Chapter 278: Holy Flame Realm

The Universe refers to places it hasn’t truly developed as ‘Wild World Clusters’.

Areas that have been developed by the Universe are covered by ‘Fast Universe’ realms, which can be quickly connected via something similar to a Golden Dais or other means.

Even crossing the Milky Way only takes half an hour.

Beyond this Fast Universe realm are the Wild Worlds.

Here, Cultivators can only travel by themselves; there are no highways.

Just as Li Qi and Shen Shuibi were advancing at two hundred times the speed of light, at their destination ahead—

—

Holy Flame World.

A rather ordinary world among the endless myriad realms, it is a Sixth-Grade World.

A hundred years ago, they still believed themselves to be the Sovereign of the Universe.

In their world, there were strings of different world bubbles and continents, and within this world barrier, there were also many different regions, not a single unified entity.

Interestingly, they called these internal regions ‘worlds’ and referred to their Sixth-Grade World as the ‘Universe’.

These internal worlds were also extremely vast; after all, it was a Sixth-Grade World.

Different continents floated on different levels, and communication could be achieved by opening world bubbles.

Here, there was a special humanoid race that called themselves the Sacred Flame Clan, which is also the Origin of the name Holy Flame World.

Over the past tens of thousands of years, the Sacred Flame Clan originated from a smaller continent, but through their long-term efforts and the leadership of their great Holy King, they gradually eliminated all native races on all planes, step by step.

That was an era full of dawn, as the Sacred Flame Clan united under the Holy King’s banner, gradually revealing their brilliance.

They expanded their territory, established a world belonging to them, expelled enemies from other planes, and saved the weak Sacred Flame Clan from darkness and despair.

They advanced slowly, transforming from a weak race to eventually dominating this Sixth-Grade World.

They had their own independent language, autonomous civilization, a spirit of courageous struggle, and a set of social systems and philosophical frameworks belonging to them, which was their ‘Dao’.

However, all of this was a hundred years ago.

A hundred years ago, they discovered the ‘world barrier’.

That great Holy King absorbed the power of the world’s Origin, gaining the ability to break through the world barrier.

Then, he hopefully pushed open the door that had confined them for countless years, hoping to see a new, hopeful world.

And the Sacred Flame Clan would, as always, bravely establish their own kingdom!

The result was that they became the ‘Sacred Flame Clan’.

Their world became the ‘Holy Flame World’.

Because, outside the door, there was an irresistible, terrifying existence—

…

Zhang Lila pushed the Holy King, walking along the beach, gazing at the boundless sea before them.

Her former name was not Zhang Lila, but now all Sacred Flame Clan members needed to choose a ‘surname’ for themselves to ensure they truly accepted the opinions from outside the Holy Flame World.

Therefore, she chose Zhang, combining it with her original name.

The seawater slapped against the rocks on the shore, washing over the sand and pebbles, with seaweed washed ashore, emitting a faint fishy smell.

Looking out as far as the eye could see, at the end of the horizon, there was a faint reflection of land, which was another plane.

Zhang Lila then lowered her head, looking at the ‘Holy King’ she was pushing.

His proud carapace was shattered, the Sacred Flame Clan’s innate sharp swords were broken, and only one of his once majestic wings remained.

Even the chelicerae in his mouth seemed weak, and a gust of wind made his withered-leaf-like wings rustle.

Fortunately, the carapace still shimmered with a white metallic luster, indicating that the Holy King was still alive.

“Lila, I see a piece of land, perhaps an island… Where have you taken me?” At this moment, the Holy King, being pushed, spoke.

His eight compound eyes flickered, but they had lost their luster, retaining only a tiny bit of vision.

And the reason for all this was that a hundred years ago, the Holy King pushed open the door to the outside.

“Your Majesty, this is our homeland from twenty thousand years ago. Can you see the coast now?” She vibrated her carapace, speaking to the Holy King in their traditional language.

As a female, she had no wings and was much smaller, but her carapace was thicker, so her voice was deeper.

The beings from outside the world taught them to vocalize with their mouthparts, but now, back in their original homeland, vocalizing with the carapace behind them was more in line with traditional customs.

However, after hearing this, she saw the Holy King’s eyes lose focus.

Although the Holy King’s eyes were damaged, they usually still had focus.

But now, having returned to their homeland and facing the distant coast, both their thoughts drifted to the Nine Heavens.

After a long while, the Holy King finally spoke voluntarily.

“Lila, do you know, twenty thousand years ago, I chose the starting point of our journey right here.”

“From here, you can see our destination; across the sea, are the first traces of our departure.”

“At that time, we knew nothing about this world; the only thing we could see was our destination.

We didn’t know there were carnivorous monsters underwater, nor could we see the endless ocean storms.”

“Back then, I led our clansmen across this great sea.

I didn’t know where the wind would take us, but often clansmen would get lost in the wind, or be torn to shreds by storms.

Sea beasts would grab some people, eat them, and then leave.”

“Their teeth could easily grind our carapaces, and before they attacked, it was impossible to detect them.”

“Then, after untold hardships, we landed, only to be met with hostility and weapons from the residents on the other side.”

“But we did not yield; instead, just as we conquered the sea, little by little, we became the Sovereign of this world.”

Zhang Lila listened to the Holy King recount these things, her carapace rubbing against itself, emitting a hissing sound.

That was a sound of excitement.

The Sacred Flame Clan’s eight compound eyes were not enveloped in any liquid and could not move, so there was no such thing as ‘gaze’ or ‘expression’.

Most of their emotions were expressed through the sounds made by rubbing their carapaces, and their language was also like this.

This sound, to them, meant ‘excitement’.

After making this sound, Zhang Lila continued, “Those are all things of the past… Your Majesty, please rest and recover.”

However, the Holy King reluctantly propped himself up and said, “No… Lila, that’s not something of the past; what I’m talking about is what will happen in the future.”

“Just like twenty thousand years ago, that time, we took the step of leaving our own plane… We faced enemies more terrifying than anything extreme, irresistible ocean behemoths, and civilized races from other planes.”

“And now, we have merely returned to the very beginning.

We have opened the world barrier, just as we stepped out of our plane back then.”

“We will rise again, just as we did before.”

The Holy King said to Lila in a weak but firm voice.

Lila stopped pushing the wheelchair, but her carapace trembled, humming and emitting sounds of admiration.

The Holy King before her was still the Holy King who led the Sacred Flame Clan out of their own plane.

In the past, the Holy King fought against those terrifying existences; he faced almost insurmountable enemies.

Facing the dark plane travel, the Holy King exhausted tens of thousands of years of wisdom, being cautious and thoughtful every step of the way, leading the Sacred Flame Clan gradually towards glory.

He led his clansmen towards the only salvation he could see, the other shore.

The journey contained infinite variables; there was no foolproof method.

Aside from moving towards the only abstract goal they could perceive, they knew nothing else.

But they still succeeded!

But now…

They no longer faced the ocean, but a Universe full of malice and darkness, where no mere monsters lurked.

Those were beasts beyond logic.

They were omnipotent ‘Immortals’.

This involved infinite variables and possibilities.

But the Holy King still gambled everything and did it.

What he held in his hand was the Sacred Flame Clan’s only salvation, and he faced unimaginable ‘Immortals’.

The Holy King sacrificed everything to try and save the Sacred Flame Clan…

Unfortunately, he ultimately failed, which is why he lies here.

To be honest, Zhang Lila was overjoyed at this moment.

As a young person of only forty years old, being able to care for the tens of thousands of years old Holy King was an immense honor, and hearing the Holy King recount old stories was even more exhilarating.

Such emotions of reverence intertwined in her heart, causing her humming sounds to become disordered noise, no longer holding practical meaning.

Their Holy King was still that fearless, brave, wise, and decisive Holy King.

However, that was all.

Because she and the Holy King had seen those ‘Immortals’.

Beings who called themselves ‘Immortal’.

They were stronger and wiser than the Holy King.

All of the Holy King’s resistance was within their expectations; even his thoughts were seen clearly.

Only by truly witnessing an Immortal could one understand that profound despair…

With just one breath, they could drain an entire plane!

A sun that had burned for four billion years, they extinguished it with just two fingers.

Just one glance, and the Holy King was injured to this extent…

They called the Holy King the ‘Realm Lord of a Sixth-Grade World’, sparing his life under the pretext that ‘he was still useful’.

To be frank, she didn’t understand why the Holy King would put up such a fierce and futile resistance, resulting in him now being confined to a wheelchair.

Thus, the scene fell into an eerie silence.

After a long while, the Holy King was heard vibrating his wings and saying, “Don’t just stand there, push me back to our homeland.”

Zhang Lila came to her senses, said no more, and continued pushing the Holy King forward.

They were almost at their homeland plane…

Zhang Lila’s mind was filled with the various measures taken by the ‘Immortals’.

The Immortals called this place Holy Flame World simply because they saw the Sacred Flame Clan.

Those Immortals didn’t care about names like ‘homeland’.

Names were just arbitrarily decided, and they also required all Sacred Flame Clan members to remember how to refer to this place.

However, they didn’t engage in massacres or similar acts… instead, they aimed to change customs.

For example, they forcibly required everyone to call this place Holy Flame World.

They also made everyone choose a surname for themselves, and it had to be forcibly added to the front.

Sacred Flame Clan members without surnames would face severe restrictions, possibly even execution.

Then they established new laws, new rituals, and new rules.

Even the Sacred Flame Clan’s early childhood education was revised; everything had to follow the Immortals’ rules.

Only the Holy King maintained his name unchanged.

This might have been out of basic respect for the ‘Realm Lord’.

The Immortals were polite to them, behaving like well-mannered elders, and would seriously negotiate terms, never breaking their word, fulfilling all promises.

However, they tolerated no disobedience.

Conditions could be discussed, but not refused.

If the Sacred Flame Clan was willing to negotiate, there was room for discussion on everything; as long as you were willing to sell, the price was negotiable.

But if you were unwilling to negotiate, you would be immediately killed.

The Immortals were willing to pay a price to buy your things; they wouldn’t snatch them, but they also demanded that you must sell, with no option to refuse.

Zhang Lila didn’t even know how to describe those terrifying existences.

But the Holy King felt that this was merely plunder.

Decades ago, the Holy King’s view was that this was merely an advanced robbery, just with transactions replacing swords.

But now, a hundred years later, Zhang Lila felt that this was not the case.

The Immortals indeed brought a better life; their technology was indescribably advanced, and the Sacred Flame Clan’s life became increasingly advanced and convenient.

The Holy King was furious, accusing them of becoming less and less like the Sacred Flame Clan.

The Sacred Flame Clan’s traditions were gradually dying out; even blessings became Immortals’ rituals.

The original Cultivation system was also discarded, and the Golden Core and Divine Dao methods from the Immortals became the mainstream of Cultivation.

Large amounts of history were removed from textbooks, replaced with the Immortals’ history.

The Holy King found all of this unacceptable.

Zhang Lila was an admirer of the Holy King, otherwise, she wouldn’t have actively applied to care for this ancient king, but she felt… that it was nothing.

Over the past ten thousand years, the Sacred Flame Clan had changed customs countless times, so what if they changed again? Moreover, the other party was a terrifyingly powerful yet not violent Immortal.

The Holy King had said that when he stepped onto the new continent in the past, he faced the enemies’ swords and spears.

But now, there were no swords and spears; although the Immortals were terrifying enough to cause despair, they did not rely on violence.

She had expressed her thoughts to the Holy King before, but at that time, the Holy King said nothing, only silently emitted a mournful low hum, and she didn’t know why.

However, even if their opinions differed, Zhang Lila still respected the Holy King greatly.

She continued pushing the Holy King, moving towards their homeland plane.

Ahead was a prosperous city.

A city exactly like the Immortals’ world.

—

Meanwhile, Li Qi and Shen Shuibi silently tore open the world barrier of this Holy Flame World.

“We’re here, this is the world! It’s said to have Divine Dao specialties, very high economic value!” Li Qi said, looking at the star map.

Daily updates have resumed at midnight, and subscriptions have also recovered.

My initial guess is that the update time caused fluctuations in the intelligent recommendation system, which in turn led to fluctuations in new additions.

After all, reader retention didn’t change, but new additions decreased significantly.

So, let’s stick to the midnight update.

No need to stay up late, everyone; you can read it the next day.