Chapter Seventeen: Past Events of the Eastern Continent II

"So, the Five-Elements Demon Clan and the Eastern Isles are just gone like that?" Lan Sheng asked thoughtfully, gazing out the window.

"After the ancient continent fractured, a massive upheaval of the earth-dragons broke out. The Fairy and the Sovereign had no way to piece the shattered Eastern Isles back together in a short time. Besides, that entire continent fused with the moon that collided with them; there was simply no way to separate them, and the two drifted further and further apart in the void," Qin Ying replied.

"What can we do then? Won't this moon never be able to come back?" Lan Sheng asked anxiously.

Qin Ying smiled faintly. "Don't we have the immensely powerful Fairy Lanling? By her strength alone, she dragged the new moon back to its original position."

Only then did Lan Sheng breathe a sigh of relief. "That's good, that's good!"

"Except..." Qin Ying continued.

"Except for what?" The heart Lan Sheng had just put down leaped back into his throat.

"Except that this moon now carries the entire Eastern Isles with it, and can forever only face us with this side." Qin Ying reached out and pointed to the bright moon visible at the corner of the window.

Lan Sheng followed her gaze. The bright yet serene moonlight filtered into the cabin from a distant realm, appearing somewhat lonely and cold.

He murmured softly, "This is quite nice too. Once you get used to looking at it, it's quite nice."

The two slowly walked out of the bridge and onto the corridor on the side of the Dragon-Tooth Warship, intending to find Zhuo Hua to have lunch together. At that moment, the light in the corridor suddenly became much brighter, and the scenery outside the window underwent a drastic change.

"The fleet has altered its course." Qin Ying stopped in her tracks, leaning against the corridor railing, her bright eyes sparkling.

"Altered its course? Why change course? Aren't we heading to the Realm of Proximity?" Lan Sheng asked in confusion.

"You really should have studied at the Cloud-Sky Academy for a few more years before setting off with us, leaving me to explain all this to you. When our fleet travels through the void, relying solely on the vital essence we just brought along is not enough for such a long voyage. After leaving the void, we need to circle the Golden Sun three times to absorb enough Golden Sun essence to undertake a distant voyage. Moreover, every time we pass a Golden Sun, we must similarly replenish our essence in order to keep moving forward."

"I see!" Lan Sheng said, looking thoughtful.

"You'll get to witness a wonder soon, something people in the void never get to see in a lifetime!" Qin Ying's gaze was piercing, and her expression grew somewhat excited.

Lan Sheng turned his head in confusion to look out the window and was truly stunned by the sight before him.

Outside the window appeared a gigantic, glowing landmass, suspended like a chessboard in the vast, boundless, and dark void. On the chessboard were continents, oceans, white clouds, and towering mountains. The oceans surrounding the chessboard formed massive waterfalls as they flowed to the edge of the board. The seawater in those waterfalls hung like countless white silk ribbons along the edge of the board. After falling a distance of roughly ten thousand yards into the abyss below, it seemed to be dragged back to the center of the underside of the chessboard by some mysterious force. One side of the chessboard was visibly missing a corner, which must have been the Eastern Isles.

"The... the earth is square?" Lan Sheng was so startled he stammered, his outstretched hand trembling uncontrollably.

"What? How did you think it should be?" Qin Ying asked with a smile.

"I don't know, but... but how can it be square?"

"Square or round, does it affect the lives of the people living on it?"

"It doesn't affect them, I suppose. But this is just too mind-blowing." Lan Sheng patted his chest and let out a long sigh of relief.

"Don't rush, there's more excitement to come!"

The scenery outside the window shifted again. The massive chessboard that had just filled their field of vision gradually receded, and a dark grey continent appeared outside the window, pocked with craters and utterly desolate.

"This is the moon. We have orbited to the backside of the moon. You can see some of the topography of the Eastern Isles on it, as well as some sacrificial architecture previously built by the Five Elements Demon Clan."

Lan Sheng was astonished once more. He saw countless volcanic craters of various sizes on that dark grey ground, the lava erupted from them apparently solidifying instantly, looking as though it were still flowing.

"There! Three dilapidated tall towers." Lan Sheng reached out and pointed to a corner outside the window.

Qin Ying leaned her neck over to look and said, "Mm! That is their sacrificial temple. Today, only these ruins can attest to the former glory of the Five Elements Demon Clan."

"There are no fairies on the moon either!" Lan Sheng said with a hint of regret.

"There are! There used to be, but not anymore." Qin Ying withdrew her gaze and continued walking forward.

Lan Sheng hurried to catch up with a few quick steps, pursuing the question, "Were there really fairies? Why aren't there any anymore? Tell me quickly."

Reluctantly extending two fingers, Qin Ying said to him, "Two meals. When we get back, you must have Zhuo-Yun treat me to two good meals."

Rubbing the back of his head, Lan Sheng laughed heartily. "No problem, leave such a small matter to me."

"When the Sovereign and the Fairy first arrived, out of longing for the bright moon of her homeland, Fairy Lanling tore open the void and dragged this massive meteorite from nothingness. Because the meteorite was so vast, it triggered a flood that swept across the entire ancient continent at the time."

"No wonder all the major clans have legends of an ancient great flood; it turns out to be true!" Lan Sheng sighed with emotion.

Qin Ying nodded and continued, "Later, in pursuit of more powerful cultivation techniques, Fairy Lanling would come up to this moon every night. Because it was closer to the Golden Sun and the moon itself possessed abundant essence, it was immensely helpful for cultivation."

"She flew up here every day? Wouldn't that mean the Sovereign..." A thought crossed Lan Sheng's mind, and he began to chuckle sneakily.

Qin Ying glared at him and continued, "As the Fairy flew up every day, over time people inevitably caught sight of her figure flying into the moon. As time passed, the legend arose that there was a fairy living on the moon."

"No wonder. So after Fairy Lanling disappeared, no one ever came to the moon again, right?"

"I come here occasionally," Qin Ying said in a low voice. Though her tone was soft, Lan Sheng still caught it.

"You can come here too?"

Qin Ying shot him a sidelong glance. "Why shouldn't I be able to come? The Cloud Palace has no celestial code forbidding a Star Lord from ascending to the moon!"

"I just meant that rushing up to this lifeless moon of yours could be dangerous!" Lan Sheng struggled to smooth over his words.

"At first, I wanted to see what was so special about this place, why the Sovereign was so obsessed with this solitary moon in the dark night. Once I came up, I learned that there was a pledge between the two of them, carved onto a massive mountain peak within the lunar sea." At this point, two trails of clear tears quietly streamed down.

Realizing he had touched upon a forbidden topic, Lan Sheng hastily changed the subject. "Sister Qin, what other wonders can we see next?"

Qin Ying turned her face aside, secretly wiping away her tears, and said, "In a moment, you'll be able to see stars that look like mere tiny dots when viewed from the ground."

"How big? As big as the moon?" Lan Sheng asked excitedly.

Qin Ying shook her head and smiled in reply, "Some are smaller than the moon, but most are hundreds or thousands of times larger. Still, this sight only feels novel at first; after a long time, you grow tired of it. In this endless void, what one misses most is still a bowl of hot soup and a cup of clear water down on the ground."

Chatting and laughing, the two vanished down the end of the corridor.

The night in the Realm of Proximity was forever desolate, with the three stray stars hanging coldly in the night sky, motionless.

In the Realm of Proximity, it was an eternal night; the sun would never rise until one of those three stray stars vanished.

Deep underground in the subterranean palace, dim light illuminated the face of an aging man. He looked to be around fifty years of age, with hair and beard as white as snow and a face lined with deep ravines.

He rested his chin in his hand, his elbow propped on the armrest of a soft chair as if pondering something. Suddenly, his head tilted to one side, and the gleaming crown atop his head almost slipped off.

Quickly raising a hand, the old man caught the crown before it hit the ground and let out a soft sigh of relief, his gaze lingering on the three brilliant gold gemstones set in the crown.

His right hand, resembling the bark of a withered tree, gently caressed the three gemstones, while tiny sparks of starlight flickered within his cloudy eyes.

At that moment, the hurried sound of footsteps approached from afar, and a tall soldier with three legs, three arms, and full armor rushed over urgently.

"Reporting to the King, we have just received news from the Cloud-Top Heavenly Palace stating that the fleet has departed and is expected to arrive in the Realm of Proximity in half a month, commanding us to immediately prepare the supplies they require. This is the inventory." The soldier held a scroll of animal hide in his three hands and approached the king on bended knees.

The king kept one hand propped under his chin, used another hand to place the crown back onto his head, and simultaneously stretched out his third hand to take the animal hide from the soldier.

Unrolling the hide, the king saw the opening line written upon it: "The Sovereign of the Cloud Palace, adored by all masters, writes thus to King Riar of the Realm of Proximity..."

Glancing through it briefly, he casually tossed the animal hide scroll aside.

"You may withdraw!" King Riar said listlessly.

Not daring to raise his head, the soldier backed away on his knees for a distance before finally daring to stand and exit the main hall.

"Simply insatiable! They are a pack of insatiable, pig-faced bats, determined to suck every last drop of blood from our bodies before they're satisfied!"

"Father, calm your anger. Soon enough, we won't have to suffer the brutal rule of those Xuanhuang people anymore." Two women with voluptuous curves and bewitching faces stepped out from behind a folding screen.

Following the sound, Riar looked over and finally found a bit of pleasure in his gaze upon seeing them.

"Ah, Gona and Ligen! Is there good news again?" Riar asked expectantly.

Ligen, the more petite of the two, stepped forward and spoke with a coquettish voice by Riar's leg. "Yes, Father. Word has come from the Dark-Malice faction, telling us to be sure to cooperate with their vanguard force this time to assassinate Zhuo Hua."

Gona, endowed with an astonishing bust, held a long needle in her hand and poked at a flickering flame that was about to die out, causing the once feeble little flame to leap up once more.

Turning her face, she smiled sinisterly and said, "This time, we'll make sure they don't have a single soul returning." Hahahahaha.

The eerie and terrifying laughter echoed back and forth within the sealed stone chamber like a ghost.