Chapter 737: Fifty Thousand Years Ago

Hearing Xiao Yan's question, Zhu Kun and Gu Yuan both perked up—they too wanted to know how the Dou Emperor was called in the Great Thousand World.

Now they could be certain that the Great Thousand World was a higher-dimensional realm compared to the Dou Qi Continent, even its cultivation system being superior.

Fifty thousand years ago, before the Dou Emperors vanished en masse, in even more distant ancient times, there must have been Dou Emperors who opened passages into the vast universe, eventually reaching the Great Thousand World to pursue even higher levels.

Now, Xiao Yan and the others were following in the footsteps of those predecessors—they had not endured aimless adventures through the cosmos, but arrived directly in the Great Thousand World.

Upon hearing this, Qiao Shihong's expression turned grave; he held deep reverence for beings beyond the Supreme, solemnly nodding and saying, "My lord, after the Nine-Pin Sovereign comes the Earth Supreme."

"Earth Supreme?"

"Yes, my lord," Qiao Shihong said, his eyes filled with awe. "A few years ago, a battle erupted among Earth Supremes on Tian Luo Da Lu, one of the Ten Supreme Continents. Rumor says the battle shattered heaven and earth, dimmed sun and moon."

"Earth Supremes can manifest Heaven and Earth Phases; with a single gesture, they create mountains and rivers, reshape the land. Some say the mightiest Earth Supremes, when unleashing their Heaven and Earth Phases, grow as vast as continents themselves, standing beyond the heavens like titans—one punch shatters stars, one finger pierces through entire continents, not impossible."

As he recounted the tale, Qiao Shihong's eyes gleamed—he clearly lacked high cultivation talent, but loved gossip and had read countless ancient texts and folk histories, like a wandering scholar of all things.

"Heaven and Earth Phase," Xiao Yan frowned slightly; he knew that after breaking through to Dou Emperor, one gains a special ability called Dou Emperor's Body.

Dou Emperor cultivators can absorb Heaven and Earth into their bodies—then they become Heaven and Earth themselves; every movement shakes the heavens, their power terrifyingly immense. Xiao Yan's Dou Emperor's Body reaches tens of thousands of zhang in height, piercing straight into the sky.

This colossal form is not energy-made—it is a true physical body. Imagine a body tens of thousands of zhang tall—what terror would such presence inspire? To call it Lord of Heaven and Earth is not an exaggeration.

This ability is called Dou Emperor's Body by Dou Emperors, for only those who reach the Dou Emperor level can manifest it.

Xiao Yan had initially thought Dou Emperor's Body was the same as the Supreme's Dharma Body, since they seemed similar and related—but now, perhaps Dou Emperor's Body corresponds to the Earth Supreme's Heaven and Earth Phase.

Both involve absorbing Heaven and Earth into the body, where every motion crushes with Heaven and Earth's weight. Yet neither Xiao Yan nor Hun Tian Di's Dou Emperor's Body reaches the absurd scale of an entire continent.

"And above the Earth Supreme?" Xiao Xuan couldn't help asking.

Hearing Xiao Xuan's question, Qiao Shihong swallowed hard, as if uttering that realm's name pressed upon his soul—he dared not speak further.

"Above the Earth Supreme? That is the Heaven Supreme—such legendary invincible beings are beyond the knowledge of a lowly one like me. It is said that in ancient times, such beings could destroy an entire Lower Plane with a single drop of blood." Qiao Shihong shuddered as he spoke—a single drop of blood destroying a Lower Plane!

Their Ning Tian Continent was roughly the same size as an ordinary Lower Plane—the Heaven Supreme could obliterate it with a wave of the hand. Too terrifying!

"My clan's ancient texts once recorded that above the Dou Emperor lies the God Dou Di, though later records contradicted this," Gu Yuan whispered.

【God Dou Di was Tu Dou's initial cultivation rank in the early serialization of Dou Po, later abandoned.】

"Oh? So the most ancient Dou Emperors must have known there were ranks above the Dou Emperor, hence naming them God Dou Di—later, upon discovering the Great Thousand World, they changed the title," Gu Yuan replied.

Then Qiao Shihong explained the cultivation hierarchy he knew.

Sensory Realm, Spirit Movement Realm, Spirit Wheel Realm, Soul Spirit Realm, Three Heavens Realm: Fusion Heaven Realm, Transformation Heaven Realm, Penetration Heaven Realm.

After Penetration Heaven Realm, one must endure Three Trials: Body Trial, Spirit Power Trial, Soul Spirit Trial. Passing all three allows one to transcend mortality and reach the Supreme Realm.

The Supreme is divided into Nine Ranks; above the Nine-Pin Sovereign come the Earth Supreme and Heaven Supreme.

"As for how to break through these realms, this humble servant knows nothing," Qiao Shihong recounted everything he knew about the cultivation levels.

Thud. Soon after, Xing Tian entered the first layer of the Heavenly Tomb, carrying many broken, battered items—among them, numerous bloodstained weapons and objects resembling storage rings, called Jiezi Bracelets.

Jiezi Bracelets are peculiar Spiritual Artifacts—"the infinite contains the minute, the minute contains the infinite"—they possess spatial construction power, functioning like storage rings, capable of bearing the user's spiritual imprint lock.

Yet unquestionably, the owners of these Jiezi Bracelets were dead—their imprints vanished.

"So this is a Spiritual Artifact," Xiao Yan mused, playing with one Jiezi Bracelet, sending his soul force and Dou Qi into it—but sadly, neither could open it; only Spirit Power could unlock it.

"Sigh, even this tiny storage tool can't be opened," Zhu Kun groaned in frustration—he could crush these Jiezi Bracelets outright, yet couldn't open them.

Qiao Shihong, quick to read the atmosphere, hastily picked up a Jiezi Bracelet, infused a bit of Spirit Power, and opened the "ownerless" bracelet—though Spirit Wheel Realm was low, it was still far superior to ordinary people.

These great lords before him might not yet know how to use Spirit Power, but killing was as easy as waving a hand; once they passed the Spirit Power assimilation stage, they would surely become tyrants ruling entire regions.

Those who ascended from Lower Planes were usually emperors who had conquered their own worlds.

Xiao Yan breathed easier: the Great Thousand World used the same written characters, and his Soul Force's reading and perception still worked—learning Spirit Formulas posed no problem.

"Common Rank Superior Spirit Formula: Wood Void Spirit Art—absorbs the ethereal essence of trees; cultivation in forests yields double results."

"Spirit Level Lower Rank Spirit Formula: Baba Minor Spirit Formula—cultivator's Spirit Power becomes tyrannical and fierce; paired with Baba Fist, power multiplies."

"Spirit Level Superior Rank Spirit Formula: Sword Ray Art—when perfected, each sword strike emits powerful sword rays, sudden and unpredictable, impossible to defend against."

"And one quasi-God Rank Spirit Formula."

As each Jiezi Bracelet was opened, Spirit Formulas with names and ranks written on their covers appeared before them—without Qiao Shihong's explanation, Xiao Yan and the others could instantly understand the ranking system.

Spirit Formulas are divided into Common Rank, Spirit Rank, God Rank; each rank further divided into Lower, Middle, and Superior tiers.

But with Xiao Yan and the others' eyes, even with different cultivation systems, they could tell these Spirit Formulas—even the highest God Rank Lower Tier—were trash. This so-called God Rank Spirit Formula felt to them like Earth Rank Cultivation Methods or Dou Techniques, barely reaching Heavenly Rank.

Because God Rank Spirit Formulas themselves possess strong effects, yet cannot command Heaven and Earth Power like Heavenly Rank Dou Techniques or Cultivation Methods.

Imagine this: Xiao Yan, Xiao Clan Clan Leader; Gu Yuan, Ancient Clan Chief; Zhu Kun, Supreme Dragon Emperor of the Tai Xu Ancient Dragon Clan—now they were reduced to cultivating Earth Rank Dou Techniques and Cultivation Methods. If this returned to the Dou Qi Continent, they'd be laughed to death.

"Above God Rank Spirit Formulas come Divine Arts—these are generally cultivated only by Supremes. I believe only Domain Lords possess them," Qiao Shihong explained.

Xiao Yan nodded, gazing at the God Rank Spirit Formula in his hand, frowning in thought.

Xun Er's jade hand picked up a Common Rank Spirit Formula, smiling lightly: "Brother Xiao Yan, I think having so many low-level Spirit Formulas is good. Though low, they are the most fundamental basics—we lack foundational knowledge of the Great Thousand World. The path of cultivation leads to the same destination; once we master its fundamentals, we can create our own superior Spirit Formulas."

Hearing this, Xiao Yan smiled: "You, creating Cultivation Methods isn't that easy—even in other worlds."

Xiao Xuan, clad in black robes, set down the Spirit Formula he held. Before resurrection, these things were useless. He turned to Qiao Shihong: "Do you know if anything major happened in the Great Thousand World fifty thousand years ago?"

Hearing Xiao Xuan's question, everyone perked up—fifty thousand years ago was precisely when the Dou Emperors vanished; all events stemmed from their disappearance and the expulsion of Source Qi.

Of course, the exact timing was unclear to all, but roughly fifty thousand years ago.

"Fifty thousand years?" Qiao Shihong froze. He was about to say how could a lowly Spirit Wheel Realm cultivator know such ancient events—then suddenly remembered something, his pupils shrinking, his face draining of color.

Seeing his expression, Xiao Yan frowned, gently patted Qiao Shihong's shoulder—a warm flow surged through him, restoring some color. He asked: "Something terrible happened?"

Qiao Shihong nodded gravely: "My lords, coming from Lower Planes, perhaps you don't know—fifty thousand years ago was the darkest moment in the Great Thousand World's history."

"Fifty thousand years ago—the Demon God led the Domain Beyond Demons in invading the Great Thousand World!"

Hearing "Domain Beyond Demons," everyone gradually guessed the reason for the Dou Emperors' disappearance must be tied to this cosmic war.

"The Domain Beyond Demons invaded us—life was slaughtered, countless domains shattered, innumerable beings perished, entire races wiped out."

"Not just the Great Thousand World—even countless Lower Planes were invaded by the Domain Beyond Demons; countless people were enslaved. This cosmic war lasted a full thousand years."

(End of Chapter)