"Big Brother, that big snake just now… what was it?" Meng Xiang asked Tian Yi in a curious tone.
The starry scales on the dragon had mesmerized her; it was so beautiful that she had missed the moment when Long Chen was swallowed by this 'big snake' because she was staring too much at it!
"Big snake?" Tian Yi lifted an eyebrow at her funny choice of word. "That's a dragon."
"A dragon? The super strong snakes?" said Meng Xiang who has only heard of dragons a handful of times.
Tian Yi thought about her words for a moment before nodding slowly. "I guess dragons are like snakes in a way…" he said.
If any true dragons were here to hear his words, they would definitely die from shame.
To have the son of the Celestial Emperor compare divine and mythical creatures like them to mere snakes; it would be too cruel of a blow to their pride.
"That's amazing!" Meng Xiang's eyes began to sparkle. "Does Big Brother know where we can see dragons? I want to see more of them!" she said with enthusiasm.
After seeing that starry dragon, her interest and love for dragons bloomed.
Tian Yi smiled. "Of course. I have seen a good amount of them in my life, however, I've heard that dragons are very rare outside of the Realm of Gods, so I don't know if we might see one down here at the Spirit Realm."
Spirit Realm is one of the Three Realms in the Nine Heavens; it is also what existences like Caiyi who is from the Realm of Gods would call 'Realm of Mortals'.
"Realm of Gods? The place where Sister Caiyi is?" she asked after recalling Caiyi's existence.
"Yes. The Realm of Gods is where True Immortals and Gods roam, a playground for Divine Beasts like dragons and phoenixes, and where the Nine Heavens connect."
"How can we get there?" she asked him.
"To get to the Realm of Gods, we must first transverse the Mysterious Realm and find the entrance there. The Mysterious Realm is the second of the Three Realms, and it exists in every one of the Nine Heavens." Tian Yi explained to her everything he read about the Mysterious Realm and Realm of God. Despite having never been there himself, he knew how to get there.
"The Realm of Gods, however, is one gigantic realm that is connected to each one of the Nine Heavens. So no matter which one of the Nine Heavens you go from, everybody will still arrive in the same Realm of Gods."
"I see…" Meng Xiang said despite not really understanding it.
There are Nine Heavens in this Universe, each with their own Three Realms— Spirit Realm, Mysterious Realm, and the Realm of Gods.
Each one of the Nine Heavens' Spirit Realm is different with their unique world and the same goes for the Mysterious Realm. The Realm of Gods, however, is a bit different. Unlike the Spirit Realm and the Mysterious Realm that have their own unique world in each of the Nine Heavens, there is only one Realm of God— one that connects all Nine Heavens together.
After listening to their disciples' stories, the Sect Masters only felt a headache coming.
To think there'd be someone as ridiculous as this mysterious senior to be hiding here in the Soaring Sun City; it was simply outrageous.
In the eyes of these Sect Masters, this mysterious senior was akin to an ancient dragon hiding behind the clouds with these clouds being the masses of people.
If they wished for his attention, then they'd have to blow away these clouds, but alas, once they do that, a heavenly tribulation will strike them.
It was simply too dangerous and illogical to look for this mysterious senior at this point, not to mention the guaranteed death from the heavenly tribulation if they were to mess with the clouds.
The Sect Masters looked at the dazed people below, then to the cloudy firmament, and then they looked at each other, looking as though they were telepathically speaking to each other.
"Attention!"
One of the Sect Master suddenly said out loud, catching the gazes of everybody there.
"There will be changes to the Stairway to Heaven competition! The starting date for the competition will no longer be the same and will instead be moved to tomorrow morning! If you wish to participate, then gather here before the sun rises tomorrow!" said the Sect Master of the Heavenly Tiger Sect.
"The requirements for participation remains the same! You will be able to participate as long as you are below the age of 21," continued the Sect Master of the Azure Phoenix Sect.
"It doesn't matter if you are already a disciple of another Sect or if you are a rogue cultivator! As long as you the capability to climb the stairway and prove your worth, then you will be able to join one of the Four Ancient Lands!"
The Sect Master of the Divine Serpent Sect wanted to say Three Ancient Lands, but knowing that the Qing Dynasty was behind their back, it would be a foolish thing to do to strip the Ancient Dragon Sect of their Ancient Land status.
The Azure Phoenix Sect's Sect Master suddenly flipped her palm, and a small, toy-like staircase appeared on her palm.
The Sect Master suddenly threw the staircase downwards—
"Path to Heaven, activate!"
The staircase suddenly grew larger and large.
10 meters, 100 meters, 200 meters— the toy-sized staircase quickly became wide enough to fit more than dozens of people at once, and the length of the staircase pierced the clouds and went straight into Heaven!
It was as though the staircase was not made for humans but for colossal giants!