Even though Xue Hanyi had used his terrifyingly formidable killing technique, he still ended up losing the battle, which sparked speculations about just how strong Pei Xuanjing actually was.
"Fourth Level of the Spiritual Realm, Fifth Order!"
"Brother Pei has actually reached the Fourth Level of the Spiritual Realm!"
"A Grand Master! Even in the glorious days of the Tang Dynasty, thousands of years ago, a person of these capabilities would have been capable of ruling over an entire region!"
With the constant emergence of Blessed Lands and Forbidden Places, they had gathered a lot of information about cultivation during the Tang Dynasty. They understood what reaching the Fourth Level of the Spiritual Realm entailed.
They each let out a sigh of admiration in their hearts; the complexity of their feelings was indescribable.
They knew that compared to the fourteen individuals who had just broken through to the Spiritual Realm, Pei Xuanjing was undoubtedly considered their junior. The shortest period anyone among them had spent on cultivation was still over thirty years more than Pei Xuanjing, with some, like Elder Celestial, having spent close to two hundred years.
Yet, this junior of theirs, who came from behind, had, in a mere decade or so, transitioned from an unknown nobody to the unquestionable number one person in the world.
After the revival of Heaven and Earth, they entered the Spiritual Realm after several years of reference to the inheritance in the Blessed Lands and Forbidden Places, believing they had shortened the gap with Pei Xuanjing. That's why they decided to challenge him.
So, even though they lost, they didn't really mind and were even more motivated than before.
But when Xue Hanyi revealed that Pei Xuanjing had actually reached the Fourth Level of the Spiritual Realm, everyone had mixed feelings, unsure how to describe their thoughts.
"However, maybe Brother Pei was just lucky." Zhao Baiyang thought to himself.
Some of them felt slightly relieved.
Firstly, as the current heads of the world's major forces, they truly didn't want to see the return of those formidable figures.
Because they know that if they wait for the return of those ancient powers, unless they're willing to become vassals and willingly hand over what they control, a clash between the two parties would be inevitable.
After all, they could say that they had already occupied ninety percent of the world, and with the revival of Heaven and Earth, their interests naturally increased.
Even if they were extremely curious about these ancient powers, they definitely did not want them to return and seize their benefits.
Pei Xuanjing, who was able to see through the expressions of Zhao Baiyang and the others as if he could read their minds, knew that they each had their own thoughts about these matters.
But at this moment, he didn't have the time to converse with Zhao Baiyang and the others; all his attention was focused on Xue Hanyi and Xue Hanyue.
He waved his hand and appeared in front of Xue Hanyi and Xue Hanyue. His soft voice fell into their ears.
"May I ask if you're still willing to take action?"
"I lost!" Xue Hanyi promptly conceded defeat.
As the prodigy of the ancient country, he was proud, but he also knew when to admit defeat. Facing Pei Xuanjing, such a strong opponent, he didn't choose to resist forcibly but chose to concede defeat decisively.
Pei Xuanjing was taken aback, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
Honestly, even though he had defeated them, he didn't expect them to concede defeat and submit so readily.
In his mind, shouldn't such characters resist to the end, preferring death to submission?
Pei Xuanjing miscalculated. In this world, where would there be people who didn't know to adapt to the situation?
Moreover, strictly speaking, there was no deep hatred or blood feud between them. Since Xue Hanyi had lost, it was normal for him to admit defeat honestly. He didn't want to lose his life here.
"Now, are you willing to answer the question I asked earlier?" Pei Xuanjing didn't think much and asked again.
Xue Hanyi nodded, "I can tell you, but…"
He looked around and signaled to Pei Xuanjing.
Pei Xuanjing understood his meaning. There were countless eyes watching here, and with too many mouths, it was better to change the location.
"Brother Bai, please take charge of the situation here. I'll take these two away first." He messaged Bai Xiaosheng.
"Okay!" Bai Xiaosheng agreed.
Although he was also very curious, he understood the current situation and temporarily suppressed his curiosity.
"Please." Pei Xuanjing signaled to the two of them.
"Okay!"
Pei Xuanjing took the two away and went into a palace within the Shenxiao Sect. The crowd was very curious, but they could only rein in their curiosity.
Next, Bai Xiaosheng took over and led the crowd to go ahead according to their pre-discussed plan.
In the palace, Pei Xuanjing was seated face to face with the two.
Pei Xuanjing asked his question again, and this time, Xue Hanyi didn't evade the question and told them everything candidly.
According to Xue Hanyi, the world where their Da Xue ancient country is located is called Tianhuang. After leaving their Ancestral Land, their ancient country had always been living in that world.
However, even though they left the Ancestral Land, the ancient country's attention to the Ancestral Land never disappeared as they knew that one day, Heaven and Earth would revive, and they would have to return.
The moment Pei Xuanjing broke the shackles of Heaven and Earth, their Ancestral Land was revived. The leader of their country noticed this event. However, he could not enter as it was protected. But since then, the king secretly started selecting forces within the ancient country in preparation for their return. Xue Hanyi and Xue Hanyue were the 'lucky ones' that stood out from the crowd and became the first to enter the Ancestral Land.
"The leader used his supreme magic power and formation to open a transmission channel and sent my little sister and me over." Xue Hanyi said with a wry smile.
They were chosen initially and envied by many as they thought this mission would be easy and the credit would be easy to earn.
But who would have thought that they would encounter a freak like Pei Xuanjing, who had reached the Fifth Order within a few years of the revival of Heaven and Earth. That was almost unheard of.
Therefore, Xue Hanyi did not feel lucky at all. Instead, he felt extremely unfortunate.
"We rushed over when we learned about your intention to host a large conference on the ninth day of September," Xue Hanyi said this part, hating to call himself a fool.
He was too arrogant. He directly rushed over without any preparation, was defeated, and now it was impossible to leave, maybe even lose his life in the end.
"For the things that happened later, Master, you already know."
After listening to Xue Hanyi's explanation, Pei Xuanjing fell into deep thought, and the palace fell into silence.
Even though Xue Hanyi seemed to cooperate and appeared to have disclosed everything without reservation, Pei Xuanjing did not completely trust him.
After pondering for a while, Pei Xuanjing asked, "You two were the first to be transported here. Will more people continue to be sent here?"
"Yes!"
"How long will it take?" Pei Xuanjing asked.
"I don't know!" Xue Hanyi shook his head.
"Oh?"
"Because I, myself, do not know. I am merely a cultivator at the Spirit Realm Third Level in the ancient country. It was already lucky that I was selected for this project, how could I possibly know all the plans?" Xue Hanyi said with a bitter smile, twitching at the corner of his mouth when he mentioned the word 'lucky'.
Indeed, being able to step into the Spirit Realm Third Level at such a young age signified him as a genius. Otherwise, he may not have the opportunity to participate in this selection.
But, while geniuses are indeed valued, there are many things that even they are not entitled to know unless they possess sufficient strength.
The matters of the Ancestral Land are of great importance, and the ruler of the country was personally involved. How could he be privy to all the secrets of such a significant event?
Pei Xuanjing observed the other party's speech while using the power of the Yin Spirit to probe the emotional fluctuations in Xue Hanyi's words. It did not seem like he was lying.
Pei Xuanjing understood that such a significant matter would definitely not be disclosed to a person who merely serves as a pioneer.
He then asked, "Do you know if, apart from you, any other powers have sent people to return?"
"It's unclear. Perhaps there are, perhaps there aren't." Xue Hanyi said. "After all, looking at how the ruler had to intervene personally to send us back, it wouldn't be easy. Not just any power could accomplish that without a strong cultivator on their side."
At this point, he could not help but mention, "Our Da Xue ancient country is a powerful force that has been handed down for millions of years. Our ruler is a supreme power of the Spirit Realm Eightfold. We are not comparable to ordinary forces."
Pei Xuanjing looked at him with a smirk.
He understood the implication in Xue Hanyi's words. Subtly warning him to be cautious due to the powerful backing of the Da Xue ancient country.
Ignoring Xue Hanyi's attempt at intimidation, Pei Xuanjing asked, "So, what is the purpose of your return to the Ancestral Land?"
The previous questions didn't matter. This was what Pei Xuanjing was most concerned about.
He wanted to know why these people had taken such a risk and spent so much energy and resources to return. What was their motivation?
Since these people had already left, and thousands of years had passed, they had already found a suitable world for their survival. Why did they continue to keep an eye on this place and seem in such a hurrying to send people back as soon as Heaven and Earth had just revived?
Could it be that there was some significant secret hidden here?
Xue Hanyi remained silent.
Pei Xuanjing repeated his question, "What is the mission of you two in returning to the Ancestral Land?"
"Elder brother!" Xue Hanyue shook her head at Xue Hanyi.
She had kept silent about the things Xue Hanyi had just said, and remained unmoved.
That's because Xue Hanyue knew that those things were unimportant and there was no harm in revealing them..
"If I refuse to tell you, would you kill us?" Xue Hanyi suddenly asked with a smile.
Pei Xuanjing replied indifferently, "Perhaps!"
After a moment of silence, Xue Hanyi shook his head and said, "I am a subject of Da Xue. I cannot tell!"
He could reveal the previous information, but he absolutely could not divulge the reason he was here.
Even if he was now under Pei Xuanjing's control and his life was at stake, Xue Hanyi could not break his silence, even if it might cost him his life.
He was a member of the royal family of the Da Xue ancient country, some things didn't matter if he told them, but he couldn't disclose others. Revealing them was something he, even as a member of the royal family, could not afford. Or rather, because he was a member of the royal family, he was even less able to speak.
Pei Xuanjing looked at the unwavering pair and laughed, "Even if you don't tell me, I think I can guess."
"Your purpose of returning this time is nothing more than to probe the conditions of this world, which you call the ancestral land in your words, and to wait for the opportunity to guide the return of others, right?"
Xue Hanyi and Xue Hanyue remained silent, neither confirming nor denying Pei Xuanjing's words.
Pei Xuanjing did not insist. Even if the two did not answer, he knew that the answer he gave should be close to the truth, not too far off.
Moreover, if these two had never appeared and had been hiding in the dark all along, they might have been successful.
Now that they were exposed and in his hands, it meant that everything about them was under his control and they would absolutely not be able to fulfil their intentions, whatever they might be.
He did not currently plan to deal with these two. After all, having just encountered two returnees, he hadn't obtained enough information to let them easily die off.
Skipping past that question, Pei Xuanjing asked again:
"I am quite curious about the events that happened in the Tang Dynasty. Could you two enlighten me?"
Hearing that Pei Xuanjing no longer pursued their purpose, both Xue Hanyi and Xue Hanyue were relieved.
But regarding this question, Xue Hanyi felt helpless. He shook his head and said, "We are just the younger generation and have no idea about the events you're referring to."
Pei Xuanjing frowned, hearing Xue Hanyi continue, "In fact, not only are you curious about this matter, so are we. We want to know what happened back then. Unfortunately, it seems that many of those who know about it are extremely reticent and unwilling to talk about it. There are also not many records regarding these events."
As a young and strong member of the new generation, he was not an old fogey who had lived through the beginning. To him, the Ancestral Land was just a strange term, while in the Da Xue's records, there were severe taboos against detailed descriptions of the original events.
Not only was there very little about the war back then, but all they could know about was the record of their ancestors' arrival in the new world, and everything before that was skimmed over. Their status did not allow them to know any further.
"Is that so…" Pei Xuanjing frowned, he originally intended to use this opportunity to gain some knowledge, but it seemed he would not get the answers he desired.
He said to Xue Hanyi, "Since you don't understand the secrets of the events back then, let's talk about the current situation instead!"
"Fine!" Xue Hanyi did not hesitate.
The world they lived in was called the Sky Wasteland. Apart from occasional rising powers, most of the forces in the Sky Wasteland were ancient forces like their Da Xue ancient country that had left the Ancestral Land…
Master Pei Xuanjing invited The Heroes from all over the world to gather at Shenxiao Mountain to discuss important matters, attracting the attention of countless people. Everyone knew this would be likely to change the overall situation in the world.
However, when news of the series of events that occurred on Shenxiao Mountain on the ninth day of the ninth month started to spread, it caused shockwaves around the world, leaving countless people astounded.
"At the Shenxiao meeting, Grandmaster Pei Xuanjing alone suppressed five powerful beings of the Spirit Realm."
"Eleven strong beings from the Spirit Realm joined forces, but still could not defeat the Immortal Taoist."
"Visitors from another domain, a descendent of an ancient force from the Tang Dynasty, reappears in the world."
"With the advent of the ancient forces, where should we go?"
"Grandmaster Pei frighteningly has already stepped into the Fourth Level of the Spirit Realm."
"There is a successor to the National Preceptor. The young Sect Leader of the Shenxiao Sect, Pang Hong, defeated a First-grade Martial Artist with his weaker power."
"Various forces united to support the imperial court in sending troops to fight outside the border—the day to be granted nobility is today!"
"Whoever makes great contributions in this expedition outside the border, will be allowed to establish their own jurisdiction and be granted land."
With the end of the Shenxiao meeting, countless messages spread throughout the world, driving all Martial Artists crazy.
Following the revival of Heaven and Earth, the richness of Heaven and Earth Essence Qi is increasing, and the number of Martial Artists has drastically increased, giving everyone the chance to become a Martial Artist.
Add the spread of the upper and middle volumes of the Martial Classics, which has solved the problem of ordinary people's skills. Martial Artists are spreading rapidly like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.
With the increase in the number of Martial Artists, the demand for resources has also inevitably increased. Even though countless Spiritual Medicines precious treasures have grown after the revival of Heaven and Earth, it still remains a case of more monks than porridge.
Many Martial Artists have been drooling over the things outside the border for a long time. This time, the Great Ming imperial court decided to send troops to fight outside the border—this can be said to be in line with the trend, and it was instantly welcomed by people.
After all, under such circumstances, countless newcomers have realized that they need massive resources to grow; otherwise, even with the skills from the Martial Classics, it would be very difficult to stand out.
Not only these newcomers, even the Great Ming imperial court and various forces also understand that the current situation has reached a bottleneck. They have only two ways to break this shackle. Either they undercut(1) the current benefits and completely divide all the benefits within the Great Ming, leaving no trace for the newcomers, or they plunder externally and take the things of the Tartar tribes.
But the internal suppression will inevitably intensify the contradictions within the Great Ming. If they are not careful, they will undoubtedly cause uncontrollable backlash. Therefore, in fact, sending troops outside is the best method.
After all, the news of the imminent return of these ancient forces is an invisible sword hanging over their heads for these major forces. If they do not work hard, they will lose more in the future than ordinary Martial Artists.
Under such circumstances, if they don't want to surrender directly when the time comes, they, compared to ordinary Martial Artists, are even more eager to enhance their forces.
Under such a united situation, the imperial court's decision to send troops encountered almost no obstacles and received everyone's support.
"This time there should be no more obstacles to sending troops. All parties will immediately send troops. If the plan goes smoothly, we can send troops after the spring ploughing next year." Bai Xiaosheng said.
It is now mid-to-late September, and it's only four to five months away from the spring ploughing in February or March of next year. It sounds like a long time, but actually it's very tight.
After all, apart from the Great Ming Court being ready, the other forces still need some time to prepare.
"Bai brother has worked hard this time." Pei Xuanjing said to Bai Xiaosheng.
At this moment, he was with Bai Xiaosheng, Daoist Qingxu, and Old Celestial Master in a pavilion on Shenxiao Mountain.
He said it was hard work because these few days, he was spending almost all his energy on interacting with Xue Hanyi and Xue Hanyue, leaving all other matters to Bai Xiaosheng and others to handle.
"Brother Pei is too polite." Bai Xiaosheng smiled and shook his head.
Matters have their own priorities. The arrangement of various forces this time is indeed vital to their plan, but it doesn't necessarily have to rely solely on Pei Xuanjing. The three of them are fully capable of handling this matter.
Now that an unexpected event has occurred, getting information about Da Xue Ancient Country and other ancient forces from those two people is more important compared to their tasks, which can be postponed a bit.
Daoist Qingxu and the Old Celestial Master also share the same attitude.
Pei Xuanjing nodded and did not continue to entangle himself with this issue. He proactively told the information he had learned from them over the last few days, which was his main purpose for inviting the three of them today.
Two heads are better than one.
Although he had some clues to refer to from the Netherworld Book initially, it was still inevitable that there would be some omissions when he alone analyzed the information he had obtained from the two people. It would be better if they discussed together.
"According to what those two people said, the world they inhabit is called the Sky Wasteland. After that great catastrophe, all the forces that left are basically there."
The Sky Wasteland is the world where the Da Xue ancient country now resides, and also the world where all the forces that left this Earth Space are.
Although Xue Hanyi's power is only at the Spirit Realm Third Level and can only be considered a strong person in the younger generation in the Sky Wasteland, he is a royal descendant of the ancient country and has some understanding of the situation in the Sky Wasteland.
From his introduction, Pei Xuanjing already has a rough understanding of the general situation in the Sky Wasteland.
The most important difference between the Sky Wasteland and the Daming World is that it is not just the human race that dominates. There are also demonic beasts. Powerful demonic beasts are no less impressive than strong people in the Nine Realms of Spirit, even surpassing them.
There are all kinds of forces in the Sky Wasteland: Holy Land, imperial court, empire, ancient country, Sect. These forces can roughly be divided into three levels.
Only those forces with strong individuals like the Nine Realms of Spirit can be called top forces.
For example, the Da Xue ancient country, even with a legacy of thousands of years and only a Spirit Realm Eightfold strong person in charge, can only be called a first-class force.
In the Sky Wasteland, strong people in the Spirit Realm Seventh Level could establish a second-class force, which is the most common type of force in the Sky Wasteland.
"A strong person at the Seventh Level of the Spirit Realm ruling, it's only considered a second-class force." Daoist Qingxu couldn't help sighing, "If we calculate it this way, if they return now, the people we have now will only be swept away. They won't let us occupy everything we have now."
Sometimes, compromise also requires both parties to have similar positions and forces. If we calculate it in this way, after those forces return, they have no power to resist at all. Even if they compromise, it is just a wishful thinking.
The Old Celestial Master also sighed, "Fortunately, we still have time for development, otherwise the consequences would be unthinkable."
However, his words attracted unusual glances from the other people.
Interestingly, among their collaborators, whether it is the Shenxiao Sect represented by Pei Xuanjing, Baiyun Temple behind Daoist Xuanming, Daoist Qingxu's Zhenwu Sect, or the Chunyang Sect, all rose after the Tang Dynasty. They have very little connection with the forces before the Tang Dynasty.
But Dragon Tiger Mountain is different. The Ancestor Celestial Master of Dragon Tiger Mountain rose and established the Dragon Tiger Mountain lineage during the Divine Han era. Even during the Tang Dynasty, when many forces flourished, Dragon Tiger Mountain was still a dominant force.
Now, among the major forces in the Sky Wasteland, there is the existence of the Dragon Tiger Mountain lineage, and it is a top-class Holy Land with a strong person in the Nine Realms of Spirit.