After Zhou Xuanji discussed with everyone else, he decided to head to Great Chen by himself.
Even back when he was weak he had dared to charge wherever he wanted; this was even more so now that he was second in the world.
Soon, he stepped onto the Snakeskin Sword and flew towards the north.
He flew incredibly quickly and disappeared over the horizon in the blink of an eye.
On the way, he flipped over his right hand and took out the blood pearl that was Old Mother Wan’E.
“Do you know anything about Ten Thousand Year Princes?” Zhou Xuanji asked. Over the years, he would occasionally take out Old Mother Wan’E to ask her things.
As time passed, Old Mother Wan’E had calmed down.
She had been sealed for countless years, and because she was within the Tianxia Map, her situation had not changed.
Thinking like that, she felt much better.
“Ten Thousand Year Prince? What, a Ten Thousand Year Prince has appeared in this day and age?” Old Mother Wan’E asked.
She did not wait for Zhou Xuanji to respond before she continued to mutter, “Strange, why would a Ten Thousand Year Prince appear at a time like this? Could it be that…”
Before, Zhou Xuanji had asked her about Tian, the Sword Saint, and Great Emperor Heartless.
She did not take Tian seriously but was appreciative of the Sword Saint and Great Emperor Heartless.
Even though she had been sealed, her Twelve Ghost Generals had gathered intelligence for her, causing her to know much about each age.
Great Emperor Heartless and Sword Saint Shi Shenzong had left deep impressions on her.
Hearing that these three fellows had appeared again, she felt quite strange.
And now, another Ten Thousand Year Prince had appeared.
She felt a strange sense of unease.
“That’s right, and there are two of them,” Zhou Xuanji said softly as he looked ahead.
If Chen Bantian was also a Ten Thousand Year Prince, he had to take him in.
If the Emperor Sword Court had two Ten Thousand Year Princes, how powerful would it be in the future?
He wanted to surpass Great Emperor Heartless and nurture a few Great Emperors and ascend together, charging into the Upper Realm as a group. Just thinking about it made him feel great.
“Two? How is that possible? Could it be that this is a World Epoch?” Old Mother Wan’E cried out, her voice filled with terror.
The blood pearl started to tremble, and seeing this, Zhou Xuanji frowned.
“What is a World Epoch?” He asked. He had a bad feeling about this.
“A World Epoch is when the leading role in the world changes. In other words, the human race will go into decline and a new race will take control of the world. Back when my Imperial Father led the human race to dominate the world, he had two Ten Thousand Year Princes under him!
“That’s definitely it, otherwise why would Tian, the Sword Saint, Great Emperor Heartless, Tianxia Map, two Ten Thousand Year Princes, and even me reappear? It’s over… over…” Old Mother Wan’E’s tone was filled with despair.
If the human race lost its position as the leading role in the world, her soul would dissipate.
After all, her Fate was directly connected to the human race.
The leading role in the world was going to change?
Zhou Xuanji frowned; could it be that the demon race was going to rise?
But more than half of the demon race’s top-tier forces had died; how could they rise up?
Could it be the ghost race?
Zhou Xuanji sank into his thoughts.
“Imperial Father… what you said was correct… the human race cannot take the leading role of the world forever…” Old Mother Wan’E said in a daze. Her voice was low and filled with despair.
Hearing this, Zhou Xuanji felt quite annoyed, and he harrumphed, “The human race hasn’t perished yet!”
Hearing this, Old Mother Wan’E reacted as if Zhou Xuanji had hit her sore point and shouted, “This is the Mandate of Heaven, and neither you nor I can stop it; even if my Imperial Father was here, it would be impossible. Back then it was the Mandate of Heaven who brought about change in the human race, so anything can happen! You don’t understand how terrifying the Mandate of Heaven is! It’s something that mortals cannot change! Even Immortals can’t change it!”
At that moment, she fell into total despair, and boundless terror devoured her heart.
Mandate of Heaven?
Zhou Xuanji said condescendingly, “I don’t believe in the Mandate of Heaven; I only believe that man can conquer the heavens. Just you watch, with me here, the human race will not perish!”
He was not boasting; that was truly what he thought.
After all, he was not a native creature of the Northern Wilderness; his soul came from another time and space, so he did not believe in the Heavens.
Old Mother Wan’E fell silent, but she was not moved by his words.
She had lived for countless years and had seen many people even more wildly arrogant than Zhou Xuanji.
Zhou Xuanji put the blood pearl back into the Tianxia Map and thought as he flew.
According to Daoseeker, there was someone plotting in the background.
Now that Old Mother Wan’E said that a World Epoch had arrived, he could not help but wonder about it.
In fact, he wondered if all of this was the doing of Daoseeker.
…
At the Ten-thousand Swords Divine Mountain, within a tall mountain, there was a gloomy-looking palace.
Within the palace, the candle flames flickered, causing the atmosphere to be somewhat eerie.
Shi Shenzong was sitting on a jade mat as he cultivated. His back was straight and he wore tattered black clothes. His face was ancient and his hair was a mix of black and white. His entire person gave off a deathly stillness.
The man in the woven rush raincoat suddenly appeared in front of him, and he had his head slightly tilted forwards, not revealing his appearance.
“Shi Shenzong, what are you waiting for? With your strength, you can sweep across the world,” the man asked in a calm voice.
Shi Shenzong did not open his eyes and replied coolly, “How can I care about the world of later generations? I’m cultivating for the human race.”
After speaking, he slowly opened his eyes, and a pair of brown pupils gave off a slight light within the gloom.
“You revived me in a World Epoch; what are your intentions? And who are you?” He asked the man in the woven rush raincoat, his tone still indifferent, as if he did not fear the man at all.
“It’s not important who I am; since you understand that this is a World Epoch, you should know your task—to take control over the human race. Only by uniting will the human race have a chance at surviving. Otherwise, you alone will not be able to turn the situation around,” the man in the woven rush raincoat said as he lightly laughed. Just as he spoke, he suddenly twisted his body, and a sharp sword appeared in front of him from nowhere, almost stabbing him.
Shi Shenzong looked at him, and his eyes danced with cold light as he said, “You want me to be your puppet? The human race has its own path; if it encounters variables from the heavenly law, I will block it myself. If any demons or monsters want to take the human race’s place, they will have to ask my sword first!”
The man in the woven rush raincoat slowly backed away and shook his head as he laughed and said, “Shi Shenzong, you’re still as arrogant as before. Don’t underestimate the later generations. In the current age, Yang Di and the Sword Emperor’s talent are not any inferior to yours, especially the Sword Emperor—he became the second in the world at the age of 30 and can battle Great Tribulation Scattered Immortals. Be careful or he’ll surpass you.
“Also, your senior, Great Emperor Heartless, has also returned to the Northern Wilderness, and two Ten Thousand Year Princes have also appeared. Perhaps you will become stepping stones for them,” the main in the woven rush raincoat loudly laughed before disappearing into the darkness.
Shi Shenzong was expressionless and closed his eyes, continuing to cultivate.
…
Within a courtyard in the Great Chen Imperial Palace, Chen Bantian was surrounded by a group of incredibly beautiful and flirtatious-looking palace maids.
There was a palace maid sitting on each of his legs, their hands moving about his body. Behind him, another palace maid massaged him, while a palace maid in front of him fed him fruits, causing him to grin so widely he could not bring lips together.
“Back when I met the Sword Emperor, he was still looking up to the Northern Wilderness’ Top 100. He was being hunted down by powerful enemies and met me by chance. I saw that his talent was decent so I gave him some pointers, and I had never thought that he would instantly gain enlightenment and break through on the spot,” Chen Bantian said wistfully, a reminiscent and happy look on his face.
