Night lay like ink over the Blood-Baleful Wasteland. The murky yellow sky of daytime turned starless and moonless after dark, leaving only unending oppression and darkness. A bitter wind howled across the wasteland, whipping up sand and stones with sounds like the wailing of ghosts. The distant cries of unknown ferocious beasts mingled with it, lending the night an even more menacing air.
In a sheltered hollow beneath an enormous rock, a campfire crackled. Its dancing flames drove back a small patch of darkness and cold, offering a rare sense of safety.
This was no ordinary fire. Shi Meng had kindled it with his own pure earth spiritual energy and several pieces of local ore containing faint traces of fire baleful intent. Its pale yellow flames burned fiercely hot, carrying an innate masculine vigor that effectively dispelled the cold, sinister baleful energy pervading the wasteland at night.
Ye Chen and the others sat around the campfire. Lin Qingxue and her two guards—Uncle Chen and Uncle Li—sat a little farther away, looking somewhat reserved and grateful. Under Ye Ling's expert treatment with the Life Law, their injuries had stabilized, and the tainted power of blood baleful energy had been purified. Though their vitality had yet to recover, they were no longer in any serious danger.
Ye Ling was carefully studying a strange herb she had casually gathered along the way. It resembled a withered vine, yet held a thread of vitality within. Shi Meng, meanwhile, tore into a fragrant, charred piece of meat from some unlucky demonic beast that had blundered into their path. Though he complained that the meat was tough and dry and its spiritual energy hopelessly impure, he still ate with gusto. By the campfire's light, Ye Xiaoshan cautiously leafed through several ancient books, occasionally comparing them with the Nameless Fragment tucked against his chest. His brow was tightly furrowed, as though he were wrestling with some difficult question.
Mo Yu concealed himself in the shadows at the edge of the firelight, seemingly nonexistent, yet constantly alert to their surroundings. Ye Yun quietly wiped down his ancient sword, its blade gleaming with a chilling light in the glow of the flames.
As Lin Qingxue watched the people before her, her heart filled with complicated emotions she could scarcely describe. Their strength, their composure, and the pure aura about them, so utterly at odds with this cruel wasteland, left her deeply astonished and curious. Above all, there was Ye Chen, whom they called "young master." He sat there with apparent laziness and ease, yet seemed to be the center around which everyone revolved, unfathomable in his depths.
"Miss Lin," Ye Chen broke the silence, looking at Lin Qingxue calmly. "You said you were a disciple of the Heavenly Sword Pavilion? What sort of standing does the Heavenly Sword Pavilion have in this world? And what are the origins of the Sacred Emperor Palace and the Blood Demon Sect?"
His questions were direct, with no beating around the bush. Since they had decided to travel together for the time being, understanding the balance of power in this world was necessary.
Lin Qingxue drew a deep breath, gathered her thoughts, and answered respectfully, "Young Master Ye, the Primordial World is boundless, and its factions are intricately entangled. But four transcendent powers are universally acknowledged to stand at the very summit."
"The first is the Sacred Emperor Palace. It stands atop Mount Buzhou at the center of the world, ruling over all four directions and nominally representing the rightful authority of the Primordial Wilderness. The current Sacred Emperor possesses heaven-reaching cultivation, and powerful experts gather beneath him like clouds. It's just that..." She paused, her voice growing heavier. "Over the past thousand years, the Sacred Emperor Palace has become increasingly tyrannical. Its harsh rule and heavy taxes, along with its suppression of other factions, worsen by the day—especially toward righteous sects like ours that uphold the ancient teachings."
Ye Chen nodded slightly, signaling for her to continue.
"The second is the Blood Demon Sect. It holds sway over the Blood Sea Demon Region in the west. Its sect master, the Blood Demon Ancestor, practices strange arts, cultivating by devouring the blood and vital essence of living beings. His fearsome reputation is known far and wide, and he is a towering figure of the demonic path. They occasionally clash with the Sacred Emperor Palace, but more often they ravage other lands. Massacring cities and exterminating entire clans are far from rare for them." As Lin Qingxue spoke of the Blood Demon Sect, unmistakable hatred and fear flashed through her eyes. Clearly, the grievances between the Heavenly Sword Pavilion and the Blood Demon Sect ran deep.
"The third is the Netherworld Palace." Lin Qingxue lowered her voice slightly, a trace of wariness entering it. "It is an extremely mysterious organization of assassins whose movements are elusive. It is said that no one has ever seen the true face of its leader, the Nether Emperor. For a sufficient price, they can even assassinate mighty cultivators of the Void Insight realm. No faction wishes to provoke them lightly."
"And the fourth..." Lin Qingxue looked toward Ye Chen, her tone carrying both pride and the bitterness of her present circumstances. "Is my own sect, the Heavenly Sword Pavilion. Located in the Azure Cloud Mountains in the east, it is devoted primarily to sword cultivation and upholds the ancient teaching, 'Keep the sword heart clear and luminous, and protect all living beings.' Our pavilion master, the Lingyun Sword Emperor, is one of the few leaders of the righteous path in the world today. We... we have always sought no quarrel with the world, but in recent years, the Sacred Emperor Palace has repeatedly tried to force us into submission, while the Blood Demon Sect has continually invaded our territories. This time, I was ordered to seek aid elsewhere, but my whereabouts were leaked, and a vassal faction like the Blood Skull Stronghold hunted me down..."
By the end, her voice had begun to choke. Clearly, her sect's situation was dire.
Uncle Chen and Uncle Li also looked sorrowful, lowering their heads in silence.
Ye Chen listened quietly, sketching an initial map of the Primordial World's factions in his mind. A Sacred Emperor Palace that appeared legitimate yet grew ever more brutal, a savage Blood Demon Sect running rampant, a mysterious and inscrutable Netherworld Palace, and a Heavenly Sword Pavilion that held fast to righteousness while teetering on the brink. This arrangement was far more "colorful" than the seemingly peaceful Three Thousand Great Worlds under the Ye Clan's rule.
"Seek aid? From whom?" Ye Chen picked out that detail in her words.
Lin Qingxue wiped the corners of her eyes, trying to steady her emotions. "From the Mystic Maiden Palace, located among the glaciers of the northern reaches. The Mystic Maiden Palace and our Heavenly Sword Pavilion have been on friendly terms for generations, and its master, the Ice Soul Immortal, is also an esteemed expert of the righteous path. But the northern reaches are far away, and getting there requires passing through several dangerous regions as well as territory controlled by the Sacred Emperor Palace, so..."
That was why her journey to seek aid had been so arduous, and why she had nearly lost her life here.
Ye Chen nodded without asking further about the Mystic Maiden Palace. He glanced at Lin Qingxue and suddenly asked, "Miss Lin, you just said that both the Sacred Emperor Palace and the Blood Demon Sect were pressuring the Heavenly Sword Pavilion. Why are they so fixated on your sect? Is it merely to seize your territory?"
A flicker of hesitation crossed Lin Qingxue's face. But remembering that he had saved her life, along with his unfathomable strength, she bit her lip and said softly, "My standing is low, so I do not know the full details. I have only vaguely heard that it seems to have something to do with... the Ancient Ruins. Supposedly, those ruins hold secrets concerning this world's origin, secrets that might even... might even mend the flaws in the Great Dao. And the key to opening the ruins is said to be connected to the Heavenly Sword Pavilion's legacy."
Mend the flaws in the Great Dao?
A sharp gleam flashed through Ye Chen's eyes and vanished. Beside him, Emperor Xuanwu, who looked like an ordinary old man after suppressing his cultivation, also lifted his eyelids slightly.
This matched what he had sensed about the flaws in this world's Great Dao. It seemed the secrets of the Primordial World ran far deeper than appearances suggested.
"I see." Ye Chen betrayed nothing and did not pursue the details of the ruins. Instead, he asked, "In this world's cultivation system, above Void Insight come Mahayana and Tribulation Transcendence? And what lies beyond Tribulation Transcendence?"
Lin Qingxue paused, not expecting Ye Chen to ask this, then answered honestly, "Young master, Mahayana cultivators already rank among this world's strongest. Most elders and sect masters of the various factions are at that realm. As for Tribulation Transcendence... those are legendary figures, few enough to count on one's fingers, such as the Sacred Emperor, the Blood Demon Ancestor, the Nether Emperor, and our pavilion master, the Lingyun Sword Emperor. As for what comes afterward..." She shook her head, looking both uncertain and yearning. "Ancient texts describe ascending to the Immortal Domain and transcending this world. But for countless tens of thousands of years, no one has heard of any mighty cultivator successfully overcoming the tribulation and ascending. In fact... even the Heavenly Tribulation has not manifested for a very long time. Some senior cultivators speculate that the flaws in this world's Great Dao may be precisely what severed the path to ascension."
Ascend to the Immortal Domain? Transcend this world?
Ye Chen and Emperor Xuanwu exchanged a discreet glance, each seeing a trace of understanding in the other's eyes. It seemed this world's upper limit had indeed been sealed shut. The so-called ascension to the Immortal Domain might mean breaking out of this world's cage, but clearly no one had managed it.
The campfire crackled, and the night deepened.
This conversation had given Ye Chen an initial understanding of the Primordial World and made him look forward to this journey even more. A world with a flawed Great Dao and depleted resources, where competing factions vied for the secrets of the Ancient Ruins, was the perfect stage for his search for "variables."
He gazed at the leaping flames, his eyes distant.
Perhaps the Ancient Ruins guarded by the Heavenly Sword Pavilion would make a good point of entry.
And at this moment, the fate of the Heavenly Sword Pavilion's female disciple, who was traveling with them for the time being, seemed to have quietly become entwined with his arrival.
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