The man immediately took one step backward and focused on the youth ahead.

His common appearance was hiding a terrifying power. Each strand of power coming from that frame could annihilate the heaven and earth.

This made the man recall something in the past, causing him to stand there with a frightened expression.

“Who are you?” He put on a defensive state, ready to fight at any moment.

Li Qiye stared at him - a brilliant looking man with an amazing pair of eyes, as bright as the stars.

However, his hair was white and his complexion was an unhealthy gray.

Who knows whether it was because he hasn’t seen the sun for years or some other reasons? All in all, he seemed rather sickly.

“I’m not here with malice.” Li Qiye saw the defensive stance and smiled: “Or you would be dead already.”

The old man agreed with this and relaxed his arms, recalling his vitality and energy. Just think about it, the guy entered his minor dimension and he didn’t have a damn clue.

Moreover, all of the traps outside weren’t effective. The intruder was already in front of him once he realized it.

This person must be insanely monstrous, more than enough to kill him.

“How should I address you, Sir?” The old man bowed to show respect.

He was a progenitor with amazing achievements but Li Qiye’s power was worthy of the highest respect.

“Li Qiye.” Li Qiye spoke and then sat down without any reservation.

“I’m sorry, I’ve been away from the world for too long, I don’t know anything about recent events.” The old man hasn't heard of Li Qiye.

“It’s fine, I’ve met you before and didn’t expect to see you again. A little surprising.” Li Qiye waved his sleeve.

“We’ve met?” Now it was the old man’s turn to be surprised. He searched his memories and couldn’t come up with anything.

Logically, he would remember meeting a monster like this before.

“It’s understandable that you don’t remember. I saw your corpse back at Moneyfall.” Li Qiye interrupted the old man’s rumination with a smile.

“Ah, I see. You’re very insightful for recognizing me. Maybe we’re actually connected by fate.” The old man bowed his head.

“Didn’t expect you to be alive and here in the expanse. The world thought that you, Regalia Progenitor, have died in Moneyfall.” Li Qiye chuckled. [1]

So it turned out that this progenitor had entered Moneyfall and called out the strongest lord there to fight. People believed that he died from this battle.

Li Qiye went there and saw his remains and regalia. Who would have thought that he was still alive and hiding in a minor dimension at the expanse?

“I called out the most domineering lord there, too reckless, I suppose. I thought that I could kill it but my cultivation was too shallow and couldn’t beat it. I suffered grievous injuries and managed to escape thanks to my regalia. Alas, I had to run for my life while leaving my body behind.” Regalia smiled wryly and helplessly said.

Just imagine, a dominating progenitor needed to abandon his own body to run. That’s utter defeat, something impossible to accept.

“My true fate was on the verge of dying then, I lived a borrowed life using medicine but it’s impossible to heal the injuries back in Myriad Lineage. Thus, I thought about leaving while not letting anyone know.” He continued.

He had to leave Myriad Lineage in secret. It wasn’t only out of saving face nor prestige, just mainly safety.

Becoming a progenitor meant participating in many battles. He had plenty of enemies that would be very happy to know about his injuries. They would have taken advantage of this to kill him.

Thus, Regalia left without telling anyone, not even his closest confidants. That’s why everyone thought he had died in Moneyfall.

“I found many different herbs and materials in Three Immortals but they couldn’t fully heal my injuries.” Regalia went on.

The incurable debilitation was too much for a progenitor to accept.

“That’s why you went to the expanse.” Li Qiye understood the progenitor’s mindset.

No one wanted to sit there waiting for death. They would cling on to any potential sliver of hope.

“It was the only choice I have.” Regalia said: “There might be more materials in the expanse so I risked it all.”

“It wasn’t easy for you to live until now.” Li Qiye said. This wasn’t an insult.

Just think about it, this place was dangerous enough to kill Regalia at full strength, let alone his wounded state. He was no different from an ant that could be trampled on whenever.

“The high heaven must have been watching.” Regalia nodded with a tinge of emotions: “I was lucky enough to not die along the way. Unfortunately, the expanse didn’t have medicine that could cure me. I just happened to find this minor dimension with spirit energy capable of healing my wounds.”

After so many years here, his wounds have been healed by about seventy to eighty percent. Since he had stayed for so long, he eventually considered this place his home.

He used various means to pass down some foundational incantations so that the natives could learn and strengthen their body.

Of course, he didn’t pass down the heaven-defying merit laws that could turn them into cultivators. Doing so might result in a disaster when some became too powerful for their own good.

“It’s a wise move. People say, with great power comes great responsibility. There’s another saying, with great power comes greater ambition.” Li Qiye agreed with the progenitor’s choice: “Letting them cultivate powerful merit laws will take away the peace. Only the flames of war are left behind.”

“Yes. Not to mention that the expanse is even more dangerous. Letting them go outside is the same as letting them go to their death. In fact, they could even lead the danger back here.” Regalia said. This progenitor had enough experience to understand the greed of men.

If he were to teach them his best merit laws, they would definitely start killing each other for resources. The ones strong enough to leave would die outside anyway. Plus, that would risk exposing the existence of the minor dimension.

Therefore, he sealed the entrance away from the outside world on top of limiting the natives’ cultivation.

This granted peace for millions of years in this place. No disaster, no large-scale wars, only peace and prosperity. He took great pride in this achievement.

1. I mistranslated this name back in Chapter 2290. I misread the character ‘robe’ for ‘doctor’. Changed his title to Regalia