Grandpa, times have changed.

At this moment, at the bottom of the Qingming Sea.

With a combined attack from all the immortals, everything—dust, seawater, and even the ethereal Dao principles—was shattered.

nothingness……

wrong!

Even the concept of 'nothingness' seems exceptionally vague.

Gu Ping gazed calmly at Tai, who was right in front of him and had become so illusory as to be almost transparent, without a trace of extra emotion in his eyes.

He raised his right hand and pierced His brow with one finger.

He stared intently at Him, and everything he had held onto for hundreds of millions of years seemed like a joke in the face of that cruel truth.

He hated Gu to the core, and he also hated the entire Cang clan to the core.

But His current state is extremely poor; His divine body has collapsed, His essence has been lost, and He cannot even utter a single word.

Gu remained silent, his gaze fixed on what lay before him.

A wisp of light yet heavy, as fine as a grain of sand yet encompassing the vast universe, like a silver stream of light transformed from the source of the concepts of 'law' and 'order'.

It exists so clearly and brightly between Tai's eyebrows.

This is precisely the original intention of 'reason' that Gu has been pursuing for so many years!

The fulfillment of my long-cherished wish seems to be just around the corner.

The finger that pierced Tai's brow seemed to have actually touched him, but it also seemed to exist on two completely different levels with no connection whatsoever.

No matter how much the seven-colored radiance permeated it, it could not shake the silver light in the slightest.

Gradually, the calm in Gu's eyes could no longer be maintained.

No?

Tai is already so badly injured, why is it still not working?!

"Why not!"

As he spoke, He suddenly pulled out the finger that had pierced between Tai's eyebrows, and with his five fingers spread open, he reached out to grab Tai's head.

However, Tai merely smiled mockingly, and his figure vanished in specks of silver light.

Gu's right hand grasped at empty air.

Now that they know His scheme, how could Tai possibly let Him achieve His wish?

Even if it comes at a price, or requires a longer period of silence.

But those who attain enlightenment are eternal and transcendent. As long as the right opportunity arises, they will always return one day.

At that time, He will spare no effort to avenge the past, and even the entire Cang Clan!
The ancient face was as still as water.

next second.

Splash!
Then, chains formed from the power of the Supreme Mystery extended out, trembling incessantly, each chain containing power surpassing that of an enlightened being.

They actually managed to grab back and 'lock' the dissipated energy from some unknown place.

Furthermore, it created a peculiar cage that exists between existence and nothingness, a cage that is difficult for all living beings and even enlightened beings to reach.

The scattered inscriptions coalesced into a bluestone platform engraved with nine circular inscriptions.

Tai, who could no longer maintain his divine body, was now just a ball of irregularly swirling gray mist, yet he couldn't help but be shocked.

"impossible!"

The power of the Supreme Mystery can only have an indirect influence within certain limitations; how could it possibly act directly on an enlightened being!
However, Gu made no attempt to explain.

He glanced coldly at the woman bound by chains, then turned and left.

As He departed, this peculiar realm between existence and nothingness began to crumble little by little.

Rolling fog surged and fell layer by layer like a curtain.

The power of the Supreme Mystery...

As the first enlightened being in the very beginning of time, He understood everything better than anyone except the heavens.

Those who are born with the Dao are born with the Dao.

When in good condition, it is just like all living beings in the mortal world, a part of the Tai Xuan Realm, and is extremely difficult to be affected.

But once the divine body collapses and only a trace of existence remains in silence, that's a different story.

Those who attain enlightenment in this state are no longer considered part of the Tai Xuan Realm, but rather a part of it.

Simply put, they have lost their 'independence' and are therefore easily influenced by the power of the Supreme Mystery.

Thoughts raced through my mind.

Gu had already stepped out of the cage created by the Supreme Mystery Authority, and the divine body constructed from the seven-colored divine radiance gradually became illusory.

Strands of divine light continuously spread towards the 'past,' eroding and connecting with it.

One side is similar to the Tai Xuan Realm, with only minor differences, and a world that seems to be a projection of the present world is slowly forming.

The Cang Clan's defeat in this battle is inevitable; it's time to consider their escape route.

……

……

Qingming overseas.

"I now merge with the past, and establish a new world. May the Great Mystery bear witness!"

The vast sound echoed, as if from ancient times, the long and melodious sound of bells and drums resounding between heaven and earth.

change!

The past of the Tai Xuan Realm is changing!

Every enlightened being felt it.

History seemed to have a ruler, and the entire 'past' had fallen into the hands of an unparalleled being at its very core.

Soon, large swathes of the Cang Clan began to disappear from the battlefield, heading from the present world to the realm that existed in the 'past'.

at last……

Has it really come to this?
Xuan's eyes were indifferent as he felt the Dao essence of Tai completely dissipate, and his heart was filled with complex emotions.

After blocking the crimson sword light that was slashing horizontally with a punch, he quickly retreated.

With one hand pointing outwards like a sword, a wisp of purple energy was unleashed, transforming into thirteen strands that attacked the Heaven-Sealing Cauldron.

At the same time, he spread his fingers on his other hand and grabbed at the battlefield below!
Heaven and earth, the universe, and all things in the world.

In an instant, all the remaining Cang clan members on the battlefield were captured and taken away.

"Don't think about it!"

The Overlord stepped forward and punched!
Whoosh!

The mighty river of qi and blood surges forth, and the powerful fist imprint pierces through illusion and reality, sweeping away everything.

boom!
Rumble!
Like billions of stars exploding, nearly a million Cang Clan members below the Dao Integration level were shattered into blood mist by this punch.

From the physical body to the soul, everything has lost its vitality.

But in a fraction of a second, the shattered blood mist began to recombine under the influence of an unparalleled power.

The immortals, of course, wouldn't just stand by and watch, and immediately each used their own methods.

Even more striking was the crimson sword light, like a bolt of lightning, which separated yin and yang, swept across the sky, and directly annihilated the thirteen purple energies that were attacking the Heaven-Sealing Cauldron.

Then, a majestic sword light soared into the sky and slashed towards Xuan once more.

Xu Xing could not escape the encirclement of the four ancestors of the Cang clan back then.

Currently, the human race has thirteen True Immortals.

With thirteen against one, Xuan has even less chance of escaping.

Breathe!
In just a moment, Xuan was forced back down by the combined efforts of the immortals.

They were on the verge of a dead end.

misfortune!

But it happened suddenly.

click!
A faint, crisp sound, like gold and jade shattering, rang out with unparalleled clarity in the ears of all the immortals.

Ok?
Looking back, one could see that the thirteen Heaven-Sealing Cauldrons could no longer withstand the weight of the 'Heavenly Will', their bodies covered with cracks, as if they would collapse and shatter at any moment.

Wow, that was fast!

The immortals felt a chill in their hearts, but they weren't too alarmed.

As planned, Hongzun and Bazun were the first to withdraw from the encirclement, using their True Immortal status as a means to suppress the will of Heaven.

However, the result was somewhat unexpected.

Even with two True Immortals sealing it, the cracks on the body of the Heaven-Seizing Cauldron continued to multiply.

Clearly, two True Immortals are not enough!

Seeing this, Bie Xuening, Ning Ruo, and Mei Zu also withdrew from the encirclement.

But the cracks on the cauldron continued to spread and increase! Still not enough?!

Dan Zu and Qi Zun dared not be negligent and withdrew from the encirclement, using their own True Immortal status to suppress the will of Heaven.

This time, the rate at which the cracks spread slowed down.

but……

It's still not enough!

We're still missing a decisive true immortal!
'It seems we won't be able to keep Him here today...'

Xu Xing sighed inwardly and finally withdrew as well.

With this retreat, Xuan finally seized the opportunity. He, who was already a step above ordinary enlightened beings, took a blow from Yuanjun, You, Kui, Min, and Huo. At the cost of serious injury, he led the remaining Cang Clan to retreat into the starry sky.

Kui followed without hesitation.

The remaining four True Immortals originally wanted to follow, but they discovered that seven-colored divine light was shining everywhere in the Central Continent.

He was not much better than Dongzhen, but he was still a step weaker than Zhenxian.

antiquity!
It was Gu, who had merged with the past and was now in control of it from its very origins, who made his move!
Although it poses no threat to True Immortals, it is fatal to cultivators below the True Immortal level.

Helpless, they had no choice but to abandon their plan to follow and instead began dealing with the seven-colored divine light emerging from various parts of the Tai Xuan Realm.

Xuan took this opportunity to continue venturing deeper into the starry sky.

……

……

Starry sky!

Vast and boundless, with no end in sight.

Originally, apart from the part near the central continent where the stars shone, the vast majority of the area was nothingness, devoid of any existence.

However, due to the loss of Tai's essence, it was mixed with fragments of the central continent and scattered into the starry sky.

What was once nothingness is now filled with twinkling stars.

Planets, stars, planetary systems, and even galaxies spanning tens of thousands of light-years can be combined to form even larger galaxy clusters!
From the perspective of an enlightened being, they appear as four magnificent feathers extending from the central continent.

The fall of Tai created the boundless star field.

Looking at the increasingly distant Central Continent, Xuan felt a pang of melancholy.

This departure...

Will there be another chance to go back?
"mysterious!"

The brilliant light of martial arts illuminates the boundless star field.

A martial immortal whose eyes held nothing but anger!

He was about to punch him with his fist.

The dazzling fist imprint contained the supreme essence of martial arts, ignoring the barriers of space, and struck horizontally.

"Are you alone...?"

With a soft sigh, Xuan slowly raised his hand and easily blocked the punch.

He even flicked his finger to repel the pursuing Kui, while continuing to rush into the depths of the starry sky.

The reason they couldn't break through the encirclement before was because the Sword Ancestor was holding them back.

Just like how He restrained the Sword Ancestor back then.

If it were an ordinary enlightened being, the chances of escape would still be quite high.

Although he was unwilling to give up after failing to catch up.

But they calmed down and retreated to the central continent.

He has already wronged many people in his life, and he absolutely cannot let the efforts of more people go to waste because of his own impulsiveness.

……

……

The famous Battle of Chasing the Azure Sky, a pivotal event in the history of the Tai Xuan Realm, has come to an end.

From the perspective of the human race's true immortals, this battle not only drew upon the will of Heaven, but also plunged the heavens into complete silence, and drove the Cang race out of the central continent.

Even Tai, who had the most entanglements and the deepest hatred with the human race, has completely perished.

Although they failed to completely wipe out the Cang Clan, this result is already very good.

From Xuan's perspective.

This was a battle that was destined to be lost. It was a stroke of luck that the majority of the Cang Clan was spared and that the true purpose of the Heaven was discovered.

For Gu, although he failed to obtain the original intention, he did successfully imprison Tai.

Moreover, he managed to preserve most of his strength amidst the chaos of battle.

As long as we are alive and don't fall into silence like the sky, there is still a chance!
Neither side is entirely satisfied, but they have no choice but to accept it all.

And within this lies the intrigue, scheming, and unexpected events.

Apart from Gu and the imprisoned Tai, no other existence is known.

It wasn't until more than 70,000 years later, when the human race completely defeated the Cang race, that the truth finally came to light.

……

……

In the century following the end of the Great War.

In order to completely suppress the restless will of Heaven, most of the Thirteen True Immortals of Tai Xuan chose to go into seclusion.

The affairs of the Central Continent were entrusted to a group of Dongzhen and Tongxuan practitioners.

It is worth mentioning that Yuanjun, You, Min, and Kui went to the starry sky.

Huo stayed behind to guard against Tian. During this hundred years, he also traveled all over the Tai Xuan Realm, slaughtering all the alien cultivators at the Dao Integration level and above.

Even in the following fifty years.

A group of practitioners inexplicably appeared in the Central Continent, claiming to be 'following their true nature' but essentially indulging their desires—

Demonic cultivator.

The emergence of this lineage further complicated the already turbulent post-war situation, and even the constraints imposed by the ancestral lands of the human race did not yield very good results.

Various bizarre, sinister, cruel, and vicious secret techniques took shape during this period.

Because of this incident, he was also referred to as the 'Demon Ancestor' by many cultivators, as the one who ushered in the chaotic era.

He didn't care about this confusion, but simply selected some 'good seedlings' among the demonic cultivators, bestowed upon them good fortune, and caused quite a bit of trouble.

Until a hundred years later.

The few true immortals who had been suppressing the will of Heaven finally emerged from seclusion.

Seeing this chaotic situation, after some discussion, the number one immortal sect of the human race—

Sword Sect!

And that's how it came to be.

The first sect leader was Xu Xing.

However, because Xu Xing was going to the front lines of the starry sky, he only served for less than a year. After tidying up the chaos in the Central Continent, his personal disciple, the Absolute Fiend Sword Master Jing Hai, took over.

Shortly afterwards.

The Supreme Dao Sect, the Dragon Elephant Supporting the Sky Sect, the World-Saving Valley, the Spirit Sound Workshop, and the Divine Machine Refining Treasure Pavilion were successively established.

The six great immortal sects of Tai Xuan came into being from this point onward.

There should have been seven major immortal sects, but the 'true self' inheritance of the Demon Ancestor is too abstract and too difficult to enter.

Furthermore, after the establishment of the six major immortal sects, the sealed Heavenly Will also stabilized.

Therefore, the Seventh Immortal Sect could not be established.

After leaving her own legacy on the Central Continent, she took her only disciple to the front lines of the starry sky.

The emergence of the six major immortal sects.

Furthermore, true immortals are transcendent, have no desires for the world, and the world even has to take them as its teachers.

This also stabilized the situation in the central mainland considerably.

But the true immortals cannot keep their eyes on the central continent forever.

For them now, the portion of Heaven's will that they have sealed away is the limit of their abilities, and they must not go into seclusion to adapt to this state.

Xu Xing, the only one who can suppress the will of Heaven and move freely, cannot afford to waste time in the Central Continent; the front lines still need him to hold the line.

Therefore, Xu Xing left not long after the establishment of the six major immortal sects.

With the other True Immortals in seclusion, power was once again handed over to a group of Dongzhen and Tongxuan.

If we take the Battle of Zhu Cang as the dividing line, the period before the Battle of Zhu Cang is considered the 'Ancient Times'.

True immortals, who remained detached from worldly affairs, lived during the period leading up to the great upheaval, a time known as the 'Ancient Times'. (End of Chapter)