According to Jiang Yun's guess, darkness had initially paid little attention to Heaven and the Sea of Realms, committing few forces to either.
Darkness was like a merciless reaper, harvesting every world alike, as though all living things were lambs awaiting slaughter in its eyes.
Then Heaven produced the Pollen Emperor. She founded the Pollen Cultivation System and, in the end, seemed to touch the Sacrificial Dao Realm before charging alone into the Calamity Plateau.
Though she failed and was slain by the Ten Ancestors, she succeeded in drawing the Plateau's attention.
Even to the darkness-ruled Sacrificial Sea, the Pollen Path was astonishing. It posed a direct threat to darkness's dominion.
Across countless cycles of sacrificial harvests, barely a dozen methods capable of producing an Immortal Emperor had ever emerged.
Let alone one that could reach the Sacrificial Dao.
And so the Plateau began taking Heaven seriously, and the Darkness Faction committed substantial forces to suppress it.
Heaven still resisted, but the Pollen Emperor had fallen after attacking the Plateau, and the Dark Ancestors had corrupted the Pollen Path.
The other resisters had not vanished, but they had long since ceased to pose a serious threat.
Gradually, Heaven became a hunting ground for darkness to harvest in sacrifice.
Then, without Heaven standing in front to bear the brunt, the Sea of Realms began to suffer.
First, the Corpse Immortal Emperor of the lower realms was corrupted. That led to the clash between the Immortal Domain and Otherworld, the emergence of four Dark Immortal Emperors over the long years, and round after round of sacrifices that set off a chain of events.
Later, the Desolate Emperor quelled everything and fought his way into Heaven. He eventually attained the Sacrificial Dao Realm and led many others in another assault on the Calamity