Chapter 1740: Ancient Jingzhou

After Qi Xuansu and Zhou Mengyao had made the necessary arrangements, they departed from Cangyun Fortress with Li Yuanjing and stepped onto the fortress walls that stretched along the mountain ridges.

Cangyun Fortress resembled an enormous beacon tower, while the walls constructed along the mountain ridges were reminiscent of the Great Wall built by the First Emperor.

When Qi Xuansu and Zhou Mengyao first stepped onto the lengthy walls, nothing seemed particularly unusual. The terrain on either side consisted of ordinary rolling mountains. However, just as Li Yuanjing had described, the walls stretched endlessly into the distance, far exceeding the actual length they had appeared to possess when viewed from the foot of the mountain.

No wonder Li Yuanjing had spent over a millennium constructing them without ever completing the project.

Qi Xuansu silently counted his steps. Once he confirmed that they had already traversed the entire visible length of the walls, he felt as though they had entered a peculiar dimension.

The walls beneath their feet silently extended into the darkness. Faint, murmuring whispers lingered around them, bearing an uncanny resemblance to the whispers of the Ancient Great Witches in his dreams.

Ahead and behind them lay nothing but an indescribable, unfathomable darkness. Space blurred and twisted, while time flowed at an astonishing speed. Illusions arose and faded in an endless cycle. Only the path beneath their feet remained, stretching solemnly through the deathly stillness, as though existing independently of both time and space.

It was amazing to think that human hands could construct such an extraordinary marvel.

In the outside world, perhaps only the Daoist Order would possess the means to construct such a structure. Yet in this world, a group of mere Houtian Beings wielding yin energy had managed to accomplish it. Was this due to the unique nature of this world, or was it a special effect brought about by yin energy?

Qi Xuansu now began to understand why some people could spend decades walking along these walls or travel backward from the future into the past or forward from the past into the future. This place was truly filled with far too many inexplicable phenomena.

This also confirmed one fact—the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon was indeed a world that was in the Taiyi state of primordial chaos. Not only had its governing laws yet to fully take shape, but space and time themselves were also subject to distortion.

Just then, Zhou Mengyao said to Qi Xuansu, “Look on either side.”

Qi Xuansu peered outward through one of the battlements. The mountains that had previously flanked the walls had completely vanished. Beneath the walls, there was nothing but an abyss. It was as though these seemingly endless fortifications had been constructed in the middle of an empty void.

At some point, without even realizing it, they had begun crossing into the yin realm.

Just as Li Yuanjing had explained, the yin realm was an inverted world, where earth lay above and heaven lay below. Consequently, there was no solid ground upon which to stand in the yin realm. Anyone who entered without a foothold would simply plunge into the bottomless abyss, condemned to sink into its depths for all eternity.

Qi Xuansu withdrew his gaze. “Madam San, you’ve known the Earthly Preceptor for a long time. I imagine you’re quite familiar with the Ancient Wuist Sect, right?”

Zhou Mengyao replied, “I know a thing or two about it. But no matter how much I know, I could hardly compare to you, a successor of the Ancient Wuist Sect.”

Qi Xuansu extended his hand, brushing his fingers across one battlement after another. “Then have you noticed that these walls beneath our feet, as well as the Chu King’s Palace, both bear traces of the Ancient Wuist Sect?”

Zhou Mengyao pondered for a moment before saying, “Actually, I already have a few suspicions.”

Qi Xuansu’s interest was immediately piqued. “Please elaborate.”

However, Zhou Mengyao decided to put on airs. “Want to know? Then beg me. Or better yet, call me ‘Master.’”

Qi Xuansu’s expression immediately stiffened.

Zhou Mengyao clasped her hands behind her back. “Is that the proper attitude of someone seeking guidance?”

Qi Xuansu took a deep breath and said in a low voice, “Madam San, please. I beg you to enlighten me.”

“Now that’s more like it.” Zhou Mengyao was finally satisfied. “Li Yuanjing was a member of the Qi Dynasty’s royal family as the sixth son of the founding emperor born to a noble consort. During his father’s reign, he was appointed Commander of Anzhou. In the early years of Emperor Taizong’s reign, he was subsequently promoted to Commander of Yongzhou. In the 10th year of Emperor Taizong’s reign, he was reassigned as the Commander of Jingzhou. Jingzhou corresponds to present-day Huzhou. However, Ancient Jingzhou was eventually swallowed by the ever-expanding Yunmeng Marsh. That was why the region was renamed Huzhou, because Hu means lake.”

Qi Xuansu immediately understood. “Madam San, are you saying that this island we’re standing on is actually Ancient Jingzhou, which was supposedly submerged beneath Yunmeng Marsh, and that the water surrounding this place isn’t the ocean at all but the waters of Yunmeng Marsh?”

Zhou Mengyao nodded. “I’ve only just figured it out myself. According to the natural evolution of the earth qi and terrain, Yunmeng Marsh should have been steadily shrinking, eventually becoming several lakes surrounded by a vast plain. Yet the Yunmeng Marsh of today has been continuously expanding, to the point where it has practically become an inland sea.

“There must be some underlying cause behind this reversal in Yunmeng Marsh’s natural development. It wasn’t until I met Commander Li and saw Cangyun Fortress that I finally reached a conclusion. It was precisely because an Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon swallowed half of Ancient Jingzhou that the region’s climate, geography, and even its ley lines underwent a fundamental transformation. As a result, Yunmeng Marsh not only stopped shrinking and drying up but actually began expanding instead.

“An event of such magnitude should certainly have been recorded in the historical annals. However, for unknown reasons, the Qi Dynasty Imperial Court deliberately concealed this chapter of history. In truth, altering the collective memory of later generations isn’t particularly difficult. All it takes is the repeated use of selective and subtle wording. For instance, the incident could simply be attributed to catastrophic flooding or rivers changing their courses. Such explanations would hardly raise suspicion, since major rivers have changed course throughout history, submerging countless cities in the process. The accepted account today is that Ancient Jingzhou lies submerged beneath the waters of Yunmeng Marsh. Who would ever imagine that half of Ancient Jingzhou had actually been swallowed into the belly of an Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon?”

Qi Xuansu raised a question. “If this Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon really is the Azure Heaven, then how could it have swallowed Ancient Jingzhou during Emperor Taizong’s reign in the Qi Dynasty? After all, the Azure Heaven was supposedly completely defeated following the Yellow Turban Uprising.”

Zhou Mengyao replied, “That’s actually quite easy to explain. Between those two periods was the era of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the War of the Eight Princes, the southward migration of the aristocratic families, and the collapse of the Central Plains. All of these events took place during that time, making it one of the darkest and most chaotic periods in history. Far too much happened over those several centuries. Regional warlords and rival rulers were everywhere, and there was no effective central government to maintain order. If the Azure Heaven had been sealed within Yunmeng Marsh, it is entirely possible that the seal weakened during this period, giving the Azure Heaven an opportunity to swallow half of Ancient Jingzhou.

“Fortunately, by the time the Azure Heaven began wreaking havoc, the Qi Dynasty had already unified the realm. The Imperial Court could marshal the strength of the entire nation, and there was no shortage of extraordinarily powerful cultivators. Ultimately, they managed to suppress the Azure Heaven a second time before it could fully break free from its seal. However, the losses they suffered were immense, which subsequently created the opportunity for Empress Mingkong and the Buddhist Sect to usurp the throne. I even suspect that the Primordial Daoist Ancestor had something to do with this affair. After all, it was following this incident that the Qi Dynasty’s royal family formally bestowed the titles of the Primordial Xuanyuan Emperor and the Primordial Patriarch to the Primordial Daoist Ancestor.

“It was also because the Azure Heaven swallowed half of Ancient Jingzhou that many things associated with the King of Chu and the Ancient Wuist Sect were swallowed along with it. After all, the Jing and Chu regions had always been renowned for the flourishing Wuist traditions. Commander Li has lived here for three millennia, so I imagine he has already uncovered virtually every secret this place holds. There’s nothing particularly surprising about his knowledge of Wuist arts. If not for the restrictions imposed by this world’s laws, which prevent anyone from attaining immortality, Commander Li would probably have become an Immortal long ago.

“As for the Godly Immortal lineage, I don’t believe Commander Li has been entirely truthful. I believe that Commander Li might have failed to discover a method of refining incense power during his first millennium. But it’s rather difficult to believe he hasn’t figured it out after three millennia. He has also conveniently neglected to explain exactly how he spent his second millennium. In truth, the greatest difficulty in cultivating the Godly Immortal lineage doesn’t lie in refining divine power from the incense power. Rather, it lies in condensing a distinct Spiritual Statue and subsequently using that Spiritual Statue as the foundation for establishing a divine kingdom.

“To put it simply, one needs something to serve as a reference. Many deities are actually innate deities who were born divine and originated from primordial forms of worship, such as Sun Gods and Moon Gods. The Spiritual Statues of acquired deities are mostly inherited from innate deities, and only a small minority can condense their own Spiritual Statues independently. That is precisely why Zhang Wuhen sought to steal True Lord Taiyin’s existing legacy. This world has neither an established divine inheritance to pass down nor any external phenomena that can serve as references. After all, even its sun and moon are fake. That is the fundamental reason Commander Li abandoned the Godly Immortal lineage.

“Commander Li, am I correct to say this?”

Li Yuanjing remained silent, which amounted to acquiescence.

Although 3,000 years was an extraordinarily long time, Li Yuanjing had spent at least half of it in slumber. That left him with only around 1,500 years of actual experience. Moreover, he had been working entirely in isolation, attempting to devise a cultivation system without outside guidance. Naturally, his efforts could hardly compare to the accumulated achievements of countless generations of Immortals and Buddhas. It was exceedingly difficult for him to independently develop an entire Godly Immortal cultivation path.

The reason Qi Xuansu and Zhou Mengyao faced no such difficulties was that they stood upon the shoulders of their predecessors.

Qi Xuansu possessed three Spiritual Statues, which he had fused into a Celestial Phenomena Spiritual Statue. Naturally, he could cultivate the Godly Immortal lineage and gather incense power. Meanwhile, Zhou Mengyao was an Immortal who was thoroughly proficient in the methods of a Godly Immortal.

Qi Xuansu said thoughtfully, “In that case, we can more or less piece together the chronology of events. I believe I can formulate a general hypothesis.

“The First Celestial Court was overthrown, the Eastern Sovereign perished, and the Human Sovereign ascended to become the Heavenly Emperor, establishing the Second Celestial Court. The Cloud God disappeared without a trace but had actually gone into hiding within Yunmeng Marsh. Later, when the First Emperor arrived at Yunmeng Marsh and cast the Imperial Succession Seal into the lake, he inadvertently helped the Cloud God transform into a Heavenly Immortal. The mysterious person who subsequently returned the Imperial Succession Seal to the First Emperor was actually an incarnation of the Cloud God.

“Afterward, the Cloud God ascended from the mortal realm. However, he left behind his divine kingdom within Yunmeng Marsh, which subsequently transformed into a pocket realm. Later, the Taiping Sect discovered this divine kingdom. After using the Yellow Heaven to defeat the Azure Heaven, the Taiping Sect imprisoned the Azure Heaven within the already existing Cloud God’s pocket realm.

“Since the Cloud God’s pocket realm had already been used to imprison the Azure Heaven, the victors had no choice but to use three emperors to seal away the Yellow Heaven. Later, the Central Plains collapsed into chaos, and the aristocratic families fled south, ushering in an age of turmoil. For reasons that can no longer be verified, the seal within the Cloud God’s pocket realm began to weaken. Or perhaps the Azure Heaven may have gradually recovered some of its strength. This was an exceedingly prolonged process, possibly lasting several centuries. Ultimately, the Azure Heaven reemerged during the Qi Dynasty and swallowed half of Ancient Jingzhou during Emperor Taizong’s reign.

“This event completely altered the ley lines of Yunmeng Marsh. The disappearance of Ancient Jingzhou spared Yunmeng Marsh from its original fate of gradually drying up and instead caused it to expand. As one of the most powerful Imperial Courts in history, the Qi Dynasty ultimately managed to reseal the Azure Heaven before it could completely break free, though at an enormous cost. The Qi Dynasty Imperial Court suffered such devastating losses that the Buddhist Sect was able to exploit its weakened position and install Empress Mingkong on the throne.

“Then came the Golden Horde Era, another period of turmoil that caused supernatural phenomena to occur frequently throughout Yunmeng Marsh. However, the chaos of this era was nowhere near as severe as the earlier collapse of the Central Plains. Consequently, the influence the Azure Heaven could exert beyond its seal remained quite limited. It could only impersonate the Cloud God, treating the White Cloud Sect followers on the outskirts of the Cloud God’s pocket realm like livestock while harvesting Heavenly Beings. After all, the residents living inside its body were severely restricted, with Commander Li being the only one who had reached the Heavenly Being level.

“Now, in the present day, supernatural phenomena have once again appeared in Yunmeng Marsh. Yet we unfortunate fools actually mistook them for a fortuitous opportunity and came rushing over to investigate. In the end, we’ve landed ourselves in this miserable predicament.”