Chapter 842 – Lagging Behind by Thousands of Years
Over the next three days, Ye Qingyu's routine remained exactly the same.
More than two-thirds of the injured had already recovered. Not only had the wounds on their bodies healed, but they had also regained their previous strength. Once their life force and blood qi were at their peak condition, it would aid in the recovery of their physical body and inner yuan.
As for the remaining one-third, their injuries had been too severe, which meant that their rate of recovery would be slower. However, according to the daily report provided by Wang Zhen, it was only a matter of time before these people made a full recovery.
The only exception was Great Dragon Turtle Demon's injuries, for it involved the mysterious secrets of the foundation of his vitality. Wang Zhen and his team did not seem to make any major progress but Great Dragon Turtle Demon himself did not seem too concerned. He maintained a positive mindset and with the Violet-Gold Dragon King Ginseng to support his life force, he could now walk on his own. With the assistance of his great-great-great-granddaughter, Zhong Xuan, he walked around the various sections of the Green Xuan Hall. He looked like he was in good spirits.
"I have already lived for eight thousand seven hundred years, and I'm afraid that very few living creatures have a lifespan as long as I've enjoyed. The Divine Dragon Turtle Race is naturally blessed with long lifespans but only have middling talent for cultivating the Ways. I had once thought that I would lead an ordinary life in the Southern Waters. Never did I imagine that I could exit the Heaven Wasteland Domain to see for myself the amazingness of the Vast Thousand Domains. I've seen things that my ancestors were never able to see and made valuable contributions to the Heaven Wasteland Domain. I can die without regrets now," Great Dragon Turtle Demon declared to everyone in the Heaven Wasteland diplomatic corps.
This big demon from the Southern Waters of the Heaven Wasteland Domain gave off an intelligent and open-minded aura, as though he was an eminent monk who had attained the Dao.
Nonetheless, Ye Qingyu continued to look into Great Dragon Turtle Demon's condition every day and used the Violet-Gold Dragon King Ginseng and the yellow Immortal qi to prolong his life. He already had a rough idea, but this idea needed to be refined and tested before it could be implemented.
For some reason, the more he researched the one hundred and eight ancient characters, the more profound they seemed. Coupled with the reaction of the life force within Great Dragon Turtle Demon's body, he slowly realized that he seemed to have stumbled across something extremely heaven-defying and guessed that this mystery was not something that someone at his cultivation realm should be able to grasp.
As for Ye Qingyu himself, he had almost regained his peak condition.
Three days flew by in the blink of an eye.
Soon after, it was the day when the final grade of the Heaven Wasteland diplomatic corps would be unveiled, and it was also a day that would determine their destiny.
In the wee hours of the morning, the first rays of dawn broke through the clouds and the fine mist to softly shine down on the square of the Green Xuan Hall.
In front of the Green Xuan Hall—
Everyone from the Heaven Wasteland diplomatic corps, including those who had just recovered from their injuries, had gathered in the middle of the square.
The day that would determine their destiny had finally arrived.
They were excited, expectant, nervous…
When the first crack of dawn appeared on the horizon, these feelings were reflected clearly on the faces of every warrior from the Heaven Wasteland diplomatic corps.
No one wanted to recall the torture and hardships that the entire diplomatic corps had been through, as though everything they had endured could be forgotten now that they were on the cusp of knowing the result.
Now, the only thing that everyone wanted to know was the final grading result.
"Greetings, our Empress. Greetings, Lord Ye Qingyu!"
As the crowd shouted their greetings, the two most well-respected figures in the Heaven Wasteland Dynasty strode out from the Green Xuan Hall.
This was a very special and important day to the entire Heaven Wasteland Domain, so these two people were clad in the highest-quality, customary palace robes and long robes of the Heaven Wasteland Dynasty.
Empress Yu Xiaoxing was clad in a floor-length long robe trimmed with red and gold prints, and pictures of the mountains and rivers were sewn with a golden thread on her wide skirts and sleeves. Her black hair was swept into an intricate bun and was decorated with the seven treasure corals and golden hair accessories. She looked gentle and graceful, and coupled with her elegance, her aura was that of a dignified and authoritative Empress.
Ye Qingyu's brows were long and arched and his eyes were as bright as stars. His dark hair was swept up behind him, neat but without losing its flowing grace. His long robes were as white as snow, and flowing clouds had been sewn with silver thread onto the hem of his robes. He exuded warmth and maturity and his claws were drawn in. He was handsome and carried himself with ease and confidence and, thus, gave off the aura of a peerless Immortal who had descended from the Nine Heavens.
According to the customs of the Heaven Wasteland Domain, there would be a ceremony held to pray to the souls of their ancestors during every significant event. This time was no exception, and the ceremony was held before they traveled to the Alliance of Domains divine temple.
Preparations for the sacrifices and the sacrificial altar had been made beforehand, and so, the ceremony took thirty minutes.
According to the message delivered by the Alliance of Domain's guard the day before, the Alliance of Domains congress divine temple was the holiest and most heavily guarded temple throughout the myriad domains. Not everyone was allowed to enter the temple, only Ye Qingyu and Yu Xiaoxing had received invitations this time.
This meant that the rest of the Heaven Wasteland diplomatic corps would have to wait for news in the Green Xuan Hall.
Soon afterward—
The appointed time had come.
In midair—
An elaborate airship dozens of meters long slowly made its way across the sky and passed through the protective formation of the Green Xuan Hall to descend in the middle of the square. The airship was completely white, as though it was carved out of white jade, and its streamlined body was very alluring. It gleamed faintly in the sun and a layer of barely decipherable formations could be seen, faintly expanding and contracting.
"Time to leave."
Ye Qingyu turned to Yu Xiaoxing and they exchanged a quick smile. Then, they walked toward the airship.
The two elders, Yan Wushuang and Shuang Wuyan, did not make an appearance, but a divine temple guard clad in brown armor with dark patterns was already waiting at the entrance of the airship. After he verified their identities, he led them into the cabin.
As the crowd from the diplomatic corps sent them off with hopeful and expectant gazes, the flying ship slowly ascended into the sky like a silver eagle and headed in the direction of the Alliance of Domains divine temple.
Soon after, the airship disappeared into the sky.
…
On the airship—
Other than the twelve divine guards who were in charge of operating the ship, there were also twenty-eight divine guards keeping watch. There were no other outsiders on the ship other than them. The deck of the ship was not very big and was milky white interwoven with dark green patterns, which made it extremely beautiful.
Ye Qingyu walked along the deck of the ship.
He enjoyed observing his surroundings from a high viewpoint. Now that he thought about it, other than the time that he had witnessed Heaven Connect City's glory from the airship the previous time, he had not stepped out of the Green Xuan Hall thereafter. Thus, this was only the second time he viewed Heaven Connect City's scenery.
Regardless of the number of times he had seen it, Heaven Connect City's magnificence and vastness were astounding.
Even the once-flourishing Snow Capital of the Snow Empire paled very much in comparison to Heaven Connect City. The difference was as vast as comparing a village to a sprawling city.
A moment later—
The airship traveled past multiple layers of protective formations and was fast approaching the divine temple.
Once again, Ye Qingyu was awestruck by the glory of the congress divine temple as he viewed it from close range. The congress divine temple was humongous, as though it could support the heavens, and it did not look as though it was built by mere mortals. Despite the fact that he stood on an airship that was more than four thousand meters above ground, he still had to raise his head to look up in order to view the divine temple as they drew closer. The black divine temple almost completely blocked the sun's rays and cast a large shadow across Heaven Connect City.
The congress divine temple ahead of him could not be precisely classified as a temple. It looked more like a huge city that reached toward the heavens. The temples were all connected and divine statues filled the place. It was as though numerous grand divine temples and divine statues had combined to form the most majestic of buildings in the world. A broad, stone staircase and a wide road weaved through it like a divine belt as though silver dragons and golden serpents were slithering through the main buildings. The buildings that surrounded it would be considered landmarks in other cities but next to the divine temple, they faded into the background.
"Heaven Connect City… I'm guessing its name probably came from this towering congress divine temple," Ye Qingyu realized.
As the airship made its way forward, the towering and majestic congress divine temple seemed even more imposing, as though it was a castle carved from dozens of towering ancient divine mountains, reaching toward the high heavens. Ye Qingyu tried his best but still could not spot the tip of this divine temple, as if it were never-ending.
The airship was at least six thousand meters above the ground, and just like the previous time that they passed by the divine temple, it could only maintain the same height as the platform beside the divine temple.
Upon careful observation, Ye Qingyu discovered that large squares that could hold thousands of people were located every one thousand meters halfway up the divine temple. These squares were suspended in midair, halfway up the divine temple, and were at least five thousand meters above ground. They seemed to be floating in the clouds and came in all sorts of shapes, but their floors were all paved with black jade and engraved with drawings and patterns from the era of ancient gods and demons. They were beautiful and elegant, beyond the imagination of mere mortals.
The divine temple also had lifelike statues of all sorts of ancient spiritual birds and mythical beasts that were scattered throughout the divine temple like giant pillars that reached for the heavens. These statues stood tall and imposing and they all contained formations that were almost transparent and rippled slightly as the wind blew. However, the power contained within them caused Ye Qingyu to shiver. He could sense a terrifying ancient aura from these statues.
Every square was located near the ports for warships and airships.
Countless airships moved across the Void like swarms of insects and interwove between the divine temple's ports. They ascended and descended, all in a flurry of activity. Several warships were docked at the ports; some of them were awaiting the signal to ascend, while some wove through the clouds and made their descent to the ground.
It was astounding to see just how many warships and flying ships were making their way across the various ports.
However, these ships all moved in an orderly manner.
Once again, Ye Qingyu was astonished. This scene seemed to explode in his mind and left him shaken.
"This is the true civilization of the martial way. This is how a prosperous, advanced civilization on the martial way should function. It's no wonder that countless forces and people look down on the Heaven Wasteland Domain and frequently refer to us as a 'lower domain'. From their perspective, they're not wrong. Compared to this scene, Heaven Wasteland's civilization is indeed lagging behind by thousands of years."
