Deng Zian took a long pause before continuing his story.

"The war raged on land and sea for almost two years. The Black Empire had always been stronger than other powers and even though there was no command to conquer the islands, it was no wonder that they took possession of more than half of Fiery Island and Green Pastures, plus a third of the Flaming Sun Island. Still, such war exhausted even the Empire, not to mention weaker powers. Even though no one wanted to back down, talks about an attempt to reach some kind of settlement began.

At that time was when the Holy Light Monastery, the only neutral power intervened. It did not join the war but threatened to do so against the side that refused to settle things.

And you should know to what that proclamation led"

"Does Head Treasurer mean the campaign on 'Great Mountains Island'?"

"Indeed, the accord that was reached was a full fight between the sides. No more invasions or raids, a simple 'the winner takes it all' battle. The now called Half-Island had not been a target during the war as none of the cities or two powers could be considered part of the alliance. Still, both sides had landed troops on it to prevent the opponents from making a forward base. After all, it's the center of the plane. So no wonder that it would serve as the place for this final battle"

"And after a ceasefire of two months, the armies would meet where now the 'Three Hills Sect' stands, wasn't it?"

"Yes, but intentionally or not, the Eagle Kingdom and the remaining forces of the Burning Sun Sect did not appear for the battle, and so when the Imperial Troops disembarked in the Great Grasslands and prepared to march towards the final battle, they were met with a crazed ambush by the local cultivators as well the ones from Fiery Island and Green Pastures.

I can not condone the actions of any of the sides nor the sieges on Pearl City and Boundary Hill City, but well, I also can not find fault as there were no other options back there. The Imperial Army had arrived while half of the alliance had not, so..."

"But they did arrive later, did not they?"

"Yes, as a surprise attack on the rear of the Imperial Army. And during that battle, what it's now known as the Cataclysm happened. Now we have reached the main point of the story, the incident that led towards the disbalance in qi that still affects us now. Even though I was yet unborn at that time, my family members were present there. A few of them survived, and passing the details about that plane-changing moment is a tradition by all survivors. Albeit you are not someone from my family, you are a member of the power that I call one... Open your mind, I will transfer the information directly"

At this moment Wu Guang had already guessed that Deng Ziang's family was not on the alliance side. How he spoke about the Emperor and the Black Empire also was a clear indication of his real allegiance. So a few moments later when a surge of combined memories entered his mind, he was not surprised to see that the original owner of them was among the black-armored soldiers with a Claw-like emblem on their chests.

__________________________________________________________________________________

The memories were a mix of several perspectives and went over for a fair amount of time. But Deng Zian had highlighted to Wu Guang the most relevant ones, so it took him only an hour to digest what was needed. He saw the surprise attack, and how a strangely dressed man surrounded by the Flaming Sun Sect elites used extremely powerful formations to kill soldiers from the Black Empire. He also saw a woman clad in golden robes create formations to clash against them, and how her formations, in the end, managed to win over his.

Afterward, the battle direction turned and the rear guard of the Black Empire began their counterattack. Right at that moment, a strange black object appeared in the man's hand. Initially, nothing occurred, but as minutes passed strange symbols began to appear.

Wu Guang's mind contained a lot of formations, runes, sigils, symbols, etc. But even he could not understand what was he seeing.

These symbols started to move and floated into the sky, buried into the ground, and even dispersed in thin air. And a few moments later, the entire image began to shake, the earthquake recorded as the worst in the plane's history began.

At this point, the memories began chaotically, even so, Wu Guang could more or less understand what was happening. And there was indeed a lot going off. Along with the shaking, darkness began to take over everything. It was like if someone spilled an enormous container of ink over the surroundings. The sky, ground, and even the air itself became black.

Still, the worst began right afterward, with a strange green rain starting. Remembering Elder Chen's description, Wu Guang did not doubt that this was the so-called death rain.

Thankfully for the person whose memories he was currently watching, the golden-robed woman sensed that something was not right and covered herself and everyone she could reach with a grand protective formation. But with every passing second, one could see the enormous amount of strength it was taking her to maintain it. But... she could not allow it to fail, as the screams from the people outside the formation told the tale of what would happen if it dissipated.

Adding to the tension, the formation itself appeared to be dwindling, as if the qi in the air was not enough to sustain it. A few drops of this death rain even managed to penetrate it, landing on some of the people and starting to dissolve their armor and bodies. Among the screams and panic that ensued, the last thing that was seen before the memories stopped was the golden-robed woman using her last strength to activate some kind of movement formation.

Deng Zian knew of sudden cut, and so followed with an explanation via qi transmission.

"The original owner of the memories is my grandfather, and the moment when it cuts down is also the moment he lost consciousness. Later he would investigate everything that happened until he awoke, and so his descendants know of it. In short, they were transported a few miles to the south, effectively leaving what is now the Demonic Plateau. This movement not only saved him and a hundred combatants from both sides but also allowed everyone involved to know about what happened and who was the culprit"

"..."

"As soon as this was passed to the respective side leaders, a ceasefire was arranged. And afterward, the war was officially finished. As for such a sudden decision, it had to do with the fact that every day that passed made formations harder and harder to construct or maintain. The fear of not being able to return to their respective islands made everyone agree to something akin to a white peace. The Black Empire would retreat from all other islands while the powers that had received anything from the man would return it. Spoils from the battles would remain in possession of the taker and a few destroyed or heavily damaged powers and cities would get some contribution from the more or less intact ones"

"Excuse me, but don't the records say that a lot of forces retreated before the battle ended? And that the actual Cataclysm was provoked by the fight of the Warrior realm leaders to decide the winner?"

"Indeed, but that was a cover-up story to hide the fact that every single participant was played by a single man. Plus, all the powers wanted to show that to avoid more victims the leaders took the field themselves"

"I see, to portray themselves as heroes"

"Indeed. You should also take into account that all the available records come from the alliance side, as the Black Empire closed their borders fully a few days after the last ship returned"

"So it's a one-sided story"

"It is indeed. I should add that the Black Empire if the records are believed did not claim any land or establish any outposts, retreating fully... But that is a mistaken assumption. His Imperial Majesty after counseling with the ministers and a few experts, the woman you saw amongst them, decided to covertly create a power on the renamed Great Mountains island. Not only it would serve to gather the information that would not reach the closed Empire, but also to monitor the Demonic Plateau and investigate it if possible"

"Three Hills Sect!"

"Yes, from this you should guess why the Sect has no open records about the founder. And it also should give you an idea of the reason why the main requirement to become a core member of the Sect is to cut ties with everything"

"...vassalage"

"Right, every core member of the Sect is a subject of the Emperor. Or to say it differently, they all are Imperial citizens"

A long silence followed, during which Wu Guang organized every bit of what he had learned while the Head Treasurer calmly waited. Noting that the former had broken from thought, he returned to the conversation.

"At this point, I think you should have the answer about our actual destination. I also promised to answer your questions, so ask away. Still, there will be a matter that I can not afford to explain before you accomplish your breakthrough. The one about my identity, as you surely have begun to doubt it"

"With your permission then" Wu Guang had indeed a list of questions he wanted to know the answers to, and having the opportunity, he voiced them all. Deng Zian's identity was also something he wanted to find out, but it could wait for a bit.

Almost all of his questions were about the current situation, this new war reasons, and the reason behind the calmness of every member of the High Council.

After hearing them, Deng Zian first dismissed one of the questions, namely about the names and real identities of the culprit behind the Islands War and the Golden-robed lady. He did not explain much, simply saying that it was taboo to mention any of the two. Then, he began to answer the rest...