Chapter 2841: The Reason Within

“What? He’s one of the two virtuous sages, the Virtuous Sage of Heaven?”

“I never thought there would actually be two virtuous sages, the Virtuous Sage of Heaven and the Virtuous Sage of Earth, in our race’s history…”

“Our seniors were brilliant. They actually already began seeking the hope for their future descendants to break free so long ago, in an age so distant that it cannot be traced back to…”

…

The revelation of the Virtuous Sage of Heaven’s identity immediately led to quite an uproar in the Darkstar Divine Hall. As the Primordial realm experts gathered there were taken aback and stunned by the existence of the two virtuous sages, some people also began looking at the Virtuous Sage of Heaven with some doubt.

Very clearly, they believed the existence of the two virtuous sages, but they did not find the Virtuous Sage of Heaven before them particularly trustworthy. In other words, they did not accept him particularly well.

Jian Chen had finally learnt the true origins of the Virtuous Sage of Heaven in that moment too. The shock he experienced surpassed everyone else’s emotions.

“Senior Virtuous Sage of Heaven, there’s something I’m puzzled by. Since you’ve been sent into the Saints’ World since time immemorial, then you should have cultivated in the Saints’ World for innumerable years too. With the abundant resources of the Saints’ World, coupled with the great fortune of our entire race on you, you should have reached a supreme realm of cultivation that none of us dare to imagine. But why do I feel like the Virtuous Sage of Heaven’s current presence is nowhere near as powerful as I would imagine it to be?” the seventh hall master Getti asked his question first.

“That’s a good question, but I should break down this question into two parts to answer. The first part is with regard to an issue of time.” The Virtuous Sage of Heaven only smiled when he was faced with the hall masters’ obvious doubt and distrust. He explained calmly, “Although a period of time so long that even I cannot describe has already passed since I was sent out of the Darkstar World, I haven’t actually lived for that long.”

“That’s because while our clansmen did pay an extremely severe price to send me out in that distant age, my departure had not been a smooth journey. Instead, it was riddled with danger, where I could die from the slightest carelessness.”

“After all, I had to breach the Grand Exalt of the Wood Spirits’ seal in order to leave. Even though the Grand Exalt of the Wood Spirits’ power had been weakened by the residual power of our ancestor, it did not vanish completely. As a result, when the two of us left this world, the residual power of the Grand Exalt of the Wood Spirits tried to kill us. Even though we were blessed by our ancestor and we possessed the great fortune of our race on us, we still were not able to avoid the Grand Exalt of the Wood Spirits’ powers completely…”

“As a result, when the two of us reached the Spirits’ World, we were already dead. Fortunately, right when our souls were about to be destroyed, a sliver of our spirit managed to escape, perhaps due to the protection of our ancestor. Afterwards, we immediately escaped being killed off by the powers of the Grand Exalt of the Wood Spirit through reincarnation…”

“It’s just that how can the powers of Grand Exalts be eroded away so easily? Even though the Grand Exalt of the Wood Spirits was already dead, his will still remained, and a few laws of the world he set down when he was still alive continued to exist. As a result, after reincarnating, the residual powers of the Grand Exalt of the Wood Spirits continued to entangle with us, making our days numbered with each rebirth and leading to early deaths every single time.”

“Fortunately, we were under the indirect protection of our ancestor’s powers, and we possessed the fortune of the entire Darkstar race, allowing us to be reborn again and again in the battle against the residual powers of the Grand Exalt of the Wood Spirits…”

“In the end, even we reincarnated far more times than we could keep count of. But with every rebirth, we saw a brand new world. With every rebirth, the Saints’ World was a different place. Who knew how long had passed…”

“Finally, after countless rebirths, we finally reached our current life where we completely broke free from the cycle of torture from the Grand Exalt of the Wood Spirits’ residual power. Allowing us to properly cultivate.” Reaching there, the Virtuous Sage of Heaven paused momentarily. He continued with a lamenting voice filled with mixed emotions. “As a result, although the two of us left the Darkstar World a very, very long time ago, we’ve spent a tremendous amount of time battling the residual powers of the Grand Exalt of the Wood Spirits, undergoing rebirth again and again. The actual time we’ve spent cultivating is nowhere near as long as you’ve all imagined…”

Everyone immediately fell into silent thought when they heard that.

Rebirthing again and again, engaging in the most intense battle with the residual powers of the Grand Exalt again and again, dying again and again. What kind of torture was that?

At the very least, the troubles they had been through, the torture they had endured, and the great sacrifices they had made was not something esteemed Primordial realm experts like they who cultivated safely among the Darkstar race had ever experienced before.

In that moment, many of their doubts and distrust had been diluted, replaced by sympathy and deep admiration.

That was because they discovered compared to everything the Virtuous Sage of Heaven had been through, they seemed to be living in heaven. Even though they were trapped here, unable to leave, they had no need to worry about any life-threatening danger.

The Virtuous Sage of Heaven continued, “The second part is an issue with regard to my current state. Frankly, the seal that the Grand Exalt of the Wood Spirits placed on us doesn’t just forbid our race from leaving. It also prevents our race from entering this place.”

“As a result, since my main body possesses the bloodline of the Darkstar race, it cannot enter here. Otherwise, I’ll definitely die.”

“The figure you see right now is a soul clone that I only managed to cultivate after paying a certain price.”

“And calling it a soul clone is actually not completely correct, as it possesses my soul, but it does not possess the bloodline or presence of the Darkstar race. That’s not something I can explain with just a few words. In short, you can view this as my second soul, my second clone, or my second life.”

“And, the primary reason why my second soul is here is for the mission of conducting the great ceremony so that the great ceremony can proceed smoothly and succeed. I don’t possess much battle prowess.”

“Senior Virtuous Sage of Heaven, may I ask where the Virtuous Sage of Earth is?” For the sake of our race, the two virtuous sages have made unimaginably great sacrifices. Your spirit of selfless sacrifice has filled me with admiration. I only want to properly pay my respects to the two virtuous sages right now,” the tenth hall master Feng Xue said sincerely.

“The Virtuous Sage of Earth is in the Saints’ World and is unable to enter here. For now, only I can visit the Darkstar race.” The Virtuous Sage of Heaven fell silent for a moment before saying, “As for the other unimportant, small matters, we can talk about them in the future. I’ve assembled you all here today primarily to hand over some details regarding the great ceremony.”

Afterwards, the Virtuous Sage of Heaven reached the main topic. He explained the process of the great ceremony and the many issues and details that required attention to the many Primordial realm experts.

Everyone in the hall listened closely, afraid of missing even a single word. However, Jian Chen was rather distracted.

That was because at that moment, he struggled to remain calm inside. Never did he think the original body of the Virtuous Sage of Heaven would actually be in the Saints’ World, and he bore the great fortune of the Darkstar race on him. After all these years of cultivation, no one could imagine what level he had reached.