"They are from Corpse World! Those three came here earlier to assassinate the High Master!" Heavenly Thunder Chan Master exclaimed in anger.
"Take them all back. Use Buddhist doctrine to enlighten them."
The old monk tossed his hand, throwing the three black-robed elders before Chan Master Zhimo. They had been completely sealed, unable to move a single inch.
"Old bald donkey, just kill us! We won't go back with you! Spending our days listening to you bald donkeys knocking wooden fish and chanting sutras is worse than death!"
"Just give us a quick death, you bald donkeys!"
The three black-robed elders roared defiantly. They knew that once taken back to Heavenly Dragon Temple, they would have to listen to monks chanting sutras every day, undergoing a daily baptism of scripture. These cultivators from Corpse World practiced corpse-path techniques, and Buddhist doctrine was their natural bane. Forcing them to endure daily baptism by Buddhist scriptures was more torturous than killing them!
"Cease your racket!" Heavenly Thunder Chan Master unceremoniously stuffed the three black-robed elders into a spatial treasure.
"Young Master Su, I thank you. My revival is entirely due to you."
The old monk's gaze fell upon Ye Yunfei as he spoke words of gratitude. Ever since being cut from the stone, although he had been unable to speak or see, he had remained clearly aware of everything happening in the outside world.
"High Master needn't stand on ceremony. It was an unintended act on my part. Everything is fate," Ye Yunfei replied.
"That may be so, but every step of my revival was personally facilitated by Young Master Su. This is both fate and a debt of gratitude," the old monk said.
"High Master, which era do you belong to?" Ye Yunfei couldn't help his curiosity and asked directly.
"The era I hail from is ancient indeed," the old monk replied after a moment's thought. "In my time, the world was governed by ten Heavenly Emperors, ruling over their own domains. Thus, our age was called the Era of Ten Emperors."
"What?! There could really be ten Heavenly Emperors coexisting in the world at once?" Upon hearing this, Ye Yunfei wondered if he had misheard. He knew that in his previous life, after he became a Heavenly Emperor, there had only been four Heavenly Emperors in the world. He never imagined the era this old monk hailed from actually had ten coexisting Heavenly Emperors. It was simply unbelievable!
"Of course, ten Heavenly Emperors could coexist," the old monk said. "The Era of Ten Emperors was a truly glorious and magnificent age. Not only did the world have ten Heavenly Emperors, but it also had many fearsome existences whose strength rivaled theirs, perfectly capable of contending against the Heavenly Emperors. That era was teeming with heroes contending for supremacy. It was so dazzling."
The old monk sighed, a trace of reminiscence and yearning appearing on his face.
"By the way, how many Heavenly Emperors remain in the world now? Are all ten Emperors from back then still present?" the old monk suddenly asked.
"High Master, to my knowledge, there are currently only three Heavenly Emperors in the world. There are not ten," Chan Master Zhimo replied. He was a senior figure within Heavenly Dragon Temple, one of the Eastern Barrens' top experts, and privy to many secrets unknown to ordinary people.
"Only three Heavenly Emperors remain?! How is that possible!" The old monk looked puzzled, refusing to believe it. "Heavenly Emperors possess profound divine abilities, boundless power, and extremely long lifespans. Even I have clung to life, stealing my way into this present time. How could the lifespans of those Heavenly Emperors be shorter than mine?"
"Could it be... Could that thing Old Man Meng divined have truly come to pass?" The old monk trembled as something occurred to him, his expression turning fearful. He murmured to himself, "At the end of the Era of Ten Emperors, a terrible World-Destroying War would erupt. Even experts at the Heavenly Emperor level would fall in that war. Did the World-Destroying War... really happen?"
World-Destroying War!
Ye Yunfei's heart stirred. He was hearing about the World-Destroying War again! In his previous life, after becoming a Heavenly Emperor, Ye Yunfei had spent considerable time investigating the World-Destroying War but ultimately found no conclusive results. He never expected to hear of it now, from this old monk's mouth.
Back in the Canghuang Realm, that Suanni in the Ancient Beast Realm had also been grievously wounded in a World-Destroying War, its Soul Body incomplete, leading to amnesia. That Suanni had personally experienced the World-Destroying War, it just couldn't remember. The old monk before him was a figure from before the World-Destroying War. He had likely been buried in stone and mud before it even occurred.
"High Master, what exactly is the World-Destroying War?" Ye Yunfei asked.
"Young Master Su, you know about Heavenly Emperors, and you also know of the World-Destroying War. You are by no means an ordinary young man from the Eastern Barrens," the old monk said, casting a surprised glance at Ye Yunfei. "But don't worry, Young Master Su. I won't pry into your secrets."
"As for exactly what the World-Destroying War was, even I don't know. It was merely a prediction by Old Man Meng. Old Man Meng was the master of divination most skilled in prognostications during our era. He once performed detailed divinations on the developmental trajectory of our age and made the results public. The Dao of the world dictates that after reaching a peak, decline is inevitable. When an era becomes too glorious, after its accumulated fortune is exhausted, a period of weakness will surely arrive. At the end of the Era of Ten Emperors, a terrible World-Destroying War would begin. This war would drown the world in rivers of blood, unspeakably tragic. Countless powerful figures would fall, including experts at the Heavenly Emperor level. That was Old Man Meng's divination result."
The old monk recounted from memory.
"When Old Man Meng announced his results, many questioned them. They felt the Era of Ten Emperors was so splendid, the world held too many powerful experts, especially with the Ten Great Heavenly Emperors suppressing all under heaven and keeping each other in check. Who could overcome whom? How could a World-Destroying War be possible?" he continued. "Looking back now, Old Man Meng truly lived up to his reputation as the era's greatest master of divination. The World-Destroying War indeed occurred. Otherwise, there couldn't possibly be only three Heavenly Emperors left now."
The old monk sighed deeply.
"What this old monk says is correct." Just then, Hun Lao suddenly spoke up. "Great Emperor Gu Huang was one of the Heavenly Emperors from the Ten Emperors Era, wasn't he?"
"What?!" Ye Yunfei was shocked. "Great Emperor Gu Huang was an Emperor from the Ten Emperors Era! Why didn't you tell me earlier?!"
"You never asked," Hun Lao said dismissively. "Besides, how could I voluntarily divulge various private matters about Great Emperor Gu Huang to you? You're a mysterious fellow yourself. I still haven't figured out your origins."
"However," Hun Lao added, "although that era was called the Era of Ten Emperors, in truth, only nine Heavenly Emperors were ever seen in the world. One Heavenly Emperor was extremely secretive, never appearing—not even the other nine ever laid eyes on him. So, calling it the Era of Nine Emperors might be more fitting."
"Young Master Su, I must return to Heavenly Dragon Temple," the old monk said to Ye Yunfei. "Although I have awakened, having been buried for such an incredibly long time, I have not yet fully recovered. I must return to Heavenly Dragon Temple to recuperate properly for a while. Young Master Su, why don't you come to Heavenly Dragon Temple as my guest?"
"No, thank you," Ye Yunfei said after a moment's thought, shaking his head.
Afterwards, despite the old monk's enthusiastic invitations, Ye Yunfei persistently declined.
Finally, the old monk departed with the other monks. Before leaving, Heavenly Thunder Chan Master retrieved a jade slip and presented it to Ye Yunfei.
"Young Master Su, take this communication jade slip," Heavenly Thunder Chan Master said, passing a slender jade piece to Ye Yunfei before turning to follow the departing group. "In the future, if you ever require assistance, send a message."