After Harry led Lin Tian and the other two out of the palace, he said kindly to Porter, "Porter, take Lin Tian and Laun back to their residence first. Remember to bring Lin Tian to see me tomorrow. I'll assign this child a residence on Fire God Mountain. This is a benefit every Saint Domain expert of the Leo line can enjoy."
Porter answered respectfully, "Yes, Father."
Porter then led Lin Tian and Laun toward the mountainside. Along the way, he patiently explained, "In order to strengthen the cohesion of the Leo line, the ancestor decreed that every Saint Domain expert who joined the Leo line would be assigned a residence on Fire God Mountain. Once members of our Leo Family reach the Saint Domain, they too will receive a new residence here."
Lin Tian looked puzzled and could not help asking, "Grandpa, what exactly is the benefit of being assigned a residence? Why is it considered a perk?"
Porter smiled at Lin Tian and said slowly, "Lin Tian, cultivating in the Saint Domain is extremely slow if you shut yourself away and work alone. Cultivating profound mysteries requires drawing inferences from one thing to another. Perhaps an exchange with others, a single demonstration of a profound mystery, or even an offhand remark from someone else can give you new insight. Think about it—how many Saint Domain experts gather on Fire God Mountain? Moreover, at the ancestor's command, every Lower God on Fire God Mountain must spend one week every ten years answering the questions of the Saint Domain experts here. The ancestor himself answers everyone's questions for one day every ten years. That is why residences on Fire God Mountain are such a benefit to Saint Domain experts."
Lin Tian and Laun exchanged glances, and their admiration for Leo I rose naturally within them.
Lin Tian secretly pondered. In the descriptions of Coiling Dragon, the only expert willing to meticulously guide others in cultivation was Qinghuo, who had just emerged from the Plane Prison. Other experts generally viewed the weak as ants. It was already fortunate if they did not kill them on a whim.
As they walked, Porter suddenly stopped and pointed at a small courtyard ahead. "Laun, this will be your residence on Fire God Mountain. When you agreed to join the Leo line as a Saint Domain expert, I applied for it on your behalf. As for Lin Tian, since he only reached the Saint Domain today, there hasn't been time to apply yet. He'll stay with me tonight. Tomorrow, you can rest or look around the mountainside. Other than other people's residences, there are no restrictions on Saint Domain experts anywhere else. I'll take Lin Tian to see my father and arrange a residence for him."
Lin Tian and Laun looked at the residence. It was merely a small courtyard, vastly different from Laun's manor outside the imperial palace. Yet Laun showed no dissatisfaction, because he discovered that all the nearby courtyards were about the same size.
Curious, Lin Tian asked, "Grandpa, if every Saint Domain expert only has a courtyard this small, then how many Saint Domain experts are there here?"
Porter smiled as he explained, "Our Leo line has roughly five or six hundred Saint Domain experts. Fire God Mountain originally could not accommodate so many people. According to legend, Leo I personally expanded Fire God Mountain using divine power."
Lin Tian was startled. He silently calculated: Five or six hundred Saint Domain experts, and that was only the number within the Leo line. Adding the other two Empires, the independent forces that had not joined the Three Great Empires, and the magical beasts' Saint Domain experts, would the total number of Saint Domain experts across the entire Maya Continent not exceed two thousand? That was far more than on the Yulan Continent. Right, didn't the Maya Continent have a Plane Guardian?
Thus, Lin Tian deliberately put on a confused expression and asked, "Grandpa, Saint Domain experts can obtain limitless lifespans, but has the Maya Continent only produced this many Saint Domain experts after developing for so long? Isn't that rather few?"
Porter and Laun exchanged a glance. Their eyes seemed to be communicating: Didn't you tell him about this before?
Laun helplessly rolled his eyes at Porter, then said to Lin Tian, "Lin Tian, before you reached the Saint Domain, there were indeed some things that were inconvenient to tell you. That is why you have these questions. No one can determine how long the Maya Continent has existed. If every Saint Domain expert had remained on the Maya Continent, this continent would probably have been unable to bear the burden long ago. The Maya Continent is a Material Plane. Above it are seven Divine Planes and the Four Supreme Planes. At the Extreme South Sea, there is an island with teleportation arrays leading to the seven Divine Planes and the Four Supreme Planes, guarded by a guardian. Most Saint Domain and Deity-level Experts, when they encounter a bottleneck in cultivation within the Maya Plane and cannot break through for a long time, venture to the seven Divine Planes and the Four Supreme Planes. According to the Plane Guardian, the cultivation conditions in those seven Divine Planes and Four Supreme Planes are vastly superior to those in a Material Plane."
Lin Tian pretended to understand, then pressed on, "Teacher Laun, do many people from the Maya Continent go to those planes? And do they return after going there?"
After thinking for a moment, Laun replied, "Naturally, quite a few go. After all, everyone wishes to improve their strength in a better cultivation environment. As for whether they return, I don't know. But as far as I know, some who had been stuck in the Saint Domain for a long time went to the seven Divine Planes and the Four Supreme Planes in search of a way forward, yet not a single one has returned."
Porter interrupted from the side, "Cultivation depends on one's talent. If your talent and opportunities are insufficient, then even if you go to places with better cultivation environments, such as the seven Divine Planes and the Four Supreme Planes, you still will not improve much. And the better the cultivation environment, the more experts there will certainly be. You are different, Lin Tian. With your talent, you can reach a new height even in a Material Plane. For now, don't consider going to the seven Divine Planes and the Four Supreme Planes. First realize your potential. Laun, go in and rest. I'll take this brat away first." With that, he led Lin Tian onward.
Watching this, Laun nodded thoughtfully, then muttered to himself, "It seems Saint Domain experts cannot venture into the seven Divine Planes and the Four Supreme Planes after all!"
After Porter led Lin Tian some distance away, he said to the puzzled Lin Tian, "What I'm about to tell you cannot be revealed to anyone other than the Saint Domain experts of the Leo Family—not even Laun."
Lin Tian asked in confusion, "Why? Isn't Teacher Laun also a Saint Domain expert of the Leo line?"
"This matter was passed down by the Leo Ancestor. He said that the three Mid-Gods had reached an agreement with the Plane Guardian. It may be disclosed to members of the three Mid-Gods' families, but it is a secret that cannot be revealed to anyone else outside the three great families," Porter said solemnly.
Porter's serious demeanor infected Lin Tian as well. Afraid that he was about to hear something momentous from Porter, Lin Tian's expression became extremely solemn too.
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