Chapter 641: Immortal Lord Qingluo
Hearing what Chen Yan said, the Sage who once ruled over Tianji Continent did not immediately respond. He simply stared a while longer at this mysterious young man before him, one who appeared to have just ascended to immortality not long ago.
That was right. Even across the hundred-plus-thousand-year history of Chenping Continent, including Chen Yan himself, only thirty-two cultivators had ever reached the Immortal Ascension Realm. In the eyes of a Sage, they were at most nothing more than freshly emerged newcomers.
All beneath Immortal Ascension were mere ants.
That saying was no empty words. Cultivators of the Nine Realms Below Immortality did not even possess the qualification to earn a proper glance from a Sage.
"Sage of Imperial Void, scheming against this domain heavens?"
Zuo He's silence did not last long. After roughly two to three breaths of time, he spoke:
"If Bai Chen truly has some scheme in motion, how could his arrangement possibly be known to you?"
"Because the Sage of Imperial Void, backed into a corner with no way out, has no other choice left."
Chen Yan replied calmly:
"Perhaps... even this domain heavens itself will soon cease to exist."
"The Tianji Continent will cease to exist?"
Zuo He narrowed his eyes slightly:
"What exactly has happened out there?"
"It is not that Tianji Continent will cease to exist."
Chen Yan said:
"But rather that Tianji Continent was already destroyed long ago in that 'Fallen Immortal Calamity.' The current era of this domain heavens has already stepped into a new epoch following the Sage of Imperial Void's suppression of the Fallen Immortal Calamity - the Chenping Continent."
The words spoken by the young man in the plain white daoist robe standing before him caused Zuo He's expression to turn rather unpleasant.
Fallen Immortal Calamity. Chenping Continent. And the already-nonexistent Tianji Continent.
Even as a Sage who had once ruled over Tianji Continent and was widely experienced and knowledgeable, Zuo He still could not understand what exactly this young man in the plain white daoist robe had been talking about from the very beginning.
"Who are you?"
The Tianji Sage's expression grew even colder as he directed his question toward Chen Yan.
"Chen Yan of Du Cang Mountain, Chenping Continent."
As he spoke, Chen Yan respectfully bowed with clasped hands toward Zuo He, then added:
"I am also a chess piece on the Sage of Imperial Void's game board."
"Claiming yourself to be a chess piece?"
Zuo He said this while clasping his hands behind his back, staring at Chen Yan's bowing figure:
"That is quite a rare sight."
"Because that is the truth. The reason I am able to meet with you, Sage, today is precisely because I am a chess piece on the Sage of Imperial Void's game board."
Chen Yan answered.
From beginning to end, every single sentence Chen Yan spoke toward the Tianji Sage Zuo He contained a massive amount of information.
Yet every sentence he spoke was also like a riddle.
This was precisely the effect Chen Yan wished to achieve.
"What is the Fallen Immortal Calamity?"
Zuo He asked.
Just as expected.
Zuo He's reaction was entirely within Chen Yan's predictions. As a wisp of remnant soul belonging to the former steward of Tianji Continent, residing within Bai Chen's already-blank sea of consciousness, Zuo He naturally wanted to verify the truth behind all of this.
How exactly was Tianji Continent destroyed?
And what had become of his true self?
Just like the last time he entered Bai Chen's sea of consciousness, Chen Yan once again recounted to Zuo He what exactly had happened during the final moments of Tianji Continent.
"So I really did cause quite a bit of trouble."
Upon hearing this, Zuo He did not react with anything overly dramatic. He merely sighed softly with such words.
Chen Yan carefully studied the expression on Zuo He's face. At this moment, this Tianji Sage clad in black daoist robes was indeed far more emotionally stable than when Chen Yan had encountered him in his previous reincarnation cycle.
"In that case, did I also receive the punishment I deserved?"
Zuo He then asked.
Faced with this question, Chen Yan did not answer. He simply maintained the same bowing posture from before.
Silence already said everything.
"I am not surprised by this outcome for myself."
Zuo He answered:
"It's just that with this wisp of spiritual sense I placed within the Sage of Imperial Void's sea of consciousness, if I wish to awaken and descend upon the world once more, it will likely require a very long time."
Descend upon the world once more?
Was this the trump card of Zuo He, the Ultimate Sage of Heaven's Extremity?
Was this why Zuo He had fallen into utter collapse upon learning of the Sage of Imperial Void Bai Chen's fall?
Chen Yan made such speculations in his heart, then spoke:
"I'm afraid... it will indeed require quite a long time."
Zuo He's pupils slightly tightened. He seemed to have understood the hidden meaning beneath the words of this young man in the plain white daoist robe standing before him.
"How so?"
The Tianji Sage then asked.
"Because the Sage of Imperial Void has currently laid out a very, very large game board."
Chen Yan answered:
"Even he himself is but one of the chess pieces upon this board."
"You mean to say..."
"The Sage of Imperial Void chose Military Disintegration, dividing his own cause and effect into several segments and placing them in various corners of this world."
Chen Yan said.
This vast white sea of consciousness fell into silence once more.
"If Bai Chen ultimately chose Military Disintegration of his own volition, that means..."
Zuo He had clearly realized something. The aura around this Tianji Sage instantly turned even more frigid and severe, and he spoke with a grave tone:
"What exactly has happened to this domain heavens?"
"The damage inflicted upon the laws of heaven and earth by the Fallen Immortal Calamity is irreversible. On the current Chenping Continent, even Immortal Ascension Realm cultivators cannot freely use dao rhyme, because they are restricted by the laws of heaven and earth."
Chen Yan answered:
"As for Uncarved Simplicity Realm cultivators..."
"This domain heavens will not permit the existence of Uncarved Simplicity Realm cultivators."
Zuo He answered first with a solemn expression:
"And it is precisely because of this that Bai Chen chose Military Disintegration of his own will, splitting his cause and effect into several segments to evade the eradication by Lord Qingluo."
Lord Qingluo.
Hearing those four characters, Chen Yan was briefly stunned.
His subconscious told him that these four characters would be the most valuable piece of information he could obtain today from coming to the deepest depths of the Endless Sea.
"Might I ask, Sage, who exactly is this Lord Qingluo you speak of..."
"Lord Qingluo is a Creating Illusion Realm cultivator who governs the Three Thousand Worlds, including this domain heavens."
"The Three Thousand Worlds..."
A hint of bewilderment appeared in Chen Yan's eyes. Having once witnessed the chaotic flow of time, Chen Yan understood very well that this world was far larger than he could ever imagine.
A single Sage could govern one domain heavens, but he had never imagined that a "Lord," merely one major realm above Uncarved Simplicity Realm cultivators, could single-handedly govern three thousand worlds.
This was far beyond Chen Yan's comprehension.