Chapter 552: The Temple's Mission, Jade Beauty

Chapter 552: The Temple's Mission, Jade Beauty

Mingyu looked at the Unchanging Lord, seated high above in the grand hall, and then at the others present. "Is the Unchanging Lord human?" he wondered aloud. "Thus, the strong of the Unchanging Temple, regardless of their original forms, will take on a human shape."

The reason the lords of the Seven Great Heavens, including the six present, took human form was due to the influence of Tai Cang. Without exception, they all assumed human shapes, rarely revealing their true forms.

Even the lord of the True Spirit Heaven, Ao Hong, a true dragon, had taken on a human form, although his head retained dragon horns.

Moreover, the young dragons of the true dragon clan could also transform into human shapes, which was a result of Ao Hong using the Opening Purple Light to pass on the bloodline legacy to the entire dragon clan.

Tai Cang was human, and for a long time, Mingyu and the others had believed him to be the first human in the Unchanging Land.

Now, Mingyu suddenly realized that perhaps the Unchanging Lord was also human!

He was the first human in the Unchanging Land!

Otherwise, why would all the strong beings in the Unchanging Temple take human form?

Even those with peculiar features, like Night Princess's scorpion tail, still maintained a human shape.

Tai Cang had influenced them, and it was only natural that the Unchanging Lord influenced the Unchanging Temple and, in turn, Night Princess and the others.

The Unchanging Lord was making arrangements for the Unchanging Temple in preparation for the next epoch, and Dou Quan and Night Princess listened respectfully.

Mingyu had many doubts swirling in his mind, but he was aware of his position as one who had defected and once been an enemy. Blood Demon was not present in the temple, and he had no close relationships with the others, so even though he had countless questions, he dared not voice them.

Finally, the Unchanging Lord finished speaking.

Among the lords of the various heavens in the hall, there were those who were also filled with questions, and one of them spoke up.

"Lord, what is meant by the next epoch?"

Mingyu's spirits lifted, eager to hear the answer.

The Unchanging Lord's voice echoed slowly, "Epoch. It is a measure of time in the Unchanging Land, the only way to measure the passage of time here. The next epoch refers to the next era in the Unchanging Land."

Some who did not understand the concept of an epoch now realized that the Unchanging Land also had epochs. However, they were unsure how to determine when the next epoch would arrive. Mingyu shared this confusion.

"Lord, how do we know when the next epoch will come? The Unchanging Land is always hazy and unclear, without the distinct day and night cycles of the heavens, making it difficult to track the passage of time accurately."

The lord of the heavens who had asked the previous question spoke up again, his confusion evident.

Before the emergence of the Seven Great Heavens, they had no concept of measuring time in terms of years, months, and days. In the Unchanging Land, they used the lifespan of a certain type of true spirit as a reference for the passage of time.

When they ventured out, they would bring a true spirit with them, and when that spirit died, they would use it to gauge how much time had passed. The true spirits used for this purpose were not particularly strong or long-lived, but they were numerous.

This had once been a common method of timekeeping for the Unchanging Temple. For example, they would agree to return to the temple after a certain number of true spirits had perished. However, with the appearance of the Seven Great Heavens, they learned about the heavens' method of measuring time in terms of days, months, and years, and they adopted this practice to keep track of the passage of time.

They also used this system to estimate how much time had passed in the Unchanging Land in terms of years, months, and days.

So, when the Unchanging Lord mentioned that the Unchanging Land also had a way to measure epochs, it naturally raised many questions.

The Unchanging Lord's voice took on a more solemn tone as he explained, "In the Unchanging Land, after a certain period, a beam of light will pierce through the haze, marking the beginning of an epoch. From the appearance of one beam of light to the next is considered one epoch."

As Mingyu heard this, he abruptly lifted his head, his eyes widening in shock as he stared at the Unchanging Lord.

His mind flashed back to the first time they had seen a beam of light cutting through the haze—the Opening Purple Light.

From that light forward, a new epoch had begun in the Unchanging Land.

This meant that from the time they had created the heavens until now, it had not yet been a full epoch!

The fact that the Unchanging Lord knew about this method of measuring epochs implied that he had witnessed more than one beam of light and had lived through at least two epochs.

A true ancient being!

Had the Unchanging Lord also obtained the Opening Purple Light? Perhaps even more than once?

No wonder his strength was so unfathomable.

Dou Quan and Night Princess, whose strengths were not far behind his, had likely also obtained the Opening Purple Light, as they had endured at least one epoch!

"The Opening Purple Light?" Mingyu exclaimed in shock.

The Unchanging Lord turned his gaze toward Mingyu. "Not long after that purple light appeared, you created the heavens. How exactly did Tai Cang create the heavens?"

Mingyu's heart skipped a beat. He had assumed that the Unchanging Lord would know how the heavens were created, but it seemed he did not!

"The purple light!" Mingyu replied in a low voice. "Tai Cang used that light to create the heavens. As for the specific method, I am not entirely sure. We only know that Tai Cang assisted us in creating our heavens."

But he did not voice this question. Instead, he had a strange premonition that the Unchanging Lord and his companions seemed to have never captured the purple light.

It was Tai Cang who had first captured the purple light and taught them how to do so. They had then used that same light to create the heavens and become the lords of the world.

Every period of time, a light would cut through the hazy Unchanging Land. Since the purple light of this epoch held such great opportunity, the next light would surely hold its own mysteries.

Mingyu's heart raced with excitement. Although he did not know what the Unchanging Lord intended to do with the extracted essence of the world, or what his goals were for the next epoch, Mingyu knew he had to find an opportunity to capture the next light.

A great opportunity was approaching.

Perhaps he would have a chance to free himself from the Unchanging Temple and even escape the control of the Unchanging Lord, or perhaps even turn against him?

"Prepare for the tasks of the next epoch, and make no mistakes. If you miss this opportunity, you will have to wait for another epoch, and there is no guarantee that any of you will live to see it." The Unchanging Lord spoke, his gaze falling on Mingyu. "Your task is to stop the people of Jade Beauty from approaching Tai Cang's world. You will do this with your strength."

With a wave of his hand, the Unchanging Lord indicated a location within the Unchanging Land. "You will take up residence here and prevent anyone from Jade Beauty from getting close."

"Yes, Lord!" Mingyu replied respectfully. "How will I be able to identify the people of Jade Beauty?"

He had never seen anyone from Jade Beauty and knew very little about this mysterious force.

"The people of Jade Beauty are easy to recognize," the Unchanging Lord said. "Their bodies are as white as jade. You will not mistake them."

"Understood. I will make sure that no one from Jade Beauty gets close," Mingyu nodded.

"If you are unable to stop them, then retreat and send a message. I will deal with it," the Unchanging Lord added after a moment's thought.

"Thank you, Lord!" Mingyu said gratefully.

"Go now and carry out your tasks. Wait for further commands," the Unchanging Lord commanded, and then, like an eerie gust of wind, he vanished without a trace.

Without exchanging further words with Dou Quan and the others, Mingyu left the grand hall and the temple, making his way directly to the place where he was to carry out his task.

"Jade Beauty," Mingyu murmured to himself. If they could make even the Unchanging Lord cautious, their strength must be close to that of the temple.

"I should contact Blood Demon," Mingyu thought. There was much he did not know, but as one of the elders of the Unchanging Temple, Blood Demon would surely have insights and a better understanding of Jade Beauty.

In a certain place within the Unchanging Land, amidst the haze, a faint light moved. At the center of this light was a young man, as if enveloped by the world itself, or perhaps the world existed because of him.

Xu Yan took one step after another, his sword intent transforming into a world of mountains and rivers that enveloped the four directions. With his own world, he sought to comprehend the Unchanging Land.

Mountains and rivers appeared in the faint light, and within the haze, a scene of the world emerged, as if a new world was about to be created.

And this world moved swiftly through the haze.

Roar!

The roar of an Unchanging Spirit rang out, and nearby spirits rushed over, attracted by the world and the faint light.

Xu Yan did not make a move.

His journey through the Unchanging Land was for the sake of comprehension and to sort out his own martial path. He wanted to explore the Unchanging Land, and the Unchanging Spirits that entered his world would allow him to analyze their innate abilities and even replicate them within his world, becoming one of the rules of his world.

The path of his world had been established, encompassing myriad laws and growing stronger. It was also a method of cultivation.

Cultivation on the path of world-establishment was inherently difficult, and progress was slow. One had to constantly comprehend and strengthen their own path, and at the same time, they had to nurture the path of their world.

In the initial stages of world-establishment, one laid the foundation. Upon this foundation, one had to continuously expand and build, striving towards the perfection of their established world.

When the established world was perfected, it was time to create and transform the world.

Therefore, the entry of Unchanging Spirits into his world was part of his comprehension, and it also allowed him to extract what was useful, incorporating it into the foundation of his established world.

A golden dragon emerged from the mountain river and swooped down to fight the incoming spirit, urging the spirit to display its abilities.

Every time the incoming spirit displayed its ability and was replicated, the golden dragon would either devour that spirit or expel it from the mountain river.

"Not all spirits are useful. Only those at the Realm Lord level and above are worth replicating."

Xu Yan began to sift through the approaching spirits, disregarding any that were not at the Realm Lord level or higher.

The mountain river shone faintly, moving through the haze, naturally drawing a lot of attention. But Xu Yan didn't care; he was here for the adventure. How could he adventure stealthily?

The Unchanging Land was vast and infinite, with countless spirits, and naturally, there were countless types of spirits as well. The mountains that had fallen from the spirits occasionally grew plants, all of which were rare and precious treasures.

Xu Yan's harvest was immense.

Time flew, and Xu Yan, alone, had been wandering in the Unchanging Land for three years.

"My junior brothers and sisters should have already led the Hongze Heaven and Earth back, right?"

Xu Yan turned to look in the general direction of the Great Wilderness Heaven and Earth.

"This mountain is very ancient and is almost eroded by the years, completely disappearing."

Looking at the mountain under his feet, the mountain body had become unstable and loose, seeming as if it could disintegrate like quicksand at any moment and completely collapse and disappear.

This mountain was the largest and most ancient one Xu Yan had encountered in the Unchanging Land.

It meant that the spirit that had turned into this mountain was the strongest he had ever seen.

Xu Yan sat cross-legged on the mountaintop, and the mountain river spread out slowly, with him as the center, until it covered the entire mountain. This mountain, which was about to collapse, suddenly seemed like a small world.

Two figures were flying through the Unchanging Land, seemingly searching for something.

"Where did the people from Jade Beauty hide?"

One of them frowned and said.

"They can't have gotten far!"

The other person scanned the surroundings and said thoughtfully: "They're probably hiding in the nearby mountains!"

"When we see a mountain, let's crush it!"

As they spoke, the two quickly flew by, searching their surroundings. As they passed a small mountain, they immediately took action and crushed it.

"Nothing, let's keep going!"

Boom!

Another mountain was crushed, but there was still no sign of their target, so the two continued their search.

From the rubble of the crushed mountain, a large stone flew out, away from the two, until their figures disappeared. Then, a head poked out from the rubble of the mountain.

The originally gray head, which looked like a stone, gradually turned jade-white, like a flawless piece of white jade.

A figure stepped out from the stone.

Her whole body was snow-white, like flawless white jade, with a graceful figure and delicate and smooth features. Her eyes, originally white like jade, gradually revealed black pupils.

She looked like a jade sculpture, almost as if she had no flesh and blood.

The jade-like woman looked in the direction the two pursuers had gone, hesitated for a moment, and then fled in the opposite direction, like a faint white blur in the haze.

The woman, who looked like a jade sculpture, gradually began to look more real, but her skin remained white as jade, without a hint of blood, yet she didn't look deathly pale.

She was a beauty, as flawless as jade.

The jade-like woman's speed increased, and she fled into the boundless haze. Suddenly, she stopped and turned her head to look at a faint light in the distance.

She blinked, looking puzzled, wondering why there was a faint light in the Unchanging Land. She hesitated for a moment and then moved towards the light.

As she drew closer, her eyes widened in shock. Was that a small world?

She stopped and stared for a long time before finally approaching the small world cautiously.

Standing outside the small world, the jade-like woman examined it thoughtfully. This small world seemed illusory, yet it felt real.

It wasn't an illusion, but it also didn't quite feel like a genuine world.

The jade-like woman's thinking seemed a bit slow. At one point, she raised her hand and reached out, and a floating stone in the distance was pulled towards her.

She threw the stone into the world.

Bang!

The stone fell to the ground, making a dull sound.

The jade-like woman blinked and then fell into thought again. This world was real, but why did it feel like it wasn't a genuine world?

Perplexed, she eventually hesitated for a moment and then stepped into the world.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end