit hard to believe. “None of the forces in the Myriad Domain have a hidden emperor realm cultivator?”

Dan Chi shook his head resolutely. “Absolutely not. If there was, this expert only needed to step out and raise their voice to rebuild the Myriad Empire and unite us all. We wouldn’t need to worry about losing the title of a lower region even if we don’t restore our past glory.”

“Then it looks like the Sky Sect was betting on this in deciding to make their move in the Myriad Domain, and in such an unbridled fashion as well.” Jiang Chen analyzed.

“Indeed.” Dan Chi nodded. “The various factions of the Myriad Domain now are all trying their best behind the scenes, bringing all their force to bear. Everyone wants to be the first to unite the Myriad Domain, rebuilding the Empire again. It’s a pity that the royal family has been thoroughly exterminated. If any sect boasted of an emperor realm cultivator one day, that sect would have the right to become the protector sect of the nation and would be able to suppress any other faction. Although this isn’t a written rule, everyone privately acknowledges this idea.”

Whoever first boasted of an emperor realm cultivator would have the right to speak, and the initiative to rebuild the Empire!

“Sage one, just what catastrophe did the Myriad Domain experience that year, that the royal clan was exterminated? This is simply a bit too ridiculous, isn’t it?” Ye Chonglou asked out of curiosity.

“Ai, it’s truly the shame of the Myriad Domain. When the Myriad Domain was mighty and proud, the royal sons had likely grown accustomed to doing as they would in the bordering territories. One particular royal son actually used despicable methods to sully a girl as he was traveling the Divine Abyss Continent. However, the girl had a extraordinary identity. She was the sacred daughter of a mid region who was experiencing the mundane world. The ruler of that mid region was enraged that their sacred girl had been violated and declared war on the Myriad Domain. One mid region possesses strength that is at least five times that of a lower region. He gathered the forces of some of his vassals and practically ground the Myriad Domain into the dust. If it wasn't for someone from one of the upper regions speaking out on our behalf, telling them that enough was enough, the entire Myriad Domain would’ve likely been annihilated. Even so, all of the cultivators at the sky sage realm and above were slaughtered, and the entire royal clan exterminated, not even a chicken or dog allowed to live.”

Even though it’d been six hundred years already, the matter still seemed extremely grisly when Dan Chi spoke of it.

The listeners seemed to be able to feel the tyranny and dominance of the mid region faction from Dan Chi’s words, and could almost smell the bloodshed from six hundred years ago.

The slaughter of everyone in the sky sage realm and above, and the extermination of the royal bloodline.

It was likely that all within the Myriad Domain would’ve been razed had the one from the upper region not spoken out.

This incident had always been the shame of the Myriad Domain, and all of the sects happened to act with great accordance in making this part of history taboo, completely sealing off this humiliating memory.

If it wasn’t for Dan Chi, Ye Chonglou and Thousandleaf would’ve had no way of learning about this.