A Lie, Deliberately Planted
Li Yunjing opened his eyes, his brows furrowed tightly.
The divine thoughts of the Northern Dark True Spirit still echoed in his sea of consciousness, transmitting over the debate on Flying Dragon Ascending to Immortality Mountain and the High Antiquity secrets spoken by the Primordial Origin Spirit in their entirety.
Attracting the attention of Martyrs could bring about the destruction of the world?
Li Yunjing felt a heavy weight in his heart.
It's not that he doesn't believe in the words of the Primordial Origin Spirit.
As an ancient spirit born at the very beginning of the Dao, its memories are most likely genuine.
But if that's the case, wouldn't the method of Return to the Origin to the source be fundamentally unworkable?
Is it truly impossible to break the cycle of ten thousand years?
"Wrong."
Li Yunjing shook his head.
The Five Spirits Lord is knowledgeable and experienced, and is also the spirit of Immortal Artifact from the Immortal Realm. If Return to the Origin truly had such a great calamity, it would not be unaware of it, much less bring it up on its own initiative.
There must be something fishy about this.
Without further hesitation, he Spirit Concentration his mind inward and sank into his Dantian.
In the center of the Qi Sea, the Five Aggregates Cauldron floats quietly, its dark yellow color flowing, ancient and profound.
Five Spirits Lord, dressed in a long black and yellow robe, stood with his hands behind his back beside the cauldron, gazing intently at the flowing patterns on its surface.
Hearing Li Yunjing's telepathic call, he slowly turned around, a smile on his handsome face, "What's wrong, young master? You look so worried. Has something gone wrong with the Ancestral Vein?"
"You really are incredibly insightful." Li Yunjing gave a wry smile and recounted the news from Northern Darkness in detail. Finally, he asked, "Five Spirits Lord, is what the Primordial Origin Spirit said true? Will Return to the Origin really attract the attacks of Martyrs and lead to the destruction of the Dao Realm?"
Upon hearing Li Yunjing's words, Five Spirits Lord was first taken aback, then burst into laughter.
That smile carried a hint of contempt, a hint of understanding, and a hint of mockery.
"I thought it was something important, but it's just this old, tired excuse." Five Spirits Lord shook his head, his tone nonchalant. "Fake."
"Fake?" Li Yunjing was taken aback. "But the Primordial Origin Spirit has innate memories of the earth's veins as proof, and the destruction of the Purple Wind Dao Realm is also a real event."
"The destruction is real, but the reason is wrong." Five Spirits Lord slowly walked to the edge of the Qi Sea, his gaze seemingly able to penetrate through layers of barriers, looking towards the distant horizon. "The Purple Wind Dao Realm wasn't destroyed by Return to the Origin, but by the Immortal Venerable of the Immortal Realm."
Li Yunjing's heart skipped a beat. "The Five Spirits Lord means..."
"It's just as you think." Five Spirits Lord spoke calmly, revealing a long-buried High Antiquity secret.
"Now everyone knows that the Immortal Realm is high above, the ultimate goal of cultivation, but no one knows that the Immortal Realm didn't always exist."
"A long, long time ago, the present-day Mystic Yellow Immortal Realm was just an ordinary mid-level Dao Realm, not much different from your Tianyuan Dao Realm."
The ancient inhabitants there explored for countless years, finally discovering the method to Return to the Origin the Dao Fruit. By gathering the Ancestral Vein True Spirit and expending a thousand years of effort, they finally succeeded in elevating the Dao Realm, allowing it to enter the ranks of the Immortal Realm.
"After the upgrade, the Spiritual Qi of the Dark Yellow Dao Realm surged, the Principle were perfected, and cultivators broke through the shackles one after another, achieving the True Immortal, Profound Immortal, and even higher realms."
All living beings benefited, and it flourished for a time, which led to the later emergence of the Mystic Yellow Immortal Realm.
Li Yunjing was deeply moved by what he heard.
It turns out that the Immortal Realm also rose step by step from the ordinary Dao Realm.
"And then what happened?" he couldn't help but ask.
"And then?" Five Spirits Lord scoffed. "Later, the Immortal Realm grew and prospered, giving rise to nine Immortal Realm Immortal Venerable who wielded power within it. As their positions rose, their intentions changed."
"The origin of the Immortal Realm is not inexhaustible. Every time an Immortal Realm is born, a portion of its fortune and resources will be diverted from the Sea of Origin, thus lowering the overall upper limit of the Immortal Realm."
Those high and Immortal Venerable naturally didn't want to see those from the lower realms climb up and take away their share of the spoils.
"Therefore, several top Immortal Venerable joined forces to establish an unspoken rule called the ' Lower Realm Prohibition Decree.'"
"On the one hand, they ordered people to spread rumors throughout the lower realms, Dao Fruit Return to the Origin of the Dao would bring about the destruction of the realm and was a path to disaster, so that cultivators and true spirits of the earth veins in the lower realms would not dare to try it lightly."
"On the other hand, they deployed inspectors throughout the myriad realms to keep a close eye on the activities of each lower realm."
Whenever any lower realm shows signs of returning to its Return to the Origin and ascending to a higher realm, they will secretly intervene, shattering the boundary wall and destroying the Ancestral Vein at the most crucial moment of the return to Return to the Origin, thus reducing the entire Dao Realm to ruins.
The Martyrs destroyed the Purple Wind Dao Realm was actually the Inspector.
"After doing all this, they will deliberately leave behind some memory fragments and ley line marks, shifting the blame for the destruction of the world onto Return to the Origin himself."
"Make an example of him to scare the rest of the creatures in the lower realms, so they will never dare to plot against the Return to the Origin again."
The Five Spirits Lord's voice was calm, but what he said was earth-shattering.
Li Yunjing stood there, speechless for a long time.
He had considered many possibilities, but he never imagined that the so-called catastrophe of the world's destruction was actually a hoax created by the Immortal Venerable of the Immortal Realm.
A cycle of cleansing lasting 100,000 years is cruel enough.
Compared to the grand schemes of the Immortal Venerable, it's nothing but a drop in the Immortal Realm ocean.
In order to maintain their position, they did not hesitate to destroy world after world, trapping billions of living beings in the cycle of reincarnation forever, unable to escape.
"This is too domineering." Li Yunjing's voice was hoarse. "Just because he doesn't want to share the cake, he wants to destroy all hope?"
"Domineering?" Five Spirits Lord sneered. "The path of cultivation is inherently one of the survival of the fittest. Which of the Immortal Venerable in the Immortal Realm didn't climb up from mountains of corpses and seas of blood? In their eyes, the creatures of the lower realms are no different from ants."
"Sacrificing an ant to preserve one's own position is the best deal imaginable."
He paused, his tone softening slightly. "The memories that the Primordial Origin Spirit saw were illusions deliberately left behind by the Immortal Venerable when the Purple Wind Dao Realm was destroyed."
It had lived for a long time, but it was ultimately just a spirit of the lower realm, never having come into contact with the secrets of the upper realm. It was normal for it to be deceived.
Li Yunjing remained silent for a long time before he could process this shocking news.
He raised his head and looked at the Five Spirits Lord, suddenly realizing a question, "Why is the Five Spirits Lord so clear about these secrets of the Immortal Realm?"
Upon hearing this, Five Spirits Lord was slightly taken aback, then gave a wry smile.
He reached out and gently stroked the Five Aggregates Cauldron beside him, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes—a mixture of nostalgia, weariness, and relief.
"Because I was one of the first Innate Spirit Treasure born when the Mystic Yellow Immortal Realm was created."
"The Five Aggregates Cauldron is one of the creation Spirit Treasure of the Mystic Yellow Immortal Realm."
I followed my first master and witnessed firsthand the entire process of the Dark Yellow Dao Realm's ascension to the Immortal Realm. I also watched as the Immortal Realm gradually transformed from a vibrant place into one rife with factions and constant infighting.
"Later, a great war broke out in the Immortal Realm Immortal Venerable Realm, with nine Immortal Venerable vying for power and fighting so fiercely that the heavens and earth were darkened."
My master perished in the great battle, and I was also demoted in rank by the Immortal Venerable Acquired Spirit Treasure. Later, during the pursuit, my spirit was severely injured and fell into a deep sleep, and the cauldron itself was damaged. I drifted for countless years, eventually ending up in the Tianyuan Dao Realm, where, fortuitous opportunity chance, you obtained it.
Five Spirits Lord spoke in a calm tone, as if he were telling someone else's story.
But Li Yunjing could sense the underlying tension within it.
From a supreme Spirit Treasure in the Immortal Realm to falling to the mortal world and slumbering for tens of thousands of years, the difference is unimaginable.
"Does the Five Spirits Lord still want to go back?" Li Yunjing asked softly.
"Go back?" Five Spirits Lord scoffed and shook his head. "What would we do back there? Get caught up in the power struggles between Immortal Venerable again, and risk being knocked down once more?"