Immortal Kingdoms

"A few hundred miles…"

Patriarch Ye muttered a long while later, his expression blank.

A few hundred miles of pure land, when each tribe had an underground space of barely a square mile, was a shocking number. In fact, everyone seemed to momentarily forget about what massacre took place under the guidance of this dare-devil in white robes.

Patriarch Ye quickly got back in his stern shoes and ordered a batch of veteran explorers to investigate the situation while he escorted the young tribe warriors back into the stone forest to prepare for migrations. For now, everyone tacitly agreed to never mention the matters pertaining to Leonardo and Wendy's sudden departure, as they assumed that Leonardo would take Wendy back with him to the higher realms, unaware of the implications this particular invasion brought to Arcadia.

However, the less they knew, the better.

Like this, a few months in the future, a flourishing and independent city would see the light of day after thousands and thousands of years of constant decline. In the period of peace, the suppressed emotions between the two genders would bloom explosively, and babies would join this world in droves.

When Little Yue grew up and started cultivating, she found countless articles and scrolls explaining the functions of the grand formation Leonardo left behind, allowing her to carry an expansion campaign to include every Divine Pool found in the second ring into the territory of the Hidden Ancient City.

Of course, as the pages of history flip one after the other, the scholars of the Hidden Ancient City would depict Leonardo as a saint who brought salvation, or a devil who brought corruption.

At the end of the day, Little Yue would always be remembered as the Divine Daughter who spent her four centuries of longevity in a restless campaign of expansion. On her final day, she spoke one sentence to the people.

"He was not a saint nor a devil, but a powerful big brother."

These words that only the Ye Tribe Elder and Wendy would have understood confused the scholars of both factions to the end of time…

…

Back in the present day, Grace Imperial Palace.

Aria was laying on Leonardo's bed as usual when she felt space fluctuate ever-so-slightly. Then, a long tear in space opened, and through the tear walked a group of three.

Leonardo who was carrying the sleeping Wendy, and the middle-aged High Saint who followed right after him, his expression riddled with shock and disbelief.

Then, his eyes landed on the silver-white fox who happened to be looking back at him. For some unknown reason, those calm crimson eyes seemed to spell death for him, sending shivers down his spine.

He immediately connected the terrifying power of tearing space apart to this mysterious silver fox, hurriedly offering his respects with a bow, "This junior greets senior,"

"These two are?" Aria tilted her head, curious as to why a High Saint from an invading army would follow behind Leonardo.

"This man here is a swordsman not interested the least in this war, and this woman here is my student who I picked up after some twists and turns."

Leonardo gave a brief introduction.

Aria grew somewhat interested, a student?

She swept her gaze over Wendy's body, only to jump to her feet in disbelief.

"What?!"

She was just as shocked as Leonardo to find that Wendy's constitution had undergone a talent transformation, just what is the deal with this middle realm planet?! It even had the means to produce an immortal constitution?!

No wonder Leonardo would take her as a student. Thinking that her House Hestia would have three— no, four immortals for this generation, her heart skipped a beat.

Since an immortal's lifespan is basically endless as long as they haven't lost their Immortal Kingdom, they calculate each generation based on the natural cycle of the birth and death of a star instead. Thus, even though the seniority is messed up between Nier, Leonardo, Wendy, and the former two's daughter, it would still be rounded up in a single generation.

In less than five years, the interstellar star of the ISC would die and thus a new one would be born, hailing the new generation of cultivators under 1000 years old. These young talents would then enter the Interstellar Supreme Institution.

Leonardo knew that Aria would most likely want a detailed explanation, so he signaled for the High Saint to leave and wait outside, anywhere in the city would do, while he brought the unconscious Wendy into the bathing chambers after calling for Juvia and Misaka.

Inside the bathing chambers, Misaka and Juvia helped each other rinse Wendy while Leonardo brought Aria on his shoulder and headed into his imperial study. On the way, he sent various summoning messages through the communication bracelet.

…

"Speak, what's the matter?"

Aria lay down on Leonardo's desk, watching him closely.

Leonardo sighed, washing down a cup of red wine down his throat before he began to recount his entire experience to Aria. By now, he was all too used to opening his heart to this unfathomable silver fox.

The shock was ever evident in the eyes of this silver fox for a while as she digested the information. "The Sky Mountains Domain might be a fragment of an ancient battlefield from beyond the world barrier…"

Aria muttered subconsciously. When she saw a trace of incredulity and interest in Leonardo's eyes, she realized she might have spoken too much.

"Do you mean there's more to the world barrier than the lower, middle, and higher realms?" Leonardo seemed to think of something, could it be that Lord Hestia and his son were lost beyond the world barrier as well?

"Don't let your thoughts wander too far, this isn't a topic someone on your level should touch."

Although Aria said this, she couldn't help but recall the terrifying seal in Leonardo's sea of consciousness. If even someone on that level wasn't qualified to know, who between this heaven and earth is?

"Come on, some superficial knowledge shouldn't be too much, right?" Leonardo was in a focused mood right now, he even forgot the main worries he wished to discuss with Aria due to his excessive curiosity.

Aria rolled her eyes. After thinking for a bit, she thought she might indulge this future son-in-law a little bit. "Between the immortals of the higher realms and the mortals of the lower realms and even the saints of the middle realms, there isn't much of a difference…"

According to Aria, people of the lower realms cannot survive without the planet that provides food, oxygen, and shelter for growth as a foundation. The same thing applies to the saints of the middle realms, albeit their dependence on the environmental protection provided by their home planet is split into a two-dimensional lane.

When the cultivators of the middle realms are strong enough, they ought to look after their planet, it could be said that their relationship is a symbiotic one. However, when things progress to the higher realms, the relationship between cultivators and the world around them grows into a three-dimensional relationship.

From the one-dimensional relationship between a cultivator and their planet, where the planet is an indispensable resource in one's life, to the two-dimensional relationship where the cultivator and the planet's fates are intertwined.

Finally, the third relationship between the planet and a cultivator; is a conflict for dominion. The third dimension of their long history is from the lower to the higher realms.

Why are planets extinct in the higher realms? Well, because as a planet goes through its transformation from the middle to the higher realms, it would generate the purest essence of Ether, which is a rare commodity to the cultivators trying to advance from the Divine to the Immortal realms.

Thus, the twisted relationship ultimately falls apart in the face of human ambition and greed.

Of course, this is where the world barrier comes into the picture.

The world barrier doesn't exist to block people and planets from ascending to higher realms but to protect them from the deprived lunatics who would stop at nothing to achieve their goals, even sacrificing billions of lives for a drop of Ether Essence.

The world barrier collects the bits and drops of quintessential energy from the planets that meet a natural end to their life cycle, ejecting this essence into the empty void of the higher realms, and allowing the divinities of those realms to fight fairly for them.

"Now that you understand, you can imagine what it would be like in a place where a world barrier doesn't exist. An endless darkness, where humans and planets are under the threat of sudden extinction on a whim. It's chaotic out there, too frightening to contemplate."

Aria sighed, "You only see the inside world barrier, unaware that the whole realms are contained within an even greater world barrier under the supervision of the Interstellar Supreme Court. The lower, middle and higher realms are all within this massive universe also known as a Stellar World, now do you understand why they are called the Interstellar Supreme Court?"

Leonardo's mind was in a daze for a moment as he digested this information, which only brought him back to his first matter of worry as he hurriedly asked, "Do you think the invading Sovereign is after the essence of Arcadia?!"

Aria was caught aback by this question, saying in a low voice, "A mere half-step divinity isn't enough to contend against the will of a planet, unless…"

"Unless…" Leonardo took in a deep breath, both he and Aria speaking simultaneously, "Unless he is carrying the will of his planet on his body!"

BOOM!

The sky above the planet shook, the atmospheric membrane cracking.

"Fuck!"