Chapter 342: Glory and Terror

The old Daoist priest paused briefly before announcing an astonishing ranking: eleventh place!

After speaking, he fell silent for a moment, lost in thought, his expression extremely solemn.

Such a ranking was absolutely glorious and incredibly astonishing, leaving everyone deeply shocked.

Even Chu Feng, who had long known from the Yellow Ox that Earth was extraordinary in the past and ranked among the top hundred stellar worlds, was still surprised at this moment.

In fact, the Yellow Ox didn't know the exact ranking, only guessing it was within the top few dozen, based on fragmented notes from predecessors.

The old Daoist priest was also in the same boat; he knew Earth's ranking was high, but he hadn't expected it to be this high, far exceeding his expectations!

Across the heavens and the cosmos, this was once the eleventh most powerful planet, extraordinarily brilliant!

Undoubtedly, countless years ago, saints and supreme powerhouses resided here, capable of projecting their might across all heavens, overlooking the vast star sea, and aweing countless worlds.

However, in the end, everything vanished like smoke. This place was no longer prosperous; it had completely declined.

Even though these were tales of the past, representing only former glory, the king-level beings present were excited and pleasantly surprised. Some even cheered and burst into laughter.

Earth was once so powerful, with experts capable of shining across the heavens, commanding tribute from various realms—how dazzling and awe-inspiring that must have been!

Even though Earth had declined and become a wasteland, everyone believed something extraordinary must have been left behind. The thought alone was enough to send them into a frenzy of excitement.

Beyond the famous mountains and rivers, and the ancient trees awaiting revival, even the various ancient cave-dwellings buried underground for ages, if unearthed, would be enough to drive people mad.

And to think, this ancient land, once the eleventh most prosperous in the cosmos, and the supreme powerhouse who illuminated all heavens—how astonishing would their legacy, their evolution methods, be?

His path of evolution, his heritage, must still be on Earth!

At this moment, as people considered these possibilities, their blood surged. They felt like roaring skyward, filled with anticipation, their hearts pounding and trembling.

Earlier, listening to the old Daoist priest, they had been disheartened and quite dejected, believing that as natives of Earth, it would be difficult to compete with the divine sons and saintesses from outside realms.

As for reaching the pinnacle, becoming a saint or ancestor one day, and standing alongside the figures appearing on those top hundred stellar bodies—that was simply a pipe dream.

But now, they inexplicably felt a surge of confidence. How could an ancient land, once ranked eleventh in the cosmic star sea and across all worlds, be simple?

They were descendants of a supreme star!

Evidently, their ancestors were once dazzlingly brilliant, looking down on all realms and systems, crushing many stellar races into submission.

This land was once jointly worshipped by beings from all heavens and offered tribute by countless races from the myriad star realms, reaching the zenith of glory!

At the same time, they understood why beings from outside realms were all trying to descend, and why divine sons, celestial maidens, and others from different worlds wanted to come here.

Because this place held treasures too extraordinary to ignore, worth fighting over. Ranked eleventh, it had once far surpassed countless other worlds!

Many were thrilled and invigorated, feeling a sudden surge of conviction. Their future achievements might be terrifyingly great, because with Earth's recovery, no one could say what kind of opportunities would emerge.

Astonishing ancient trees might appear in clusters, and ancient cave-dwellings buried in the dust of ages would open one by one. If those peerless orthodoxies were all revealed, it would truly be unimaginable!

However, while some were excited, cheering, and joyful, others were deep in thought, their expressions solemn.

This was because their perspectives on the matter were entirely different.

For example, the old Daoist priest's face was extremely grave. After announcing the ranking, he had remained silent.

Lin Nuoyi, for instance, was very astute. She immediately thought of many things, realizing and understanding quite a bit.

"No wonder," even the rebellious young girl said, as if suddenly enlightened and understanding everything.

And the old woman whose body was half-burnt, carried on a soft stretcher, also had shining eyes and nodded subtly to herself.

As for Chu Feng, while he felt Earth's ultimate glory and understood everyone's joy, he also sighed softly. He was no ordinary person either, grasping much in an instant.

Eleventh place!

This ranking was too astonishing, far beyond the Yellow Ox's estimate of "within the top few dozen."

The Yellow Ox had once said that the ten strongest ancient stellar worlds in the cosmos had been constant since ancient times, never changing!

What did this imply? It contained too much information.

From this, it was naturally clear that they were incredibly powerful, far beyond the comprehension of other star sea races, truly unimaginable.

Also, after so many years, could it be that no powerhouses from other planets could truly challenge their status? That seemed unlikely!

Yet, the top ten strongest stars had indeed remained unchanged!

This might imply bloodshed. Amidst that dazzling glory, there could have been scenes of blood spilling across the stars, and tragic cries from ancient planets.

Earth was once ranked eleventh—how dazzling, revered by all worlds! Yet it suddenly declined, eventually becoming a wasteland.

This was truly terrifying.

Among those present, there were many astute individuals. Some king-level beings calmed down, their expressions gradually turning solemn. No longer euphoric, they felt a chill.

Just from a single ranking, one could discern many things.

It could be said that Earth was once incredibly glorious but had experienced something truly terrifying.

Many frowned, falling completely silent, asking the old Daoist priest what Earth's later ranking was, wanting to understand the subsequent situation.

"From eleventh place, after a period of brilliant prosperity, it plummeted directly to ninety-seven thousand four hundred fifty-second!" the old Daoist priest stated gravely.

Everyone's mouths fell open, their faces filled with shock. Earth, once at its zenith, had suddenly plunged by over ninety thousand ranks—this was simply too terrifying.

"And after that? What's Earth's current ranking?" someone whispered.

"After that? There was no 'after that'!" the old Daoist priest replied, explaining that the cosmos only recorded the rankings of the top one hundred thousand stellar worlds; anything beyond that was not documented.

In other words, after falling to over ninety thousand, Earth continued to decline further and had long since lost its qualification to be ranked. Now, no one even knew how far it had fallen!

At this point, everyone fell silent, contemplating many things.

From supreme glory to a complete wasteland—it was a direct plunge, not a gradual decline. What did this signify?

This sent shivers down everyone's spines, filling them with dread.

During that period, there must have been great terror, great darkness, and immense bloodshed!

Earth's evolutionary civilization must have been highly advanced, yet it was reduced to a wasteland in a short period. How terrifying was that?

To some powerful, energy-rich worlds, Earth might have long been considered a barren land, desolate, with all races devolved and everything covered in dust.

An apocalyptic disaster!

These words spontaneously surfaced in everyone's minds: this mother planet had once suffered a terrible catastrophe, causing all its races to devolve.

Thinking deeper, some bird kings and beast kings gnashed their teeth, realizing how ridiculous the fragments of information they had previously known were.

The profound reason actually involved the entire mother planet!

Their ancestors' devolution might be related to the brutal methods used in that conflict, suppressing their bloodlines, which made them... shudder.

Chu Feng was deep in thought, also considering many things. Even though Earth had become a wasteland, it still preserved various sacred ancient trees, suggesting it was far from simple.

Furthermore, beneath these mountains and rivers, there might even be ancient and supreme legacy cave-dwellings!

After that ancient conflict, these things weren't entirely taken away; they remained. The fact that their current revival drew beings from outside realms was telling.

"It seems being ranked eleventh was no simple matter," Chu Feng mused. "Though tragic, it must have had means of self-preservation at the last moment."

This mother planet didn't completely perish in the end; it left behind a legacy, a fire of civilization, and bloodline descendants. Thinking carefully about this sparked many ideas.

"I can't wait," Chu Feng muttered to himself, his blood boiling. "I want to wander the cosmos, individually experience the methods of those divine sons and saintesses, conquer star after star, and ultimately contend with the ten strongest and most mysterious ancient stars."

Chu Feng murmured, his blood surging. He truly wanted to leave Earth, especially after deducing the ancient events, his emotions stirred.

Chu Feng looked up at the sky and noticed that the ten strongest ancient stars were unique. No outlines of powerhouses were visible within them; they were enveloped in chaotic mist, extremely blurry!

"Does this signify detachment? Heh!" Chu Feng gazed intently.

"Alright, there's a final passage of text. Would you like to hear it?" the old Daoist priest asked, informing everyone that there was more writing on the stone tablet.

Of course, everyone wanted to hear it. They nodded in unison, asking him to share it.

"After its decline, in ancient times, when Earth's ranking plummeted to over ninety thousand, the ancestors of that era performed a grand sky-worshipping ceremony here, making solemn sacrifices. However, they received no response from the heavens. Earth was rejected, abandoned."

The stone tablet bore ancient script, obscure and difficult to understand. The old Daoist priest translated it into very plain language, which left everyone silent after hearing it.

Even the powerhouses who could illuminate all heavens no longer paid attention to this place. This was truly astonishing: the planet had been completely forsaken!

"Damn it, why are their descendants coming now, wanting to seize benefits upon seeing Earth's revival?!"

"Could it be that even those terrifying powerhouses faced some unknown pressure back then?"

People discussed, some feeling indignant.

The old Daoist priest and the rebellious young girl felt a little awkward, as if caught in the crossfire. In contrast, the old woman with half her body missing remained quite calm and unflustered.

"The past is past!" Finally, the old Daoist priest sighed, pulling everyone back to reality.

The events of the past were gone. What use was it to dwell on them, to feel indignant or excited?

Now, embarking on the path of evolution and striving to rise—that was the fundamental truth!

"Why overthink things?" Chu Feng said. "When celestial maidens and imperial princes from outside realms arrive later, just focus on capturing them. Make celestial maidens into your 'bandit queens' and saint sons into your servants."

Chu Feng's words left everyone stunned. They exchanged glances, and the area instantly fell silent.

No one dared to respond. They glanced at the old Daoist priest and the old woman, feeling a little uneasy, as they realized these two might indeed be from outside realms.

The rebellious little demoness rolled her eyes at Chu Feng, then quickly became alluring and charming again, her young face filled with seduction. "Handsome Brother Chu Feng," she purred, "come and catch me! I definitely won't run."

The old Daoist priest's face darkened at her words. He didn't want to hit his granddaughter, but he definitely wanted to deal with Chu Feng, and immediately started moving towards him.

"Stop right there," Chu Feng warned. "This place is filled with domain patterns. If you provoke me and I get agitated, it might trigger the domains here, forming a destructive killing field. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Hearing Chu Feng's words, the old Daoist priest's face grew even darker.

Everyone quickly tried to mediate.

The rebellious girl even tugged at his sleeve, loudly threatening that if he dared to disrespect her and attack her Master Chu Feng, she would definitely break off all ties with him.

"You little demon!" the old Daoist priest fumed, greatly annoyed.

Everyone wanted to laugh but dared not.

Soon, people's thoughts were drawn back to the offerings on the altar. Their hearts burned with desire, wishing they could rush up and snatch everything.

They had learned that these were the top-tier offerings used for the sky worship when Earth's ranking had fallen to over ninety thousand. Yet, the beings capable of illuminating all heavens had not accepted them.

Some beast kings scratched their ears and cheeks, desperate to rush forward.

Such items were incredibly tempting; who knew what achievements they could attain if they possessed them?

At this point, someone continuously peered from afar and finally made out some items on the huge jade altar. Their mouths began to water.

There was a golden seal, covered in intricate runes. Without even thinking, they knew it must be an extraordinary artifact.

There were also nine bronze cauldrons, arranged together.

People gasped. Could those nine cauldrons be the legendary Nine Cauldrons from ancient China? They symbolized control over the land and unified dominion.

Soon, someone spotted items in certain vessels. On a jade plate lay several large Peaches of Immortality, still vibrant red, enveloped in a hazy glow, and showing no signs of decay.

How many years had passed? Yet they were still so fresh!

Even the old Daoist priest was moved. "Could these be the Peaches of Immortality from Kunlun Mountain?" he mused. "For Earth to still bear a few after its decline, that's incredible. They are treasures in the eyes of evolvers!"

Next, someone saw items in another vessel that looked like several lifelike white porcelain dolls.

"Holy cow, don't tell me those are Ginseng Fruits!" a great demon couldn't help but exclaim.

The offerings were too extraordinary, all glowing so brightly that they hurt the eyes. Some could be seen clearly, but many were hidden within vessels and completely obscured.

A dazzling array, the offerings were incredibly abundant!

Even so, the sky worship that year still failed; it was rejected. From that era onward, this mother planet was forsaken!

Everyone was thinking of ways to ascend the altar, as grand as a mountain, and take the offerings. Any one of those items would be a great fortune.

If they could get up there and obtain the Peaches of Immortality and other fruits, they could rapidly evolve!

This altar, in their eyes, was simply a supreme treasure, incredibly alluring, making their blood boil with excitement!

Inside Chu Feng, the small black-and-white millstone trembled, desiring something immensely. It seemed to be resonating with a particular object.

"I might be able to get it!" Chu Feng had a strong premonition.