Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 420: The Bridges of Heaven and Earth

“The destruction of an era isn’t some child’s play. Don’t think that just because there’s a treasure guarding a space, it’s like a protective shield that keeps everyone inside safe? There’s no such easy thing. Even the creator of the treasure is dead, so how could the treasure possibly have such power? In fact, most treasures shattered during the collapse of the era; the ones that remained intact were simply lucky.”

Zhao Changhe was struck by this. He had not considered it in such detail before. No wonder that corpse demon, despite living in this so-called Realm of True Void without anything happening to it, was still in a heavily injured state, waiting to recover.

The blind woman continued, “The destruction of an era is like the apocalypse, the entire universe exploding, space fracturing and dispersing everywhere. Barely anyone could survive in such an environment, and even those who did were barely hanging on. It’s like a bowl wrapped in cloth shattering into pieces; the shards won’t spill out, but how much of what’s inside will remain?”

“Well, that’s a pretty clear way to explain it...”

“The so-called treasures that protect spaces only came into play after the explosion, when everything had stabilized. Due to the existence of these treasures, small fragments of space remained independent and did not merge back into the main world. But the point is that these treasures weren’t protecting the space from the start. Even the strongest beings who survived did so by sheer luck, and everyone was gravely weakened. Over the long years, most didn’t wake up, and even if some did, they had to rest and recover, and they were not strong enough to venture out. This is why no gods or demons have been seen in this era.”

Zhao Changhe said, “So now, after all this time has passed, more of them are waking up, even the relatively weaker remnant souls like that of this corpse demon?”

“Exactly. But don’t underestimate him. Back in the day, this was a great demon, captured and imprisoned in this rear mountain by top Buddhists and Daoists figures. They even tried to cleanse him of his demonic nature with a lotus platform. Such treatment is not given to small fry; he had a certain status.”

“But I feel that compared to you, he’s like a firefly next to the bright moon.”

The blind woman laughed, “Oh? You’re actually praising me? That’s rare...”

“...Strength is strength. What’s wrong with acknowledging it? Do you think I’d be speaking so politely to you if you weren’t so powerful?”

The blind woman was momentarily left speechless.

She did not dwell on it and chuckled. “Of course, even though he did have some status, it wasn’t that high. If it were, he wouldn’t have been captured so easily.”

“Hmm... I get the general idea. In today’s standards, he’d be like one of those infamous figures on the Ranking of Man, right? You, at the very least, are at Old Cui’s level.”

“Cui Wenjing? Heh...”

In his heart, Zhao Changhe had long equated her to Xia Longyuan, though he would not say that out loud. Testing the waters with this comparison did not seem far off. He silently mourned for his father-in-law’s pride and then asked, “So, were there similar rankings in ancient times?”

“The Heavenly Dao had its own records, but it did not reveal them to the world like it does now.”

“That’s fine as well, I guess. But the occasional news that the tome broadcasts every now and then gives people something to talk about. It makes life a little less dull.”

The blind woman said, “Is it because you enjoy being hyped up? Well, if it were me, I’d be quite pleased too.”

Zhao Changhe kept his hands in his pockets and said nothing.

“I know what you’re trying to ask... You want to know whether the Rankings of Troubled Times don’t include the gods and demons because they haven’t shown themselves, or because the rankings simply don’t concern them, right?”

“Right. If they were originally included, then logically, the Ranking of Heaven should always be occupied by a bunch of people no one’s ever heard of...”

“With them being in isolated spaces, they aren’t considered part of this world, so how could they be counted in the rankings?” the blind woman explained. “This battle only counted because it spilled out of the secret realm and into the main world. If the fight had stayed within the secret realm, the Tome of Troubled Times would probably have only reported on the battle between Vermillion Bird, Tang Wanzhuang, and Maitreya.

“Take your fight in the Kunlun Secret Realm, for example, where you pretended to be Wang Daozhong and fought Blood Demon Hand Yan Que—that was a battle between you, on the Ranking of Hidden Dragons, and someone on the Ranking of Earth. Did the Tome of Troubled Times ever mention it?”

Zhao Changhe squinted at her, feeling like it could not be that simple. After all, she herself had fought against another god or demon outside Kunlun. And the corpse demon had fought in Xiangyang as well, which was definitely considered outside the secret realm and part of the main world, yet the Tome of Troubled Times had said nothing about it.

Even during the battle at the Yang Clan, the Tome of Troubled Times’ report was bland and did not mention anything about the Sea Clan’s yin qi.

It seemed that there was some unspoken agreement preventing the Tome of Troubled Times from widely revealing matters related to gods and demons.

This time, the event was publicized not because the fight spilled out of the secret realm but because too many people knew about it. There was no point hiding it, so it chose to be upfront about it.

From this perspective, if the gods and demons were to start moving openly in the main world, they were likely to end up on the rankings eventually.

The fact that those gods and demons were seeking for agents and avoided acting personally was also probably because they did not want to draw too much attention from the Tome of Troubled Times. Once they were on the rankings, they would become a target for everyone. Not just for the people of the current era, but for the other gods and demons as well. Most of them were still hidden, gathering strength in the shadows. Who would be foolish enough to shout, “Here I am!” and make themselves an obvious target?

Outside Kunlun, that god or demon had been shocked when the blind woman attacked. “It’s you... I can’t believe that even you couldn’t resist acting yourself...”

If the blind woman actually was the spirit of the Tome of Troubled Times, that scene was ten times as amusing. Others were afraid of being listed in the tome, only to find the tom itself had personally come to beat them up. The irony was overwhelming.

And now, there was this unfortunate remnant soul who acted as a scapegoat. This event revealed that drawing attention may get them ranked, and worse, it revealed that as soon as they stuck their head out, a swarm of the current era’s powerful figures would rush over and beat them to death. The righteous and demonic factions teamed up, setting aside their grudges to go against those from the ancient era. How would the other gods and demons view this?

It seemed more likely for them to be even more cautious, so why did the blind woman say that he had stirred up trouble?

Seeing Zhao Changhe in deep thought, the blind woman knew he understood, so she said, “In theory, this move may indeed serve as a warning to deter some eager gods and demons. But from another perspective, it also exposes the current cultivation level of the world. It took so many from the Ranking of Heaven and Ranking of Earth to hunt down a mere remnant soul. Don’t you think that those who see themselves as stronger might grow bolder?

Zhao Changhe nodded. “Indeed...”

“Moreover, even this one was nearly fully recovered. Although he had to borrow the power of the lotus platform, it’s not like the others don’t have treasures of their own. And if this one was nearly recovered, what about the others? When they’re confident enough, that will mark the true arrival of troubled times.”

Zhao Changhe remained silent for a moment before suddenly asking, “Who is Xia Longyuan challenging among the gods and demons?”

“In your eyes, probably the Barbarian God, the ruler of the Tngri.” The blind woman smiled slyly. “Although his true intention isn’t necessarily to act as a guardian of the mountains and rivers, he did indeed discover the existence of the Barbarian God during his campaigns against foreign tribes. He suffered a loss once, and ever since, his mind had been consumed by the path of gods and demons. Objectively, his actions have indeed protected the Central Plains, and because of this, he believes that whatever he does is justified.”

Zhao Changhe: “...”

The blind woman stretched lazily. “Of course, if you ask whether I’m among the gods and demons he’s challenging, that’s also true. Hmm, in fact, the Barbarian God is just a stepping stone for him. Ultimately, he wants to take me down. His son-in-law, though, is smarter—that guy wants to kill me yet still calls me the bright moon.”

Zhao Changhe: “...”

Does this woman not know how to take a compliment? She even remembers that little detail so clearly?

Don’t you have enough sycophants hanging around your fortune-telling booth?

He could not be bothered with her. As for the talk about stirring up trouble, it did not seem all that significant. The blind woman always liked to make things sound mystical and impressive, but in the end, they often turned out to be nothing special. Zhao Changhe shifted his thoughts to something else he could ask about, “That lotus platform—what’s its origin, and can it heal Wanzhuang’s injury?”

“That’s the Lotus of Life, from which the Buddhist concept of the Samsara Lotus Platform originates. Yuan Cheng would probably drool over it, but for Tang Wanzhuang, it won’t be of much use. Her problem isn’t a loss of vitality or life force, so it’s not the right treatment for her. However, it does have a wide range of uses. Anything related to life and flesh could benefit from it. For instance, your Blood Asura Body can be strengthened and evolve further from it, and also...”

“Also what?”

“Certain types of flesh-related witchcraft, such as gu arts.” The blind woman smiled slyly. “It wasn’t the right time before, but now it feels about right to tell you something...”

“Stop being cryptic.”

“The next page of the Heavenly Tome is in the Ancient Spirit Tribe.”

“That’s none of my concern.”

“The Heavenly Blood Jade that you need for the next step of your Blood Asura Body is also in the Ancient Spirit Tribe.”

“...”

“Ying Five has already found information on the Solaris Nimbus Leaves. When you meet him tomorrow, he’ll likely tell you about it. And guess what, Yunyang Mountain is also in the Ancient Spirit Tribe.”

“...”

“And on another level...” The blind woman’s expression grew serious. “You’ve said it yourself; these secret realms are the bridges between this era and the last, the bridges of heaven and earth. You aren’t ready to ascend to heaven, but you’ve gone beyond the first step. If you don’t search for the second layer of the Profound Mysteries here, how long do you plan to stay on the Ranking of Man?”