"The consequences of the Great Tribulation continue to this day. What collapsed was not merely the lands of Xiniu Hezhou, but the very heaven and earth that bore everything."
"During the Great Tribulation, a Divine Dragon emerged bearing the fortune to meet the tribulation. The fortune it carried was the fortune of the mortal realm—the strongest choice the world made in the face of the Great Tribulation."
"That is... staking everything on a single decisive strike."
"At that time, the world's fortune was almost entirely concentrated in the Divine Dragon. Fortune was not merely heavenly treasures, protective artifacts, or the acknowledgment of heaven and earth."
"Most crucially, it meant the recognition of the human race and all other races, and their willingness to lend their full support at any cost."
"Facing the impending desolation of everything, with no ground left to retreat to, the human race also chose to bet everything on the Divine Dragon."
"But the result was utter darkness. The Divine Dragon perished at the border between Xiniu Hezhou and Nanzhan Buzhou, and the mortal fortune it bore completely shattered."
Xu Jin kept his gaze fixed on the turbid, wavering fortune orb. He continued in a solemn tone.
"The ancient texts record that after the Divine Dragon perished, the sky instantly turned five-colored, as though the Heavenly Gate had been flung open."
"Countless streams of fortune flew across the great continents, while some were intercepted within Xiniu Hezhou and fell into the hands of the Demons."
"On that day, though the sky blazed with five colors, the world knew—it was the omen of heaven's collapse."
"The Divine Dragon that bore the great fortune of heaven and earth, that had everything staked upon it, still perished in the lands of Nanzhan Buzhou."
"Now with fortune scattered and fleeing, setting aside whether it could even be recovered—if it were, how could one know it wouldn't just create another Divine Dragon?"
"Yet... our predecessors counted not the sufferings, but looked only toward the future."
"Difficult, yet it had to be done."
"The human race began facing the Demons on one front while searching for the scattered fortune on another."
"But when fortune had not yet been gathered, it was inherently a thing of freedom. Great providence belonged to all living beings, and those blessed with fortune were everywhere at that time."
"This was not good news. Fortune represented heavenly mandate—when heavenly mandates scattered and each person harbored their own ambitions, there were inevitably wrongs committed in the name of fortune."
"The world nearly reverted to a savage wasteland, with slaughter and strife erupting everywhere."
"In the end... our predecessors chose the path of a desperate last stand."
"That is, the entire human race would endure the tribulation together. Either the tribulation would be vanquished, or the human race would perish."
Xu Jin channeled a trace of spiritual energy toward one of the Rule crystals. A moment later, the crystal's radiance surged.
Simultaneously, the surrounding scene transformed. Countless plainly dressed cultivators soared into the vast sky, their numbers blotting out the sun.
Before them lay a realm of darkness and crimson. Yet these cultivators charged forward without the slightest hesitation.
Knowing full well it was a land of death, they pressed on without retreat—for the future.
Xu Jin withdrew his hand and looked at Chu Xingchen.
"Even so, the fortune borne by the human race was insufficient to withstand the Great Tribulation. After all, even the Divine Dragon had perished—how could the human race, having merely recovered a portion of its fortune, fare any better?"
"The world's fortune had run dry. The only remaining fortune dwelled in the heavens."
"The Xuanqing Heavenly Sect was founded at that very moment, to bear the Heavenly Fortune!"
"But doing so came with a price. On that day, a wondrous spectacle descended from heaven, as white streams of light rained down upon the world."
"Aside from the Heavenly Fortune, there were these Rules... No one knows how much the heavens paid for this."
"The only certainty is that after the Great Tribulation, no one has ever ascended."
"Others merely assumed their cultivation was insufficient. But we believe that heaven could no longer bear the weight of ascension."
"The Heavenly Dao is ruthless, treating all things as straw dogs—immortals and mortals alike. It guards these straw dogs with absolute equality."
"The Xuanqing Heavenly Sect bore the Heavenly Fortune, and the human race bore the world's fortune. Even so, they still paid an immense price before the Great Tribulation was finally quelled."
"After the Great Tribulation was quelled, the human race that bore the world's fortune flourished."
"And the Xuanqing Heavenly Sect, bearing the Heavenly Fortune, became the undisputed number one immortal sect within the flourishing human race."
As Xu Jin's words fell, the radiance of the Rule crystal faded and dissipated.
Chu Xingchen's gaze met Xu Jin's directly.
Xu Jin lowered his gaze and gestured toward the surrounding graves. He continued speaking.
"After the Great Tribulation, the human race flourished. With the blessing of the heavenly mandate, the Xuanqing Heavenly Sect gradually recovered most of the fortune—though this fortune had transformed from the world's fortune into the fortune of the mortal realm."
"At the same time, the Xuanqing Heavenly Sect was researching how to return the heavenly mandate."
"In the end, the Grand Elder of the Xuanqing Heavenly Sect, knowing full well that ascension meant certain death and the dissolution of his Dao, chose to ascend anyway."
"He sought to ask how the Heavenly Fortune could be returned."
"As long as the Xuanqing Heavenly Sect held the Heavenly Fortune, ascension in this world would remain impossible. This was equivalent to extinguishing the ultimate path of all cultivators."
"We are cultivators too, and we also yearn for the Great Dao. Not to mention that bearing the Heavenly Fortune means endlessly shouldering heavenly mandates—to possess something is to bear its burden."
"But the answer they received was... the Great Tribulation still endures. There is no need to return it."
"By then, the extermination of the Demons had been carried out to the point of rooting them out from the very earth. Thus, the predecessors speculated that it was highly likely a new Great Tribulation was coming."
"At this point, you should understand. For the Xuanqing Heavenly Sect, which bore the Heavenly Fortune, to monopolize the spirit veins at any cost was inherently a losing proposition."
"It was simply something that had to be done."
Xu Jin raised his hand and summoned the smallest of the Rule crystals, floating it before Chu Xingchen.
Chu Xingchen looked at the Rule crystal before him, sensing the purest aura of Rules emanating from it.
Xu Jin spoke with a calm expression.
"This is the reason we must do what we've done. I imagine that if Brother Chu were to give it a light touch, you would understand."
Chu Xingchen took a deep breath. He gripped the small sword tightly in his right hand, while his left hand reached out to lightly touch the purest Rule crystal.
It wasn't that Chu Xingchen completely trusted Xu Jin's words. Rather, Wanban—which had long since transformed into an embroidery needle and hidden within his sleeve—harbored an intense affinity for this Rule crystal.
When it came to Wanban's perceptions, Chu Xingchen had at least some degree of trust.
Chu Xingchen gently placed his left hand upon the Rule crystal.
The moment he touched it, a scroll suddenly unfurled within his Divine Sea.
What the scroll revealed was... eighteen spirit veins. All eighteen had been severed at Zhongzhou, with their locations even specifically marked.
In an instant, Chu Xingchen pulled his hand away.
Xu Jin observed Chu Xingchen's reaction, his tone carrying a hint of admiration.
"As expected of Brother Chu..."
"I imagine Brother Chu has already seen it. This is the reason the Xuanqing Heavenly Sect has done what it's done, and it is why I call it a heavenly mandate."
"The predecessors of the Xuanqing Heavenly Sect deduced that the coming Great Tribulation would likely be even more devastating."
"Therefore, we had to keep all eighteen spirit veins within Zhongzhou—firstly, to better control the situation, and secondly, so that if the Great Tribulation erupted elsewhere, at least without spiritual energy to nourish it, its intensity would be greatly reduced."
"However, even the Xuanqing Heavenly Sect could not face the cultivators of the world alone and monopolize all eighteen spirit veins by itself."
"And so... we chose to have eighteen immortal sects each take possession of one spirit vein."
"These eighteen immortal sects, with the probable exception of the Xuanqing Heavenly Sect, had no idea what price this would demand."
"When the Great Tribulation comes, if death is required, the people of the eighteen immortal sects will be the first to die to the last."
"Severing the spirit veins—how could what awaits truly be an eternal hegemony?"
"To inherit a heavenly mandate is never without cause."
Chu Xingchen looked at the Rule crystal and suddenly asked.
"If you call it a heavenly mandate, and you possess something like this, why did it stir up such a storm of blood and carnage back then?"
"Because not everyone can see the contents within."
Xu Jin took a step forward, his expression solemn.
"It would be more accurate to say that you, who can directly see its contents, are the strangest one of all."
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