Free Web NovelChapter 1864: A Unique Civilization
Fuhai was an oddity within the Dragon Clan of the Immortal Realm.
He was the illegitimate son of the former North Sea Dragon King, and his dragon bloodline was far from pure.
Yet despite that, he carved out his own legend—step by step, claw by claw—in the brutal, frozen lands of the Northern Kuru Continent[1].
Hundreds of thousands of years later, this self-proclaimed Flood Dragon King had risen to the rank of overlord, earning the title “Great Sage Who Overturns the Seas”[2].
Fuhai had also formed a sworn brotherhood with several top-tier Yao Kings of the Immortal Realm. Together, they were known as the Seven Great Sages!
Every one of them possessed overlord-level strength.
Aside from the Nuwa Palace, almost no power commanded the same level of awe as the Seven Great Sages within the Immortal Realm Civilization.
As for newer Yao factions like Lion Camel Ridge, which only rose in the past hundred thousand years, they were simply not on the same level.
The powers within the Primordial Land were bound together by a web of complex relationships.
Take the Great Sage Who Overturns the Seas, for example—he was both a member of the Dragon Clan and part of the Yao race.
If he were drawn into a conflict, the Yao forces behind him, especially the Seven Great Sages, would move without hesitation.
The Seven Great Sages acted as one. Their brotherhood was legendary throughout the Immortal Realm.
Any mobilization involving the Dragon Clan and the Seven Great Sages would inevitably affect the stance of other top-tier powers across the Immortal Realm.
The Magus Civilization and the Immortal Realm had long maintained friendly ties. Hundreds of thousands of years ago, the two sides engaged in frequent exchanges and cooperation.
There were occasional disagreements, but overall, their relationship remained strong.
Now that the Magus Civilization had launched a war that would shake the entire world, should the Immortal Realm, as its longtime ally, not step in—both out of obligation and simple logic?
One reason internal conflicts in the Immortal Realm had intensified over the past hundred thousand years was the lack of a worthy external rival.
The Immortal Realm was simply too powerful!
Over the past two hundred thousand years, it had annexed dozens of large worlds, along with countless medium-sized and small planes.
While the Magus Civilization expanded at a steady pace under the relatively “moderate” Magus Alliance system, the Immortal Realm—driven by its Great Sage Courts—pushed outward aggressively, conquering and expanding in every direction.
The Immortal Court system was a model of expansion that the Immortal Realm had leaned on more and more over the past hundred thousand years.
In that time alone, nearly ten Immortal Emperors had risen.
On average, that was one overlord-level Immortal Emperor every ten thousand years—a pace that said everything about just how effective this system was!
Fueled by immense resources and a war model built on constant plunder, the Immortal Realm had grown into a massive power that inspired both awe and caution.
Being a top-tier civilization that constantly expanded and grew, it found itself in a position where not a single rival could be seen within the surrounding starfield!
The Magus Civilization, by contrast, faced pressure on multiple fronts—the Gallant Federation nearby and the Amenkha Empire farther out.
These were real threats, either current or looming.
That pressure had forced the Magus Civilization to remain tightly united.
The Immortal Realm did not face that kind of situation.
Its major powers and Sage Courts could now wage wars on their own.
Even long-established, powerful worlds in the Astral Realm would struggle to stand against them.
On top of that, the Buddhist, Daoist, and Yao factions had all been growing steadily. Judging by the number of overlord-level beings alone, each of these factions was already close to matching a newly risen top-tier civilization.
There had also been attempts by nearby star domain civilizations to band together and slow the Immortal Realm’s advance.
One or two large-sized worlds stood no chance against it—but what about ten, or twenty, or more?
In theory, that might have worked. In reality, it did not.
The Immortal Realm’s territory was simply too vast, making coordination between surrounding civilizations incredibly difficult!
On top of that, the Immortal Realm was not as extreme or isolationist as the Amenkha Empire.
The Buddhist and Daoist paths both had their own systems of belief, and at times, they could even appear “gentle”.
Buddhism preached the salvation of all sentient beings.
Even creatures from other star domains were welcomed. As long as they converted their beliefs, they could become one of them.
Daoism promoted teaching without discrimination.
As long as one was humanoid, most Daoist courts in the Immortal Realm would accept them.
Some even went further, taking in non-humanoid beings as well.
The Yao Clan, on the other hand, was different. It relied on bloodlines to preserve and grow its strength.
Through constant interbreeding, the Yao bloodlines of the Immortal Realm had become incredibly vast and diverse.
Many beings from remote star domains even developed a sense of longing for the Immortal Realm Civilization, and would actively travel there to study and cultivate.
Bit by bit, the civilization centered around the Immortal Realm was strengthening its pull on the surrounding regions.
Under these conditions, what chance did those large and medium-sized world civilizations really have of resisting the Immortal Realm?
If anyone wanted to truly stop the Immortal Realm’s expansion, it would have taken another top-tier civilization on the same level!
But in truth, very few could have managed that.
The Gallant Federation only had about a forty percent chance of beating the Magus Civilization.
Against the Immortal Realm? That would probably drop to under twenty percent!
Fortunately, the Immortal Realm lay extremely far from Magus World. The gap in space and time between them was far greater than the distance between the Magus Civilization and the Amenkha Empire.
If this was not the case, the Magus Civilization would never have dared to deal with a fellow top-tier civilization so casually.
The powerhouses of their past generations might have shared strong ties and friendships, but that was history.
The present generation had to look ahead. Relying too much on old alliances was risky.
Bev, the leader of the Magus Civilization, had always been cautious about contacting the Immortal Realm, largely because she saw just how powerful it had become.
At its current strength, the Immortal Realm might even have been able to contend with the Amenkha Empire.
However, the Astral Realm worked in strange ways.
Despite its growing power, the Immortal Realm had yet to encounter a true equal.
With no external rival in sight, its focus naturally began to turn inward.
That was not unique to the Immortal Realm. It was a pattern many civilizations fell into.
As expansion slowed and internal tensions rose, talk of “splitting the home” had started to gain momentum within the Immortal Realm.
There was also a key difference between the Immortal Realm and Magus World—their attachment to their homeplane.
Those who still remained in the Great Primordial Land were mostly ancient races like the dragons, phoenixes, qilins, and shamans[3].
Meanwhile, the three dominant factions—the Buddhists, Taoists, and Yao Clan—had already established their own exclusive worlds beyond Primordial World.
In fact, those worlds had become even more prosperous than Primordial World.
Once the cradle of the Immortal Realm, Primordial World had begun to feel somewhat desolate in recent years.
The vast Astral Realm had indeed given rise to countless powerful, strange, and remarkable civilizations.
Given that, it was no surprise the Immortal Realm had developed into something so unique.
Translator’s Notes:
1. In Journey to the West, the Northern Kuru Continent is one of the four great continents. There are a few official translations for this continent: Northern Continent of Kuru, Uttarakuru (in Sanskrit), or simply Northern Continent. ☜
2. Fuhai literally means “overturning the seas”. In Journey to the West, it is one of the Seven Great Sages. Among them, the most well-known is undoubtedly the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong. Since the other sages do not really have commonly used personal names, I’ll refer to him simply as “Fuhai” throughout the story. When his full title is used, I will translate it as the “Great Sage Who Overturns the Seas”. ☜
3. Not to be confused with shaman priests of Beastmen World. The shamans here are referring to the practitioners of Chinese shamanism or Wuism. ☜
