Chapter 309 - 308: The Ancient Dongtian and the Secret of the Sacred Grounds (6)

Lin Yuan’s pupils contracted.

’Fractures?’

He focused more carefully.

The sensation was faint, but he could now distinguish it from the ordinary fluctuations of space.

There were gaps in the structure.

Not physical gaps that could be crossed by walking, but discontinuities in the relationships between the laws governing different regions.

The Sacred Grounds were functioning.

Yet, something about their structure was incomplete.

Lin Yuan withdrew his divine sense and slowly exhaled.

"Master Ku Ming, you mentioned that the ancient laws within the Sacred Grounds are more complete than those in the outside world. Is that correct?"

"Generally speaking, yes."

The monk nodded.

"Although there are exceptions, the ancient laws preserved here are far more profound than those commonly encountered in the Nine Provinces. That is one of the reasons the Sacred Grounds have become so important to cultivators seeking to form Dao Fruits."

Lin Yuan looked at him.

"Then what would happen if the structure supporting those laws were damaged?"

Ku Ming’s expression changed.

"Damaged?"

"Yes. Suppose the Sacred Grounds once possessed a complete spatial and temporal structure, but that structure suffered a catastrophe. The realm survived, yet some of its foundational connections were broken. Would that explain the unstable temporal regions, the strange spatial fluctuations, and the incomplete circulation of spiritual Qi?"

For several breaths, the monk did not speak.

He slowly turned toward the waterfall, then toward the distant mountains.

"I have considered the possibility that some regions of the Sacred Grounds were damaged during the ancient calamity," he finally said. "There are places where the laws are clearly unstable, and certain formations appear to have continued operating long after their original foundations were destroyed. However, I never considered that the entire realm might have suffered damage at a deeper level."

His golden eyes narrowed.

"If your deduction is correct, then the phenomena we have observed may not be separate anomalies. They may be symptoms of a single underlying problem."

Lin Yuan nodded.

"That is what I suspect."

He looked down at the stream.

"A damaged circulation system can continue functioning for a long time if enough of its components remain intact. But the presence of movement does not prove that the system is healthy. Sometimes, a river continues flowing even after its source has been altered. Sometimes, a formation continues operating even after its master has perished."

He paused.

"And sometimes, a world survives even after the foundations that once sustained it have been damaged."

The final words left his mouth quietly.

Yet, the moment he spoke them, his Dao Heart trembled faintly.

A world.

Until now, he had been thinking of the Sacred Grounds as an ancient spatial pocket containing unusual laws. Even after considering the possibility of a Dongtian Realm, he had not fully grasped the implications.

But now, as he observed the circulation of spiritual Qi and the spatial discontinuities beneath the waterfall, a different picture began to emerge.

The Sacred Grounds might not simply be a place separated from the outside world.

They might be an ancient world whose structure had survived a catastrophe.

The temporal dilation, the dense spiritual Qi, the crushing pressure, and the ancient Dao laws were not necessarily separate gifts granted to cultivators who entered the realm.

They could be remnants of the world that had existed before the catastrophe.

Bai Qingyue stepped closer to him.

"Yuan, if the Sacred Grounds are truly a damaged world, then who created it?"

Lin Yuan looked toward Ku Ming.

"That is a question Master Ku Ming may be better equipped to answer."

The monk smiled faintly.

"Almsgiver Lin is too modest. This poor monk knows some ancient records, but I have never examined the Sacred Grounds with your level of comprehension. Nevertheless, there is something I can tell you."

He folded his hands together.

"According to ancient records preserved by the Buddhist lineages, there once existed a civilization known as the Chosen Immortal Clan. They were not merely a single family, but a collection of powerful clans that shared a common ancestral origin."

Lin Yuan’s attention sharpened.

"The Chosen Immortal Clan?"

"Yes."

Ku Ming nodded.

"Their name appears in several records concerning the ancient era. However, the records are incomplete, and the surviving accounts often contradict one another. What remains relatively consistent is that the Chosen Immortal Clan possessed an extraordinary relationship with the laws of Heaven and Earth."

He paused before continuing.

"Some accounts claim that their ancestors were born with an innate affinity for the Great Dao. Others suggest that their civilization developed within an ancient realm where the laws were more complete than those found elsewhere. Over countless generations, they cultivated within that environment and developed inheritances that were extremely difficult for outsiders to reproduce."

Bai Qingyue listened attentively.

"Do you mean that their homeland was the Sacred Grounds?"

"I cannot claim that with certainty."

Ku Ming shook his head.

"However, I have long suspected that the Sacred Grounds may be connected to their ancestral homeland. The ancient descriptions of the realm bear a striking resemblance to what we have encountered here. More importantly, some of the formations scattered throughout the Sacred Grounds resemble the methods attributed to the Chosen Immortal Clan."

He looked toward the surrounding mountains.

"If this place truly was their ancestral homeland, then the Chosen Immortal Clan may have transformed it over countless generations, refining an ancient world into a vast Dongtian Realm."

Lin Yuan’s expression became thoughtful.

"Rather than creating an entire world from nothing, they inherited an existing realm and gradually transformed it into a place where their civilization could flourish."

Ku Ming nodded approvingly.

"Precisely. Such an undertaking would still require extraordinary knowledge and immense resources. But it is more plausible than assuming that a single cultivator created an entire world from nothing."

He paused.

"Of course, the Chosen Immortal Clan may not have been the original creators of the realm. They could have discovered it long before their civilization reached its peak and spent countless generations refining it. The surviving records do not provide a definitive answer."

Lin Yuan looked toward the waterfall.

The possibility fit the evidence he had observed.

If the Chosen Immortal Clan had lived within the Sacred Grounds for countless generations, then the ancient formations, the circulation of spiritual Qi, and the unusual temporal laws could all have been part of a system designed to sustain their civilization.

But if that were true, where had the clan gone?

"Master Ku Ming, what happened to the Chosen Immortal Clan?"

The monk’s expression grew solemn.

"That is where the records become particularly unclear."

He slowly exhaled.

"The ancient calamity devastated countless civilizations. Entire lineages vanished, inheritances were destroyed, and even the strongest cultivators of that era were unable to preserve everything they had built. It is possible that the Chosen Immortal Clan suffered enormous losses during that catastrophe."

He looked toward Lin Yuan.

"However, the Chosen Immortal Clan was not completely erased from history. According to the records I have encountered, its surviving branches eventually established themselves in the Imperial Domain."

Bai Qingyue was surprised.

"The Imperial Domain?"