The Fifth Universe had endured an exceptionally tortuous path.
For some unknown reason, its first attempt to nurture life ended in complete failure.
None of its stars could survive for ten thousand years.
Once that time came, they would inevitably collapse on their own and be destroyed. For this reason, the Spirit Lords, who managed the universe, joined forces and took action.
They expended an unknown amount of thought and effort on it.
In the end, they could only extend the stars' lifespans to one hundred thousand years. After that, they were powerless. Thus, the Fifth Universe continued forward amid ceaseless creation and destruction, and no one knew how many eras had passed.
At last, the first life-bearing planet was born!
But that life-bearing planet was still in its embryonic stage. There were no signs of life within it—only raging volcanoes and surging oceans.
And so, a great deal more time passed.
Slowly, this life-bearing planet began to change. Land kept rising, while the oceans continued expanding.
By now, it had transformed from a small and ugly-looking sphere into a vast, multicolored planet.
From the outside, it was filled with azure oceans and verdant land.
The two were distributed very evenly. This planet was almost half ocean and half land, stretching boundlessly as far as the eye could see!
The appearance of forests and grasslands changed the planet's climate, and life began to emerge in the oceans.
Gradually, in just a few decades, the oceans teemed with life.
All kinds of creatures wandered through them. There were enormous ones and frail, tiny ones—every kind imaginable! In merely a dozen years, some creatures even appeared that crawled from the oceans onto land! One, then two, then three. The first amphibians appeared! Then, at some unknown point, terrestrial reptiles actually emerged beneath a patch of grass!
The first land-dwelling creatures had appeared as well.
Thus, the birth of life in the Fifth Universe finally entered the right track.
Countless creatures appeared across the planet: ocean-dwellers, land animals, flyers, and amphibians. Next, trees and grasslands began to flourish. After years of growth, strange and bizarre plants spread across every corner of the land.
At the same time, more and more creatures began to evolve.
Some ate grass and leaves, while others ate meat and hunted weaker prey.
After ten thousand years, humans began to appear. Taking advantage of the planet's development, the Fifth Universe began nurturing even more life-bearing planets.
This time, the previous situation never occurred again. Whether planets, stars, or meteorites—
All forms of matter appeared.
The first star to peacefully survive for a million years emerged.
The Fifth Universe exerted its strength, and life-bearing planets of even more varied forms began to appear. The speed was far greater than before, and creation grew faster and faster.
After only one era, an incomparably splendid ecosystem had appeared throughout the universe.
Countless life-bearing planets gave birth to many wondrous new races.
Everything had entered the right track. The Spirit Lords noticed the situation and accelerated their assistance.
They transmitted the Great Cultivation Method into the Fifth Universe, allowing the first races to be born to begin cultivating.
Relying on their own exploration, they used the Great Cultivation Method to create new methods of cultivation.
In the end, everyone began using this method.
After a long period of refinement, cultivation gradually stabilized. Many geniuses from various races began reaching bottlenecks one after another.
Because the cultivation method was incomplete, they were unable to break through immediately.
In the end, the Spirit Lords took action once more. They transmitted the Great Cultivation Method into their bodies and helped them perfect their cultivation methods.
From that point onward, the system of the Great Cultivation Method was completely established in the Fifth Universe, and the first races to use it were born.
From then on, all races would continuously cultivate using the Great Cultivation Method.
The Fifth Universe also slowed its creation and began entering a regular evolution at a normal pace.
All the ecosystems within the universe had taken shape, so there was no longer any need to worry about collapse.
After countless cycles of evolution and destruction, the Fifth Universe formed a unique ecological chain.
That was, everything in the universe, including living creatures, followed its own inherent laws.
In other words, as long as the Fifth Universe did not disappear, the products within it would never disappear either.
All the life-bearing planets were connected to the Fifth Universe, revolving around it as their center.
This was an exceedingly wondrous phenomenon.
In a certain sense, it almost amounted to a form of immortality.
But under the urging of the Great Universe Will, truly immortal matter could never appear.
All things in the world followed the laws of life and death.
Even the universe had a lifespan. It was simply an extremely long one.
But the Fifth Universe's peculiarity seemed to lie precisely here.
All matter in the Fifth Universe revolved around it. As long as it remained undying, none of that matter would disappear.
Conversely, the Fifth Universe also revolved around them. As long as they did not die, the Fifth Universe itself would not disappear either.
This was a terrifying matter!
Because if this situation truly held, then the Fifth Universe and the material ecosystem it produced would both exist in an eternal form! As long as they remained unchanged, the Fifth Universe could persist forever, never suffering the end of its lifespan.
Under the impetus of this mode of existence, the Fifth Universe seemed to have developed a consciousness of its own, as though it were continuously expanding the universe's boundaries.
But the universe had no concrete concept of boundaries. By now, the Fifth Universe had passed through countless eras. Its ecosystem was dazzling and diverse, and all its races were expanding as well.
To secure greater living space for their own populations,
every race was doing the same thing. The universe was vast beyond measure, so they continued expanding without end.
And the Fifth Universe seemed to have grown considerably larger because of it.
But no one sensed this change.
Not even the God Kings had noticed it.
The Spirit Lords no longer interfered. This was already beyond their jurisdiction. No matter what changes occurred in the universe, they would not intervene.
This was also the intention of the Great Universe Will.
Everyone obeyed the rules, and no one chose to defy them.
The Fifth Universe's overall strength was not as great as that of the other universes, but this special property allowed it to endure for a very long time.
No unexpected calamities would occur.
Even if the other universes reached the end of their lives, it could remain untouched, unaffected by any of it.
The seemingly frail Fifth Universe also possessed changes no one could have anticipated.
The only question was whether the Fifth Universe's property affected living beings, just like the Third Universe's self-recovery.
Could it apply this ability to every living creature?
However, no one had discovered the Fifth Universe's property to this day.
The people of the other universes seemed to believe that the Fifth Universe was simply lacking in strength.
Moreover, no one had ever set foot there.
It seemed that the Fifth Universe's weakness had brought it benefits as well. Without large numbers of people establishing bases there, its ecosystem had developed in a stable manner.
Perhaps after a million eras, the Fifth Universe would once again undergo a different kind of transformation. By then, it might even replace the universe that stood at the forefront.