This is the sorrow of an era, the misfortune of cultivators. Every practitioner of the Dao has been struck by the blade of Heaven’s Will—some endured, some were crippled, and others perished.
In just over ten days, the cultivation world saw a sharp decline in numbers. Two-tenths of the cultivators either passed away in meditation or succumbed to recurring Dao injuries, departing this world with bitterness and unwillingness.
It was a bleak epoch, one that did not lack prodigies or peerless talents. Yet, in this Age of Decadence, they could only sigh at the heavens, lamenting their ill-fated timing.
A month later, save for a rare few, over ninety-nine percent of cultivators who had lived for more than a million years perished. Without extraordinary fortune or undying substances, their flesh decayed and their divine souls collapsed in an instant.
Some witnessed an elder—a peak-level expert of the Dunyi realm—who had cultivated the golden body of the ancient monk lineage. Yet, under the blade of time, his golden body shattered, his divine soul dispersed into light, defeated in this great era.
“Who can save me?”
Zheng De, a man of great virtue, wailed in the Ninth Heaven. Though he possessed a divine herb and undying substances, none could prolong his life.
He was a quasi-Supreme, a figure of immense prestige who once commanded the winds and rains in the Ninth Heaven, revered by many.
But when the great calamity arrived and the heavens retaliated, he was no different from an ordinary old man on the verge of death, powerless to alter his fate.
The divine herb lost its efficacy, its radiance dimmed.
Zheng De decayed, his mighty Dharma body crumbling within a day, his divine soul rapidly disintegrating, unable to maintain its former strength.
The heavens had drawn a red line for all living beings, imposing a limit on their lifespans. Those like him, who had lived too long, suffered the greatest under the blade of Heaven’s Will.
After enduring for days, Zheng De let out a piercing scream as his Dharma body shattered piece by piece, his divine soul burning away, refined by the Great Dao into nothingness.
The path of cultivation is one of defying the heavens, drawing upon the essence of the world to strengthen oneself, extending a lifespan that would otherwise last no more than a century.
Yet, in the end, the heavens retaliate. Without true transcendence, everything must be returned, and one is reduced to their original state.
Such is the Age of Decadence—a balance in the universe. What one gains must one day be repaid in some form.
A terrifying truth was revealed: three months after the Age of Decadence arrived, divine herbs lost their brilliance, spirit medicines dimmed, and their effects drastically diminished.
Divine herbs could no longer be called divine!
These rare, peerless medicines had lost their sentience, unable to speak, retaining only a vague consciousness, as if their spirits had been dulled.
**Boom!**
The heavens trembled violently. Every upheaval inflicted immense harm upon cultivators, marking the most dreadful moments.
“It is irreversible! The heavens are flawed, the Age of Decadence is here, and even immortal herbs have degenerated!”
A cry of alarm came from a forbidden zone, where a mighty figure’s voice trembled, revealing the horror of the scene.
“How could this be? I fled, but fearing I might be devoured, I dared not slip into the Immortal Realm. Now, I am doomed!” A white tortoise carrying a white-robed fairy shrieked in terror.
Had Shi Hao been present, he would have recognized it—the Longevity Immortal Herb, the White Tortoise Bearing Immortal!
Indeed, the immortal herbs had degenerated. The undying substances and indestructible essence they once contained had drastically diminished, far from their former glory.
A year later, as the heavens stabilized slightly, the White Tortoise Bearing Immortal, half-dead with fright, finally breathed a sigh of relief when the deterioration ceased.
The world’s condition continued to worsen. Divine herbs were either extinct or had degenerated to the point where they could no longer be called divine, losing even the ability to speak.
Longevity herbs had regressed to the level of divine herbs!
Once, a single complete herb contained enough essence to elevate a person to immortality, deserving the title of an elixir. But no longer.
The only consolation was that the White Tortoise Bearing Immortal could still fly and retained some consciousness, though it was dulled compared to before.
It could traverse the heavens and earth, elusive to capture, but its medicinal efficacy had truly declined.
The tortoise knew that if the heavens deteriorated further, it might lose all sentience, surviving only by instinct. To regain its true spirit, it would have to wait until the next epoch, when the Age of Decadence ended and the world recovered.
The old tortoise wept, heartbroken. For countless years, it would be lost, unaware of itself, descending into a state of terror.
“Is there truly reincarnation? Like me, will I be dulled, wandering in confusion, only to rediscover myself after eons?”
The tortoise sighed, its emotions complex.
At that moment, it suddenly wondered—could a greater cycle of reincarnation obscure even more, affecting countless beings?
In a forbidden zone of the Ninth Heaven, a mighty figure awoke with a shudder, assessing the extent of the Age of Decadence and how far it would go.
In this upheaval, the number of cultivators had already halved.
Amidst the chaos, Shi Hao was repeatedly struck by the blade of Heaven’s Will. Every slight disturbance sought him out, as if determined to annihilate him, body and soul.
“I am still young, with at least ten thousand years left to live. Don’t waste your efforts on me—go hunt the crippled immortals or slay Jin Tai Jun!” Shi Hao muttered to himself.
In this upheaval, he defied the heavens, charging upward against the blade of Heaven’s Will to temper his Dao.
As the Age of Decadence arrived and the heavens retaliated, fragments of the Great Dao manifested, intertwining to slaughter all living beings and sever the cultivation of all practitioners—a refining process.
For Shi Hao, the blade of Heaven’s Will eventually transformed into Dao light, forging a furnace that engulfed him, seeking to destroy him in countless ways.
He cultivated his Dao, defying the heavens, refining his own techniques and his Supreme body.
All his techniques were unleashed, his treasured arts splitting the heavens. In the process, several merged, refined by the furnace into a single form.
That was **Extreme Speed**!
With the Kun Peng Art, he soared ninety thousand miles in a single leap.
The Immortal Phoenix spread its wings, making even the vast heavens seem insufficient.
The Thunder Emperor roared, his thunder wings unfurling, surpassing the limits of the cosmos.
Three pairs of law wings fused into one—Chaos Wings. With a single flap, they unleashed terrifying destructive power and unparalleled speed.
Shi Hao traversed the heavens and earth. As he flew, time itself seemed to stir, fragments of years swirling around him, a sight both awe-inspiring and terrifying.
His speed was unmatched. He could cross the universe in an instant, journeying from one starfield to another. Recently, he had been exploring the boundless cosmos formed by the merging of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.
This was his harvest. Amidst the Age of Decadence, his cultivation remained unsevered, and he had forged Chaos Wings, invincible and capable of crossing billions of miles in an instant.
**Boom!**
On this day, Shi Hao lifted a massive meteor, coldly gazing at the land below before hurling it—half a burning star—toward the Immortal Palace.
**KABOOM!**
Flames engulfed the heavens, incinerating the earth!
This was a Supreme-level strike, yet it failed to obliterate the area. Protected by the Immortal Copper Palace and an ancient formation, the land remained intact.
The star’s remnants turned to ash.
“Shi Hao, you dare challenge me? Have you grown tired of living?”
The crippled immortal’s roar echoed from beneath the earth.
A gray-robed figure, wreathed in immortal energy, tore through the heavens and charged upward to kill Shi Hao.
But another figure was even faster—a man wielding a black immortal metal staff, swinging it down with immortal runes, a terrifying sight.
**Boom!**
The figure in the outer realm exploded instantly, shattered by the black staff, annihilated in the heavens.
“Shi Hao is dead!” someone from the Immortal Palace cried.
The crippled immortal emerged, his expression cold. “This brat is cautious—he only sent a false body formed of mana.”
Far away, Shi Hao was shocked. In this Age of Decadence, he had encountered a true immortal, conspiring with the crippled immortal to ambush him.
Clearly, they had anticipated he might one day seek revenge but had not expected it so soon.
“He cannot escape. I have sensed his location. Once I capture him, I will return to the Immortal Realm,” the black-staff-wielding immortal said indifferently.
“Can’t you just kill him directly?” the crippled immortal asked.
“I already honored your request with my first strike. Had it been his true body, he would be dead. Who knew he was so cunning?” the immortal replied calmly.
“After him!” The crippled immortal moved, hoping to strike before the other could act.
But to his shock, he could not catch up!
What was this brat’s deal? How could his speed rival a true immortal’s? The crippled immortal was stunned.
“Where do you think you’re going?” The black-staff-wielding immortal also gave chase.
Yet Shi Hao’s speed was beyond his expectations. No matter how he pursued, the distance never closed.
**Boom!**
He attacked, swinging his staff and annihilating an entire starfield, reducing countless stars to dust, plunging the heavens into darkness.
But Shi Hao remained untouched.
“Brat, if you do not stop, I will kill you rather than capture you alive,” the immortal said coldly.
“If you can catch me, do as you please. Otherwise, one day, I will personally send you to the Execution Platform!”
Suddenly, Shi Hao shuddered. A streak of crimson light, infused with immortal energy, nearly bisected him, obliterating the stars around him.
Shi Hao flapped his Chaos Wings, fleeing the starfield.
Another true immortal had appeared, intent on capturing or killing him.
“Fellow Daoist from the forbidden zone, thank you for your assistance. I apologize for the disturbance,” the black-staff-wielding immortal said.
“This ends our debt. There will be no further ties,” the forbidden zone immortal replied coldly.
Shi Hao was terrified. That had been too close—he had nearly been assassinated.
He fled without hesitation, realizing the gravity of the situation. Escaping would come at a great cost.
Only his mastery of Extreme Speed had saved him. Otherwise, death would have been certain!
“Brat, if you do not stop, I will not hesitate to kill you!” the black-staff-wielding immortal threatened.
**Boom!**
The forbidden zone immortal struck, shattering the starry sea. Countless stellar fragments exploded, plunging the galaxy into eternal darkness.
Yet Shi Hao, with his Extreme Speed, evaded destruction.
But at that moment, an eerie and terrifying aura spread from the eternal darkness. A door appeared.
A figure stood tall, his face chiseled like a blade, his eyes cold as stars. Handsome and resolute, his posture was majestic.
“Ah!”
Even the unshakable Shi Hao lost his composure, nearly shedding tears.
“Grand Elder!” he cried.
The figure was as majestic as ever, preserved in his prime, clad in tattered battle armor, bloodstained, his black hair flowing—just as he had been in his glory days.
For years, Shi Hao had loathed the enemies of the borderlands, yearning for the past, dreaming of returning to the Imperial Pass to prevent the Grand Elder’s tragic death.
The Grand Elder had become an immortal, only to fall in a battle too tragic to bear.
He had vanished in the border war, never to be seen again.
Who could have imagined his reappearance after so many years?
Yet he stood in darkness, exuding an ominous and sinister aura.
“Who are you?!” the black-staff-wielding immortal demanded.
He swung his weapon, attacking.
Slowly, the Grand Elder extended his hand. He was truly handsome, in his golden years, appearing no older than his twenties. Aside from his pale complexion, he was identical to Meng Tianzheng of old.
**Boom!**
The next moment, the heavens shattered. Ominous energy surged.
A hand descended, seizing the immortal’s black staff.
The immortal screamed as darkness swallowed him, a figure dragging him away into the abyss!
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