Zhou Yan's words silenced everyone.
For a moment, the atmosphere grew strange and unsettling.
Murong Li and Jiang Ling exchanged glances, but neither spoke.
They were not from the lower realms and did not know what the words "Ancestral Court" meant to these people.
"So..."
Zhou Yan tapped his fan against his palm, breaking the silence. "What I mean is, these Ancestral Courts couldn't have sprung up independently."
"Every lower realm is a separate plane, with its own living beings, its own history, its own cultivators, and its own ascendants."
"In theory, there can be no connection between one lower realm and another."
Everyone nodded.
They had heard of ascension, and had even attempted "submergent descent" from the Immortal Realm, but they had never heard of anyone traveling between different lower realms.
Without experiencing ascension, one could not even know that other lower-realm planes existed.
"There's nothing strange about every lower realm having a Demon Race. All things possess spirits; plants and trees can become demons. They exist everywhere."
"But the Demon Race in every lower realm uses the same name for its homeland..."
"The Ancestral Court."
His gaze swept over Black Mountain and Red Wind before settling on Ao Chen.
"Now that's interesting."
Black Mountain scratched his head. "I still don't understand..."
"It means..."
Zhou Yan pointed his fan at him. "The demons of your Mountain of Ten Thousand Silences and the demons of our fellow Daoist Ao's Ancestral Court are separated by who knows how many planes. They have no contact, no communication, and don't even know whether the other exists..."
"But you call your homelands by the same name."
Black Mountain froze, then his eyes slowly widened.
Xie Changsheng nodded. "That can't be a coincidence."
Ao Chen finally could not help speaking. "What... exactly are you talking