"My Heavenly Tablet?"
Hearing Tongtian Sword Lord's words, Li Xiaotian summoned the Heavenly Tablet with a wave of his hand, placing it before everyone.
"It is merely a fragment of the true Heavenly Tablet. It was refined by us together to suppress the Sea of Blood. The real Heavenly Tablet is far more astonishing than this," Tongtian Sword Lord said, his eyes flashing.
"Back then, a mere glance at the Heavenly Tablet would grant one cultivation knowledge without a teacher. Furthermore, it only affected humans; it had no effect on demons."
"No effect on demons? Why is that?" Li Xiaotian instinctively asked. Demons also cultivated and understood the Great Dao. Logically, they should have been able to grasp it more easily than humans at that time.
"Of course, it had no effect because the Heavenly Tablet was deliberately prepared for humanity by someone." Tongtian Sword Lord said with a hint of cold mockery.
"At that time, humans had already begun to gradually explore cultivation methods, which involved fusing the essence blood of demonic beasts into their bodies to become half-demonized beings. According to the normal evolutionary path, it would have taken tens of thousands of years for humans to truly become powerful. But the advent of the Heavenly Tablet saved humans the time of exploration, much like having a prepared meal delivered to you. You don't need to consider how it was made, nor toil for ingredients; you only need to know how to eat it."
Li Xiaotian's heart stirred. It sounded as though whoever brought the Heavenly Tablet to this world had done humanity a great service. But he understood that there was no free lunch; the more one enjoyed in advance, the more they would have to pay back manifold later.
"However, humans at that time didn't think that far. Suddenly having a way to become strong, they were ecstatic. Even if some noticed something unusual, who would refuse such a windfall for the sake of power?" Tongtian Sword Lord recounted unhurriedly.
Because of the Heavenly Tablet, humanity grew strong, gaining the power to resist the demons. They began to contend with the demons, establishing their own territories in the Nine Provinces world. But it was precisely at this time that disaster struck. A group of powerful beings calling themselves gods descended upon the Nine Provinces world, suppressing countless beings. Humanity faced a more tragic blow. For those gods feasted on humans, particularly the powerful ones. Their offering of the Heavenly Tablet was merely to make their "ingredients" more delicious.
That was the era of divine rule. Under that era, demons, also native beings of the Nine Provinces, fared a hundred times better than humans. Gods consumed humans, while demons herded humans for the gods. Fortunately, some powerful humans survived. They cultivated in secret, forgetting everything they learned from the Heavenly Tablet, and began to re-examine the Great Dao.
It wasn't until the birth of the first invincible human expert, Yuan, that the tide turned. Upon breaking through to invincibility, he directly slaughtered a god. Then, one by one, invincible humans emerged. They began to resist, to slay gods! Some gods were killed by them, while others fled. The demons of the Nine Provinces also suffered heavy losses at the hands of human invincibles. At that time, human invincibles were driven only by hatred and revenge!
Tongtian Sword Lord also rose during that period. He was even more unfortunate than Qiong. Qiong wanted to break through to invincibility but lacked the ability. At that time, there were no loopholes in the world's laws of heaven and earth. Tongtian Sword Lord, however, had the ability to break through to invincibility once he grew strong, but the Nine Provinces world was incomplete, preventing him from doing so.
During that period, humanity finally became the protagonist of the Nine Provinces world, pushing the demons into various forbidden zones. But at the same time, the gods who had fled returned. They led a terrifying army to invade the Nine Provinces world. Using the Sea of Blood as a marker, they established a foothold in the Nine Provinces, preventing the birth of more invincible human experts and preparing for a full-scale invasion. Fortunately, humanity was prepared by then. They suppressed the enemies who had entered the Nine Provinces world at an astonishing speed. They left behind the heavily injured Tongtian Sword Lord and others to guard the Nine Provinces, while all the human invincibles actively sallied forth from the Nine Provinces world.
Afterward, no more enemies descended upon the Nine Provinces, and at the same time, humanity's invincibles never returned. After the human invincibles left the Nine Provinces, Tongtian Sword Lord and many other supreme human experts deterred the Sea of Blood, and the Nine Provinces entered the ancient era. The Demon Lord was born during the ancient era. He was fortunate, as his era coincided with humanity's most prosperous period. There were no invasions from enemies, and the only threat, the Sea of Blood, was deterred by Tongtian Sword Lord and others. Humanity's development reached its peak.
Later, Tongtian Sword Lord, along with many other powerhouses, jointly sealed and suppressed the Sea of Blood, and heaven and earth fell into slumber.
"So, we don't know if those seniors are alive or dead?" Li Xiaotian asked.
At this moment, he felt a strong urge to bring those heroes home. Humanity's current state was due to their immeasurable contributions. Without them actively leaving the Nine Provinces to meet the enemy, there would be no present for humanity.
"We don't know. They should all still be alive. Otherwise, the enemy would have long since descended upon the Nine Provinces," Tongtian Sword Lord replied.
"Amitabha, our human seniors will be fine," Ananda said, joining his palms together.
"Kid, now that you know all this, are you afraid? Do you regret breaking through to invincibility? Remember the rules of humanity: when the enemy comes, the taller ones stand up first," the Demon Lord said to Li Xiaotian.
Li Xiaotian gave the Demon Lord a sideways glance, feeling that his rogue-like demeanor was unbecoming of a supreme expert.
"Seniors, what can I do now?" Li Xiaotian asked. He knew that Tongtian Sword Lord and the others had not invited him here merely to tell him the truth.