"So this is the cause of the calamity that befell Heaven?"

As Chen Qian pondered, he murmured, "As the Heavenly Emperor's realm grows stronger, the 'contamination' he unknowingly suffers from also becomes more severe. As a result, the operation of the Heavenly Realm is disrupted, and everyone's 'Dao' stagnates. The Heavenly Emperor has become the Heavenly Realm's own inner demon..."

What happened next was just like those incomplete historical records. The Queen Mother of the West sensed something was wrong and wanted the Heavenly Emperor to destroy the Investiture of the Gods. However, the Heavenly Emperor was obstinate, and so all the immortals and gods fell into chaos, eventually leading to a great war that caused the collapse of the Three Realms.

By the time the Heavenly Emperor realized what was happening, it was too late to reverse the situation. He went alone to the so-called "end," and perhaps learned the truth from Nuwa.

"But the Heavenly Emperor was also a man of great courage. He knew that as long as the Heavenly Realm was not destroyed, he was as good as immortal. So he dismantled his body and used a spacetime array to seal his 'Emperor's Heart'."

The Demon King nodded and continued.

"If we don't do that, what will happen to the Great Emperor level experts in the end? Will they also become part of the 'Heavenly Dao'?"

Shen Qian asked curiously again.

"All things return to the 'Way of Heaven,' which should be the law of nature. But if we spend our whole lives exploring the true meaning of the 'Way,' what is the point if it is not for transcendence?"

The Demon King chuckled and sighed, "You should have already met the Word Spirit King, and you already know her fate—the consequence of not being able to escape."

Shen Qian nodded silently. The Word Spirit King initially followed the "Path of Stealing Heaven." Shen Qian had seen her memories. Her original intention in taking this path was to transcend the "Way of Heaven." Unfortunately, she ultimately ended up being assimilated by the rules.

"That's why the Ninth Prince closed the Path of the Martial King, in order to prevent more people from being assimilated."

He murmured before sinking down.

"Because there is an undeniable fact that the 'Heavenly Way' did become more powerful after merging with the will of Pangu, which is why Nuwa could not support it alone."

The Demon King said calmly, "The more powerful emperors she devours, the less she can be resisted. And the Martial King realm is just at the critical point. In order to prevent things from reaching a point of complete despair, the King of Jiangling joined hands with the Nine Kings to voluntarily close the Martial King path."

Shen Qian really wanted to say that even if the "Heavenly Dao" didn't devour any Great Emperors, it would still be an existence that couldn't be resisted, right?

Although he had been talking with the Demon King for a long time, Shen Qian still felt that it all seemed so unreal.

One reason why the Ninth Prince never reveals the truth is that the "Way of Heaven" also has the attribute of being perceptible as long as it is spoken. Another reason is that the truth is too despairing.

If it weren't for the fact that so much groundwork had been laid in fragmented information beforehand, it would have been difficult for anyone to accept it.

But what was King Zhou Yi planning?

Thinking of something, he asked the Demon King directly.

"In fact, apart from King Jiangling, the other nine kings of the first generation all had their own selfish motives to some extent. Even the kindest King Yanling was willing to test the Dao and embark on the path of stealing the heavens, just to help her beloved. However, her selfish motives were understandable."

Upon hearing this, the Demon King chuckled and said, "As for the others, such as the Prince of Zhenbei, it's because of his pursuit of martial arts; the Prince of Qin Guang, it's for the sake of his descendants; and the Prince of Lintian, it's simply because he was captivated by the Prince of Jiangling's personal charm... These people are all fine; once they reach their level, they won't have any intention of hiding anything. Only the Prince of Zhouyi..."

As the Demon King spoke, he suddenly waved his hand, and the scene before them changed, with the two of them suddenly arriving in another grand hall.

In the very center of this great hall, nine strange objects, resembling crystal glass and existing in a state between reality and illusion, float in mid-air.

"What is this?" Shen Qian was taken aback.

"This is a part of their consciousness that they sealed away when I helped them become King Wu."

The Demon King smiled and said, "You should also understand that the more people who know the truth, the more dangerous Earth becomes, because it will create a strong causal connection between her and Earth, causing Earth's inability to be located to gradually disappear. So before they left here, I had them seal away their strong memories of the 'Heavenly Dao'."

"Intense memory?" Shen Qian was somewhat confused when he heard this term.

As for the fact that the Nine Kings achieved their status as Martial Kings with the help of the Demon King, Shen Qian found it quite normal.

No matter how talented the Ninth Prince is, he shouldn't have become a Martial King at the same time. It would be reasonable if someone had catalyzed his progress.

"Or, explicit memory, is the part of the memory that constantly reminds them of the truth. After they leave, they still know everything in their subconscious, but they will not mention it or recall it unintentionally. Only in this way can the truth be prevented from spreading further."

The Demon King gave a brief explanation and then said, "These memories can also be seen as a characteristic of their own emotions, and can even be used to peek into their hearts, but what's interesting is the part left by King Zhouyi."

As he spoke, the Demon King stretched out his hand, indicating that Shen Qian could examine it himself.

Shen Qian walked forward curiously and casually touched one of the crystal mirrors. A thick mist surged out and immediately engulfed Shen Qian.

When Shen Qian came to his senses, he found himself on a vast battlefield. Human warriors were charging forward fearlessly, while on the other side were giant warriors who were generally over four meters tall. They were incredibly strong, and some of the strongest could even tear mountains and seas apart with their bare hands.

Power Clan!

Shen Qian recognized at a glance that these giant warriors were one of the myriad races he had dealt with in ancient times, and the scene before him must be a battlefield in the early stages of the spiritual energy revival.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!