Chapter 1 The Serene Abode

The small courtyard was located outside the bustling city, separated by several streets, yet it seemed to be devoid of any noise, quiet and secluded, like entering a deep mountain.

To the naked eye, it seemed unremarkable, but in reality, this place was outside the gathering of popularity in the Eighth City, outside the bustling market, in the midst of tranquility, yet it was like an array eye.

Arriving here, Zhu Da Hai became somewhat uneasy, as if he sensed something. He grabbed An Qisheng's sleeve and shook his head repeatedly, "No, I don't want to go."

Having shed his body of Dan poison, Zhu Da Hai's 'Pig Dragon' bloodline had awakened again, and his perception of the outside world had become even stronger.

At this time, he felt as if he had walked to the edge of a cliff, and one more step would lead to utter destruction.

"Having come to someone's territory, how can we not see its master?"

An Qisheng patted Zhu Da Hai's shoulder, gently smoothing the unease in his heart.

Creak~

As he spoke, the door of the small courtyard slowly opened, and a young man with temples streaked with gray walked out.

The young man's sideburns were frosted, his eyes like ink jade, and as he came out, he first took a deep look at An Qisheng and the other man not far away, his gaze lingering for a moment on the chick that Zhu Da Hai was holding.

Then, he clasped his hands:

"Since you've come, sir, why not come in?"

This, however, was not the manner of address between cultivators.

"Mm."

An Qisheng nodded slightly and strolled into the small courtyard. The 'small' of the small courtyard was in comparison to the grandness of the bustling city; in reality, it was not small at all.

It had three courtyards, with pavilions, flowers and plants, and an old tree.

The old tree was about two people's embrace, its color emerald green, its crown like a canopy, sheltering half of the courtyard.

Before the old tree, a middle-aged man stood with his hands behind his back, his aura沉凝 (chen ning - deep and composed). At first glance, he looked like an eternally standing mountain peak, his spine like a pillar of heaven, undulating as if he would transform into a dragon and fly away in the next moment.

"Father, the gentleman you spoke of has arrived."

The young man did not salute, but said in a low voice and retreated to the side.

Over there, there was another young girl propping her chin up and looking at the chessboard; the young man was her opponent.

"Tianjiao City has not been so lively for a long time."

The middle-aged man turned to look at An Qisheng and said faintly.

An Qisheng glanced at him. The middle-aged man had majestic features, high eyebrows and a wide nose, and his eyes were deep, shining like morning stars.

A washed-out cloth robe could not hide his unparalleled grace.

This middle-aged man was the Tian Ding Emperor.

This world-shaking hero who stirred up the winds and clouds a thousand years ago and had a thousand-year feud with Li Tian Holy Land and even the Three Great Holy Lands, the Tian Ding Emperor.

"Isn't it going to be even more lively in two years?"

An Qisheng knew what he was talking about.

The tracking of him by several major sects and the Ming Yue Holy Land had never stopped, and they had already pursued him to Tianjiao City, but they had not acted out of fear of the Tian Ding Emperor's power.

In reality, under the calm surface, there were already undercurrents surging.

"Yes, very lively."

The Tian Ding Emperor sighed with some emotion and anticipation, waved his hand, and a stone table and two stone benches rose from the ground:

"Sir, I should have fulfilled my duty as host. Please."

The Tian Ding Emperor was gentle in his attitude. He first asked An Qisheng to sit down and then said to the young girl in the distance, "Fourteenth, go and get the pot of wine I hid."

"Dad, I'm busy! Let Fourth Brother go."

The young girl glared at her father and stared at her brother, "Aren't you going quickly? When you come back, I'll make my move!"

"Alas."

The young man shook his head: "Fourteenth, you said that before, and the last time too. It seems that this game of chess will last until Dad's funeral."

"呸呸呸 (pei pei pei - Shame! Shame! Shame!)!"

The young girl slapped her brother a few times, displeased, "Dad is getting stronger as he gets older, I'm afraid you won't outlive him!"

"Who knows? What he's doing might not let me, your brother, live longer than him."

The young man glanced lazily at the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man glared, "You little brat, aren't you going to get me the wine?"

The young man had no choice but to slowly get up and walk towards the backyard.

"Sir, please forgive me for laughing, my children are not used to being respectful."

The Tian Ding Emperor shook his head with a somewhat helpless expression.

"Such family happiness, even the ancient emperors rarely have."

An Qisheng gently stroked the table, feeling the texture of the stone table. Even the stone table that rose from the ground had layers of array patterns on it.

In Tianjiao City and even Tian Ding Kingdom, no one did not know the Tian Ding Emperor.

This emperor, who had been sitting in Tianjiao City for more than a thousand years, had a total of fourteen children, thirteen sons and one daughter, and the age gap between these fourteen children was extremely large.

The youngest was like the Fourteenth Princess, who was said to be only twenty years old, and the oldest was like the Fourth Prince, who was less than a hundred years younger than the Tian Ding Emperor.

The difference of a hundred years seemed insignificant in the more than a thousand years of their lifespan.

It seemed that there was not much error in saying that they were 'peers'.

Of course, this was not uncommon.

It was said that in ancient times there was a pair of talented father and son, the father being less than twenty years older than the son.

It should have been a competition between peers, but it became a competition between father and son, both being crowned kings and having a lifespan of ten thousand years. Today, they are still cited as a good story.

"Emperor......"

The Tian Ding Emperor smiled and then asked, "Sir has been in Tianjiao City for several days, I wonder what your impressions are?"

An Qisheng stared at the Tian Ding Emperor in front of him, and deep in his eyes, scenes of the city flashed.

Tianjiao City was prosperous like cooking oil over a raging fire, and the people and cultivators lived in harmony. To some extent, there were no ordinary people anymore. Even the most ordinary people had not weak blood energy.

The various facilities and arrays were also the most outstanding he had seen in this world.

Unfortunately, from a faint clue in the memories of Zheng Longqiu and others, he could infer that the opening of the Zhawang (various kings) Platform in two years would inevitably erupt into a world-shattering chaos.

The title of the number one person in the contemporary Eastern Continent was high and grand enough, but it was already precarious.

After thinking for a while, he opened his mouth, "Skeletons in the tomb."

Silence!

The small courtyard suddenly became quiet.

The delicate and pretty girl was also attracted by the attention. Her beautiful eyes were fixed on An Qisheng. There were very few people who dared to say this to her father.

"Skeletons in the tomb......"

The Tian Ding Emperor chewed on these four words slightly, not angry, just nodding and smiling: "Sir, these four words are used appropriately."

He had not left Tianjiao City for a thousand years, using himself as the array eye to protect the entire Tianjiao City, and combining the popularity and land luck of Tianjiao City, it seemed that even the Three Great Holy Lands and several major sects could not do anything to him.

In reality, the crisis had never left, and was even getting closer.

The four words 'skeletons in the tomb' described him very appropriately.

"The wine is here."

The Tian Ding Fourth Prince came slowly, holding a white jade wine pot, interrupting the conversation between the two.

This Tian Ding millennium old prince was, of course, still in awe of his father. He poured a glass of wine for each of them before looking at An Qisheng:

"Sir, you have seen it very carefully, but I would like to know more, what is your opinion on the entire Eastern Continent?"

Of course, they knew very well about the predicament of Tianjiao City.

"The Eastern Continent has hundreds of countries, hundreds of millions of people, a land of humans, a paradise for cultivators, and a hell for mortals."

An Qisheng pondered for a moment and gave his answer.

The Eastern Continent had a vast territory, with over a hundred dynasties like the Tian Ding Dynasty, and many smaller countries not included. Although the land was sparsely populated, because its territory was large enough, the population was also extremely large.

Moreover, because the sects and holy lands that truly ruled the dynasty did not compete with ordinary people for profit, and needed a massive population to serve them, most of them were able to get a bite to eat.

But, after all, it was a paradise for cultivators.

"Paradise for cultivators, hell for mortals......"

The eyes of the Fourth Prince and the Tian Ding Emperor flickered. They had asked many people such questions, but this was the first time they had heard someone evaluate it as 'hell'.

"People have a place to live and something to eat, why do you still think it is hell?"

The Fourth Prince's expression was subtle, and he continued to ask.

"Hoping only on the heavens is naturally hell."

An Qisheng's expression was calm and he answered indifferently.

The Wanyang World was the most solidified world he had ever seen. The Jiu Fu World and the Human Realm were far from being comparable.

For three thousand years, including his body, everyone had the bloodline of 'kings and emperors'.

The implications of this were self-evident.

The biggest way for ordinary people in this world to turn over was to be 'gifted'.

Otherwise, they would ultimately be struggling in the mortal world.

Cultivators were too high, and humans were too low. The gap between the two was so large that when cultivators fought, the mortals would only sigh that their lives were not good if they were affected.

And how many cultivators were there in the Eastern Continent?

"Once, I asked an elder if the world was as the emperors wished?"

The Tian Ding Emperor fell into contemplation with a trace of reminiscence:

"That elder said that living was already very difficult. Today's Eastern Continent, today's Jiuzhou, behind the prosperity of the human race, are the mountains of bones of the sages......"

"This is well said."

An Qisheng nodded.

The Wanyang World had existed for three thousand years, but it was not until the first Tianzun cultivated the true form and all nine realms were achieved that the human race's true dominant position was established.

But before that, the human race, which had a long gestation period, a small population, and a long growth period, had always been at the bottom.

In the Wanyang World, the average pregnancy lasted four and a half years, and at birth, they were extremely weak and ignorant. Except for those who were born with wisdom, the vast majority of people only reached adulthood at the age of sixteen.

And, if they did not cultivate, they would still be powerless.

Compared to other alien races that were born extraordinary and had a larger number, they had no advantage.

Being able to walk to this day step by step, of course, was not due to gentleness, kindness, respect, thrift, and concession. The bones of successive sages were piled up like mountains, which was indeed true.

The Wanyang World was like this, the Human Realm was like this, and even the Jiu Fu World and Xuanxing were still like this.

"And then?"

Seeing the Tian Ding Emperor lost in thought, An Qisheng seemed a little curious.

"Then, I said, people are pregnant for five years, and it takes twenty years from learning to speak to learning to walk, from learning to write to growing up! Is such a difficult growth only for the sake of living?"

The Tian Ding Emperor sighed for a long time:

"Living is not just for the sake of living, nor should it be for the sake of cultivators......"

"That elder was the elder of the Li Tian Holy Land that you killed, right?"

An Qisheng was thoughtful.

The Tian Ding Emperor was originally the number one true inheritor of the Li Tian Holy Land a thousand years ago. His talent was unparalleled, and he was invincible among his peers at the time. He had the hope of becoming the next leader of the Li Tian Holy Land.

No one understood why he would defect.

At this time, he understood somewhat that the Tian Ding Emperor was a 'heterogeneous', a heterogeneous among cultivators.

No wonder that even today, the Tian Ding Emperor was considered by many cultivators to be a madman, crazy, and a person who had gone into demonic possession.

"That was my father's master."

The Fourth Prince glanced at the expressionless Tian Ding Emperor, his eyes filled with a trace of weariness: "Is killing the teacher and betraying the sect really worth it?"

"Some people can summon wind and rain, enjoy wealth and glory, and have a lifespan of thousands of years, while others are poor and sick, taste the warmth and coldness of the world, but only have a lifespan of several decades......"

The Tian Ding Emperor stood up, looking at the distant sky with his hands behind his back: "Heaven gives birth to all things without bias, without high or low, why do they divide people into three, six, and nine classes?

Standing on the bones of the sages are a group of demons. They are like huge insects, gnawing at the flesh and blood of the human race, devouring the hopes of countless people......

This is a sin greater than the invasion of alien races!"