Yuan Zhen fell to his knees, his eyes widened and trembling. He attempted to grasp what he had learned, while simultaneously comparing it with what he knew. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't fully comprehend it all.
The Celestial Emperor, Lord of Heaven, and King Yan, Lord of all Hell, had both come together to formally recognize the Infallible Race Institute.
Though all looked well on the surface, things had now come to the opposite of that. The Golden Purgatory Alliance he had learned of had been led by the Celestial Emperor himself. Though Yuan Zhen wasn't sure that the people knew who he was, he knew for a fact that the man in white was the same as the winged man attacking Juxue's daughter.
As for Juxue's daughter, he could only speculate that the young woman was her based on the yin-yang emblem. If she was the Infallible Race Empress, that meant that something had happened to Juxue, who was perhaps the founder.
Yuan Zhen figured that certain things were hidden, just as his own past life's accomplishments were hidden from the beasts.
There were too many things he still didn't understand. He gathered his thoughts and stood up again, looking at that inscription. He had missed it just now in his shock, but the inscription was actually signed, "Your Faraway Friend, The Dreamweaver."
Even that was a mystery, so he ignored it and gave the painting a final once-over. He realized only then that she was being cast down to the inner region, into the largest visible pit.
"So she was buried in the inner region. By the look of it, none of those energies belong to her." Yuan Zhen had thought that one of the sources of energy in the Grotto was the Empress.
Now, he doubted that.
The more likely story was that her power was stolen by the Celestial Emperor, then he cast her into the collection of energies to have her body refined. However, Yuan Zhen had not been able to sense her corpse within the inner region's source.
Finally, he turned to face the final piece of the Infallible Race's history. On the altar at the center of the room, he once again looked upon that open book.
As he approached the altar, the purple specks became excited and began to swirl, creating a small cyclone that ruffled his clothes. As he was blown by that wind, he felt like his pores were being opened and streams of energy were filling him up.
His heart rate increased and his blood ran hot, pushing him into a state of high activity. Even the energy in his body was lively and thrumming with power.
Once he finally stood before the book, the cyclone vanished. Those purple specks could no longer be seen.
"Yuan Zhen... I feel like I just remembered something..." Miss Huang had spoken out in his mind.
Yuan Zhen adjusted his breathing and calmed his body. "What did you remember?"
"I remember when I was born, like it was just yesterday..." Hearing this, Yuan Zhen frowned and ignored her going forward.
He saw that the pages of the book were in perfect condition, not even bent or discolored. Even the ink seemed fresh and wet, as if it had just been left out to dry.
He conjured up a piece of cloth to keep the page that had been open, then turned back to the beginning, finding the first page. Taking a final breath in preparation, he picked the book up from its spot on the altar.
Looking around at the room to see if any traps would be sprung, he sighed then hopped up onto the altar to sit and read.
"In this Record, it is I, the firstborn of Primal Chaos, King Yan, that speaks to you, the reader."
Right off the bat, Yuan Zhen received a shock. King Yan himself had written the book in his hand.
"My Brother, representative of Yang, whom the 'gods' call the Celestial Emperor, Jiang, is and always will be the enemy of all things in opposition to his will. It is no mistake, then, that he stands against the worlds below Heaven, inclusive of Hell."
"Be wary, reader, as though knowledge is power, power brings burdens. You are set on a course that leads to the unearthing of secrets beyond what the mortals should know. If you fear the punishment of my brother, then desist from reading the things in this Record."
Yuan Zhen halted, a duality in his mind. Though he had nothing against Heaven, he also had nothing against Hell. His only quarrel was with the mortals beings in the mortal realms. Still, he had no strong conviction to ally himself with either Heaven or Hell.
Reading that book could be considered automatically siding himself with Hell.
As he was contemplating, Miss Huang spoke again. He had forgotten to ignore her.
"Yuan Zhen... Have you ever heard of the Primordial Beasts?"
He scoffed. "Of course I have. I'm a beast, am I not? The Primordial Beasts are just what we call the progenitors of the various beast bloodlines."
"Huh? What kind of crap is that? Then are you suggesting that every beast alive today is a direct descendant of the Primordial Beasts?" Miss Huang replied, her tone incredulous.
"Exactly. Are you suggesting otherwise?"
"Now I remember what I remembered! The children of the Netherworld were called Hell-Spawn, while the children of Heaven were called Gods, but a child born of a Hell-Spawn and a God is called a beast! Right?"
Hearing that, Yuan Zhen was unable to believe it. This time, surely, Miss Huang had to be wrong. The Primordial Beasts were recorded in his culture. As a young man he had personally perused the historical records and found the truth of the beast's origin.
"You should read this book, Yuan Zhen. Whether or not it comes with a price, it will still show you one side of what happened. That way, if you ever come to learn the other side of the story, you'll have a complete understanding."
With that point, Yuan Zhen could not argue. It was the most sensible thing Miss Huang had said in a while.
He turned, beginning his study:-
Primal Chaos was the force of the beginning, at the beginning that caused the beginning. It was the remnant of the old dimensions, which had been destroyed as per the cycle of death and rebirth.
Primal Chaos gave birth, once again, to Yin. Primal Chaos and Yin gave birth to Yang, and the three gave birth to all things yet again. The most important point to remember was that it was nothing new.
Dimensions were birthed, destroyed, and birthed again many, many times.
This was merely a new iteration.
King Yan went on to explain how Yin and Yang took the form of him and his brother. Though that particular Yin was different, his incarnation remained the same. Thus, he and his brother were unchanged.
They retained the memories of their previous incarnations, which was the biggest mystery of their lives. King Yan had speculated that the order of death and rebirth was set up by some higher entity, and that that entity was responsible for their existence.
However, Jiang, the Celestial Emperor, did not believe this. He was firm in his belief that he and his brother, Yin and Yang, were the height of existence, meant to wield the power of Primal Chaos.
King Yan thought the opposite. If they were Yin and Yang, then Primal Chaos could also have taken shape. Yin and Yang could not control Primal Chaos, but it was clear that Primal Chaos was in control of their rebirth.
The likelihood of Primal Chaos being responsible for their death, as well, was high. Thus, the brothers' philosophies divided them. Throughout various lifetimes, their division only grew until they had taken to establishing Heaven on one side and Hell on the other.
This lifetime was no different, except Jiang had began to put things in place to patch the divide.
He spoke of the many years he spent thinking about things, and had agreed that King Yan was correct. As their talks continued, it seemed that Jiang had truly shifted his beliefs and Yan was happy to have his brother back.
Underneath it all, a sinister plot brewed.
As any sensible, ambitious leaders would, King Yan and the Celestial Emperor decided to bring their powers together. In order to do so, they sought beings capable of embodying the best of both Heaven and Hell.
These were the Primordial Beasts, children of the union between Hell and Heaven. Even Yin and Yang acknowledged the potential of Primordial Beasts. Such things had never been seen by them in any iteration of existence.
One such Primordial Beast, Long Juxue, had surpassed many others of her kind.
King Yan spoke of her many talents, and her ability that allowed her to triumph over legions of gods and devils.
She was a testament to Primordial Beasts potential. Alongside her, another such Primordial Beast rose up. As fate would have it, the two most talented of the primordials fell for each other.
Long Juxue and Ye Lingzi.
King Yan also mentioned that Long Juxue's father, Long Yi, was a mighty Devil. He had been struck by a terrifying attack and was unable to fully recover, leaving him to slowly deteriorate.
It was Long Juxue's hope that the Celestial Emperor would gift her a fruit of his heavenly garden, allowing her Father an eternal life.
Yuan Zhen stopped reading to digest what he had learned so far, but also because he was approaching the marked page. Something told him that, beyond the marker, things would take a turn for the worse.
He continued:-
Long Juxue, being chosen as the best candidate for the job, was labelled the 'Instructor of Heaven, Earth and Hell.'
Among other titles, Yuan Zhen only focused on one: "The Leader of the Infallible Race."
Now Yuan Zhen understood the true meaning behind the name. The Infallible Race did encompass those that learned beneath her, but it truly referred to the Primordial Beasts. They were the Infallible Race.
"Still, it seems as though even the truly infallible were defeated." He continued, already having an idea in mind.
He found that his speculations, though logical, were far from the truth.
The Celestial Emperor realized that, by himself, he would not be able to stand up to Primal Chaos. He would need his brother. He would need their energies to unite once again.
Yin and Yang together was the only conceivable way to defy Primal Chaos.
However, Jiang did not intend to share his glory. His brother doubted him, and was right to do so. That was not something he could genuinely admit, and had not even said it directly during his pretentious apology.
Though King Yan wanted it to be true, even he realized that his brother was being dishonest.
However, he underestimated the resentment of the Celestial Emperor.
With the most talented youngsters of Heaven, Earth and Hell attending the institute, the Celestial Emperor brought his army of gods to Hell with intent to slaughter.
King Yan had not been entirely prepared for a war, but he was prepared for his brother's attack.
Their battle raged on, reaching beyond Hell and even onto Heaven.
The Infallible Race Institute, which was in the Void-Space between all three major realms, could not be alerted in time.
Eventually, Ye Lingzi showed himself. He fought against and defeated the legion of gods, but had been too late to save the majority of the devils, demons and hell-spawn.
Ye Lingzi even tried to help King Yan suppress the Celestial Emperor, but they were still outmatched. The Celestial Emperor had gone too far. King Yan only realized during their fight that Jiang had been taking the souls of Primordial Beasts that weren't too outstanding.
As he did this, he gleamed the secrets of merging Yin and Yang.
While he fought against King Yan, the Celestial Emperor was growing by absorbing King Yan's energy.
King Yan and Ye Lingzi were both beaten, and Ye Lingzi fell.
The Celestial Emperor took all of his energy, but could not harm his omni-soul. Even he did not have the power of Primal Chaos to kill and resurrect Yin.
Thus, King Yan was reduced to nothing but an everlasting lifeform. He had been able to write the record, but could do nothing to stop his brother from being rid of the only beings that could eventually stand against him.
He wiped out the Infallible Race, and killed any of the institute that would not serve him.
Once Jiang was finished, Yan visited the ruins of the Infallible Race's world. He personally saw to their burials as Jiang simply ignored him.
At the end of the Record, Yuan Zhen learned that King Yan had taken to roaming the major realm between Heaven and Hell. Though it was called 'Earth,' it was comprised of all the mortal realms or worlds. It was the middle ground, and a place of generally mediocre talent.
As he ventured through all the Earth, as he had all the time in the world, King Yan stumbled across a strange energy signature. Though it was beyond anything Earth could produce, it was faint and much too weak to be sensed from Heaven unless special attention was being paid to Earth.
King Yan only then came to learn of a new secret. Time, though unchanging, was diverse in the variations of its flow. It seemed that, for some reason, Earth's flow of time was years behind the flow of Heaven and Hell.
He thought it was, perhaps, because of the lack of a 'governing energy' like Yin and Yang. That was why, when mortals ascended to Heaven or descended to Hell, they would see a huge rise in their potential.
But that was besides the point.
The source of that energy signature was all to familiar to King Yan, as they had fought side by side in the past. It only arrived at that time becausee the flow of time was slower.
The energy was Ye Lingzi's. It was the last of his power, used to ensure the safety of his daughter, Ye Huang.