After Annihilation Heavenly Venerable failed to storm the Road to Immortality with his entire sect in the previous era, the age inevitably slid into decline.
Ultimately, however, Annihilation Heavenly Venerable had not passed away on the Road to Immortality itself. He was merely trapped in the endless void, unable to find his way back.
Thus, although the depths of the starry sky had grown somewhat desolate, people could still cultivate normally. The myriad daos had not vanished outright, and Heaven and Earth Source Essence remained fairly abundant.
Only after another three thousand years did the Heavenly Heart Imprint begin to lose its stability, while Annihilation Heavenly Venerable's Great Dao, which suppressed the nine heavens, showed signs of collapse.
Because of this, everyone believed Annihilation Heavenly Venerable was about to perish beyond the endless void, and that the present era was approaching its final days.
Sure enough, within ten years, the Heavenly Heart Imprint collapsed completely. Amid violent tremors, the myriad daos closed off entirely, becoming the most terrifying shackles in the world, binding countless cultivators and making cultivation difficult once more.
Just as the histories had recorded time and again: when a Supreme passed away, Dao hardship descended.
This time, however, the years of Dao hardship lasted far longer than anyone imagined-a full twenty thousand years, leaving even the starry sky utterly silent.
Twenty thousand years. Even searching ancient histories and poring over old texts, one could scarcely find such a protracted period of decline.
Across all ancient history, only the supposedly dark and hopeless Age of Declining Dharma between Immeasurable Heaven Venerable's passing and Carefree Heavenly Venerate's attainment of the Dao could compare in duration-a comparable age in which cultivation all but ceased.
Fortunately, this long and hopeless stretch of time finally showed signs of ending.
The myriad daos