Chapter 149: One Million Years Later
The moment those words left his mouth, Vaelor’s expression changed.
Hazel froze as well, staring at Caelum in shock.
Violetsun Master’s meaning could not have been more obvious.
How could she fail to understand it?
An indescribable wave of disbelief crashed into her mind.
The Immortal Elder was the one who had orchestrated the end of the Age of Imperial Calamity and brought about the age of immortal decline across The Infinite Realms?
No matter how hard Hazel tried, she could not reconcile the image before her with that revelation.
The seemingly ordinary Immortal Elder who had been chatting casually with her moments ago was the hidden hand behind one of the greatest catastrophes in history.
It was almost impossible to imagine.
How powerful would a person have to be?
How terrifying would their schemes need to be?
To quietly push an entire era toward destruction without anyone realizing it.
Thunder hidden within silence.
Every method concealed within the natural flow of the Dao.
Perhaps that was exactly the kind of person Caelum was.
Caelum admitted it openly.
"The Imperial Calamity was the will of heaven. The Infinite Realms could not avoid it."
"My goal was never the calamity itself."
"It was merely heaven’s will using my hand to deliver its killing intent upon The Infinite Realms."
So it really was him.
The speculation Violetsun Master had carried for tens of thousands of years was finally confirmed.
Strangely, instead of resentment, he felt only clarity.
As Caelum had said, the Imperial Calamity was the will of heaven.
Prosperity reached its peak, then declined.
Such was the law of the Dao.
Besides, the people of The Infinite Realms had no right to hate anyone.
The ones who truly drove the calamity to its climax were themselves.
It had all begun because of their greed for the Longevity Elixir.
Their own actions had pushed events beyond control.
In the end, they had brought it upon themselves.
Just a few simple words left Hazel more shaken than ever before.
The will of heaven.
The Infinite Realms.
Not interested in the calamity itself.
When those concepts came from Caelum’s mouth, she finally understood what it meant to be a truly transcendent immortal.
People like her were simply not operating on the same level.
How could ordinary cultivators ever touch matters of such scale?
Yet to Caelum, they seemed almost trivial.
A glance encompassed The Infinite Realms.
A scheme extended across eternity.
The thought alone was enough to stir one’s blood.
Or send chills down one’s spine.
Even though he claimed his intentions had never been directed at the calamity itself, the result had still been the destruction of over a thousand Great Worlds and an age where immortals nearly vanished from existence.
How could that not be terrifying?
After speaking, Caelum lost interest in continuing the conversation.
He turned and left.
"Perhaps we’ll meet again someday."
Before long, his figure disappeared completely.
Suddenly, a scene flashed through Vaelor’s mind.
In that memory, he bore an ancient and mysterious wheel behind him.
Caelum pointed a finger.
Vaelor was blasted backward for ten thousand miles.
Then Yin and Yang Qi descended and erased him completely.
His expression became dazed.
Instinctively, he pressed a hand against his forehead.
Hazel frowned.
"What’s wrong?"
Vaelor spoke uncertainly.
"I think... the Immortal Elder may have killed me once before."
"What?"
Hazel was utterly baffled.
Mist drifted through the air.
A Wind Lotus radiating profound spiritual aura swayed gently in the lotus pond.
Caelum’s figure emerged from the mist.
The moment it sensed him, the Wind Lotus began trembling softly.
Caelum sat down beside the pond.
A trace of satisfaction appeared in his eyes.
"The Grand Formation of The Infinite Realms damaged your foundation beyond repair. Surviving at all was already fortunate."
"As for taking human form again, that will depend on your own destiny."
The Wind Lotus was none other than Jadewind.
The Divine Powers of Jadewind and the others had indeed been extraordinary.
Yet they had still only been Immortal Emperors.
They were not truly immortal.
How could they contend against the combined might of The Infinite Realms Formation?
The fact that any of them survived was already a testament to their astonishing cultivation.
Fortunately, this was now the Age of Immortal Silence.
Even though they had been reduced to their original forms, their innate Divine Powers still provided ample means of self-preservation.
Perhaps this, too, was destiny.
Buzz.
A gentle fluctuation spread from the Wind Lotus.
Caelum smiled.
"Your master is doing quite well. There’s no need to worry."
With a wave of his hand, a vast amount of Primal Essence descended upon the Wind Lotus.
Then he departed without hesitation.
Cultivators were meant to live freely.
One had to know how to grasp and how to let go.
There were not so many attachments in heaven and earth after all.
Dao resonance swept through the area.
Another simple estate appeared before him.
Caelum stepped inside.
He sealed his mind, isolated himself from the outside world, and entered seclusion once more.
He had already seen everything worth seeing in this age.
There was no longer any reason to wander The Infinite Realms.
This time, he would remain in seclusion until every Dao had reached its ultimate extreme.
It would be an unimaginably long period of time.
From this moment onward, he would no longer concern himself with the outside world.
Within his seclusion, the State of Effortless Freedom continued operating on its own.
The Grand Extremity Method and the Secret of Transcendence steadily advanced his cultivation.
Meanwhile, the Grand Extremity Deduction Art continued pushing the Myriad Daos toward their ultimate limits.
Dao resonance circulated endlessly.
Lightning flashed.
The Five Elements evolved.
Taiji returned to unity.
Manifestations of countless Daos appeared around Caelum.
They intertwined to reveal the deepest truths of heaven and earth and the profound mysteries of the Great Dao.
Step by step, he continued ascending.
Advancing toward the supreme pinnacle of all Dao Extremities.
One thousand years.
Five thousand years.
Ten thousand years.
One hundred thousand years.
...
Time flowed onward.
The passage of ages left no mark upon him.
[Cultivation Increased]
[Realm: Immortal Layer 3]
...
[Cultivation Increased]
[Realm: Immortal Layer 4]
...
As his Realm continued rising, the Grand Extremity Deduction Art advanced as well.
After Yin and Yang, the Dao of Strength and the Dao of Lightning were both pushed into the Realm of Dao Extremity.
At the same time...
Boom!
The River of Time trembled.
Boundless sword light shattered temporal currents.
It reversed the power of annihilation itself and clashed endlessly against the four terrifying figures at the end of time.
As Caelum’s cultivation grew stronger with each passing day, those four beings repeatedly attempted to force their way upstream through the River of Time and strike at him directly.
Yet they remained unable to break through Bladeleaf’s blockade.
Bladeleaf held them firmly at the end of time.
Caelum remained completely immersed in seclusion.
He paid them no attention whatsoever.
As time passed, The Infinite Realms continued changing as well.
The world transformed beyond recognition.
The World Essence of the Age of Immortal Silence grew increasingly thin.
The surviving immortals felt the world’s extraction of their origins become stronger and stronger.
Even Violetsun Immortal Emperor eventually fell to the Immortal Realm.
The remnants of his imperial origin were rapidly disappearing.
As a result, he no longer dared leave his secluded realm even once.
At that point, immortals truly vanished from The Infinite Realms.
Those who had ascended from the countless lesser worlds regretted it deeply.
What Immortal Realm?
This was clearly an immortal graveyard.
Five hundred thousand years passed in the blink of an eye.
The Infinite Realms entered a true age of immortal extinction.
How could the immortals who survived the Age of Imperial Calamity endure for hundreds of thousands of years?
One after another, they passed away.
Their origins returned to heaven and earth.
The Immortal Kings who had sealed themselves away never lived to see the world’s recovery.
Their lifespans eventually ran out.
Silently, they faded into history.
It was a bleak end.
In the eight hundred thousandth year, no Immortal Emperors remained.
In the one millionth year, the vitality of The Infinite Realms finally began recovering.
The world stopped draining the origins of immortals.
Only then did new immortals begin appearing once more.
The Age of Immortal Silence finally came to an end.
...
[Cultivation Increased]
[Realm: Immortal Layer 260]
