Chapter 1130: Born in Adversity

Lu Ye didn't understand why the situation in Xian Yuan City remained constant, or where the insectoids in the Great Insectoid Secret Realm originated. They couldn't possibly be remnants from the pre-Jiu Zhou era, could they? From his observations, the invading alien armies had always been repelled by the cultivators of the pre-Jiu Zhou era, making it impossible for them to invade Jiu Zhou itself.

An ethereal voice spoke, "When the cultivators of ancient Jiu Zhou created me, they entrusted me with two missions: to protect Jiu Zhou and to protect humanity! Although I possess the ability to conceal a world's aura, which significantly reduces the chance of Jiu Zhou being discovered by powerful enemies, there's still a possibility of detection if the distance is too close."

This was easy to understand. Just as cultivators might not detect an enemy using divine sense but could observe them with the naked eye, the Heavenly Mystery Compass could only conceal the world's aura, not make Jiu Zhou vanish in the starry sky. Therefore, if an enemy were close enough, they could still perceive the existence of the Jiu Zhou world.

"Over five thousand years ago, a relatively small insectoid hive appeared near Jiu Zhou. Upon discovering Jiu Zhou's existence, it launched an invasion, leading to a major war. Although the Jiu Zhou cultivation world at the time managed to eradicate that insectoid hive, they suffered heavy losses. Furthermore, Jiu Zhou's vitality hadn't fully recovered then, which caused some flaws in my ability to conceal the world's aura. To rectify these flaws, a decision was made by over a dozen major powers, led by Xian Yuan City, to make the ultimate sacrifice and patch the deficiencies."

It was as if a balloon had several holes, allowing Jiu Zhou's world aura to leak out, increasing the risk of discovery by powerful enemies. To mend these leaks, a tremendous sacrifice was required. The over dozen major powers, led by Xian Yuan City, made this sacrifice, allowing the Heavenly Mystery Compass's ability to conceal the world's aura to become complete.

"To enable them to uphold this mission for a longer duration, the cultivators from these dozen-plus major powers all transformed into soul bodies. That is why Xian Yuan City has persisted to this day."

"If there were over a dozen major powers, then what about the ones besides Xian Yuan City?" Lu Ye recalled that Xian Yuan City was just one of the many secret realms within the Boundless Mirage. However, only Xian Yuan City contained soul bodies; other secret realms did not. In the Spirit Stream Battlefield, secret realms of the Boundless Mirage would open periodically in various locations, allowing cultivators to enter for training and exploration, with many benefiting from them.

"As the flaws in my aura concealment were mended, those powers gradually faded away. Being soul bodies, their very existence consumed the power of the soul pool. The soul pool's power is ultimately finite, so supplying all soul bodies versus supplying only a portion of them naturally dictates different durations of sustenance."

No one forced them to disappear; it was their own choice. As soul bodies without physical forms and unable to advance their cultivation, battling for thousands of years, day after day, might not have been what those soul bodies truly desired. Complete disappearance might have been their true release. The soul bodies in Xian Yuan City continued to exist as a reserve force, preventing any new flaws in the Heavenly Mystery Compass's concealment ability. Occasional insectoid invasions of Xian Yuan City occurred because the soul bodies could not remain in slumber for too long, lest they truly fall into permanent stillness; thus, they needed to awaken and engage in activity periodically.

Lu Ye heard a simple explanation, but behind it lay the profound realization that enabled over a dozen top-tier powers to make such a choice together. With the fearless sacrifices of human experts from the pre-Jiu Zhou era, followed by the valiant selflessness of the powers in Xian Yuan City, humanity's flame of perseverance has been passed down, generation after generation, leading to the current state of affairs.

"So, the insectoids back then weren't completely annihilated; a portion was left behind?" Lu Ye keenly perceived something. The ethereal voice replied, "Precisely. As the saying goes, 'born of adversity, die of comfort.' The existence of the insectoids, to some extent, ensures that the people of Jiu Zhou do not forget the crises they once faced. Therefore, I utilized the power of the human cultivation world at the time to banish some insectoids into a small world—what you call the Great Insectoid Secret Realm. I allowed them to continue existing there, and at certain times, I open channels to provide human cultivators with a degree of tempering."

The insectoid tides in the Spirit Stream Battlefield originated this way. However, because the cultivators in the Spirit Stream Battlefield were not particularly strong, the insectoids that emerged from the Great Insectoid Secret Realm were also limited to the Spirit Stream Realm level. The Heavenly Mystery could not release overly powerful insectoids into the Spirit Stream Battlefield; that would be a massacre, not a trial.

Lu Ye's voice slowly grew cold. "And this time, to compel the two major factions to unite, you instigated an insectoid plague that swept across all of Jiu Zhou!"

"It was the quickest and most effective method." "Many people died!" "One of my missions is to protect humanity. Believe me, I am the last one who wishes to see humans perish. However, humanity has always had a natural tendency to quarrel amongst yourselves, true for every era, always leading to various conflicts and disputes. The two major factions have opposed each other for so many years; without this insectoid plague, they would not have united so easily. The Blood Refining Realm is approaching, and if they cannot successfully unite, even more people will die."

Lu Ye naturally understood this reasoning and found it difficult to argue further. After all, it was merely an artifact spirit born from the fusion of the world's will, not a true human, and its considerations weren't as comprehensive. After a moment of silence, he spoke again, "The creation of factions requires a token. That object isn't your true form, is it?"

Although the Heavenly Mystery Compass in Tai Shan's hand looked identical to what Lu Ye had seen, it couldn't possibly be the genuine one. The true Heavenly Mystery Compass was currently concealed above Jiu Zhou's celestial body, masking its aura. Tai Shan certainly didn't possess the capability to retrieve the real Heavenly Mystery Compass. "Naturally not. That was merely an object similar in form to my true self."

"In that case, was the conflict between the two major factions also entirely orchestrated by you?" "That was the result of natural evolution," the ethereal voice replied. "As I said before, humanity can never escape its innate tendency to quarrel. Before the emergence of factional opposition, people formed groups based on sects and families, competing and clashing, then forming cliques and successive alliances. Through historical evolution, these alliances united, dispersed, and reformed, ultimately culminating in the two opposing factions."

By this point, the conflict between the two major factions had become the norm in Jiu Zhou, making it impossible to trace back the grudges of previous generations. Lu Ye considered the matter carefully and realized that this indeed couldn't be blamed on the Heavenly Mystery of Jiu Zhou. If Jiu Zhou truly had no opposing factions, would cultivators live in peace? Naturally, that would be impossible. Cultivators relied on contention and seizing opportunities for everything; where there was contention and seizing, there was conflict. Furthermore, even if one were to imagine a world of perfect harmony where cultivators were amicable, what use would such cultivators be? They would merely be a group of useless individuals who understood only cultivation but were inept in battle. If Jiu Zhou were to face another crisis, could they be relied upon to protect it? Appropriate struggle was not a bad thing; instead, it would allow cultivators to grow stronger. As for the casualties that arose from these conflicts, they were inevitable.

"Then, why did you summon me this time?" Lu Ye asked. His ability to travel from the Great Insectoid Secret Realm to Xian Yuan City and witness the true form of the Heavenly Mystery was no coincidence. It was clearly orchestrated by the Heavenly Mystery, which had even shown him the historical evolution of Jiu Zhou beforehand, allowing him to understand its complete history.

"Naturally, it's because of the Blood Refining Realm."

"I generally understand the situation with the Blood Refining Realm and will do my best to mobilize those seniors; I trust they won't stand idly by." Lu Ye frowned slightly and said, "Actually, since you can communicate with people, why don't you appear in person? You wouldn't need to do anything specific; just provide a revelation or guidance to Jiu Zhou cultivators at the appropriate time."

"Ultimately, I am merely an artifact. The cultivators of Jiu Zhou regard me as the Heavenly Mystery, profound and unfathomable. Therefore, I must maintain my mystery. If that mystery is lost, so too will be their reverence. Human hearts are complex; if my existence were to be revealed, it's not guaranteed that some wouldn't harbor ulterior motives. Moreover, this matter fundamentally concerns your human race; my role is merely to assist."

Hearing this, Lu Ye found it quite reasonable. If a treasure like the Heavenly Mystery Compass were exposed, who wouldn't be tempted? Someone might indeed harbor malicious intentions, and if they could refine the Heavenly Mystery Compass for their own use, they would become unrivalled in Jiu Zhou! Therefore, the existence of the Heavenly Mystery Compass was not suitable for exposure, and the cultivators of Jiu Zhou indeed ought to maintain a certain degree of reverence for the Heavenly Mystery. "I am also human!" Lu Ye casually glanced at it. "Your inheritance is far more valuable than my own, so I don't see any issue with revealing myself to you. If, one day, someone truly can refine me, it can only be you."

"My inheritance?" Lu Ye raised an eyebrow. "Where is my inheritance from? Not Jiu Zhou?"

"No! I'm not sure of its exact origin. Many years ago, a powerful human was severely wounded and drifted into Jiu Zhou. He eventually died here, and the inheritance you received was left behind after his death. You are not the first to obtain this inheritance; two others received it before you, but both perished prematurely."

"What was the name of the person who left the inheritance?" "I don't know; I never asked. He was more powerful than anyone I've ever encountered. If Jiu Zhou had possessed such a strong individual back then, perhaps not so many would have died, nor would we have been forced to abandon our original location."

Lu Ye shook his head. "You can't say that. Such a powerful person died from severe injuries, which clearly means there are beings even more formidable than him." The Heavenly Mystery was silent for a moment. "You have a point."