489 The Battle for Seizing the Heavens, and the Fierce Trinity (1/2)
”Pillars of Heaven Mountains…? It's the tallest mountain in Xuan Xuan Continent, right? It's located on the southern-most point of the continent. And, it's said to be an extremely huge mountain. People say that it rises towards the heavens for thousands of kilometers, and shoots straight into the sky. It's also said to be very wide. It ranges across from one side of the continent to the other. Legends say that it reaches till the end of the sky! No man or animal can fly over it; even eagles are no exception to this. It has no signs of human inhabitation, and it's said that no one can conquer it. The Pillar of Heaven Mountain reaches to the gods. Even the deities and devils can't climb it!”
Jun Mo Xie knew about this mountain range. In fact, he was quite interested in it. [How would this mountain range fare against the Kunlun Mountains on Earth? Moreover, these Pillars of Heaven Mountains are supposed to be taller than the tallest ranges back on Earth. Plus, their highest point is so astounding that it is even higher than Mount Everest. Also, they stretch across an entire continent. They ought to be a wonder of nature.]
Therefore, the Young Master Jun had planned to scale it and take a look for himself.
”Yes, these mountains had suddenly started to crumble for some reason at that time. Flames had risen to many kilometers in height. Massive stones had been sent flying to dozens of kilometers. And, the millions of people who lived near these mountains were turned into corpses. Even Spirit Xuan Experts weren't able to escape alive. The entire land had shook. A strange and hot liquid had rushed out from the land underneath. This liquid was so hot that it could even melt gold. That incident was a calamity which had affected the entire human world. And, the death-toll of the Xuan Xuan continent had surpassed tens of millions after that cataclysm. Even the peaks around 'Supporting the Heavens' Mountain had suddenly crumbled by more than half in height…
”No one was capable of scaling those mountains before this incident. Even birds couldn't fly over. However, they had seemingly been cut down. People still couldn't go over it even though the size of these mountains had been reduced very significantly. After all, these mountains were still many kilometers tall. But, people soon discovered something startling because of this… the Xuan Xuan Continent didn't end at the 'Supporting the Heavens' Mountain! There was another world beyond these mountains!”
Mei Xue Yan's voice had become heavy. And, Jun Mo Xie had guessed that the calamity at the mountains must've been caused by a massive earthquake and volcanic eruption.
”However, two grotesquely-shaped things suddenly crossed over to this side after the peaks crumbled. Or it should be said that they were grotesque-looking men,” Mei Xue Yan continued to speak, ”Then, these two grotesque-looking men had a fierce battle with the people on this side of the mountains. In fact, it got so bad that the Great Masters of that era were forced to join hands in order to kill them. But, that area was soon crawling with many more of those men…
”Even the Great Masters of that era couldn't face so many of those strange men. But, those strange men possessed great strength, and they could've caused unspeakable destruction if they were able to invade the rest of the continent. Therefore, all the Xuan experts of the continent were concentrated to the north of the 'Supporting the Heavens' Mountain. These people then tried to stop those men with everything they had. That was termed as the first 'Battle for Seizing the Heavens'!”
Mei Xue Yan sighed deeply.
”The entire continent had stood together like an impenetrable wall. And, they had succeeded forcing those strange beings to retreat. But, everyone gradually understood one point from this battle… It was a wasteful sacrifice to send anyone weaker than a Great Masters to deal with those men. In fact, even the experts at level-four Spirit Xuan peak couldn't hurt those grotesque beings despite using the full extent of their strength. Therefore, these battles came to be fought between the strongest Xuan warriors of both sides. And, those who were weaker than Great Masters were told to disband and return. After all, there was no need for pointless sacrifice.
”Four of greatest forces were formed inside the continent at that time. The purpose of these forces was to deal with those invading forces in an effective manner. These forces comprised the Elusive World of Immortals, Great Golden City, and the Boundless Ocean of Blood. Even the strongest Beast Kings fought in that battle because this war would decide the fate of the entire Xuan Xuan Continent. Moreover, our force was entirely self-contained. Tian Fa Forest's strength was the mightiest amongst those four at that time. In fact, it could be said that Tian Fa's strength was greatest in the entire universe!
”The three great lands… the Three Holy Lands started to screen the human Xuan experts. And, people could go into the Three Holy Lands if their Xuan strength reached the realm of the Great Masters. They would then wait for the next 'Battle for Seizing the Heavens'. These people would undergo rigorous Xuan training during this time. In fact, they wouldn't even be allowed to go out. That's because any slack could result in a catastrophic defeat in the 'Battle for Seizing the Heavens'. And, a defeat in that battle would result in the greatest of calamities for all humanity. Therefore, the Three Holy Lands became like concentration camps for the continent's greatest strength. And, only the genuinely powerful would get the chance to enter the Three Holy Lands.
”Our Tian Fa Forest's force is naturally composed of Xuan Beasts. Humans would never join hands with us. So, the Three Holy Lands started to become increasingly prosperous as time passed. However, the Tian Fa Forest got stuck with its limitations, and remained the same as before. Consequently, Tian Fa started to decline even though it was once the mightiest force.
”Each one of the Three Holy Lands selected extremely harsh environments in order to check the invasion more effective. But, those environments resulted in great benefits when it came to the matter of strength advancement. Hence, the Three Holy Lands gradually faded away from the sight of the society at large as time went on. They would occasionally come out to search for Great Master level experts who would be willing to join their ranks. But, these three lands maintained no other kind of presence in the society. Thousands of years came to pass, and they were gradually forgotten by the society. But, the Battle for Seizing the Heavens never came to a stop!
”This is the origin story of the 'Fierce Trinity',” Venerable Mei was leisurely gazing into the horizon.
”So, that's what it is about.” Jun Mo Xie's reply had sounded a bit vague. In fact, it had seemed as if he had accepted this without thinking. However, his heart was brimming with admiration. [There are people who're protecting this continent in secret. They're fighting there in silence. They're making sacrifices in silence… these places are worthy of being called 'Holy Lands' because of this one point alone!]