Chapter 469: The Secret of the Wild Ancient Realm! The Mysterious Eyeball!

After an imperial dynasty rises, there are only two critical issues to consider.

First, expand territory.

Second, secure the realm.

But for the Great Xia Empire, neither poses any real challenge.

Don’t forget, the Empress of Great Xia addresses the Patriarch of Yunlan Sect as “Auntie.”

With this relationship, the two factions might as well be wearing the same pants.

Add to that, the Burning Flame Valley is a subordinate force of Yunlan Sect, and Tang Huo’er is the biological daughter of Valley Lord Tang Zhen.

With the Burning Flame Valley as the bond between the two powers, they have grown even closer.

Everyone knows that to challenge the Great Xia Empire, one must be prepared to face Yunlan Sect.

Thus, even if Tang Huo’er makes no deliberate effort to eliminate rivals or purge threats, no one can shake the Great Xia Empire’s rule.

As for territorial expansion?

In just half a year, the Great Xia Empire’s territory expanded from its original portion of the Central Continent to encompass most of the Central Continent, as well as the eastern and southern regions of the continent!

In other words, outside the Central Continent, the entire continent is now ruled by the Great Xia Empire and Yunlan Sect.

And behind closed doors, with Chu Yang in charge, these two forces remain one family.

Even within the Central Continent, less than a quarter of the land remains outside Great Xia’s control.

Half of this region belongs to the Tianfu Alliance; the other half is the territory of the Ancient Seven Clans.

A small portion belongs to the Sound Valley—Chu Yang specifically ordered that as long as the Sound Valley does not interfere in external affairs, they may continue their seclusion.

The Great Xia Empire showed great respect to the Ancient Seven Clans, refraining from seizing their subordinate forces.

It also did not harass Akatsuki Yan, allowing the newly formed Tianfu Alliance to develop freely.

Yet compared to the original storyline, the Tianfu Alliance lost its three major allies: the Burning Flame Valley, the Dan Tower, and the Flower Sect.

However, pressured by the Great Xia Empire, the Wind and Thunder Pavilion and the Tianming Sect could only set aside past grudges and make major concessions to Akatsuki Yan, thus joining the Tianfu Alliance.

The Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion and the Huangquan Pavilion also joined the Tianfu Alliance.

Notably, the Ice River Valley was utterly destroyed by Akatsuki Yan, and the Burning Flame Valley provided significant aid in this matter—after all, the two were ancient enemies.

When a generations-old enemy suddenly soared to greatness and angered a rising new power, the Ice River Valley could only accept its misfortune.

Thus, the continent's layout was completely rewritten.

Yunlan Sect dominates the northwest continent; the Great Xia Empire holds most of the Central Continent and controls the southeast.

Beyond that, only the Tianfu Alliance, the Ancient Seven Clans, and the reclusive Sound Valley remain.

Notably, after the rise of the Great Xia Empire, no other empire remained on the continent.

All empires in the southeast either submitted or were utterly destroyed.

Though Yunlan Sect exerted no pressure, every empire in the northwest dissolved of its own accord.

After all, before the Great Xia Empire, even if an empire still existed, no emperor dared call himself a sovereign.

The continent has only one sovereign—the Empress of Great Xia!

Though people long anticipated that Emperor Chu would shake the continent, even spark a bloody upheaval,

no one expected that in all these events, Chu Yang never personally intervened—he remained deaf to the world, secluded deep within the Wild Ancient Realm.

This brings us to two women whose names strike terror into every strong one on the continent…

Nalan Yanran! Tang Huo’er!

Even setting aside their power, without these two women’s methods, Yunlan Sect and the Great Xia Empire could never have conquered the continent so swiftly.

But after Yunlan Sect secured the northwest continent, Nalan Yanran stepped down as Patriarch, passing the burden to Akatsuki Akatsuki—no one knows where she went.

The reason so many strong ones still gathered in the Wild Ancient Realm after Chu Yang’s appearance was because he announced that each month, ten slots would be offered for combat cultivators of Dou Zun level to compete for.

The victor would gain the chance to meditate beneath the Bodhi Tree.

Though the Bodhi Heart and Bodhi Seeds were gone, the opportunity to meditate beneath the Bodhi Tree still drove countless cultivators to madness.

Ten figures now flew out from the direction of the Bodhi Ancient Tree.

Seeing them, the countless cultivators gathered here stared with envy.

But lacking strength, they could only wait for the next round.

Emperor Chu had declared: each person gets only one chance—once Itachi’ve meditated, Itachi may not compete again.

That’s why everyone fought with all their might; otherwise, those ten slots would have remained locked in the hands of a small few.

But these ten did not, as usual, leave immediately while their insights were fresh, to return home and digest their gains, nor did they attempt breakthroughs.

After exchanging glances, the eldest among them stepped forward two paces and bowed to the crowd:

“Lords, by Emperor Chu’s decree, meditation beneath the Bodhi Ancient Tree ends here. All must exit the Wild Ancient Realm within three days!”

“The Bodhi Tree and Emperor Chu have departed. The Wild Ancient Realm holds no further marvels.”

“Let’s leave quickly—lest we anger Emperor Chu!”

With that, the old man turned and flew off. The other nine followed suit, leaving countless cultivators staring at each other in silence.

Some pounded their chests in frustration, cursing themselves for holding back in the last competition.

Others shook their heads in regret, bitterly resenting their own weakness for missing this opportunity.

Yet regardless of their feelings, none lingered. Within less than half an hour, the once-bustling depths of the Wild Ancient Realm stood utterly empty.

No one doubted the old man’s words—they knew no one on the continent would dare impersonate Emperor Chu.

Though many wondered why Chu Yang had expelled everyone—did the Wild Ancient Realm still hide some secret?

But all suppressed their curiosity, none daring to investigate further.

Such is the might of a single man, dominating the entire continent!

…………

“Eight-Star Dou Sheng…”

Chu Yang felt the power within him and smiled softly: “Still not enough.”

The spirit of the Bodhi Ancient Tree spoke in his mind: “Master, your strength is unmatched on this continent.”

Chu Yang shook his head: “Naturally, there are no threats here.”

“But elsewhere, this power is insufficient to roam unchecked.”

He meant the Void of the Super God World.

Though Super God Chu Yang fears no King-level Void Beings, should he face a Sovereign-level one, the outcome remains uncertain.

Yet to the tree spirit, Chu Yang’s words implied the Grand World, stirring longing within him.

Though his wisdom had only just awakened, his memories remained flawless.

Having witnessed the rise and fall of this continent’s eras, having walked through eons, this land held no secrets for the tree spirit.

In these past six months, the research team within the Soul Palace had overcome every obstacle in developing the universe and computers.

Before emerging from seclusion, Chu Yang ingested the Program Pill, making the tree spirit the vessel of Pangu.

Yet the tree spirit and Pangu still required a fusion process—but it would not take long, merely a few days.

Once fused, and once the tree spirit learned of the Soul Palace and the myriad worlds, its mindset would change drastically.

Chu Yang gently raised his hand; an ancient book materialized, and his soul surged into it.

Instantly, vast soul force radiated from him, engulfing the entire Wild Ancient Realm!

Those cultivators near the realm’s edge, who had not yet escaped, turned pale with terror and fled in panic.

The sensation of their souls trembling as if crushed beneath a mountain left them unwilling to linger a moment longer.

They finally understood why Chu Yang had expelled everyone.

This power was too immense—even Dou Sheng cultivators would suffer greatly if they faced it.

Most importantly, that soul pressure had not been directed at them—it was merely residual, yet nearly crushed them.

Chu Yang closed his eyes and used his soul force to scan every inch of the Wild Ancient Realm, even beneath the earth.

After a long while, he slowly opened his eyes and withdrew his soul force from the entire realm.

He put away the ancient book, and his figure slowly faded.

This was no mere afterimage—it was an imprint left by his speed so extreme that time and space retained it!

Or rather…

This was Chu Yang from a few seconds ago; if he wished, he could infuse a thread of soul force into this image, making it permanently endure.

In a corner of the Wild Ancient Realm, Chu Yang’s figure slowly materialized.

The place appeared ordinary, but as his palm brushed lightly over the ground, a layer of earth was sheared away, dust scattered, revealing a deep pit.

Inside lay a pearl—or more accurately…

It was an eyeball!

The eyeball was crystal-clear, swirling with starry rivers, brimming with holy spiritual energy.

Chu Yang paused, then drew the eyeball into his hand. Its texture resembled glass, yet he felt surging power within.

“Could this… be the eye of Tian Xie Shen?”

Chu Yang guessed one possibility, yet found it implausible.

Tian Xie Shen’s name was no accident—he embodied pure evil, and his eyes were the source of his power; how could they be filled with holy spiritual energy?

Wait.

Chu Yang’s pupils suddenly contracted.

Tian Xie Shen’s power is evil, but his ancestors were not all like that!

The “Outworld Evil Clan” is a term from the Grand World, but the Outworld Demons call themselves the Holy Clan.

Compared to the people of the Grand World, Chu Yang knew more.

The Outworld Demonic Clan, as its name suggests, originated from beyond, not born in the Grand World, nor related to the Three Thousand Worlds beneath it.

They came from a distant other world, or rather—

Tianxie Shen led the remnants of his clan here!

Yet what Chu Yang knew was that the ancestors of the Outworld Demonic Clan, despite bearing the name of the Holy Clan, wielded methods and power leaning toward evil.

The eyes filled with holy spiritual energy, though somewhat problematic.

Moreover, if the eyeball brimmed with holy energy, why did it cause the beasts of the Wild Ancient Realm to transform generation after generation into ferocious beasts?

This thing was suspicious. Chu Yang pondered for a long time but could not uncover its secret—until suddenly, he thought of something and pulled out the Klein Bottle.

He glanced at the Klein Bottle, then at the mysterious eyeball, squinted, and tossed the eyeball straight into the bottle’s mouth.

The Klein Bottle suddenly blazed with light, then a storm of energy erupted, engulfing the entire Wild Ancient Realm in an instant.

All the ferocious beasts were swept up by the energy storm; the weak died on the spot, the strong could barely resist.

Fortunately, the storm lasted only a moment. When it dissipated, all the ferocious beasts looked up in confusion, their eyes now holding a glimmer of vitality.

At the storm’s center, Chu Yang was barely affected; his Yuanwu True Body effortlessly blocked it.

Watching the eyeball drift out of the Klein Bottle, Chu Yang’s eyes suddenly brightened.

The holy spiritual energy within the eyeball was gone; the strange fluctuation affecting all the ferocious beasts of the Wild Ancient Realm had vanished entirely.

In its place was a pure, special energy.

It was called “special” because Chu Yang sensed a certain quality within it, yet could not quite articulate what it was.

But he felt a sense of familiarity—like…

Chu Yang frowned, pondering deeply, then his eyes suddenly lit up.

Realm Spirit!

That familiar feeling—wasn’t it exactly the Realm Spirit held in the hands of the Sound Emperor, as shown to him by the Tree Spirit?

Supreme Sea!

A smile appeared on Chu Yang’s face. With only the black crystal, he still lacked the confidence to condense the Supreme Sea—he could only attempt it tentatively.

But now, with this eyeball and the black crystal together, forming the Source Qi into a Supreme Sea was all but certain.

This eyeball was most likely left behind by an ancient powerhouse of the Holy Clan, refined by later generations into a special artifact, allowing it to influence the entire Wild Ancient Realm.

Chu Yang had attempted this just because he recalled one property of the Klein Bottle…

That the Klein Bottle has no inside or outside—anything entering from any point ultimately reappears outside.

The eyeball was too suspicious; its power was too dangerous for him to absorb recklessly, so he simply tossed it into the Klein Bottle, hoping this artifact from a higher dimension might destroy it.

If he destroyed the eyeball, the concentrated energy would become pure—more than enough to support his breakthrough.

But he had not expected that the Klein Bottle did not destroy the eyeball—instead, in some sense, it evolved it!

This was truly an unexpected boon!

Chu Yang put away the eyeball, pondered for a moment, and ultimately decided not to rush to the Northern Desert.

That was the endpoint of the Sound Emperor’s footsteps; the spatial rifts within the desert might connect to the Grand World.

Chu Yang wished to connect the Grand World and the Qi Continent ahead of schedule—after all, waiting until Akatsuki Yan broke through to Dou Emperor before finding the spatial node linking to the Grand World might take forever.

But behind that rift likely lay territory occupied by the Outworld Demonic Clan, so he had no intention of rushing in.

Though his current strength could rival a Earth Supreme’s peak, facing a Heaven Supreme would mean only fleeing. (End of chapter)