Volume One: The Celestial Way Sect Chapter Six: Rekindling the Glory of the Central Lands

During his days at the Celestial Dao Sect, Chen Fangyu cherished the hard-won alliances and friendships all the more.

Chen Fangyu had his master, Elder Liaocheng, who wore simple gray robes and bore a solemn demeanor. With a single utterance, his voice resonated deeply, revealing boundless wisdom. Chen Fangyu also had his junior sister, Liu Yu, clad in a splendid brocade garment that bespoke of extraordinary quality. He had former teammates Fang Yi, Li Wu, Lu Daoyi, and Li Chen.

Chen Fangyu stayed at the Celestial Dao Sect for a while longer. One day, as a fine drizzle fell from the sky, he requested leave from Elder Liaocheng to venture beyond the sect’s borders for experience.

After a thorough admonition, Elder Liaocheng consented.

The management of the Celestial Dao Sect was relatively lenient. Disciples were free to form teams and allowed to train outside the sect, provided they followed proper legal procedures. The authorities generally permitted the comings and goings of the sect’s disciples.

That morning, Chen Fangyu set out as a direct disciple of the Celestial Dao Sect, delighted to have regained the feeling of roaming the continent freely as a mortal among men. Leaving through the grand gates of the sect, he traversed the Central Earth, passing by numerous buildings of classical Chinese style.

By dusk, Chen Fangyu reached a small village and knocked on the door of an elderly man’s humble thatched cottage. The old man invited him to spend the night in the woodshed. Chen Fangyu accepted without fuss and made do with the simple shelter.

The next day, bidding farewell to the old man, Chen Fangyu journeyed deeper into the mountains of Central Earth. There, during his travels, he encountered a large heap of abandoned artificial intelligence robots. Their clear engravings, worn circuits, broken mechanical limbs, and rusted metallic skin told tales of neglect.

Arriving around noon, Chen Fangyu rummaged through the pile, searching for anything useful. After some time, he found a large iron sword, heavily rusted.

Swinging the sword in his hand, Chen Fangyu noted it was forged from refined steel, its blade covered in rust. To his astonishment, this was an electronic artifact from the era of the Third Emperor of Central Earth, the Daojie Emperor.

Central Earth had witnessed three generations of emperors. The First Emperor, Daochu, had focused on agriculture during his reign, with nomadic hunting as the way of life. That era left behind ancient stone tablets, oracle bones, and prehistoric texts, marking the dawn of the universe and all creation—the Daochu Chronicles.

The Second Emperor, Daoyan, followed. Under his rule, the people prospered, creating bronze ware, ceramics, calligraphy, and developing funerary studies. This period, known as the Daoyan era, saw artists and craftsmen produce cultural treasures that still influence generations of mankind.

The Third Emperor, Daojie, presided over a time when artificial intelligence became widespread. Vast numbers of AI robots were produced and integrated into society. Even the emperor himself was an ardent user of AI mecha. The focus during this era was the popularization of AI, with towns extensively deploying such technology.

However, mismanagement of AI led to unrest. The divine clans from the West Divine Habitat rose in rebellion to suppress the chaos. It was an age when gods and men coexisted and stood on equal footing.

Chen Fangyu reflected on the consequences of poor governance, how it invited invasions from other realms and races.

After unearthing the iron sword, Chen Fangyu also discovered a glowing energy orb amid the AI debris. The orb was viscous and elastic on the outside, shimmering with hues of yellow and white, emitting its own light.

He placed it against the sword and sliced it open. The elastic orb melted into flowing light, merging entirely with the blade. The sword transformed, now radiating a radiant crimson glow along its length, both pleasing and captivating.

Testing the sword on a discarded robotic arm, Chen Fangyu saw it cleave the arm neatly in two, revealing the sophisticated machinery within. Pleased with his find, he took a few steps away, but then the pile of discarded AI began to shimmer.

A brand-new mechanical arm pushed aside the clutter, and a fresh AI robot emerged. As the robot moved, one mechanical arm blocked its path. It grabbed the obstruction, snapped it off effortlessly, and tossed it onto a tree.

The severed arm struck the trunk with a heavy thud, leaving a blank patch on the bark. The flat arm fell to the ground, stirring up dust.

Chen Fangyu raised an eyebrow, impressed by the strength of this newly awakened AI. Expecting a fierce battle, he was surprised when the robot simply began gathering the discarded AI remnants and carrying them away to an unknown location.

Curious, Chen Fangyu watched as the robot returned repeatedly, relocating the debris. He speculated this place must hold great significance. After lingering in the mountain forest for some time, he ventured further into unexplored regions.

The episode with the AI robots concluded, and Chen Fangyu pressed on deeper into the mountains in search of further adventure. At present, Central Earth was under the rule of the Fifth Emperor, the Zhusui Emperor, with numerous sects and factions engaged in complex rivalries. Many mysterious and unexplored places remained, and the mountains beneath his feet were among such enigmatic lands.

After progressing some distance into the mountains, Chen Fangyu’s view suddenly opened up to reveal an ancient battlefield shrouded in mist. Torn banners fluttered violently in the wind. Decayed weapons leaned crookedly, and the air was thick with the weight of history, as if time itself bore witness to the age-old conflict.

Walking through the battlefield, Chen Fangyu found a weathered war monument standing solemnly at its center. Touching the ancient stele, he recalled the great war long past. Images of that ancient conflict flashed through his mind, granting him insight into the strategies of yesteryear.

Where the clash of arms resounded, a legion of warriors clad in golden armor—soldiers of the divine clans—assaulted the realm of the Third Emperor, Daojie. Daojie led his troops to defend his dominion, dispatching countless human soldiers and the AI mecha legions of the time.

Peace had vanished. The AI developed under Daojie’s reign, due to poor oversight, caused widespread disruption, provoking the wrath of the divine clans from the West Divine Habitat. Their sovereign led an army to invade the human lands, demanding retribution. Though Daojie commanded fierce generals, they were no match for the divine host.

The battle between the West Divine Habitat’s sovereign and Daojie raged from the earth to the heavens.

The divine lord excelled in divine arts, while Daojie mastered mechanized warfare. Their aerial duel lasted hundreds of rounds, neither gaining the upper hand. Human soldiers on the ground, poorly trained compared to the divine forces, suffered defeat and retreated relentlessly.

Suddenly, an eerie silence fell over the battlefield. Both sides felt a surge of terror. Amid an overwhelming pressure, a massive, ancient stone stele descended onto the battlefield’s center with great weight.

Dating back to the era of the First Emperor, Daochu, this national founding stele carried the spirit of Central Earth’s establishment. Its arrival shifted the tide of the divine-human war. The divine forces of the West Divine Habitat found their powers suppressed, while an invisible Dao will radiated from the monument.

“This stele is the nation’s founding monument of Central Earth. Unless you are soldiers of our people, please withdraw from its sphere of influence,” declared the Fourth Emperor, Qingcang, who bore the ancient stele as he joined the fray. Soldiers of the divine clans showed signs of suppression and rejection, while human troops surged forward, gaining overwhelming advantage.

The human legions triumphed, and the divine soldiers retreated from the battlefield. Yet the celestial duel between the West Divine Habitat’s sovereign and Daojie remained unaffected. After countless exchanges, the divine lord unleashed a torrent of divine arts, striking down Daojie and his mecha with a single mighty palm.

Thus fell the mighty Third Emperor, Daojie, whose presence vanished from history.

Qingcang, the Fourth Emperor, furious at this development, wielded his peerless divine skills and soared to confront the divine lord. Though weakened from battle, the divine sovereign was struck down to the ancient battlefield and ultimately retreated with his forces in disgrace.

Chen Fangyu broke free from the vision of war. He now understood the broad strokes of Central Earth’s history. The Fourth Emperor, Qingcang, having learned from Daojie’s defeat and its causes, strengthened AI management and restored order to the land.

Humanity enjoyed a brief period of peace, as the divine clans withdrew from Central Earth, retreating to the West Divine Habitat.

Shaking off his reverie, Chen Fangyu swiftly withdrew his hand from the national founding stele. His intuition told him this was a stone imbued with a soul. At that moment, under the blazing sun, a deafening ancient roar echoed through the mountain forest, startling Chen Fangyu into stillness. He looked around, searching through the smoky battlefield for the source of the sound.