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--- Chapter 421 ---
"Glory City?" Han Yuan blinked in confusion, feeling that this name oddly sounded familiar. "Where have I heard this name before?"
Suddenly, something clicked in Han Yuan's mind. He recalled information about another cultivation world from a classic work he had once read but abandoned due to its 'snail-like' updates.
'Tales of Demon and God!'
'A classic regression-type cultivation story!'
'But why has this city suddenly appeared in the Douluo Continent? Is there a connection between the two worlds?'
Han Yuan dismissed the thought as absurd, reasoning that this Glory City and the 'Glory City' from that novel might not be related at all. The only reason the Douluo Plane had ever connected to the Dou Qi Plane was because of him.
'Wait, me?' Realizing he might have stumbled upon an important clue, Han Yuan stopped making arbitrary guesses and sought more information about this city.
Meanwhile, the others were also studying the Glory City in confusion. The rapid turn of events had left even divine-level figures like Jade Phoenix Lord and White-Eyed Phoenix Lord caught off guard.
"That wasn't teleportation, was it?" Jade Phoenix Lord frowned. "Ah Bai, something feels off."
White-Eyed Phoenix Lord remained silent for a moment before making a cold, harsh observation. "No, that wasn't teleportation. It was a very advanced law of space and time."
"Simply put, we have traveled back in time."
As her voice fell, everyone noticed a group of young women in white-blue dresses approaching them. These young ladies resembled the Snow Empress and the other Heavenly Snow Women.
"Hey-!" Xiao Wu was about to greet one of them when the woman walked past her as if she were a ghost. No, they were ghosts.
"Ah, ghost!"
Bi Ji frowned, "So, we have arrived in the past?"
"No, strictly speaking, it isn't a complete time travel," said the White-Eyed Phoenix Lord while gently shaking her head. "I don't know the mechanism behind this, but our timelines are intersecting, creating this odd possibility."
"Here, we are merely spectators. We can only watch and cannot interact with this timeline."
"Of course, not without correct methods."
"As the little rabbit said, we are currently ghosts."
"Snow, you..." Ice Empress observed as the Snow Empress and her fellow sisters watched the young women in white-blue dresses in the distance.
Han Yuan also gazed at the group of young women and then said, "Let's follow them first."
The others agreed with Han Yuan's decision and trailed after the group. They witnessed the young women walking through a morning market, interacting with the residents of Glory City, and even learned their destination.
"As expected, it's just my imagination." Han Yuan sighed in relief when he discovered that these young women were students of Glory City's school, the Spirit Orchid Institute.
Even so, Han Yuan's mouth twitched as he felt a sense of discomfort upon hearing the school's name, as its familiarity was uncanny. At the same time, he also grasped the era in which this city existed.
The reason was simple: cultivation and spirit rings!
Though the difference between this era and their own was thousands of years apart from each other, if not more, Han Yuan could trace it back just by observing the spirit ring configurations of the spirit masters from this era.
To his surprise, the spirit ring configuration was quite advanced.
White (10-99 years), yellow (400-700), purple (1,000-1,100), purple (1,500-3,000), purple (5,000-8,000), purple (9,000-9,999), black (10,000-13,000), black (25,000-30,000), and black (40,000-50,000).
Han Yuan then gathered this data while scanning the city, discovering a few Title Douluo experts meditating in their respective noble families, as well as the average spirit masters of the time.
The spirit ring configurations here were infinitely closer to the standards of Han Yuan's era before his arrival.
However, he noticed a flaw in his conjecture. The Snow Empress had told him she had lived for far longer, witnessing both the rise of the Angel God and Sea God to divinity ten thousand years ago.
"Wait, what is that?" Xiao Wu suddenly pointed at cabin-like devices lining a massive field covered with mysterious runic carvings.
Han Yuan frowned and muttered, "Ancient Spirit Guide Technology Array, but on such a large scale."
"The core array is actually a Spirit Domain Formation, which means those cabin-like devices must allow entry into a spiritual world."
"But why does this remind me of something...?"
Yes, the Spirit Pagoda!
More specifically, the Spirit Ascension Platform!
While the technology is indeed ancient and hasn't reached the level of the Spirit Ascension Platform like the ones in the third book of the Douluo Dalu series, its core technology and primary essence are still the same.
Han Yuan rubbed his chin, "This city is bizarre..."
'If something like the Spirit Ascension Platform already exists, then what about Spirit Souls?'
'Tsk, I need to consult Thirteen to confirm this matter. However, he most likely doesn't know anything about it either.'
Han Yuan glanced at White-Eyed Phoenix Lord, "Senior White-Eyed, can you access the spiritual domain they are currently in?"
"I will handle the spiritual particles of heaven and earth, as well as the laws of space-time."
Even though they are essentially ghosts in this world, that doesn't mean they can't interfere or make contact with it.
Han Yuan's three traits of the Divine Body and the Phoenix God's third eye allowed him to maintain absolute control over the localized domain.
The source of Han Yuan's confidence was also his Golden Spin Core, which drew upon the power of the void.
Thus, this mastery surpassed Atomic Manipulation in complexity and truly reached the level of Quantum Realm Manipulation, in other words, Space and Time Interference!
The White-Eyed Phoenix Lord nodded solemnly, "I can try."
Under the Snow Empress's disbelieving gaze, Han Yuan's eyes gained a silver brilliance as his spiritual power locked onto the cabin-like devices. He controlled the space-time rules, enabling the White-Eyed Phoenix Lord to access the spiritual domain for them to witness.
Soon, a few white bubbles appeared before them, showcasing scenes of young women in white-blue dresses fighting off a group of unknown creatures.
Those creatures weren't spirit beasts. Han Yuan quickly used his Eyes of Truth on them and clicked his tongue, "They're actually Alien Beasts. No, they should be referred to as Demon Beasts (Spirits)."
"Those cabins are actually devices to access another plane!"
"Damn!" Jade Phoenix Lord exclaimed, his eyes widening.
"The humans of this city are both genius and ambitious."
"They used the spiritual essence left behind after killing these beasts to improve their cultivation."
"Look at that girl! Her cultivation is rising!"
Everyone focused their attention on the white bubble, seeing the human version of 'Snow Empress' meditate while her martial soul floated beside her.
Yes, martial soul! This 'Snow Empress' was still human and naturally possessed a martial soul!
The young woman named Ye Ziyun was on the verge of breaking through to the Spirit King realm. Her martial soul was a very pure, very powerful Snow Queen.
The Snow Queen is a humanoid martial soul, similar to a Seraphim. It is a beautiful woman surrounded by the charm of snowy winds.
More importantly, the Snow Queen is also an elemental martial soul with an Ultimate Attribute.
As 'Snow Empress' Ye Ziyun meditated in spiritual light, her spirit rings gradually manifested one after another—starting from dark yellow, then purple, purple again, black, and black once more.
Then, the first ring quickly darkened into purple, meaning it had reached 1,000 years old.
At the same time, Ye Ziyun's cultivation rose from level 51 to level 52. It might seem like just one level, but the process is so quick.
"This..." Bi Ji exclaimed, shocked.
"To think there is a method to age spirit rings like this."
Xiao Wu remarked, "Master has a technique to increase the spirit ring's age. I used it often, but it depends on my own mastery."
"This one doesn't seem too difficult."
"Yes, I created a technique to increase the spirit ring's age," Han Yuan nodded calmly. "But Xiao Wu, you forget that this Glory City belongs to the past, yet people here developed the same method."
"They even applied this technology on such a large scale that it is very accessible for students to use freely."
"The question is..."
"Why did such an advanced civilization disappear from the face of the Douluo Continent, leaving no record of its history?"
"It's as if it never existed in the first place."