Chapter 397: An Invasion From the Upper Realm?
Lower Realm, Second Great Mortal World.
Kunlun Divine Mountain.
The rain continued to fall, droplets striking the stone bench one after another, creating faint ripples across the accumulated water.
The atmosphere inside the garden remained somewhat heavy after the Sword Venerable’s departure.
Even Tian Yongheng found it difficult to immediately recover from what had just happened.
Sixteen million years, such a lengthy period of time, had ultimately come to an end before his eyes.
Just then, the surrounding space suddenly distorted as a faint ripple spread through the garden.
Tian Yongheng raised an eyebrow slightly, and Tian Yun also raised his head.
The next moment, two figures silently appeared beneath the ancient tree.
One was a young, golden haired handsome man dressed in golden robes.
His appearance was handsome and dignified, carrying an innate nobility that seemed capable of overlooking all living beings. Golden pupils shone within his eyes like miniature suns, and although he intentionally restrained his aura, traces of blazing solar flames still lingered around him.
The second newcomer was a woman, wearing a moon white dress and possessing an unreal beauty.
Her white hair flowed to her waist while a faint moonlight seemed to accompany her every movement. Her eyes were calm and indifferent, carrying an ancient wisdom that only countless years could produce.
Tian Yongheng glanced at them calmly.
They were both Late Stage Vagrant Immortals, and ones not far from breaking through to Grand Perfection, but that was it.
His expression remained unchanged.
Although two Late Stage Vagrant Immortals appearing suddenly might be shocking to ordinary cultivators, to the current Tian Yongheng, neither possessed the ability to threaten him.
A Grand Perfection Vagrant Immortal was already vastly stronger than a Late Stage one, not to mention that he was no ordinary Grand Perfection Vagrant Immortal.
Thus, his mind was as calm as an ancient well, undeterred.
The two newcomers first looked at the empty stone bench, their expressions complicated as a trace of sorrow flashed through their eyes.
It was only after that did they turn around to face Tian Yun.
Tian Yun nodded slightly, cupping his fists and bowing.
"Greetings, Senior Di, Senior Hu."
Di Tianyang sighed softly.
"We still arrived too late."
Beside him, the Hu Xuanji remained silent, her gaze lingerimg briefly on the empty bench before she lowered her head slightly.
Clearly, neither of them had expected the Sword Venerable to pass away so suddenly; in their eyes, he still had a hundred or so years left.
After a long while, Tian Yun finally spoke, turning towards Tian Yongheng.
"These two are master’s old acquaintances. This is Senior Di Tianyang."
Di Tianyang nodded, his eyes not leaving the stone bench, deep in thought.
Tian Yun continued, "He is the current generation Golden Crow residing within the Second Great Mortal World’s Primordial Sun Star and a member of the Golden Crow Ancient Race."
Then, he gestured toward Hu Xuanji.
"Senior Hu Xuanji, she is a Eight-Tailed Celestial Fox, the current Palace Master of Moonlight Emergence Palace and overseer of the Primordial Moon Star."
Tian Yongheng nodded slightly, noting down their names.
He seemed to have received the notification that two such beings developed favorability towards him, but he was in secluded cultivation at that time and did not pay too much attention to it.
He knew that there were powerhouses living in the suns and moons of the Nine Great Mortal Worlds, but this was the first time he had truly come into contact with them, thus, he was quite curious.
At the same time, both of them turned toward him, their gazes carrying obvious curiosity.
After all, recently, Tian Yongheng’s name had spread throughout the entire Lower Realm.
However, soon enough, that curiosity transformed into astonishment.
They actually couldn’t see through Tian Yongheng’s cultivation!
What did that imply?
He either carried a powerful treasure, or...
They dared not speculate further; the second possibility was too terrifying and might crumble their Dao Hearts.
After a moment, Di Tianyang suddenly laughed.
"So, you’re fellow daoist Tian Yongheng."
His voice was surprisingly straightforward.
"I’ve wanted to meet you for quite some time."
Tian Yongheng calmly replied.
"Fellow daoist is too polite."
Di Tianyang waved his hand.
"Polite? There’s no need for that."
A strange expression appeared on his face.
"Around three hundred years ago, you nearly killed twenty Vagrant Immortals by yourself as a Half Immortal. After that battle, your name spread through half the Outer Void overnight, anyone paying attention would’ve heard of you."
Even now, remembering that incident still caused him to feel somewhat speechless.
A Half Immortal slaughtering Vagrant Immortals, such a thing sounded absurd no matter how many times one heard it.
Hu Xuanji also nodded slightly.
"If not for Infinite Void Matriarch and her group causing such a commotion, we might never have known a monster like you existed in the Second Great Mortal World."
Her tone remained calm, yet even she could not completely conceal the amazement hidden beneath her words.
Tian Yongheng merely smiled faintly, not explaining anything.
Fortunately, neither Di Tianyang nor Hu Xuanji continued pursuing the matter.
At the same time, none of them mentioned the commotion when Tian Yongheng became an Immortal.
That sword strike was simply too terrifying, scaring all the Vagrant Immortals. Even now, they felt a bit of fear remembering it.
Then, both of them slowly turned toward the empty stone bench.
Unhesitatingly, they cupped their fists and bowed deeply.
The rain continued falling around them as the atmosphere became solemn once more.
After all, regardless of status or strength, they had all known the Sword Venerable for an extremely long time.
The three of them had once been regarded as the guardians of the Second Great Mortal World, with the Second Great Mortal World considered their territory.
One guarded the Mortal World, one resided within the Primordial Sun Star, and one protected the Primordial Moon Star.
For countless years, they had stood together against every threat.
Now, one of them was gone.
Even for beings who had lived millions of years, such a thing could not be ignored.
After a long while, Di Tianyang slowly exhaled.
"Old friend..."
His voice carried rare melancholy.
"Rest well."
The rain seemed to become slightly heavier as he said those words, silence returning to the garden.
Eventually, Tian Yongheng broke it, his gaze sweeping across the other three.
"What exactly is the great upheaval?"
The question immediately caused the atmosphere to change.
Tian Yun frowned before slowly shaking his head.
"I don’t know."
Tian Yongheng wasn’t surprised at the response.
The Sword Venerable clearly knew many things he never shared, thus, Tian Yun not knowing was understandable.
Besides, Tian Yun was only a Half Immortal.
Even as virtually the strongest being beneath Immortals, knowing more wasn’t necessarily a great thing.
Soon, both of their gazes landed on Di Tianyang and Hu Xuanji.
The two of them exchanged glances, and for a moment, neither spoke.
Eventually, Hu Xuanji sighed softly, a trace of solemnity appearing in her eyes.
"Truthfully speaking... we don’t know either."
Tian Yongheng’s brows rose slightly.
Hu Xuanji continued, "We only have some guesses."
"What guesses?" Tian Yongheng asked.
This time, Di Tianyang answered, his tone incomparably serious.
"The Lower Realm... may face an invasion."
Tian Yongheng’s eyes narrowed.
"The Upper Realm?"
Di Tianyang nodded slowly, "Most likely."
As soon as his words fell, a pin drop silence descended upon the garden.
Tian Yongheng recalled the Sword Venerable’s final words.
The cruelty of the Immortals and Gods, the coming catastrophe, everything seemed to point towards the Upper Realm.
But... something wasn’t right.
After contemplating briefly, Tian Yongheng shook his head.
"I don’t understand."
Everyone looked at him.
Tian Yongheng calmly spoke.
"If it is merely an invasion, then why?"
No one answered immediately, letting him continue.
"The Lower Realm’s resources are limited, the natural elements, worldly laws, and heavenly rules are inferior, and the concepts of heaven and earth are not even present. Compared to the Upper Realm, everything here is pretty much insignificant. Even if a force from the Upper Realm successfully entered the Lower Realm, what would they gain?
The risks and rewards don’t match."
Di Tianyang’s expression gradually became thoughtful; this was not the first time he had considered the same question before.
Tian Yongheng continued.
"More importantly... the Lower Realm isn’t ownerless territory."
His eyes deepened slightly.
"It is the foundation of the endless Immortal heavens. The Myriad Worlds continuously produce cultivators, and the Lower Realm acts as the first stepping stone toward ascension. Countless forces in the Upper Realm possess vested interests here, and even the 33 Heavens Divine Realm benefits from this system."
Indeed, Tian Yongheng’s words made a lot of sense.
If someone truly controlled the Lower Realm, they would effectively influence ascension itself, which was equivalent to controlling the flow of future cultivators entering higher worlds.
Such authority was too significant; no supreme power would allow another force to monopolize it.
Hu Xuanji slowly nodded.
"Fellow daoist is correct, and that is precisely why we find the situation strange."
Di Tianyang sighed.
"If an ordinary force attempted such a thing, they would immediately become enemies of half the Upper Realm, pompting even some Divine Realm powers to intervene."
The logic just didn’t add up.
An invasion seemed possible, but at the same time, it seemed impossible.
Unless the invading force didn’t care about consequences or their objective was something entirely different, or perhaps...
It was both.
A cold light flashed through Tian Yongheng’s eyes.
"The catastrophe may not be an invasion, but something much larger."
The others remained silent. They had all arrived at similar conclusions.
The Sword Venerable clearly knew something, unfortunately, he had taken that knowledge with him.
Now, they were left with only bits to piece together the fragmented truth.
Di Tianyang suddenly laughed bitterly.
"Interesting. For millions of years, we have stood at the peak of the Lower Realm, yet now, none of us know what’s happening."
Hu Xuanji shook her head.
"That alone proves how serious the matter is."
The rain continued pouring from the heavens as dark clouds covered the sky. Far away, thunder rumbled faintly.
The vortex of Providence continued growing at an alarming rate as the sense of unease within many great cultivators’ hearts became stronger and stronger.
The entire Lower Realm seemed to be preparing for something.
Tian Yongheng slowly looked upward.
His gaze seemed to cross endless layers of heaven and earth, wanting to strip everything hidden behind this thick veil bare and truly understand what was happening.
For some reason, he suddenly remembered the Sword Venerable’s final expression.
That unwilling gaze, that bitter smile, and that helpless expression seemed to have been imprinted deep inside his mind.
A Vagrant Immortal who had stood invincible for sixteen million years should not have displayed such emotions unless the truth was truly horrifying, completely beyond his ability to contend with.