"We Innate Beings were born within Chaos, born of the innate, attaining the Dao innately, with countless years of life. Even if Chaos withers, we remain immortal and imperishable. So-called ages, epochs—in our eyes, they are utterly meaningless. Heaven and Earth have a lifespan, but we have none. That was the era that belonged to us…" the Eternal Primordial God said leisurely.
For the beings of the Innate Era, that was indeed the best and most flourishing era.
Heaven and Earth had yet to be born; pure and turbid qi coexisted; the Vast Expanse had not yet differentiated; naturally there were no rules, no constraints.
For the beings of the Innate Era, everything was meaningless.
They were born with knowledge, knowing what they were from birth. From the moment they were born, they carried their own knowledge, temperament, and power, understanding everything about themselves.
Unlike creatures of later creation, the myriad spirits born of nature initially had no meaning; thus they would spend a lifetime pursuing understanding, seeking to know the meaning of their own existence.
The clans born innate knew from birth what they were meant to do.
The weak clans became prey, while the powerful clans hunted.
Decline and prosperity, survival and death—it was nothing more than such simple principles.
If birth dictated strength, then that life was destined for strength; if weak, then they were destined to become prey or food for the strong.
The Innate Era was just that simple and cruel.
"It's a pity that such an era ultimately met its end. Powerful as we were, before that unimaginably vast, boundless power, we were no different from ants and mayflies."
"Compared to that Primordial Tribulation, the Tribulation Reckoning Cycles that later generations experienced were nothing. How many innate clans vanished in an instant, silently, without a trace, as if they had never existed? Those innate beings far stronger than I could not escape their fate either, all perishing and disappearing in that Primordial Tribulation."
When the Eternal Primordial God reached this point, he paused involuntarily.
In his deep and profound eyes, a trace of shock and fear even surfaced.
Such an expression appearing on the Eternal Primordial God's face made Luo Xiangjun feel it was utterly inconceivable.
She had an extraordinary origin; from a young age she had studied all sorts of ancient texts and records, yet this was the first time she had heard of this so-called Primordial Tribulation.
So it turned out that Cataclysmic Tribulation had already existed in that era, and even Innate Beings could not escape the reckoning.
She had always thought that the Tribulation Reckoning Cycle only came into being after the Vast Expanse emerged.
"What use is telling me all this? The Innate Era is too distant from me. I fear even the clan behind me has never been in contact with that era."
"No matter how glorious the Innate Era was, it is already the past. The current era no longer belongs to Innate Beings. Even those deities of the Innate Era have long vanished without a trace," Luo Xiangjun said coldly.
The Eternal Primordial God's expression returned to normal.
He shook his head, glanced at Luo Xiangjun, and said, "I tell you this only because I want you to know that there once was such a glorious and flourishing era. The Innate Era should not be buried by the years, nor should it be forgotten by the worlds."
Luo Xiangjun was choked up, not knowing how to refute.
She had only wanted to probe the Eternal Primordial God for information about the Transcendence Codex.
But the Eternal Primordial God clearly did not wish to mention anything about the Transcendence Codex. Instead, he was extremely nostalgic, reminiscing about the Innate Era of the past.
The Eternal Primordial God seemed to be in the mood today, and he continued leisurely,
"After the Primordial Tribulation, the pure and turbid separated: the pure qi rose and became Heaven, while the turbid qi sank and became the Earth. Thus the Post-Innate Era appeared. In the long years that followed, pure qi accumulated and turbid qi sank. In the alternating collision between pure and turbid, the Vast Expanse was born. At the same time, the Land of Truth also emerged…"
"No, at that time, the Land of Truth was called the Realm of Origin by us."
Luo Xiangjun was stunned for a moment, then her delicate brows furrowed.
Matters concerning the Land of Truth had always been taboo within the Vast Expanse. All clans of every world, every true world civilization knew that such a place existed.
But none dared to speak of it.
Before becoming a "thief," she had actually known many secrets about the Land of Truth.
In ancient times, many clan powers believed that the Tribulation Reckoning Cycle was initiated by the Land of Truth, in order to prevent the emergence of existences within the Vast Expanse that could threaten the Land of Truth.
Thus, the recurring Tribulation Reckoning Cycles came at intervals.
The Heavenly Will was like a blade, sending down all sorts of terrifying calamities, purging and hunting those powerful beings, reaping one Great Thousand World after another, Primordial Universes, endless clans and creatures.
Therefore, many Great Wars Against Heaven occurred in later ages.
Countless ancient powerhouses, leading the leaders of various clans and vast armies, charged towards the Land of Truth, waging one tragic and heroic war against Heaven after another.
However, as some true world civilizations survived multiple Tribulation Reckoning Cycles, they gradually discovered that later Tribulation Reckoning Cycles could indeed be delayed.
In the beginning, a Tribulation Reckoning Cycle might occur every few epochs, but later, after having survived more Tribulation Reckoning Cycles, the subsequent ones might be delayed by thousands or even tens of thousands of epochs.
Thus, the classifications of world levels such as Newly Born True Worlds, Ancient True Worlds, Supreme True Worlds, and others came into being.
For the inhabitants of a Newly Born True World, if they could successfully survive seven Tribulation Reckoning Cycles and successfully undergo ascension to become a Supreme True World, they could thereafter be free from Tribulation Reckoning Cycles.
However, was this really true?
If Supreme True Worlds could truly escape Tribulation Reckoning Cycles, then why did those Supreme True Worlds and supreme civilizations still engage in slaughter and plunder, attempting to devour one another?
Where did the rumor of the so-called Sole True World come from?
The Eternal Primordial God looked at Luo Xiangjun, as if knowing what she was wondering, and smiled faintly. "I know what you are confused about."
"You want to know why, after the Vast Expanse was born, many rumors and myths related to Tribulation Reckoning appeared?"
Luo Xiangjun's brows were tightly knit. She did not know why the Eternal Primordial God was telling her all this today.
Even if she knew these things, what use would they be? Could she change anything?
She could not even change her own fate now; her freedom was restricted.
"What if I told you that from the very beginning, the Tribulation Reckoning Cycle and the Heavenly Decline Tribulation were both a massive lie?" The Eternal Primordial God laughed, and a certain aura that made one's heart tremble with fear suddenly surfaced in his eyes.
A massive lie?
Luo Xiangjun suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.
"In this world, there is no such thing as a Sole True World. The Land of Truth will forever be the Land of Truth. No matter how much a true world ascends, it can never become a world that rivals the Land of Truth. The path of ascension has long been blocked."
"The same goes for cultivators. No matter how many Heavenly Decline Tribulations they survive, they can never reach the step of Transcendence. The end of the path has long been shattered."
The Eternal Primordial God's voice had become extremely dark and gloomy.
Luo Xiangjun stared at him in utter shock, frozen there, hardly believing her ears.
It was a long time before she slowly came back to her senses, still somewhat in disbelief. She asked,
"Why are you so certain of this? Could it be that it is recorded in the Transcendence Codex?"
The Eternal Primordial God, however, did not answer this time.
His gaze was profound, his hands clasped behind his back, as if pondering something.
After the Innate Era ended, and before the Vast Expanse was born and nurtured into existence, there was actually a period in between.
That period was called by the Eternal Primordial God and others the Era of the Great Heaven and Earth Calamity.
The world had just been created; the order of the entire world was chaos. Because the various clans and innate beings representing the innate Great Dao had died and perished,
all sorts of chaotic Dao rules filled the world, and terrifying natural disasters occurred.
Fire rained from the sky, magma surged from the ground, thunder, hurricanes, earthquakes, and heaven-shaking tremors—the whole world was filled with terrifying disasters. Any one of these catastrophes could easily annihilate the sole surviving beings of that time.
The Eternal Primordial God had personally witnessed innate beings who had luckily survived the Primordial Tribulation be struck by the falling fire, burning to nothing in an instant, turning into ash and dissipating.
No matter how powerful an innate being was, during the Era of the Great Heaven and Earth Calamity, they were no different from weak ants and insects.
Even an innate being like himself, after treading on thin ice and carefully getting through that period, still found it hard to live in peace.
The emergence of the Land of Truth caused all clans and beings of the Innate Era to die out completely.
The birth and nurturing of the Vast Expanse signified the complete end of the Innate Era. They, the beings of the Innate Era, were all destined to be buried along with that era.
How could the existences within the Land of Truth allow variables they could not control to appear in the world? How could they allow beings that would defy them to exist?
"I am increasingly convinced that those old acquaintances of mine are still alive in this world, merely choosing their own ways to hide and evade the gaze of the Land of Truth."
"Even though the road ahead is shattered, they are still unwilling to give up." The Eternal Primordial God suddenly sighed softly, his gaze growing ever more profound.
Luo Xiangjun found it harder and harder to see through the thoughts of this old fox.
Back when he was just a wisp of True Soul, he had appeared immensely arrogant and conceited, putting on an air of not caring about anyone in the world.
Even towards Gu Changge, the Alliance Leader of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance, the Eternal Primordial God would occasionally show dissatisfaction and contempt behind his back, nothing like a figure of the Ancestral God caliber.
But now it seemed—could it be that his behavior back then was just to deceive her, to make her lower her guard and work for him at ease?
Such schemes and depth—truly unfathomable.
"I kept you in the Eternal Divine Clan originally because I wanted to test and see if I could draw out the Ancient Ancestor behind you, to have him show himself. But it seems your Ancient Ancestor may not be willing to appear easily." The Eternal Primordial God suddenly looked at Luo Xiangjun and said.
Luo Xiangjun was stunned by these words, her beautiful eyes widening slightly.
Draw out the Ancient Ancestor behind her? But her Ancient Ancestor had long passed away in meditation countless years ago—that was common knowledge within the clan.
And how did the Eternal Primordial God know about her Ancient Ancestor?
"Speaking of which, that Ancient Ancestor of your family and I should be old acquaintances. When you first appeared in that burial ground I left behind, I already sensed the bloodline flowing within you…"
"That Luo Zhu actually had descendants. This is truly somewhat unbelievable." The Eternal Primordial God suddenly chuckled.
Luo Xiangjun's back was now drenched in cold sweat; she felt utterly creeped out.
So from that very moment, the Eternal Primordial God had already been scheming against her?
Luo Zhu?
Could that have been the title of the Ancient Ancestor?
"Don't worry, I bear you no ill will. The reason I'm telling you all this today isn't on a whim, but because I want to go to your current family, visit that old acquaintance of mine."
Seeing Luo Xiangjun fall silent, the Eternal Primordial God said with a faint smile.
Luo Xiangjun forced herself to calm down.
Her beautiful eyes stared directly at the Eternal Primordial God, and she said, "The Ancient Ancestor passed away in meditation long ago. The Luo Clan resides in the Ethereal Land Beyond the Worlds. Even I do not know how to return. I'm afraid I cannot help you."
The Eternal Primordial God shook his head slightly. "The Ethereal Land Beyond the Worlds is not hard to find. It's not that you don't know how to return, but rather that you don't wish to. Luo Zhu survived the Primordial Tribulation; how could he simply pass away in meditation in later ages? I do not believe these claims of yours."
"The Ancient Ancestor once encountered a siege by powerful enemies and suffered heavy injuries from which he could not recover. After the Black Calamity Era ended, the Ancient Ancestor passed away in meditation within the clan. This is no secret within the Luo Clan either."
Luo Xiangjun spoke frankly, hiding nothing.
Her words instead made the Eternal Primordial God furrow his brows.
"Perhaps, it is only you who think that Luo Zhu passed away. The real him might be like me—pulling the wool over the heavens' eyes, hiding away," he mused, speculating.
Luo Xiangjun was stunned once more, her expression fluctuating between light and shadow.
If the Ancient Ancestor truly had not passed away, then what was the meaning of everything their clan had tenaciously believed in and upheld for generations?
What did her desperate escape from the Luo Clan, her fall to becoming a "thief" in the Vast Expanse, her attempt to change her own fate—what did it all mean?
"Impossible… If the Ancient Ancestor hadn't passed away, how could he have tolerated the Luo Clan being hunted and purged by the Heavenly Faction for so many years? How could he have tolerated everything his clan did…" Luo Xiangjun's jade-like hands clenched tightly, her knuckles white, full of unwillingness.
The Luo Clan had once been one of the Eight Tribes of the Heaven's Proxy Organization.
When the Heaven's Proxy Organization collapsed and dissolved, the Luo Clan, like the other Eight Tribes, made off with the foundation of Heaven's Proxy, each going their separate ways and fleeing to other worlds.
And the ancestor of the Luo Clan—the one the Eternal Primordial God called Luo Zhu—had been besieged by great enemies, suffered heavy injuries, and could not recover.
The Luo Clan suspected that the leaders of the other tribes had joined forces to seize resources and foundations.
After Luo Zhu passed away, the Luo Clan, generation after generation, used their clansmen as blood sacrifices to revive the Ancient Ancestor.
Even Luo Xiangjun's parents, relatives, and her entire bloodline could not escape this fate, reduced to nourishment for the blood sacrifices.
If the Ancient Ancestor had not died, how could he turn a blind eye to all this, never stopping it?