Chapter 1034: The Location of Earth

Chapter 1034: Chapter 1034: The Location of Earth

"Pangu? He might be the most powerful being I've ever encountered. Although he has perished, his grandeur will never be forgotten. Back when the Seven Sages defied the heavens, we were all, to some extent, influenced by him," Jieyin reminisced.

"Pangu was very powerful?" Zhong Shan asked.

"Powerful? By today's standards, perhaps not as overwhelmingly so, but in that era, he was a figure that all of us looked up to," Jieyin said with solemnity.

"Please, tell me more," Zhong Shan requested.

"You may already know this: I, Zhunti, Hongjun, Nuwa, Taishang, Tongtian, Yuan Shi, and the early-deceased Fuxi—all of us came from a small world! The primordial chaos surrounding that small world had an incredibly thick barrier. For countless years, no one could break through it. Then Pangu emerged, becoming the first among us. He was the one who shattered the barrier of primordial chaos," Jieyin explained.

"Pangu created the heavens and the earth—was it just a small world he created?" Zhong Shan asked, slightly frowning.

"Indeed. It was similar to your act of opening the heavens, but with one crucial difference," Jieyin remarked thoughtfully.

"Oh?"

"Pangu didn't establish a dynasty; he created the world with his own power alone. You, on the other hand, leveraged the power of the world. Pangu did it all by himself," Jieyin sighed.

Zhong Shan's expression flickered with contemplation.

"Can someone from a small world become that powerful? Can a mortal attain strength beyond that of ancient immortals?" Zhong Shan asked, surprised.

"Isn't Ying an example of that?" Jieyin replied with a smile.

Zhong Shan fell silent. Indeed, Pangu's strength was astounding—he created a world without relying on the momentum of the universe, purely through his own power.

"Back then, not many witnessed the event, but those who did were among the top beings of that small world. The Seven Sages, Fuxi, Kong Xuan, and others all observed Pangu's creation ceremony," Jieyin recalled.

"And then what happened?"

"Unfortunately, the damage Pangu sustained from creating the world was too severe. In the end, after creating the heavens and the earth, he perished. It's a great pity; had he lived, Pangu's power would have undoubtedly caused great upheaval in the Great Thousand World," Jieyin said with regret.

"After Pangu created the heavens and the earth, where did that small world end up?" Zhong Shan asked.

"These Four Great Continents are part of it," Jieyin replied.

"Oh?" Zhong Shan was slightly taken aback.

The Four Great Continents are only a part? Considering that the small world he created only occupies one-fifth of Fengzhong's territory, and the Four Great Continents are not smaller than Fengzhong's territory, how large was the small world that Pangu created?

"Only a part? Why just a part?" Zhong Shan asked curiously.

"The other part, even I don't know where it is now," Jieyin said.

"What do you mean?"

"This requires an explanation starting from when we defied the heavenly mandate. Do you know why we defied the heavens?" Jieyin said with a bitter smile.

"Why?" Zhong Shan asked, intrigued.

"You see, the Great Thousand World is composed of three thousand Daos. These three thousand Daos form all things in existence."

"Yes," Zhong Shan acknowledged, listening intently.

"And as for Nuwa's successful alteration of the heavenly mandate to save the fox clan, that was only possible because she didn't interfere with the main trajectory of the heavenly mandate. The main course of fate is untouchable. Back when Hongjun led us in defying the heavenly mandate, we tried to alter that main trajectory, which led to the fall of many Sages," Jieyin explained after some thought.

Zhong Shan remained silent for a moment, pondering before asking, "So what about that other part of the small world that Pangu created? What happened to it?"

"The other part is where Hongjun's residence, the Purple Heaven Palace (紫霄宫), is located," Jieyin replied after thinking for a moment.

"Purple Heaven Palace?" Zhong Shan asked.

"Yes, the area around the Purple Heaven Palace was vast. When the Seven Sages failed in defying the heavenly mandate, Hongjun sealed the surrounding area of the Purple Heaven Palace, compressing it. He then cast it deep into the starry sky," Jieyin explained.

"Compressed? What do you mean by that?" Zhong Shan asked, his tone serious.

"Hongjun Daozu mastered the art of time, among other techniques that I might not even be aware of. At that time, he effortlessly compressed the area around the Purple Heaven Palace into a spherical object, resembling a small star system," Jieyin explained.

"A small star system?" Zhong Shan's expression grew more curious.

"Yes, the center was a small sun, and around it orbited nine major planets. This was the result of compressing the Purple Heaven Palace and everything around it," Jieyin continued.

"A sun? Nine planets?" Zhong Shan's curiosity deepened, as this sounded increasingly familiar.

"Yes, and the third planet from the sun—that's where the Purple Heaven Palace is located. It's also the only planet where Hongjun left life intact," Jieyin said.

"The third planet? A life-bearing planet?" Zhong Shan felt as though he was getting closer to an answer.

The place Jieyin described sounded eerily similar to Earth. Could it be that the Purple Heaven Palace was actually Earth?

"How did the Purple Heaven Palace become a planet?" Zhong Shan asked, puzzled.

"This technique isn't too difficult to understand. You'll grasp it once you reach a certain level of understanding. After transforming the palace into a planet, Hongjun also shaped some of the Great Thousand World's mountain formations on it. You'll find Mount Tai, Mount Hua, the Yellow River, and other geographical features there. However, the people on that planet are all mortals—there isn't a single cultivator," Jieyin said, shaking his head.

"All mortals? If the planet was originally the Purple Heaven Palace, wouldn't the world be rich in spiritual energy? Even mortals could eventually cultivate," Zhong Shan remarked.

"The spiritual energy on that planet is indeed abundant—so abundant that it's too dense for mortals to absorb. It's so dense that it's almost solidified. How could a mortal absorb something so dense? It would take decades of relentless effort just to absorb a tiny bit, but that wouldn't be enough to make a significant impact. Their lifespan would run out before they could make any progress. Of course, if mortals can't absorb it, neither can the plants," Jieyin sighed.

"And when did this happen?" Zhong Shan asked.

"A long time ago—several hundred thousand years, perhaps. It was around the time when the Seven Sages fell, and the Hundred Schools of Thought emerged. During that period, the Four Great Continents referred to it as the 'Spring and Autumn' era," Jieyin recalled.

"The Spring and Autumn period?" Zhong Shan felt a mix of emotions.

If that's the case, then Earth is actually the compressed form of the Purple Heaven Palace, and the history before the Spring and Autumn period was the history of the Great Thousand World. After the Spring and Autumn period, Earth's history continued to evolve on its own.

But wait, there was also a Qin dynasty during Earth's history, wasn't there?

"Oh, and by the way, that world sealed by Hongjun has very peculiar time laws. The flow of time there is incredibly slow. While hundreds of thousands of years might have passed outside, only a few thousand years might have passed inside," Jieyin added.

"Where is that world now?" Zhong Shan asked curiously.

"No one knows. All we know is that Hongjun cast it into the starry sky, and it's never been found since. Rumor has it that Hongjun sealed a great deal of his power within it as well. Even Sages have been searching for it, but no one has ever found it," Jieyin replied, shaking his head.

Zhong Shan, however, had his own thoughts. He was convinced that Ying had found it before, as the Qin dynasty during the Warring States period must have been influenced by Ying through some dream connection to the heavenly mechanism.

The realization that Earth was once the Purple Heaven Palace and that the Purple Heaven Palace was now Earth left Zhong Shan feeling unexpectedly shaken.

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