Styx did not answer directly. Instead, he countered with a question to the three of them: "Do you know why, after every Tribulation, there is always a golden age of cultivation?"
"Not only does cultivation become easier, but opportunities to Attain Dao even appear."
Houtu asked tentatively, "Brother, is it because after the Tribulation, all Karma is wiped away and Heaven and Earth take on a completely new appearance, allowing cultivation to advance twice as fast with half the effort?"
Styx nodded in praise. "That is indeed part of the reason, but it is not the whole picture."
"On the surface, the Tribulation is caused by cultivators fighting, Living Beings slaughtering one another, and Karma becoming entangled to a certain extent."
"After the Tribulation, all Karma is erased, or borne by a portion of the people. Naturally, cultivation advances more quickly for everyone else."
"But the essence of the Tribulation is that there are too many Living Beings between Heaven and Earth, placing too great a burden on Heaven and Earth. Therefore..."
Styx did not finish, but Di Xin, whose political instincts were the sharpest, had already found the answer after combining this with what Styx had said earlier.
He directly picked up the topic and said, word by word, "So the essence of the Tribulation is to kill most of the Living Beings in the Great Wilderness, allowing their origins and the spiritual energy they absorbed to return to Heaven and Earth."
"To replenish Heaven and Earth's depleted resources and restore the spiritual energy between Heaven and Earth—that is why a golden age of cultivation appears."
Styx nodded slightly and looked at Di Xin approvingly.
Houtu and Nuwa wore complicated expressions. As the Spokespersons of the Earth Dao and Human Dao, they were naturally not fools. When Di Xin