Chapter 706: Qingtan's Origins
At the fissure between planes, the sudden appearance of several mysterious figures instantly drew everyone's attention.
Since the demonic calamity a thousand years ago, the people of the Tianxuan Continent had gained a new understanding of their world, realizing that the land they lived on was perhaps not the only world in existence.
Beyond their own plane existed other worlds about which they knew nothing. They could only speculate wildly about those mysterious places during idle conversations.
Perhaps because of the Demonic Emperor, the beings of the Tianxuan Continent harbored a vague wariness toward people from such mysterious worlds.
After all, if the Heavenly Ancestor Lin Langtian had not stepped forward at the crucial moment, this continent would likely have already been ravaged beyond hope by the demons.
Thus, when they saw those three figures suddenly appear at the fissure between planes, people were not only astonished but also filled with vigilance and gravity.
Why had these newcomers from another world come? Did they harbor malicious intent?
As the crowd quietly grew cautious, Lin Dong and Ying Huanhuan also frowned slightly when they saw the three who had abruptly appeared above Lin City.
A hostile glint flashed across Ying Huanhuan's ice‑blue eyes. "People from another world… could it be they've set their sights on our Tianxuan Continent as well?"
As heirs to Fu Zu's legacy, Ying Huanhuan and the other Ancient Masters had always considered it their duty to protect all living beings. Naturally, they disliked outsiders who came coveting the Tianxuan Continent.
Lin Dong pondered for a moment. "Since that other world produced someone like the Demonic Emperor who brings calamity to all, it must also have someone like Senior Fu Zu who bears great righteousness.
"It's still too early to say what these three are after or whether they're a threat to our Tianxuan Continent. But with Brother Langtian here, those people from the outside world won't gain much advantage."
As he spoke, Lin Dong's expression suddenly shifted. He turned to look to the side and saw that the cold aura around Qingtan's body was growing stronger.
This chilling power was completely different from any energy in this world, and faintly, it seemed somehow similar to the power emanating from those three mysterious experts.
At that thought, Lin Dong's face changed slightly as an audacious idea flashed into his mind.
Could it be that Qingtan was not a native of this world at all, but like those three, someone from the other world?
The more he considered it, the more plausible it seemed. Qingtan, after all, was not his blood sister, and her origins were extremely mysterious. Even with the Lin Clan's current power, all attempts to investigate her background had yielded nothing.
If Qingtan came from that other world, everything suddenly made sense.
It might even be that those three mysterious experts had come to the Tianxuan Continent specifically for Qingtan.
High above Lin City, Lin Langtian narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the three figures at the fissure, each radiating a terrifying aura.
All three wore suits of black ice armor, like something forged from ten‑thousand‑year cold iron. Their faces were expressionless, their eyes gleaming like knife edges, sending a chill through everyone who met their gaze.
Lin Langtian was somewhat surprised to discover that each of the three's auras had essentially reached the Ancestor Realm. Before he himself had advanced to that realm, they would have been unrivaled across the entire Tianxuan Continent.
As for the middle‑aged man leading them, his power was even more terrifying, far exceeding that of the Demonic Emperor, like a deep, unfathomable pool.
Lin Langtian's expression naturally grew more solemn.
His mind as sharp as it was, he had also arrived at the same conclusion as Lin Dong.
The Great Thousand World was vast beyond measure. To enter a lower plane like the Tianxuan Continent, one first needed to find a spatial node.
Before such a node was opened, it could be as small as a mote of dust and nearly impossible to detect.
Thus, finding such a point in the endless void was no simple task.
To the people of the Great Thousand World, these lower planes were peculiar realms that often hid enormous opportunities.
More importantly, lower planes were weaker by nature. Their strongest experts seldom surpassed the Supreme Realm as measured by the standards of the Great Thousand World.
Once one succeeded in entering a lower plane, one could experience an intoxicating sense of invincibility, and all kinds of resources in that world could be taken as one pleased.
Fortunately, even if someone from the Great Thousand World located a spatial node, entering a lower plane was still extremely difficult.
Likely due to the laws of the planes, entering a lower plane required a "native" item from that plane to act as a guide.
Thus, across the long ages of the Tianxuan Continent, aside from Fu Zu, the Demonic Emperor, and the occasional exception like Aunt Ling, hardly any experts from the Great Thousand World had appeared.
From the look of it, however, these three mysterious experts had clearly come well‑prepared. As for how they had found the Tianxuan Continent, the key likely lay with Qingtan.
The strange fluctuation in her body seemed faintly to have a guiding effect.
It was even possible that these three shared an extremely close connection with Qingtan—if not direct kin, then at least clansmen bound by blood.
Though in the original timeline no one from Qingtan's clan had ever appeared, Lin Langtian had already overturned fate to become the Heavenly Ancestor. A few butterfly effects were hardly surprising.
Still, given how long Qingtan had been "missing," it was impossible to say what intentions these people had in suddenly appearing to take her away.
As Lin Langtian pondered, the three mysterious experts looked down from on high at the lower‑plane lifeforms before them, faint hints of arrogant disdain in their eyes.
As powerful cultivators of the Great Thousand World, they saw these lower planes as not only impoverished in resources, but their inhabitants as ants, unworthy of their notice.
If not for an important mission, they would never have wasted several years making the long journey here.
Still, it seemed that their efforts had finally borne fruit.
The middle‑aged man's gaze swept across the area and immediately locked onto Qingtan, whose body radiated the same chilling energy as theirs. A moment later, faintly sinister smiles appeared on the three cold faces.
Clearly, Qingtan was their target.
In a flash, the three leapt down, their figures blurring as they descended into Lin City before countless shocked onlookers, coming to a stop in front of Qingtan.
"Hehe, Third Young Miss, we've finally found you. I, Leng Feng, have come to escort you home."
The middle‑aged man in cold iron armor smiled slightly and cupped his fists to Qingtan. It was obvious now that they had indeed come for her.
Yet although he respectfully called her "Third Young Miss," his tone carried a hint of unquestionable authority as he continued,
"Third Young Miss?"
Qingtan herself blinked in surprise at the three who had suddenly appeared before her, then swiftly caught the meaning of that form of address.
As the Palace Master of the Temple of Darkness and the alliance leader of the Four Xuan Regions, Qingtan was no ordinary woman. She not only possessed astounding talent but was also highly intelligent.
In only a few moments, she had already begun to faintly suspect the truth, including the mystery of her own origins.
Lightly biting her red lips, Qingtan did not allow herself to be carried away by emotion. As someone who had contributed greatly in the second great war, she would not easily place her trust in unknown outsiders from a mysterious world.
She stared intently at the middle‑aged man calling himself Leng Feng, then said thoughtfully, "You call me Third Young Miss. That suggests you have some close connection to me and may even know about my origins.
"But words alone prove nothing. We are strangers, and you come from this mysterious 'other world.' What proof do you have that what you say is true?"
Leng Feng blinked, then frowned slightly. In his view, this Third Young Miss should have suffered quite a bit in such a barren lower plane.
Now that he had come to take her back to the clan, she ought to be overjoyed, not questioning his identity.
Truly ungrateful.
Were it not for the clan's orders, he would never have accepted such a thankless task.
Still, thinking of the patriarch's instructions, Leng Feng could only hold back his irritation. After a short pause, he slowly opened his hand and released a wave of frigid, sinister energy.
This chilling aura did not belong to this world at all, and most remarkably, it was almost identical to the cold energy within Qingtan—like power from the same bloodline.
"This is the Sha Demon Cold Qi. I trust Third Young Miss is no stranger to it. Aside from our Northern Region Leng Clan, no one else throughout the Great Thousand World, let alone in any lower plane, can wield this power.
"I trust this is sufficient proof of our identity.
"Oh, and I heard Third Young Miss referring to the world beyond this plane as a 'new world.' That term is actually quite inaccurate—merely the frog‑in‑a‑well description of those from lower planes."
At that, Leng Feng and the two behind him let out cold snorts of laughter, their expressions haughty, eyes full of disdain.
"Sha Demon Cold Qi… the Great Thousand World, hm?" Qingtan frowned slightly at their arrogance but did not argue. Now that she had seen Leng Feng use the Sha Demon Cold Qi, she could no longer deny his claims.
Instead, her attention was drawn to the name "Great Thousand World," which she repeated softly to herself.
So the so‑called "new world" they had spoken of all this time was in fact called the Great Thousand World. Fu Zu and the Demonic Emperor, then, must have hailed from this Great Thousand World.
Seeing Qingtan's interest, Leng Feng smiled again with a superior air. "Yes, the world we come from is named the Great Thousand World.
"The Great Thousand World is boundless, home to countless races. Even an entire continent there is as insignificant as a grain of sand in the ocean.
"The Great Thousand World is also connected to countless planes. Realms like this one can only be called lower planes, because they are far inferior to the Great Thousand World. That is why the Great Thousand World is the center of all planes."
His condescending words fell like boulders into a still pond, sending waves through the hearts of all who heard.
So the "new world" of legend was this Great Thousand World.
And according to the armored man, the Great Thousand World was the hub of all planes, with lower planes like their Tianxuan Continent scarcely worthy of notice.
In that case, how unimaginably vast must the Great Thousand World be? How many experts must it contain?
Off to the side, Lin Dong's dark eyes flashed as his hands curled into fists. A spark of excitement burned deep in his gaze.
The unknown Great Thousand World stirred something in his heart.
The world beyond, it seemed, was where things truly became colorful and exhilarating.
While Lin Dong's blood surged at the thought, Lin Langtian—who had long known of the Great Thousand World—remained unshaken. Instead, his eyes narrowed slightly as he studied Leng Feng and his companions.
He searched his memories for mention of the Northern Region Leng Clan but found nothing. Apparently, it had never been mentioned in the original timeline.
He did not dwell on it. The Great Thousand World was too vast, its experts and factions as countless as grains of sand. What he had seen in the original history was only a small fragment.
Judging by the strength of these three, though, this Northern Region Leng Clan was no weakling. Even if not among the topmost powers, it was at least a dominant force in some region.
Yet despite their status as Qingtan's clansmen, Lin Langtian's instincts told him that their sudden decision to take her back could hardly be out of pure goodwill.
He stepped forward to stand beside Qingtan and cupped his hands toward the armored middle‑aged man with a light smile. "So, you are experts of the Great Thousand World. Truly an honor.
"With such a formidable strength, the Northern Region Leng Clan must be quite the force in the Great Thousand World."
Leng Feng's brows furrowed slightly at the interruption. In his eyes, someone from a lower plane was unqualified to speak to him.
He was about to snap back when Qingtan smiled faintly and said,
"Senior Leng Feng, this is my elder brother, not an outsider. And I'd also like to know more about the Leng Clan's strength. That shouldn't be too much to ask, should it?"
Caught short, Leng Feng's eyes darkened with a trace of anger and gloom.
If not for the need to marry a girl of noble blood into another major power, he would never have treated this abandoned child with such restraint.
Yet for the sake of the clan's greater plans, he forced the anger down and replied in a deep voice, "As the daughter of the former clan leader, Third Young Miss certainly has the right to know her clan's strength.
"Our Northern Region Leng Clan may not rank among the absolute apex powers of the Great Thousand World, but we are well‑known throughout the Northern Region. Once you return with me, you will enjoy the highest treatment.
"Also, given your noble birth, you would do well not to mingle with these insects of the lower plane. It would only cheapen your status."
Lin Langtian paid no heed to the veiled insult. His eyes narrowed faintly as he said softly, "Oh? If the Northern Region Leng Clan's strength is so considerable, then how is it that Qingtan was cast down to this lower plane shortly after she was born?
"Surely there must have been some sort of… incident. Perhaps you could enlighten us?"
Leng Feng's expression turned icy in an instant. He fixed Lin Langtian with a frosty stare as his voice rang out, cold enough to freeze bone.
"Brat, you dare pry into the affairs of the Northern Region Leng Clan? Are you courting death?"
(END CHAPTER)
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