Nine Star Hegemon Body Art (WN)

“Lord Brahma? That’s impossible!”

Now, it was Long Chen’s turn to be shocked. He had never expected Ye Ling to mention this name.

Their Esoteric Spirit World had been sealed away for countless years, and the curse on them was placed before they were sealed away. In that case, from which era was Lord Brahma actually?!

“I’m not sure about the details, but the history of the Earth Spirit race is passed down from each race leader to the next, so there’s no mistake. Our curse was caused by Lord Brahma,” explained Ye Ling. “Countless years ago, the Spirit race was in danger, and our Earth Spirit race immediately rushed to aid them. Lord Brahma brought our seniors through the fiend sea. Without being aware of it, our seniors were infected by the devil qi of the fiend sea, and they only sensed something off after they had passed through and reached the battlefield. When our seniors killed their enemies, a strange flame would burn on their bodies. That was when they realized there was a problem with passing through that region of the sea. We eventually realized that Lord Brahma had betrayed us.”

“Hold on a moment. Lord Brahma was allied with your Earth Spirit race?” asked Long Chen curiously. If they weren’t allies, how could they be betrayed?

Hearing this question, Ye Ling sighed and told him a long story. “At that time, the human race was allied with the Spirit race. We were close allies, standing on the same side of the battlefield against our common enemies. The human race had an unrivaled commander to lead the experts of many races against the fiends from beyond the heavens. Ah yes, the human race of that era had another supreme expert, someone with unparalleled alchemy skills. She was known as the Pill Sovereign, and she possessed the greatest prestige among the human race. Lord Brahma was her disciple. As we had utmost respect and gratitude toward the Pill Sovereign, we naturally trusted her disciple. Unexpectedly, he sold us out.

“At the time, we had such trust in him that we didn’t immediately realize he had betrayed us. We thought that he didn’t know about the problem with crossing the fiend sea. So, we had two options back then. The first was to promptly withdraw from the battlefield, cease the bloodshed, and seek a tranquil location where we could dispel the curse of the fiend sea. Without death qi and resentment to feed the curse, my ancestors could slowly eradicate it. However, opting for this path meant leaving the Spirit race vulnerable to the lifeforms besieging them, which would result in their demise. Ultimately, we chose the second option—to allow the curse to embed itself in us—sacrificing ourselves to safeguard the Spirit race. As a consequence, we emerged victorious, but the victory came at a great cost. While we triumphed in the battle, our Earth Spirit race, alongside dozens of other races, fell under the shadow of the curse. In the end, we left the battlefield, no longer staying in contact with the Spirit race to prevent the curse from spreading.

“At first, we thought that being cursed wouldn’t be a problem. After all, our Earth Spirit race’s innate kindness wouldn’t change. We thought that after a few generations, the curse would weaken and ultimately vanish. However, we were too naive. While it wasn’t able to change our kind cores, it made our characters more explosive and easier to anger. We lost the tranquility we once possessed. If we are bullied or taken advantage of, the curse will affect our minds and trigger an intense killing intent. If we kill someone in that state, the resentment of the dead will trigger the curse. It’s impossible for us to escape it. Only then did we learn just how terrifying the curse was. When we discovered that Lord Brahma had betrayed the Pill Sovereign, it dawned on us that this was a malicious plot aimed at poisoning the entire Spirit race with the curse. If the Spirit race’s sacred hearts are infected, while they won’t perish, they will cease to be the Spirit race as we know it.”

Long Chen understood what she meant. If the Spirit race was no longer kind, they would no longer be the Spirit race.

After all, the Spirit race was synonymous with kindness and light. Long Chen had interacted with them before, and he was fond of their hearts. He was even willing to risk his life to protect them.

While the Earth Spirit race wasn’t part of the Spirit race anymore, their inner hearts were still kind. However, this kindness was no longer untainted and pure.

Contaminated by the fiend curse, their characters started to warp from time to time. This curse was truly malicious.

“Then what cultivation base did Lord Brahma reach back then?” asked Long Chen.

Ye Ling shook her head. “No one knew because no one ever saw him fight. When the world gates opened this time, we killed a few human experts, and from their souls, we learned about Lord Brahma. Nowadays, people refer to him as Divine Venerate Brahma. I know that your human race also has a Divine Venerate realm, so many assume that he is only a Divine Venerate. However, that can’t be further from the truth. A Venerate is a Venerate. His title—Divine Venerate—is a distinction as a 'Venerate amongst gods.’ Even in that era, an expert capable of being classified as a Divine Venerate was exceedingly rare. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be the Pill Sovereign’s most outstanding disciple.”

“But some people have come into contact with Lord Brahma in this world, and he doesn’t seem as amazing as that,” remarked Long Chen.

“They must not have seen Lord Brahma’s true body. After all, it was destroyed by the Pill Sovereign. Due to his betrayal, she exterminated him in mind, body, and soul. However, the Pill Sovereign was severely wounded back then and didn’t have the ability to fully eliminate him. As a result, a remnant of his soul managed to survive. This led to Lord Brahma gathering disciples and accumulating faith energy. Once the faith energy reached a certain level, it became possible for him to condense a clone, and this clone had to ascend to the Heaven Venerate realm to absorb the remnant of his soul. The more formidable the clone, the more advantageous it is for his disembodied soul,” explained Ye Ling.

Long Chen’s heart pounded wildly. Today, he finally knew Lord Brahma’s true face. So, the Lord Brahma that others, including the likes of Ye Wusheng and Feng Xinyue, had seen was not the true Lord Brahma.

“After so many years, has Lord Brahma’s discarnate soul recovered?” asked Long Chen.

Ye Ling shook her head. “No one knows. When our world was sealed, it was related to him, and now that all the worlds have opened once more, that must also be his scheme. Perhaps it is related to his recovery. If that’s the case, then he shouldn’t be fully recovered yet. After all, the Pill Sovereign was a supreme Sovereign. Her attack isn’t something ants like us can fathom.”

Even a Saint called herself an ant at the mention of Pill Sovereign, her eyes brimming with reverence. It was evident how unrivaled the Pill Sovereign was in her heart.

However, what she didn’t know was that the person standing right in front of her was the heir to this supreme existence.

Long Chen hadn’t expected his Pill Sovereign memories to have such a terrifying background. In a world filled with countless people, why had the Pill Sovereign memories awakened within him? Was it really just a coincidence?

“Race leader Ye Ling, I have a proposal. Why don’t you come back to the High Firmament Academy with me?”