By the time the five of them returned to the Biyou Sect, it was already late. After the afternoon's battle, everyone was feeling somewhat unhappy. On the way back, Ming Qi recounted his experiences, though he kept quiet about the deeper details. After all, they were merely speculations, unfounded.
After saying goodbye, they each returned to their respective quarters.
Ming Qi was truly exhausted today. A battle beyond his capabilities had left him utterly exhausted.
The blood control technique was indeed powerful, but given Ming Qi's current condition, he simply didn't have the strength to fully master it.
Furthermore, the elixir Meng Ling had refined seemed tailored to his innate strength. Forcing Ming Qi to consume it with his acquired strength brought on numerous backlashes and hidden dangers.
Of these hidden dangers, the most obvious manifestation at this moment was that Ming Qi could feel the blood within his body becoming restless and agitated, as if an inexplicable force was pulling it out.
Fatigue after the battle, coupled with the restless and agitated blood, left Ming Qi feeling a trance-like sensation. It wasn't pain, but a distinctly strange feeling. It wasn't excitement, but his mind seemed restless.
This battle had been an arduous one, yet the Supreme Mountain and Sea Map, upon which Ming Qi placed such high hopes, showed no sign of oscillation, as if it had fallen into an endless slumber. This was both strange and somewhat disappointing.
The grinding battles of extreme intensity, the triggering of opportunities, and even the most direct feeding of Yuan Crystals—none of these seemed to be direct ways to activate the mysterious power hidden within the Mountain and Sea Map. Yet, they had nonetheless brought Ming Qi numerous surprises. This had once again blurred his previously general conception of how the Mountain and Sea Map could be activated, and his assumptions about the Map had returned to their original state.
"That woman smells like divine punishment," Meng Ling suddenly said.
Since it was nighttime, Ming Qi's residence was mostly deserted, so Meng Ling didn't need to hide in the ring. She sat on a small stool next to Ming Qi.
"The one from the day?"
Although Ming Qi had already assumed the woman Meng Ling was referring to must be the Private Dragon mercenary captain he'd met that day, he subconsciously asked.
"Yes,"
Meng Ling nodded.
Ming Qi asked, puzzled, "Divine punishment? What does that mean?"
This time, Meng Ling's answer was even more direct, revealing the woman's secret directly. "She's from the Celestial Clan."
Celestial Clan?
Celestial Clan...?
Ming Qi began searching his memories. His memory bank was enormous, and the amount of information was immense. Because of this, whenever he heard something, he would have a vague impression of it, but recalling the correct description required a moment of reflection.
"Celestial Clan!"
After a few breaths, Ming Qi suddenly uttered the words in an uncanny tone. While the words "Celestial Clan" remained, the shift in tone spoke volumes.
Indeed, the presence of Celestial Clan members on the Central Earth was a profoundly mysterious event.
After searching for several breaths, Ming Qi finally found some fragmentary information about them from his vast memory bank.
The Celestial Clan were once revered by all, almost as high and mighty as the gods themselves, overlooking all beings.
That was a time when the Celestial Clan patrolled the heavens and earth on behalf of the gods. The Celestial Clan members who traversed the heavens and earth possessed supreme authority and glory. They surveyed the heavens and earth with a proud gaze, controlling the paths of the stars and stepping upon countless oceans. In that era, every Celestial Clan member enjoyed boundless glory and splendor.
But that era ended prematurely. The era of the Celestials patrolling the heavens and earth ended completely the moment they took up their blades in rebellion against the gods of heaven and earth.
Ming Qi had no way of knowing the events of the Celestials' war against the gods, but this divine war, which lasted nearly a century, ended in defeat for the Celestials.
The Celestials who had rebelled were ultimately destroyed by the gods. The remaining Celestials were united by the gods, bearing the endless marks of divine punishment. They were stripped of all their glory and cast into the abyss, where they would suffer endless divine punishment and torment in eternal reincarnation, a fate they would never forget.
From the vast amount of information Ming Qi gathered most clearly, the one thing he understood most was that the Celestials could not possibly appear on the central land of the Tianhuang World.
But where exactly the Celestials were, Ming Qi could not recall. It seemed that his ocean of memory contained no record of their whereabouts after the divine punishment. The abyss cast by the Celestials seemed a mystery.
"Where do the Celestials live?"
After learning some information about them, Ming Qi asked.
However, he was also puzzled. Since they couldn't possibly be found in the Central Earth, how did Meng Ling know about them?
"They should be in the far north, perhaps even farther. It seems to be called the Frozen Snowland."
Frozen Snowland?
Ming Qi's current understanding of the Tianhuang World seemed limited to the four continents surrounding the City of the Gods.
The continents of Donglan and Xilan were located to the east and west of the City of the Gods, respectively. To the north lay the North Pole City and to the south lay the Fire Phoenix Shore. As for the areas extending outward from these four directions, he knew very little.
As for what lay beyond the Central Earth, even Ming Qi's once-vast memory bank seemed to be shrinking.
After searching for a long time for the Frozen Snowland Meng Ling had mentioned, he could only find a few details. The so-called Frozen Snowlands lie north of Arctic City, home to countless demonic beasts and intelligent species other than humans.
Information about the Frozen Snowlands frequently mentions the righteous force guarding the north, Arctic City.
The Divine Sword that holds back billions of demonic beasts, the Eternal Guardian of the North—this is how Ming Qi refers to Arctic City.
From Meng Ling's tone, it's clear she doesn't know where the Celestials actually reside.
"Then how do you know she's a Celestial?"
"The aura of divine punishment, the curse of the gods. If she weren't disturbed by divine punishment, no matter how many blood pills you swallow, you wouldn't be a match for her." Meng Ling stated bluntly, though it startled Ming Qi.
Ming Qi had experienced the woman's sword energy deeply; it was not merely powerful, but simply terrifying.
She hadn't reached the Xiantian realm either, but when facing him, he could only defeat her by swallowing the blood pill and relying on the powerful explosive force of his blood control technique. And yet, she was cursed, unable to perform her duties normally!
How powerful were the Celestials?
Ming Qi couldn't make a definitive assessment. Although the Celestials were cursed by the gods, they still possessed a natural innate foundation unsurpassed by most cultivators. So, just how terrifying could an uncursed Celestial be?
To ordinary human cultivators, challenging the Xiantian realm with an acquired one was undoubtedly a futile attempt. But to a Celestial, such a task would be as simple as eating and drinking water.
Ming Qi had always believed that reaching the Xiantian realm was a leap to heaven for a human cultivator, their strength multiplied, and their magical powers wielded, they would undoubtedly dominate the world. But encountering a cursed Celestial completely extinguished his irrational notion.
Clearly, this world was different from the previous one, especially within the realm of cultivators, where every thought and every concept was subject to constant disruption.
"Is there no way for the Celestials to lift the curse?" Ming Qi asked. In his opinion, since the Celestials had already rebelled against the gods, finding a way to lift the curse didn't seem like a big deal.
"Lifting the curse is impossible, and they wouldn't dare."
Indeed, Ming Qi thought about it and understood. The Celestials had been completely plunged into the abyss, far removed from the pinnacle of glory. They couldn't even approach the gods. Their strength had been whittled down to the bone. Even if someone in the Celestials wanted to lift the curse, could they?
Besides, would they dare to take the risk?
It was conceivable that once the Celestials lifted the gods' curse, they would inevitably face the wrath of the gods. Even the once-powerful Celestials couldn't survive their wrath, and now it was even more impossible.
However, Ming Qi didn't care about any of this right now. After all, neither the Arctic City in the north nor the more ethereal frozen lands held much allure for him. While these places might offer breathtaking scenery and countless natural treasures, expecting to salvage anything from them now was simply wishful thinking and a sheer waste of time.
But despite his disbelief, the appearance of the Celestials still piqued Ming Qi's curiosity.
From his memories, there was only one theory about the Celestials: they couldn't possibly appear in the Central Earth!
Ming Qi had no idea why he was so certain, but what he knew now was that this supposed impossibility had become a possibility: a true Celestial had appeared in the Central Earth!
"Don't even think about it. The Celestials don't have much in common with you humans. They are, after all, a race of divine beings."
Seeing Ming Qi pondering the Celestials, Meng Ling offered some more information about them.
The Celestial Clan is a divine race. Hearing this, Ming Qi finally had some reason to accept the strength of the Celestial Clan. After all, they were related to the gods, so they naturally transcended the constraints of humanity.
Over time, Meng Ling's memories had recovered considerably, and had completely integrated into her human mindset. Her speech and behavior were no longer inappropriate. Now, even walking among a crowd, she looked no different from a normal person, save for her red clothes and slightly creepy red eyes.
However, the only thing that troubled Ming Qi was the constant presence of a demonic aura emanating from Meng Ling. As Meng Ling gradually recovered, this aura grew stronger, until now, even as he sat beside her, Ming Qi could sense it swirling around him.
After staring at Meng Ling for a while, Ming Qi suddenly had an idea and pulled out the Beast Taming Cube he had purchased from the trading area.