Tianzhu Mountain? The tallest peak on the Xuanxuan Continent, is it not? Located at the southernmost tip of the continent? Legend says the mountain reaches ten thousand ren high, stretching between heaven and earth, winding for hundreds of thousands of li, piercing straight into the azure sky, and spanning from one edge of the continent to the other. Ancient lore claims this mountain is the end of the heavens! Never mind humans or beasts; even eagles cannot soar over it. It has always been devoid of human presence, with none ever conquering it. Tianzhu Mountain—its peaks meet the sky, a barrier even gods and devils dare not scale!

Jun Moxie certainly knew of this mountain, and he held a deep fascination for it! Compared to the colossal Kunlun Mountain Range on Earth, how grand was that? Yet, this Tianzhu Mountain was so incredibly high; its overall altitude far surpassed that of Mount Everest. Moreover, it almost spanned the entire planet! This was truly a miracle among miracles!

Thus, Young Master Jun had long harbored the desire to climb it and see what lay beyond.

Yes, at that time, for reasons unknown, a section of Tianzhu Mountain suddenly collapsed. Firelight shot up over a thousand zhang into the sky, countless stones were hurled outward for dozens of li, and all the residents living near Tianzhu Mountain suffered immense casualties! Even the Divine Xuan Supremes could not escape. The very earth trembled, and molten streams capable of liquefying metal erupted from several fissures—it was truly a catastrophe that shook the entire mortal realm! After the devastation, the Xuanxuan Continent counted over ten million dead and injured. And following that event, more than half of the mountain range on the flank of Tianzhu Mountain suddenly gave way!

Previously, no mortal could ascend, nor could any bird perch upon it; the sides were sheer as cut blades. But after that incident, although human ascent was still impossible, the height was significantly reduced. This particular section of the range now stretched for a full several li! However, this collapse also allowed the people of that era to discover something crucial: the Xuanxuan Continent did not actually end at Tianzhu Mountain. Beyond Tianzhu Mountain, there was another world!

Mei Xueyan's voice grew heavy. Jun Moxie finally surmised that the core of the story must lie beyond that stretch of mountains. The catastrophe Mei Xueyan spoke of must have been a massive confluence of volcanic eruption and earthquake, he presumed.

After the peak collapsed, two bizarrely shaped entities suddenly emerged from the other side.

Or perhaps, they should be called men. Mei Xueyan continued, And these two strange-looking men engaged in a violent conflict with the strong cultivators on this side of the Tianzhu Mountain Range! In the end, several Supreme-level experts had to join forces just to barely slay them! But then, many more came crawling over from that region…

Even Supreme-level experts could not withstand a larger number of these monstrous beings. Yet, allowing these strangely formed and extraordinarily strong individuals to invade the entire continent would inevitably bring unimaginable disaster. Therefore, nearly all the Xuan cultivators on the continent gathered north of Tianzhu Mountain to mount a full-scale blockade! This was the very first Battle for the Heavens!

Mei Xueyan sighed deeply.

The entire continent united, standing as one formidable force. They finally repelled the horde of strange beings, but during the conflict, they gradually realized that against these foes, Xuan cultivators below the Supreme realm were merely sacrificing themselves needlessly, entirely uselessly. Even Quasi-Supremes at the fourth rank of Divine Xuan could not inflict damage upon these monsters with their full-power strikes. Therefore, this battle instantly transformed into one fought exclusively among the peak Xuan cultivators. All cultivators whose strength had not reached the Supreme level were dismissed and sent back; there was no point in causing more futile sacrifices.

It was around that time that the Xuanxuan Continent formed four major powers to more effectively repel the invaders! They were the Hermit Immortal Palace, the Supreme Golden City, and the Dreamlike Sea of Blood! Furthermore, since this battle concerned the future fate of the entire continent, the Beast Kings and Beast Sovereigns of the Xuan Beasts also participated, forming their own distinct faction. At that time, the Heavenly Punishment Forest faction held the greatest strength among the four, so they took the lead, proclaiming the area the "Foremost Fierce Land of the Universe!"

The Three Great Sacred Lands were established by selecting the strongest among all human Xuan cultivators. If any individual’s strength neared the bottleneck of the Supreme realm, they would be taken in by one of the Sacred Lands, then await the next Battle for the Heavens. During this waiting period, they were strictly forbidden from leaving, allowed only to diligently practice their Xuan Arts. Any slackening could lead to defeat in the Battle for the Heavens, and defeat meant catastrophe for all humanity! Thus, the Three Great Sacred Lands fundamentally became the strongholds for the Xuanxuan Continent’s elite fighters—and only true powerhouses had any chance of entering them!

As for our Heavenly Punishment Forest, we are Xuan Beasts; human cultivators would never join us. Consequently, over the long passage of time, the Three Great Sacred Lands grew increasingly prosperous, while the Heavenly Punishment Forest, governed by its natural rules of elimination, remained essentially the same. Thus, the Heavenly Punishment Forest, though the strongest force among the four at the start, has now gradually waned.

To better blockade the monstrous invasion, the Three Great Sacred Lands chose environments that were extremely harsh, yet immensely beneficial for a martial artist's advancement. As time wore on, the Three Great Sacred Lands gradually faded from the secular eye. Except for occasionally descending the mountains to find Xuan cultivators near the Supreme bottleneck to bring into the sacred domains, they rarely manifested in the human world. Over thousands of years, they have been largely forgotten, yet the Battle for the Heavens has never ceased!

This, then, is the origin of the Three Sacred and One Fierce. Mei Xueyan gazed distantly at the sky.

So that is how it was. Jun Moxie listened somewhat vaguely, offering a noncommittal reply, but in his heart, a wave of respect washed over him. So, beneath this veneer of secular prosperity, so many people were secretly maintaining this continent! And that war over there was fought with silent contribution and silent sacrifice… Merely for this fact alone, they were worthy of the title of Sacred Land.

That is why I was rather surprised that your master, a powerhouse of such cultivation, could still live freely beyond the world, Mei Xueyan remarked, slightly rolling her eyelids as she glanced at Jun Moxie.

Ah… perhaps my master simply has a naturally detached disposition and never sought recognition, Jun Moxie chuckled.

Perhaps so. However, in the last millennium, the Three Sacred and One Fierce have been embroiled in constant infighting, long forgetting their original purpose—that is also a significant reason. It must have chilled the hearts of many powerhouses… The Three Great Sacred Lands are no longer the original Three Great Sacred Lands, Mei Xueyan sighed, staring blankly for a moment before continuing.

As the daily blockade wore on, everyone became utterly exhausted, leading to proposals for decisive battles. After all, those coming from the other side were also elite fighters. Moreover, the climate south of Tianzhu Mountain was bitterly cold, an environment no ordinary person could endure. Thus, the monsters on that side also wished to cross over. But their arrival would inevitably threaten the interests here; furthermore, those people were despicable and filthy, scorned by everyone. Therefore, they absolutely refused to permit their passage here!

Later, a custom of fighting a decisive battle once every ten years was established. But later still, they felt ten years was too short—not enough time for both sides to recuperate and recover. So, it was changed to a hundred years. Even later, during one particular Battle for the Heavens, the strength of the continent's Three Sacred and One Fierce soared to unprecedented heights, and they managed to annihilate every single invading alien without exception! This greatly depleted their vital energy. Consequently, the aliens did not return at the ensuing one-hundred-year mark, only coming back with renewed force after two hundred years! But no matter how fierce they were, they were always driven back by the experts of the Three Sacred and One Fierce. This pattern repeated itself over a long period, continuing until the present day, when the interval has stretched to five hundred years!

Mei Xueyan sighed. The longer the interval stretches, from ten years to five hundred years now, the more it benefits them and harms us not at all. They strive ceaselessly because they long every moment to escape that harsh environment. But for us, five hundred years is far too long! Long enough for several generations to pass, long enough for people to forget the terrible consequences! Although the Three Sacred and One Fierce still exist, in a true sense, they are no longer what they once were. And, nobody knows when it started, but people from the Three Great Sacred Lands began infiltrating the continent, some even secretly manipulating the secular imperial courts…

As time went on, the changes intensified. In the most recent hundred years or so, the struggle for power and profit actually became a direction of covert contention among the Three Great Sacred Lands.

It is truly lamentable and pathetic! To this day, I cannot comprehend why, given the transcendent and lofty status of the Three Great Sacred Lands, they would still need such secular trinkets, Mei Xueyan lamented with a touch of melancholy.

And what is most heartbreaking is that the current Three Sacred and One Fierce are now about to engage in a Ranking War! Merely over a matter of who ranks first or second, they fight amongst themselves with intense enthusiasm, resulting in the waste and dissipation of so much strength on such internal strife! What a pity! Moreover, the next deadline for the Battle for the Heavens is within these next few years. At that time… after nine thousand years of steadfast defense, the outlook for this round is far from optimistic. I am genuinely worried, Mei Xueyan’s delicate eyes showing a flicker of sorrow.

Although we are Xuan Beasts and not considered human kin, we still regard ourselves as part of the Xuanxuan Continent. Since the age of nine thousand years, the number of warriors from our Heavenly Punishment Forest who have fallen in the Battles for the Heavens has consistently been the highest among the Three Sacred and One Fierce! We have long considered the Battle for the Heavens our sacred duty! Because we have shed too much blood for this cause! Though I may look down upon the humans of this continent, what we guard is this vast land, not these corrupt people. And the responsibility of protecting this continent, we of the Heavenly Punishment Forest, cannot evade! The ten-thousand-year reputation of Heavenly Punishment must not end under my surname Mei!

Therefore, this advancement in strength is imperative! We must achieve a sudden leap in the power of the Heavenly Punishment contingent, no matter the cost! Should the humans fail to resist the alien invasion in the Battle for the Heavens, then let us of the Heavenly Punishment Forest use our own bodies to push them back! At the very least, we can secure a mutual destruction against our opponents!

That is why we must participate in the Battle for the Heavens! But to participate, we must continue to rank among the Three Sacred and One Fierce! Otherwise, we won't even possess the qualification to join the battle.

Hearing this, Jun Moxie felt a surge of profound respect!

Jun Moxie knew he was not a good man, nor a gentleman; he even disdained being called a hero, a chivalrous figure, or a grandmaster. But true heroes, he admired and praised them just the same!

Just like Yue Fei, Martial Mu, in his past life’s history!

And like the White-Robed War God, Jun Wuhui, whom he now respected!

Mei Xueyan, despite being a Xuan Beast who had managed to cultivate into human form, possessed a persistence and breadth of spirit that should make all humans on this world feel ashamed!