When that great war broke out, the Heavenly Dao developed a consciousness that should never have existed. To leave the Azure Realm a thread of hope for survival, it isolated the Dustless Continent.
And because that wisp of consciousness was also part of the Heavenly Dao, born in accordance with the laws, it became what they later called the false Heavenly Dao.
The false Heavenly Dao possessed self-awareness. Knowing it was not the master of this world, it sought to devour this world's Heavenly Dao and become its master.
But the Heavenly Dao itself was not entirely oblivious. It sought help from above, then finally fell dormant, having exhausted too much of its strength in the great war.
For the next ten thousand years, almost everything was under the false Heavenly Dao's control. The Heavenly Dao only occasionally awakened when it sensed that its one glimmer of hope was in mortal danger, and lent a helping hand.
Naturally, the false Heavenly Dao did not want a savior to exist. After all, her very purpose was to annihilate it. This was also the main reason Su Jiu's path had been so arduous.
To acquire more laws and devour the true Heavenly Dao, the false Heavenly Dao borrowed power from other worlds, even using the Gray-Clothed Man to bring in the so-called outsiders.
Of course, exploitation had always gone both ways. The Gray-Clothed Man had his own intentions and plans, and he also sensed something amiss with this world's Heavenly Dao. After probing it several times, he finally understood the entire chain of cause and effect, from beginning to end.
The Gray-Clothed Man and the false Heavenly Dao struck a bargain.
That wisp of consciousness wanted ownership of the world, while the Gray-Clothed Man wanted Demon Realm Descent. The two helped one