The First Sage of Military Strategists

"Where did this expert come from?" he exclaimed in surprise.

In this dark space, to judge a person's strength, one only needs to see how fast they can fly.

The stronger the ability, the faster it flies and the farther it can travel.

He had almost never seen anything as fast as what he was seeing.

The old man's mind raced, and he immediately gave up resisting. He suddenly cupped his hands and shouted loudly, "I am Lei Zhentian, fellow Daoist, please stop!"

Inside the Boundless Monument, everyone who heard the old man's voice felt a surge of emotion.

“Lei Zhentian? That’s the name of the ancient leader of Lei Xiu.” Geng Buxiu said.

“This person has a mind of his own, which means he is not a nightmare demon. If he really is Lei Zhentian, then does that mean he has lived for tens of thousands of years? From the end of ancient times to the present, this is truly unbelievable.” Zhou Xiaoru exclaimed in surprise.

Although sages have long lifespans, no one can live for more than ten thousand years unless they reach the legendary ninth realm of sagehood, which is said to allow one to live as long as heaven and earth, but that is just a legend.

"Time is frozen in this world, so it's not surprising that some people can live for tens of thousands of years. As for the specifics, we can find out by asking." Han Qing pondered, took a step forward, and with a flash of light, appeared outside the Boundless Monument.

"Are you the originator of the Thunder Path, the foremost master of ancient Thunder Cultivation?" Han Qing asked in a clear voice.

Lei Zhentian immediately gleaned a great deal of information from Han Qing's words.

“I am indeed Lei Zhentian. You say I am from ancient times. Could it be that you are an outsider who has only recently entered this place?” Lei Zhentian asked.

“That’s right. Since the end of ancient times and the great war against demons, tens of thousands of years have passed in the outside world. The era you live in is called the ancient period,” Han Qing replied.

"So that's how it is. Your strength is so great that you could be considered a hegemon in ancient times. Some time ago, I also encountered another outsider who controlled the Nine Dragon Palace of the Imperial Heaven. His strength was also extremely powerful. It seems that our human race is also very prosperous in this era," Lei Zhentian said with emotion.

"The Nine Dragons Palace of the Imperial Heaven?" Han Qing raised an eyebrow, not feeling too surprised. The imperial court would definitely not let go of exploring the Ancient Domain of the Void, especially with a treasure like the Nine Dragons Palace of the Imperial Heaven in hand, they could roam freely in the Ancient Domain of the Void.

He quickly regained his composure and asked again, "Do you know where that person went?"

“If I’m not mistaken, they must have gone to the lowest level of this world to compete for the True Spirit of the Void,” Lei Zhentian said.

"The True Spirit of the Void?" Han Qing asked in confusion.

"Indeed, the True Spirit of the Void is the greatest creation in this world, the true core of the Ancient Void Domain. Its essence is an ancient tree of the void, and each world is a leaf that has grown and condensed from this ancient tree. Legend has it that whoever can control this precious tree can become the strongest person in the world. Not only can they use the power of the True Spirit of the Void to imprison and kill powerful enemies, but they can also command the nightmare demons in thousands of worlds. Unfortunately, no one has been able to do so in tens of thousands of years. All those who covet this creation are trapped in this endless darkness, neither alive nor dead, like me. Only a very few people can escape from it." Lei Zhentian explained, his words tinged with bitterness.

"So, there are many ancient powerhouses like you in this world who have been trapped in this endless darkness for a long time?" Han Qing pondered.

“That’s right. We are too weak to escape, and we can’t die either. We can only wander in this darkness day after day, like a lost soul.” Lei Zhentian nodded, his gaze falling on the Boundless Monument behind Han Qing. “You have the Boundless Monument, which allows you to escape from this world and avoid such torment and suffering.”

"Oh? Tell me how to leave here, and I can take you out." Han Qing raised an eyebrow.

"Getting out is simple. You just need to keep flying upwards until you reach the highest point of this dark space, and you will see the exit of this world. However, unless you have a powerful magic weapon, even a cultivator at the Rainbow Transformation Realm cannot get out. Although we cannot sense it, we are actually falling downwards at a constant speed all the time. Without super strength, it is impossible to fly out of this dark space even if you endure the time." Lei Zhentian explained.

He then changed the subject: "As for you taking me out, that's impossible too. I've been in this Ancient Void Domain for tens of thousands of years. Although I'm immortal, I've become part of this space. Once I step into the Boundless Monument, the connection with the Ancient Void Domain will be severed, and I'll immediately be reduced to ashes."

"So, if you get trapped in this world and can't escape quickly, you might never get out," Han Qing said.

“That makes sense. However, I’ve heard that if someone could control the True Spirit of the Void, they might be able to help us regain our freedom. But over the years, no one has been able to do it,” Lei Zhentian sighed.

"Thank you for your explanation, Senior Lei. I will head to the deepest part of the Dark Space to investigate," Han Qing said.

"Fellow Daoist, you are too kind. This is common knowledge in this world. Moreover, helping you is also saving myself. If you can truly control the True Spirit of the Void, please help me escape this sea of ​​suffering." Lei Zhentian cupped his hands in greeting.

In this world, living is a curse. Facing deep and monotonous darkness day after day, even the most mature person would go mad.

Of course, Lei Zhentian was just saying it casually. From ancient times to the present, for tens of thousands of years, countless people have tried, but no one has succeeded. Many people think that this rumor is false. Perhaps no one can truly control the Taixu True Spirit. But people always need hope to survive. Perhaps it really is false, but people still have to try again and again.

"If it can be done, I will definitely help you escape this cage." Han Qing nodded and agreed.

Neither of them said anything more. Han Qing activated the Boundless Monument and suddenly sank to the bottom of this dark space.

He flew for a distance and then encountered an ancient powerhouse, known as Xuanji, who was the leader of the ancient Star Dao and had been trapped here for tens of thousands of years.

After a conversation, Han Qing also learned a lot of information from Xuanji. After comparing the two, he concluded that what Lei Zhentian had said before was true.

Logically, he felt that Lei Zhentian wouldn't lie to him, but one should always be wary, so he verified the information from multiple sources before he felt at ease.

The Boundless Monument continued its rapid ascent downwards, encountering numerous ancient powerhouses along the way.

This time, however, Han Qing did not stop, but continued downwards.

After flying an unknown distance, Han Qing suddenly saw a magnificent and enormous precious tree, shimmering with a faint white light, swaying in the surging darkness.

This precious tree is a thousand feet tall, with branches extending outwards, and the branches are covered with broad leaves.

Upon closer inspection, Han Qing discovered that within the white light, golden characters were faintly visible, seemingly forming a vast scripture.

In the deep darkness, near or far from the precious tree, many people are intently studying the scriptures of the precious tree.

Han Qing's arrival, orchestrated by the Boundless Monument, immediately attracted the attention of some people nearby.

"Another unlucky guy trying to daydream."

“That’s not just bad luck. He has a boundary marker, so he can escape from this world.”

"It really is a Boundless Monument. Its flight speed is so fast. This person is very strong and not to be trifled with."

These people transmitted their thoughts to each other using the Dharma, which Han Qing could not hear, but he didn't care.

Even if there are many ancient powerhouses in this world, so what? With his current strength, there is no one he should fear.

With a flash of light, Han Qing and the other three appeared outside the Boundless Monument, their eyes scanning the Void Treasure Tree in front of them.

"This Void Treasure Tree, transformed from the True Spirit of the Great Void, is a wondrous object born with the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. It can manifest the Great Dao Scripture. According to Lei Zhentian and the others, to control this treasure tree, one must comprehend this scripture. Everyone should give it a try; perhaps one in ten thousand will be the lucky one," Han Qing transmitted.

Geng Buxiu and the other two nodded slightly, their gazes fixed on the ancient tree of the Great Void, earnestly studying the faintly visible ancient scripture.

To comprehend it, one must first memorize it. Han Qingfa scanned the text back and forth, and each character appeared, which he deeply memorized. This scripture was indeed extremely vast; he roughly estimated that it contained no less than a million characters. In addition, each word and each paragraph was extremely complex, making it no easy task to fully understand it.

At the time Han Qing remembered, there were also several people he knew in other directions of the Ancient Void Domain who were comprehending ancient scriptures.

For example, in the Nine Dragons Palace of the Imperial Heaven, Han Yi sat cross-legged on the ground, the million-word ancient scripture in his mind appearing and disappearing.

He remained motionless, completely absorbed in comprehending the first section of the ancient scripture.

However, despite the vastness of the scriptures and his self-proclaimed status as a martial arts prodigy who dominated an era, he couldn't make sense of them.

Yu Huang, standing to the side, was in the same boat, watching it again and again, but he felt completely lost and didn't understand what it was saying.

"This scripture is indeed complex, and it requires a very high level of comprehension to understand it," Emperor Yu murmured.

“From ancient times to the present, countless geniuses and powerful figures have failed to comprehend this scripture, which shows how complex it is. However, Your Majesty need not worry. I am confident that I can comprehend it, but it will take some time,” Han Qing said.

"My dear minister, there is no need to rush. Time is frozen in this world. You just need to take your time," said Emperor Yu.

"I know what I'm doing," Han Yi replied.

The vast palace fell silent immediately, and no one broke the silence for a long time.

...

"Why is this scripture so complicated?"

In another direction, the Peacock King Buddha was also trying to comprehend it, but he couldn't grasp it no matter what he did.

The leader of the Mohist school, along with some powerful clans and leaders of holy sites, were also deep in thought, all of them trapped and clueless.

...

Time is long.

Han Qing finally memorized the entire ancient scripture, totaling 108 million words.

In an instant, a scripture appeared on the panel in his mind, called the Ancient Scripture of the Great Void.

Han Qing breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the scripture recorded on the page.

As long as it can be recorded, everything is fine. No matter how difficult the scriptures are, he can master them quickly with the help of the Seven Killings Stele, as long as he has a sufficient number of soul light points.

Fortunately, he killed a large number of Nightmare Demons in the first six levels. Each Nightmare Demon would provide a Soul Light Point. He believed that by absorbing all of these Soul Light Points, he could push this Ancient Void Scripture to an extremely high level.

Upon realizing this, he immediately took action, first absorbing a soul light point from in front of the Seven Killings Stele, selecting three martial arts secret techniques from it, and then immediately transferring their proficiency to the Ancient Void Scripture.

However, the Taixu Ancient Scripture is extremely complex. After all three martial arts skills were converted, the increase in proficiency was less than 1%.

However, this was within Han Qing's expectations. He had already prepared to absorb and transform all the soul light spots in front of the Seven Killings Stele into the Black Void Ancient Scripture.

If he still hasn't mastered the Ancient Scripture of the Great Void after all the conversions, then he will return to the sixth level, continue hunting Nightmare Demons, accumulate and absorb more soul points, and then continue to convert them into the Ancient Scripture of the Great Void. He believes that one day, he will be able to fully master the Ancient Scripture of the Great Void.

So, for the rest of the time, Han Qing did the same thing over and over again: absorb, transform, absorb, transform.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but the number of soul points in front of the Seven Killings Stele was decreasing.

Previously, there were over 100,000, but now, the number of soul light points is decreasing rapidly, from over 100,000 to 100,000, and now to less than 10,000.

Han Qing once again deeply realized just how difficult this Ancient Scripture of the Great Void was.

It should be noted that these Nightmare Demons are all transformed from powerful figures of ancient times, most of whom were saints. The martial arts skills selected and inherited from their soul light points all contain complex and mysterious supernatural powers.

However, despite using so many wondrous spells as resources and fuel, the Taixu Ancient Scripture still could not be advanced to perfection. This makes it easy to understand why, for tens of thousands of years, generations of outstanding talents have tried to control the Taixu True Spirit, yet none of them have succeeded.

However, although we haven't got it under control, we can't say there's no hope at all.

After absorbing nearly 100,000 soul points, his proficiency with this Ancient Void Scripture was finally raised to 18%, just 2% away from mastering it.

He felt that once he entered the realm of enlightenment, he would have a chance to control the True Spirit of the Void.

He roughly estimated that there were still 30,000 soul points left, and it was entirely possible to advance by 2%.

He pondered, continuing to absorb soul points of light, one after another, and his mastery of the Ancient Void Scripture was advancing at an extremely slow pace.

...

time flies.

Although time is frozen in the seventh layer of the Ancient Void Realm, people still have the illusion that time is passing.

Somewhere in this dark space, the leader of the Mohist school frowned deeply. He felt that a long time had passed—a year? Ten years? But he still couldn't comprehend the Ancient Scripture of the Great Void. He always felt that this ancient scripture was extremely profound, forever shrouded in a thick fog, making it impossible to fathom.

"The difficulty of this Taixu Ancient Scripture can be described as the greatest scripture in all of eternity. Let's go. There's no point in continuing to waste time. I don't believe that anyone in this world can truly comprehend this Heavenly Dao scripture. A rare object like the Taixu True Spirit, which is born with heaven and earth, is already part of the Heavenly Dao. It is a great fortune that humans cannot control." The leader of the Mo family was naturally carefree. Since he couldn't have it, he didn't want it and didn't dwell on it.

“Master is absolutely right. These ancient cultivators have been trapped here year after year without being able to comprehend it, which shows how incredibly difficult it is. Why waste our time?” Lin Motong nodded.

Although time is frozen in this world, so it can't be considered a waste of time, constantly comprehending such profound and complex scriptures is still extremely taxing on one's energy.

"go!"

The leader of the Mohist school immediately ordered the Heavenly Craft Workshop to move upwards at top speed to escape the dark abyss.

However, at that very moment, the leader of the Mohist school suddenly felt a tremendous and earth-shattering fluctuation. The ancient tree of the Great Void suddenly shone brightly, like a blazing and dazzling golden sun, instantly illuminating the deep and dark space with a clear and bright light.

At this moment, everyone in the space was alarmed.

Throughout the vast expanse of time and countless ages, the True Spirit of the Void had never witnessed such a change. Everyone was filled with shock and confusion. What had happened? (End of Chapter)