Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Miao Shihao looked at his surroundings and asked, “Isn’t the Cang Heaven Spell Blade and the Xuan Heaven Seal with you? In their hearts, they have their doubts too. However, they are unable to confirm them.”
“The Heavenly Imperial Jade joined the Great Void Sect for many years. She is perhaps trying to find out what happened all those years ago too. However, the Great Void Sect never trusted her and hence, they did not give her enough resources to re-ascend to the Mahayana level.”
Lin Feng looked at Miao Shihao and said, “Oh, according to what you have said, it appears that Heaven’s Gate of the Antiquity Age had been designated as an ‘unstable power’ or an ‘enemy power’ too?”
A cold smile crossed Miao Shihao’s face as he said, “Heaven’s Gate was the reason that the Great Void Sect came up with these designations. They were the first super-sect that the Great Void Sect labeled as an ‘unstable power’.”
“During the War of the Two Worlds, the Great Void Sect was led by the ultraconservatives. They viewed the Great Thunderclap Temple as an enemy primarily because they taught Buddhism to the demons. However, that was not the case for Heaven’s Gate.”
“In that period, the Great Void Sect was at an all-time low. Heaven’s Gate rose because they fought against the excesses of the Emperor of Violence. In the end, they were able to lead the revolution that overthrew the Emperor of Violence.”
“While the Great Void Sect took part in the final battle and played an important role, to the extent where they pushed their partially-damaged Supreme Heavenly Mirror to its limit, their previous inaction greatly damaged their prestige.”
Miao Shihao shook his head and said, “Then, if the prestige of Heaven’s Gate had continued to rise, then they would have surpassed the Great Void Sect. This was unacceptable to many in the Great Void Sect.”
“At this very moment, the Emperor of Extremity, Shenyuan, appeared. He united the Barren Expanses and started a War of the Two Worlds.”
Miao Shihao said slowly, “The sect leader of the Great Void Sect then, the Chang Yun Holy Man, made a decision that was viewed as perfect by some, but also heavily criticized by others.”
“The decision was controversial and left a deep impact on the entire Great Void Sect in the years to come.”
Miao Shihao’s gaze was deep as he said, “In terms of power, the Chang Yun Holy Man could not even be counted among the top ten, much less be on par with the Great Void Holy Man, Wen Chiyang or the Tai YI Holy Man. However, his impact was profound.”
Lin Feng said quietly, “Does it concern Heaven’s Gate?”
Miao Shihao nodded and said, “In one aspect, he was the founder of the ultraconservatives in the Great Void Sect.”
“Also, the Great Void Sect only started to concern themselves with the other powerful sects of the Divine Lands from him onwards as they tried to buy time for the Great Void Sect and the Supreme Heavenly Mirror.”
“Before that, there were similar examples too,” reminisced Miao Shihao. “This thinking was first developed by the Chi Yang Holy Man.”
“The Chi Yang Holy Man sacrificed himself to buy time for Yan Xinghe, the Supreme Heavenly Mirror, and Xia Fangyu to kill the Emperor of Extremity. Before that, he single-handedly guarded the Divine Lands and many times, he paid the price with his own blood as he tried to buy time for the Supreme Heavenly Mirror to recover. He avoided using the Supreme Heavenly Mirror at all costs to not delay its recovery.”
Miao Shihao continued, “Afterwards, things began to change.”
“In the battle to overthrow the Emperor of the Dead, Yan Xinghe was killed. The Supreme Heavenly Mirror too was heavily damaged in that battle and its recovery would take eons. The sect leader then, Du Yunge, allied with the Emperor of the Ancients and after a long discussion, he came to an agreement that the Emperor of the Ancients would temporarily be responsible for dealing with the Barren Expanses to buy recovery time for the Great Void Sect and the Supreme Heavenly Mirror.”
Lin Feng listened quietly without interruption. Miao Shihao continued, “At last, while the Supreme Heavenly Mirror did not return to its peak condition, it regained most of its former powers. Once again, it played an important role in the next War of the Two Worlds. While Du Yunge fell in battle, he was able to kill the then-Holy Demonic Emperor with the Emperor of the Ancients.”
“Afterwards, the heavily-injured Emperor of the Ancients was killed by the Emperor of Violence, who began his reign of terror over the Divine Lands. The Chang Yun Holy Man, who assumed the mantle of leadership after Du Yunge, chose to defend Mount Baiyun. The Great Void Sect appeared to have cut itself off. That was the lowest point of the Great Void Sect and its most humiliating period.”
“However, in the eyes of the Chang Yun Holy Man, he believed that this period of humiliation would buy time for the Supreme Heavenly Mirror to recover. At last, he allied with Heaven’s Gate to kill the Emperor of Violence, which proved to be the right choice.”
Miao Shihao’s voice became faint as he continued, “The Chi Yang Holy Man sacrificed himself to kill the Emperor of Extremity, Shenyuan. Had Emperor Xia not been distracted from his official affairs, it was likely that the Emperor of Extremity would have met an early end.”
“The Emperor of the Ancients bought time for the Supreme Heavenly Mirror to recover, which was then able to kill the Holy Demonic Emperor then, achieving victory in the War of the Two Worlds.”
“By temporarily sealing off Mount Baiyun, the Chang Yun Holy Man was able to buy time for the Supreme Heavenly Mirror to recover while letting the other sects bear the pressure from the Emperor of Violence. When the Supreme Heavenly Mirror recovered, it was then able to kill him.”
“These successes, in the eyes of the Chang Yun Holy Man and the other Great Void Sect cultivators, prompted them to make more and more similar decisions. To them, it was the right thing to do.”
Lin Feng said plainly, “The end justifies the means. As long as the final benefits outweigh the sacrifices, then the sacrifices are not in vain.”
“However, the Great Void Sect moved from self-sacrifice to forming alliances, to acting on its own accord without caring about others’ opinions and finally, to tricking others to sacrifice themselves for them.”
“As to whether others are willing and able to make these sacrifices, the Great Void Sect gives no consideration to it.”
“The Great Void Sect determines who shall be sacrificed and who shall be spared.”
Miao Shihao said, “The teachings of Heaven’s Gate were to use one mantra to form ten thousand mantras, to use one spell to conjure ten thousand spells and to use one Dao to form ten thousand Dao. They studied the mantras of the demons and tried to raise some demons. Furthermore, they were in contact with many demons that did not take part in the War of the Two Worlds, such as the phoenixes and the Divine Parasol Trees.”
“Hence, because of their rise, Tian Dikong and Heaven’s Gate naturally became the enemies of the Great Void Sect. Here, the term ‘unstable power’ appeared for the first time.”
“After getting rid of the Emperor of Violence, another War of the Two Worlds broke out. The Emperor of Extremity, Shenyuan, approached the Divine Lands. His first target was Mount Baiyun and the Great Void Sect, which had defeated him many years ago.”
An ironic look crossed Miao Shihao’s face. “The only defensive actions the Great Void Sect took was something rather small.”
Lin Feng looked at him as Miao Shihao continued, “During a chaotic battle in the War of the Two Worlds, they found an opportunity to bring Tian Dikong’s daughter and Shenyuan’s son together. In the end, Tian Dikong’s only daughter died at the hands of Shengtian Lingji, Shenyuan’s son.”
“When news reached him, Tian Dikong rushed there as fast as he could. However, he was too slow. There, he killed Shengtian Lingji and vowed to battle the Emperor of Extremity to the death.”
“Hence, the two sides battle furiously. Heaven’s Gate was destroyed and Tian Dikong fell in battle. Even the Inter-World Passage to the Ancient Desolate Galaxy was broken and split into six,” Miao Shihao shook his head and continued, “Heaven’s Gate could have been said to be at its peak back then. It was in a period of rapid growth and there was hope for further expansion. After that battle, it was reduced to nothing.”
“The Great Void Sect, however, did not incur many losses. After the Middle Ages, it rebounded and started another glorious chapter of its history.”
Miao Shihao sighed, “In the final days of the Antiquity Age and the early days of the Middle Ages, there was much controversy about the Chang Yun Holy Man’s actions. However…”
Lin Feng’s expression was calm as he continued Miao Shihao’s sentence, “However, the Supreme Heavenly Mirror made a complete recovery in the Middle Ages and helped Wen Chiyang to suppress the Emperor of Extremity. Increasingly, people felt that the Chang Yun Holy Man made the right decision.”
Miao Shihao nodded his head and said, “However, if the Chang Yun Holy Man was unable to bring the power of the Netherworld Sea back to the Divine Lands, success could not be guaranteed. There was even the possibility that the Emperor of Extremity would break through Mount Baiyun. However, more and more people felt that the Chang Yun Holy Man helped the Divine Lands conserve its strength and maintain hopeful.”
“Before that, while there was still controversy over labeling other sects as ‘unstable power’ or ‘enemy power’ and using them to wear the demons down in the War of the Two Worlds, it became the norm after that incident. In every single War of the Two Worlds afterward, the same strategy was used.”
“If an ‘unstable power’ is destroyed in a war, then there is no need to continue observing them, like Heaven’s Gate.”
“If an ‘unstable power’ survives the war, they will be subjected to further scrutiny afterward, like the Great Thunderclap Temple.”
“’Enemy powers’ will be eliminated as soon as possible so they will not affect the next War of the Two Worlds, like the current Emperor of the Dead and the Hall of the Dead, as well as the Satanic Way sects in the Middle Ages, and the Great Thunderclap Temple.”
“If an ‘enemy power’ cannot be eliminated immediately, then they will try to get the demons to wear it down in the next War of the Two Worlds. After the war, they will then eliminate it, just like what they did to the Ancient Satanic Sect.”
Miao Shihao then said coyly, “The rise of the Hades Emperor since the Middle Ages was already terrifying enough, even though he did not reach his peak. As the Supreme Heavenly Mirror was damaged in the war to kill the Emperor of Extremity, the Ancient Satanic Sect was tricked into battling the demons then.”
“In the end, Jiang Shaoyang, the leader of the Ancient Satanic Sect, was killed in battle and their sect’s most powerful Destiny level magic treasure, the Primordial Golden Boat, was completely destroyed. Many Ancient Satanic Sect cultivators perished too.”
“However, the Great Void Sect did not expect that the Ancient Satanic Sect’s top mantra, the Ancient Satanic Heart Mantra, to be so powerful. With it, Jiang Shaoyang was reborn and while he was severely injured, he was still the most powerful human cultivator.”
“In the end, during the war against the Satanic Way cultivators, the Great Void Sect was forced to use the Supreme Heavenly Mirror. They were only able to kill Jiang Shaoyang with all their strength. However, the Supreme Heavenly Mirror, which was not fully recovered, saw its recovery being delayed once more. It only regained its peak in the last War of the Two Worlds.”
Miao Shihao then said, “If not for the internal dispute among the demons at the start of the Modern Age, where the True Hou Tribe and some other demons rebelled against the Hades Emperor, history could have turned out very differently if he had chosen to invade then.”
Hearing that, Lin Feng nodded his head and suddenly, a cold gaze flashed from his eyes as he asked, “Shihao, do you think that the Celestial Sect of Wonders has been labeled as an ‘unstable power’, or even an ‘enemy power’ by the Great Void Sect?”