Chapter 674: 674 is just afraid that she would be sad.
"An elder once obtained an Auspicious Beast Egg and wanted to hatch it, but nearly exhausted his Life Essence in the process," Mu Hanyan recounted.
According to him, Auspicious Beasts, like other Divine Beasts, had vanished hundreds of thousands of years ago. Most of the remaining beast eggs were depleted of Life Essence, to the point of running dry. If one were to infuse Qi into them as one would usually do with Exotic Beasts, they risked having their Life Force drained.
Had he not already reached the Sword Saint Realm at the time, he might not have survived. Although he preserved his life in the end, his Primordial Energy was greatly damaged, and it took him several years to recover.
Your Auspicious Beast Egg seems to be full of energy, so it might not be as dangerous, but it is still better to be cautious. Absolutely do not try to hatch it, or the consequences may be unpredictable," Han Jinglun seriously warned.
"Thank you for the warning, Elder Han, but don’t worry. I happened to meet a master who cast a Spirit Talisman on the beast egg that can gather the Heaven and Earth Power by itself, allowing the Auspicious Beast Egg to hatch on its own, so I don’t have to take the risk myself." Hearing Han Jinglun’s words, Mu Hanyan felt extremely relieved. Even a powerful expert in the Sword Saint Realm almost dried up to a husk; thankfully, she had Ye Yanran’s help back then, otherwise, she wouldn’t even know how she might have died.
"I have also seen this Spirit Talisman; it has the effect of gathering and condensing Heaven and Earth Power. It’s indeed a rare treasure of immense value. But having this talisman alone is not enough," Han Jinglun declared, shaking his head.
"Is that still not enough?" Mu Hanyan suddenly remembered that her father had seemed hesitant when they discussed hatching the Auspicious Beast Egg.
Could it be that relying solely on this Spirit Talisman was still insufficient to hatch the Auspicious Beast?
"Indeed, successfully hatching an Auspicious Beast requires the most refined and purest Heaven and Earth Power. Although this talisman can definitely gather and condense Heaven and Earth Power, the problem is, the Heaven and Earth Power of our Holy Court Continent is inherently fragmented and incomplete, so what use is its purity?" Han Jinglun explained.
"What? The Heaven and Earth Power of our Holy Court Continent is fragmented and incomplete?" Not just Mu Nan but even Mu Hanyan was shocked to hear this. This was something she had never heard before.
"Legend has it that hundreds of thousands of years ago, the Spiritual Energy between heaven and earth was abundant, and powerful beings were numerous. Back then, there were no formed countries; people were organized into bloodline clans, forming tribes of various sizes, even Divine Beasts had their own tribes.
Gradually, as tribes multiplied and populations surged, the Continent remained the same size, leading to insufficient Cultivation resources. To compete for Cultivation resources, tribes fought against each other, resulting in heavy casualties and deepening vendettas.
To combat a common enemy, some tribes formed alliances; these alliances merged into larger tribes, eventually leading to two major forces deciding to fight a battle to the death.
That ancient battle was said to be so fierce it shocked both heaven and earth, and gods and spirits wept. Not only did many tribes perish during the great war, but even the land itself was shattered into numerous fragments. Our Holy Court Continent is the largest of those fragments."
What’s even more terrifying is that the war had been so vast that it even disrupted the original Heaven and Earth Rules. Suddenly, the earth fractured and volcanoes erupted, creating impassable chasms across the fragmented pieces of the continent.
Fortunately amid the misfortune, these chasms separated our Holy Court Continent from the other shattered continents. After the catastrophe, our ancestors were spared the misery of war and were able to thrive until this day. However, while these chasms isolated Holy Court Continent from the other land fragments, they also divided the Heavenly Spiritual Energy, causing the Spiritual Energy of Holy Court Continent to become incomplete from then on, to the point where our descendants no longer called it Spiritual Energy, but rather the Heaven and Earth Power.
"Why, over the long history spanning hundreds of thousands of years, the strongest Swordsmen of Holy Court Continent have been unable to match those legendary ancient masters, is not because the legends exaggerate," Han Jinglun explained slowly, "it is because the Heaven and Earth Power is incomplete."
"There’s actually such a thing!" Mu Nan said in disbelief.
Mu Hanyan, however, did not speak. Although she had never heard of what Han Jinglun mentioned, upon reflection, it indeed seemed possible. In her previous life, she had visited several remnants of ancient battlefields. Although they were long-standing, aside from the ruins that were left, nothing useful remained. Yet the extent of the destruction made it easy to imagine just how powerful those ancient beings were, certainly not comparable to the present-day powerhouses.
Logically, with the development over tens of centuries, modern humans should be stronger than the ancients. So why have they become weaker instead? Mu Hanyan had pondered this question before. Initially, she guessed it was due to the loss of Cultivation Techniques or the gradual depletion of Heaven and Earth Power, but upon further thought, something seemed off.
With the intelligence of humans, the spirit of all living beings, even if ancient Cultivation Techniques were lost, with hundreds of thousands of years to accumulate knowledge and experiences, countless generations of strong Swordsmen would have surely conceived new, more powerful cultivation techniques.
And although the current Heaven and Earth Power doesn’t match the richness of ancient times, with enough time for cultivation, converging like streams into rivers, it should still be capable of continuous improvement. Once someone ascends to the Sword Saint Realm, their lifespan dramatically increases. Living thousands of years or even longer isn’t an issue, so why worry about not having enough time to reach higher levels?
Yet, over hundreds of thousands of years, despite many geniuses and many Sword Saints emerging, not a single one has rivaled those ancient powerhouses.
Considering this, the incompleteness of the Heaven and Earth Power is likely the real reason.
"This isn’t exactly a big secret; all major academies and the Royal Family have records of it. They say that once you ascend to the Sword Saint Realm, someone will naturally tell you, or you will gradually come to sense it yourself," Han Jinglun added, noticing Mu Nan’s skepticism.
Hearing Han Jinglun’s words, Mu Hanyan couldn’t help but give a bitter smile. In her previous life, she was about to learn these same truths, but fate had its cruel play; she died shortly after ascending to Sword Saint.
"So you’re saying, with the incomplete Heaven and Earth Power, it’s ultimately impossible to hatch the Auspicious Beast Egg?" Mu Hanyan asked.
She could now confirm that her father had known about this all along, but probably withheld it to spare her the heartache.
Mu Hanyan did not blame her father, knowing everything he did was out of love for her.
"It’s not entirely impossible. To my knowledge, the so-called forbidden zones around the edges of Holy Court Continent, are the chasms that border the other land fragments. It is very likely that they possess the complete Heaven and Earth Power. To hatch the Auspicious Beast, perhaps you could try going there," Han Jinglun paused, then added, "However, I’ve heard those forbidden zones are extremely dangerous. If you don’t have sufficient strength, it’s best not to try recklessly. Besides, the vitality of this Auspicious Beast Egg is abundant; it shouldn’t run out of life energy for at least a hundred years, so there’s no need to rush."