Chapter 82: The Banquet of Grace and Splendor

“Fragments of the Primordial World?” Chen Changsheng’s breath caught for a moment, his interest clearly piqued. “Go on,” he urged.

The Blood Demon Ancestor said, “I've only recovered a small portion of my memories, so I can't recall all the specifics. My belief that the Snowchant Realm is a fragment of the Primordial World is just a deduction. Think about it, Young Master Chen: so far, we’ve discovered that the Emperor of Strings was reborn in the Snowchant Realm. Here, there are also the ancient dragon bloodlines, the divine phoenix clan, the demon race, not to mention the original Swords of All Beings and the Demon-Slaying Sword, as well as the Eastern Emperor Bell. Although the one we've found is a forgery, the real Eastern Emperor Bell must have appeared in this realm at some point.”

He continued, “You should know, all of these things were originally products of the Primordial World.”

Hearing this, Chen Changsheng’s gaze brightened. “Old Devil, maybe your deduction is correct. But tell me, why would it be a fragment of the Primordial World, and not the world in its entirety?”

“The complete Primordial World?” The Blood Demon Ancestor let out a mocking laugh and shook his head. “Young Master Chen, don’t joke. This godforsaken place—how could it possibly be the whole Primordial World?”

Chen Changsheng frowned slightly. “Old Devil, why don’t you recount everything you’ve managed to remember, in full?”

“Alright.” The Blood Demon Ancestor swallowed and nodded. “Young Master Chen, today I’ll tell you properly about the evolution of heaven and earth.”

Father and daughter, Chen Changsheng and Chen Die’er, both looked on with curiosity, settling in as if to listen intently.

Seeing the pair act so attentive, the Blood Demon Ancestor’s vanity swelled. Even in the Divine Realm, this father and daughter would be considered great figures, yet now they were sitting before him like eager schoolchildren (the Blood Demon Ancestor somehow knew the term “schoolchild”? Well, let's not ask too much—).

“Ahem!” The Blood Demon Ancestor cleared his throat and began with a leisurely air: “At the dawn of chaos, there was the Chaos World—also called the Hongmeng World. In its earliest state, it was devoid of all life. The energy of Hongmeng enshrouded the land, and in the end, it birthed a single artifact: the Mother Cauldron of the Earth, later known as the Hongmeng Cauldron.”

“Grandpa Devil, then what happened? What became of the Chaos World?” Chen Die’er, who loved stories, couldn’t help but ask.

“Patience, little one,” the Blood Demon Ancestor said, affectionately patting her head. “Let me tell you slowly.”

“Oh,” Chen Die’er replied obediently.

The Blood Demon Ancestor continued, “The energy of Hongmeng split into yin and yang. After countless ages, two kinds of beings emerged from the Hongmeng Cauldron: gods and demons. Gods embodied the yang, demons the yin. The two races grew ever stronger, yet they never ceased their struggle for control of the Hongmeng Cauldron. In the end, each produced their supreme treasure: the Sword of All Beings for the gods, and the Demon-Slaying Sword for the demons.

“When the Sword of All Beings was unsheathed, divine light illuminated the demon race. Under its radiance, demonic nature was swiftly ground away and extinguished; the bodies of demon lords burst apart like watermelons.

“The Demon-Slaying Sword had an equal effect on the gods,” he added.

“So, Grandpa Devil, does that mean the gods and demons ended up destroying each other?” Chen Die’er asked, her bright eyes blinking curiously.

“Yes,” the Blood Demon Ancestor nodded.

Chen Changsheng, however, was thinking of something else: Nalan Ruoshui and Mu Wanqing, the incarnations of the Sword of All Beings and the Demon-Slaying Sword. In other words, these two women each represented the primordial god race and the primordial demon race.

A chill ran through Chen Changsheng. How terrifying! All of this felt as unreal as a dream.

The Blood Demon Ancestor pressed on: “The Chaos World once again fell into silence, leaving only the Hongmeng Cauldron. Ages passed—oceans turned to mulberry fields, the world changed, and the era of the Primordial World arrived. By then, the human race, dragon race, demon race, divine phoenix clan, and spirit race had all appeared. Yet these five great races still vied for the Hongmeng Cauldron—whoever seized it would control the Primordial World.”

“Grandpa Devil, did those five great races all perish in the end, too?” asked Chen Die’er, eyes wide.

“Clever child!” the Blood Demon Ancestor praised, then added, “However, their destruction came because the Hongmeng Cauldron exploded, shattering the entire Primordial World into countless fragments.”

How terrifying! Both Chen Changsheng and his daughter were visibly shaken.

“Young Master Chen, that is all I can recall about the evolution of this world,” the Blood Demon Ancestor said. “That’s why I infer that the Snowchant Realm is likely one of the fragments left when the Primordial World was shattered by the Hongmeng Cauldron’s explosion.”

Chen Changsheng nodded thoughtfully. “So, in other words, the Primordial World no longer exists—making it highly probable that the Snowchant Realm really is one of its fragments. Furthermore, I can say with certainty: the Tianwu of the Divine Realm must have known the Snowchant Realm was a fragment of the Primordial World. It’s no coincidence she sent you here.”

“Exactly. That’s what I think as well,” the Blood Demon Ancestor agreed. “But I still have only vague memories of Tianwu. I can just recall her in a plain white dress, her bearing elegant beyond compare, yet her face always seemed veiled, as if separated from me by time and space itself—I could never see her clearly.

“I remember, Tianwu was kind by nature, and I had neither grievance nor feud with her. In the end, for her to plot against me like this—it truly wounds my heart.”

“Old Devil, let me sing you a song,” Chen Changsheng said, patting the ancestor on the shoulder. After clearing his throat, he softly hummed, “The woman at the foot of the mountain is a tiger; beware and keep your distance…”

The Blood Demon Ancestor froze, then exclaimed in awe, “Young Master Chen, you truly are a great one! You've already seen through the ways of the world—one casual tune, and it’s the truth of life itself!”

Chen Changsheng’s mouth opened in astonishment. Damn! He was only humming a little tune, but the old devil’s imagination—! Speechless.

“Impressive!” Chen Changsheng gave the Blood Demon Ancestor a thumbs-up.

Chen Die’er and the Blood Demon Ancestor exchanged wide-eyed glances, completely baffled.

Impressive? What does that even mean? Why would someone need to take oil?

…

The next day.

The grand and magnificent Fenghua Banquet finally commenced.

Early in the morning, Chen Changsheng and his daughter accompanied Donggong Qianxue, Donggong Fu, the Holy Empress, and other powerful figures of the Spring and Autumn Sacred Dynasty, leaving the sanctuary to take their seats at the edge of the Ice Crystal Battle Arena, upon the steps of ice.

The vast perimeter of the arena was already packed with people, every one of them a representative from the thirty-six Sacred Kingdoms of the Eastern Domain.

Beyond the battle arena, countless spectators filled the surrounding space—a million strong, a sea of humanity, their excitement and clamor echoing.

All these people were here as observers from the various Sacred Kingdoms.

This Fenghua Banquet was a contest among the princes and princesses of the thirty-six Sacred Kingdoms of the Eastern Domain—how could such an event fail to attract attention?

For the strength of the princes and princesses was, in essence, a reflection of the might of the kingdoms behind them.