"That's enough." Elder Daiyu finally spoke out after a few minutes passed. Whether he agreed with this or not didn't matter, when it came to the face of the Daiyu clan, no one could be allowed to besmirch it. However, in all the time he allowed his grandson free reign, he hadn't heard a single sound escape Dyon's lips, nor had the coldness in his eyes faded. At that point It was nothing short of a farce for him to allow Chenglei to continue.

"Leave it be. He won't be of this world soon." Elder Daiyu finished, turning away and entering the cave.

Chenglei's fists stopped as he breathed heavily. Just like the previous Dyon, Chenglei was still waiting for his meridians to mature. As such, he had no cultivation, much like the last time he fought Dyon.

Just months prior he could remember vividly just barely losing to Dyon. And yet now, even after being allowed free ability to attack without retaliation, he hadn't even caused so much as a bruise on Dyon's face. In fact, if it wasn't for the small sliver of blood falling from his corner lip, it would almost be as though he hadn't been attacked at all.

How could Chenglei match up to Dyon's body cultivation? Even if his movements were sealed, that didn't change the fact that Dyon had a peak Essence Gathering body. Something Chenglei could never hope to match.

And yet, Dyon didn't feel any pride in this small victory. His eyes remained cold enough to pierce through to Chenglei's soul.

Patriarch Ragnor pulled Dyon by his shattered shoulder, into the dark cave.

**

Dyon walked silently down the dark corridor. He knew next to nothing about the Belmont Holy Land, and even less about the catacombs, but he assumed that wherever they were bringing him now was the source of all the secrets that had been held for so long.

Understanding that the mortal world had been sealed for the sake of powering an entity was an obvious conclusion after everything he had learned for the past three years, but that information was surface and shallow.

There were still too many questions.

Who was the entity? Did this relate to the same wars his grand teacher lamented, or was it an entirely different beast entirely?

If it really was about the war between the chaos factions and the old man's, how could his grand teacher sit idly by and allow this to happen? Was he not aware of what was happening? How could he not be?

This was a man who quite literally just reached his mind across dimensions and instigated a time lock that turned a mere split second into half of an entire year! This was a man who gave Dyon a technique to reverse the absolute death sentence of burning one's soul on a whim! This was a man with will so powerful, that his techniques were passed down through the ages as though they were the will of the heavens! How could Dyon accept an answer like 'he just didn't know'?!

Even worse, this wasn't the end of Dyon's questions. Why us? Why did he choose to steal talent from us in specific?

What was the history of Dyon's people? How did they come to find a place in a universe that used to be known as the strongest?

By the history he knew, the Kitsune and Celestial Deer Sect used to share this universe and quadrant as one. It was one of the rare few instances where the two main Emperor God Clans of quadrant weren't quarrelling. After all, if they were, how could they share a single universe together?

But, if that was the case, where did Dyon's people come from? They couldn't have always been mortal, or else there wouldn't have been any talent to steal Even more interestingly, human history only went as far back as about 5000 years, and yet that was only half the life span of a celestial. Considering the fact even dao formation experts wouldn't have been rare among this universe in the past, that amount of history is truly too pitiful to be the true amount Something was missing

Suddenly, Patriarch Ragnor's voice snapped Dyon out of his thoughts. "There's no use in thinking so hard, it won't do you much good.

"I noticed that you left all of your treasures behind to your widows. That's nice. But, I'll be taking them after this is over and done with."

Dyon's eyes narrowed. "To so clearly provoke a man you want to die for your sake. I can't tell whether you're stupid or overly confident.

"If you keep showing me that your word means nothing but dog shit, why would I allow you to have both my soul and everything else you want?"

Patriarch Ragnor suddenly laughed, "You overestimate yourself far too much. You truly believe that there is nothing in this world that can supress your soul? You think that if you continue playing this card that it will always work? For someone who claims to be intelligent, you're quite lacking." Patriarch Ragnor's eyes flashed with a dense killing intent.

A formless pressure spread trough the cave walls, but somehow, it was much different than before.

Crackles of red lightning illuminated the dark tunnels, causing Dyon's breathing to become heavy and his eye lids to droop not because he was tired, but because they had suddenly become much too weighty for him to hold up.

His entire body felt like a massive stone had fallen on top of it.

"Nave little boy."

Dyon's mind shook as he suddenly grasped what was happening.

In order to sense and manipulate celestial energy, one much first comprehend a rudimentary domain. Much like for one to sense and manipulate saint energy, you must first comprehend an intent.

These rudimentary domains were colloquially known as auras. Although that word was often tossed around in the martial world, when it was attached to a celestial level expert, it meant something entirely different.

However, a rudimentary domain was just that. It was the cusp of something great and would often be heavily tied to what you built your one with hearts upon. Because of this, it was often highly limited in true combat, only geniuses among geniuses would have robust enough cultivation hearts to manifest a viable aura

The reason why was simple. The step above a rudimentary domain, or a true domain, was a space where the laws of the universe no longer bent to the whims of those laws, but rather to the whims of the cultivation expert. That meant that without a strong cultivation path one firmly believed in on that you forged on your own it would be impossible to even form this true domain, and by extension, your aura would be weak from the very start.

The very fact that Patriarch Ragnor's aura was so powerful... Powerful enough to even stifle Dyon's soul Only meant that Dyon had vastly underestimated this man

There was no way he was a simple celestial expert

His aura was only a single half step away from a true domain

This was only possible for an unprecedented genius

"Aiyah. Don't feel despair.

"Listen. Since it is unfair that you've been left in the dark about so many things, how about I tell you a secret? With your pitiful senses you'd never be able to tell."

A sinister glow flashed in Patriarch Ragnor's eyes as he leaned downward toward Dyon's ear, whispering so that only Dyon heard.

"I'm a 12th stage celestial expert."