Chapter 945: Holy City (1/2)
Chapter 945: Holy City
The first thing people saw while looking towards the direction of the Holy City was not the establishments themselves, but a huge mountain range. The city was erected right next to this mountain range.
The city was quite large, but it was like a small boulder compared to this mountain range, like a little boat in the middle of a vast ocean.
People called this place the Hidden-dragon Mountains. It spanned for millions of miles like a dragon lying on top of the endless Barren Earth.
The Holy City was tastefully simple and architecturally unadorned. It seemed to have experienced the weathering of countless years but still stood strong.
There was a saying in the Mortal Emperor World — Descent in the East, Holy in the South. This was referring to Descent City in the Eastern Hundred Cities and Holy City in the Barren Earth.
Rumor has it that the Holy City used to be called Heavenwatch City, but later on, cultivators never dared to act wildly in this city, so it became a land of peace. Eventually, people came to call it the Holy City instead. [1. Similar motif to Heavenguard, but a different word.]
On top of its simplistic style, an endless auspicious air permeated the s.p.a.ce above the city all the way into the firmament. A violet aura sometimes condensed in the sky. Needless to say, there were gigantic trees in the area, painting a verdant picture. Waterfalls fell from the sky alongside the palaces and floating peaks above…
Outsiders had never heard of any unbeatable sect or imperial lineage in the Holy City. Only some clans were mentioned at best. However, they would be sorely mistaken if they looked down on the Holy City for this reason! The Holy City was the gathering spot of the human race and was considered to be on the same level as the Eastern Descent City; these were the two biggest enclaves of the human race in the Mortal Emperor World.
Here existed the bases of the most ancient clans while sects and lineages were not as imminent. For example, one could only hear about a few clans such as the Cao Clan. However, those who understood the city knew that these quiet clans had existed for countless years. They were even older than some imperial lineages.
According to the tales, for many generations now, quite a few Immortal Emperors had visited the Holy City. Moreover, they never showed off their auras here and only came like ordinary people.
Even Immortal Emperors didn’t want to disturb the peace of this place. After arriving, they would come to look at the old remnants of the wise sages.
Because of this legend, the Holy City had always been tranquil. Even those who had feuds would not fight inside the city. They would go outside to settle the score instead.
While standing before the gates of the Holy City, one would see another rolling mountain range in front of them. It was extremely majestic and magnificent, rendering the spectators breathless by weighing down on their hearts. This spectacular mountain range was a beloved topic of the inhabitants of this world — the G.o.dwar Mountains; it is said that a battle between deities had taken place here!
Li Qiye softly sighed while looking at the distant Holy City. He turned around and saw the G.o.dwar Mountains behind him and his mind became even heavier.
After the final battle that year, rivers of blood ran rampant and mountains made of corpses occupied this land. Eventually, a new dawn was ushered into the nine worlds, signaling the end of the Ancient Ming Era.
Back then, after looking at the generals and wise sages who survived to walk out from the ruins, he asked with a heavy heart: “Where shall you all go from here?”
After a long silence, some generals wanted to continue following him while others wanted to return home at last. A portion of the army said: “We are willing to guard this land to protect the last light of dawn for the Mortal Emperor World!”
Since then, a battalion of this army stayed behind in this land and started their own families. They built a gigantic citadel and gave it the name, Heavenwatch! It wasn't until much later that it became known as the Holy City.
This was not a pleasant feeling for Li Qiye as he stared at the G.o.dwar Mountains. The most gifted and brilliant geniuses along with many invincible wise sages followed him to battle back in that era.
However, a countless number of them died here. It didn’t matter if one was a blessed son or daughter of the heavens or a wise sage, if one fell in battle, another would take their place. Because of them opening the path with their blood and lives, the army was able to stop one wave of attack after another from the Ancient Ming’s forces!
That war was too tragic. Their enemies were not only G.o.dkings but even Immortal Emperors! In the end, they were victorious and even Immortal Emperors were defeated. The new golden era began for the nine worlds! [1. Plurality is not explicitly stated here, but it can be plural. a.s.suming both singular and plural can be problematic in this translation, but I believe plural is the right choice here.]
“Brother Li, are we entering the city?” Ye Chuyun gently asked after seeing Li Qiye’s dazed state.
Li Qiye’s mind eventually returned. He looked at Ye Chuyun before shaking his head: “You go in first, I want to go to someplace for a bit. I’ll meet up with you later.”
“Okay, I have to meet a senior anyway.” Ye Chuyun was very sensible with her answer: “Just let me know when you are free.”
Li Qiye slightly nodded. Ye Chuyun didn’t say anything else and bade farewell before entering the city with haste.