Chapter 401: Divine Sovereign, the Number One Genius Since Ancient Times!
The rain continued falling.
Neither Tian Yongheng nor Zhu Dong spoke for several moments.
The atmosphere between them became strangely quiet, with only the sound of rain striking mountains and rivers echoing throughout heaven and earth.
Just then, Zhu Dong suddenly smiled.
It was a somewhat mysterious smile, the kind that made people instinctively want to punch him.
"Tian Yongheng, do you know what truly caused all of this?"
His tone became deliberately profound.
"What changed the structure of the Heavenly Karmic Cycles, and what caused the Lower Realm to become what it is today?"
Tian Yongheng stared at him expressionlessly.
For a moment, both of them just stared at each other.
"..."
"..."
After a long moment, he finally spoke.
"If you’re going to tell me, then tell me."
His voice remained calm, "If not, then stop acting mysterious."
Zhu Dong’s smile immediately froze at these words, the atmosphere becoming somewhat awkward.
After a brief silence, he coughed lightly.
"Fine."
The mysterious expression instantly disappeared from his face.
Seeing this scene, Tian Yongheng felt somewhat speechless.
This guy is supposed to be an Immortal Sovereign reincarnation?
Zhu Dong naturally ignored the look in Tian Yongheng’s eyes, his expression gradually becoming serious as he began speaking.
"A little over 1.2 billion years ago, the final Immortal Divine Era of the old Heavenly Karmic Cycle was approaching its end."
His gaze became distant as he continued.
"As always, the Cleansing descended, Immortals and Gods entered the Lower Realm, slaughtering countless living beings, the same tragedy that had repeated for countless cycles."
Tian Yongheng quietly listened.
Then, Zhu Dong suddenly paused, a strange light appearing in his eyes.
"However... that cycle was different, because the Lower Realm produced a certain existence."
The moment those words left his mouth, the atmosphere around him subtly changed.
Zhu Dong slowly continued.
"That one was a true monster, a prodigy unlike any before or after. He emerged from the Second Great Mortal World and possessed no backing, ancient inheritance, powerful clan, or mighty master, starting as a mortal."
His voice gradually deepened.
"Yet, relying solely on his talent, he rose like a comet, leaving behind a streak of starlight that countless could only chase even ages later."
At this moment, Tian Yongheng’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Somehow, he already knew where this conversation was heading.
"A thousand years."
Zhu Dong slowly raised one finger.
"In merely one thousand years, he cultivated from mortality to the Half Immortal Realm."
A thousand years? Not three thousand years?
Tian Yongheng was slightly surprised.
Were they not talking about that person?
Or... were the historical records he knew a little untrue?
However, no matter what, becoming a Half Immortal within a thousand years was still an alarming matter, especially in the Lower Realm’s environment.
Even a reincarnated Immortal Sovereign such as Zhu Dong only achieved the later stages of Tribulation Transcendence Realm in a thousand years of re-cultivation.
Zhu Dong continued.
"And while still a Half Immortal... he suppressed and sealed a Vagrant Immortal."
Wasn’t the Vagrant Immortal who got sealed just the Archaic Forbidden Demon God!?
Hearing this sentence, the guess within Tian Yongheng’s heart was instantly confirmed.
So, the historical records I know were indeed not true...
That person achieved the Half Immortal Realm within a thousand years... and sealed the Archaic Forbidden Demon God as a Half Immortal, not as a Vagrant Immortal.
Tian Yongheng’s expression remained calm, but inwardly, he was genuinely surprised.
A Half Immortal suppressing a Vagrant Immortal, that achievement sounded familiar.
Hadn’t he himself done something similar but in much greater scale?
However, he possessed the system and the countless opportunities derived from it; those were advantages nobody else could imagine.
But what about that person?
What did that person have?
Nothing, at least according to all existing records.
Tian Yongheng found himself wondering if that existence possess something similar to the system, if he was also a Chosen One, or had he truly accomplished everything through talent alone?
The last thought was somewhat terrifying.
Zhu Dong slowly continued speaking.
"At the end of the cycle, the Cleansing descended, but the Lower Realm fought back, and lost."
A trace of helplessness appeared in his eyes.
"Even that monster could not stop the Immortals at that time, after all, he was still too weak, not at his full potential at all."
Tian Yongheng silently nodded.
A Half Immortal defeating Vagrant Immortals was already heaven defying, expecting him to challenge entire Upper Realm forces would be unrealistic.
However, then, Zhu Dong’s tone changed.
"But... he survived and managed to ascend, entering the Upper Realm, and from that day onward was the beginning of the true nightmare."
A strange expression appeared on Zhu Dong’s face.
Even now, after all these years, he still found the story unbelievable.
"After ascending, he disappeared from the sights of all Immortals and Gods, constantly hiding, running, and cultivating, all for revenge."
His voice became increasingly solemn.
"He wanted answers, he wanted to know the reason, the reason behind everything, he wanted to know why, why must the Lower Realm suffer again and again? Why must entire civilizations be erased? Why were countless lives treated as insignificant dust?"
Hearing these words, for some reason, Tian Yongheng found himself recalling the Sword Venerable’s final words.
"The Heavenly Dao is cruel, but those Immortals and Gods above are even crueler."
A faint chill ran through his heart at the thought.
Zhu Dong raised his head, looking upward at the cloudy sky.
"As he grew stronger... he began to hunt, reappearing in public eyes more frequently, hunting down every member of all the forces tied to the Cleansing."
A trace of faint, almost imperceptible disbelief emerged in Zhu Dong’s eyes.
Even after hearing the story countless times, he still couldn’t completely accept it.
"Within three thousand years of age, he became a Heaven Immortal."
Tian Yongheng’s pupils contracted slightly.
It was common knowledge among beings of his level that cultivation became increasingly difficult the higher one went, specifically the gap between the Mortal and Immortal realms.
Even he took two hundred years to go from the Early Stage to the Grand Perfection of Vagrant Immortal Realm, much less countless others.
Tian Yongheng was certain that if he just possessed the Five-Elemental Divine Spiritual Physique, his current cultivation could not have been achieved without another thousand or so years of effort even with the current environment of the Eternal Peak.
Did that person not have only a Five-Elemental Divine Spiritual Physique, but also other kinds of Innate Talents like him?
Just what kind of genius was that person?
"In less than five thousand years of cultivation, he entered the Origin Immortal Realm. Around ten thousand years old, he became a Profound Immortal."
Thunder rumbled across the heavens as his words fell.
"And at twenty-one thousand years of age... he stepped into the Golden Immortal Realm."
Tian Yongheng felt somewhat stunned hearing this.
A twenty-one thousand year old Golden Immortal...
He suddenly remembered the Supremely Valiant Heaven Reaching General.
That fellow had taken nine whole lives, combined with innumerable opportunities and heaven shaking talent to achieve the Golden Immortal Realm, and it had already been hundreds of millions of years since then.
But this person...
He was completely absurd.
Even world class Chosen Ones probably could not compare to him.
No, they weren’t even close.
From what he knew, a Golden Immortal was already a supreme giant within the Nine Great Immortal Worlds, overseeing the infinite worlds and suppressing the Upper Realm.
Countless Immortals and Gods spent entire lifetimes unable to reach that level.
Even considering his own situation, he wasn’t confident in being able to breakthrough to the Golden Immortal Realm within three thousand years of age despite the countless advantages he possessed.
Yet, that person had done it in twenty-one thousand years.
Seeing his reaction, Zhu Dong laughed bitterly.
"The moment he emerged after breaking through, the entire Upper Realm exploded!"
Tian Yongheng’s eyes narrowed; was this the commotion caused by the Divine Sovereign which allowed the Supremely Valiant Heaven Reaching General and the Divine Emperor of the Moon Water Divine Dynasty to establish the Divine Dynasty?
Zhu Dong’s voice became increasingly animated as he continued.
"He was invincible, completely, utterly invincible! No one at the same realm could stop him, making him the strongest being in the entire Upper Realm! He began to actively hunt every force involved in the Cleansing in the open, no longer hiding in the dark.
Wherever he went, fear followed, and one after another, whether it be Immortal Sects, Celestial Clans, Sacred Lands, Divine Dynasties, or any sort of ancient inheritance, none escaped. His name was synonymous with invincibility!"
The atmosphere became increasingly oppressive.
"He slaughtered them all, turning the Nine Great Immortal Worlds upside down and causing immeasurable damage to the Upper Realm’s origin. Rivers of Immortal Divine Blood flowed, and countless forces that had dominated heaven and earth for myriad ages disappeared forever, submerged into the long river of history."
His voice echoed amidst the rain.
"Because of that, the Upper Realm entered an age of chaos that lasted hundreds of millions of years! In that age, even becoming a Profound Immortal was extremely difficult because of the immense karmic resentment of innumerable Immortals and Gods embedded into the very concepts of heaven and earth!"
Tian Yongheng remained silent, but inwardly, he was genuinely shocked.
So this was the commotion caused by the Divine Sovereign in the Upper Realm mentioned by the system?
Causing destruction so immense that the Nine Great Immortal Worlds couldn’t produce Profound Immortals for hundreds of millions of years...
Zhu Dong continued, "Many later powers benefited from that chaos, such as the Heavenly Wind Divine Dynasty, Nine Profound Celestial Sect, and even the Lower Realm powers that are present now, like the Benevolent Buddha Hall. Countless current giants rose during that period because the old rulers had been erased. There was basically no living Golden Immortal left!"
His gaze deepened slightly as he said the last sentence, exhaling slowly.
"By the time the 33 Heavens finally reacted, it was already too late."
Tian Yongheng immediately understood the meaning behind this sentence.
"He ascended."
Zhu Dong nodded.
"That person had already entered the Divine Realm!"
A trace of disbelief appeared on his face as he spoke the next sentence, the same disbelief every Immortal and God throughout history shared.
"A fifty-three thousand year old Immortal Sovereign!"
His voice contained genuine amazement.
"Can you believe that? Because I still can’t!"
Even Zhu Dong, a former Immortal Sovereign himself, looked somewhat dazed at his own words.
He understood better than anyone what that achievement represented.
He himself had spent seventy million years reaching that realm.
Seventy million years, and he was already considered a peerless genius in the Nine Heavens, destined to become a Lord, possibly even go further.
On the other hand, that person had accomplished the same thing in fifty-three thousand years.
The difference was enough to make the Dao Hearts of countless Immortal Sovereigns collapse.
After a while, Zhu Dong slowly shook his head.
"As for what happened afterward... I don’t know. Or rather, I’m not qualified to know."
His tone became somewhat helpless.
"I wasn’t even born when all of this happened. A billion years is still too distant a period for someone like me who wasn’t even a hundred million years old when I fell. I grew up listening to his myths, and that’s why I even know what I know right now. The only thing I can confirm is that person caused an enormous commotion in the 33 Heavens Divine Realm as well, and somehow managed to change everything, from the structure of the Heavenly Karmic Cycles to the fate of the Lower Realm, all of it!"
Zhu Dong’s voice was extremely heavy as he said this.
"Whatever he did, it affected all of heaven and earth!"
The rain continued pouring, and for a long moment, neither of them spoke.
Eventually, Zhu Dong slowly raised his head, a strange light appearing in his eyes.
"Tian Yongheng, you’ve probably already guessed who that person is."
The name that had survived more than a billion years, worshipped throughout the Lower Realm.
The same name feared throughout the Upper Realm, which even countless Immortal Gods regarded as a myth.
"He was the peerless prodigy acknowledged by heaven and earth across all the realms, the man who overturned the Upper Realm and the existence who changed the fate of the Lower Realm. The only invincible divine myth whose legends still circulate after more than a billion years!"
Zhu Dong paused briefly before uttering,
"Indeed, he is none other than the Divine Sovereign, the Number One Genius Since Ancient Times!"