Chapter 448: Chapter 216: The Ins and Outs
What truly intrigued him, besides the massive collection of Celestial Books, was the vast number of scrolls left behind by the Ancient Human Emperor.
The Celestial Books were a given, of course.
Thanks to his Heaven-defying Comprehension, Li Changâanâs fastest path to power had always been through studying precious texts and Cultivation Techniques.
And this collection of books from the Celestial Realm did not disappoint.
Through systematic study, Li Changâan gained a much clearer understanding of the Path of Incense and Fire cultivated by the Celestial Realm.
âIf my understanding is correct, the Incense and Candle Divine Dao cultivated by the Guardian Gods of the Mortal Realm wasnât actually designed to allow them to improve steadily at all.â
âThe truth is quite the opposite. The Incense and Candle Divine Dao wasnât created for the people of the Lower Realm to cultivate. It was meant to make it convenient for those old monsters to find new bodies.â
âA backdoor was built into the Incense and Candle Divine Dao from the very beginning.â
âEven if a living being cultivates it to the absolute peak, they ultimately become more like Incense than a creature of flesh and blood, making them easy targets for possession by a Divine Spirit who knows about the backdoor.â
He then connected this with the most secretive historical records he had found in the Celestial Palaceâs archives.
Initially, five people had disembarked from the spaceship.
One of the five had been killed by the Human Emperor of that era. The remaining four founded the Celestial Realm and began to spread the Incense and Candle Divine Dao.
The reason they had fled in such a panic was that their homeworld had been struck by a Dark Tide. Being interstellar pirates accustomed to pillaging their way across the cosmos, they had boarded their spaceship upon finding their home destroyed and begun a long interstellar voyage.
Li Changâan had attempted interstellar travel himself in the past. Because his technology hadnât been very mature, the experience had been quite agonizing.
Although this group possessed technology more advanced than what Li Changâan had used, their journey was far longer. They nearly ran out of fuel and were almost stranded in the void of space.
What happened next was fairly obvious.
Tainted by Dark Energy and worn down by their long voyage, the pirates were on the verge of Despair. It was then that they arrived at this civilized planetâone not particularly powerful, but which yearned to reach for the stars. In the end, they slaughtered the local powerhouses and seized it for themselves.
The creation of the Incense and Candle Divine Dao served two purposes. First, it allowed them to better control the planet. Second, it enabled them to take over the most talented beings as new physical vessels, a form of Molting that allowed them to escape the Dark Energy corroding their original bodies.
After countless years, this group had all but succeeded.
The four dying pirates abandoned their rotting, near-death bodies and transformed into the Celestial Monarchs revered by all in the Celestial Realm. The Sun Emperor was the last to complete this process, which is why his Cultivation is still only at the Emperor realm.
Through this method, the other three escaped the crisis of life and death and came to rule the entire planet with an iron fist.
But even by treating the planetâs population as a crop to be endlessly reaped, they still couldnât satisfy their ever-growing appetites.
The interstellar pirate blood flowing through their veins made them restless. Thus, they managed to repair the spaceship that had brought them to this world and began to explore the surrounding Star Realms.
Since the Sun Emperor had not yet reached the Celestial Monarch Realm, he was left behind in the Immortal Palace to continue his Cultivation.
This also served as an insurance policy for their home base. Even if something unexpected happened, the Sun Emperorâs presence would prevent any major upheaval.
In fact, ever since everyone switched to cultivating the Incense and Candle Divine Dao, they had come to view the planet as their own private backyard. The four of them never once imagined that someone like Li Changâan, a veritable Ultraman specializing in fighting monsters, could emerge from their garden and blindside them.
After reading all the books collected from the Celestial Realm, Li Changâan finally had a complete understanding of the entire sequence of events.
âSo thatâs why the Celestial Realmâs forces were so depleted,â he thought. âThe other three Celestial Monarchs took their core forces with them to conquer another world.â
âBut since they left of their own accord, wouldnât they come rushing back once they learn their home base has been attacked?â
Li Changâan thought this was highly likely.
However, he wasnât too worried. After all, interstellar travel wasnât a short trip. Even if the two planets were relatively close, a round trip would likely take decades, if not centuries.
Not one to hide such news, Li Changâan sought out Lu Sang and told them that a Celestial Monarch from the Celestial Realm would likely return with an army in the future.
For the Fusang Tribe and all the members of the Godslayer Alliance, this news was both a sword of Damocles hanging over their heads and the best possible motivation.
After all, such is the nature of living things. Only in the face of a life-and-death crisis can oneâs true potential be unleashed. The old saying âone thrives in hardship and perishes in comfortâ was a truth derived from this very instinct.
After digesting all the information from the books and documents, Li Changâan began to take stock of the Map of Mountains and Rivers scrolls he had brought back from the Immortal Realm.
Because there were so many forgeries circulating to throw people off the scent, the Celestial Realm had long since given up trying to confiscate all the Maps of Mountains and Rivers. It was an impossible task.
Among the scrolls, Li Changâan successfully found three authentic Maps. Combined with the one he already possessed, he had, in theory, collected the complete set. He could now go beneath Hell to claim the Human Emperorâs inheritance, but after long consideration, he decided not to act rashly.
After all, while the historical records of the Hell Humans depicted the Human Emperor as a paragon of virtue, some texts from the Celestial Realm painted a different picture. Li Changâan discovered that the Human Emperor might not have been so perfectly righteous after all.
In reality, when the Human Emperor intercepted the spaceship, he had never intended to let the interstellar pirates live. Their origins were unknown and they were powerful; it would have been stranger if the Human Emperor *hadnât* been wary of them.
The Human Emperor had planned to impound the spaceship and use brute force to subdue the four heavily injured pirates, intending to interrogate them for useful information.
But the plan backfired spectacularly. Not only did he fail to achieve his goal, but the pirates turned the tables on him. The entire planetâs historical course was disrupted, and its civilization suffered a catastrophic disaster.
The reason the Human Emperorâs plan failed so miserablyâaside from the piratesâ own formidable strengthâwas primarily because he had absolutely no understanding of Dark Energy.
Caught off guard, he was blasted with Dark Energy by them. This must have been what the contemporary patriarch of the Hell Humans meant when he told Li Changâan that âthe pirates not only showed no gratitude for the Human Emperorâs lifesaving grace, they poisoned himâ...
âIn other words,â Li Changâan mused, âthis was a conflict between two civilizations from the very start. At its core, it was a life-or-death struggle. The interstellar pirates had malicious intent, but the Human Emperor wasnât exactly a saint either.â
Therefore, having seen the true colors of both sides, Li Changâan didnât fully trust either of them. He couldnât be sure if what the Hell Humans called âinheriting his mantleâ meant receiving the Human Emperorâs true legacy, or if it was a trick for some old ghost to possess a new body, just like the Sun Emperor.
Besides, he had already destroyed the Immortal Realm. Even if it was only a partial victory, it was more than enough for his current reincarnation.
As for the Celestial Monarchs who might arrive later... he would have to leave that to fate.
If they failed to return within fifty years, Li Changâan was confident that his accumulated strength would be more than enough to make them regret it.
If they managed to make the interstellar journey in under fifty years, however, then all Li Changâan could do was give it his all and fight for his life.
At this thought, Li Changâan cast aside all the chaotic thoughts in his mind and began to focus wholeheartedly on his Cultivation.
He had overthrown the Immortal Realm, but the immense Power of Incense would not dissipate so quickly. As he cultivated, it began to pour into his body like an inverted river from the heavens.
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