Chapter 1: The Youth of the Xie Ling Clan!
The Great Thousand World, vast and boundless, with countless clans standing tall, connects to innumerable lower planes. It is the highest-level world in the universe, and thus, the Great Thousand World serves as the very center of the universe.
Countless peerless geniuses who break through the shackles of their lower planes will eventually arrive in this world. These powerhouses, each possessing astonishing and brilliant talent, are destined to continue writing new legends in this center of the universe.
Yet, the incomparably powerful Great Thousand World also has its own enemy—that is the Extraterrestrial Evil Race.
Fifty thousand years ago, the Heavenly Evil God led the Extraterrestrial Evil Race in an invasion of the Great Thousand World. In that war, countless powerhouses fell on both sides, and the Great Thousand World even lost half of its territory.
Had it not been for the emergence of the Immortal Emperor, a peerless powerhouse who stepped into the half-step Ruler realm, forcibly sealing the Heavenly Evil God at the cost of his own life, the current Great Thousand World would likely have long ceased to exist.
Following the sealing of the Heavenly Evil God, the Extraterrestrial Evil Race, no longer fighting on their home ground, were driven out by the cultivators of the Great Thousand World. Those territories conquered by the Extraterrestrial Evil Race, having been contaminated by demonic energy, have already become the domain of the Extraterrestrial Evil Race.
From then on, the Great Thousand World and the Extraterrestrial Evil Race began a conflict that has lasted for tens of thousands of years.
This was because, according to the prediction left by the Immortal Emperor, the "Great Thousand Transformation Demon Array" sealing the Heavenly Evil God only needed to be cycled once every thousand years. After a total of forty-nine cycles, the Heavenly Evil God would perish forever.
The most recent cycle was to be the final, forty-ninth. The Great Thousand World had to ensure the Heavenly Evil God was annihilated without fail, while the Extraterrestrial Evil Race sought to rescue their 'Evil God'.
This last time would also be the most intense struggle between the two sides. For this reason, the Extraterrestrial Evil Race would stop at nothing to guarantee the Heavenly Evil God's unsealing without any mishap.
Inside a spacious and bright room, bookshelves crisscrossed, laden with all sorts of ancient, simple books, exuding a distinct scholarly atmosphere. At this moment, within this room, a small, young figure was quietly flipping through a book in his hands. The entire room was enveloped in a tranquil silence.
The book was very large, almost half the size of the child. Its cover bore no title, yet the child read with rapt attention, as if it contained some rare and wondrous text.
He was dressed in a simple, ordinary white robe, his frame thin and small, looking no older than five or six years. He read the book before him alone, calm and natural.
Around him, dense streams of mist flowed and roamed, countless milky-white currents of air vying to surge into his body. However, upon touching the child's skin, they were blocked as if by some kind of barrier.
"Is there anything you don't understand?" An elderly figure walked over slowly. He carried his hands behind his back. He was very tall and extraordinarily burly. His head of gray hair was combed meticulously in place. Though glossy, it had lost its proper luster. A sense of weariness appeared in his clear eyes.
Logically speaking, with the old man's cultivation level, while he may not be truly immortal, living for tens of thousands of years should be effortless. At his realm, he should have long been able to maintain a youthful appearance. Yet now, his eyes were filled with a grayish defeat, as if he had lost all hope for the future.
It was only when he looked at the small, young figure before him that a trace of light appeared!
The child immersed in his reading looked back. His face was delicate, and his jet-black eyes were bright, like two black gemstones. Looking at the old man, whose face bore many traces of the passing years, the corner of his mouth lifted into a heartfelt smile. "Grandpa, you've come!"
Seeing his grandson's smile, the old man's gaze immediately softened. However, at this moment, his heart was filled with bitterness.
He slowly sat down beside the child, his eyes falling on the book's content. It was precisely a chronicle of the Great Thousand World and the Extraterrestrial Evil Race—one could also call it a history of war.
Looking at the descriptions in the book of the Extraterrestrial Evil Race, the various Heavenly Sovereigns of the Great Thousand World, and the battles of the Demon Emperors, not a trace of emotion stirred in his eyes.
He reached out and gently placed his palm on the small head before him. The old man's palm was somewhat terrifying, bearing a single sinister eye there. He quietly gazed into his grandson's eyes, as if trying to imprint him forever in his memory, and his tone was gentle as he spoke.
"Yun'er, in a few days, Grandpa will send you to a place. A place that won't be as painful as it is here."
"Go where? To fight among our own kind? To be fed to beasts? Or... sent off for breeding?" The boy looked up, the smile instantly vanishing from his face. Within his jet-black bright eyes, a ripple of emotion stirred.
He had been in this world for six years now. The heavens had given him the chance to become a supreme expert, but also gifted him a tragic background.
In this life, his name was Jiang Yun, a member of the Xie Ling Clan—the very Xie Ling Clan cultivated by the efforts of the Extraterrestrial Evil Race, using the bloodlines of both the Great Thousand World and the Extraterrestrial Evil Race.
The strength of their clan was extremely terrifying. With one Saint-grade Heavenly Sovereign and dozens of Heavenly Sovereigns in residence, they were a superpower comparable to the Five Great Ancient Clans within the Great Thousand World. Moreover, the Xie Ling Clan could simultaneously cultivate evil energy and spiritual energy, mastering the strengths of both sides, making their combat prowess truly fearsome.
But here, outside the domains of the Great Thousand World, their days were hardly pleasant!
Did the Xie Ling Clan not know of the Extraterrestrial Evil Race's cruelty? Did they not think of resisting?
However, the Extraterrestrial Evil Race had thirty-two major clans, each possessing at least one Demon Emperor. The Xie Ling Clan's strength was hardly worth mentioning in their eyes.
The Xie Ling Clan only had a single Saint-grade initial stage clan leader, Jiang Ya. Not to mention the Saint Demon Emperor, said to be the strongest figure below the Heavenly Evil God and the Immortal Emperor, even if just one or two of the thirty-two major clans came, their Xie Ling Clan would face annihilation.
Destined to be despised by both worlds and with the lives of their clansmen under threat, the Heavenly Sovereigns within the clan did not dare to act rashly. They could only pin their hopes on the Heavenly Evil God, hoping that once he emerged, and in recognition of the Xie Ling Clan's contributions, he would allow them to escape their current existence.
Cultivated by the Extraterrestrial Evil Race as a special force to destroy the 'Great Thousand Transformation Demon Array', the Xie Ling Clan endured the cruelest training, spending their entire lives amidst slaughter.
Jiang Yun could only sit here peacefully reading because of his unique bloodline. Otherwise, by now, he would have long since picked up a war blade and begun fighting and killing demonic beasts.
Watching the brief ripple of emotion in Jiang Yun's eyes, Jiang Hong felt a pang in his heart. Jiang Yun had never seen his parents since birth. According to Jiang Hong, they had died in a conflict shortly after Jiang Yun was born.
Jiang Yun was destined for extraordinary things from birth. This was because the most prominent feature of the Xie Ling Clan—the sinister eye in the palm—was absent in Jiang Yun. His birth had shocked the entire Xie Ling Clan, and he was hailed as possessing the most perfect bloodline.
His talent also lived up to expectations: the Innate Nine Divine Meridians, the most top-tier talent in the world. His appearance gave hope to the Heavenly Sovereigns within the clan and even alerted the Saint Demon Emperor.
That day, Jiang Yun saw the strongest powerhouse at the pinnacle of this world, the Saint Demon Emperor.
That person did not match the legends of a red face and fierce fangs, with evil energy overflowing everywhere. Instead, he possessed a compassionate and merciful gentleness. In particular, his eyes, merely upon making eye contact, could make one unable to summon any hostility, and even give one the urge to prostrate in worship.
The moment the Saint Demon Emperor saw Jiang Yun, his fate had already begun to turn. After leaving behind a wisp of Saint Demon Flame, the Saint Demon Emperor departed, leaving everyone completely baffled.
However, Jiang Yun had some musings. The reason he hadn't cultivated or engaged in slaughter these years was not only due to his grandfather but also significantly because of the Saint Demon Flame within his body.
Over the years, because of his talent, demonic energy and spiritual energy from outside the Great Thousand World uncontrollably tried to drill into his body. But he had constantly kept them blocked outside. Now, it seemed this was the Saint Demon Emperor's intentional doing.
Hearing Jiang Hong's inexplicable words today, a guess had already formed in Jiang Yun's heart.
(End of Chapter