Chapter 488: The Battle for Seizing the Heavens, and the Fierce Trinity
Translator: Novel Saga Editor: Novel Saga
"Pillars of Heaven Mountains…? It's the tallest mountain in Xuan Xuan Continent, right? It's located on the southern-most point of the continent. And, it's said to be an extremely huge mountain. People say that it rises towards the heavens for thousands of kilometers, and shoots straight into the sky. It's also said to be very wide. It ranges across from one side of the continent to the other. Legends say that it reaches till the end of the sky! No man or animal can fly over it; even eagles are no exception to this. It has no signs of human inhabitation, and it's said that no one can conquer it. The Pillar of Heaven Mountain reaches to the gods. Even the deities and devils can't climb it!"
Jun Mo Xie knew about this mountain range. In fact, he was quite interested in it. [How would this mountain range fare against the Kunlun Mountains on Earth? Moreover, these Pillars of Heaven Mountains are supposed to be taller than the tallest ranges back on Earth. Plus, their highest point is so astounding that it is even higher than Mount Everest. Also, they stretch across an entire continent. They ought to be a wonder of nature.]
Therefore, the Young Master Jun had planned to scale it and take a look for himself.
"Yes, these mountains had suddenly started to crumble for some reason at that time. Flames had risen to many kilometers in height. Massive stones had been sent flying to dozens of kilometers. And, the millions of people who lived near these mountains were turned into corpses. Even Spirit Xuan Experts weren't able to escape alive. The entire land had shook. A strange and hot liquid had rushed out from the land underneath. This liquid was so hot that it could even melt gold. That incident was a calamity which had affected the entire human world. And, the death-toll of the Xuan Xuan continent had surpassed tens of millions after that cataclysm. Even the peaks around 'Supporting the Heavens' Mountain had suddenly crumbled by more than half in height…
"No one was capable of scaling those mountains before this incident. Even birds couldn't fly over. However, they had seemingly been cut down. People still couldn't go over it even though the size of these mountains had been reduced very significantly. After all, these mountains were still many kilometers tall. But, people soon discovered something startling because of this… the Xuan Xuan Continent didn't end at the 'Supporting the Heavens' Mountain! There was another world beyond these mountains!"
Mei Xue Yan's voice had become heavy. And, Jun Mo Xie had guessed that the calamity at the mountains must've been caused by a massive earthquake and volcanic eruption.
"However, two grotesquely-shaped things suddenly crossed over to this side after the peaks crumbled. Or it should be said that they were grotesque-looking men," Mei Xue Yan continued to speak, "Then, these two grotesque-looking men had a fierce battle with the people on this side of the mountains. In fact, it got so bad that the Great Masters of that era were forced to join hands in order to kill them. But, that area was soon crawling with many more of those men...
"Even the Great Masters of that era couldn't face so many of those strange men. But, those strange men possessed great strength, and they could've caused unspeakable destruction if they were able to invade the rest of the continent. Therefore, all the Xuan experts of the continent were concentrated to the north of the 'Supporting the Heavens' Mountain. These people then tried to stop those men with everything they had. That was termed as the first 'Battle for Seizing the Heavens'!"
Mei Xue Yan sighed deeply.
"The entire continent had stood together like an impenetrable wall. And, they had succeeded forcing those strange beings to retreat. But, everyone gradually understood one point from this battle… It was a wasteful sacrifice to send anyone weaker than a Great Masters to deal with those men. In fact, even the experts at level-four Spirit Xuan peak couldn't hurt those grotesque beings despite using the full extent of their strength. Therefore, these battles came to be fought between the strongest Xuan warriors of both sides. And, those who were weaker than Great Masters were told to disband and return. After all, there was no need for pointless sacrifice.
"Four of greatest forces were formed inside the continent at that time. The purpose of these forces was to deal with those invading forces in an effective manner. These forces comprised the Elusive World of Immortals, Great Golden City, and the Boundless Ocean of Blood. Even the strongest Beast Kings fought in that battle because this war would decide the fate of the entire Xuan Xuan Continent. Moreover, our force was entirely self-contained. Tian Fa Forest's strength was the mightiest amongst those four at that time. In fact, it could be said that Tian Fa's strength was greatest in the entire universe!
"The three great lands… the Three Holy Lands started to screen the human Xuan experts. And, people could go into the Three Holy Lands if their Xuan strength reached the realm of the Great Masters. They would then wait for the next 'Battle for Seizing the Heavens'. These people would undergo rigorous Xuan training during this time. In fact, they wouldn't even be allowed to go out. That's because any slack could result in a catastrophic defeat in the 'Battle for Seizing the Heavens'. And, a defeat in that battle would result in the greatest of calamities for all humanity. Therefore, the Three Holy Lands became like concentration camps for the continent's greatest strength. And, only the genuinely powerful would get the chance to enter the Three Holy Lands.
"Our Tian Fa Forest's force is naturally composed of Xuan Beasts. Humans would never join hands with us. So, the Three Holy Lands started to become increasingly prosperous as time passed. However, the Tian Fa Forest got stuck with its limitations, and remained the same as before. Consequently, Tian Fa started to decline even though it was once the mightiest force.
"Each one of the Three Holy Lands selected extremely harsh environments in order to check the invasion more effective. But, those environments resulted in great benefits when it came to the matter of strength advancement. Hence, the Three Holy Lands gradually faded away from the sight of the society at large as time went on. They would occasionally come out to search for Great Master level experts who would be willing to join their ranks. But, these three lands maintained no other kind of presence in the society. Thousands of years came to pass, and they were gradually forgotten by the society. But, the Battle for Seizing the Heavens never came to a stop!
"This is the origin story of the 'Fierce Trinity'," Venerable Mei was leisurely gazing into the horizon.
"So, that's what it is about." Jun Mo Xie's reply had sounded a bit vague. In fact, it had seemed as if he had accepted this without thinking. However, his heart was brimming with admiration. [There are people who're protecting this continent in secret. They're fighting there in silence. They're making sacrifices in silence... these places are worthy of being called 'Holy Lands' because of this one point alone!]
"Therefore, I was somewhat flabbergasted when I saw that someone with a Xuan strength as powerful as your master's was moving around so freely and unfettered," Mei Xue Yan slowly shifted her gaze and looked at Jun Mo Xie.
"Ah, that's probably because us master-and-disciple live a simple life, and don't relate ourselves with troubles of the society. So, we don't reveal ourselves in the public very easily," Jun Mo Xie laughed out.
"That's possible I guess. However, the Fierce Trinity has been fighting openly over the past millennia. And, they seem to have forgotten their original aim and significance! It can be presumed that there are many powerful and disillusioned individuals over there these days. And, the Three Holy Lands aren't "Holy" lands anymore," Mei Xue Yan sighed for a while. Then, she continued to speak.
"You see… fighting and keeping surveillance everyday was an extremely exhausting task. Therefore, the trinity eventually decided to put forth the proposal of pre-decided decisive battles instead. After all, that meant that they could come over to the mainland from time-to-time, and live the life a world-renowned individual could lead. Besides, the weather in the Supporting the Heavens Mountains is extremely cold and no individual can lead a comfortable life over there. Therefore, they decided to summon those freaks with the intention of proposing their idea of decisive battles. Those freaks came over to discuss. But, those freaks obviously wanted to damage the trinity's interests. After all, they were filthy, disgusting, mean, and utterly disrespectful. So, they neither agreed, nor disagreed to this proposal.
"However, the decisive battles started taking place at regular intervals of ten years thereafter. In fact, it had become a custom. But then, they felt that ten years was too short a time period. After all, they couldn't recuperate in that amount of time. So, they changed the time-gap to a hundred years. But, the strength of the Three Holy Lands had increased very considerably in the time span of the first hundred years. So, they destroyed the enemy's forces in the decisive battle that followed. The strength of those outsiders had been damaged very badly in that war. So, they didn't invade again after the next hundred years' time span passed. In fact, they often didn't arrive until two-hundred years had passed. However, they'd recover and become stronger in that time frame. But, they were always stopped and pushed back by the power of the Three Holy Lands no matter how fierce they'd become. Thus, the time frame between two successive wars continued to increase. And, it's already been five-hundred years since the last attack."
Mei Xue Yan sighed, "The time frame between two successive wars has continued to increase. And, it has now reached to five-hundred years from the original ten. Increasing this ceasefire period bring only advantages to those outsiders. After all, their main objective is to get out of the harsh conditions they live in. So, they continue to work hard for the sake of their prosperity. But, five-hundred years is an extremely long period of time for those of on this side of the mountains. In fact, generations can change in such a long time. Consequently, we've already forgotten the terror and aftermaths of those wars. The Fierce Trinity still exists. But, they haven't been able to remain the Three 'Holy' Lands in the true sense. Moreover, I don't know when it happened… but it seems that their people have secretly entered the common society and have started to pull the strings of Imperial Powers from the dark...
"Their transformation has gone from bad to worse. In fact, the Three Holy Lands have secretly begun to contend for power over the last hundred years. This state of affairs has become rather lamentable. I still don't understand this. After all, the Three Holy Lands are now beyond anyone's reach. So, why would an entity of their status try meddle in worldly matters?" Mei Xue Yan spoke in a somewhat melancholic tone.
"And, what's more tragic is that the Three Holy Lands have started to fight over internal rankings now! They wish to see who is ranked above whom! Hah! I don't even know how much strength they've squandered over this strife! It's a pity... And, the time for the decisive battle must be within these few years! However, things don't look too good for the first time in over nine-thousand years... I'm very worried about this..." Mei Xue Yan's beautiful eyes were filled with sadness.
"I'm a Xuan Beast; not a human. But, I still feel myself a part of this Xuan Xuan Continent. Successive generations of Tian Fa have died fighting in these decisive battles over the last nine-thousand years. We've lost a huge number of our brave warriors while the Three Holy Lands have been fighting for supremacy. In fact, these battles have become the mission of our existence. And, we've already lost a lot of blood in these Battle for Seizing the Heavens. It's true that I've always looked down upon your meagre humanity that inhabits this huge continent. But, we will still guard it. We don't do it for you filthy humans that live in this continent. We do it because it's our duty to guard this land. After all, the Tian Fa Forest is our responsibility, and we can't run away from it! Therefore, the flourishing reputation of Tian Fa can't be lost from my hands since I carry the name of 'Mei'!
"So, we need to increase our strength this time. It's important that we pull all the stops, and make Tian Fa more powerful as fast as possible. After all, we'll have to take the task of pushing those invaders back in case they break past the humans of the Trinity. Things may turn for the worst. But, we'll at least be able to take them down with us!
"Therefore, we must participate in the Battle for Seizing the Heavens. However, we must be ranked at par with the Three Holy Lands in order to participate in that battle. Otherwise, they'll rescind our qualifications to fight in the decisive battle!"
Jun Mo Xie couldn't help but feel deep veneration when he heard that.
He had said that he wasn't a good man or a noble person. In fact, he had even disdained those so-called chivalrous heroes. But, he had always admired the true heroes in his heart!
General Yue Fei from the history of his previous world had been one such individual.
Similarly, he had come to admire General Jun Wu Hui in this life!
Mei Xue Yan was only a Xuan Beast in human form. But, her persistence and open-minded nature was enough to make all humans feel ashamed.