Zhou Fan's gaze left the Temple Master, focusing on the Ninth Heaven Sect up ahead.
They were not able to go too close to it before they stopped. In front of them was a thin, translucent barrier.
"We can enter this barrier, but if you have any ulterior motives or bad intentions, you won't even know how you died." The old man said.
Zhou Fan nodded his head and stepped into the barrier.
"This is where I should depart. Although anybody can enter the Ninth Heaven Sect, it is still a holy ground. You can go just about anywhere with that medal. Shen Ce, whom you seek, is in the central building. Good luck, young sir." The old man said before bowing and leaving.
Zhou Fan thanked him and headed towards the Ninth Heaven Sect.
The entire sect consisted of countless different areas. However, the central building alone was far bigger than a planet. He headed directly towards the middle entrance.
He wasn't stopped most of the way. Only when he arrived at the entrance did he see someone.
"Stop. State your identity and business."
"My name is Zhou Fan, and I am here to meet Shen Ce." Zhou Fan said.
He was about to take out his medal when the guard spoke. "She has been waiting for you. Go on in."
Zhou Fan put the medal away. He walked inside.
It was a vast hall. In the distance, he saw an empty throne, and to the side were a few extremely powerful people doing various tasks.
He did not proceed down the large hall, but took a turn into a normal size hallway and walked down it for around half a mile.
He eventually happened upon a large door.
"Come in." He heard from beyond it.
Zhou Fan put his hand on the door and pushed forward. It did not budge.
"If you want to enter, you m—"
The voice suddenly stopped as Zhou Fan punched the door, causing it to swing open. He saw the slightly surprised face of a woman beyond it, sitting on the ground. "Nevermind then. Come in, Zhou Fan."
Zhou Fan walked in and stood before her. "State your business."
"I have come to learn about Lord Lu of the Nine Heavens." Zhou Fan said.
Shen Ce gestured down. "With that medal, you are qualified to make such a request. Please, sit."
Zhou Fan crossed his legs and sat across from her.
"What exactly do you want to learn?" She asked.
"There is some sort of connection between me and him. Just tell me some stories or something. I'm sure I'll figure it out at some point." Zhou Fan said.
Shen Ce nodded. "Alright then. I'll start by telling the story of how me and him first met. Back then, we were actually enemies. I worked as one of the seven servants of the Death Lord, Master Lu's first and greatest enemy. The Death Lord was a member of the death race, someone naturally opposed to the human race during the Race War Era. I am also not fully human, I am half human and half snow elf. My job was to collect information and use it to blackmail humans, eventually forcing them to join our side and betray humanity at critical moments. I had met Master Lu back when he was just starting his cultivation journey, a Space Shattering realm cultivator I believe. Viewing him as a potential rising star, I tried to collect information and blackmail him. Unfortunately, his parents were dead, and his friends were out of reach where I had met him. Therefore, I affected his emotions. The goal was to make him fall in love, then use that love to control him. My plan was ruined when Master Lu, despite falling in love, refused to form a connection with the girl I had chosen. I had considered killing him then and there, but decided that he would be more useful alive. I put a mark on him and left, knowing I could find him another day."
"I never would have imagined that he would have taken one of the Death Lords greatest enemies as his master. That man detected the mark I had left and erased it."
"Who was Lord Lu's master?" Zhou Fan asked.
"His name was Mie Jie, third disciple of the Mi lord."
Zhou Fan stopped her there. "The Mi lord?"
"Yes, an extremely powerful being who wielded the threads of Creation and Destruction. His power during the Race War Era was a major part of the reason humanity survived."
Zhou Fan was naturally able to put the pieces together. The Mi lord was none other than Mi, who he had taken as a student. He hadn't thought that the first story would lead him to the conclusion he was looking for already.
Shen Ce continued, not paying attention to Zhou Fan's expression of realization.
"Unfortunately, the Mi lord and Master Lu's master disappeared while assisting humanity in a retreat. Their fate was most likely death."
Zhou Fan looked at her. "How did that happen?"
"Well the God of Death, Master of the very Death Lord I served, led an aggressive attack on humanity in conjunction with a few other unimaginably terrifying individuals. During that, many of humanity's strongest beings sacrificed themselves to allow humanity's retreat. That is when Master Lu's legend truly began. In the absence of humanity's strongest, a new hero was needed. Master Lu rose, and when humanity's location was revealed, he himself stepped forward. He injured the God of Death, severed the River of Time, broke the shackles of Karma, reversed fate, darkened life, and shattered space. Those who once stood as horrifying entities were defeated one by one. Some of humanity's strongest returned, some did not. We were able to confirm some deaths, and some remained unknown. After that final battle, a power split existence into two. One side had Master Lu and humanity, the other had everyone else. Few who enter that side return, and few who come over live long."