Shen Lian asked, “Declining after prosperity is inevitable, but how did the Heaven Courtyard collapse?”

　　Ziling glanced at Shen Lian and answered, “The Emperor wanted to rule the heavens and dominate all living creatures, so naturally people revolted against him. In the human world, it’s like people would rise up for a revolution. Besides the Buddhist and Dao sects, the demon clans have never stopped rebelling against the Heaven Courtyard since day one. In fact, a Great Demon Sage actually made it deep into the Heaven Courtyard.”

　　Shen Lian then asked, “If the emperor was unbeatable, and the Great Demon Sage was about the level of a Tian Xian or deity, it shouldn’t be hard for the subordinate of the Emperor to defeat the Great Demon Sage. But how did he manage to attack deep into the Heaven Courtyard?”

　　Ziling smiled and answered, “The Great Demon Sage was a supreme demon and when they entered this state, their mana and supernatural powers would improve greatly without any limits. In fact, the strongest Great Demon Sage could actually challenge a Daoist Master or Buddha as their levels of cultivation are endless.”

　　Moreover, the Great Saint of the demon clan were of noble blood and had gifted potential. He once became the apprentice of a Daoist Master, learned about the ways of Dao and became the head of Dao and Buddhism. It was rare to find someone like that in the entire universe. Even if the Heaven Courtyard was filled with talented people, they could not do much about him. On top of that, he had six sworn brothers who were also Great Demon Sages and each of them was as strong as him. Although they did not attack the Heaven Courtyard together, the Heaven Courtyard was still fearful of them. They had to bring in a military of soldiers to ease the commotion.”

　　Shen Lian responded, “Presumably the Great Demon Sage didn’t overturn the Heaven Courtyard, so what happened after that?”

　　Ziling sighed, “That Great Demon Sage was suppressed but it wasn’t the work of the Emperor. I don’t know who did it but since then, the reputation of the Heaven Courtyard was badly damaged and its ruling power declined gradually. One day, the Emperor went missing and a civil strife broke out. That was the fall of the Heaven Courtyard that once dominated the heaven.”

　　Shen Lian had one more doubt and asked, “Was the Heavenly Script the reason behind the civil strife?”

　　Ziling replied, “You’re right. The Heavenly Script was the source of the disintegration of the Heaven Courtyard. The Emperor named the heavenly script as Jinque Jade Booklet and used it to create many different magic talismans. The Jinque Jade Booklet was said to be the core of the Heaven Courtyard. Whoever obtained it could be the next Emperor. It’s an irresistible temptation and that was why it triggered such a catastrophe. You might not know this but the Heaven Courtyard that we’re standing in is actually one of many Heaven Courtyards.”

　　Shen Lian was stunned, “One of many?”

　　Ziling smiled, “This is not the only place where living creatures would appear. Within the Milky Way, there are countless places similar to where we are. Many strong living creatures are born in these places and they have incomparably long lifespans. The Emperor was unimaginably ambitious and he spread out his influence to these places.”

　　Shen Lian nodded.

　　Ziling added, “Nobody knew how big the Emperor’s territory was. In other to protect his sovereignty, he replicated the design of the original Heaven Courtyard. He used up an uncountable amount of spiritual material to make the magic talisman known as the Heaven Courtyard. He made one after another and then projected the Jinque Jade Booklet on it and used it as the core of the Heaven Courtyard.”

　　The Milky Way was the channel of communication between the Heaven Courtyards. It was visible to the naked eye but hard to enter as the Milky Way is on the fence between fantasy and reality. As the Emperor’s mana increased, the Milky Way too enlarged concurrently to the point where it reached every corner of the universe and expanded the influence of the Heaven Courtyard.

　　Besides that, the Emperor and the four Imperial Lords of the Heaven Courtyard had several duplicate selves that would attend to different Heaven Courtyards. They then recruited the strong spirits of that particular area to make up the three hundred and sixty-five deities and make them embrace Celestialism and the path of Shen. With the help of the Heaven Courtyard, these strong spirits would be able to escape the trials of Dao and enjoy peace. But they had to obey the heavenly laws set by the Emperor and that means losing part of their freedom.

　　Many almighty seniors came here because they wanted to dispel of their trials of Dao and transcend beyond the mortal world. As they completed their cultivation, they left the Heaven Courtyard as they did not want to be bound by the majesty of the Emperor. They left to find somewhere else where they can be free.

　　This tradition was also passed down.

　　Also, after leaving the Heaven Courtyard, one would realize the vastness of the universe and will want to seek higher knowledge. When we reach that stage, we would also leave.

　　Shen Lian thought of the ambitions of the Emperor. It was probably something very rare back then during the ancient times and even now, during the modern times. The Emperor did not only wanted to rule the masses but also wanted to be an overlord to the living creatures that have attained Dao and become an eternal dictator. If the Emperor could defend such ruling system, he would probably be satisfied even if he could not detach like a Dao Master or Buddha.

　　“Grandmaster Qingshui came to the Heaven Courtyard after it collapsed. The Grandmaster saw the projection of the Jingque Jade Booklet and was inspired to create the Taixu Strategy. Because it was only the projection, she was able to accomplish it quickly. If she saw the real form of the Jinque Jade Booklet, it would most probably take her about millions of years to overcome the overindulgence of Dao meaning of the book,” said Ziling.

　　Shen Lian had many doubts in his mind. For example, when the Emperor disappeared and the deities fought over the Jinque Jade Booklet, even if there was a civil strife that caused the collapse of the Heaven Courtyard, it should not collapse to such degree. Furthermore, if the Emperor was such an invincible figure, how did he disappear so easily? There were too many mysteries.

　　Perhaps it was not Ziling who was withholding information, but her understanding of the matter was limited.

　　But to think of it, if the Jinque Jade Booklet was so precious, and a small projection of it was able to inspire Grandmaster Qingshui to create the Taixu Strategy, would Ye Liuyun not be concerned that he might be tempted to own it and not hand it over to him after obtaining it?

　　Shen Lian felt that he just walked out from a mystery but stepped into another one.

　　Ziling Fairy held Shen Lian’s hand as they transformed into a ray of afterimage and departed swiftly.

　　Shortly after they left, a loud explosive noise could be heard as a deep hole surfaced at the place that they were at before. Soon, a palace emerged from the hole. It was Yuming the Honored Celestial’s Lingxiao Hall.

　　The Lingxiao Hall was once the core of the Heaven Courtyard and the Jinque Jade Booklet was the core of Lingxiao Hall. If Yuming the Honored Celestial obtained the projection of the Jinque Jade Booklet, he could rebuild the Heaven Courtyard and become the next Emperor. Although he could not match the previous Emperor, he would still be one of the strongest ever existed. Lu Jiuyuan’s position as the best in Xuanmen would also be threatened.

　　There would be endless advantages if they could rebuild the Heaven Courtyard. At least they could avoid the trials of Dao and would not have to worry about the decreasing of their mana.