Chapter 1746 Coming Back One by One
The Shen clan in the Central Emperor Realm.
The Divine Light of Space shone brilliantly above the Shen clan. Countless people of the Shen clan raised their heads and looked at the sky.
Then, they saw a Door of Space open, and a line of people walked out.
They were all cultivators in the Renhuang Plane with calm, majestic bearing. The several ones leading ahead seemed to be emitting divine light from their bodies.
Another group of people walked upward toward them. The head of the group was the clan lord of the Shen clan and the Chief Elder Shen Ji. The two most important figures in the Shen clan welcomed the guests in person.
"It's Shen Gao." Many elders were excited, watching the leaders of the Shen Clan leap into the air.
"Who is that?" The younger generation didn't recognize him.
"Shen Gao. He was once the most talented cultivator in the entire Shen clan. He cultivates outside of the 3,000 Realms of the Great Path. Now he's back," one of the elders explained. The cultivators of the Shen clan were electrified. Even though the younger generation never had a chance to meet Shen Gao, they all heard plenty of his stories from the senior people in the clan.
He was one of the top three cultivators in the Shen clan.
How powerful could he be these days?
"You're back." The clan lord looked at Shen Gao and cracked a smile. Shen Gao hadn't come back for many years.
It was extremely difficult for him to come back and visit. He needed to have the Great Emperor's special permission.
The Great Emperor probably closed the passage to protect the 3,000 Realms of the Great Path.
After all, the Great Emperor was the one who ended the chaotic period several hundred years ago.
The 3,000 Realms of the Great Path was in a much worse turmoil at that time.
They suspected that Donghuang the Great Emperor might clear the passage once they saw that the Gate of Hell manifested itself in the Hidden Land Realm. It turned out that the Great Emperor indeed opened the gateway to the outside world. Now Shen Gao was back.
"They are from our clan in the Upper Worlds," Shen Gao pointed at the people next to him and introduced them to the leaders of the Shen clan. The master cultivators from the Shen clan certainly guessed it already.
In fact, their relationship with the Shen Clan in the outside world was almost nonexistent because of the closed gateway. With little to none contact and separate establishments, they could be seen as two independent groups.
However, they still shared the same bloodline of the Shen clan.
Moreover, the ancestors of the Shen clan really were at the same level as the Great Emperor. But it was so long ago. Many emperors perished, and only some of them had descendants survived until today.
The Shen clan was a branch of those descendants.
Many people in the younger generation thought it was only a folk tale and plenty of people outside of the clan sneered at their arrogance and pomposity. Only the core figures in the Shen clan knew that it was a fact that truly happened in history.
Of course, it was hard to say how strong the bloodline remained to be generations after generations.
"Please," the clan lord spoke. People walked downward at once toward the Sacred Hall.
Shen clan had always been a top force in the 3,000 Realms of the Great Path. Their heritage and background were beyond doubt.
Now that they reconnected with the Shen clan from the outside world, they would maintain their status in the Three Thousand Realms of the Great Path even if there were major upheavals in the future.
...
Gai Cang, the sovereign of the Golden Divine Nation, had been waiting for something in the past few days.
Numerous majestic and imposing golden halls lined up in the vast Palace of the Golden Divine Nation. The Golden Divine Nation had enjoyed its prosperity for many years. It was the most powerful group in the Higher Heavens Realm except for the Divine Palace.
Finally, the golden divine light shone brightly above the Nation on this day.
Everyone in the Palace raised their heads to look at the sky. The dazzling golden divine light almost blinded them.
Then, countless people in the Palace saw several figures appeared. Wearing golden robes, they looked like a group of gods and stood in midair above the Palace of the Golden Divine Nation.
The scene put many cultivators in the Palace on high alert.
The guards of the Palace leaped into the air and unleashed tremendous energy to deter the intruders.
"Back off!" a thunderous voice ordered from inside of the great hall. The guards and the bystanders stepped aside immediately. In the meantime, many commanders and divine generals of the Golden Divine Nation jumped into the air and bowed at the incoming figures.
"Welcome the Celestial Emperor back." Sounds of greetings reverberated in the sky and made the hearts of the guards on the ground tremble.
The Celestial Emperor.
He was the brother of the sovereign of the Golden Divine Nation and a legendary cultivator with terrifying power.
He would be the sovereign of the Golden Divine Nation if he didn't leave.
And now, he was back.
Gai Cang stepped forward to Gai Qiong and spoke loudly, "I was just thinking that it was about time for you to come back."
"The Great Emperor ordered to open the gate. That's why I asked for his permission to come back," said Gai Qiong. "How is our nation these days?"
Gai Cang's eyes were steely after hearing Gai Qiong's question. He said, "You never met your two nephews. They were very talented. I was hoping that they could follow you to the Upper Worlds. But now they're gone."
"They're gone?" Gai Qiong frowned.
"They were killed," said Gai Cang.
Bang... A horrifying golden storm surged. Beams of intimidating golden light shot out from Gai Qiong's eyes.
They were killed?
"Who dared to kill them?" Gai Qiong's tone was icy-cold and menacing.
"Let's talk after we get down," Gai Cang replied.
"What kind of a sovereign are you?" Gai Qiong said coldly, "Take me to catch the murderer."
His voice was incredibly assertive and made everyone in the Palace shake with fright. He was the only person in the entire Golden Divine Nation who dared to speak to the sovereign in such tone.
After all, he was the older brother of the sovereign. Rumor had it that he handed over the throne to his younger brother back in the days.
He was the divine general under the Great Emperor and was powerful enough to command any situation. One might well imagine his feeling now that he heard his nephews were murdered.
"I am inadequate for sure for not being able to take revenge for them," said Gai Cang. "However, the enemies are not weaker than the Golden Divine Nation. Let's talk later."
Gai Qiong glared at Gai Cang, then walked downward. He was still stern and grim.
He and Gai Cang fought hard to make the Golden Divine Nation a strong and prosperous country. He followed Donghuang the Great Emperor, and he had achieved miraculous feats in battles several hundred years ago. Even though the youngsters nowadays might not know who he was, no one from the older generation wasn't familiar with his name.
The Golden Divine Nation became the most powerful force in the Higher Heavens Realm because of his and Gai Cang's overwhelming dominance.
Nevertheless, the first thing he heard after coming back was that the princes of the Golden Divine Nation, the nephews he never met, were killed by people.
...
The Nantian Divine Kingdom in the Central Emperor Realm.
Emperor Nan stood in a pavilion and gazed into the distance.
A woman with a graceful figure and gorgeous face walked toward him from behind. She was Empress Luo.
"What are you thinking about?" Empress Luo came to Emperor Nan and whispered.
Emperor Nan smiled tenderly at her and answered in a soft voice, "We have enjoyed peace and quiet for several hundred years. A storm is ahead of us again."
"The Great Emperor already unified the Divine Prefecture. The 3,000 Realms of the Great Path are stable and secure. I don't think we would be affected even if there was some disturbance."
"Who knows what will happen in the future? Qinghe came back, and the Gate of Hell reopened. Some forces might not be resigned to the current arrangement. And the Great Emperor would never step in personally," said Emperor Nan. "Besides, maybe the Great Emperor didn't intervene before because he has some ideas in mind."
"Don't think too much about it. Few people in the Outer Realms can threaten us, let alone here," Empress Luo said with a smile. She had absolute confidence in Emperor Nan's ability.
"Alright." Emperor Nan nodded.
"Maybe you would be even stronger if you followed the Great Emperor to the Outer Realms back then," said Empress Luo.
"It's not that simple. I'm already approaching the end of the Great Path." Emperor Nan laughed. "Besides, I'm contented with what I chose. These peaceful years after Luoshen was born are the happiest time in my life."
He held Empress Luo in his arms and let her lean on his shoulder affectionately.
"You're probably tired of those things," Empress Luo said in a gentle voice. Back in the old days, Emperor Nan was a formidable fighter who killed countless people with the Qinghe Divine Sword.
People who only knew him in these quiet years could hardly imagine how he was like in the past.
"I only want to take care of Luoshen," said Emperor Nan.
"Luoshen is a grownup now in the Renhuang Plane. You still treat her like a child," Empress Luo said gently, even though she did the same herself.
Luoshen would always be a child in their eyes, no matter what plane she reached.
"Moreover, Luoshen will find someone who can protect her in the future, just like I did." Empress Luo suddenly thought of something. She continued as a look of concern made her furrow her eyebrows. "But I'm a little worried."
"What are you worried about?" Emperor Nan asked.
"I want Luoshen to find the best man, even better than us. However, to find someone who can surpass you..." Empress Luo looked at Emperor Nan while speaking.
"Are you praising me?" Emperor Nan gazed at her lovingly.
"It's the truth." Empress Luo sighed. Emperor Nan nodded and said, "Luoshen certainly deserves to have the best. Only one person in this generation is good enough for Luoshen."
"The one in the Heavenly Mandate Academy?" Empress Luo asked.
"Yes," Emperor Nan nodded.
"You like him so much?" Empress Luo said, "Isn't Jian Qingzhu from the Tianshen Academy also an extraordinary young man?"
"They're not the same. Jian Qingzhu is exceptionally talented. But he is too disciplined and conventional and will never be a trendsetter. Ye Futian, on the contrary, will either fade out halfway or become a gamechanger who symbolizes a new era," Emperor Nan added. "If that's the case, he is still not the right person for Luoshen."
Ye Futian was destined to experience the carnage of war. It was not what he had in mind for his daughter.
"We're getting too far ahead of ourselves," Empress Luo laughed.
Emperor Nan nodded. They were indeed planning for something too further down the road.
But a storm was around the corner. The 3,000 Realms of the Great Path would surely meet a time of turbulence again.