218: The truth behind the Tianwu disaster

"Ding! Detecting the emergence of a divine relic from a High God of the Extinction Era. Please proceed, Host, to obtain the key of yang heaven! Reward: 100 million family points, 10 million zhang of Luck!"

Inside the Taiji Hall, Xu Qing's expression changed as he heard the mission in his mind.

The rewards this time were so generous; he had to do it!

"The key of yang heaven! It sounds like a key, but it's definitely a supreme treasure!"

Xu Qing knew the System wouldn't give such a precious item for no reason, so the key of yang heaven was clearly extremely important.

"System, what kind of existence is a High God?"

"In the nine heavens era, beings bestowed titles by the Ancient Heavenly Court were called Deities, divided into seven levels: True God, Heavenly God, Righteous God, High God, Main God, Heavenly Venerate, and Emperor Lord. True God is the title for the six realms of Saints; Heavenly God for Quasi-Emperors; Righteous God for ordinary Great Emperors; High God for peak Great Emperors; Main God is the title for peerless Great Emperors; Heavenly Venerate for supreme Great Emperors; and Emperor Lord for Supreme Great Emperors!"

"Deities who have been bestowed titles can mobilize a certain amount of the world's momentum, making their combat power stronger than beings of the same realm!"

"So that's how it is!"

Xu Qing nodded, "What is the identity of the owner of this relic?"

"The owner of the relic was a small steward in the Yang Heaven Palace back then. Due to the upheaval in the Nine Heavens, he was ordered by the then-Lord of Yang Heaven to descend to the Lower Realm with the key of yang heaven. However, he was ambushed by four Great Emperors of the same level. In the end, at the cost of abandoning Reincarnation, he underwent an extreme sublimation, suppressing the four Great Emperors within the relic."

"What? You mean the four Great Emperors are still alive?"

Xu Qing was startled. It was a good thing he asked.

"Through the eons, even Great Emperors have a Lifespan of only ten thousand eras. The four Great Emperors of yesteryear have long since died in the river of time. However, though the Great Emperors are dead, their Imperial bodies have gained sentience. Although they have not yet achieved the Dao, their strength should not be underestimated."

"Tsk! Does this mean their corpses gained sentience? But if they haven't achieved the Dao, what's there to be afraid of!"

The Xu Family now had no shortage of powerful cultivators.

"Pop!"

Space tore open, and a Zongzi-like object was pulled out.

This was Saint Ming.

Xu Qing had awakened very early. After Cultivating for five years in the Ancient Time Land, his Physical Body had reached the Six Revolutions realm. Although it was only the Middle Stage of Six Revolutions, he could crush a Saint Monarch at Perfection with just the strength of his Physical Body.

Therefore, he had been paying attention to external matters. Seeing Saint Ming trying to escape, he immediately had the Nine-Colored Sacred Lotus bring him in.

As the lotus leaves spread, Saint Ming's figure appeared in the main hall. The power on him had completely disappeared, and his cultivation was at the Early Stage of a Three-Step Quasi-Emperor.

Suddenly appearing in an unfamiliar hall, his face was panicked. But upon seeing Xu Qing's cultivation, he was stunned again, completely ignoring Yun Qian beside him.

"Who are you?"

Saint Ming asked.

Although he had seen Xu Qing's cultivation, he didn't dare to make any sudden moves, because he had been dragged here, and his intuition told him that if he made a move, he would die a terrible death.

"Who I am is not important. You just need to know that whatever I ask, you answer!"

Xu Qing said calmly.

"I..."

Saint Ming was naturally displeased to hear this, because he was a Quasi-Emperor. But as the words reached his lips, he felt his heart pound, as if a great terror was approaching.

"You must have experienced the Calamity of Tianwu, right?"

Xu Qing asked.

"I did. I was still a Saint Monarch at Perfection back then!"

Although he really didn't want to speak, instinct compelled Saint Ming to open his mouth.

"Tell me, during the Tianwu Era, why did the Three Races invade the Eternal Continent at the same time!"

Xu Qing asked again.

"This..."

"Don't tell me you don't know. As one of the Blood God Sect's branch Revered Masters, you should be aware of these secret matters!"

Xu Qing said with a half-smile.

"You... you... you..."

Saint Ming's expression changed drastically. How could Xu Qing know about the Blood God Sect, and even his identity?

"Who exactly are you?"

He looked at Xu Qing in disbelief, his face full of shock.

Xu Qing shook his head, "You don't need to worry about that. You just need to answer me about the past events. I don't want to search your Soul. This place has already been obscured by me from the Heavenly Dao; even a Great Emperor cannot detect it. You just need to tell me the Origin of the Calamity of Tianwu, and I might consider sparing your Life!"

Saint Ming's eyes lit up upon hearing this, "You'll let me go?"

"That depends on how much value you can provide me. If you conceal anything, then don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Saint Ming frowned upon hearing this, conflicted and doubtful.

But ultimately, the desire to live took over.

"The Calamity of Tianwu can be traced back to the divine relic from the Hongyuan Era. The Ancient Ancestor of the Tianwu Empire at that time obtained the most precious item from the divine relic. At the time, no force knew about it, only that the Tianwu Empire had obtained a divine Legacy!"

"It wasn't until later, when the Tianwu Empire produced nine Quasi-Emperors, and even a Peerless Quasi-Emperor and two Eternal Giants, that it alarmed various forces and finally attracted the attention of the Four Races, ultimately leading to the outbreak of that war!"

Xu Qing was shocked to hear this.

The so-called Eternal Giants were at the level of his junior brother's Revered Master, Jin Yi—beings who had touched a trace of the power of the Great Dao. Such giant figures were extremely powerful and incredibly difficult to kill; their True Spirit had to be annihilated for them to truly die.

True Spirit: All things in heaven and earth, as long as they have Life, will have a True Spirit born. Even if the Soul is Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, as long as the True Spirit is not extinguished, there will be a next Life.

There were not many such existences even in Cangwu Academy, and even top-tier Emperor Sects might not have such beings guarding them.

As for a Peerless Quasi-Emperor, he had another title: Half-step Great Emperor. He was only half a step away from being a Great Emperor, imbued with the radiance of a Great Emperor, capable of moving the heavens with a single thought. A trace of Imperial Dao thought could instantly cover a vast Emperor Domain.

At this level, perhaps only the Great Sage of Cangwu Academy had reached it!

But even he achieved this after countless years. Yet the Tianwu Empire accomplished it within a hundred eras. No wonder the previous era was named the Tianwu Era.

"And the catalyst for this great war was a bronze cauldron!" Saint Ming revealed again.

"Bronze cauldron?"

Xu Qing suddenly stood up, and the Origin of Myriad Daos emerged behind him. The terrifying Heavenly Dao Pressure made even Saint Ming, a Quasi-Emperor, feel terrified!

It was as if standing before him was not a person, but the Heavenly Dao itself.

It matched!

In the depths of Xu Qing's pupils, a dense killing intent was hidden.

The fragment the Xu Family had obtained earlier had revealed a bronze cauldron when suppressing the Yao Beast!

"Do you know the Origin of the bronze cauldron?"

Xu Qing asked coldly.

"It's the myriad races divine cauldron!"

At this moment, Xu Qing was extremely terrifying, so Saint Ming continued to explain without even being asked by Xu Qing.

"The myriad races divine cauldron, one of the ten great wondrous cauldrons of heaven and earth. And the myriad races divine cauldron is very peculiar; there isn't just one, but a hundred of them. Before the Dark Era, when an ancient force ruled the myriad races, it was a Luck cauldron condensed from a drop of the Origin essence blood of the hundred ancestral races among the myriad races!"

"This cauldron is related to the Luck of the myriad races. If any race did not respect the teachings, that race could be suppressed through the myriad races divine cauldron!"

"What the Tianwu Empire obtained back then was the Demon Race's Luck cauldron. Their rapid growth was due to secretly siphoning the Demon Race's Luck, which allowed them to produce nine Quasi-Emperors in a short period!"

"The Demon Race initially didn't know, but later, after capturing a high-ranking official of the Tianwu Empire and piecing together fragments from a Soul search, they deduced it. After learning of this, the Demon Race gnashed their teeth, and thus allied with the armies of the Yao Race and the Netherworld to invade the Eternal Continent."

"This matter itself was due to the Human Race being in the wrong. Coupled with the fact that the Three Realms only targeted the Tianwu Imperial Domain, the Human Race didn't intervene at first. However, later, the Yao Race and the Netherworld took the opportunity to plant chess pieces in various Divine Continents, intending to destroy the Human Race's Dao Legacy, which angered various forces and finally ended this turmoil!"