# Chapter 1967: The Mysterious Yuan Huang
If he had heard the title "Yuan Huang" before, Yun Che would not have paid it the slightest attention. The world had countless star realms, races, and kingdoms large and small, naturally accompanied by innumerable emperors and kings—but all were beneath him, Yun Che, the Cloud Emperor.
But now, these two short words carried an incomparably oppressive weight.
"In the legends of Shen Yuan, the air of the Pure Land is free of any contamination, pure enough to almost purify the soul; the Pure Land is covered with all kinds of flowers and plants, with a thousand shapes and ten thousand colors; the sky above the Pure Land is a light blue, allowing one to clearly see the shape of every cloud..."
Yun Che: "..."
Chi Wuyue's voice became slow and deep: "To the beings of Shen Yuan, the Pure Land is the most sacred place in the world—a supreme holy land they can only look up to and yearn for throughout their lives, but can never dare to hope for."
"Yet the sacred land they gaze upon is nothing more than an utterly ordinary world in our realm."
These two words, "Shen Yuan," had now become the most terrifying nightmare in the eyes of all beings in the divine realms. But no one knew that the most ordinary and commonplace things they possessed in their lives were the greatest luxuries for the beings of Shen Yuan.
"Eternal Pure Land"... Those five words that Mo Beichen had groaned in pain as his life and soul scattered—but they were words that people of the present world could never truly understand.
"What kind of person is the Yuan Huang?" Yun Che asked.
Mo Beichen, who had been so terrifying, was merely a servant who held devout faith in him.
Chi Wuyue's expression instantly became extremely solemn, and the demonic light in her eyes deepened several shades: "He is the sovereign of Shen Yuan, the god above all gods of Shen Yuan. He is the founder of the world of life in Shen Yuan, and his existence runs through the entire history of Shen Yuan."
"Runs through the entire history of Shen Yuan?" Yun Che was greatly surprised. "That is to say, from the very beginning of Shen Yuan's recorded history, the Yuan Huang has already existed?"
"Correct." Chi Wuyue nodded slightly. "The starting point of Shen Yuan's world was when the Yuan Huang used his immense power and a special profound artifact to carve out the first place of life in Shen Yuan, gathering the 'survivors' who were also in Shen Yuan."
"Later, as the laws of Shen Yuan collapsed and the chaotic aura poured in rapidly, the aura of destruction in some areas of Shen Yuan became increasingly thin. The living areas built by the Yuan Huang grew larger, and the number of survivors increased."
"Until, over a long period of time, relative stability, reproduction, and inheritance began... and finally, the Shen Yuan world of today came to be."
Yun Che murmured: "Those survivors..."
"Exactly." Chi Wuyue continued: "The initial survivors of Shen Yuan were the gods and demons from distant ages who had fallen into Shen Yuan for various reasons."
"However, the environment of Shen Yuan back then was far more brutal than it is now. Even true gods and demon gods could only barely survive for a short time. Later, the living areas gradually expanded, and the aura of destruction became increasingly thin, but no more true gods or demon gods fell in—because by then, the great war between gods and demons had already ended, and there were no longer true gods in the present world."
"Now, the true gods that exist in Shen Yuan are all native beings born there. Those true gods and demon gods who founded the Shen Yuan world have long since fallen..."
"Except for the Yuan Huang!"
Yun Che asked in a deep voice: "As the Yuan Huang's personal attendant, Mo Beichen's understanding of the Yuan Huang should be the most profound, right?"
Chi Wuyue shook her head: "The Yuan Huang has no name—or rather, no one has ever known his name."
Yun Che: "...?"
"In the understanding of all beings in Shen Yuan, and in all the most ancient records of Shen Yuan, the Yuan Huang has always been 'Yuan Huang,' without any other title."
"Not even the Abyss Knights, nor even the four Divine Officials of the Pure Land who are closest to him, have ever known the Yuan Huang's true name. No one has ever dared to ask."
"It seems that is a great taboo to the Yuan Huang."
"Forget it, it's not important." Yun Che said. Indeed, what the Yuan Huang was called mattered not at all. What could be determined was that his identity was definitely a true god of the ancient divine race.
Chi Wuyue spoke slowly: "All the gods and demons who fell into Shen Yuan were completely annihilated. The Yuan Huang, as the earliest founder of the Shen Yuan world, has survived to this day. Without a doubt, his strength far surpasses that of ordinary gods and demons. Then, his status in the divine race back then must have been quite high."
"Later, I will look through the ancient records of the high-ranking gods who were cast into Shen Yuan. There should be very few high-ranking gods who received the punishment of being cast into Shen Yuan, so it might not be difficult to find some clues."
Yun Che suddenly thought of the most crucial question: "How long has it been since the Yuan Huang founded the Shen Yuan world until now?"
This time would be the length of Shen Yuan's history—the annals of the Shen Yuan world should have a clear record.
"Three million years." Chi Wuyue gave the answer.
"!?" This time was completely beyond Yun Che's expectations.
Because three million years ago, the war between gods and demons had not even begun!
Just as the Primordial God had predicted, the collapse of Shen Yuan's laws had already begun long ago... and the impact of the war between gods and demons greatly accelerated the mutation of Shen Yuan.
It was... roughly around the same time that Jie Yuan was ambushed by Mo E and blasted outside the Chaos Wall.
Jie Yuan and the demon gods under her command were able to survive in the outer Chaos for so long because they relied on the independent space that the Cosmic Thorn had opened up in the outer Chaos.
Even so, Jie Yuan, as powerful as she was, had been ravaged until she looked like a vicious ghost. The demon gods under her command had withered to an extreme, and those who barely survived not only had twisted demon souls but also had very little lifespan left.
Yet the Yuan Huang was able to survive all the way to the present in Shen Yuan, when the aura of destruction back then was still extremely dense...
"However," Chi Wuyue mused, "this time can only be taken as a reference. Because it might not exactly correspond to the three million years we know."
"Why?"
"Because there is a peculiar phenomenon in Shen Yuan known as the 'Time Black Tide.'"
"Time Black Tide?" These four words were something Yun Che had never heard before.
If it were a "Space Black Tide," he might be able to form some general idea. But involving time... that was a domain Yun Che had never been able to touch.
Chi Wuyue explained: "The flow of time has been eternally steady and uniform since ancient times, unaffected by any external force. This should be one of the basic laws bestowed upon the world by the Primordial God when he created it."
"But perhaps because it has deviated from the laws bestowed by the Primordial God, the time wheel of Shen Yuan does not turn steadily. Sometimes it becomes fast, sometimes slow, like the ebb and flow of the tides."
"In simple terms, the flow of time in Shen Yuan periodically alternates between being too fast and too slow."
Yun Che thought for a moment, then said: "If that's the case, then the three million years of Shen Yuan should not be exactly the same as the three hundred million years of our world. But since it's periodic alternations, overall, the difference shouldn't be too great."
"Also, regardless of whether the flow of time is fast or slow, the beings within it won't have a direct perception of it. So, this isn't really..."
"You mean to say, it seems not worth paying attention to, right?" Chi Wuyue said.
Yun Che did not nod but frowned, waiting for her to continue.
He had entered the Zhou Tian Pearl twice before. The flow of time inside was far slower than the outside world, but while inside, he had no abnormal perception on any spiritual level.
"On the contrary." Chi Wuyue said. "Think back to the ancient war between gods and demons. The entire world underwent drastic changes, and space was shattered countless times, but the operation of the time wheel did not deviate by even a single iota."
"Because time is one of the most fundamental orders of the world."
"If I did not have the Nirvana Wheel Demon Soul, I might have the same understanding as you regarding the 'Time Black Tide' of Shen Yuan. But the four words 'Time Black Tide' caused an extremely strong tremor in my Nirvana Wheel Demon Soul."
"Because if a world's time wheel begins to become chaotic, it means... the entire order is about to collapse."
Yun Che: "..."
"Furthermore, the Time Black Tide of Shen Yuan is becoming increasingly severe. In the beginning, the Time Black Tide would cycle once every few thousand years, and the amplitude of slowing down and speeding up was also very small. Later, each cycle shortened, and the magnitude of the 'ebb and flow' also increased."
"The last cycle of the Time Black Tide was only a hundred years, and its fluctuation amplitude reached a terrifying factor of ten."
"...I see." Yun Che said softly. "The ever-increasing Time Black Tide made the Yuan Huang realize that the order of the Shen Yuan world was on the verge of collapse, so he has been sparing no effort to find a way back to this world."
Chi Wuyue continued: "But as you said, no matter how abnormal the flow of time, the beings within it will not perceive it. Hence, very few people know of the concept of 'Time Black Tide.' Even if they know of its existence, few truly understand the disaster it implies."
After a long silence, Yun Che said: "What else?"
Chi Wuyue said: "What I extracted from Mo Beichen was mostly some basic knowledge of the Shen Yuan world. As for the Yuan Huang, there is no other information."
"However, regarding Mo Beichen, you might want to hear his story." Chi Wuyue's tone softened. "His story itself is not important, but his life is a microcosm of many beings in Shen Yuan."
Without waiting for Yun Che's response, Chi Wuyue recounted: "Mo Beichen was born into a middle-ranking family in a Godless Kingdom. His father was an elder-level figure in the family. Although his birth was far superior to that of ordinary beings, because the Godless Kingdom had no divine grace to protect it, he was born into the sparse abyss dust and only grew up with the careful protection of his elders."
"The harsh environment created cruel survival laws. He showed extremely high talent from a young age, which allowed him to obtain the best resources and the best protection. But his siblings... were abandoned one by one and died young in the abyss dust."
"By the time he was a hundred years old, less than thirty percent of his peers in the clan remained."
"Later, he grew strong enough to resist the erosion of the abyss dust on his own. With the hope of his entire clan, he set the noble goal of becoming an Abyss Knight of the Pure Land."
"To temper himself, he once went to the Sand Abyss and entered the Mist Sea. When he was strong enough, he bid farewell to his family, his wife, and his two daughters, and followed an Abyss Knight who had recommended him to the Pure Land."
"The trials and assessments to become an Abyss Knight were quite brutal. He persevered through five years of trials and finally became a full-fledged Abyss Knight."
"But when he returned home in glory, his clan had already, three years earlier, mistakenly believed the rumor that he had died in the Pure Land trials and thus abandoned the protection of his wife and children."
"His wife had only the cultivation of the Divine King Realm, barely able to protect herself, let alone their two daughters. Both daughters had just reached the age of twenty, and their cultivation was even weaker. For three years without protection, they fell gravely ill from the erosion of the abyss dust. Their lives withered, and half a month before his return, both died."
"After burying her two daughters, his wife was utterly crushed with despair and took her own life."
"Mo Beichen returned with a heart full of joy and the highest honor, only to be greeted by a nightmare of tragedy. He hadn't even had a chance to tell his wife and daughters that he had become a noble Abyss Knight."
"Heh," Yun Che let out a cold laugh. "That is truly pitiable and lamentable."
"A person capable of becoming an Abyss Knight still has such a tragic life. One can imagine what a hell the beings surviving in Shen Yuan are struggling in... or perhaps, they have already become accustomed to it."
"This time, attempting to set foot in the present world, Mo Beichen volunteered to be a pioneer. He was also prepared to die."
"Because all the previous 'pioneers'—more than half—perished in failure, and the few survivors were all thrown back into Shen Yuan."