Primordial Era

Biodata

Historical Periods

Background / History

The Primordial Era was remembered in later ages both as a golden age in which Immortals were “as numerous as clouds” and as a despairing period associated with the Demonic Path and its final calamity. Access to its sealed records was restricted because their contents could shake an inadequately tempered Dao Heart. 460 585

At its beginning, Innate Divine Spirits held the authorities of heaven, earth, and natural law. Wind, fire, thunder, cloud, rain, water, and marsh deities manifested across the Nine Heavens, while Fierce Beasts, demon beasts, and Ancient Demons gradually lost their former dominance. 761

The rise of the Six Paths followed the decline of the Innate Divine Spirits’ absolute Providence. Later historians disagreed on whether this transition began when the Six Paths first appeared or only with the emergence of the first Humanity Human Emperor. 761

The first Human Emperor’s ascent became a pivotal but poorly documented event. He reappeared after a blank period already having attained the Dao, gathering Heaven, Earth, and Humanity into himself; Humanity Fate Allotment subsequently formed in the Mortal World. 793

Near this turning point, the Humanity Azure Emperor and two other Immortals underwent Dao Degeneration. Their falls shook the Six Paths, but later generations retained only fragmented accounts and found no confirmed connection between them and the Devil Masters of the later Ancient Demon Sect. 793

The era ultimately ended in the Primordial Cataclysm. The disaster shattered Earth Continents, destabilized the Long River of Time and its tributaries, and contributed to later changes including the concealment of reincarnation and the appearance of the Nether Sea. 460 501

The catastrophe did not occur without warning. Great powers of the era had sufficient time to perceive early signs through Heavenly Secrets and leave behind Grotto-Heavens, Daoist Dojos, inheritances, seals, and other contingencies, though these measures did not preserve the era itself. 605

The Cataclysm annihilated innumerable sects and Great Era worlds. The scarcely remembered status of formerly supreme lineages such as All-Immortal Gate illustrates the scale of the destruction. 751 1032

In the present Era of Variables, the Primordial Era has become an active source of upheaval rather than merely distant history. Ancient sects and cultivators have manifested through temporal variables, often retaining complex, discordant Dao auras suggesting incomplete restoration, rebirth, body seizure, or other abnormal means of survival. 1016 1106

Cultivation Environment

• The Primordial Era’s Six Paths occupied corresponding heavens within the Nine Heavens, each bearing immense Providence. 791
• Its cultivation world was marked by pure, rich cultivation qi and a far more abundant range of Divine Ability methods and Daoist lineages than the early stages of later eras. 763 802
• Immortals were numerous, but differences in attainment among them could be immense, even within comparable stages. 585
• The Golden Core’s nine realms were named after the Nine Turns of Golden Core arts from the Primordial Era. In its system, nine was the ultimate number, while three was the limit after the Primordial Spirit stage. 354
• The Immortal Path of later ages developed along a different road after the Golden Core and no longer matched Primordial-era cultivation exactly. 354 801
• Early in the Six Paths’ rise, the cultivation systems and Divine Abilities of the various paths were still developing. The later flourishing age of the Primordial Era possessed far more complete Dao inheritances and cultivation methods. 763 802
• The era’s pure qi and mature cultivation environment enabled exceptionally dense networks of Karmic Affinity and Cause and Effect among Immortals and major lineages. 674
• The Primordial Era Dao-Seeking Hall was one of the pillars of the Profound Heaven Dao Sect, indicating that only disciples with exceptional foundation, aptitude, and cultivation could seek Dao within it. 791

Reincarnation and Nine-Nether

The Primordial Era’s Nine-Nether was a land of reincarnation distinct from the later Nether Sea. Nine-Nether was deeply entangled with Ghost Path Providence, whereas the Nether Sea stood beyond the Six Paths and their worldly conflicts. 761

• The Yellow Springs River existed in Primordial Era Nine-Nether, and crossing it required a price. 761
• Primordial Era Nine-Nether lacked the consciousness associated with later forms of reincarnation; its True Spirits were closer to unconscious ghosts. 761
• Fangxian Reincarnation emerged during the era in pursuit of Nine-Nether and attempted paths such as turning ghosts into Immortals. Its members entered Nine-Nether but became trapped there. 584
• Reincarnation Authority later split away, enabling those who comprehended part of it to exercise control over Nine-Nether. 584
• Nine-Nether had endured since eras predating the Primordial Era, including the Barbaric Era and the Era of Heavenly Gods. Its great antiquity distinguished it from the later Nether Sea even where the two shared phenomena such as the Yellow Springs River. 1032
• The Primordial Cataclysm ordinarily denied its victims complete reincarnation. However, the Era of Variables has allowed abnormal Primordial Era True Spirits and cultivators to enter the modern Reincarnation system as Variable Fate. 1032 1033
• The new Netherworld’s appearance of hazy True Spirits carrying ancient aura indicates that Reincarnation may become a route by which beings erased by the Cataclysm obtain another chance at life, albeit without certainty that their former selves or memories remain intact. 1033

Legacy in Later Ages

• Heavenly Sun Earth Continent — A Primordial Era Earth Continent returned as the Heavenly Sun Realm, its arrival violently stirring the Fate Allotment of the Six Paths. 523
• West Sea Inheritance Grounds — The grounds were closely tied to the Human Path of the Primordial Era and opened alongside changes in Humanity Fate Allotment. 643
• Ancient inheritances — Grotto-Heaven Daoist Dojos and inheritances surviving from the era demonstrate that its great powers prepared contingencies before the catastrophe. 605
• Daoist lineages — Many cultivation forces of the post-cataclysm First Era arose from inheritances left by major Primordial Era sects. 751
• Remnant Immortals — Some surviving remnants retained only obsession or basic Wisdom Light rather than complete memories and souls, often seeking resurrection through the Great Dao. 791
• Primordial Immortal Seeds — Their Destiny was associated with the West Sea anomaly and was not wholly contained within the Immortal Path of the present age. 604
• Humanity Heaven of Universe — A Heaven of Universe once supported by successive Human Emperors preserves a foothold of Primordial Human Path Providence. Its later Human Path lineages and academies retain inheritances stretching back to antiquity, though they are not identical to the original Primordial lineages. 741 812
• West Sea inheritances — The West Sea’s golden light included a Buddhist inheritance and was believed to be closely connected to broader Primordial Era inheritance grounds of the Six Paths. 605 609
• Dao-Seeking Hall — The Hall preserves opportunities to observe true Primordial Immortal Paths and Great Daos, allowing later cultivators to study the era’s cultivation without directly inheriting its unresolved Cause and Effect. 791 802
• Ancient sect manifestations — Sects including All-Immortal Gate, Heavenly Brow Mountain, White Cloud Dao, Golden Jade Ruyi Tower, and Golden Turtle Island have re-entered the present world amid temporal variables and the Great Tribulation. 1106 1179 1212
• Golden Turtle Island — This Primordial Era treasure island became a bridgehead for the descent of Ancient Era cultivators. Its blue-robed residents initially observed the modern world before preparing to establish themselves during the Great Tribulation. 1106 1179
• Ancient variables — Some former Primordial cultivators appear to have returned through genuine reincarnation, losing their past memories while retaining the potential foundations and abnormal Destiny of ancient Immortals. 1129

Return and Influence in the Era of Variables

The resurgence of Primordial Era Fate Allotment helped turn the present age into an Era of Variables. Its immense unresolved Cause and Effect caused ancient inheritances, Heavenly Prodigies, temporal anomalies, and dormant powers to emerge in succession. 554 605

The revival of the Devil Master’s Great Dao became one of the clearest signs that the era’s influence had returned to the foreground. Although the Devil Master’s reincarnated body may not be identical to the original individual, the Great Dao is believed to retain the original Devil Master’s will and existence. 1031 1179

The prospect that an ancient Immortal may persist through an undestroyed Great Dao remains disputed among cultivators. Such claims have nevertheless drawn ancient sects, modern lineages, and powerful cultivators into conflict over Longevity, Providence, and the secrets of the Primordial Cataclysm. 1179 1187

Time remains a decisive barrier to direct return. Ancient demons attempting to cross the Strange Gate Temple were blocked by time itself and suffered rapid lifespan depletion, demonstrating that the manifestation of Primordial Era forces does not grant unrestricted passage across eras. 1024

Story Role / Major Arcs

• Lu Qing searches the Library Pavilion’s sealed records and learns that the Primordial Era comprised four periods ending in the Ancient Demon Sect’s rise. 460
• He discovers that a rare Time Dao Marker can lead directly to its years while avoiding the catastrophic tribulation shrouding the Long River of Time. 753 791
• During his journey, Lu Qing witnesses the era at the dawn of the Six Paths’ rise, when the first Human Emperor’s appearance drives an age of prodigies and escalating Providence struggles. 761 791
• He observes the Dao Degeneration of the Humanity Azure Emperor and two other Immortals, an event that later records preserve only in fragments. 793 795
• After the Human Emperor attains the Dao and a future Dao Ruler interferes with the past, Lu Qing departs the Primordial Era. 811 812
• Lu Qing later recognizes that the Primordial Era’s exceptionally deep Cause and Effect may be the principal source of danger awaiting the present age as ancient gods, devils, cultivators, and temporal fragments return. 664 725
• The Era of Variables enables Lu Qing’s Reincarnation system to receive abnormal True Spirits with Primordial Era auras, making Reincarnation a possible path for ancient beings to return to life. 1032 1033
• Ancient Era cultivators manifest on Variable Island and other locations, sparking a treasure-hunting craze and forcing modern cultivators to confront surviving Primordial inheritances directly. 1031 1106
• The return of ancient sects and the Devil Master’s Great Dao transforms the Great Tribulation from a contest among modern Heavenly Prodigies into a conflict involving the Six Paths, sealed ancient powers, and seekers of Longevity. 1179 1187