Elder Zhen, Xiong Tian, and the others glared furiously at the young man who had spoken.
“Zhao Gu, why are you in such a hurry?” Bai Jun, standing nearby, said leisurely, “Changing their ingrained perceptions requires a bit of patience. Why not have a cup of tea instead?”
“Hmph, Bai Jun, don’t act all mysterious and cryptic in front of me. If you have the patience, then you can waste your time chatting with them. I have no such leisure.”
Zhao Gu snorted coldly and said, “I’d rather spend my time exploring this new place. Who knows, I might stumble upon something valuable.”
With that, Zhao Gu smirked and flew out of the spirit boat.
Seeing this, the other young men and women followed suit, flying out one after another.
“Tsk, tsk, this place is truly weak.”
“If I were to strike with my palm, I bet I’d wipe out a whole crowd.”
“Though the air here is quite fresh.”
“I don’t care about the fresh air. I’m more interested in finding a few useful cauldrons here…”
Elder Zhen and the others grew anxious, wanting to stop them, but with their strength, they couldn’t even track their auras, let alone catch up. Zhao Gu and the others had already vanished without a trace.
“There’s no need to panic.”
“Because even if you wanted to stop them, you couldn’t!”
Bai Jun said indifferently.
“What exactly do you want?” Elder Zhen asked with a grim expression.
“I told you, be patient!”
Bai Jun began brewing tea again, speaking slowly and deliberately, “Unlike them, I have the most patience.”
“So here, I’ll explain everything to you step by step!”
Elder Zhen and the others turned their gaze to him.
“First, let me explain the true realms!”
“The true realms are divided into the Five Human Realms, followed by the Nine Tribulation Realms, and then the Dao Realms!”
After taking a sip of tea, Bai Jun reopened the book titled *Nine Realms Compendium*.
“The Five Human Realms—after mastering the basics of physical cultivation, one enters the Five Human Realms, which consist of five stages. In your understanding, these stages roughly correspond to the levels before becoming a Human Immortal. I won’t go into too much detail here.”
“The Nine Tribulation Realms—there are nine tribulation stages. The levels from Human Immortal to Profound Immortal in your system roughly correspond to the First Tribulation Realm. The so-called Nine Transformations of the Profound Immortal’s tribulations are merely minor trials within the First Tribulation Realm. The Second Tribulation Realm encompasses your Profound Immortal to the 99th Layer of the True Immortal. What you call the Divine Tribulations of the 99th Layer of the True Immortal are actually just the trials of the Second Tribulation Realm. According to the orthodox system, your cultivation level is only at the Second Tribulation Realm. The Third Tribulation Realm, in your eyes, would be what you call a ‘god’…”
At this point, Bai Jun smiled meaningfully.
“After the Tribulation Realms comes the Dao Realms—divided into four stages: Touching the Dao, Merging with the Dao, Unifying with the Dao, and Proving the Dao! I won’t explain these realms in detail, as they are far beyond your current understanding.”
After hearing Bai Jun’s explanation, Elder Zhen and Xiong Tian were utterly stunned.
Their faces were filled with disbelief. If what he said was true, then their world was truly insignificant.
“Whether you believe it or not is up to you.”
Bai Jun smiled faintly. “Now, let me tell you about the origin of the black mist.”
“It was caused by a polluted severed arm that fell from the cosmos. Most of Yunxing, except for a few areas, has been corroded by the black mist,” Bai Jun said calmly.
“We already know that. You don’t need to explain it again.”
Elder Zhen raised his head and retorted.
Bai Jun smiled faintly. “It’s no surprise that you know, but have you ever wondered why you know?”
Elder Zhen and the others were stunned.
They truly didn’t know; it was just a legend.
“It’s simply because your masters wanted you to know,” Bai Jun said indifferently. “As for the reason, it’s hard to say. Perhaps they felt that since they were about to abandon you, they should tell you a bit of the truth.”
“Wait, if what you’re saying is true, then the Eight Great Sovereigns are still alive?” Xiong Tian seized the key point. “Our Nine Realms have existed for millions of years. Does that mean they’ve lived for millions of years?”
“More than that,” Bai Jun said calmly. “Lin Jiao, Chen Yu, and others are renowned even across Yunxing. To be frank, when they created your so-called Nine Realms, they were already at the Merging with the Dao stage!”
“And to progress from Merging with the Dao to Unifying with the Dao requires the power of faith. That’s why they created your Nine Realms and built a boundary wall—to seal you off.”
“However, while the boundary wall they built was meant to imprison and isolate you, it also protected you. Otherwise, this place would have already fallen into ruin.”
At this point, Bai Jun closed the book in his hand and looked up at Elder Zhen and the others.
“Now, let me explain our purpose here.”
“Because of the black mist, the limited territory and resources are insufficient to sustain the population. Finding new habitable lands has become a top priority.”
“So our mission is precisely that. Ten years ago, we set out on the Windbreaker Spirit Boat, wandering aimlessly through the black mist until we found your world today.”
“Therefore, our arrival here is a win-win situation.”
“We’ve found new territory, and you’ll gain protection.”
After saying this, Bai Jun looked calmly at Elder Zhen.
“What makes you think this isn’t an invasion?” Elder Zhen asked with a grim expression.
“That depends on how you interpret it.”
Bai Jun replied indifferently.
Xiong Tian asked sternly.
Bai Jun raised his head and said, “Zhao Gu may be blunt, but he’s not wrong.”
“With your meager strength, you can’t defend your Nine Realms. This sealing array, for example, will collapse in less than half a year.”
“And that demon I killed earlier—even if all the experts in your Nine Realms joined forces, you still wouldn’t be able to kill one. Yet, their numbers are endless!”
“So, it’s not that we’re forcing you. It’s that you have no other choice!”
“Of course, the same goes for us.”
“Because although your land is barren, it’s at least habitable.”
Elder Zhen and the others wore grim expressions.
They stood there, unsure of what to do.
Bai Jun’s words had struck them like a thunderbolt, leaving them overwhelmed and unable to process everything immediately.
After a long silence, Elder Zhen, with a complex expression, raised his head and asked, “If—just if—we agree to what you’ve said, what happens next?”
Bai Jun said calmly, “We’ll set up a teleportation array and bring half of our people here. We’ll establish a base and order on this side.”
“To accommodate enough people and avoid unnecessary conflicts, you’ll need to cede two-thirds of the Nine Realms’ territory to us. This way, we can coexist peacefully without interfering with each other.”
“Of course, we’ll also rebuild the array to block the black mist. Additionally, we’ll form specialized demon-hunting teams to eliminate any stray demons and ensure the safety of the people in the Nine Realms.”