What entered this massive cavern beneath the lakebed of South Yu Lake was not Chen Yan's true body, but rather his External Incarnation.

Moreover, this was not the only incarnation Chen Yan had currently dispatched on a mission.

Another External Incarnation had already made its way toward the edge between the Western Region and the northwest region of the Chenping Continent, in the direction of the Martial Immortal Mountain Range.

Not long ago, what Qin Qingyu had said to Chen Yan had weighed heavily on his mind.

Hidden within the Martial Immortal Mountain Range was a Sage's Cause and Effect.

When Qin Qingyu had returned from the Star Heaven Sect to Du Cang Mountain and revealed this secret to Chen Yan, he had harbored no doubt whatsoever. In his previous understanding, he and Mr. You were the only two cultivators in this world who possessed any true knowledge of the truth behind a Sage's Cause and Effect.

But Qin Qingyu's words had overturned that conclusion entirely.

Even though Chen Yan had established Du Cang Mountain and proclaimed himself the Steward of Chenping Continent, bringing every Immortal Ascension cultivator on the continent under his command, he still did not have complete control over the cultivation world of Chenping Continent.

There still remained countless secrets in this world that Chen Yan had yet to understand.

And in the face of Bai Chen's just-now praise of this "External Incarnation," Chen Yan had nothing much to say.

Whether it was the Great Derivation Art or the Hidden Immortal Art, the tier of these techniques was exceptionally high.

So high that even a Sage at the Uncarved Simplicity Realm, the second realm of the Five Realms Above Immortality, would feel genuine awe upon seeing them.

"The Sage flatters me."

And so, Chen Yan only said this much.

"I've heard that you are now the Steward of this domain's heavens, so I was wondering, should I now address you with respect as Sage Chen?"

Bai Chen's tone was casual and indifferent, making it impossible for Chen Yan to discern what was truly going through his mind.

Of course, what the Sage of Imperial Void was thinking had never been something Chen Yan could speculate on.

"This junior is merely a cultivator who recently stepped into Immortal Ascension. This so-called 'Steward of Chenping Continent' is nothing more than an empty title I placed upon myself to address the crisis Chenping Continent currently faces. I could never be worthy of sage authority."

Chen Yan said calmly.

"I, on the other hand, do hope that you can bear the weight of sage authority."

Bai Chen let out a soft chuckle.

Chen Yan only had a vague concept of what sage authority truly meant.

All he knew was that back then, when he should have fallen on the Tianji Continent, and now, when Li Haowen, who should have already been dead, had become a "living corpse," both were the result of the Sage of Imperial Void's authority.

Death Not Permitted.

Three incomparably domineering words, capable even of preventing the withering of life. No matter what, one would be kept in this world.

Bai Chen said he hoped Chen Yan could bear the weight of sage authority.

Chen Yan did not understand the meaning behind Bai Chen's words, but he believed that Bai Chen was most likely not testing his ambition.

After all, in his view, a Sage was actually quite tolerant of the emergence of another Sage.

Otherwise, Bai Chen, the Ultimate Sage of Imperial Void, would never have allowed Zuo He, the Ultimate Sage of Heaven's Extremity, to grow to prominence.

Moreover, based on Chen Yan's observations and deductions regarding Bai Chen and Zuo He, these two Sages of the Uncarved Simplicity Realm who had both once governed this domain's heavens, the relationship between them was in fact quite harmonious.

If it were not so, the Remnant Soul of the Tianji Sage would never have appeared within the sea of consciousness of Bai Chen's remains.

"This junior only hopes to restore the celestial order of this domain's heavens, so that the cultivation world of Chenping Continent need no longer be threatened from beyond the heavens."

Chen Yan answered.

Upon hearing this, Bai Chen merely smiled and shook his head lightly:

"I advise you, it's best not to hold onto such unrealistic fantasies."

Chen Yan also knew that the possibility of contending against that existence behind the spatial rifts was nearly zero.

Even someone as mighty as the true Steward of this domain's heavens, the Sage of Imperial Void Bai Chen, had been forced to flee in panic, splitting his cause and effect into several segments and hiding them in various corners of the Chenping Continent.

Let alone someone like himself?

The establishment of Du Cang Mountain was, in fact, itself a form of Chen Yan giving up resistance.

Because establishing Du Cang Mountain represented Chen Yan placing all his hopes entirely on those who would come after him, rather than relying on himself.

Still, it truly was a worthwhile attempt.

As Chen Yan mused over this, his gaze inadvertently landed on one of the corpses within the mountain of corpses beneath Bai Chen.

He looked at the color and patterns on the daoist robes of that corpse's sleeves, and his mind suddenly went completely blank.

Immediately after, Chen Yan's gaze swept rapidly across the daoist robes worn by the corpses on this mountain of corpses.

He had discovered an absolutely astonishing fact!

That was, all the corpses on the mountain of corpses that Bai Chen was currently sitting upon were wearing daoist robes that came from the twelve Immortal Sects of the Tianji Continent!

Moreover, and moreover...

"What's the matter?"

Bai Chen, having noticed Chen Yan's gaze, revealed a smile:

"Did you only just now realize that these people were all killed by you alone at the foot of Qingxuan Mountain back then?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Yan fell silent for a moment:

"I remember that back then, the Sage once told me that in order to save the mess of the Tianji Continent, everything needed to be pushed down and started anew."

All laws, spiritual energy, and holy spirits would return to chaos, and then this domain's heavens would once again undergo evolution, with only me alone surviving.

This was the exact words the Sage of Imperial Void had spoken to Chen Yan before the doom of the Tianji Continent.

"That's right, exactly so."

Bai Chen smiled upon hearing this:

"But after all, I am a Sage who can dominate a domain's heavens. When one wields sage authority, there will always be some shortcut methods to bypass restrictions."

"But Sage, why did you preserve the corpses of these cultivators?"

Chen Yan continued to ask.

"Because I did not have the confidence to completely reshape this domain's heavens."

Bai Chen answered:

"The mess Zuo He left behind was far more severe than imagined. If the damage to the laws of heaven and earth is too great, it becomes absolutely irreversible. I could only forcefully attempt to reshape the heavens, and as you can see from the final result, the laws of heaven and earth on Chenping Continent are incomplete. They simply cannot support the emergence of cultivators above the Returning to Void Realm. Even Immortal Ascension cultivators are unavoidably restricted by the laws of heaven and earth."

As he spoke, Bai Chen paused for a brief moment:

"And this mountain of corpses is the contingency plan I left behind."

"A contingency plan?"

Chen Yan was puzzled.

"These corpses represent the Tianji Continent that has vanished from this world. The sage authority I can wield is also the sage authority of the past Tianji Continent, not the sage authority of the current Chenping Continent..."

Bai Chen said:

"After all, this flawed Chenping Continent of today could never possibly be governed by any Sage."

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