Chapter 425: An Unprecedented Era
They had originally thought that learning about the realms above the Vagrant Immortal Realm was already enough of a shock, but now, looking at Wei Qiushan’s solemn expression, they suddenly had an ominous feeling.
"Then..."
Sun Hao’s voice broke the tense atmosphere as he hesitated briefly before asking.
"The army descending from the Upper Realm this time... how powerful will it actually be?"
The garden instantly became quiet, everyone’s gaze once again gathering upon Wei Qiushan.
This was undoubtedly the question that mattered most.
Knowing that the Upper Realm possessed Golden Immortals was one thing, but those beings were still extremely distant from them.
The ones they would actually face in the next few decades were the Immortals and Gods descending for the Cleansing.
How many would there be, and how powerful would they be?
Wei Qiushan remained silent for several breaths of time before slowly speaking.
"If this were an ordinary Cleansing, there would usually be at least one Earth Immortal leading the operation."
The expressions of everyone immediately became solemn.
One Earth Immortal, even that alone was enough to make them feel tremendous pressure.
But Wei Qiushan wasn’t finished yet.
"Behind the Earth Immortal, there would normally be around a hundred Vagrant Immortals, a thousand Half Immortals, ten thousand Immortal Ascension cultivators, and hundreds of thousands of Tribulation Transcendence cultivators."
By the time he finished speaking, it was as though the entire garden had fallen into an endless, silent void.
Even the flowing water beside the ancient tree seemed to have stopped.
Everyone stared at Wei Qiushan, utterly dumbfounded.
For a moment, no one could speak a single word.
Hundreds of thousands of Tribulation Transcendence cultivators, thousands of Half Immortals, hundreds of Vagrant Immortals, and at least one Earth Immortal.
This was a force capable of sweeping through the entire Lower Realm without opposition.
The Eternal Peak possessed many geniuses, but how many Tribulation Transcendence cultivators did they have?
How many Half Immortals?
Forget Vagrant Immortals, even if they included every supreme genius and ancient powerhouse in the Second Great Mortal World, could they gather even a fraction of such an army’s mortal numbers?
It was practically impossible.
Wei Qiushan looked at their expressions and continued, his voice incredibly heavy.
"Moreover, don’t assume that these cultivators are equivalent to cultivators of the same realm in the Lower Realm. They are much, much stronger."
Everyone’s hearts sank again.
"The Upper Realm possesses a far superior cultivation environment. Its Immortal Qi, heavenly rules, natural elements, worldly laws, concepts of heaven and earth, and various resources are all vastly superior to those of the Lower Realm. Furthermore, the techniques they cultivate are more complete, their inheritances are deeper, their Dharma Artifacts and Treasures are stronger, and even their bloodlines and physiques are generally superior. Most importantly..."
Wei Qiushan paused before speaking in a difficult tone.
"The people participating in the Cleansing are usually not ordinary cultivators."
Lu Qingfeng’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"Prodigies?"
Wei Qiushan nodded, "Exactly."
He slowly said.
"Most of the cultivators sent to participate in the Cleansing are younger generations of the Upper Realm’s supreme Dao lineages, and most of them are less than a thousand years old, with a few exceptional ones even under a hundred years of age."
The garden once again fell into a pin drop silence.
Less than a thousand years old, that was the same age range as many of them.
Less than a hundred years old... which meant some of them actually achieved the Tribulation Transcendence Realm under a hundred years of age.
What kind of concept was that?
Even Tian Yongheng did not have such a record, although it was mainly related to their cultivation environment rather than just talent.
Not to mention they were already qualified to participate in an operation involving Earth Immortals and hundreds of Vagrant Immortals.
The implication behind that was frightening.
Wei Qiushan continued.
"The Cleansing is not just a slaughter, for many supreme Dao lineages, it is also a trial, a battlefield used to temper their younger generations."
Everyone’s expressions became ugly.
A battlefield?
A trial?
To the Upper Realm, the destruction of the Lower Realm was actually a trial ground for their younger generation?
The countless civilizations, sects, families, mortals, and cultivators living here were nothing more than targets for their descendants to gain experience?
A faint killing intent emerged within Lu Qingfeng’s eyes.
"So they treat our world as a training ground?"
Wei Qiushan did not answer; he did not know what to say in such a matter.
Yan Jingfei’s expression also became cold.
"Then what exactly is the meaning of the Cleansing?"
Wei Qiushan shook his head.
"I don’t know. I only know that this has happened many times throughout history. Every time the Heavenly Karmic Cycle approaches its end, the Upper Realm descends, those young Immortals and Gods fight, kill, seize opportunities, and temper themselves, and once the Lower Realm has been thoroughly cleansed, ninety-nine percent of everything has been wiped out and the Nine Great Mortal Worlds revert back to the Desolate Era as we know it now, the Cleansing ends."
The surroundings became incomparably heavy.
Yan Jingfei clenched her fists.
"So the lives of countless beings are merely..."
Merely stepping stones, merely resources, merely numbers, merely experience.
She didn’t say that out loud, but everyone understood the meaning behind her words, causing their hearts to become heavy.
The so-called Immortals and Gods who stood above the heavens actually regarded the Lower Realm like an abandoned hunting ground.
At this moment, Wei Qiushan suddenly spoke, attracting everyone’s attention towards him.
"However, there are always some exceptions."
His expression became slightly more complicated as he said.
"Although the Upper Realm has existed for countless years, and countless supreme prodigies have emerged throughout its history, I have never heard of anyone who could cross an entire major realm to fight after becoming an Immortal, except for one person, the Divine Sovereign."
Everyone’s expressions changed slightly.
Wei Qiushan continued.
"Before achieving immortality, there are monsters capable of challenging a major realm above them, such as Wang Daoyun or supreme prodigies of the Upper Realm. Perhaps someone possesses an unparalleled physique, perhaps someone else inherits an ancient treasure, perhaps one comprehends an extraordinary Dao, perhaps another possesses an unimaginable bloodline; there are always exceptions. However, after becoming an Immortal..."
He shook his head.
"The transformation between each major realm becomes far too enormous to cross using normal means."
Just like how an Earth Immortal was fundamentally different from a Vagrant Immortal, a Heaven Immortal was also fundamentally different from an Earth Immortal, and so on.
The higher one climbed, the greater the gap became.
At the lower realms, one might still rely on techniques, treasures, constitutions, bloodlines, and comprehension to challenge those stronger than oneself, but after entering immortality, the difference in the very essence of one’s existence becomes increasingly difficult to overcome.
Although every realm, even realms before immortality, could be said to be qualitative changes, the realms after immortality were more "absolute" qualitative changes.
Wei Qiushan looked towards the distant sky, letting out a sigh as his expression became more firm.
"The reason I’m telling you all of this is not to make you despair, but to make sure you understand what we are facing."
Everyone remained silent as Wei Qiushan continued.
"This Cleansing has been advanced by seventy million years; it is not normal by any means, which means that something has already changed."
His eyes flickered slightly.
"Therefore, this time may not follow the pattern of previous Cleansings, thus there might be more Earth Immortals, maybe the number of Vagrant Immortals will increase, perhaps existences even stronger than Earth Immortals might descend. No one knows what will ultimately happen."
At this moment, a gentle breeze passed through the ancient trees, causing several divine flowers to sway slightly.
Everything appeared so peaceful, it was difficult to imagine that beyond this small garden, an entire realm was heading towards its destruction.
Just then, Wei Qiushan suddenly smiled faintly.
"But..."
His gaze shifted towards the deepest part of the Eternal Peak.
"Just like the Divine Sovereign, Grandmaster is also an exception."
The expressions of everyone changed at his words.
Wei Qiushan’s voice became solemn.
"If Grandmaster can successfully break through to the Earth Immortal Realm before the Cleansing, then the situation will be entirely different."
Yan Jingfei’s eyes brightened slightly.
"How confident are you?"
Wei Qiushan shook his head.
"I cannot say."
After all, although he was an Origin Immortal in his past life, he was not some supreme prodigy who could cross major realms to fight after immortality.
But there was one thing he could say with confidence.
"Grandmaster’s foundation is simply too terrifying. Even before becoming an Earth Immortal, he had already accomplished things that should have been impossible. At the Half Immortal Realm, he killed over a dozen Vagrant Immortals, even though they were just Lower Realm Vagrant Immortals and much weaker than their Upper Realm counterparts, they were still genuine Immortals; I fear even the Divine Sovereign would be nothing more than this. His combat power has already exceeded the understanding of ordinary cultivators."
Wei Qiushan’s eyes became increasingly profound.
"If such a person breaks through to the Earth Immortal Realm, he will most likely be invincible among Earth Immortals, to say the least."
The words were simple, but the logic behind them sound and meaning astonishing.
An Earth Immortal invincible at the same realm, potentially capable of contending with Heaven Immortals, no matter for how brief of an instant...
If Tian Yongheng truly reached that level, then the Lower Realm would finally possess someone capable of facing the enemy head on.
Even the massive army descending from the Upper Realm would no longer be so overwhelming.
However, Wei Qiushan wasn’t finished just yet.
"Moreover, Grandmaster isn’t the only anomaly in our generation."
He slowly said, leaving everyone a bit surprised.
His gaze swept across everyone present as he spoke.
"Look at yourselves, how many of you are less than a thousand years old yet have already reached Tribulation Transcendence Realm in an environment much inferior than those Upper Realm prodigies? How many of you possess constitutions and bloodlines that should be impossible to gather in a single era?"
Wei Qiushan continued slowly.
"And outside the Eternal Peak, there is Wang Daoyun, Jiang Chengxuan, Ying Qingshuang, the Unrivaled Fist God, and countless other prodigies."
His voice gradually became heavier.
"Although many of them aren’t on the same level as true anomalies, each of them are more than enough to be the leading figure for their respective generations, yet in this era, there are simply too many strong people, so much so that even the most brilliant of talents in other ages have become just a little exceptional now."
Everyone fell silent, contemplating his words.
Indeed, the current era was too strange.
Ever since the emergence of Tian Yongheng, too many monsters had appeared, almost as if his own existence was merely a catalyst.
It was almost as though something was deliberately pushing the entire era forward.
Wei Qiushan slowly clenched his fists.
"The heavens have already changed, and perhaps some existence we cannot understand has intervened. No matter the reason, this generation is simply destined to be different."
They were all standing at the center of an unprecedented era, and their existence had long since become intertwined with that of the variable.