TL: Etude
Ye Tian discovered an ancient text, a diary-like journal that documented significant events and parts of the life of a top-tier True Monarch.
The True Monarch’s name was Zhao Ke, a core disciple of the Sky Ape Sect. Among the many core disciples, Zhao Ke was relatively ordinary.
However, what left Ye Tian shocked was the later entries:
“Today, I followed the sect leader to the Holy Sect to celebrate the birthday of one of their Grand Elders.
The Holy Sect is incredibly powerful. Even their guards were puppets at the True Ancestor level. I also saw one of the Holy Sect’s Saints—a monstrous genius—who had a Dao Ancestor puppet as his guard.
How amazing it would be if I could join the Holy Sect and become one of their Saints!”
Reading this entry, Ye Tian felt stunned.
He knew nothing about the so-called Holy Sect, but the fact that a Saint had a Dao Ancestor puppet was far too outrageous. In all of Chaos, Dao Ancestors were among the strongest beings. How could a Saint have a Dao Ancestor puppet as a mere guard?
If such a puppet existed, it would definitely be regarded as the trump card of a powerful faction, not something casually assigned to a Saint. Ye Tian’s heart brimmed with disbelief, but he continued skimming through the journal’s entries.Soon, he encountered another page recording an astonishing event:
“Something major has happened. A wondrous treasure has surfaced, triggering bloody battles among many factions. I heard that many Dao Ancestors have fallen, and even several pinnacle Dao Ancestors were killed.
Our Sky Ape Sect is too weak—we don’t even have a single Dao Ancestor. I only hope this disaster won’t reach us. If it does, our sect will be doomed!”
Reading this, Ye Tian’s pupils shrank.
The fall of multiple Dao Ancestors—what a terrifying event! And pinnacle Dao Ancestors? They must have been the most powerful among Dao Ancestors. For even beings of this level to perish, the battle must have been unimaginably brutal.
In the final entry, the handwriting revealed Zhao Ke’s panic and despair:
“It’s over. Everything is over. The Domain Realm is going to be shattered. That treasure has attracted beings from beyond the realm, and even the Domain Lord, who was said to be supreme, is going to fall. Everyone is going to die….”
Ye Tian’s expression shifted. It was as if he had uncovered an earth-shattering secret.
From the journal, he gleaned that the Sky Ape Sect was one of the weaker forces within the Domain Realm, a realm populated by many Dao Ancestors.
A wondrous treasure had appeared, igniting fierce battles among various factions, leading to the deaths of many Dao Ancestors. Eventually, beings from outside the realm were drawn in. The Domain Lord fought against these invaders but perished as well.
In the end, the Domain Realm was shattered.
This, more or less, seemed to be the sequence of events.
“So, does that mean the Domain Lord was stronger than Dao Ancestors? Or perhaps he was also a Dao Ancestor but far surpassed the others in power.
After all, Dao Ancestors are already considered the pinnacle of cultivation in the chaos. It’s impossible for there to be beings stronger than Dao Ancestors!” Ye Tian muttered to himself.
It was common knowledge throughout the chaos that Dao Ancestors represented the peak of cultivation.
Thus, Ye Tian did not believe there could be an existence beyond Dao Ancestors.
However, he remained deeply puzzled. The Domain Realm, with its many Dao Ancestors, was clearly no ordinary place.
He had never ventured into the chaos before, so his understanding of it was limited. The chaos was definitely not as simple as he had imagined. There were likely many secrets and hidden forces within it. Some realms might even be like clandestine factions, concealed from outsiders. But since Ye Tian hadn’t reached that level yet, Dao Ancestor Void Sky naturally wouldn’t reveal such information to him.
“I’ll ask my master about the Domain Realm when I return!” Ye Tian murmured to himself.
There wasn’t anything valuable left in the personal quarters of the Sky Ape Sect’s core disciple. It seemed that Zhao Ke’s treasures were carried on him when he died outside the sect, causing them to be lost.
“Time to leave!”
Ye Tian quickly exited the building and headed toward other areas of the Sky Ape Sect.
In the following moments, Ye Tian and the other True Monarchs raided several residences belonging to the sect’s disciples. It didn’t take long for him to realize something.
The disciples’ living quarters held very little of value. Although some contained True Monarch puppets, these puppets couldn’t be subdued and had to be destroyed, which made them practically worthless.
“If this continues, we’ll leave this ruins empty-handed.” Ye Tian thought to himself.
“These disciples probably carried their valuable treasures with them, just like I do. Almost all of my treasures are on me, while my living quarters only hold miscellaneous items of low value.”
With that in mind, Ye Tian decided to stop raiding the disciples’ quarters and instead set his sights on the central area of the Sky Ape Sect.
This was the true core of the sect. Although much of it had fallen into ruin, it was likely to contain more valuable items.
Suddenly, Ye Tian received a message from True Monarch Dragon Sea:
“Junior brother, come here…”
As soon as Ye Tian received the message, he rushed toward True Monarch Dragon Sea’s location.
In front of a partially ruined site.
Several True Monarchs stood gathered there, and Ye Tian quickly joined them, taking his place next to True Monarch Dragon Sea.
“Senior Brother Dragon Sea!” Ye Tian greeted him softly.
“Junior brother, look over there!” True Monarch Dragon Sea pointed toward the ruins.
Following his gaze, Ye Tian saw a vast expanse of ruins stretching for thousands of miles. At the heart of the ruins stood a colossal, damaged stone stele, exuding an energy that created multiple layers of special spatial fields around it.
“Junior brother,” True Monarch Dragon Sea explained, “this ruin seems to be one of the trial grounds of the Sky Ape Sect. Someone has tried to approach that stele and has entered the layers of space to undergo the trials. The Sky Ape Sect placed great importance on body cultivation, so the trials are closely related to refining the physical body.”
“Although these trials offer no rewards, they contain fragments of powerful body refining techniques, and just these techniques alone are incredibly valuable.”
“Oh? Body refinement techniques, huh?” Ye Tian’s interest was piqued.
Although Ye Tian possessed the True Spirit Chapter of the Profound Void Technique, the Void Sky lineage was not known for excelling in body refinement. For example, the Vajra lineage’s body refining techniques were far superior to those of the Void Sky lineage. As a result, the True Spirit Chapter didn’t rank particularly high as a body cultivation technique.
Based on Ye Tian’s calculations, even if he mastered the True Spirit Chapter to the ninth layer, it wouldn’t push his physical body to its absolute limit. This ruins, however, seemed anything but simple. It might contain body refining techniques that could greatly benefit him.
“Senior Brother Dragon Sea, let’s enter together!” Ye Tian said with a smile.
“Alright!” True Monarch Dragon Sea nodded.
Without hesitation, Ye Tian and True Monarch Dragon Sea stepped into the ruins and entered the first trial space formed by the damaged stone stele.