The universe is infinitely vast. Within their star system, the highest realm is the God Realm, a place countless immortals dream of.
Beneath the God Realm lies the Immortal Realm, where immortals live forever. Once they survive their cycles of reincarnation and tribulations, they can share the same lifespan as the Immortal Realm itself.
Below the Immortal Realm are countless other worlds.
These worlds are classified into the Great Thousand Realm, Middle Thousand Realm, and Small Thousand Realm based on their size and the completeness of their rules.
The Jiutian Xuan Realm they inhabit was originally a fully-formed star system world, with complete rules and flourishing vitality.
Until the catastrophic Demon God War nearly destroyed it, shattering the Jiutian Xuan Realm.
Whether the God Realm and Immortal Realm still exist now, or if the Spiritual Realm remains connected to the Immortal Realm—
Song Wanníng had no idea.
The Heavenly Dao's mention of the "Heaven Beyond Heaven" refers to star systems beyond the galaxy, which also contain star system worlds.
She had read a travelogue about it before, but only learned the barest details.
Whether those were the fantasies of previous generations or the truth they knew, Song Wanníng could not say.
Now that the Heavenly Dao brought it up, a trace of doubt crept into Song Wanníng's eyes.
"At one time, I was a great star system world myself, with countless cultivators in the God and Immortal Realms, not to mention the countless Small Thousand Realms like the one you now stand in."
The Heavenly Dao's voice carried a hint of nostalgia.
"But do you know? It was precisely Jiutian Xuan Realm's prosperity that drew the envy of other star system worlds."
"That star system was called Mùsù."
When the Heavenly Dao said this name, its voice sharpened with biting resentment.
Hearing this, Song Wanníng seemed to understand something. The murderous aura around her slowly dissipated. She sat cross-legged and listened quietly.
Looking at the stone tablet, it was hard to imagine that even the Heavenly Dao could have emotional fluctuations like ordinary beings...
"This is what I learned from the memories of those people..."
The Heavenly Dao's voice was filled with self-mockery.
"Star system worlds usually have no connection; everyone minds their own business. But something went wrong in the Mùsù system, and it began to decline.
"Not only did spiritual energy vanish, many species of living beings disappeared, and disasters happened repeatedly.
"It even threatened the Heavenly Dao's rules...
"Later, I don't know where the Mùsù system found a forbidden technique, but it managed to send its people into other worlds—
More infuriatingly, it even granted them incredible Luck, far surpassing the native inhabitants of those worlds!
Those fortunate ones grew stronger and schemed to seize resources from other worlds, even provoking wars that led those worlds to decay!
At one point, Mùsù secretly transported a group of people under my watch, but my divine insight was blinded, and I failed to detect it. Those people used their incredible Luk to advance step by step to the level of Celestial Gods and then sought out the Demon God!
The Demon God always thought I wanted to destroy her, but she was my most outstanding subject. Why would I harm her? If she could create a new world and become a new star system, I would be proud of her..."
The Heavenly Dao gave a bitter smile. The Demon God's misunderstanding was too deep. Even with only a shred of divine consciousness left, she still believed it was the Heavenly Dao's will to erase her.
Song Wanníng had considered many possibilities, but never this.
"That Demon God War..."
She raised her brows in surprise, sensing the truth.
The Heavenly Dao nodded. "Yes, as you suspected, when the Demon God War began, I finally realized the invaders were suspicious—but it was too late.
The war started with a fight to the death, causing the entire world to collapse. Countless Great Thousand and Small Thousand Realms were affected...
The Demon God and those invaders, as the originators, were captured by the Heavenly Dao's rules for destruction. The rules automatically fell, and heavenly thunder tried to wipe out the Demon God.
Though I am the Heavenly Dao, I do not control all the rules...
At that time, I caught the intention of the Mùsù system's invasion and tried to stop it, but it was too late. I could only do my best to mitigate the power of the heavenly thunder. In the end, only a fragment of the Demon God's divine consciousness remained..."
The Heavenly Dao fell into a long silence at this point.
The Demon God's talent had even earned its respect.
It liked that exceptional descendant deeply but could only watch helplessly as she fell to the schemes of those invaders.
The world collapsed, invaded by its own kind...
Looking back, that day felt like a nightmare.
"Since then, Jiutian Xuan Realm collapsed, its rules shattered, and the lower realms fragmented. The Great Thousand Realm you live in was also affected, eventually splitting into two and falling into a lower Small Thousand Realm!
And I became a lost fragment of the Heavenly Dao left behind in the lower realm."
The Heavenly Dao's voice grew mournful.
Once, its Jiutian Xuan Realm had been full of life and prosperity.
Now it was losing ground, becoming nourishment for other worlds. How could it accept this?
That was why it came to Song Wanníng.
Feeling the Heavenly Dao's sadness, Song Wanníng's mood darkened.
She could hardly imagine how the Three Lives Mirror must have felt all this time, enduring her curses and hatred toward the Heavenly Dao.
And herself?
For so long, she had misunderstood the Heavenly Dao, believing it had abandoned her. She had wondered why the Heavenly Dao would not care for its own people but instead favored foreign souls.
Now, she finally understood.
The one truly favoring Ye Chuxue was not the Heavenly Dao of this world, but the invading Mùsù system.
"Senior, then my rebirth is..."
Song Wanníng pursed her lips and asked the question that had lingered in her heart. She had often wondered how the artifact of divine origin could fall into her hands given her poor Luck.
"Everything you experienced was real..."
The Heavenly Dao knew what Song Wanníng wanted to ask and did not hide the truth.
"Since the fall of the lower realm, the invading Heavenly Dao's power has grown stronger, especially in severely damaged small worlds like this one. I have lost control and have been suppressed by outsiders...
Even the Heavenly Dao's rules have been affected.
That is why I watched helplessly as the invading Ye Chuxue grew stronger, infecting Gu Qingyuan and the others, leading them down the path of world destruction.
Gu Qingyuan and Bai Yang and the others have very weak resolve and were easily deceived by Ye Chuxue, even committing all kinds of excesses for her.
When you were on the brink of death, I saw the Demon God's fall once more...
I did not want to repeat that mistake, so at my fall, I used all my remaining power to twist time and space, sending you to be reborn... I also warned you that Ye Chuxue had astonishing Luck. To get revenge, you must plan every step carefully!"
Because it had exhausted its power, the Heavenly Dao remained dormant until recently, only waking for brief moments.
===
I suddenly felt so stupid for the past two days. You know that feeling when your brain just lags behind, but your body feels… somewhat fine?
Because of the last cosmic event, I started feeling suspicious. And yes, when I checked, a lunar eclipse was happening again—or more precisely, a total lunar eclipse on September 8. I was left completely speechless =_=. My Yin constitution really feels the effects of these things.
At least this time it's not as bad as a while ago, when multiple cosmic events happened simultaneously over a long period. That was rough…