Chapter Eight: The Xuanhuang Continent and the History of the Yang Clan

As the foundation of a family's legacy and the precious inheritance passed down through generations, the Yang Clan's Scripture Pavilion was not only heavily guarded, but its construction had been executed with meticulous care. The entire pavilion was fashioned from Yellow Maple Wood, a material unique to Yellow Maple Mountain, renowned for its extraordinary strength. Situated in a location easy to defend yet difficult to attack, it could easily keep enemies at bay.

Of course, such defensive advantages only applied to those of lesser strength; should a Golden Core cultivator or a Golden Core demon of equal realm appear, no terrain would suffice as protection.

Drawing upon the memories etched in his mind, Yang Xuan entered the Scripture Pavilion.

“Elder Li, I’ve come to peruse some volumes,” Yang Xuan said, bowing respectfully to the elderly man reclining in sleep within the pavilion.

“Ah, it’s Second Yang! Wait—have you reached Foundation Establishment?” Elder Li opened his eyes just a sliver, glanced at Yang Xuan, then sat up with a surprised expression.

He spoke with satisfaction, “Excellent, excellent! I always said among your remaining brothers, you were the most promising. I didn’t expect you’d really prove me right!”

“I owe much to you, Elder Li. If not for your support of my father in those border wars, Yellow Maple Mountain would never have become the Yang Clan’s fief. Without this land, neither my brother nor I would have had access to Foundation Establishment Pills.”

Yang Xuan showed the utmost respect to this elder. Elder Li was no ordinary man; he was not only a cultivator whose strength had reached the False Core stage, but also a clan elder brought from Qi Cloud Mountain by Yang Huaiyun. Yang Huaiyun’s ability to establish the Yang Clan at Yellow Maple Mountain owed much to Elder Li’s efforts. Beyond his status as a trusted retainer, his relationship with Yang Huaiyun was even more complex. He had served as the bodyguard of Yang Huaiyun’s mother—Yang Xuan’s grandmother—when she married into Qi Cloud Mountain from outside. After her death, Yang Huaiyun, being a collateral branch, suffered greatly in Qi Cloud Mountain, lacking cultivation resources and often bullied by the direct descendants.

He managed to break through to Foundation Establishment only with Elder Li’s help and guidance. Thus, upon arriving at Yellow Maple Mountain, Yang Huaiyun not only treated Elder Li with utmost respect but also required Yang Xuan and the others to regard him as a senior. Any sign of disrespect would result in a stern reprimand from Yang Huaiyun.

“Ah, if only your grandmother were still alive, how pleased she would be to see her children and grandchildren succeed.” Perhaps recalling Yang Xuan’s grandmother, Elder Li’s mood darkened. He waved his hand at Yang Xuan and tossed him a formation token. “Find whatever books you wish. Here’s the token for the second floor. Return it to me when you’re done.”

Yang Xuan caught the token in surprise. “Elder Li, I can go to the second floor?”

“Why not? You’ve broken through to Foundation Establishment. What use are the books on the first floor now? Only those upstairs can truly benefit you.” After a pause, Elder Li added, “Remember, the volumes on the second floor are the inherited techniques your father brought from Qi Cloud Mountain. They are the foundation of the Yang Clan’s existence in Xuanhuang—never reveal them to outsiders!”

“Yes, I understand!” Yang Xuan bowed respectfully, then turned to walk deeper into the pavilion.

Fingering the token Elder Li had given him, Yang Xuan felt a surge of excitement. He had expected only to browse the ordinary books on the first floor; the chance to access the second floor was an unexpected delight.

Still, before ascending, Yang Xuan decided to first explore the ground floor. The first floor held many books, spanning several shelves, but very few concerned cultivation. Most were miscellaneous writings, as well as general knowledge about the various races of the Xuanhuang Realm.

Yang Xuan scanned the shelves, selecting a copy of “A General History of Xuanhuang” and began reading it with interest.

For Yang Xuan, he already possessed a cultivation technique—the “Flowing Flame Crimson Fire Art” from the second floor, suitable for training up to the Golden Core stage and presently the best fit for him. Even if he accessed the second floor, he could only consult techniques of similar rank, perhaps acquiring an additional spell or two. Since Yang Huaiyun had ordered him to study in the Scripture Pavilion, he had plenty of time. It would be wiser to first acquaint himself with the basics of the Xuanhuang Realm, broadening his understanding and laying a foundation for his future plans.

As he read, Yang Xuan’s brows knit together.

The book’s content was vague and sometimes glossed over important matters. Some views were mere hearsay, mixed in without verification.

Nonetheless, Yang Xuan gained a general understanding of the Xuanhuang Continent. The Xuanhuang Realm consisted of a single continent and countless islands, all surrounded by vast oceans. Currently, the dominant races known in the realm were the Human Clan, Demon Clan, Ocean Clan, and the Divine Clan.

Throughout history, humans had always been oppressed and domesticated by other races. The Demon and Ocean Clans raised humans for food, while the Divine Clan kept them to harvest their faith.

This situation persisted for tens of thousands of years, until a few thousand years ago, when the Celestial Court’s Starfleet discovered this realm.

An alliance of six great sects—the Sword Sect, Heavenly Profound Sect, Beastmaster Sect, Profound Water Palace, Divine Puppet Gate, and Soul Hall—swept into the Xuanhuang Realm.

Their first adversary was the Divine Clan, the previous overlords. The two sides battled for nearly a thousand years, until three thousand years ago, when the Divine Clan was defeated and withdrew from the continent’s center.

Over the subsequent three millennia, the alliance consolidated the formerly domesticated humans, recuperated, and gradually expanded outward, plunging the Xuanhuang Realm into a near-constant state of war.

“The Divine Clan was truly unfortunate!” Yang Xuan sighed after finishing the continent’s history.

Once the Celestial Court grasped the utility of faith, it developed a deep animosity towards the Divine Clan, who fed on faith. In every world, as soon as the Celestial Court’s army arrived, the Divine Clan was their primary target for extermination.

It mattered not whether one was a benevolent deity or a malevolent one—any who contested their faith was unacceptable!

After absorbing the information from “A General History of Xuanhuang,” Yang Xuan picked up another book.

“The History of the Yang Clan.”

This volume meticulously detailed the origins of the Yang Clans of Yellow Maple Mountain, Qi Cloud Mountain, and other fiefs.

According to the book, the Yang Clan had once been a seventh-rank family boasting a Nascent Soul cultivator, but a thousand years ago, they were ambushed by the Howling Moon Wolf Clan of the Demon Race, resulting in the family’s fragmentation. The survivors had to exchange their merits for Qi Cloud Mountain, settling there.

To avoid another catastrophe, the Yang Clan changed their approach, no longer gathering all their descendants in one place. Whenever a member broke through to Foundation Establishment, the clan allowed them to choose their path: those who wished to remain at Qi Cloud Mountain could continue their cultivation there; those with ambition would be given resources and manpower to earn merit on the battlefield. If successful, they could semi-separate from the main branch and establish their own family.

Under this arrangement, although the Yang Clan had not regained its former seventh-rank glory over the past millennium, the numerous fief descendants made them a powerful force within the territory of the Heavenly Profound Sect.

Not only in the Heavenly Profound Sect’s domain—even the territories of several other great sects now boasted Yang Clan descendants.

Yang Xuan recalled that, in the memories of his former self, his greatest wish was to break through to Foundation Establishment, earn merit on the battlefield, and establish a clan of his own, becoming the lord of a mountain.