Chen Xiao had always thought that for cultivators, night and day made little difference and had a minimal impact.
But after experiencing it himself, he found this so-called "cold night" to be incredibly long and grueling. Though it only lasted a few hours, it felt like ten days or half a month.
"There are people moving on the street. It seems the cold night is over. I really don't know how they get used to living like this," Little Fairy Doctor murmured, sensing people coming and going outside.
"Perhaps they've never experienced night, so they don't have this contrast. Their pace of life is slow, and the cultivation atmosphere isn't strong, yet they live incredibly leisurely and freely. To them, this place might be like a paradise."
Accustomed to a fast-paced life, Chen Xiao and Little Fairy Doctor felt out of place upon arriving in this small world.
Shaking his head slightly and discarding his distracting thoughts, Chen Xiao signaled for Little Fairy Doctor to retract the Netherworld Poison Flame.
As expected, even without the Netherworld Poison Flame, the fusion of the Purple Spirit Cold Qi and the Dou Qi within their bodies proceeded smoothly.
Currently, the Bone Spirit Cold Flame was in its extremely hot state!
Chen Xiao's conviction grew stronger, and his curiosity about the whereabouts of the Bone Spirit Cold Flame deepened.
Crisp footsteps approached from outside, followed by a knock on the door.
"Big brother, big sister, are you awake?"
"Xing Yao, you can't just call them that."
The familiar childish voices belonged to the two little saintesses.
The door opened, and Little Fairy Doctor and Chen Xiao stepped out. Looking at the innocent smiles of the two girls, Chen Xiao felt a bit of his earlier irritation vanish instantly.
"Qing Huan, Xing Yao, you're here."
"Mhm, we've already reported to the High Priest. The High Priest invites big brother and big sister to the Divine Hall for a gathering."
Qing Huan tugged at Xing Yao's sleeve, feeling that calling them that after knowing them for only a day was a bit too forward.
Xing Yao wriggled her wrist, insistent.
"Thank you. We'll have to trouble you to lead us there. Xian'er and I don't know the way."
The two girls nodded in unison and immediately stepped forward to guide them, heading towards the tallest giant hall in the city center.
"Qing Huan, Xing Yao, it looks like you haven't started cultivating yet?"
"Yes, the High Priest doesn't allow us to cultivate. He said we can start after we turn ten," Qing Huan replied with a nod.
"All the saintesses are like this. But once we start cultivating, our speed will be very, very fast because the saintesses of past generations are the most talented people in the Dream Realm!"
Xing Yao's small face was filled with pride. She was already looking forward to the scene where she would catch up and surpass everyone.
The speaker meant nothing by it, but the listeners were puzzled. Hearing their words, Chen Xiao and Little Fairy Doctor looked at each other with some confusion.
"If you haven't started cultivating, how did you determine your talent?"
It seemed like a paradox, clearly making no sense.
Upon hearing this, Xing Yao shook her head slightly, uncertainly saying, "I think it's through bloodline. Everyone in the Dream Realm flows with the same bloodline. I don't know the specifics."
Chen Xiao and Little Fairy Doctor nodded. That was indeed a method.
Just like how the offspring of dragons are dragons and the offspring of phoenixes are phoenixes, those with stronger bloodlines clearly had greater advantages. Although exceptions could occur, they were rare.
"What about the previous saintesses?"
"I don't know. Every saintess goes to a certain place when they turn thirty and never returns."
Qing Huan shook her head, her small face filled with bewilderment.
This question would likely only be answered when they reached that age.
Chatting as they walked, the four soon arrived beneath the majestic Divine Hall.
This colossal hall covered an area of several hundred zhang, soaring into the clouds. It could be seen from any vantage point in the city.
The atmosphere within the Divine Hall was not solemn. Many people were still active, chatting and laughing. As the two girls led Chen Xiao and Little Fairy Doctor inside, greetings came from all directions.
After another ten minutes or so, the four ascended to the top floor and arrived before a seemingly ordinary study.
"Come in. No need to knock."
Just as Qing Huan raised her small hand, an ancient voice emanated from the room, carrying an intangible sense of timelessness.
Chen Xiao and Little Fairy Doctor both noticed that Xing Yao, who had been quite lively, became serious upon arriving here, making her and Qing Huan's appearances increasingly difficult to distinguish.
Pushing open the door, they were greeted by a large desk facing the entrance. A slightly plump old man with white hair and beard was hunched over the desk, writing something.
The entire room, besides the desk, was filled with bookshelves packed with books and scrolls, resembling a small library.
As the four entered, the old man looked up.
His eyes were not as cloudy and weathered as one might expect; instead, they held a clear brightness. A smile adorned his face, as warm as a spring breeze. The moment their eyes met, Qing Huan's description of him as "kind and amiable" spontaneously surfaced in Chen Xiao and Little Fairy Doctor's minds.
"High Priest."
"Mm, Qing Huan, Xing Yao, you two go rest. Let me have a chat with our guests," the High Priest nodded and chuckled lightly.
The two girls acknowledged him and exited the study together, not forgetting to close the door behind them.
"Esteemed guests from afar, please sit. I know you have many questions, and I can answer them one by one. I will tell you everything I know. With your strength and knowledge, you will be able to discern the truth of my words."
Without much pleasantry, the High Priest invited them to sit. He cut straight to the chase, without any beating around the bush.
Everyone who came here was filled with questions. He was already accustomed to this situation.
Chen Xiao and Little Fairy Doctor nodded. The High Priest's demeanor made them feel even more at ease.
This High Priest was the only Dou Zong expert they had sensed. His apparent cultivation level was only comparable to Chen Xiao's, far inferior to Little Fairy Doctor's.
Little Fairy Doctor looked at Chen Xiao, leaving everything to him to decide. She would only supplement if Chen Xiao missed anything.
Chen Xiao then organized his thoughts slightly before beginning to ask questions one by one.
"To be frank, High Priest, before entering this Dream Realm, I thought it was an ancient ruin. But after entering, I realized it had its own universe. It's more like a secluded small world?"
The High Priest nodded slowly, his gaze slightly upward as if recalling something.
"Your conclusion is correct. This is indeed a small world."
"Let me tell you a story. After listening, many of your questions might be answered."
"More than a hundred thousand years ago, the Dou Qi Continent was active with many Emperor Clans. Their clans had all given birth to Dou Emperors and possessed Dou Emperor bloodlines. However, Dou Emperor bloodlines cannot be passed down permanently. If no new Dou Emperor is born, it will decay over time until it is almost indistinguishable from ordinary people."
Chen Xiao nodded. He was aware of these secrets.
Currently, among the eight ancient tribes of the Dou Qi Continent, the Xiao Clan existed only in name. The Dou Emperor bloodlines of the Ling Clan and Stone Clan were also difficult to maintain, their strength far inferior to the other ancient tribes.
After the Soul Heavenly Emperor's thousand-year plan was initiated, the Ling Clan and Stone Clan were also targeted.
"At that time, there was an Emperor Clan called the White Clan. The Dou Emperor bloodline within them had decayed to the extreme, and their status had plummeted. They were even targeted by some Emperor Clans and treated as helpless prey."
"Finally, one day, those Emperor Clans made their move. The White Clan was no match for their opponents, suffering heavy losses. Their small world was breached, and a clan annihilation was imminent."
"But just then, a top expert intervened. Although he was not from an Emperor Clan, he possessed strength comparable to, or even superior to, those Emperor Clan leaders. Because he had a past with the White Clan, he came to their aid."
"With the protection of such an expert standing at the peak of the continent, those Emperor Clans, though unwilling, could only retreat. Another important reason was that they could all see that this expert was nearing the end of his lifespan. At that time, no one dared to provoke him; they only needed to wait for him to perish, and they could still destroy the White Clan."
By the time the story reached this point, Chen Xiao and Little Fairy Doctor had already made a guess.
The so-called White Clan was very likely the people in this Dream Realm!
The High Priest's voice sounded again, "That expert also knew his situation and couldn't protect the White Clan indefinitely. Moreover, intervening once was already the utmost kindness."
"However, seeing the remaining million people of the White Clan, he ultimately couldn't bear it. He immediately decided to help them one more time. Thus, he told the White Clan Leader at the time that he could fulfill one wish within his capabilities."
"What the White Clan Leader thought cannot be verified, but the wish he proposed was to ensure the continuation of the White Clan, to prevent the coveting Emperor Clans from targeting them again, and for this, they could pay any price."
"That expert was very true to his word. He agreed and did everything without omission."
"He spent several years creating an independent small world outside the uninhabited edges of the continent. He secretly relocated the White Clan into it, found the sentient Bone Spirit Cold Flame, and controlled it with a secret technique, making the heat and cold conversion of the Bone Spirit Cold Flame regular. From then on, when the Bone Spirit Cold Flame was in its extremely hot state, it was daytime, and when it was in its extremely cold state, it was the cold night!"
"After completing all this, the expert completely sealed the small world. The people inside could not get out, and people from outside could not get in. It was completely isolated from the world, unless an expert of comparable strength could break it."
"The people of the White Clan were fortunate. After countless years, they were not found by those Emperor Clans. However, given the White Clan's condition, they could no longer produce top experts."
"Time is a formidable thing. It can wear down everything, and it can make people forget everything. Eighteen thousand years have passed, and the people of the White Clan have gone through countless generations. Those who knew these events have died generation by generation, and many recorded ancient texts have been lost or damaged, with fewer and fewer remaining."
"To this day, in the entire small world, there is only one person who knows everything. As for others, those who know that the outside is the real world are few and far between."
At this point, everything was clear.
The Dream Realm was created by that expert.
The only person who knew these secrets was the High Priest before them!
After finishing the story, the High Priest sighed softly.
If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, who would have thought that a clan that had produced Dou Emperor experts could be so weak that their strongest was only at the Dou Zong level?
Even the Xiao Clan outside had only a gap of about a thousand years before producing another Xiao Yan.
But this White Clan had been completely worn down by time.
This small world had protected them, but it had also restricted them.
As Chen Xiao and Little Fairy Doctor processed this information, many of their doubts were resolved.
This small world indeed had a profound origin, and the Bone Spirit Cold Flame truly existed.
"Doesn't that mean this Bone Spirit Cold Flame in the Dream Realm has been growing for at least eighteen thousand years?!" Little Fairy Doctor's heart was shocked.
"It's not that terrifying. This Bone Spirit Cold Flame has been controlled by that senior from the past, and it can no longer freely absorb energy to grow. It can only rely on its instincts. Moreover, if it cannot devour other flames to strengthen itself, the growth rate of Heavenly Flames is not fast."
Heavenly Flames often take hundreds of years to form and thousands of years to gain sentience. They cannot be measured by human concepts of time.
Not to mention a Heavenly Flame that had lost its consciousness and was completely controlled; its growth rate would be further reduced.
But no matter what, this Bone Spirit Cold Flame was definitely much more formidable than the one controlled by Yao Chen!
After resolving Little Fairy Doctor's doubts, Chen Xiao turned to look at the High Priest opposite him.
"High Priest, you just said that this Dream Realm cannot be entered or exited. But why could Xian'er and I enter? And before us, others had also come."
"This question is very simple. Even a small world created by a peak Dou Sheng expert, if not continuously stabilized, will eventually have breaches. That senior from the past anticipated this and set up a grand formation within the small world. Every ten years, the formation would activate, absorbing the world's energy from the outside. Incidentally, it would also supplement some for the small world. Opportunities like the Purple Spirit Cold Qi, you two happened to arrive at this time and were simultaneously drawn into the small world, as were several people before you."
Once every ten years, that's 18,000 times in 180,000 years!
This number sounded a bit terrifying, but considering this remote polar ice sea, perhaps no one would come here for decades. The chance of coincidentally encountering the formation absorbing energy was even lower.
This explanation seemed a bit far-fetched.
Putting this matter aside for the moment, Chen Xiao continued to ask, "From what Qing Huan and Xing Yao said, the Saintess of the Dream Realm leaves when she reaches thirty years old and disappears without a trace?"
Chen Xiao strongly suspected this might be related to the trial he was focusing on.
Upon hearing this, the Grand Elder shook his head and sighed softly.
"Actually, it's not that they've gone missing. It's that they've all died."
"In ancient times, the White Tribe had no choice but to live in seclusion for survival. But now, few of those Emperor Clans have managed to survive. Even if they have, they've long forgotten these grievances. The White Tribe can emerge from seclusion."
"However, without sufficient strength, even if we wish to leave, we lack the ability. The only way is to obtain the inheritance of that senior. Only then do we have a sliver of hope. Before that senior entered nirvana, they also came to this world and set up trials. Perhaps they anticipated that descendants of the White Tribe would want to leave, thus leaving behind a shred of hope."
"For a powerhouse of this level, the trials they set are far too difficult for the current White Tribe. The previous Saintesses all died during the trials. Qing Huan and Xing Yao, their futures..."
The High Priest shook his head, a trace of sadness flashing in their eyes, as if they had already foreseen the outcome.
Chen Xiao and Little Fairy Doctor exchanged glances, both finding it strange.
If that were the case, they should have had Qing Huan and Xing Yao start cultivating earlier to improve their strength and increase their chances of passing the trial.
But the two girls were already of an age to cultivate, yet they had to wait until they were ten. This clearly defied common sense.
Unless, the trial didn't care about strength!
With doubts in their hearts, neither of them spoke of it.
In the current situation, they asked questions, and the High Priest answered. Which statements were true and which were false, or if all of them were false, they would have to discern it themselves.
If one believed everything others said, they would be sold and still help count the money.
"Can we participate in this kind of trial?"
"Naturally. The few who entered before also made the same choice. After all, the inheritance of a peak Dou Saint powerhouse is a temptation few can resist. However, they still failed. If you two are interested, you must be mentally prepared."
"Thank you. We will consider it carefully and inform the High Priest once we've made a decision."
Chen Xiao nodded in agreement, not making a rash decision.
The information they had now was all from the High Priest, making it too one-sided.
"That is as it should be. If you two have any other concerns, feel free to seek me out at any time."
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