Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension

Chapter 1314: Chapter 710: Salvation Plan and Tianzhu’s Dire Straits

At that time, the Supreme Sensing Sect represented the great trend of this realm, an unstoppable force!

Two thousand five hundred years ago, the Supreme Divine Ship was successfully refined, and the salvation plan was methodically launched.

Decades later, the Supreme Divine Ship, carrying a Divinity Transformation True Monarch, more than twenty Nascent Soul Ancestors, over a hundred Golden Core Masters, and nearly two hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators, officially set sail from Yingzhao Star, heading towards the "Spring Birth Realm" sixteen Constant Years away.

Hundreds of years passed like this, and around two thousand years ago, the Supreme Divine Ship suddenly returned to Yingzhao Star, bringing back hundreds of people. Among them were old friends who sailed away on the ship back then, as well as many descendants of the initial members, each with a cultivation level no lower than Foundation Establishment.

They not only brought back a wealth of intelligence but also the most precious "hope."

Thus, the second Supreme Divine Ship was officially put into construction!

The first Supreme Divine Ship quickly set sail again, carrying three hundred newcomers full of expectations for their long journey.

Little did they know, the first batch of cultivators returning home brought back "hope" but also secretly brought an even greater crisis!

The most deadly "rift" began to take root shortly after these people returned, sprouting in the darkness, and slowly growing over the two thousand subsequent years, ultimately brewing into a fierce internal conflict that persists to this day.

From merely the descriptions in the intelligence, Zhao Sheng could discern how brutal this civilization-shaking internal strife was!

The split of the Zhao family in Heavenly Pillar Mountain was naturally also related to this civilization-level internal conflict.

In short, the Tianzhu Realm divided into two major factions: the "Integration Faction" led by the Supreme Sensing Sect and the "Autonomy Faction" led by Zhao’s Central Sect.

The "Integration Faction" had a very clear stance, aspiring to actively integrate into the cultivation civilization of the Spring Birth Realm, hoping to be accepted as "Otherworldly Immigrants."

The "Autonomy Faction," as the name suggests, advocated for independence, refusing to surrender to the local civilization. This was because it represented willingly offering Tianzhu Realm’s entire crystallized civilization to the cultivation forces of the Spring Birth Realm, which was supposedly a gesture of sincerity but essentially became nourishment for the other side to elevate their civilization level.

But from the beginning, the "Autonomy Faction" fell into an absolute disadvantage.

It wasn’t only because the Supreme Sensing Sect became the largest "collaborator," nor solely because they were few in number and couldn’t compete with the entire cultivation civilization!

The greatest reason was human selfishness!

Cultivators are typical of self-centeredness, with the vast majority caring only about their cultivation, and thus are unlikely to sacrifice their lives for the so-called "greater good!"

Therefore, over the past two thousand years, the "Autonomy Faction" gradually weakened, and the situation became increasingly difficult. In contrast, the "Integration Faction" had long become the absolute mainstream in this world.

Worse still!

Zhao Sheng already sensed the tentacles of various forces from the Spring Birth Realm spreading secretly across Tianzhu Realm, likely having already permeated it many years ago!

The Demon Cultivators before him were the best proof!

The sect they joined was named "Ghost God Sect," and the "Ghost Control Technique" they practiced was a Ghost Cultivation Technique originating from the Spring Birth Realm.

The cultivation method of the "Ghost Control Technique" was extremely strange, requiring the initial cultivator to capture a spirit ghost as the Banner Spirit of their Lifebound Magic Banner, with the spirit ghost preferably being blood-related.

The higher the quality of the spirit ghost, the faster the cultivator’s progress, and the easier it was to break through to higher levels.

Most importantly, this Ghost Cultivation Technique did not require much nature’s spiritual energy but instead extracted the yin and murky energy rising from the earth’s crust.

Given the dwindling spiritual energy, it was evident how cultivators in this realm were drawn to the "Ghost Control Technique."

In the past thousand years, the Ghost God Sect’s rapid development exceeded everyone’s expectations, growing into a formidable force with countless masters and one hundred thousand disciples, rivaling top sects like Ksitigarbha and alchemy furnace.

The growth of the Ghost God Sect clearly showcased that the Tianzhu Realm’s trend of "Dao Diminishes and Demons Increase" had become irreversible, with no sign of change in the future.

Although the above seems to describe many secrets, in reality, only a moment had passed.

In just one brief moment, Zhao Sheng had clarified the historical context of the past thousands of years in the Tianzhu Realm and gained a more precise grasp on his future actions.

With a single thought, sudden explosions sounded around him as those heartless Ghost God Sect disciples self-destructed one after another.

Zhao Sheng waved his sleeve, and all the Cloud Boats were absorbed into the Sumeru Space out of thin air.

After erasing all traces, he stepped forward indifferently, and his figure instantly vanished without a trace.

Soon after, a dark cloud hurriedly approached from the horizon, and an eccentric old man with half his face black and the other half white leaped out from the cloud.

The Yin Yang Master’s expression turned gloomy as he surveyed the surroundings and suddenly formed hand seals, casting seven or eight secret techniques to search and track. Yet, he found no trace.

Finally, he had to look at the Time-Space Rift in the upper sky, his eyes revealing a hint of fear and suspicion.

This person seemed to have realized something, suddenly trembled, and hurriedly rode the dark cloud, fleeing in the direction he came from, entirely forgetting his original purpose.

...

Heavenly Pillar Mountain was vast and towering, its rock walls lush and green, shrouded in sea clouds. From afar, it looked like a giant pillar supporting the sky!

Returning to his homeland, even Zhao Sheng could not help but feel a surge of emotions.

However, he quickly regained his composure, and in a flash, his figure transformed, appearing in a corner of a workshop street in Mountain City.

After over six thousand years, the once grand and prosperous Mountain City in his memory had become much more old and desolate.

In the streets and alleys, and among the roadside shops, the number of cultivators had drastically decreased. Even those who appeared were vigilant and hurried, quickly vanishing from the streets.

Zhao Sheng’s gaze flickered, and his Divine Thought silently enveloped the entire Mountain City, revealing a scene that shocked him greatly.

The cultivators in the entire Mountain City numbered less than thirty thousand, with Demon Cultivators making up nearly one-third.

Among them, those with cultivation above Foundation Establishment were only 103, and there were merely nine Golden Core Masters, with a Nascent Soul Ancestor standing alone!

Before returning to the Tianzhu Realm, he had anticipated a significant decline in its cultivation level but couldn’t imagine it had decayed to such a miserable state.

Six thousand years ago, the average spiritual energy concentration in Mountain City was as high as Fourth-rank, but now it had plummeted to barely Second-stage Middle Grade.

It was known that Mountain City was located at the core spirit acupoint of a Fifth-order Spiritual Vein, and the area had degraded to such an extent.

One could imagine the dire state of other spiritual vein lands in the Tianzhu Realm; it’s likely those below Third-rank Spirit Veins had long become mundane earth, with cultivators nearly extinct.

Tragic!

So tragic!

Zhao Sheng lamented to himself, "No wonder so many people joined the ranks of the Demon Path, and it’s no wonder the Supreme Sensing Sect chose to surrender. It turns out the situation in the Tianzhu Realm had degraded to an extreme point."

Looking at large areas of dilapidated shops, left unrepaired, Zhao Sheng shook his head and vanished into thin air.

The next instant, in the most important Ancestor’s cave mansion of the City Lord Mansion, a towering figure suddenly appeared.

Zhao Dingshan abruptly opened his eyes, revealing an incomparably shocked expression.

"Who... who are you?" he blurted out, but the next second hurriedly said, "No, no, senior visits, I apologize for not welcoming properly!"

Six thousand years ago, the average spiritual energy concentration in Mountain City was as high as Fourth-rank, but now it had plummeted to barely Second-stage Middle Grade.

It was known that Mountain City was located at the core spirit acupoint of a Fifth-order Spiritual Vein, and the area had degraded to such an extent.

One could imagine the dire state of other spiritual vein lands in the Tianzhu Realm; it’s likely those below Third-rank Spirit Veins had long become mundane earth, with cultivators nearly extinct.

Tragic!

So tragic!

Zhao Sheng lamented to himself, "No wonder so many people joined the ranks of the Demon Path, and it’s no wonder the Supreme Sensing Sect chose to surrender. It turns out the situation in the Tianzhu Realm had degraded to an extreme point."

Looking at large areas of dilapidated shops, left unrepaired, Zhao Sheng shook his head and vanished into thin air.

The next instant, in the most important Ancestor’s cave mansion of the City Lord Mansion, a towering figure suddenly appeared.

Zhao Dingshan abruptly opened his eyes, revealing an incomparably shocked expression.

"Who... who are you?" he blurted out, but the next second hurriedly said, "No, no, senior visits, I apologize for not welcoming properly!"