Liang Chen's gaze remained trained on the spot where Chang Yun had just been standing, his senses straining slightly. It looked like Chang Yun had just vanished but Liang Chen was actually able to feel a very faint trace of the law of water from Chang Yun just as he vanished, had he really used the law of water to do something so strange? He quickly managed to push down his shock and confusion, turning to look at Elder Chaotic.
"Elder, just who was that?"
Liang Chen knew his name and that he was the first person on the list of nine names, but other than that he didn't really know anything about the existence that now ended up taking an interest in him. Elder Chaotic moved his gaze between Liang Chen and the spot where Chang Yun had just stood, a somewhat complex emotion in his gaze as he responded.
"The Ever-Changing King, the Human Emperor, these are his most common titles but he has countless others due to his fondness of wandering incognito. He's different from my Creator and Senior Demon God, who are both incredibly famous in the major universes. Only those close to the very peak, or those he chooses to reveal himself to, know about his actual existence. He's the same as the Bloodwind Emperor, a man born only a few thousand years after this multiverse itself was created, in a time where cultivation and civilization were still in a state of infancy."
The multiverse was far more ancient than Liang Chen could possibly imagine, so how could he not be shocked upon hearing that this Chang Yun was almost as old as the entire multiverse? But Elder Chaotic wasn't done talking, continuing to shock Liang Chen.
"I don't know anything about what he cultivates or how strong he is, but my Creator once told me that there are three reasons as to why this multiverse has multiple rulers, rather than one single Multiverse Heart like most other multiverses. One reason is that other than one abnormality, none of the people that rose to power in this multiverse had much interest in taking the supreme ruler spot, the second reason is due to the fact that it would be a troublesome thing to do after the consciousness of the multiverse was killed, and the third reason is that man you just met. He didn't say anything else about it, only stating that it would be far too difficult and troublesome to take over this entire multiverse as long as that man was around."
The information that Elder Chaotic spouted whizzed through Liang Chen's mind as he did his best to absorb and understand it. He could guess that a Multiverse Heart was the upgraded version of a Universal Heart, a cultivation realm that Liang Chen had yet to understand much about. He understood the first reason, and while the third reason shocked him, asking more about it clearly wouldn't bring him anything, so he focused on three points that raised new questions in his mind.
"There was one among those nine names that wanted to take over the entire multiverse at one point? Which one attempted that and how did it end? And this multiverse used to have a consciousness at some point? Can something like that really happen? Also, who is Purgatory?"
Liang Chen already knew that even the elements themselves could acquire a consciousness, they just had to gather up enough Qi and then they would become elementals. But for an entire multiverse to acquire consciousness, was there even that much energy in it to begin with? Elder Chaotic seemed to have become a bit more patient as he nodded his head, his voice losing a bit of the sullen tone he had when he spoke to Liang Chen earlier.
"Yes, every multiverse is born with consciousness, it is what controls the various aspects such as the heavenly punishments and who gets to take over the various universes. As for the abnormality, it's her. The third name on the list, Qiao Xingmei, the first and last female Universal Heart Ruler to appear in this universe, she is also the reason there are no other female names on that list, which list all the Universal Heart Rulers. There are multiple female Universal Hearts, but due to Qiao Xingmei's actions, no other female has ever been able to take over a pillar universe."
Liang Chen noticed that Elder Chaotic directly spoke Qiao Xingmei's name even after telling him to never say them out loud. Chang Yun said earlier that there were actually only seven of the names on that list that he shouldn't read, could it be that this Qiao Xingmei had died just like Xiang Hong had? He didn't bother asking about it right away, quietly listening to Elder Chaotic and expanding his understanding of the multiverse.
"She wanted to become the Multiverse Ruler of this multiverse, she even managed to take over five of the nine pillar universes, which is the name given to the nine first Major Universes to be born. Other than her, none of the other people on that list have bothered to take over more than one pillar universe, saving them for others while they took over other major universes instead. Back when she did this, there were only three Universal Hearts present, the Ever-Changing King, the Bloodwind Emperor, and her."
"Her actions inevitably caused a terrible battle to break out between her and the Bloodwind Emperor, whose pillar universe she had set her eyes on. In the end, the Bloodwind Emperor won and she was forced to flee, but she tore out three of the pillar universes from this multiverse and brought them with her as she fled. As if that loss wasn't bad enough, the law of death that the Bloodwind Emperor had used ended up achieving something previously thought impossible, it imposed the concept of death upon the consciousness of the multiverse and the pillar universes. Suddenly, that which could previously only be destroyed by the law of destruction could be killed using ordinary laws as long as there was enough power behind them."
If Liang Chen could be said to end up somewhat shocked to what he learned earlier, then now he was so shocked that he almost forgot to breathe. Imposing death on the multiverse, tearing out pillar universes and taking them with you, were these actions that could be achieved by humans? If just the Bloodwind Emperor and Qiao Xingmei were this powerful, then he couldn't even begin to imagine the other people on the list. Just how freakish was the strength of those who managed to reach the peak of the multiverse?
Elder Chaotic gave Liang Chen a bit of time to digest the information but then quickly continued to talk, the answers to the questions he had asked earlier required quite a bit of talking.
"Two more pillar universes fell to the law of death that was already infesting them and even the consciousness of the multiverse fell to it. Before this time, the multiverse was actually a bit different. Heavenly tribulations didn't exist, there were only heavenly punishments. A heavenly punishment was an attack that the multiverse unleashed when a being was starting to grow strong enough to take it over, or when a being committed foul deeds, in that regards the multiverse was actually somewhat close to what you desire of the heavens."
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Liang Chen had countless times cursed at the heavens for being unfair and unjust, but it was only now that he learned that the heavens were neither unfair or unjust, they were dead.
"But the ruination of five pillar universes and the death of the multiverse's consciousness has scarred the multiverse. The ruined pillar universes have been born anew, but the consciousness of the multiverse remains dead, only its two most basic instincts just barely remaining. One instinct has become the weakened heavenly tribulation, that now attacks any cultivator or being as they grow stronger, and the second instinct is a result of the hatred the consciousness felt towards Qiao Xingmei before it died, permanently scarring all the pillar universes, even the reborn ones, and making it so that no female can ever take them over ever again."
Just how great must the hatred that the multiverse felt back then be, for it to permanently reject females from taking over pillar universes? And for that hatred to become an instinct that even persisted to this day? Liang Chen's head was already buzzing with new information at this point, luckily it seemed like Elder Chaotic was finishing up his explanations.
"As for Purgatory, it's not a who but a where. The Heaven and Hell Dominion that you were told about is actually a pocket dimension, it's the remains of the two pillar universes that were killed by the Bloodwind Emperor. And buried within those remains, within the very center of the sect that has taken up residence there, lies the now ownerless power of the heavenly punishments, the flame of purgatory. It's called a flame, but it's actually just a form of power that deals damage to all who touch it based on how many sins they have committed. It is the judge, jury, and executioner of the universe that has yet to find an owner even after all these years."
Elder Chaotic stopped talking after answering all of Liang Chen's questions, allowing him to close his eyes to organize both the new information and his own thoughts. In truth, there wasn't much he had to organize, he knew that the current him was far too weak to really bother with much of the information.
The only things that he had to care about were that this multiverse would likely never have a single ruler so there was no point in thinking about it, the truth about Purgatory, and maybe the fact that no females could take over a pillar universe. This last one especially gave him a slight headache, he could already imagine what sort of temper tantrum Yan Ling would throw upon learning this. After spending a bit of time going through everything, Liang Chen opened his eyes again and looked at Elder Chaotic.
"Where are you planning on going now, will you find a new planet to take up the role of Elder Chaotic again?"
The things he learned about just now were too far above him so Liang Chen put them all aside for now, it was better for him to focus on the present, especially now that he remebered something important. Elder Chaotic shook his head after hearing the question, his gaze momentarily sweeping the surroundings.
"No, I'll be staying here to take up the role. The land will one day grow verdant again and people will settle here, a new sect will settle around me and I will take up the role of Elder Chaotic again. It might take a while, but no stretch of time is too long for my Creator, he'll still be around when I have become worthy of returning to him."
His thinking was too rigid and uncompromising, only when he managed to fix this bad habit of his would he be worthy of returning to his Creator. Liang Chen nodded his head, not saying anything else to convince Elder Chaotic.
"Alright, I'll drop by when Ling'er decides to start up the Storm Wolf sect again, if you want to you can join us then."
Yan Ling wanted the name of the Storm Wolf to resound over the entire universe so he knew that she would inevitably start it anew, having Elder Chaotic on their side at that time would be a good thing for them. Elder Chaotic nodded his head but neither accepted nor rejected it, simply letting his gaze roam over Liang Chen for a bit before his body flickered and sank back into the black stone.
Liang Chen glanced at the quiet stone for a second before turning around and giving Yumao a pat on the head. Yumao understood his meaning and uncurled his body, flapping his wings and flying down from Liang Chen's head. He stretched his body to his full length of almost seven meters and allowed Liang Chen to sit down on his back, flapping his wings and shooting to the sky at full speed. Liang Chen looked into the distance, his gaze narrowing slightly as it turned colder.
"To Golden Dawn city, we have a treacherous mother that needs to lose her head."