Central Continent
The Central Continent has also seen various changes over the years. Even though He Fan's attack and the catastrophe delayed their unification, they were still able to form an alliance with the Verdant Forest Territory and the Crimson Peak Domain.
The Crimson Peak Domain is ruled by the Heavenly Demon Sect, whose sect leader is Ji Changchen's mother herself, while the Verdant Forest Territory formed a marriage alliance with the Celestial Sect. Ji Changchen married the saintess of the Harmony Fang Sect.
After Jin Huang arrived, she also helped Ji Changchen conquer the Sword Sect. Their leader, Jiang Fugui, surrendered, and their new saint, Lin Fan, disappeared. It is said that he was killed by Ji Changchen, but no one knows what truly happened.
They also started pressuring the Ethereal Peak Territory and the Golden Plains. However, due to the environmental advantages, the Celestial Sect is unable to initiate a full-scale war. Nonetheless, under Ji Changchen's leadership, they managed to conquer many of the opposing territories, earning Ji Changchen the title of "Conqueror."
Ethereal Sect
Ming Chuan glanced at the list and was inwardly shocked. "Who would have thought that one day I would see such heaven-defying geniuses? Reaching the Domain Realm in Archery in less than 200 years? Who are they? Are they Emperors reincarnated? It looks like there really is going to be a big storm during the opening of the Grand Inheritance of Ascendance!"
Su Zun, near him, also nodded. "The Grand Inheritance of Ascendance has always opened after the appearance of an Emperor. It looks like, soon, we will see a new Emperor in the world. After the catastrophe, the world has also changed. I can feel much more durability in this world. It is likely that this world is now capable of containing more than one Emperor!"
Ming Chuan glanced at him and said calmly, "However, even the four great Emperors were incapable of obtaining the Inheritance."
Su Zun responded calmly, "It's because of the interference of those Immortals. Why would they allow a chess piece to become a chess master?"
A Few Days Later, Eastern Continent, Heavenly Dragon Sect
A young man woke up suddenly, breathing heavily. 'Am I still alive?!'
He looked around when suddenly a maid entered. "Young Master Meng, you woke up?"
Meng Xian looked at her in surprise. 'Isn't she the maid who used to serve me when I was the holy son of the Heavenly Dragon Sect? I remember she was transferred soon after I lost to Ye Fan in the Holy Son Selection Competition.'
He glanced at his own body and immediately recognized his wounds. 'These wounds are the same as the ones I got when I fought Ye Fan.'
After a warrior reaches Rank 6, their memorization becomes near-perfect. They can even remember the scratches on the ground they saw subconsciously while traveling, not to mention these wounds.
At this point in time, Meng Xian was already a Rank 6 late-stage warrior.
Meng Xian said to the maid calmly, "You may leave."
After the maid left, he instantly created an isolation formation and said through gritted teeth, "Demon Li Gang, I swear to heavens I will tear you to pieces. Heaven gave me another chance. This time, I will definitely kill you with my own hands. I will get the Inheritance of Grand Ascendance."
He checked his body and murmured, "In my last life, I reached Quasi Emperor. This time, I will go beyond and strive to be an Immortal!"
Around the Same Time, Somewhere Beyond the Divine Spirit World
Wang Xueyao suddenly opened her eyes, sensing something. 'What just happened?'
She glanced around and immediately realized how much time had passed. 'Hundreds of years passed!'
She immediately turned her attention to the source of the disturbance and was inwardly shocked. The entire Heaven of Balance was moving in the reverse direction, as if someone had reversed the flow of time.
The Divine Spirit World is a small part of the 9 Heavens. The 9 Heavens are divided into 6 Heavens of Trial and 3 Heavens of Reward. In fact, some people call the 6 Heavens of Trial "Hell" because this is where people face hellish trials after their death, while the 3 Heavens of Reward are called the "God Realm," as this is where Immortals reside.
Each of these heavens transcends cosmology. In the world of immortality, there is a concept called "Infy."
Infy can be defined as a conceptual construct representing an infinite hierarchy of structures, where each complete, infinitely repeating sequence is treated as a singular unit or point in the next higher level of abstraction. This process continues indefinitely, with each infinite series becoming a foundational point for a subsequent, more complex construct, creating an endlessly layered progression of infinities.
Infy is also known as Limitless Infinity because it encompasses unending levels of abstraction. Each of the 9 Heavens transcends to Infy dimensions. There are Infy cosmologies within each of these heavens.
The 3 Heavens of Reward are divided into the Heaven of Creation, Heaven of Balance, and Heaven of Destruction. They are named after their rulers and the inhabitants within them. The Heaven of Balance faced huge destruction later on, and its parts merged with the Heaven of Creation and the Heaven of Destruction. Its core still exists, connecting both heavens.
Very few Immortals now reside in the Heaven of Balance. The Divine Spirit World is just a small world within it. Back then, the Supreme of Balance merged the Infy dimensions of the Heaven of Balance into finite transcendent dimensions. A Supreme transcends the very concept of dimensionality and is able to manipulate them at will; even creating, destroying, and transcending them is possible. However, after the Supreme of Balance disappeared, the Heaven of Balance couldn't maintain its structure. It became unstable and was destroyed, causing countless Immortals' deaths.
It is precisely because it has Infy dimensions that it is surprising to see the Heaven of Balance flowing in the reverse direction.
Was it going into the past? No, the Heavens don't have past and future; they only have the present. So how was it going back into the past? Due to the law of time, it should always move forward. This is positive entropy.
However, it was not going back into the past. It was still going into the future, just in the negative direction of entropy.
Assume a glass of water is a whole universe, and the room in which this glass of water is kept is a multiverse. If this glass of water falls and breaks, then it is positive entropy. But if we use enthalpy to overcome the entropy and re-establish the whole structure of the glass and water as it was before, then even without going back in time, it feels as if the whole universe (i.e., the glass of water) is going back in time. However, with respect to the multiverse, there is no change in the flow of time.
This is what was happening right now. The reason Wang Xueyao was shocked was that reversing the natural flow and entropy of an entire Heaven—composed of Infy dimensions alongside all the Immortals and heavenly fragments within them—is not something even a Supreme could achieve. It was something only Heavenly Dao could do.
She stood up instantly and felt a sudden gaze upon her. She turned toward the direction of the gaze and smirked. "Supreme Demon, you noticed it too, didn't you?"
From an unknown source, a heavy voice rang out. "The Timeless Demon God is still alive."
Wang Xueyao's eyes deepened. "I personally killed him back then. It appears he already saw through all our plots and planned for this beforehand."
The Supreme Demon spoke lightly. "He didn't have enough to sacrifice."
Wang Xueyao smiled dangerously. "I know. I already figured it. I always wondered why he would merge the dimensions of the entire Heaven of Balance and transcend them to a mere 4 Dimensions. Now I understand. He foresaw that after his death, the Heaven of Balance would crumble apart because of the forced transcension of dimensions. He used formations to secretly protect various small worlds he had created. It was all for this moment. He didn't have enough to sacrifice to the Heavenly Dao to revert the flow of the completely intact Heaven of Balance, but what if the Heaven of Balance was already broken?"
The Supreme Demon laughed mockingly. "This is why you never achieved the Supreme Realm."
Wang Xueyao glanced at the Supreme Demon and narrowed her eyes.
The Supreme Demon said casually, "I never concerned myself with ants like the Timeless. What I've been more concerned about is your master. As for Timeless, I had long figured out that he made some sacrifice to the Heavenly Dao. I just didn't know what it was for. I suspected all along that he might still be alive, and this moment has only confirmed my suspicions. Even your master made some kind of sacrifice to the Heavenly Dao. I still haven't found a trace of it."
Wang Xueyao narrowed her eyes. "You don't need to concern yourself with it. I've already found him."
The Supreme Demon was taken aback. "Him?"
Wang Xueyao's gaze deepened, and she didn't respond further.
The Supreme Demon realized she wouldn't reveal anything more. His projection disappeared.
Wang Xueyao turned her attention to a box nearby and was instantly shocked. She could sense what was inside the box even from the outside. There was a broken, red-colored thread.
She murmured, "The Red Thread of Heaven is broken? My dear master, so you not only sacrificed your memory and cultivation but also your righteousness! Then what was the righteousness I felt when I was with you? Did you ask the Heavenly Dao to do this to hide from me?"
She immediately left after the reverse flow of the Heaven of Balance ceased. She went to visit the Immortal who ruled over the Divine Spirit World.
She spoke lightly, "Immortal Chen Dao."
Immortal Chen looked at her nervously. As an Immortal, his control over his emotions was exceptional. Even though he was nervous, Wang Xueyao couldn't detect any inner turmoil based on his outward expression.
He offered her a cup of tea and asked, "What brings you here?"
She took the cup of tea and sipped it, saying, "What did you do with him? I reminded you not to interfere personally."
Immortal Chen replied slowly, "I just introduced him to an outstanding girl. I didn't do anything after that."
Wang Xueyao remained expressionless and asked calmly, "Why?"