Chapter 219 - 215: Heroes and Champions, All Turn to Dust

Beneath the winding red clouds, Song Ciwan explained to Mr. Gao, "The Nine Provinces had four hundred and eighty countries, locked in a chaotic war for three hundred and sixty years. During that time, countless small countries were wiped out, and an unknown number of large countries fractured into smaller ones."

"They split and merged, merged and split. Whether emperor or general, hero or tyrant, peddler or soldier, or the common people—no one could escape the strangling grip of war!"

"During this period, many remarkable figures rose with the tide of the era, intending to unify the Nine Provinces, but they all failed."

Song Ciwan paused here.

Mr. Gao’s face showed a hint of disdain. Song Ciwan looked at him, and he scoffed, "The Nine Provinces are vast. My father said even an Immortal would have trouble flying to its ends in ten days. Unifying it is impossible!"

Song Ciwan smiled and said, "Yes, unifying the Nine Provinces is incredibly difficult. That’s why no one had succeeded for thousands of years. But then, seven hundred and sixty years ago, the Celestial Demon Countries broke through the barrier of the hundred-thousand-mile Thunder Feather Marsh, came ashore from the Returning Ruins, and arrived in the Nine Provinces."

"From that moment on, the demon scourge upon the Nine Provinces Land became worse than any man-made disaster..."

Before she could finish, Mr. Gao cried out in alarm, "A demon scourge?"

Mr. Gao was incredulous. He went on, "The Celestial Demon Countries? What are the Celestial Demon Countries? Demons... well, sometimes Little Demons appear among the common folk, but they’re never a real threat. How could they possibly bring disaster to the Mortal World?"

The disbelief on his face was so genuine that Song Ciwan herself felt a moment of doubt.

’To be honest, although I have a general understanding of this world’s history, I haven’t been ’awake’ for long. Most of my energy is spent either on Cultivation or at the Washing Room.’

’This world is too vast. How many people have spent their entire lives studying it, growing old without ever fully grasping it? And I’ve only taken a cursory glance?’

She asked with some hesitation, "You’ve never heard of the Celestial Demon Countries before?"

Mr. Gao shook his head like a rattle and said in astonishment, "Never! The Celestial Demon Countries, what kind of nations are those? Are they nations of only demons?"

Song Ciwan didn’t know if it was because Mr. Gao was young and thus ignorant, or if the existence of the Celestial Demon Countries had simply been a secret to the Mortal World seven hundred and sixty years ago.

But investigating it now would neither yield immediate answers nor serve any real purpose.

She said, "The Celestial Demon Countries, I hear, are nations ruled by demons... just as in the Nine Provinces where we are now, the world is unified. The Great Zhou Dynasty rules the Nine Provinces, making it the sole Human Dao Dynasty on the Profound Origin Land!"

Mr. Gao exclaimed in shock again, "The world is unified? The sole Human Dao Dynasty?"

He leaned forward, the tentacles at his feet unconsciously stretching toward Song Ciwan. He said hurriedly, "What do you mean? The Nine Provinces are unified? Th-th-this is impossible!"

Song Ciwan said, "Perhaps it would have been impossible, but seven hundred and sixty years ago, the invasion of the Nine Provinces by the Celestial Demon Countries actually spurred the end of the chaotic wars in the Mortal World. That year, the Grand Ancestor burst onto the scene, leading one hundred and eight Celestial Generals to sweep across the Nine Provinces and repel the demon hordes."

"These one hundred and eight Celestial Generals originally came from the various nations of the Nine Provinces. Each had their own origin, their own story. Some of the Celestial Generals, like your Gao Family, had their families harmed by treacherous villains in their home countries and carried deep-seated grudges..."

"Some Celestial Generals came from the lowest rungs of society, struggling to rise up from desperate situations. After witnessing the chaos of the Mortal World and the blight of Demon Fiends, they swore to follow an enlightened leader, to change the heavens and the earth, and to establish a truly unified Human Dao Dynasty!"

"And still other Celestial Generals..."

Song Ciwan spoke at length, slowly recounting the meager historical anecdotes she knew for Mr. Gao.

He listened, and his initial disbelief gradually transformed into a wistful yearning.

Song Ciwan said, "It is the nature of the Human Race to favor internal conflict when there is no external enemy. However, once an external foe appears and they face a war for their very race, the people of the world will rise up, unite, and face the threat together."

"Young man, look at the rolling wheels of history. How many heroes and great figures have ultimately become but floating clouds? Beaten by the rain and blown by the wind, they scatter into dust."

"Whether it is an arrogant king of the moment or a glorious nation of an era, all will eventually fade with time."

"The Yun Country is long gone. The Yan Country is gone. The Yong Country is gone. Emperor Shang has become a joke in the annals of history! But your great-grandfather, Chancellor Gao, has instead left a good name for himself in the history books, remembered as a renowned minister of old."

"Young man, rather than being trapped in a fortress of sorrow, you should learn to let go."

"It has been a thousand years. Your great-grandfather, your father and mother, your brothers and sisters... if they have spirits in the heavens and see you still trapped in the past, unable to break free, would they not feel heartbroken?"

The tentacles at Mr. Gao’s feet curled back. His feet shifted slightly on the spot, and all the tentacles in his hollow left eye socket retracted deep into the orbit.

He lowered his head slightly and said softly, "But if I let go... what can I do?"

Song Ciwan said, "If you don’t let go, what did you plan to do?"

Mr. Gao looked at his deformed feet and said, "I don’t know. I only know that I hate so much, oh, I hate so much... I’m filled with so much hatred. I don’t know where I am, or how much time has passed. There’s just hate, and pain. Everything hurts..."

"I can’t see with my eyes either. Everything is dark. I just waited in the darkness like that, waiting, and waiting..."

"Then suddenly, at some point, it was as if a voice urged me: ’You should get up. Go. Go and kill every living creature you see!’"

"Killing... I like that..."

"We’re all dead anyway, so everyone else should die too. Go... go die..."

As he spoke, his voice grew softer and softer.

He was clearly a manifestation of pure resentment, a supremely malevolent anomaly. Yet at the very moment he was muttering "go die," his voice not only grew softer, but even seemed to be choked with a faint sob.

He then asked, "Xin Mian, you said the Mortal World is now a unified dynasty. What is this dynasty like? Are the common people well? Are there natural disasters? Is there war? And the demons... have they all retreated?"

Song Ciwan pondered this question for a moment before answering, "Today’s Great Zhou has established the Four Great Celestial Passes on the border between the Nine Provinces and the Thunder Feather Marsh. They are the Demon Suppression Pass, the Demon Slaughter Pass, the Demon-Trap Pass, and the Demon Extinction Pass. They serve to keep the Nine Celestial Demon Countries outside the borders of the Human Realm."

"The Great Zhou divided the Nine Provinces into the Eighty-One Counties. Each county has a number of cities, and every city has a City God Temple, a Lantern Hanging Department, and a City Patrol Department."

"The City God protects the local region and manages matters of Yin and Yang. The Lantern Hanging Department exorcises Demon Fiends. The City Patrol Department fills in any gaps. The Mountain and River Mirror hangs in the Government Office, transmitting decrees..."

"As for the common people, one cannot say they are entirely free from suffering, but at least now, after the unification under the Great Zhou, there are no longer countless large and small nations waging war year after year."

"History is always moving forward. The people have suffered through the chaos of war; they have no desire to fight again."

"Young man, with things as they are, do you think it is good or not?"

Mr. Gao looked up, his eyes wide. "It is good. It is wonderful..."

As he spoke, his lips trembled, veins bulged on the side of his face, and his body began to shake.

Song Ciwan cried out in alarm, "Young man, what’s wrong?"