Divine Treasury, Lu Territory.
“Though the people of Lu Territory are called a clan, and their hierarchy is fairly simple—their ruler is only an earl—they can no longer be described as merely a Tribe. They already have the beginnings of a state.”
Inside the magnificent Divine Temple, Dianyunzi, Gao Bai, Lu You, and Chen Jiao sat cross-legged on separate Golden Light platforms, listening to a man speak in the center of the Hall.
The man looked to be in his forties. He had a long beard, wore flowing robes, and always had a faint smile on his lips. With one hand, he pointed at the vaulted ceiling; with the other, he pointed beyond the Divine Temple. “Once a state has taken shape, you need only enter its national temple and become the faith of its people. Then you can wield Authority over Heaven and Earth.”
Gao Bai frowned. “Lord Ruan, if we use divine power to seize Authority over a state, the Underworld Office will surely punish us.”
Lord Ruan smiled. “There is something you do not know, Lord Gao. We are inside the Divine Treasury. You have been here five years; surely you have noticed by now. Rather than a Divine Treasury, this place resembles a fragment of history. By the reckoning of time, it corresponds to the end of Primordial Antiquity, when gods and humans were nearing the end of their age of living side by side!”
Chen Jiao could not help asking, "Could this really be the past?"
“This is certainly not the past!” The answer came not from Lord Ruan, but from Lu You. He, too, wore a faint, composed smile. “At most, we can call it a Secret Realm resembling the past.”
“And an enormous Secret Realm at that!” Lord Ruan glanced pointedly at Dianyunzi.