Chapter 2986: The Truth Behind the Heavenly Curtain!
The Scripture Depository had been moved here by Jiangnan, containing all the secret techniques, mental cultivation methods, and martial arts techniques from the entire Immortal Cultivation World!
Also included were the Six Paths Grand Canons passed down through the ages!
There was no hope of moving them back, but each Dao Sect couldn't be without a Scripture Depository to use, right?
Li Daoyan and the others had no choice but to send people to make rubbings of all the technique scrolls from each sect's depository and rebuild their own!
As for these original copies, they stayed in the Demonic Pupil Star System for the Learning Group to browse freely!
To make these rubbings, Li Daoyan and the others didn't come without a price!
The price was that they had to imprint everything they knew—all the insights, experiences, and spirit-cultivation methods related to their respective paths—into technique scrolls for the Learning Group members to access!
It exhausted them completely!
As for the Treasure Pavilion, forget about taking it back. Although Jiangnan couldn't take it away, he had gone through so much trouble to plunder it—how could he just return it?
Li Daoyan and the others didn't care. Treasures lost were lost; as long as the Eternal Demon Lord didn't destroy the world, everything would be fine!
After this incident, the Path World Tree also completely sank into silence. Yan Xing, Ling Miao, and the others clearly felt the pressure that had been on them return!
It was even worse than before!
Under the previous suppression, advancing further was already as difficult as reaching the heavens!
Now, there was no possibility of moving forward at all!
Li Daoyan and the others couldn't help but recall what Jiangnan had mentioned earlier about the Heavenly Curtain, and their hearts sank!
How did the Eternal Demon Lord get here? What kind of world was his? Could we go to other worlds?
Li Daoyan and the others were full of questions, but Jiangnan didn't seem inclined to explain.
He only told them to finish engraving their insight technique scrolls first.
In the blink of an eye, three months had passed. The Demon Lord invasion incident had basically settled, and the Dayan Era resumed its normal course.
Except that a new training ground called the Gale Trial had appeared. "A waterside pavilion gets the moonlight first," as they say.
Magnificent, grand immortal cities and trading markets sprang up around the Demonic Pupil Star System, and the atmosphere gradually became lively.
The chasm Jiangnan had cut with a single slash also gained a new name: Eternal Blade Chasm.
Within the Demonic Pupil Star System, an awe-inspiring, magnificent immortal palace floated in the starry sky.
Just the pillars alone were thicker than a Blue Giant Star!
This immortal palace was crammed full of the seven sects' secret treasures and all the technique scrolls. It could be called the highest hall of the Celestial Palace Starry Sky World!
This was the residence specially built for Jiangnan by Li Daoyan and the others—they almost worshipped him outright.
The palace was infused with illusionary realm techniques, allowing various cave-heavens and illusions to be switched at will.
Inside, the forest was lush, green mountains slanted, and waterfalls cascaded—a true immortal scene.
On the palace door were four imposing characters:
"Eternal Demon Palace!"
Below was a line of crooked small characters:
"Six Paths Learning Group Seminar Office"
Inside the palace's cave-heaven, Li Daoyan and the other seven were frantically engraving their insights into technique scrolls!
They hadn't stopped for days!
Every single one of them was numb from the work!
And in the cave-heaven, scrolls were piled up like small mountains everywhere!
Nian Hongyan was crawling around in the sea of scrolls, consulting various ones while taking notes.
Occasionally, she would even run over and ask them questions about the Creation Realm!
Li Daoyan and the others initially thought the Eternal Demon Lord just liked her looks and had grabbed a little maid to keep him company—even such a powerful being couldn't escape mortal desires.
Since she was the Eternal Demon Lord's appointed maid, they naturally had to attend to her well.
They answered every question without reservation.
At first, it was nothing special. But gradually, they were shocked by Nian Hongyan. As she read more scrolls, her vision broadened.
The questions she raised and the suggestions she gave regarding the fusion of the Six Paths were remarkably forward-looking.
Sometimes they even stunned them!
Was this really the talent and comprehension of a mere Unbounded Realm cultivator?
Even more terrifying was Nian Hongyan's cultivation speed, which left them dumbfounded. Even the strongest spiritual root in the Immortal Cultivation World couldn't be this monstrous, right?
Nian Hongyan thought it was because she had switched techniques, but after a group of Creation Realm experts examined her, they discovered that her spiritual root had surpassed the strongest ever recorded in the Immortal Cultivation World!
Moreover, her spiritual root would automatically refine itself, meaning Nian Hongyan's talent was constantly growing stronger. This shocked Li Daoyan and the others!
What kind of constitution was this? Could the Eternal Demon Lord have used some heaven-defying method on her?
But Nian Hongyan shook her head, saying it only happened after she broke through to the Unbounded Realm!
Li Daoyan and the others could only attribute it to Nian Hongyan having some special constitution, like the Sword-Devouring Saint Body, except this one awakened at the Unbounded Realm.
They even gave it a name: Hongyan Immortal Body or something like that.
Lingque Qingyu and the others even considered taking her as a disciple, but she was the Eternal Demon Lord's maid—they probably didn't need to worry.
Then they turned to look at Jiangnan!
Jiangnan was lying sideways on the grass, basking in the sun, swinging his little feet, looking utterly carefree.
Li Daoyan took a deep breath, put down his technique scroll:
(˵ಠĹ̯ಠ˵) "Lord Eternal Demon Lord? The matter of the Heavenly Curtain you mentioned before—could you elaborate for us?"
Jiangnan didn't turn his head:
_(:⁍̴ゝ∠)_ "Oh? The pressure's back? Even worse than before? The world isn't on your side anymore?"
Li Daoyan and the others' faces darkened. How did he know everything?
Jiangnan continued, "No, no. Are you done with your homework and want to hear a story? Finish writing, then I'll talk!"
Yan Xing covered his face. They'd been writing homework for over three months straight—couldn't they take a break?
Li Daoyan's expression turned serious:
(｡･ˇ﹏ˇ･｡) "We're done! So..."
Jiangnan lazily got up from the grass, stretching hard:
٩(￢◠￢)۶ "You really want to hear? Once the dream wakes, there's no going back. And I'm not really keen on meddling in these matters. After all, this isn't my world."
Li Daoyan said earnestly, "I don't want to live my whole life in a dream..."
Jiangnan teleported and sat in the main seat at the desk:
(｡･ˇกˇ･) "So you want to know why you're so weak? As living beings, why can I reach this level while you can't?"
Yan Xing Qianhai and the others' faces darkened. It was true, but did he have to put it so bluntly?
Meanwhile, Nian Hongyan, who was studying frantically, also peeked over with big eyes, beginning to eavesdrop:
(๑˃⌂◔ิ๑)
Jiangnan said casually, "The problem is simple! Your Celestial Palace Starry Sky World has been shackled! And that shackle was placed by the will of the starry sky itself!"
"From the perspective of the starry sky will, it doesn't want life to break through to the Cosmic Realm and create a true world. Once a Cosmic Realm powerhouse appears, they stand on the same level as the world will!"
"But the Cosmic Realm is freer than the world will, devouring the realm power of the starry sky world to strengthen their own world! Your so-called Creation Realm is actually a false Creation Realm!"
"Oh, by the way, that Path World Tree? It's the embodiment of the starry sky world will. Cultivating to your level, you should be able to sense it—the pressure stopping you from advancing is omnipresent, originating from the starry sky will itself!"
Upon hearing this, Li Daoyan and the others felt a chill down their spines, eyes wide open!
This... this was the Heavenly Curtain? The shackle binding every living being in the entire world?
Yan Xing felt his body turn cold:
Σ(°△°|||) "If the starry sky will doesn't want us to break through, then why did the Path World Tree bless us before? It..."
Jiangnan rolled his eyes:
(꒪ั～꒪ั*) "Isn't that simple? Although the starry sky will is strong, it's just an innate will with many restrictions. It can't intervene directly!"
"Moreover, the development of the starry sky will is closely tied to the brilliance of its world's civilization. Seeking survival is the instinct of every starry sky will!"
"Earlier, I said I would destroy the world and overturn the Dayan Era—that threatened the survival of the Celestial Palace starry sky will itself. It wanted to save itself, but it couldn't do anything to me, so it pinned its hopes on you!"
"My existence already threatened the starry sky will itself, so it temporarily opened the shackles, hoping you could defeat me and resolve the crisis. But obviously, it didn't work. Still, it had no other choice!"
Li Daoyan was utterly shocked:
=͟͟͞͞(꒪△꒪‧̣̥̇) "So... so that's how it is?"
Jiangnan leaned back in his chair, swaying: "As for why the pressure has returned now, that's even easier to understand. Because we've reconciled and started exchanging knowledge!"
"It's afraid you'll use this opportunity to gain new methods, advance further, or even break through to the Cosmic Realm, threatening it. So the pressure increased!"
"Under this shackle, your chance of creating a world is almost zero. The path upward has long been cut off, and the way is blocked by the starry sky will!"
Yan Xing swallowed hard, his scalp tingling:
(￢﹏￢٥) "Lord Demon Lord? Then how did you..."
Jiangnan chuckled:
(˵ಡ‿ಡ˵) "Me? The starry sky will on our side is very cute. It doesn't bother us. It's still weak and can't manage everything—it's barely surviving, pitifully begging for help everywhere~"
Li Daoyan and the others were completely baffled!
Cute? Using the word "cute" to describe a starry sky will?
Why was their starry sky will so good, leaving them alone, while their own will interfered?
Damn it!
Lingque wiped her forehead:
(•́ω•̀٥) "If... if I may ask you, are you the strongest being on your side?"
Jiangnan shook his head: "No. Someone on our side has already become Cosmic Realm. I can't beat him, not even now. There's also another who's about equal to me—he has much stronger talent than I do!"
"I also have an elder, a fierce old man. He..."
Li Daoyan and the others shivered:
੧੧(´-﹏-`；) "Stop! Stop! We don't want to know anymore!"
Good heavens! There was more than one being as strong as the Eternal Demon Lord? And there were Cosmic Realm experts?
A shiver ran down their spines!
Didn't that mean any big shot from the Ten Thousand Races Starry Sky World could come over and sweep through their side?
Jiangnan grinned slyly:
(˵ಡꇴಡ˵) "Be grateful it was me who came. Although I'm not a good person, I have my own principles..."
"If it had been someone else... heh~"
Li Daoyan and the others shuddered violently:
(⇀﹏↼‶) "Is our starry sky world so weak? How... how could this be..."
Their sense of security was completely shattered!
Jiangnan shook his head: "No, no... Don't sell yourselves short. Your starry sky world isn't weak at all. It's developed longer than ours, has more powerful beings, and its eras have lasted longer!"
"Our starry sky's development up to now has basically been a series of battles. Yours is a history of development; ours is a history of war! We've even broken historical continuity and collapsed starry sky rules. If we're not careful, the entire starry sky world could collapse—you definitely wouldn't want to experience that..."
"The reason your high-end combat power is lacking is simply because your starry sky will is too strong and has placed a shackle on you!"
Qianhai Qingyu and the others listened, their scalps tingling!
A shiver ran down their spines!
So terrifying?
Living in that kind of world was pure hell mode, wasn't it?
Jiangnan waved his hand, and under spatial projection, the entire timeline of the Celestial Palace Starry Sky World was pulled out:
"Actually, it's not impossible for your world to produce a Cosmic Realm being. Every starry sky world needs time to grow!"
"During this time, the starry sky will doesn't have the power to set a shackle. So this period is the critical window for breakthrough. Roughly from the world's birth to 100 to 150 billion years, there's still a chance to reach the Cosmic Realm!"
"Your Celestial Palace Starry Sky World has developed for 274 billion years—it's long past the window. So... you have no hope!"
Li Daoyan's eyes widened: "So... during the window period, there were no true Creation Realm beings?"
Jiangnan shrugged: ╮(•́～•̀)╭ "There should have been one. Qingcheng Immortal, you should know her. With her strength, she could have created a world!"
"But the timing was awkward. The starry sky will had grown enough. If Qingcheng Immortal forcibly broke through, the era would be destroyed, plunging the world into darkness and death!"
"Using all the living beings in the starry sky as hostages, the starry sky will forced Qingcheng Immortal to choose. And... you know the result. She chose the age of prosperity, letting this world's creatures live in a beautiful dream under the Heavenly Curtain!"
"Since the end of the Primordial Era, through the Desolate Immortal Era, to your Dayan Era, the Heavenly Curtain has been set, the shackles formed. So no existence of that level has appeared since!"
"And that... is the truth of everything!"
Li Daoyan and the others stared blankly at this scene. So this was why Qingcheng Immortal had passed away? Otherwise, with her unparalleled strength as the sole existence throughout the ages, who else could have ended her?
"Damn it! Damn it all! So it's like this? How could it be..."
Li Daoyan almost crushed his fists, his eyes bloodshot. The other Creation Realm experts fell into complete silence!
The atmosphere in the venue became oppressively heavy!
Nian Hongyan, who had been eavesdropping, stared blankly at this scene. Her ears rang, and she felt as if something inside her was about to explode!
She didn't know why hearing this made her so uncomfortable, but she was very clever and had vaguely guessed quite a bit...
When Jiangnan looked over, Nian Hongyan quickly turned her head, pretending to continue studying the technique scrolls with a guilty conscience, but her thoughts had already drifted far away...