I Cheated While Cultivating

Chapter 424: Chapter 143 Everything Will Be Destroyed

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Heavenly Court?!

Thirty-Six Heavens?

Zhou Heng’s eyes widened in astonishment as he stared at Jiang Er, saying, “Was there a Heavenly Court in the Ancient Mythological Era?”

“You know of the Heavenly Court?” Jiang Er seemed a bit surprised, and then realizing, smiled and said, “That’s right, your body carries the aura of the Zhou Tian Star Chart, which should allow you to roam the myriad worlds. It’s not strange that you know of the Heavenly Court.

“Indeed, just as you are thinking, the numerous immortals and gods of the Ancient Mythological Era were not without organization. Although some stray immortals and gods were outside of this structure, the vast majority of them actually belonged to one colossal entity.

“This organization is the Heavenly Court, holding aloft the Thirty-Six Heavens, reigning supreme over the myriad worlds, with the will of the Heavenly Emperor covering the endless cosmos, commanding all immortals, Buddhas, saints, demons, and ghosts. This is the true visage of the Ancient Mythological Era.”

“So it is…” Zhou Heng’s mouth slightly opened, sinking into a prolonged silence.

Although he originally didn’t know much about the Ancient Mythological Era, he had speculated based on some scattered legends, always believing that the Ancient Mythological Era might be one where immortals overwhelmed the world, sects stood in great numbers, and people all aimed to become immortals.

Yet, he hadn’t expected that there would be a Heavenly Court above all else, ruling over the beings of the Ancient Mythological Era.

If that was truly the case, then the end of the Ancient Mythological Era must be inseparable from this Heavenly Court.

Did Jiang Er just say the Heavenly Court fell and the worlds collapsed?

What kind of force could cause such a colossal entity to crumble with a bang?

Does such a force really exist?

“How could such a Heavenly Court possibly fall?” Zhou Heng voiced his inner doubt.

“I do not know.” Jiang Er shook his head and said, “I too have only heard bits and pieces from my master, after all, the Ancient Mythological Era is extremely remote from my time as well.”

“Extremely remote?” Zhou Heng caught another puzzling detail and asked, “Does senior know how long the Dark Era lasted?”

Before this, he had looked at some scattered information on the Dark Era and had also asked others, with a general consensus that the duration of the Dark Era might have been between three to four thousand years and ten thousand years.

That is to say, the Ancient Mythological Era should be about three to four thousand to ten thousand years before the Middle Ancient Era.

However, based on Jiang Er’s words, it seems not so.

The lifespan of a Tao Lord could be said to be boundless, and Jiang Er himself has lived an ancient existence for over five thousand years.

For such powerful beings, even an era from ten thousand years ago could not really be called “extremely remote.”

“The ancient immortals passed away, the thirty-six gods dominated the universe, sects were established everywhere, great demons roamed the earth, foreign demons invaded, ghosts were rampant, and the human race was as insignificant as ants.” Jiang Er spoke indifferently, “That is the Dark Era as you know it, right.”

“The Dark Era as I know it?” Zhou Heng was taken aback and then expressed astonishment, “What do you mean, senior?”

“Heh, consider it from another perspective,” Jiang Er said with a light laugh. “The thirty-six supremely exalted gods rule everything in this world, countless sects and great teachings hold the laws of humanity, controlling the door to cultivation.

“Though demons and ghosts run rampant in the world, there are sect cultivators who slay demons and exorcise evils, maintaining peace in the land in order to replenish fresh blood for their own sects.

“If someone living in such an era were an ordinary person, would they feel it was a Dark Era?”

“…” Zhou Heng first fell silent, then furrowed his brow and spoke heavily, “In such an era, ordinary people are barred from the path to transcendence. Over time, fewer and fewer humans will naturally develop the aspiration for transcendence.”

“If one could live happily under the protection of a sect, why seek transcendence?” Jiang Er teased.@@novelbin@@

“If demons roam the earth, wouldn’t the human race seek self-preservation?” Zhou Heng said. “Only by being strong oneself can one truly ensure one’s safety; this should be an easily understandable principle.”

“But how can one become strong?” Jiang Er smiled.

“To cultivate… ah, cultivating means one must join a sect and become part of it?” Zhou Heng’s brows furrowed again.

“Correct, the sects and great teachings monopolize everything, and commoners remain commoners for life.” Jiang Er sighed. “Those who can cultivate are handpicked and sanctioned by the sects. Ordinary people are not qualified to pursue the path of transcendence on their own.

“The term ‘Fei Xian’ for the Secret Six Rank, why is it called ‘ascending to immortality,’ originates from that era. In reality, this rank hardly deserves the title ‘immortal.’

“But to the common people, cultivating to immortality is like a myth; even just being able to leave the ground to fly through the air is enough to be called ‘immortal.’

“As you have said, in such an environment over time, ordinary people almost never spontaneously develop the will to transcend and increasingly settle for their situation, even viewing those who seek immortality as outcasts.”

“With the thirty-six gods in control of everything, the great sect teachings maintain the laws of humanity, and ordinary people not thinking of the path to transcendence…” Zhou Heng found it chilling, “This is an extremely stable structure that is almost impossible to break.”

“Indeed.” Jiang Er nodded, “To the sects and great teachings, ordinary people are like plants and ants, utterly powerless to resist, and these sects are the same before the thirty-six gods.

“As long as the thirty-six gods at the very top do not falter, the structure will not falter. Theoretically, it can last forever through the ages.”

“So… how long did it last?” Zhou Heng was profoundly shocked.

“Nearly a hundred thousand years.” Jiang Er sighed.

“A hundred thousand years…” Zhou Heng fell into a prolonged silence, speechless for a time.

Such an era stretching for a hundred thousand years, whether in terms of social structure or the lives of ordinary people, likely saw no change, all a cycle of repetition, year in year out.

From the perspective of this era, it was indeed a Dark Era.

Yet to those who truly lived in that epoch, it is likely that they never had this realization, with almost all ordinary people just repeatedly experiencing birth, aging, sickness, and death.

“Didn’t any of those great sect teachings ever want to change it?” Zhou Heng wanted to ask about Pure Yang Palace, as even during the Dark Era, there was a Divine First Rank in Pure Yang Palace.

“I know what you’re asking,” Jiang Er said gravely. “I have heard from my master that many sects tried to change it, but they were all easily suppressed by the thirty-six gods.

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“In front of the thirty-six gods, the Tao Lord had no chance to resist, not even the sanctity of those who held the Great Dao could withstand the shackles of the Thirty-Six Heavens and were powerless.

“The second generation head of your Pure Yang Palace, the direct disciple of the Pure Yang Immortal, was the most famous example at the time. He held the Unique Divine Weapon left by the Pure Yang Immortal and attempted to resist the rules set by the thirty-six gods.

“You know the final outcome.”

“Indeed, the grandmaster fell, and my Grand Ancestor Master took the helm in times of danger, taking over the precarious Pure Yang Palace.” Zhou Heng nodded gently, his expression sorrowful.

“Actually, if it weren’t for the fear that those ancient immortals might return, the thirty-six gods would have long since eradicated the sects from the Ancient Mythological Era,” Jiang Er said. “However, it can also be seen as an opportunity.

“My mentor once said that your Grand Ancestor Master was a once-in-a-lifetime genius, a peerless individual who not only deceived everyone and secretly became a Saint during the Dark Era but also single-handedly nurtured the ‘Artifact Saint’ who broke the pattern of fate.”

“The Artifact Saint was nurtured by my Grand Ancestor Master?” Zhou Heng was astonished upon hearing this, finding it hard to believe, as he had never heard such information before.

If it weren’t for the fact that it was the Tao Lord of the Law Saint speaking, he would have doubted whether it was an overpraise of the Pure Yang Palace.

Although Zhou Heng had always been grateful to the Pure Yang Palace and deeply respected the Grand Ancestor Master who took charge and saved Pure Yang Palace from imminent peril, he subconsciously still thought that the Middle Ancient Nine Saints should be somewhat more formidable.

Especially after hearing Jiang Er’s explanation about the situation during the Dark Era.

Breaking the pattern that the thirty-six gods had maintained for nearly a hundred thousand years, igniting the wisdom of the people, allowing diverse doctrines to rise, and numerous schools of thought to contend, also pioneered an unprecedented era of cultivation prosperity.

Such feats were certainly not achievable by ordinary individuals. The Middle Ancient Nine Saints were truly deserving of their reputations.

And the Artifact Saint was rumored to be the first among the Middle Ancient Nine Saints to become a Divine First Rank Saint. His Unique Divine Weapon was key in defeating the thirty-six gods, and his unique method of Artifact Refining laid the foundation for the following Middle Ancient golden age.

It is no exaggeration to call him the preeminent Saint of the Middle Ancient period.

That such a sage was actually nurtured by his own Grand Ancestor Master?

Even Zhou Heng himself found it somewhat incredible.

After all, the Pure Yang Palace had never mentioned this point, neither in the records of Yan Shouyi nor in any sect archives was there any related record.

“You need not doubt,” Jiang Er smiled and said, “In fact, you could consider that in the environment of the Dark Era, it was nearly impossible for ordinary members of the Human Race to achieve sainthood without anyone knowing; let alone sainthood, even a Celestial Man would resonate with the Great Dao during the act of becoming one, and the whole world would know.

“For a hundred thousand years during the Dark Era, only one person deceived the heavens and the sea, fooling the thirty-six gods, and all the Celestials, Tao Lords, and Saints of the time, quietly becoming a Saint.”

“Did the Artifact Saint become a Saint because the Grand Ancestor Master imparted his experience?” Zhou Heng asked.

“Exactly,” Jiang Er nodded with a respectful look, “It should be not just that, according to what the mentor recalled, the Artifact Saint held immense respect for the Immortal Venerable Xie, and he also deeply regretted not being able to formally become a disciple of Immortal Venerable Xie.”

Immortal Venerable?

Zhou Heng was slightly taken aback, as this was the first time he had heard this title.

“Thank you, Immortal Venerable, is the term of respect we use for our predecessor. During the early stage of the Middle Ancient Era, my master and the Saints all referred to our predecessor as the Immortal Venerable,” Jiang Er could see Zhou Heng’s confusion and explained, “However, later the Immortal Venerable intended to retreat from the world, thus hinting that the title should no longer be mentioned…”

At this point, he paused and then laughed, “Speaking of which, the enmity between Taixu Viewpoint and Pure Yang Palace also started from this. It is said that the master of Taixu Viewpoint was very displeased with our predecessor being honored as Immortal Venerable.”

“There actually was such a period of time,” Zhou Heng exclaimed in surprise, “Within Pure Yang Palace, there has never been any mention of this, but perhaps it is intended to prevent the disciples from being burdened by great fame.”

The aura of Pure Yang Palace itself was already abundant enough. If they were to add the reputation of having cultivated the first Saint of the Middle Ancient Era, it might not necessarily be a good thing.

“Immortal Venerable probably had the same idea back then,” Jiang Er nodded in agreement and then smiled, “We’ve strayed a bit from the topic, let’s get back to talking about the Dark Era.”

“Hmm,” Zhou Heng also nodded and continued to ask, “You mentioned before that the thirty-six heavens held by the thirty-six gods were formed after the fall of the ancient Heavenly Court. Are these two entities not one and the same?”

“They are indeed one and the same, ‘When the Heavenly Court falls, all the heavens collapse,’ the ‘all the heavens’ here refer to the true Ancient Thirty-Six Heavens,” Jiang Er explained:

“However, the overwhelming thirty-six heavens held by the thirty-six gods are merely a part of the Heavenly Court’s remnants, and they cannot compare with the true Ancient Thirty-Six Heavens.

“If they truly held the entire thirty-six heavens, my master, the Saints, and Immortal Venerable would have had no chance to resist at all. They would have been suppressed forever.”

“So it was just a part of the remnants.” Zhou Heng breathed a sigh of relief, unable to imagine how the Nine Saints of the Middle Ancient Era could have overthrown the thirty-six gods if it was the actual thirty-six heavens.

“It is rumored that Artifact Saint was also able to break the thirty-six gods one by one because he received a small piece of the Heavenly Court’s remnants from Immortal Venerable’s help, which allowed him to refine a number of Unique Divine Weapons,” recalled Jiang Er.

“Indeed, such high-level conflicts can only be countered with items of equivalent potency, can’t they?” Zhou Heng frowned.

“Exactly,” Jiang Er nodded and said, “Having cultivated to your current level, you should be able to feel it. The further along in cultivation, the greater the gap becomes, and at high levels, even the smallest disparity is like a chasm.”

“I understand,” Zhou Heng said with deep understanding.

Just like himself at the moment, battles were either instant victories or instant defeats, with hardly any room for extended engagement.

“By the way,” Zhou Heng suddenly recalled something else, “You mentioned earlier that the Dark Era is also known as the Age of the Final Calamity, but it seems that during the nearly one hundred thousand years, there was not much of a foundation for such eschatological beliefs to spread. Were there other reasons besides the collapse of the Heavenly Court?”

Initially, it seemed natural to call the early period of the Dark Era by such a name since the fall of the Heavenly Court easily gave rise to apocalyptic thoughts.

But in the hundred thousand years that followed, with the thirty-six gods firmly ruling the world and sealing away the path to transcendence for mortals, societal conditions should have been relatively stable.

Surely, it should not have led to doomsday theories.

“You’re right, the term ‘Age of the Final Calamity’ should have gradually receded after the stabilization of society,” Jiang Er nodded and said, “But in reality, that’s not what happened.

“Because, after the fall of the Heavenly Court and the collapse of the thirty-six heavens, the path to a higher realm of cultivation above Saint was inexplicably severed, with no further advancement possible.”

“Moreover, any cultivator who reached the state of Celestial Man would feel that the Great Way was decaying, the laws were aging, and the myriad worlds and infinite universes seemed like a critically ill old man on the brink of death.

“Thus, everyone believed that the Final Calamity was approaching, and everything would ultimately be destroyed.”