I'm re-reading the series, and it seemed like all the main, really strong characters - like Xiao Yan's teacher Yao peaked at Dou Zun and was at the top of the world. But now it seems like everyone is at that level at this point in the story? It makes me wonder if all the greats like Queen Medusa, Yun Shan, Hai Po Dong, etc, that were all astounding at the start of the story are still relevant in terms of power. Since it seems as though the power creep overtime is diluting the pool of powerful characters in the story. Because there were 3 more ranks after Dou Zun/Venerate, yet those 1 or 2 ranks below (Emperor or Ancestor) were basically treated as gods earlier. I hope when revisiting, they are still relevant and not faded out when power creep gets massive.
Edit: As I'm re-reading further in, it kinda makes a bit of sense, but the power creep is still prevalent.