When did the Gate of Red Dust appear in this world?
There was no settled answer.
It seemed that from the moment people became aware and began to observe this world, it had already existed.
People had put forth many conjectures: the "Ancient Human Emperor Built the Gate Theory," the "Red Dust Qi Naturally Coalesced Theory," and so on. In the end, each of the several mainstream theories was disproven one by one.
Even whether it was an acquired achievement or an innate creation remained undecided to this day.
Those who supported the former view believed that Heaven's will was impartial and favored none. The Cang Sea had never been capped, the Border Wasteland had not raised high walls, and the Yu Abyss could be entered and exited freely, relying solely on great armies to guard it. Why, then, was the Calamity Water—hailed as the most evil place—guarded by a Gate of Red Dust?
Moreover, this gate bore such a heavy weight of human presence. The Human Race had not been born as masters of The Present World, nor had they ever been Heaven's favored children.
Those who supported the latter view believed that though eras might be severed, the historian's brush had never ceased. If it were a creation, it could not possibly have left no trace. The origins and history of the Gate of Ten Thousand Demons—the entire process of its construction, and every storm and trial it had weathered—had all been recorded stroke by stroke in history. Why, then, was there not a single trace of the Gate of Red Dust's origins? Only if it had been born of Heaven and raised by Earth, predating even the Ancient Human Emperor, born from the same source as the Calamity Water, could all this be explained.
In any case,