Chapter 400: Truth Behind the Heavenly Karmic Cycles
The rain continued pouring from the heavens.
Dark clouds stretching endlessly across the sky, covering the entire Heavenly Region beneath a curtain of gray.
Tian Yongheng and Zhu Dong stood facing each other in midair, the rain never touching either of them.
Invisible fluctuations spread around their bodies, causing every droplet to silently divert away before it could approach.
When Tian Yongheng heard Zhu Dong’s question, his brows immediately furrowed.
"The Lower Realm originally did not possess four eras?"
A strange light flickered through his crimson eyes; this was the first time he had heard such a thing.
Across the countless records he had read over the years, every Heavenly Karmic Cycle consisted of four eras, namely the Desolate Era, the Revolutionary Era, the Great Era, and the Mythical Era.
Four eras, each one lasting a hundred million years, a total of four hundred million years, which made up an entire Heavenly Karmic Cycle.
This was common knowledge acknowledged throughout the entire Lower Realm.
Seeing his reaction, Zhu Dong revealed an expression that seemed to say "as expected."
For a brief moment, a peculiar look appeared in his eyes.
He had originally suspected Tian Yongheng to be the reincarnation of some ancient Immortal Sovereign.
Now, however, that possibility seemed increasingly unlikely.
Forget an Immortal Sovereign, even any average Golden Immortal would not be ignorant of such information.
Unless...
Zhu Dong’s gaze deepened slightly.
Either Tian Yongheng truly was not the reincarnation of any mighty figure, or his previous life’s status was so high that even Immortal Sovereigns were insignificant before it, and he just hadn’t remembered it yet.
A Lord? A King?
Or something beyond even that?
The possibility sounded absurd, yet every time Zhu Dong looked at Tian Yongheng, he found himself unable to completely dismiss it.
Naturally, these thoughts remained hidden within his heart, not even a trace appearing in his mind.
After all, Tian Yongheng had already become an Immortal.
Although Zhu Dong was confident in concealing his thoughts using various means, there was no reason to take unnecessary risks.
Thus, he simply continued speaking.
"A billion years ago, the Heavenly Karmic Cycle was very different."
His voice remained calm as he continued, "The current four eras did not exist. Instead, there were only three. These were the Dharma Decline Era, the Dao Revival Era, and the Immortal Divine Era."
Tian Yongheng listened quietly as the rain continued falling around them.
"The Dharma Decline Era lasted fifty million years."
Zhu Dong’s gaze became somewhat distant.
"It was also the cruelest era."
"Crueler than the Desolate Era?" Tian Yongheng couldn’t help but ask.
Zhu Dong laughed, the laughter containing a hint of amusement.
"Crueler?"
He slowly shook his head.
"The Desolate Era would seem like a paradise compared to it."
Tian Yongheng’s eyes narrowed slightly at these words.
Zhu Dong continued speaking.
"In the Desolate Era, resources are scarce, however, cultivators still possess a bottom line. Righteous cultivators protect mortals, large factions maintain order, and the strong prey upon the weak, but not without restraint."
His tone gradually became colder.
"But during the Dharma Decline Era, there was no restraint. The scarcity of Spirit Qi and resources had already driven countless cultivators insane."
The rain seemed to become heavier with each word he spoke.
"At that time, a cultivator’s corpse was a treasure, their blood, bones, soul, everything was a treasure. If you died, nothing belonging to you would remain intact, everything could be refined into cultivation resources, everything."
Tian Yongheng’s pupils contracted slightly.
Even he felt somewhat uncomfortable hearing such descriptions.
A corpse being refined into treasures was not unusual, the demonic path had always done such things.
However, according to Zhu Dong’s tone, this was not limited to the demonic path.
Almost as if understanding his thoughts, Zhu Dong nodded.
"Yes, the righteous path as well. The so-called righteous cultivators of that era were no different from demonic cultivators, they merely wore cleaner robes."
His voice carried faint ridicule as he spoke.
"The difference was that demonic cultivators killed openly, and righteous cultivators killed politely."
Silence followed his sentence.
Tian Yongheng found himself unable to imagine such a world.
Even during the current Mythical Era, where cultivators often disregard mortal lives, most righteous factions still maintain certain principles.
The great sects protected countless cities, and many cultivators spend their entire lives defending humanity.
Yet, according to Zhu Dong, such things did not exist during the Dharma Decline Era.
"Was resource scarcity truly that severe?"
Tian Yongheng finally asked.
Zhu Dong slowly nodded, "Worse than you can imagine. The Lower Realm Spirit was weak and dormant, Providence was scarce, Spirit Qi was nearly exhausted, and the path of cultivation was extraordinarily difficult. Tribulation Transcendence Realm was the absolute limit."
His voice became solemn.
"Not just because the worldly laws and heavenly rules were simply that weak like in the Desolate Era, but also because nobody could go further as the world literally lacked the resources."
Tian Yongheng fell silent.
Tribulation Transcendence Realm, in the current era, was merely the beginning for true powerhouses.
Even in the records of the Desolate Era he knew of, the reason why the Tribulation Transcendence Realm was the limit was because the worldly laws and heavenly rules were too weak to support higher cultivators after the end of the previous cycle, not because there were no resources.
Zhu Dong continued, "A cultivator reaching the Tribulation Transcendence Realm was enough to dominate an entire Great Mortal World, while ascension to the Upper Realm happened only once every several hundred thousand years, sometimes even longer."
Tian Yongheng’s eyes flickered slightly.
No wonder the era lasted fifty million years, half of the entire ancient Heavenly Karmic Cycle.
If cultivation was that difficult, then advancement throughout the entire world would be unimaginably slow.
After a while, Zhu Dong continued.
"Then came the Dao Revival Era."
The atmosphere surrounding him relaxed slightly.
"Heaven and earth began recovering, the Lower Realm Spirit awakened, Spirit Qi increased, Providence strengthened, and cultivation gradually became easier. The later stages of the Dao Revival Era were actually very similar to the Revolutionary Era and Great Era you know today. Powerful sects continuously emerged, new lineages appeared, the connections between the Great Mortal Worlds were restored, the Outer Void became accessible again, and the entire Lower Realm entered a period of explosive growth."
Tian Yongheng nodded slightly, this sounded much more familiar.
"How long did it last?"
He asked.
"Forty million years." Zhu Dong answered immediately.
"By the end of the Dao Revival Era, the Lower Realm had fully recovered. The stage was prepared, and then..."
His expression gradually darkened.
"The Immortal Divine Era arrived."
The rain continued falling, but for some reason, the atmosphere around them seemed heavier.
Tian Yongheng immediately understood that the truly important part was beginning.
"The Immortal Divine Era lasted ten million years."
Zhu Dong slowly spoke.
"It was the golden age, with Spirit Qi overflowing and Providence filling heaven and earth as countless geniuses emerged, Immortals appeared one after another, and the Lower Realm reached its absolute peak."
His eyes deepened slightly by the time he reached the end of his sentence.
"Then, the Cleansing arrived."
Thunder rumbled faintly across the heavens.
Tian Yongheng did not interrupt, listening quietly.
Zhu Dong slowly exhaled, a layer of mist forming around his lips.
"At the end of every Heavenly Karmic Cycle, Immortals and Gods descended, to destroy everything."
His voice became incomparably cold.
"Sects, families, dynasties, civilizations, legacies, and even entire worlds, they did not spare anyone, slaughtering all living beings. The heavens bled and the earth shattered, the Lower Realm Spirit was forced into slumber, Spirit Qi collapsed, and Providence dispersed, paving the way for the next Heavenly Karmic Cycle."
Tian Yongheng’s heart trembled slightly as he listened.
Although he knew about the legends of the Cleansing, actually hearing it confirmed still felt immensely shocking.
Zhu Dong continued to speak.
"Back then, nothing survived. It didn’t matter whether your ancestors were Immortals or if your founder was a God. No how glorious your lineage was, everything perished; the Cleansing erased everything."
Tian Yongheng frowned slightly, "But that isn’t the case now."
"Exactly."
Zhu Dong nodded.
"Many current factions survived previous Cleansings, such as your Great Tian Immortal Family, the Great Path Holy Land, Seven Star Sword Sect, Benevolent Buddha Hall, and even those two, the Moonlight Emergence Palace and Kunlun Divine Mountain, including the Nine Suns of the Lower Realm, they all were passed down."
He stopped speaking, looking at Tian Yongheng meaningfully.
"Which means something changed a billion years ago."
Tian Yongheng’s eyes narrowed immediately as he uttered those words.
"Correct."
Zhu Dong nodded.
"A billion years ago, something happened, something so significant that it altered the structure of the Heavenly Karmic Cycles, and in retrospect, the entire Lower Realm."
Zhu Dong lifted his gaze toward the endless sky as the rain continued pouring around them.
Neither of them spoke for several breaths before Zhu Dong lowered his head once more, looking directly into Tian Yongheng’s eyes, a strange expression appearing on his face.
"Let me ask you something."
Tian Yongheng remained silent, staring back calmly.
Zhu Dong slowly asked with an even voice, "Aside from Kunlun Divine Mountain, the Nine Suns, and the Moonlight Emergence Palace, have you ever encountered a lineage that survived more than three current Heavenly Karmic Cycles?"
The question caused Tian Yongheng to pause.
He immediately began searching through his memories.
Both the Tian and Qin families had survived two Heavenly Karmic Cycles, the Seven Star Sword Sect had survived one, the Great Path Holy Land had survived two, and the Benevolent Buddha Hall had survived three.
Even the oldest records he had ever encountered, including those from Kunlun, seemed to stop there.
Tian Yongheng’s expression changed as he came to a realization.
Aside from those two factions, the Golden Crows and Kunlun, which had ties to potentially the highest levels of existences in the 33 Heavens, not a single inheritance had survived beyond that point; even the power behind Moonlight Emergence Palace seemed to have suffered catastrophically, leaving only the Moonlight Emergence Palace behind.
Seeing his reaction, Zhu Dong slowly smiled, a smile devoid of warmth.
"Exactly."
His voice echoed quietly amidst the rain.
"They never did."