Chapter 623: The World of Eight Desolations
The Eight Desolations World, everyone present had heard of this world, it was considered quite famous among the myriad heavens and worlds. It was said that before the Celestial Ascension Ladder disappeared, there were over ten cultivators at the Tribulation Transcendence Stage. Although not as powerful as the Nine Provinces, it was still considered one of the top-ranked worlds in terms of strength, with formidable combat power.
In terms of immortal legacies, the Eight Desolations World also had quite a few. Many immortals had left their inheritances there, so its foundations were considered solid.
The cultivators from the Eight Desolations World were equally shocked when they saw Jiang Li and the others. They hadn’t expected that the Eight Desolations World would collide with the famously powerful Nine Provinces World.
On their side, they had over a hundred cultivators at the Unity Stage, while the other side had several hundred, a huge difference in numbers.
Bai Hongtu, Yu Yin, Sword Sovereign, Old Dragon King, Li Er, and the three Rulers—although their exact cultivation stages weren’t discernible, it was clear that these eight were all at the Tribulation Transcendence Stage, matching their own number of Tribulation Transcendence cultivators.
That small golden pagoda had a strong Buddhist Sect aura and was undoubtedly an immortal artifact.
The most inscrutable was the person who introduced himself as the leader. His depth was unfathomable; he appeared to be an ordinary mortal with no spiritual energy fluctuations. But anyone with half a brain knew that a mere mortal couldn’t represent eight Tribulation Transcendence cultivators, let alone have those eight Tribulation Transcendence cultivators subtly regard him as their leader.
An immortal left behind in the Nine Provinces?
The Unity Stage cultivators on the Eight Desolations side grew restless, whispering among themselves. The leader among them sternly rebuked them.
“Shut up, you uncultured fools.”
The Unity Stage cultivators immediately fell silent, not daring to speak further.
The leader clasped his fists and, to show sincerity, spoke first. “Allow me to introduce ourselves. The eight of us are the Eight Desolation Lords of the Eight Desolations World, named after the Eight Trigrams. My title is Qian Desolation Lord.”
Since the other party showed goodwill, Jiang Li responded in kind. “So it’s Qian Desolation Lord. My name is Jiang Li, the Human Sovereign of the Nine Provinces World. The people behind me are my friends.”
“I’m just wondering how these two worlds collided for no apparent reason. Might Qian Desolation Lord know the cause?”
Qian Desolation Lord shook his head regretfully. “No, I don’t know the reason either. Perhaps it’s just a coincidence. To be frank, our Eight Desolations World hasn’t had great luck over the past few thousand years. We’ve collided with other worlds before, but fortunately, it didn’t cause any casualties.”
“After colliding with your esteemed world, we were also very surprised. We worried that the collision might have caused damage to your world, so we gathered our high-level cultivators to come and offer assistance.”
“We never imagined your world would be the Nine Provinces World. It seems we were worrying needlessly.”
Qian Desolation Lord gave a self-deprecating smile.
“Not at all, we should thank Qian Desolation Lord for coming to help. This isn’t a good place for idle chat. Why not come to our Nine Provinces for a visit?” Jiang Li wanted to learn more.
Qian Desolation Lord showed a hesitant expression. “Then we’ll be imposing. But what about my brothers and subordinates…”
“No problem, they can all come to the Nine Provinces Continent together.”
Qian Desolation Lord’s heart tightened, and he mentally raised his estimate of the Nine Provinces World’s strength by another level.
On their side, they had eight Tribulation Transcendence cultivators and over a hundred Unity Stage cultivators. The two worlds didn’t know each other, yet this Human Sovereign Jiang was allowing them all to enter the Nine Provinces Continent.
If they harbored ill intentions, the disaster they could bring to the Nine Provinces World would be enormous.
Qian Desolation Lord asked himself if he could do the same, and the answer was no.
Was the Nine Provinces World so powerful that it feared no trouble, or had they simply not considered this possibility?
Qian Desolation Lord leaned toward the former.
…
“Hall Master, according to the guards’ reports, because the spatial tremors stopped in time and the commoners also possess cultivation, there has been no chaos in any region, and no loss of personnel or property.” Seeing Jiang Li return to the Human Sovereign Hall, Commander Liu reported the situation to him.
“That’s good.”
“And these people behind you are…”
“These are the Eight Desolation Lords from the Eight Desolations World. The spatial tremors earlier were the result of a collision with their world.”
“So that’s it.” Commander Liu had heard of the Eight Desolations World and wasn’t worried about these people causing trouble in the Nine Provinces.
Eight Tribulation Transcendence cultivators? Patriarch Bai Hongtu could suppress them all with the Spirit Plant Formation.
“The few of us will discuss matters in the Human Sovereign Hall’s reception hall. Our Unity Stage cultivators and those from the Eight Desolations World will wait outside. Please take care of their hospitality, Commander Liu.”
What they needed to discuss wasn’t suitable for Unity Stage cultivators to hear.
“Understood.” Commander Liu walked out of the Human Sovereign Hall.
In the Human Sovereign Hall’s reception hall, the Tribulation Transcendence cultivators from the Nine Provinces World, the Observer Civilization, and the Eight Desolations World took their seats.
“That Commander Liu earlier… could he be an immortal?” Qian Desolation Lord’s voice trembled slightly. He had seen clearly—an immortal was showing utmost respect to this Human Sovereign Jiang.
“Commander Liu became an immortal through a stroke of fortune.” Jiang Li laughed heartily, then asked, “I wonder what the time flow rate is in the Eight Desolations World, and how long has it been since the Celestial Ascension Ladder was severed?”
“It has been six thousand years. I wasn’t born yet at the time, but I heard that a giant hand tore open the dimensional barriers and ripped apart the Celestial Ascension Ladder.”
Seeing that Jiang Li didn’t elaborate on how Commander Liu became an immortal, Qian Desolation Lord asked, “In my eyes, Human Sovereign Jiang’s strength is indistinct. May I ask what cultivation stage you have reached? Could you also be an immortal?”
“I am not an immortal. After the Tribulation Transcendence Stage, I pioneered the Mahayana Stage. I am still in a mortal body.”
“You actually pioneered a new cultivation stage!” Upon hearing this news, the eight Desolation Lords widened their eyes, their bodies swaying slightly, clearly unable to sit still.
As Tribulation Transcendence cultivators, they could perfectly control their bodies. Yet now, they swayed uncontrollably, which was enough to show the shock in their hearts!
The Eight Desolations World had a long history and connections with the Immortal Realm. In the eight Desolation Lords’ understanding, since records began, they had never heard of anyone breaking out of the established cultivation system to pioneer a new stage. The Nine Provinces World truly had hidden dragons and crouching tigers.
“How much does Qian Desolation Lord know about the Immortal Realm after the Celestial Ascension Ladder was severed?”
Qian Desolation Lord shook his head. “Nothing at all. However, since losing contact with the Immortal Realm, we have exhausted all methods but still cannot establish contact.”
“At that time, there was an immortal ancestor who came to inspect the immortal legacies in our world. He encountered the disappearance of the Celestial Ascension Ladder and couldn’t return to the Immortal Realm. That venerable elder speculated that either an enemy equal to the Immortal Realm had appeared, and the Immortal Realm was locked in a bitter struggle with no time to spare for us, or there was internal strife within the Immortal Realm, and the immortals from the Eight Desolations had chosen the wrong side.”
“Fortunately, just before the Celestial Ascension Ladder disappeared, another immortal happened to leave behind a specially crafted storage ring filled with immortal power. Although we cannot ascend to the Immortal Realm, we can still become immortals. Over these six thousand years, two seniors have already become immortals.”
“Now, these three immortals are in seclusion within their cave abodes. They will not break their seclusion unless a crisis threatens the world’s very existence.”
Jiang Li raised an eyebrow. “You’ve never encountered Earthly Immortal-level monsters?”
“What monsters?” Qian Desolation Lord looked utterly bewildered. The other Desolation Lords also shook their heads, not understanding what Jiang Li was talking about.
“Actually, we know more about the Immortal Realm than you do.” Jiang Li sighed and began recounting the truth from nine thousand years ago and the current state of the Immortal Realm. The eight Desolation Lords leaned forward, listening intently.
“Compared to you, our Nine Provinces World has suffered much more.”
“The Nine Provinces also had to face Earthly Immortal monsters. Unfortunately, we didn’t have sufficient immortal power. The successive Human Sovereigns could only rely on the Earth Veins to fight the Earthly Immortal monsters, buying nine thousand years of peace for the Nine Provinces with their blood.”
The eight Desolation Lords bowed in salute, showing respect for the successive Human Sovereigns, which earned considerable goodwill from the Nine Provinces side.
“So now you understand. The Eight Desolations World is also a famous major world. The Immortal Realm wouldn’t ignore you. Since you haven’t been attacked by Fallen Immortals, only one possibility remains: the Immortal Realm is carrying out a plot to gradually destroy the Eight Desolations.”