Several more days passed before the specific causes and consequences of the great battle between the two sects, and what had transpired, gradually reached Ding Yun and his fellow townsfolk in the remote northern city of Beihai.
It was said that the enmity between the two great sects traced back over four thousand eight hundred years.
The founding ancestor of the Corpse Puppet Sect and the founding ancestor of the Rising Sun Sect were originally sworn brothers. They had once ventured together into a dilapidated secret realm, each obtaining their own gains. One acquired the Corpse Refining Secret Technique and a drop of a Drought Demon's essence blood, while the other obtained the Rising Sun Golden Body Art and the Rising Sun Golden Pearl. They then cultivated based on their respective gains and founded their own sects.
The founding ancestor of the Corpse Puppet Sect had inferior aptitude. After reaching the Golden Core True Monarch realm with the Corpse Refining Secret Technique, he found it difficult to break through to the Nascent Soul stage. As his lifespan dwindled, unwilling to die, he risked forcibly merging with the drop of Drought Demon's essence blood.
His intention was to transform himself into a Drought Demon.
However, in the end, he neither succeeded nor failed.
His transformation stalled midway. A single drop of Drought Demon's essence blood was insufficient to fully transform him into a Drought Demon, nor was his cultivation strong enough to support such a transformation.
Nevertheless, he gained some residual memories from the Drought Demon.
These memories revealed that the secret realm they had entered was originally created by a Drought Demon, and both the Rising Sun Golden Body Art and the Rising Sun Golden Pearl found within were specifically prepared for Drought Demons.
The Rising Sun Golden Body Art could assist beings who consumed Drought Demon essence blood in absorbing the power of the great sun's yang energy, indirectly strengthening the Drought Demon essence blood and accelerating their transformation into true Drought Demons. The Rising Sun Golden Pearl was a complementary treasure. With the Rising Sun Golden Pearl, after consuming Drought Demon essence blood, one would only need to cultivate the Rising Sun Golden Body Art for a few centuries to become a Drought Demon.
Without the accompaniment of the Rising Sun Golden Pearl, it would take thousands of years of diligent cultivation.
Most importantly, the Rising Sun Golden Pearl was actually a treasure refined from the core of a zombie at the Immovable Bone stage, combined with the essence of the great sun. While it appeared to be a magical artifact that aided cultivation, it was, in reality, a pill.
It was a pill that only a Drought Demon could consume.
Upon absorption and refinement by a Drought Demon, it could lead to a transformation into an Immovable Bone.
The so-called Immovable Bone was, in fact, a stage beyond that of a Drought Demon. In terms of power, it was almost comparable to a human's Tribulation Crossing stage, and possibly even stronger.
By the time the founding ancestor of the Corpse Puppet Sect learned these details, it was too late. As a partially transformed Drought Demon, his movements were somewhat restricted, let alone his ability to exert the true strength of a Drought Demon. Thus, he could only feign death, go into hiding, and begin cultivating the Rising Sun Golden Body Art.
However, without the assistance of the Rising Sun Golden Pearl, his cultivation speed was very slow.
It was only recently that he successfully transformed into a Drought Demon.
Subsequently, he exploited the Drought Demon's characteristic of not only increasing cultivation through normal means but also creating droughts and absorbing disaster energy to enhance his power. This led to the severe droughts that plagued several prefectures for months, an event unprecedented in centuries, which he used to boost his cultivation.
It was precisely the increase in his strength from the drought that gave him the confidence to attack the Rising Sun Sect and seize the Rising Sun Golden Pearl.
He was almost successful. He had already managed to kill the only Nascent Soul stage ancestor remaining in the Rising Sun Sect at the time. Who would have expected that the sect leader who wielded the Rising Sun Golden Pearl at that moment would be so decisive and reckless as to trigger its explosion, intending to take his attacker with him? In the end, all his efforts were in vain, and he lost his own life.
Following this great battle, the Great Gan Dynasty quickly descended into chaos. However, the initial unrest was not among the sects or the imperial family, but among the common people.
One had to understand that the self-destruction of the Rising Sun Golden Pearl not only killed a Drought Demon but also the pearl itself, which was refined from the essence of an Immovable Bone, a realm even higher than that of a Drought Demon.
Thus, it was equivalent to an Immovable Bone and a Drought Demon perishing together. The energy released from their deaths did not vanish into thin air. Consequently, as soon as the battle concluded, an almost infinite amount of scorching heat erupted outwards from the Rising Sun Sect, engulfing an area of a thousand li and turning it directly into a sea of fire, where nothing survived.
Within a radius of ten thousand li, temperatures soared severalfold, causing many to die of heatstroke on the spot, with only a few managing to escape.
Furthermore, over vast expanses of a hundred thousand li, even several hundred thousand li, terrifying droughts emerged. Lakes, rivers, and well water evaporated in large quantities, and countless plants withered. Not only did nearly half of the Great Gan's territory suffer from this, but adjacent countries also had significant areas affected by the disaster, resulting in extremely dire subsequent consequences.
Therefore, before the major sects could even stir, half of the Great Gan Dynasty's land was directly afflicted by a terrifying drought, and soon after, millions of refugees from the drought-stricken areas flooded into the remaining half.
Moreover, the neighboring countries that were incidentally affected by the droughts began to condemn Great Gan and demand compensation.
After all, they had suffered a calamity through no fault of their own.
It was a case of disaster striking unexpectedly.
If the Nascent Soul stage ancestor of the Rising Sun Sect had not died, the neighboring countries might have been more polite. However, with the only Nascent Soul stage ancestor in Great Gan gone, and the Nascent Soul stage ancestors of other countries still alive, those demanding compensation were filled with confidence, unafraid of Great Gan's refusal.
If Great Gan truly refused, these countries, without even needing to mobilize their Nascent Soul stage ancestors, could unite and dispatch enough Nascent Soul Venerables to directly besiege the Great Gan capital and demand compensation.
Thus, at this juncture, the Great Gan Dynasty found itself beset by enemies both internally and externally, facing threats from all sides.
And this situation was considered fortunate. If the lands bordering the neighboring countries had not largely turned into barren soil, and if millions of its citizens did not require relief and assistance, instead of demanding compensation, these countries would have joined forces to carve up Great Gan.
However, the remaining intact land was too scarce, separated by a vast expanse of barren earth, rendering it a virtual exclave. The sheer number of refugees also made invasion and division unprofitable. Hence, they opted for compensation.
To provide disaster relief, aid refugees, and resettle them, as well as to prepare compensation supplies, the Great Gan imperial family was at its wit's end. They intensified their crackdown on corrupt officials, levied extensive taxes on merchants, and even resorted to selling official positions and noble titles, hoping wealthy merchants would contribute funds and grain.
In addition, they turned their attention to the Corpse Puppet Sect and the Rising Sun Sect. While they joined forces with other sects to breach the Corpse Puppet Sect's stronghold and plunder their remaining treasures, they also united with other sects to collectively condemn the Rising Sun Sect, demanding that it bear the compensation costs.
As for the outcome, it could only be said that their aspirations were wishful thinking.
The Corpse Puppet Sect had very little left; their valuable possessions had been taken by the few escaping Golden Core True Monarchs, whose whereabouts were now unknown, certainly outside of Great Gan. The Rising Sun Sect, on the other hand, declared themselves victims and threatened mutual destruction if pushed too far, stating it wouldn't be their first time.
Despite the heavy losses incurred by the Rising Sun Sect, they still had numerous surviving Nascent Soul Venerables and Golden Core True Monarchs. If they were to go berserk, no single sect could contend with them alone.
Therefore, a compromise was inevitable.
Having gained little from these two major sects, what difference would confiscating the property of a few corrupt officials or increasing taxes on ordinary citizens make? It was but a drop in the ocean.
Unable to resolve the crisis themselves, they resorted to delegation.
Refugees were dispersed to unaffected regions and assigned to those areas for management, with the expectation that these regions would also bear a portion of the external compensation. Jiyun City, naturally, was not exempt.
In essence, a wave of public resentment swept through the land. Regardless of whether they were local residents, powerful local families, wealthy merchants, or minor officials, all were deeply dissatisfied.