"Oh? So that's the intention," Jiu Xuan said with a solemn expression. "Since I said I would tell you everything I know, I will. But you cannot speak of it after leaving the Netherworld."
Qing Ling nodded. "Senior, please rest assured."
"Tai Geng, he is the primordial ancestor of your snake clan, isn't he?" Jiu Xuan's face showed a hint of recollection.
"Indeed, he is the primordial ancestor of all snakes in the world. Even I, the first green snake in the Primordial World, must acknowledge him."
"Heh heh, but in reality, was Tai Geng truly the ancestor of snakes?" Jiu Xuan asked. "Do you know Tai Geng's true identity?"
Qing Ling's heart stirred slightly and he said, "I beg Senior to enlighten me."
"Tai Geng was one of the Ten Supreme Beings of the Ancient Era. But he is actually one of the Nine Grand Gods among the Three Thousand Chaos God-Demons. The God of Chaos Tai Geng.
After Pangu's demise, he transformed into the first snake in heaven and earth, the Golden Ring Divine Serpent, manifesting in the Primordial World. He should have been a being of the West, but the West was the land of the Great Demons. Helplessly, he fled the West and came to the East, establishing his path on Mount Xi."
Qing Xuan inquired, "Why are there Nine Grand Gods? And why would Chaos God-Demons manifest as beings of the Primordial World?"
Old Ancestor Jiu Xuan slowly explained, "Before Pangu's creation, in the formless primordial chaos, three thousand god-demons were nurtured. There were a thousand gods, a thousand demons, and a thousand dual god-demons.
Among the Chaos Gods, the Nine Grand Gods were at the forefront. Among the Chaos Demons, the Nine Great Demon Lords were at the forefront. And among the dual god-demons, Pangu was at the forefront. The leader of the Nine Grand Gods was Hongjun, and the leader of the Demon Lords was Luohu.
Although Pangu perished after his creation, Pangu's will remained. If the gods and demons entered the Primordial World, they could conceal their auras through the Great Dao and exist. However, they were destined to live in seclusion, otherwise, they would be crushed by heaven and earth if Pangu's will perceived them.
But if they wished to manifest in the grand world of the Primordial World, they needed a physical body of the Primordial World. Thus, some Chaos God-Demons forged a Dao body of Primordial World beings for themselves.
However, when Tai Geng created his body, he took it from the West, which was the land of the Great Demons. The Chaos Gods and Chaos Demons were naturally antagonistic. Even though Tai Geng was one of the Nine Grand Gods with immense power, he found it difficult to propagate his Dao in the Primordial World.
After repeatedly being obstructed by the Great Demons when attempting to establish a clan, Tai Geng, in his rage, stormed into the territory of Tai E, one of the Nine Great Demon Lords. He propagated his Dao in the Primordial World under the alias Old Ancestor Jiu Tian, and established the Nine Heavens of Demonic Dao as the foundation of the demonic path.
Tai Geng single-handedly destroyed eight levels of Old Ancestor Jiu Tian's demonic Dao foundation and left the West. He then drifted to the East."
Qing Ling understood in his heart, realizing there were such profound secrets in the world. "And then, the Xi Shan Snake Clan came to be?"
"Indeed. Tai Geng was a top-tier existence in that era, with a cultivation of twenty-five levels of Da Luo, which was considered a top expert.
Even the current Hongjun and Luohu were only at the twenty-seventh or twenty-eighth level in that era. After all, it was very close to the time of creation, and the remaining gods and demons were still recovering from their injuries sustained from Pangu. The beings of the Primordial World had only just begun to be born.
Order was nonexistent, hence the emergence of the Ten Supreme Beings' realms. The current cultivation realms were established by the Ten Supreme Beings and later transmitted to the Primordial World for all beings, recognized by heaven and earth.
Although the East was the land of the Grand Gods, there was also opposition among the Grand Gods. The Chaos Sun God was in opposition to the Chaos Tai Geng God in the chaos. One was the source of chaos fire, the other the source of chaos gold. Thus, in the Five Elements of the world, gold and fire were in conflict.
Tai Geng established the snake clan and taught all snakes, quickly gaining immense popularity in the East of the Primordial World.
The Sun God, seeing this, also wished to cultivate beings to contend for destiny and pursue the Great Dao. However, most of the East was occupied by Tai Geng at that time, and after the demise of the God of Thunder, the God of Thunder and the God of Water merged to become the Dragon, named Ancestral Dragon, who occupied the East Sea.
Tai Geng and Ancestral Dragon had a deep relationship, so the Xi Shan Snake Clan provided considerable support to the then-weak Dragon Clan. The entire Eastern continent was occupied by the Dragon and Snake clans.
Meanwhile, Hongjun secluded himself and remained aloof from the conflicts of the Grand Gods. Unexpectedly, the Sun God and the Moon God joined forces and waged war in the East, severely injuring Tai Geng. The Sun God was also severely wounded and unable to cultivate his clan. This battle devastated hundreds of millions of miles around Xi Shan, turning it into wasteland. This is the origin of the Eastern Wasteland."
Qing Xuan frowned, "If the Dragons and Snakes were on good terms, why didn't Ancestral Dragon help?"
"Alas, at that time, the Moon God was allied with Tai Xuan, one of the Ten Supreme Beings, and thus invited him to restrain Ancestral Dragon. Tai Xuan, the Supreme Being, is the Black Tortoise of the Northern lands today."
Qing Ling's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, but he still did not speak rashly. "Senior, why did Ancestral Founder Tai Geng perish?"
Old Ancestor Jiu Xuan said gravely, "This matter involves immense implications; it was the end of the entire Fierce Beast Era.
As I said before, there were a thousand gods, a thousand demons, and a thousand dual god-demons. Although Pangu was the strongest, he only killed gods and demons. The one who truly commanded the respect of the thousand dual god-demons was another, his name was Shen Ni.
Shen Ni was already a dual god-demon. He also merged with the forms of all beasts in the Primordial World and established a clan, the Fierce Beasts. He was the most powerful being of that era, the only one at the Half-step Hunyuan realm!
He had four Fierce Generals under his command, all of whom were top-tier mighty beings. Although these four broke through by unconventional means and were permanently confined to the twenty-first level, in that era, a top-tier mighty being was the peak of combat power.
Therefore, the Fierce Beast clan dominated the Primordial World, the sole overlord, to whom even the Great Demons and Grand Gods had to yield.
The Fierce Beasts were created from the malevolent energy that flowed into the Primordial World after the demise of the Chaos God-Demons during creation and Pangu's fall, combined with the myriad beasts. They were beings that knew only slaughter and possessed no sentience. They could not be called living beings.
Naturally, there were those who opposed this rule of the strong.
The Ten Supreme Beings of that era all stood on the same side and launched a simultaneous encirclement of the Fierce Beasts from ten directions.
At that time, there were still nearly a hundred surviving Chaos God-Demons. Some secretly assisted, some acted out of vested interests, and some took the opportunity to seek revenge. A grand battle of extermination ensued, led by numerous mighty beings!
There were countless battles and casualties during this period, which I will not elaborate on. All major forces suffered heavy losses, and the Xi Shan Snake Clan also lost several strong members, leading to Xi Shan's decline.
If Tai Geng had not met with an accident, with his prestige and recovery, he would still have been a great clan in the East. Perhaps the world would be divided equally among four clans today, instead of being contested by three.
However, in the final battle, the Ten Supreme Beings confronted the Beast Emperor Shen Ni.
It was that battle that threatened to shatter heaven and earth, and the Primordial World itself became unstable.
Although Shen Ni, at the Half-step Hunyuan realm, was powerful, he was ultimately not a Hunyuan. Even if he was stronger than the peak mighty beings, he could not withstand the combined assault of over ten peak mighty beings.
Shen Ni's might had once oppressed all, the true overlord of the Primordial World, his fame far surpassing that of the current Dragon Clan.
Alas, no matter how great a figure, they cannot escape destiny. If Shen Ni had been given more time, and the grand destiny of the Primordial World had converged, he would have become a true Hunyuan, and there would be no current Daoist, Demonic, or Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin factions.
In that era, Shen Ni, at the thirty-third level of Da Luo, fought alone against twelve peak mighty beings, truly a legend in the world. But he was outnumbered. His four generals sacrificed themselves to save Shen Ni, and Old Ancestor Tai Geng blocked the self-detonation of the Fierce Crow general, saving Tai Xuan, the Supreme Being, who was severely wounded by Shen Ni.
Later, Shen Ni battled the twelve peak mighty beings for ninety thousand years. The Fierce Beasts were slaughtered by all races. The Dao of the Fierce Beasts degenerated, and Shen Ni's Dao fate perished, leading to his demise.
But at the moment of his death, he willingly detonated his true spirit, sacrificing the chance of reincarnation, just to take a group of old ancestors with him. After all, if one cannot achieve Dao in their first life, reincarnation a hundred times would be even more impossible.
I, at that time, had barely entered the realm of Da Luo Golden Immortal. I could only watch that grand battle from afar, unaware of the specifics. All I knew was that Shen Ni destroyed his true spirit, heaven and earth collapsed, the malevolent energy of the myriad beasts erupted, and all the mighty beings fled madly.
Some Chaos God-Demons who left late were dragged along to accompany Shen Ni into eternal oblivion, and Tai Geng was among them."
Qing Ling's brows furrowed tightly, and he asked, "Which mighty beings escaped at that time?"
Jiu Xuan replied, "Naturally, there were Luohu and Hongjun, as well as Tai Xuan, the Supreme Being, Old Ancestor Xuan Yuan, Old Ancestor Jiu Tian, Chaos Tai Mo, and more than ten others. The twelve peak mighty beings who besieged were accompanied by thirty-six Heaven and Earth Mighty Beings, and a hundred Da Luo formed the Primordial Void Array to seal off all space.
Among them alone, there were over twenty Da Luo, six Heaven and Earth Mighty Beings, and three peak mighty beings."
Qing Xuan further inquired, "Since the true spirit of Da Luo is indestructible, how could they be completely annihilated?"
Old Ancestor Jiu Xuan chuckled upon hearing this, "Da Luo is immortal and indestructible, but that is under natural circumstances. Da Luo is not indestructible under all circumstances; that is a state achievable only in the Hunyuan realm.
As long as one can sever the River of Time, the River of Destiny, and then isolate the Three Thousand Great Daos, the concept of an indestructible Da Luo becomes a joke."
Qing Xuan exclaimed, "But who in the world can simultaneously sever these three?"
Old Ancestor Jiu Xuan smiled, "Complete severance is naturally impossible, but with the combined efforts of two or three Half-step Hunyuan beings, severing the true spirit of a Da Luo is no longer an issue.
In that era, Shen Ni's peak cultivation at Half-step Hunyuan, combined with the self-detonation of his physical body and true spirit, unleashed power that was already equivalent to Hunyuan! The true spirits of these deceased individuals have been completely erased.
However..."
Old Ancestor Jiu Xuan said with a half-smile, "Although I did not witness the true combat situation at the time, I have heard a rumor from elsewhere. I am unsure if it is reliable."
"Senior, please speak freely."
"Although Ancestral Dragon, Yuan Feng, and the Qilin Kings among the three tribes did not participate, I know that Supreme Being Bai Hu did.
In recent years, I heard him mention that although he had clashed with Tai Geng over the Great Dao, he also praised Tai Geng's divine abilities, saying that with Tai Geng's skills, it was unlikely he would have been completely annihilated.
He told me that the Sun God and Moon God were not critically injured initially, but they sustained fatal wounds during their escape. Thus, they later had to merge their origins to become Old Ancestor Yin Yang.
I believe that if Tai Geng's abilities were not obstructed, he would naturally have been able to escape.
But there are very few who could obstruct Tai Geng. As for the injuries of the Moon and Sun Gods..."
He fell silent at this point.
Daoist Qing Xuan remained silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed, "Senior, are these words intentionally revealed by Supreme Being Bai Hu, or..."
Old Ancestor Jiu Xuan smiled and said, "I cannot say for sure. However, only six people in the world know the truth today: Hongjun, Luohu, Old Ancestor Qian Kun, Old Ancestor Yin Yang, Old Ancestor Xuan Wu, and Supreme Being Bai Hu. They were at the very center of the battlefield. Other peak mighty beings did not possess the strength to witness the inside story amidst the escape of Hunyuan's power.
Oh yes, perhaps, there is one more."
"Who?"
"A peak mighty being who set up the Primordial Void Array, whose name is unknown."
Qing Xuan understood in his heart that only Old Ancestor Yang Mei could have the ability to set up the Primordial Void Array.