Chapter 514: Nine Billion Worlds
As Max stood in silence, trying to digest this newfound knowledge about his origin, the flame-armored guard tilted his head slightly and gave him a strange look. "Thousand Vine Sector of the Verdant Sky Realm... hmm."
His voice was thoughtful, but tinged with something else—curiosity, perhaps even a sliver of disbelief. "I have heard of that mortal realm planet before. If I remember correctly, there were rumors it was destroyed, or at the very least, sealed off. It’s been... what? A thousand years since someone from that sector came to take the Trial of True Inheritance."
The guard’s gaze lingered on Max for a moment longer, as if trying to see through the veil of time itself. "I guess the rumors were wrong. You do have the bloodline from our Black Dragon Palace," he added quietly, before stepping aside to let them through.
Max said nothing, but his mind was spinning. ’Destroyed? Sealed? Thousands of years since someone from Acaris came here?’ He was stunned once again.
’It seems after no genius had come to take the Trial of True Inheritance for a thousand years, the people here assumed something must have happened to the planet,’ Max thought, his mind racing with a hundred questions.
As they continued forward, the parrot spirit finally released the spatial hold on him, allowing Max to walk on his own.
Together, they made their way along a paved path that led toward an enormous sealed entrance at the base of the towering city walls. The gate before them was carved with coiling dragons and bound by glowing rune locks, emanating an aura of timeworn authority.
Unable to hold back any longer, Max asked as he followed behind the parrot spirit, "Tell me, what is this ’mortal world’ you spoke of? And what are those realms and domains you mentioned just now?" His tone wasn’t demanding—it was seeking, hungry for understanding.
The parrot spirit glanced at him, its glowing feathers dimming slightly as it replied in a tone unusually serious. "There are two fundamental planes where humans have existed since time immemorial—Mortal Plane and Divine Plane. Mortal Planes are collectively known as the Mortal Realm, which includes your planet Acaris... and this one," it gestured subtly toward the land they were standing on. "The Mortal Realm is home to all mortal life—billions upon billions of humans, cultivators, empires, guilds. Every world that has yet to touch the true essence of divinity belongs to this vast web of planets."