Thinking about it for a moment, Jing Yi immediately decided to use the opportunity. In any case, Qiu Ling was currently trying to get closer to him again. That was good for him. Even though he didn't quite trust things yet, showing that he was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt would also be good. Thus, he pulled out the history book that he had read and showed it to Qiu Ling. "I've been reading the books I took from the Tower of Wisdom. I chose them pretty randomly since I didn't really know where to start. Basically, I want to know more about the immortal realms and the immortal races. This one here is the history of the Nine Heavens. It's quite interesting to know more about but there's something that I don't quite understand."
Qiu Ling nodded. "If I can help you, I'll be happy to do so. But don't expect too much. I didn't have the kind of upbringing that would've made me an expert on anything regarding the other realms. I hardly know the full history of the dragon realm."
In fact, the bit that he knew was all what he had learned back when his family had still lived in the capital city. After that, his education had mostly ground to a halt save for Chun Yin teaching him how to use a sword and how to read and write. It couldn't be helped. Contrary to Jinde, Chun Yin had not really been somebody who was fond of learning. If it was a practical task, he wouldn't mind it but sitting down to study several hours a day … he had rather relied on Jinde to fill him in on the details that he actually needed to know. It could be said that it had been a blessing in disguise for the dragon race that it had still been Jinde in the end who became their king. Who knew if Chun Yin would have been doing as good a job at it as he did?
Jing Yi didn't know exactly what the situation with Qiu Ling was but he figured that even if his lover didn't know that much, he should at least know more than him. "Well, what I'm most curious about is actually Tian. I remember the name from Jing He's memories but as you know I didn't quite understand everything I saw. From what it says here, he is the one who created the immortal realms and all the races. Do you know anything more about him?"
Qiu Ling was a little startled when he heard that question. He had expected that it would be something super complicated that he wouldn't have any answer to but on second thought, this also made sense. Jing Yi was a mortal. He didn't know much about either the gods or the Nine Heavens. He also didn't know the most basic things about the immortal races in general. Naturally, he also wouldn't really know about Tian. He should've expected this. "Tian … Yes, that is what is generally taught about him. What exactly do you not understand?"
Jing Yi lightly furrowed his brows. It had seemed to be the best way to ask Qiu Ling about this but on second thought, he was actually a little embarrassed. These things should be pretty simple for Qiu Ling, right? Would he look down on him for this? But then again, there was no way for him to bridge the gap in knowledge between him and Jing He if you didn't go on out on a limb and lowered his head for a bit to inquire some more.
A person growing up for two thousand years in the Nine Heavens who had also been specifically taught to be the future ruler of these people would naturally know quite a lot. There was no way that he would be able to make up for that anytime soon. Not even if he read through all the books in the Tower of Wisdom from dusk until dawn. There just wasn't enough time.
Even though he wasn't sure if it was the right decision, Jing Yi finally still posed his questions. On the other hand, Qiu Ling was even more surprised. To him, this bit about Tian and the trueborn gods was still common knowledge but after thinking about it for a moment, he realized why it wasn't the same for Jing Yi. Thus, he patiently took the time to answer him to the best of his ability.
"Tian is not part of any of the races. I can't tell you what exactly he is though. I don't think that anybody knows. Even the oldest person still alive in our race is only as old as Tian's curse of the three immortal races. At that time, the races themselves were already old and Tian is even older than them. So there is nobody alive who would know about that. The only one who would be able to answer that kind of question would be Tian himself but it isn't like we could just ask. In any case, he's a special kind of existence, the only one no matter which realm you look at.
"As for the trueborn gods, they differ from him just as much as the demons and dragons do. Creating realms is still something that is possible for us but not life. At the very least, not in the same manner as he does."
"Not in the same manner?" Jing Yi was a little confused by that statement. "So there is a way to create life for the gods?"
Qiu Ling smiled faintly. "Well, I'm not sure if you can even compare it. But all the immortal races have the ability to create offspring from the spiritual energy through some means. So it is possible to create a life. But we would never be able to create something entirely different from ourselves. It is really just another way to have a child."
Jing Yi was still a little stunned. "To create a child … why not just have one the normal way?"
Qiu Ling smiled faintly at that. "Well … it isn't always possible, is it?"
Jing Yi looked at him, not comprehending what he meant for a moment but Qiu Ling didn't explain any further. Instead, he just prompted him to ask his own questions. "Is there anything else? I think there isn't that much more to say about Tian. He is definitely still worshiped by all three immortal races but it isn't like he is taking on an active part. Since the time the curse was placed, nobody has seen him."
Jing Yi nodded faintly but he couldn't help and think of how he had actually seen this person. So … it wasn't like he was completely out of the world.