Chapter 3 Hundreds of Years Later
In the boundless sea of clouds, the white clouds and mist interweaved and surged madly, as if they were dancing wildly, creating a piece of music that had never existed in this world before.
From time to time, thick clouds gathered, carrying a storm, pouring down from above or sweeping over from the front. In the chaotic world, there was no difference between the top and bottom, and no difference between the left and right.
Occasionally, the clouds and mist would disperse, and the sun and moon would appear in the sky. The sun and moon would appear at the same time, competing with each other for glory, either rising, falling, or overlapping with each other. In the chaotic world, there were no stars, and the changes revealed no patterns.
As far as the eye could see, the whole place was a sea of clouds. There was no ground under one’s feet and no blue sky above one’s head. Everything was drifting. Heaven and earth were one.
There was no life here, but there was vitality everywhere. All the secrets of heaven were isolated, and only yin and yang remained unchanged. There was dark power that enveloped the surroundings. Nothing seemed real, and everything was blurred. There was bright power that deterred the universe. The place had no past nor future.
This place seemed as if it was an illusion that had detached from the world, yet it was a place that really existed. Even though it didn’t belong to the five elements, it was within the three dimensions. It remained unchanged, and it couldn’t be seen through.
In this unknown illusory land, the boundless sea of clouds gradually dissipated, and a human figure appeared faintly. It was as if he was born naturally from this world. He was not only different from this world but also closely connected to it.
The man sat cross-legged in the clouds, and his body changed along with the changes around him. He was dressed in a black shirt, which complemented his long black hair. It was as black as ink and fluttered wantonly in the sea of clouds. From a distance, it looked like a drop of ink dripping into the sea, but it condensed and did not disperse.
Upon closer inspection, it was clearly a handsome young man with a fair face and slightly red lips. His long eyebrows were like swords, flying obliquely into his temples, and his eyes were closed as if they contained the infinite mysteries of the universe.
There was a thin black line between his eyebrows, which added a hint of indescribable majesty to his calm and peaceful face.
All of a sudden, the young man’s eyes opened. What didn’t match his handsome face was his pair of dull eyes as if he had seen all the darkness in the world. His eyes were strangely dark, so dark that they were terrifying. With a single glance at them, people would feel as if they had fallen into the depths of hell, making them unable to extricate themselves from it.
This Devil-like figure who seemed to have emerged from the depths of hell was none other than Ding Tong.
Although the thick clouds around him were still surging, they did not dare to approach him at all.
Ding Tong’s body gradually emitted wisps of black silk-like lines. There were more and more of them. Finally, they formed a ball with a radius of about ten meters and wrapped Ding Tong in it.
The thick clouds ten meters away became more and more turbulent and gathered. They kept rushing toward the black ball. When they were about to burst out, they retreated in fear as if they had encountered something extremely horrible.
Then, the next wave of thick clouds came again, but it still retreated empty-handed. This happened again and again. Unknowingly, the clouds within a radius of 100 kilometers were all dyed as black as ink.
Right at this moment, in this ever-changing sea of clouds, the black clouds and fog within a hundred miles were instantly sucked away by a powerful force. There was no room for resistance.
The dark clouds were all absorbed into Ding Tong’s deep eyes.
Ding Tong smiled slightly and looked satisfied, but then he immediately withdrew the smile on his face and said to himself, “Has Ding Hao transcended eternity? Now, the situation in the Land of Divine Grace and the Land of Infinity is almost stable. He must be the supreme master between heaven and earth.
“Humph, I have to put my pride in my pocket and continue to stay here. I will undoubtedly court death if I show myself now. Ding Hao! Don’t be complacent. When I have absorbed all the things left by Hades True Immortal here, I will take away everything you have.
“Just wait and see, Ding Hao!”
…
It had been another hundred years after Ding Hao surpassed the Eternal Realm.
In the past 100 years, Ding Hao brought great prosperity and peace to the Land of Infinity with his supreme power and might.
In the past 100 years, the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect had unified the entire Human Clan in the Northern Region and became the well-deserved top sect. Although the other sects such as the Blue Cloud Sect and the Extermination Swordsmanship Sect could also live on, their strength was no longer enough to compete with that of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect.
The base of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect was still in Snow Province. The original eight great sects and some small sects in Snow Province had been assigned to the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect and become various branches. Now, there was only one sect in Snow Province, which was the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect.
Snow Province was originally a barren small province in the Northern Region of the Land of Infinity. However, because of the rise of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect, it had become the No. 1 Province in the Northern Region and became famous for its heroes.
There was no doubt that Snow Province had become a holy land, and the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect was a place for countless martial artists to pilgrimage. Many martial artists had tried their best to come to Snow Province just to admire the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect.
No one knew if the founder of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect had ever thought that a small sect in Snow Province could unify the Northern Region and become a shrine in the hearts of countless martial artists.
As for pioneers such as Qi Qingshan and Li Jianyi who had sacrificed themselves for the sake of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect, they would also be very gratified to see how prosperous the sect was today.
A hundred years ago, under Ding Hao’s leadership, the Human Clan and the Demon Clan signed a new treaty of alliance and the two clans would not invade each other.
In fact, with Ding Hao’s strength, he could lead the Human Clan and subdue the Demon Clan. However, he really didn’t want to see more killings. Moreover, he knew that only by compelling submission with virtue could he truly have the Human Clan and the Demon Clan work together and benefit each other.
Therefore, the treaty of alliance that the Human Clan and the Demon Clan had signed this time was called the No-war Alliance Treaty. It intended to let both sides reflect deeply on the meaning of the war.
As for the management of the Northern Region, Ding Hao followed the principle of doing nothing but governing. He would not interfere in the affairs of the major sects, nor would he forcibly change the pattern of the whole world. He would still let all forces develop on their own in a reasonable manner.
The entire Northern Region didn’t become chaotic because of Ding Hao’s indulgence. On the contrary, all the sects and forces abided by the established rules.
In fact, Ding Hao’s name was the most powerful rule.
If there was any force that could stand side by side with the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect in the Northern Region, it would naturally be the Immortal Phoenix Palace of the Demon Clan. On the one hand, the Immortal Phoenix Palace was powerful, and its Palace Master, Xie Jieyu, was a good leader. On the other hand, it would be a lie to say that the friendship between the two forces had nothing to do with Ding Hao, the son-in-law of the Immortal Phoenix Palace.
The development of the Immortal Phoenix Palace was very interesting. With the joint efforts of the Great Phoenix Saint and Ding Hao, many schools and buildings similar to those on Earth appeared in the territory of the Demon Clan. It was a very modern area, including many concepts that had been picked up from Earth.
This was also an attempt by Ding Hao. He wanted to integrate the civilization on Earth with that in the Land of Infinity to see if he could make some changes.
The project had been going on for nearly a hundred years, and it was going very smoothly at present. Although it was not very complete, it was still in place. Sometimes, when Ding Hao came to the territory of the Immortal Phoenix Palace, he had the illusion of returning to Earth.
In addition to the Northern Region, the other four continents of the Land of Infinity also showed a harmonious scene.
The Divine Central Continent was led by the White-Robed Divine Palace. In terms of the Demon Clan, the performance of the Rain Drinker Pavilion, a new rising force, was eye-catching. Not only had its strength soared in the past few decades, but it had also quickly unified the Demon Clan on the Central Continent. It also made many contributions to the peaceful development of the Demon Clan and the Human Clan.
As a result, many people speculated that the powerful Rain Drinker Pavilion was very likely to have some human experts within. The situation might be similar to the Immortal Phoenix Palace in the Northern Region, but there was no way to verify it. The appearance of the Rain Drinker Pavilion was a good thing for both the Demon Clan and the Human Clan, so no one would investigate its origin.
The situation in the Eastern Frontier was very different from that in the central and northern regions. The Central Continent and the Northern Region both had a powerful leading human army and a demon army. However, the Eastern Frontier showed a scene where there were many sects of the Human Clan and the Demon Clan.
Needless to say, the human sects in the Eastern Frontier were powerful, but none of them was powerful enough to lead the Human Clan there. It was the same for the Demon Clan. The signing of the No-war Alliance Treaty gave the Eastern Frontier its own way of development.
The highest aim of the Eastern Frontier was the No-war Alliance Treaty. Whenever there was a violation of the treaty of alliance, all forces would come out to stop it, even if the rule breaker came from the same clan.
Ding Hao had suggested that the Eastern Frontier should select a powerful expert every hundred years in a democratic manner to manage all major events involving the Human Clan and the Demon Clan. At the same time, it should also set up a supervision mechanism.
This proposal was approved by all the forces in the Eastern Frontier, so the first democratic system of the Land of Infinity appeared in the Eastern Frontier.
There were three major forces in the Southern Wilderness, namely, the Heaven Sect, the Water Demon Tribe, and the Demon Clan of the Seven Seas.
For the past century, the Heaven Sect had always been the undisputed leader of the Southern Wilderness. On the contrary, the local water demons and the demons from the Seven Seas had been clashing with each other since a hundred years ago.
The No-war Alliance Treaty not only restricted the Human Clan and the Demon Clan but also had an impact on the demons. It slowly integrated the two major demon tribes.
The Western Desert had now become a paradise in the Land of Infinity.
All demons and humans were treated equally there. There were no wars, disasters, or disputes of interest.
There was a common goal there, which was to piously seek the Buddhist Tao, a persistent way of seeking the Buddhist Tao.
At this time, Buddhist Tao was popular in the Western Desert. After Golden Cicada became the new Lord Buddha, he went all out to promote Buddhism, causing the entire Western Desert to be bathed in the Buddha Light.
...
There were many things that others couldn’t imagine in this paradise.
The Human Clan and the Demon Clan could sit under the same roof, talk about the current situation, and share the legends about the various War Gods in the various Lands of the Divine.
There were even many experts of the Demon Clan who resolutely shaved their heads and became Buddhists.
In all of the Western Desert, humans and demons were no longer distinct.
In the past century, the Land of Infinity had undergone earth-shattering changes. It was no exaggeration to say that this civilization had absolutely reached the peak of the Land of Infinity for thousands of years. It was bound to develop into a higher civilization.