Everyone nodded in agreement. After all, it was where they were headed next; to say they weren’t curious would be a lie.
"Alright then." At the mention of Holy Tomb Mountain, Long Xiaotian’s expression became surprisingly serious. "Holy Tomb Mountain earned its name fifty thousand years ago, during the outbreak of the Holy War. It was the war’s primary battlefield."
"Wait." Just as Long Xiaotian was about to continue, Mu Chen interrupted him, asking in confusion, "You mentioned a Holy War? What’s that?"
Hearing this, Long Xiaotian slapped his forehead. "I almost forgot. The Xuanling Empire is too remote, and it doesn’t dispatch ambassadors, so this news never reached you. In that case, let me first give you a brief overview of the Holy War."
"According to historical records, fifty thousand years ago, the Extreme Martial Continent lived in peace and harmony—relatively speaking, of course. But the Extreme Martial Continent back then was completely different from how it is now! The Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi was extremely abundant, and powerful martial artists were everywhere. More importantly, the Extreme Martial Continent of that era had great martial experts who have since vanished... Martial Emperors!"
"But on one scorching summer day, disaster struck without warning. The clear, cloudless sky suddenly turned from day to night. Countless violent fluctuations of Primordial Power pulsed unceasingly from high above the Extreme Martial Continent. From the sky, which had just been blazing under a hot sun, red ice and snow began to fall. It was crimson snow, saturated with the thick scent of blood!"
Ignoring the shocked expressions on Mu Chen and the others, Long Xiaotian, as the Crown Prince of the Flame Dragon Dynasty, had been immersed in such stories since childhood. He recounted the tale with a captivating cadence, leaving Mu Chen and the others with no desire to interrupt.
"An evil omen! That was everyone’s first reaction at the time. And they were right. As the crimson snow fell, the Primordial Power fluctuations in the air grew even more violent! Countless powerful martial experts gathered high in the sky. But before they could even react, they discovered that the sky above the Extreme Martial Continent... had been opened like a great gate!"
"O-Opened?!"
Ye Shuangshuang cried out, her face filled with terror. It wasn’t just her; even the composed Mu Chen, Qing Lei, and the others could feel the sheer shock of that scene from Long Xiaotian’s words.
Nodding, Long Xiaotian continued, "As the ’gate’ opened, hundreds of millions of black shadows poured out from the other side! As for what those shadows were, I don’t know, and our ancestors at the time didn’t know either! They could only see that these shadows used a power that did not belong to the Extreme Martial Continent to tear countless Martial Artists to shreds in an instant. Blood mixed with the falling crimson snow, soaking into the earth. The other Martial Artists, once they reacted, fought back in a rage! The Holy War had begun!"
"..."
Seeing their stunned, speechless expressions, Long Xiaotian said helplessly, "Find it hard to believe? A bit too fantastical, like it’s not real?"
Mu Chen reached up and rubbed his nose. "It does sound a little too much like a fantasy."
Long Xiaotian gave a wry smile. "I also wish this were just a rumor, but unfortunately... it’s all true. When I first heard this piece of history, my expression was identical to yours, but in the end, I had no choice but to accept it. Because the Holy War is the fundamental reason why the Martial Emperors vanished from the Extreme Martial Continent..."
"What?!"
Their minds reeled. Mu Chen, Qing Lei, and the others repeatedly exchanged glances. Before, all they knew was that the Martial Emperors had vanished from the Extreme Martial Continent overnight thirty thousand years ago. When they first learned this, a huge question mark had been left in everyone’s hearts: what was the real reason for the Martial Emperors’ disappearance? Now, hearing this information, the shock they felt was absolutely immense.
"I’m sure you’ve also heard about the mysterious disappearance of the Martial Emperors. Normally, with your status, you would have no way of learning this information. Even I only heard about it after receiving my Father-Emperor’s approval and becoming the royal heir. Now I’ll tell you, the Holy War didn’t end in an instant. After those black shadows broke through space and entered the Extreme Martial Continent, battles raged at almost every moment. Mountains and seas shattered, and Primordial Qi dissipated. The entire Holy War lasted for a full twenty thousand years. In the end, our ancestors on the Extreme Martial Continent paid the price of several hundred Saint Realm Great Powers’ self-sacrifice to lay down the Eternal Array, ambushing all the black shadows through trickery to finally bring the war to a close. As for what method our ancestors used to gather all the black shadows in one place, that we do not know."
"Although the sacrifice of those several hundred Saint Realm Great Powers defeated the black shadows, they faced a desperate, last-ditch counterattack. In the end, the black shadows were completely driven out, but the Extreme Martial Continent also lost its Martial Emperors forever..."
As he spoke, Long Xiaotian’s expression unknowingly grew sorrowful. He knew that after that war, the Primordial Qi of the Extreme Martial Continent had been greatly depleted. The continent’s fundamental balance was shattered by the Holy War, the source of the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi collapsed, and the concentration of Primordial Qi dropped to less than one percent of what it was. Nearly ninety percent of the powerful perished, and humanity was driven to the brink of extinction. It could be said that the Holy War dealt a fatal blow to the Extreme Martial Continent.
"After the Holy War, to commemorate the several hundred Saint Realm Great Powers who sacrificed themselves, their bodies were gathered and buried at the site where the war ended. The place was named Holy Tomb Mountain! And those black shadows that tore through space were named the Alien Space Demon Clan by the Great Powers of the Extreme Martial Continent! That is the origin of Holy Tomb Mountain."
After finishing this historical account, Long Xiaotian’s face was filled with reverence—a deep respect for his ancestors. Watching Long Xiaotian, the turbulent waves in Mu Chen’s heart gradually calmed. He could understand Long Xiaotian’s current feelings. ’Perhaps without the sacrifice of our ancestors thirty thousand years ago, our generation would never have had the chance to rise. So Holy Tomb Mountain isn’t just a pilgrimage site for the powerful! It also symbolizes a kind of glory! The honor of getting as close as possible to the glory of our predecessors!’
"Ahem... Sorry about that. I meant to introduce the specifics of Holy Tomb Mountain, but I ended up making the atmosphere all tense." Seeing everyone’s silence, Long Xiaotian scratched the back of his head, embarrassed.
"Haha..." Seeing Long Xiaotian scratch the back of his head, Ye Shuangshuang laughed. "I never thought the Heir of the Dynasty would get flustered and scratch his head just like the rest of us."
Long Xiaotian looked sheepish. "The Heir of the Dynasty is just a regular person. Besides, I lost to Brother Mu Chen in the Empire’s tournament. I might as well drop the title."
"Er... let’s get back to talking about Holy Tomb Mountain," Mu Chen said, quickly changing the subject when he sensed the conversation shifting toward him again.
"Right! Holy Tomb Mountain is arguably the most powerful academy on the Extreme Martial Continent, bar none. No, it would be better to call it a training camp." Long Xiaotian’s reaction was swift, and he was back on topic in an instant. "As the continent’s strongest academy, Holy Tomb Mountain’s size is beyond question. In a word: Big! In two words: Very big! Not even the Imperial Capital of the Flame Dragon Dynasty can compare."
Hearing this, Mu Chen was a little surprised. He had personally experienced just how large a Dynasty’s Imperial Capital could be, as they had just returned from the Sacas Dynasty.
"In that case, the area of Holy Tomb Mountain must include more than just valleys, right?" Qing Lei suddenly asked.
"Mm, of course it’s not just valleys. Plains, mountain peaks, forests, lakes—it has everything," Long Xiaotian nodded. "The Holy Spirit Elemental Power generated by the hundreds of deceased Saint Realm Great Powers nourishes Holy Tomb Mountain, not only giving it a terrain like a small world of its own, but also a concentration of Primordial Qi that the Outer Realm cannot hope to match. If the Primordial Power concentration on the Extreme Martial Continent fifty thousand years ago was a hundred times what it is today, then the concentration within Holy Tomb Mountain is without a doubt on par with how it was fifty thousand years ago! That’s why it’s inhabited not only by powerful humans, but also by powerful Magical Beasts that are friendly toward humans."
"Powerful Magical Beasts that are friendly to humans?"
According to the current state of the Extreme Martial Continent, Magical Beasts and humans were practically mortal enemies. Just a short while ago, a terrifying Beast Tide had erupted. For Long Xiaotian to now claim that there were powerful Magical Beasts friendly to humans immediately caught everyone’s attention.
"It’s surprising, isn’t it? But it’s the truth. Perhaps it’s the influence of the Saints’ holy Primordial Power, which has imperceptibly stripped the Magical Beasts of their violent nature and made them amicable toward people. So, once you enter Holy Tomb Mountain, you get one opportunity to form a contract with a Magical Beast. However, this contract depends on your own personal fortune, because the Magical Beasts choose the human they wish to contract with. If your luck is good, you might be chosen by a Tier Nine Magical Beast cub. This is also why so many powerful families are fighting tooth and nail to get into Holy Tomb Mountain."