Chapter 940: The History of the Hallowed Ones (I)

"So all those fallen ninth-realm cultivators... was it really the work of the Divine Ruins Monastery?" Chu Liang asked with a sense of reverence.

He recalled the tiny robed figures he had seen in those ancient dragon murals. Could it really all have been the work of the Divine Ruins Monastery?

If the Divine Ruins Monastery truly had the power to kill Hallowed Ones, then Chu Liang had better watch his attitude when he spoke to the monastery overseer.

Hearing Chu Liang's question, the monastery overseer paused for a moment. Then he smiled breezily and answered, "Not all of them."

Chu Liang smiled back.

"Not all of them" meant the Divine Ruins Monastery had definitely killed some Hallowed Ones.

As if he had read Chu Liang's mind, the monastery overseer proceeded to elaborate. "We are not enemies of the Hallowed Ones. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. If a Hallowed One wishes to ascend and strives for the elevation of this world, then we are allies. The Divine Ruins Monastery would be their strongest support."

The monstary overseer waved his hand and said, "The exception is when a Hallowed One becomes greedy for power, shirks their responsibilities, and attempts to ascend in a way that harms this world, violating the Laws of Ascension that Hallowed Li set up. Only then would we take action."

He spoke lightly of it, but everyone knew what it meant to act against someone in the ninth realm. The hidden power of the Divine Ruins Monastery was truly terrifying.

The monastery overseer glanced at Chu Liang. It was easy for him to spot the Dragon God's mark on Chu Liang.

He continued, "Let's talk about someone you're more familiar with, like the Dragon God? He strictly abided by the Laws of Ascension and led his entire race into a great battle so that he could ascend. Back then, the Divine Ruins Monastery lent him a hand."

"The Divine Ruins Monastery helped the Dragon God?" Chu Liang uttered in surprise.

The dragon murals and the later destruction of the Ancient Dragon Lair had led him to believe that the Divine Ruins Monastery was the main culprit behind the dragons' decline.

The monastery overseer explained, "When Hallowed Li was still around, he had a pretty good relationship with the dragons. But the dragons ran rampant all over the world. That brought them advantages and disadvantages. The dragons held immense power, but they also made many enemies.

"When the Dragon God tried to ascend, he faced far greater resistance than the previous Hallowed Ones. He wasn't just subjected to heavenly tribulation. When the path to the heavens opened, many celestial devils from the higher realm came together to stop the Dragon God's ascension. Even with the Divine Ruins Monastery's support, the Dragon God was ultimately defeated, and he perished."

"To ascend, you have to be subjected to heavenly tribulation

and

fight celestial devils?" Chu Liang asked curiously.

The monastery overseer answered, "The heavenly tribulation is the world's way of protecting itself. If just anyone could siphon off its spiritual qi and take it elsewhere, the world would eventually collapse. So, whenever someone tries to do that, the world itself intervenes.

"As for the celestial devils, it's because the path to the heavens will open at the moment of ascension. It is usually impossible for celestial devils to descend from the higher realm, so when the higher realm connects with ours, they see our realm as a treasure trove and try to invade it.

"Not every ascension battle draws them in, but unfortunately, an abnormally high number appeared during the Dragon God's attempt. The Dragon God had an incredibly high cultivation level. He wouldn't have failed if it hadn't been for the celestial devils."

Chu Liang said quietly, "Then, the destruction of the Ancient Dragon Lair afterward...?"

"It was the work of the Divine Ruins Monastery," the monastery overseer replied without hesitation. "Even though we once fought side by side, the dragons' attempt to resurrect the Dragon God was a violation of the Laws of Ascension. So, the Divine Ruins Monastery had to take them down."

"Well, that's strict," Chu Liang remarked with a soft, uncomfortable laugh.

It made sense. If the Divine Ruins Monastery didn't have the strength to challenge a Hallowed One, then the moment an eighth-realm cultivator advanced to the ninth realm, their first act would be to wipe out the organization that placed so many restrictions on them. It would become much easier to ascend, and they could do it without a care.

As for whether this world weakened or collapsed afterward, what did that have to do with a Hallowed One who had already ascended to the higher realm?

It was none of their business.

...

The monastery overseer continued, "Very few Hallowed Ones have been killed by the Divine Ruins Monastery over the years... Though, to be fair, there haven't been many ninth-realm cultivators to begin with. If I had to name them, only the South Sea's Hallowed Mother and the Evil God Jiuli come to mind. You've likely encountered their remnants."

Chu Liang blinked in surprise. "The Divine Ruins Monastery killed both of them?"

"The Evil God Jiuli not only violated the Laws of Ascension but also amassed the power of his people in an attempt to ascend with all of them. He survived the heavenly tribulation, but the Divine Ruins Monastery had no choice but to take action and suppress him. As for how we killed him, you don't need to be curious. I'm not allowed to tell you."

"Hehe."

Of course, Chu Liang was curious. How could he not be?

The Jiuli Tribe had been annihilated, and its home had been turned into the Southern Bastion Mountain. It turned out that it had been the work of the Divine Ruins Monastery. That was truly terrifying.

"The South Sea's Hallowed Mother's path to becoming a Hallowed One was incredibly brutal. She stirred the waters of all four seas and flooded the nine provinces, sacrificing most of the land's living beings just to prove her comprehension of the Great Dao of the Bottomless Sea.

"After reaching the ninth realm, she barely survived the heavenly tribulation and no longer had the strength to reap a harvest of spiritual qi. At that point, she should have returned to the mortal realm to recover her strength, but she chose to leave instead. That was when the Divine Ruins Monastery intervened and kept her here."

Chu Liang had heard the legends mentioning the South Sea's Hallowed Mother.

It was said that in ancient times, natural disasters plagued the world, and the South Sea's Hallowed Mother had swallowed the skies with the sea, shielding the people and saving the lives of countless living beings. However, judging from what he had just heard, she had done all that simply to prove her comprehension of a Great Dao, and she had killed countless land dwellers in the process.

It was the same event, but it was recounted differently. Change the cause and effect, and the story became a legend of sacrifice. That was the version that went down in history.

However, this also revealed the cold indifference of the Divine Ruins Monastery. Even as countless land dwellers perished, they had made no move to stop the South Sea's Hallowed Mother, allowing her to ascend to the ninth realm. It seemed that in their eyes, so long as the Laws of Ascension weren't violated, nothing in the mortal realm was worth interfering with.

"If the Divine Ruins Monastery is truly a righteous organization, wouldn't it be better if it acted earlier?" Chu Liang asked, trying to probe for information. "For ninth-realm cultivators like the Evil God Jiuli or the South Sea's Hallowed Mother who stopped at nothing to reach their goal, was there really a need to wait until they had attained all that power before eliminating them? Doesn't that just make things harder?"

"The Laws of Ascension were created for those ninth-realm cultivators. The rules that Hallowed Li left to us state that unless someone violates those laws, the Divine Ruins Monastery must never interfere with the mortal realm," the monastery overseer replied firmly. "We are forbidden from interfering with worldly matters, forbidden from forming ties with outsiders, and may only interact with the outside world by making trades to recruit new disciples."

"How resolute," Chu Liang muttered in awe.

He could understand the reasoning behind such rules, and he admired the Divine Ruins Monastery's unwavering adherence to them through countless generations across the many years.

The monastery overseer said, "Hallowed Li bestowed us with immense power. We are a force strong enough to affect the balance of the world. If the members of the Divine Ruins Monastery were allowed to interact freely with the outside, the monastery would quickly be corrupted.

"Only by resolutely forbidding all contact can we prevent anyone from using this power for personal gain and stop this protective force from becoming something else. The rule against forming ties with outsiders also exists to prevent familial attachments from influencing the judgment of those within the monastery. Even so, some things are still unavoidable."