Stronger by Killing

Chapter 577: Chapter 320: The Emergence of the Immortal Sect and Worldwide Chaos (Part 3)

Kou Baimen said, "The Prince may not know, they simply cannot come out. It’s even accurate to say they dare not come out."

Gu Zhan narrowed his eyes slightly.

Kou Baimen continued, "According to the records of Celestial Star Cave, in order to completely avoid the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, all forces set restrictions upon entering the barrier. People outside cannot get in, and people inside cannot come out. The stronger the forces, the stronger their seal and restrictions, preventing erosion from the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi.

Prince, this time the Celestial Star Cave has come into the world not entirely due to Spiritual Qi revival. Instead, it’s because the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi has eroded the restrictions, causing them to loosen, and just when the Spiritual Qi surged, it directly broke open the restrictions and breached the barrier, leading to their appearance. True and normal emergence should be when the Spiritual Qi revival reaches perfection outside, opening the restrictions. That is normal emergence."

Gu Zhan frowned slightly and said, "You mean the restrictions of the barrier are like a lock, and the Spiritual Qi is like a key that can automatically unlock it!"

"Indeed," Kou Baimen said, "However, each force has a different foundation. This lock varies in quality. Some can withstand the erosion of Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi and only open after Spiritual Qi completely revives, while others cannot resist, getting eroded and damaged, only needing a bit of Spiritual Qi to open it!"

Gu Zhan said with suspicion, "In that case, some forces which cannot match the celestial sects of Celestial Star Cave might have emerged long ago."

Kou Baimen thought for a moment and said, "It should be that way. The reason why no traces have been left is likely because barely anyone could survive. According to Celestial Star Cave records, Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi is poison. If a cultivator is within Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi without any Spiritual Qi, or if Spiritual Qi is scarce, regardless of their strength, they would be eroded and die. The weaker one’s strength, the less ability to resist Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi. Those celestial sects appearing early were likely not too strong, and the moment they appeared was also the moment of extinction.

As for ordinary people, they would just die immediately. However, there’s something about this record I don’t quite understand, because even before Spiritual Qi revival, there were countless people in the world, and there were Grotto Heaven Cultivators."

Gu Zhan smiled slightly and said, "I can indeed explain this point."

"Please guide me, my Lord," Kou Baimen said.

Gu Zhan took a sip of tea and said, "The dissipation of Spiritual Qi to the End of the Dharma Era took many years, hundreds or thousands of years; it was a gradual process. Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi gradually encroached upon the human world. During this phase, humans gradually began adapting to the new environment.

Generation after generation, until the final End of the Dharma Era, people at that time had already adapted to an environment without Spiritual Qi, only Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi.

And the Spiritual Qi revival wasn’t a matter of a day or two. Over two thousand years ago, the first Grotto Heaven Cultivator was born. However, its condition was a Spirit Gathering Array, whereby Spiritual Qi was gathered amid Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, which implies that the revival of Spiritual Qi had already begun then.

In subsequent eras, Grotto Heaven Cultivators became more frequent, indicating that Spiritual Qi was increasing step by step, and Grotto Heaven Cultivators grew stronger. It was just a few decades ago that there was a temporary pause, a calm before the storm, forcing even Wei Wuya to seek other methods to breakthrough Grotto Heaven.

The Buddhist Sect likely knew that Spiritual Qi was about to revive, hence they had no interest in Wei Wuya’s technique of Entering the Demon and Breaking the Grotto Heaven. In this era, the two sects of Buddhism even had Fifth Realm Grotto Heaven, with cultivators on the verge of reaching the Golden Core Realm. This proves that Spiritual Qi existed all along, just not growing as fast as it is now.

The distinction lies in cultivators transitioning from Martial Arts to Grotto Heaven and those in the barrier. They grew gradually from within the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, although they were highly wary of it, just not to the extent of dying upon contact. They simply had significant limitations, with a decline in cultivation over time."

Kou Baimen suddenly realized and said, "I understand now, so the human world saw the reappearance of Spiritual Qi from over two thousand years ago, and as a result, many forces with poorer foundations or a small Grotto Heaven barrier opened early. However, the Spiritual Qi within the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi was very thin then, leading to their extinction and leaving no trace."

Gu Zhan shook his head and said, "It’s not entirely without traces. There have always been legends of Immortal Gods and such in the human world for thousands of years, especially over the last two thousand years or so. Such legends have increased, possibly indicating that some cultivators barely survived for a period, leaving these legends, like the Immortal Fox guiding the Ancestor of the Gu Family!"

At that moment, Sword One suddenly came over and said, "Lord, I also know something. It’s very likely just as you said."

Gu Zhan gestured for Sword One to continue.

Sword One bowed and said, "When I was Sword Son in Sword King City, I heard a legend. Sword King City descended from the sky. Over a thousand years ago, it was originally just an ordinary large mountain. Overnight, many peaks appeared, as well as palaces, training grounds, etc., including Sword King’s City Sword Tomb. It’s said that at that time, the ancestors of Sword King City found tens of thousands of Divine Weapons in the Sword Tomb, but overnight they all turned into ordinary weapons, hence it’s called Sword Tomb!"