Battle Through the Heavens: Xiao Yan, who was kidnapped to another world

The Soul Emperor's mouth, which he had just opened, was shut up by a casual remark from the woman.

"The Five Emperors break through the void..." Then, the woman's gaze swept over the faces of the three people and Yi Huo, muttering something incomprehensible, "Including that unlucky fellow, there are only four. Who is the other one?"

The woman frowned slightly. Of course, she knew that the phrase "Five Emperors Breaking Through the Void" from the woman who had only dared to awaken her when she was severely injured was pure bait—a bait to make her expend energy healing that woman. But she didn't believe that the woman's "Five Emperors Breaking Through the Void" was just a fabrication. After all, the fifth layer of the seal hadn't malfunctioned, and even if that woman hadn't recovered, it wouldn't have caused any problems.

But whenever she asked, the woman would always remain silent, so much so that even now, she still couldn't determine what the "Five Emperors Breaking Through the Sky" she had mentioned actually referred to...

The woman fell silent, but her earlier, completely unvarnished statement, "Five Emperors Break Through the Void," was like a boulder thrown into a deep pool, stirring up a tidal wave in the hearts of Xiao Yan, the Soul Emperor, and the Void Devouring Flame.

'Once Zi Yan successfully advances, I will be able to break through to the Dou Sheng realm. If nothing unexpected happens after absorbing the Pure Lotus Demon Flame, I will become a Seven-Star Dou Sheng. With the help of the Ninth-Grade Profound Pill and the Pill, breaking through to Dou Di is only a matter of time. One of the 'Five Emperors' He mentioned should be me, and if nothing unexpected happens to the other two…' In the blink of an eye, Xiao Yan's gaze subtly swept over the Soul Emperor and the Void Devouring Flame.

In the blink of an eye, Xiao Yan's gaze subtly swept over the Soul Emperor and the Void Devouring Flame.

'The Five Emperors broke through the void? Sure enough, that thing truly exists in the cave of the Ancient Emperor Tuoshe!' The Soul Emperor's expression remained calm, his heart undisturbed. In his view, one of the so-called 'Five Emperors' must be him; as for the other two…

The Soul Emperor glanced at the Void Devouring Flame beside him, then looked at Xiao Yan, 'However, the last two... I doubt Gu Yuan will be among them, right?'

'Sure enough, that place has what I need!'

Void Devouring Flame felt relieved. He had no doubt that if he failed to achieve his goal, he would be devoured by Soul Emperor as a means to enhance his strength. Since the cave of Tuoshe Ancient Emperor contained what he needed, he was safe.

As for the Five Emperors breaking through the void... he didn't care at all!

'Void Devouring Flame, Soul Emperor, and Senior Xiao Xuan...?'

Xun'er pursed her red lips, pondering: 'Void Devouring Flame, Soul Emperor, and Senior Xiao Xuan...' She naturally believed that she and Xiao Yan could become Dou Di, but among everyone present, there was no doubt that only these three were closest to that realm!

"Ahem," Xiao Xuan coughed twice to break the silence when everyone had fallen silent, "You shouldn't waste your time here."

"I was just wondering if I've forgotten anyone!" The woman, snapping out of her daze, instinctively replied. Then her gaze fell on Xiao Yan, the Soul Emperor, and Xun'er. "Let me introduce myself first... I am the world consciousness of the Dou Qi Continent. You can call me Cang Qiong."

"World consciousness?"

Soul Emperor, Void Devouring Flame, and Xun'er all frowned slightly. They had never heard of the so-called "world consciousness," but from Cang Qiong's brief introduction, they could vaguely guess what she meant.

She is an existence nurtured by the entire Dou Qi Continent, much like the soul of the Heavenly Tomb is to the Heavenly Tomb.

"you……"

"The memories of Void Devouring Flame are correct."

As soon as the Soul Emperor opened his mouth, Cang Qiong casually said what he cared about, "As long as you collect all eight ancient jades, you can find the elixir in Tuoshe's cave."

The simple, clear, and costless answer even stunned the Soul Emperor for a moment. Then, an uncontrollable surge of joy and brilliance burst forth from his eyes, his restless ambition almost overflowing.

"Pills?"

Xiao Yan and Xun'er realized something.

“A half-finished Emperor Pill can be refined into a complete Emperor Pill by just two Golden Core alchemists,” Cang Qiong seemed to have no intention of keeping it a secret from anyone present, his gaze casually falling on Xiao Yan. “However, right now, besides Hun Xuzi, you are the only one who can be considered a Golden Core alchemist.”

"I've never refined a Xuan Dan before..." Feeling the gazes from all sides, Xiao Yan's lips twitched slightly, and he weakly offered a defense.

“It’s alright. I haven’t collected the second ancient jade yet, so you still have plenty of time,” the Soul Emperor smiled slightly, his tone unusually gentle, even carrying a hint of encouragement. “You have plenty of time to consider.”

His tone was gentle, but his words implied that the Soul Emperor didn't care whether there would be a second Golden Core alchemist.

After all, he had always known that it took two Golden Core alchemists to remelt a half-finished Emperor Pill. The purpose of the Soul Palace, besides collecting soul essence and helping him and Void Devouring Flame's soul power break through to the Emperor Realm, was more importantly to ensure that Emperor Pills could be successfully refined without two Golden Core alchemists!

Xiao Yan and Xun'er instantly understood his meaning, but given the disparity in strength, they could only keep this matter in mind and report it to Gu Yuan immediately after leaving the Heavenly Tomb, hoping that Gu Yuan already had a solution.

"And you? Is there anything you want to ask?" Cang Qiong's gaze shifted to the Void Devouring Flame, and he asked.

"I want to know..." Under the gaze of the heavens, the Void Devouring Flame hesitated for a long time before speaking, "...has a new, unique flame appeared on the Dou Qi Continent?"

After hesitating for a long time, Void Devouring Flame finally did not ask whether the legacy of the ancient emperor Tuoshe that he was looking for really existed. On the one hand, he did not believe that his memories would lie, and on the other hand... he did not trust the Soul Emperor who cooperated with him, just as the Soul Emperor did not trust him.

A fleeting hint of disappointment, unnoticed by anyone, flashed across Cang Qiong's eyes. "Just as you thought, another unique strange fire has indeed appeared, and that strange fire contains the power of other worlds."

Xiao Yan was slightly taken aback when he was suddenly mentioned, but his expression did not change.

Other worlds?

Upon hearing this term, the Soul Emperor suddenly recalled the Void Devouring Flame's absurd question about whether the Devouring Spirit Clan originated on the Dou Qi Continent. Thinking of this, the Soul Emperor abruptly turned towards the direction where Xiao Yan and Xun'er were—

Xiao Yan's unwavering expression contrasted sharply with Xun'er's slight surprise.

'Besides me and that girl from the ancient clan, everyone else knows the truth...' The Soul Emperor narrowed his eyes, but showed no dissatisfaction. On the contrary, he was even more interested because he was the one who was excluded.

'That newly born strange flame is in the Xiao Clan… no, on Xiao Yan? So, he's the third person here to become a Dou Di, right? Is it because of the existence of another world? The Void Devouring Flame… will he be the second, or will it become sustenance for Xiao Yan's advancement?'

In those few seconds, the Soul Emperor pondered many things, and officially began to take the name "Xiao Yan" rather than "Xiao Clan boy" into his eyes. Unfortunately, no matter how much he thought about it at that moment, it was all in vain.

Watching the Spirit Realm gradually crumble, the Soul Emperor sighed deeply: If only that 'Azure Sky' hadn't so obviously sided with Xiao Yan, at least he could have gotten answers to many questions from Xiao Yan, who, although composed, was still quite naive compared to an old fox like himself.

Chapter 453 The Truth

"Xiao Yan, Gu Xun'er, your time is running out!"

After sending the Soul Emperor and the Void Devouring Flame away, Cang Qiong's first words shocked Xiao Yan and Xun'er.

Xiao Yan, who had been urged to move forward by Dan's "ten years" a few years ago, was stunned for a moment after hearing Cang Qiong's words. His first reaction was "It's like this again." If Cang Qiong were not the world consciousness of the Dou Qi Continent, Xiao Yan would have even wanted to say those words directly.

"Dan should have already given you the cultivation method of spiritual power, as well as the booklet recording each stage, right?" As if seeing through Xiao Yan's thoughts, Cang Qiong asked without any hesitation, without even looking at Xun'er who looked confused to the side.

Although somewhat puzzled, Xiao Yan nodded.

"In terms of realm alone, Dou Di is equivalent to Lower Earthly Sovereign. However, after Dou Di completely converts the Dou Qi in his body into spiritual power, he will briefly stay at the Lesser Three Tribulations of the Supreme realm. After passing through the Lesser Three Tribulations of the Supreme realm and reaching the Supreme realm, he will break through to the Earthly Sovereign level at the fastest speed. Finally, depending on their talents and the different insights they gained at the Dou Di realm, they will stay at the Lower Earthly Sovereign, Upper Earthly Sovereign, and Earthly Sovereign Great Perfection levels respectively. Of course, there have also been people who directly touched the Heavenly Sovereign level."

Of the people present, only Xun'er had no understanding of spiritual power, supreme, earth supreme, and heaven supreme, but after Cang Qiong used the Dou Di realm as an analogy, she was able to roughly understand it.

"The Heavenly Sovereign is divided into three realms: Spiritual Grade, Immortal Grade, and Saint Grade. A total of 1,801 Dou Di have been born on the Dou Qi Continent, of which only 120 have become Heavenly Sovereigns. Among these 120, only 12 are Saint Grade Heavenly Sovereigns. Of the remaining 108, 72 are Spiritual Grade Heavenly Sovereigns and 36 are Immortal Grade Heavenly Sovereigns."

Although Cang Qiong was referring to the number of Heavenly Sovereigns born on the Dou Qi Continent, Xiao Yan, Xun'er, and Xiao Xuan could all sense a strong sense of dissatisfaction in his words.

After composing himself slightly, Cang Qiong continued, "Lin Mo, the one known as the 'Empress of Heaven and Earth' in the records of your various races, though not among the first to become a Dou Di, was the first to completely leave the Dou Qi Continent and find the Great Thousand World..."

"Is the Great Thousand World the same as the world where spiritual power is cultivated?" Xiao Yan couldn't help but ask.

Although Xiao Yan learned about the cultivation methods of spiritual power from the booklet Dan gave him, and even established a bloodline link with Zi Yan through the records in that booklet, Xiao Yan had never heard the term 'Great Thousand World' from Dan's mouth.

"..."

Upon hearing this question, Cang Qiong's breath hitched. For a moment, she even considered ignoring all of Lin Mo's plans and taking the Dou Qi Continent far away. However, when she thought that the young man in front of her might be the last savior of the world, Cang Qiong calmed herself down.

"Hoo—" After letting out a long breath, Cang Qiong looked at Xiao Yan and asked, "What do you know about the 'world'?"

Facing the solemn-looking sky, Xiao Yan hesitated for a moment before saying, "What I know so far is that the cultivation systems of different worlds are not exactly the same; the origin of the world has various ways of being manifested, and... the embryo of a plane."

As Xiao Yan continued speaking, Cang Qiong's expression grew increasingly ashen, but after Xiao Yan uttered the words "Plane Embryo," Cang Qiong finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Plane Embryos are unique to the lower plane worlds. Based on whether a plane embryo exists, whether it has independent consciousness, and whether it can directly affect the existence of the world, they are divided into three levels: weak, ordinary, and powerful. Dou Qi Continent belongs to the strongest level among the vast sea of ​​lower plane worlds."

After a brief boast, Cang Qiong continued, "And the worlds connected to these vast lower planes are the Great Thousand Worlds. The Great Thousand Worlds are not only more advanced than our lower planes, but they are also the center of all our lower planes. It can be said that the Great Thousand Worlds are the 'mother' of all the lower planes."

Xiao Yan and Xun'er, who were learning about these things for the first time, nodded.

"After finding the Great Thousand World, converting Dou Qi into spiritual power, and cultivating to the Great Perfection of the Earthly Sovereign realm, Lin Mo returned to the Dou Qi Continent and told all the Dou Emperors of that time about the existence of the Great Thousand World. Thus, before I developed a complete consciousness, the Dou Qi Continent already knew about the existence of the Great Thousand World..."

At this point, Cang Qiong's expression turned completely dark. "Decades later, when I finally developed a complete consciousness, I was sealed away by that woman who had become a Saint-rank Heavenly Sovereign!"

Even Xiao Xuan, who had served under Cang Qiong for a thousand years, was hearing such explosive news for the first time, and the three of them were all somewhat speechless with fear.

"Actually, for me who has just developed consciousness, being sealed or controlled is irrelevant. As long as the Dou Qi Continent still exists, I will not be in any danger, unless... the Great Thousand World is destroyed!"

Cang Qiong's unfriendly tone and dangerous words suddenly made Xiao Yan feel uneasy. "Could it be that the Great Thousand World is about to be destroyed?"

"Pretty much. The Great Thousand World is now occupied by the extraterrestrial evil race, which has taken over about a third of its territory. Even the 'Sky Ranking,' which is equivalent to a higher-level plane embryo, was almost destroyed by the extraterrestrial evil race," Cang Qiong said with a smirk.

"One-third of the territory?" Xiao Yan asked, puzzled. "Doesn't the Great Thousand World still control two-thirds of the world? How did it come to the point of being destroyed?"

"Is it because only the World Consciousness can completely eradicate the existence of the extraterrestrial evil race?" Xun'er asked hesitantly, recalling Cang Qiong's earlier act of crushing the evil energy.

Unlike Xiao Yan and Xun'er, who were visiting the Heavenly Tomb for the first time and truly understanding the 'boundary line' of the fourth level of the Heavenly Tomb, Xiao Xuan had served as the soul of the Heavenly Tomb for a thousand years and had a deep understanding of the boundary line. Knowing that the area of ​​the boundary line had been increasing over the past thousand years, Xiao Xuan's expression suddenly changed. He seemed to understand something...

"No, only one-third of the territory belonging to the Great Thousand World remains, because the other one-third of the territory is the fifth layer of the Heavenly Curtain, the fifth layer that has been completely corrupted by the extraterrestrial evil race!"

Next, Cang Qiong's words completely confirmed the correctness of Xiao Xuan's unspoken conjecture, and also made Xiao Yan and Xun'er understand why Cang Qiong would say that "the Great Thousand World is almost destroyed".

"...Why would they do this?" Xiao Yan opened his mouth, hesitated for a long time, and then slowly asked.

Xiao Yan did not believe that the Dou Di born on the Dou Qi Continent would bring back the 'territory' of the Great Thousand World, which had been corrupted by the extraterrestrial evil race, to the Dou Qi Continent for no reason. Therefore, they must have had some compelling reason for doing such a thing.

"Why do you do this?" Cang Qiong repeated Xiao Yan's question, then said expressionlessly, "Probably because he doesn't want to be burdened by the 'Great Thousand World'."

Chapter 454 One Hundred and Fifty Years

Are we being dragged down by this vast world?

These words caused Xiao Yan, Xiao Xuan, and Gu Xun'er, who were hearing for the first time that the Great Thousand World was merely the center of countless lower planes, to freeze in a moment of stunned silence. The air seemed to thicken, and only the astonishment and bewilderment reflected in each other's eyes exchanged in silence. They heard every word of Cang Qiong's words clearly, but when strung together, they resembled an undecipherable ancient incantation, standing at the boundary of their understanding.

“The Great Thousand Worlds is not the only ‘superior plane’. At least, the world that gave birth to the extraterrestrial evil race is on par with the Great Thousand Worlds in terms of status.”

Cang Qiong's voice rang out again, breaking the silence. Her gaze swept over the three of them, as if she saw her own equally confused self from many years ago, and a faint, almost imperceptible sense of comfort welled up within her.

At least, these people in front of us are not omniscient or omnipotent, unlike Lin Mo, who seems to know all the secrets of the world.

Although the second half of Cang Qiong's sentence remained vague, Xiao Xuan and Xiao Yan raised their heads almost simultaneously. The confusion in their eyes quickly faded, replaced by a sharp, piercing insight. Their voices rang out almost simultaneously:

"What is the essential difference between the Sky Ranking and the Embryo of a Dimension?"

"The Celestial Ranking... did it possess an independent will from the very beginning?"

As soon as the words fell, Xiao Xuan and Xiao Yan exchanged a glance. Without needing to say anything, they understood that what the other was thinking was the same earth-shattering possibility. The two fell silent at the same time, their expressions solemn, as if they had touched a taboo that could overturn all understanding.

Xun'er's understanding of the secrets at a higher level was still shallow, and she was somewhat confused at first. However, seeing the sudden change in Xiao Yan and Xiao Xuan's expressions and carefully considering the questions they raised, her heart gradually sank, and she vaguely touched the edge of that heart-pounding truth.

The subtle changes in the expressions on the three faces were all seen by Cang Qiong. She let out a soft breath. Although she knew that she was inferior to the 'human' race in both intelligence and talent, she was still somewhat frustrated that Xiao Yan, Xiao Xuan, and Gu Xun'er could guess the meaning of 'not being dragged down by the Great Thousand World' in such a short time when they had the same information.

“According to Lin Mo,” Cang Qiong composed himself, his voice regaining its usual coldness, “the Cang Qiong Ranking possesses an independent consciousness. Only by gaining its recognition can cultivators leave their true names on that ranking, break free from the shackles of the Saint-grade Heavenly Sovereign, and become the ‘ruler’ of the Great Thousand Worlds, the ‘ruler’ bound to this world.”

These words were like a thunderclap, dispelling the last shred of confusion in the hearts of Xiao Yan and the other two.

Xiao Yan spoke softly, revealing the answer that had been swirling in their minds: "So, while leaving one's name on the Sky Ranking allows one to ascend to the Sovereign Realm, once one leaves, or even just 'leaves' the Great Thousand World, one is like a bird with broken wings, possessing the realm but unable to unleash the true power of a Sovereign... This is what is meant by 'burden'?"

"Not everyone believed Lin Mo's deduction back then, but in the end, the twelve Saint-grade Heavenly Sovereigns unanimously approved her proposal—to carry out that earth-shattering plan to 'divide' the Great Thousand Worlds." Cang Qiong's tone was as calm as if he were narrating an ordinary past event, but its content was enough to change the world.

"At that time, although there were only twelve Saint-grade Heavenly Sovereigns, among these twelve people, apart from Lin Mo, there were three others who sensed the existence of the Sky Ranking. One of them even had his surname left on the Sky Ranking... According to Lin Mo, he could be called a half-step Sovereign."

"'Dividing' the Great Thousand Worlds..." Xiao Xuan pondered these words, a glint of light flashing in his eyes. An extremely bold, even terrifying, conjecture surfaced in his mind. He spoke softly, his voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible coldness: "So, the extraterrestrial evil race... could it be that they were 'intentionally' introduced into the Great Thousand Worlds by our ancestors?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan and Xun'er, who were standing nearby, instantly changed color. They were still young and had just heard about the ancient secrets. They hadn't had time to think deeply about them, but Xiao Xuan's earth-shattering question was like ice water poured over their heads, making them feel cold all over instantly.

Those who have their names recorded on the Heavenly Ranking are at the Sovereign Realm, while the strongest among the predecessors of the Dou Qi Continent are only at the so-called "Half-Step Sovereign Realm," and the number of Heavenly Sovereigns is only a little over a hundred. Such a level is certainly not enough to divide the Great Thousand Worlds. But, by sheer coincidence, the Extraterrestrial Evil Race, a race that seems to have originated from another higher plane, appeared in the Great Thousand Worlds, and this race even has the strength to severely damage the Heavenly Ranking...