Chapter 147
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Chapter 147: Title
The nine-tailed fox possessed the same cloud-riding mastery, effortlessly carrying Di Yun’s group through the skies.
Unencumbered by slower companions, the Golden Crow and Taotie shot through the air like loosed arrows, vanishing beyond the horizon in mere moments.
Di Yun stood beside the vulpine princess, his voice tinged with remorse. "Our apologies, Princess Baihu. Were it not for our limitations, you wouldn’t trail behind your fellow demon lords."
All present understood the true speed of these celestial beings – their measured pace served solely to accommodate the fragile human cultivators.
"Think nothing of it," the nine-tailed fox responded, her snowy fur glinting in the sunlight. With Mr. Bai facilitating their dialogue through seamless translation, the exchange flowed naturally.
"This one hasn’t conversed with mortal practitioners for many seasons," the vulpine sovereign mused, amber eyes glimmering with curiosity. "Since the Dragon Lord initiated this renewed dialogue between spirit and human cultivators, we of the ancient bloodlines see no reason to oppose harmony. Should your words hold true, our races may yet rekindle the camaraderie shared during the Ancient Era’s golden dawn."
Di Yun’s restraint crumbled. "Our kinds were truly allied in elder days?"
Yesterday’s discussion with the white-furred sovereign had been cut short when spiritual fruits overwhelmed their mortal constitutions. Subsequent arrivals of other demon lords reduced them to silent observers. Even Mr. Bai – the eldest spirit cultivator from Blue Star with millennia of life in the Mountain and Sea Realm – possessed only fragmented knowledge of that primordial age.
Leng Xingwen’s group from Moon Lake Wonderland fared no better, their understanding cobbled from crumbling scrolls describing that distant epoch – a glorious cultivation zenith where countless realms converged, now remembered only in spirit cultivators’ ballads and human fragmentary records.
The vulpine princess’s muzzle curved in what might pass for a smile among her kind. "We spirit cultivators walked the source world’s paths long before your species’ first breath. Initial… disagreements between our kinds lie buried beneath countless billion-year cycles."
Her tail flicked dismissively. "What matters is this – when we entered the Mountain and Sea Realm, human and spirit cultivators maintained cordial ties. All prior discord had long faded to ancient history."
Di Yun’s group exchanged stunned glances. The temporal scales mentioned defied mortal comprehension – units measured in billions of years?
Collecting himself, Di Yun pressed the crucial inquiry. "What exactly is this source world?"
The nine-tailed fox tilted her head, ears twitching in bemusement. "Your lineage has forgotten even this fundamental truth? The source world encompasses our entire existence, though…" She hesitated, vulpine features clouding.
"Though?" Di Yun prompted.
A rare solemnity entered the spirit sovereign’s voice. "Before Empress Nuwa forged our Mountain and Sea sanctuary, repeated defeats in dimensional wars weakened the World Tree. Its reality-anchoring branches splintered, scattering dependent realms into the void’s mercy. Less fortunate worlds dissolved in the chaotic currents."
Seeing their bewildered expressions, she added, "These events transpired millennia before my birth. My inherited memories retain but fragmented visions of that cataclysm."
"Source world?" Di Yun repeated, struggling to grasp these cosmic concepts.
The vulpine’s chuckle carried both amusement and melancholy. "Mortals truly remember nothing. Know this – your Blue Star resides in the source world’s heart, where the World Tree’s roots first pierced reality’s veil. When high-tier cultivators and major deities departed, they sealed this core so completely that even memory of the seal faded from your records."
Her gaze turned distant, watching cloud-wreathed mountains flow beneath them. "Some secrets require proper context. When time allows, perhaps we’ll revisit this… ancient history lesson."
"The core of the source world is awakening as well."
"With the Awakening of Spiritual Energy, it signifies the revival of the source world’s core, which will inevitably rouse the dormant World Tree," the nine-tailed fox remarked, her gaze lingering on Di Yun.
"When the World Tree manifests, as decreed by ancestral wisdom, our realm shall be drawn back into the battlefield of the Heavenly Dao."
"By pulling the Battleground from the void into the source world, Empress Nuwa and her divine counterparts clearly intend for its inhabitants to achieve self-preservation when enveloped by the Heavenly Dao’s conflict."
【——Why must we lack inherited memories? We’re stumbling blind here!】
【——War? With whom? Extraterrestrial forces?】
【——This sounds dire. Could the source world be our Blue Star?】
【——The spirit cultivators possess far more knowledge than they let on.】
【——It must refer to Blue Star. There’s deeper intrigue beneath this.】
【——With divine protection, surely we’re safeguarded?】
【——If deities could intervene, wouldn’t they have acted already? Their absence speaks volumes.】
"Princess Baihu," Di Yun ventured cautiously, "might the deities extend their aid in this conflict encompassing Blue Star and the source world?"
"Impossible." The fox spirit’s tails swayed in negation.
Through these queries, she discerned the human cultivators’ profound ignorance regarding the Heavenly Dao’s battlefield and the impending World War.
Dispensing with pretense, she clarified, "To host deities of tiers sixteen or seventeen, a world must possess sufficient stature. Given that even my full power remains constrained here…"
"…do you truly believe supreme deities could manifest?"
【——But didn’t Emperor of Heaven and Empress Nuwa descend that dawn?】
【——Those were mere projections! Their divine presence never fully materialized in our plane.】
【——Those celestial palaces and alien landscapes resembled holograms – like Fusang’s mirage or Vatican City’s visions!】
【——The supreme triad must be whom she references.】
【——Certainly not Western pantheons!】
"Tiers sixteen and seventeen?" Di Yun feigned ignorance. "I thought such rankings applied only to practitioners?" The Special Bureau understood the numerical hierarchy yet remained unclear about distinctions beyond tier seven.
Humanity’s records held only fragments gleaned from Leng Xingwen’s accounts and Sword Immortal Ji Lang’s revelations – even this basic tier system represented hard-won knowledge.
After contemplative silence, the vulpine sovereign inquired, "How does your kind measure cultivation strength?"
"Our system progresses through ninth rank of mortal level, Transcendent Realm, then tier one Foundation Establishment, two Golden Core, three Nascent Soul, four Spirit Separation, five Body Integration, six Great Completion, culminating in tier seven’s entry to the Immortal Realm."
"Your mortal rankings we designate tier zero," the fox elucidated. "What you call Transcendent Realm, we term Transformation Phase… Nomenclature diverges before tier seven, but all races align at the Immortal Threshold."
"Tier seven marks ascension within the Hierarchy of Life – for my kind, tier seven initiates Immortal Ascension, eight True Spirit Emergence, nine Celestial Immortality…"
Though the nine-tailed fox deliberately slowed their celestial traversal, the journey’s end soon materialized.
Descending through veiled mists, they beheld two silhouettes atop the precipice – one garbed in billowing azure threaded with golden draconic motifs, the other enshrouded in obsidian robes whose sleeves cascaded like liquid night.
As the fox entourage alighted, billions watching the live stream simultaneously witnessed these figures through flickering screens.
In an instant, the barrage in the live stream more than doubled.
【——Holy heavens! Who’s this divine beauty???】
【——Aaaahhh Mom’s asking why I’m licking my phone screen!! *sobbing*】
【——Three minutes. Full dossier on this obsidian-clad stunner.】
【——Those crimson eyes eclipse the world’s finest rubies!】
【——Lag spike betrayed me – sudden beauty ambush! *mind blown*】
【——Marry me! How dare such perfection exist QAQ??】
As the digital frenzy escalated, the camera zoomed in on the cliffside duo, sparking fresh commotion.
【——This close-up…I’m…I’m done for.】
【——Skin goals! Drop the skincare routine NOW.】
The black-robed figure embodied classical elegance – countenance rivaling autumn’s fullest moon, complexion surpassing spring’s first blossoms. Radiant as peach flowers yet refined as frost-touched chrysanthemums.
Eyes shimmering like liquid starlight, posture regal as jade-carved pines. Even the praise "ice skin and jade bones" fell short of capturing this ethereal presence.
"Xuanfeng assumed human form?" The nine-tailed fox’s ears twitched in realization. "Dragon Lord’s transformation must’ve triggered it."
"Millennia later, that face still devastates. Ridiculous for a male avian to manifest such splendor."
"Outshining even my millennia-honed fox spirit allure. Wasteful."
Di Yun and nearby listeners caught her muttering, while translated captions spread chaos in chat:
【——LIES! My goddess can’t be male! *cries*】
【——Outbeautifying women? Shame on you, Your Highness Golden Crow!】
【——Cross-dresser king?】
【——Blind? Clearly masculine robes!】
【——Xuanfeng Demon Lord’s attire mirrors Dragon Lord’s! How confused can you be?】
【——Phoenix privilege – beauty comes standard.】
The nine-tailed fox beckoned impatiently. "Finished your tête-à-tête? Kirin’s urgent matters below await."
Though Xuanfeng’s expression remained glacial, that visage alone could command armies to kneel at his Robe Hem.
"I’ll descend with the legendary dragon."
The aloof response earned only a shrug. With a glance toward Ao Yuan, the vulpine spirit dropped through the clouds.
At the forest waterfall’s edge, fellow demon lords tapped their feet. As the nine-tailed fox landed, Xuanfeng turned to Ao Yuan. "Their agenda? Reigniting the Heavenly Dao War. The Battleground’s resurgence in the source world."
"Ancient as you are, intact memories might’ve offered insights."
"Pity…"
Ao Yuan fingered the hidden frost-bead in his sleeve, lips quirking. "Implying I’m your elder?"
Xuanfeng’s composure cracked. "Reincarnation’s clearly eroded your wits."
"Yinglong never spoke such drivel."
With fluid sleeve flourish, the phoenix lord stepped into emptiness, descending like watercolor ink bleeding through parchment. Ao Yuan’s chuckle followed as he pocketed the bead and dove after.
