This was the most surprising information that Jiang Chen had gleaned since entering the sixth palace. Who would’ve thought that the human domain’s decline would be an illusion decided upon in the ancient times?

Xia Tianze sighed. “Divine Veluriyam had no other choice left to him. He knew the human domain would freefall in terms of strength as a result. The Veluriyam Capital of today must be rather weak, isn’t it?”

“It’s more than just weak. There were almost no empyrean cultivators in the entire domain a few years back. Although Veluriyam Capital is the leader of the Upper Eight Regions, Emperor Peafowl, the ruler of Veluriyam, was but great emperor.”

“A few years back? So things have changed since then?”

“Indeed. After the boundary steles were damaged, I went to Myriad Abyss a few times and brought back many resources, improving the power of the human domain by a great margin. There are now a good number of empyrean cultivators here.”

Xia Tianze cackled. “It seems that the human domain will see a lot of action again. The new age Divine Veluriyam mentioned is coming, and you seem to be the one to lead this new age.”

Astonished, Jiang Chen asked, “Can the divine master predict the future?”

“He made a prophecy once. Although his prediction wasn’t precise, he correctly foretold the general direction that the world headed in. He said that a powerful genius would emerge among the human race, and that the genius would exceed what was possible for the time and even in the ancient times. He would recover the human domain’s past glory and lead the continent into a bright future.”

Jiang Chen was shaken to the core. “Did he really say that?”

“Are you doubting him still?” Xia Tianze asked unhappily.

Jiang Chen smiled wryly. “I don’t doubt him. It’s just that everything is simply too unbelievable.”

There were indeed those who could foretell the future, but it surprised him that someone so remarkable would exist in the human domain of a regular plane like the Divine Abyss Continent.

This continent was a strange one.

Compared to other mundane planes, the continent had been unusually powerful in the ancient times. Most divine cultivators in a mundane plane would choose to ascend to a broader world or even a heavenly plane.

Here however, the ancient divine cultivators had chosen to stay and settle down.

Moreover, it was difficult for a mundane plane to house so many powerful divine cultivators without special resources or environment.

Just a couple divine cultivators were nothing to be surprised about, but there had been quite a good number of gods back in the ancient times.

That was rather unusual.

And those ancient cultivators hadn’t been of the initial divine realm. Great Divine Veluriyam, for example, had obviously been close to or was advanced divine.

It’d be inappropriate for Jiang Chen to ask, but he speculated that as the top leader of the human domain, Divine Veluriyam must have reached seventh level divine realm.

“There’s nothing strange about that, young man,” responded Xia Tianze. “If you had been born in the ancient times and met the divine master in person to experience his charisma for yourself, you would’ve known that his power and might are beyond our imagination.”

He was clearly a devoted admirer of the divine master. His adoration of the man was clear in his tone.

Jiang Chen sighed faintly. “Didn’t anyone suspect anything at the time? I don’t think there were many fools in the ancient times.”

“True. They were no fools. However, no one was powerful enough to discover the truth. They were suspicious, and they investigated, but the seals the figureheads placed on the spirit veins and the heritage were too good for regular people to see through.”

“So there were those who got suspicious.”

“There were. After the demonic war, there were tens of thousands of years in which countless fights broke out due to the mystery surrounding the spirit veins and various heritage. However, no one ever found anything. Gradually, more and more factions and individuals chose to leave the human domain, and the domain began to decline according to the figureheads’ plan. Now, it’s become a barren land.”

“Are the ten sacred lands in Myriad Abyss founded by the ten leading factions in the ancient times?” asked Jiang Chen.

“To some degree. Most of them have something to do with the ten leading factions, but those sent there didn’t know about the secret. Only the figureheads and their most loyal servants knew the truth. I’m one of the select few. We are the most loyal guardians of the hidden heritages. I believe they still remain in isolated spaces, keeping their respective heritage safe.”

It’d been too long since the ancient times. Xia Tianze wasn’t sure if the others still lived.

Jiang Chen’s questions had finally been answered in full.

Back then, Eternal’s House Xiahou had sent a group into the human domain to found the Order of Wind and Cloud, stirring up trouble and secretly searching for something.

They must have been looking for clues left from the ancient times, hoping to find hidden heritages. Unfortunately, the Order had been too impatient and met its demise at Jiang Chen’s hands.

“I don’t intend to question Divine Veluriyam’s decision, senior, but have he and the others given thought to how the human domain will fight the demonic army in its weakened state once the demons rise again?”

Xia Tianze flashed a wolfish grin. “You don’t know enough about the demons, young man. It may seem like they have invaded in droves without much of a plan, but in truth, they’ve planned their every move. Back in the ancient times, they chose the human domain as the main battlefield because there was an abundance of resources they wanted.

“They won’t stay long once the human domain declines and loses its value. The one thing that makes humans powerful is our ability to reproduce and survive a calamity. As long as there are still people passing down their bloodlines, there is always a chance to turn the tides. The figureheads preserved the legacy of their times. They did the right thing, didn’t they?”

Upon reflection, Jiang Chen felt that to be the truth too.

“Divine Veluriyam predicted that a genius would emerge under the guidance of fate, and here you are. The divine master has left his legacy for you.”

That was a little too much for Jiang Chen to take.