Struggling to Survive with Regression Power in the Primordial Saint Sect

As the words fell, the voice of the Innate True Person reverberated through the clouds like muffled thunder.

Immediately after, Lü Yang exhaled deeply, for at the very moment the Innate True Person’s words concluded, numerous memories surfaced in his mind.

These memories did not belong to him.

Rather, they ”appeared out of thin air” in his mind; he could even sense the eerie way they emerged, as if being drawn out bit by bit.

These memories pertained to the rules of 【Heaven of Nonexistence】.

”In the 【Heaven of Nonexistence】, there are a total of five scenarios, each corresponding to a calamity the Innate True Person encountered five thousand years ago.”

”It was precisely because of these five calamities that the Innate True Person ultimately halted at the Foundation Establishment stage.”

”The so-called breaking through the calamities refers to me entering the 【Heaven of Nonexistence】 and resolving the five calamities in the guise of the ’Innate True Person’.”

”Breaking through one calamity grants one divine ability.”

”Breaking through all five calamities allows one to master the 【Heaven of Nonexistence】!”

Lü Yang suddenly realized that all the talk about breaking through calamities and mastering fruit positions was illusory; the key was that this was a cultivation method corresponding to the fruit position of the 【Heaven of Nonexistence】!

‘Fruit positions are held high in the heavens, supported by numerous cultivators from below!’

Lü Yang immediately recalled the characteristics of fruit positions: ‘Without cultivators supporting them, fruit positions, though retaining their might, would become hidden from the world and difficult to attain.’

‘Just like the current state of the 【Heaven of Nonexistence】, with no one cultivating it, it has yet to truly reach perfection!’

Thinking of this, Lü Yang couldn’t help but look at the Innate True Person, his heart filled with indescribable shock. In the past, the Clear Snow True Lord had personally stated that empty certification was illusory and elusive.

But judging by this, the 【Heaven of Nonexistence】 possessed nearly all the characteristics of a fruit position!

How did he achieve this?

Was it solely by relying on the 【Long Flowing Water】? Or did he draw upon some of the great power introduced by karmic sins? If it were that simple to achieve empty certification, wouldn’t others have succeeded already?

Moreover, the Innate True Person’s empty certification was different. In his previous life, Lü Yang had heard the Clear Snow True Lord explain that even the empty certification of a first-grade true achievement was essentially about plundering from the outside, not creating from nothing. But the 【Heaven of Nonexistence】 achieved by the Innate True Person was truly created from nothing!

”Fellow Daoist, your reputation is well-deserved.”

Thinking of this, Lü Yang cupped his hands in admiration, then tentatively said, ”No wonder you are the embodiment of the millennium calamity.”

”.Oh?”

Upon hearing this, the previously indifferent Innate True Person immediately raised his eyebrows and said, ”Embodiment of the calamity... Is that what you believe?”

”This is what the True Lord in my sect said.”

”Oh, then it’s not surprising.”

At this point, the Innate True Person sneered coldly, ”A bunch of insects, selfish and of no benefit to heaven and earth. It’s normal for them to slander me like this.”

Upon hearing this, Lü Yang’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

Slander? Does that mean the embodiment of the calamity is false?

The next second, the Innate True Person looked at him and continued, ”Do you know what the millennium calamity is?”

”I have some guesses,” Lü Yang cupped his hands and said, ”I suspect the millennium calamity is the calamity of war between this realm and many other realms beyond the heavens.”

”.Ha!”

The Innate True Person nodded upon hearing this, ”To guess this, it seems the force behind you indeed has a True Lord overseeing it.”

Upon hearing this, Lü Yang immediately cursed inwardly.

No wonder he suddenly asked me; he was testing to see if there was truly a True Lord behind me?

”The talk of war is not far off.”

The Innate True Person continued:

”The so-called millennium calamity is indeed the calamity of war between realms, a joint effort by the True Lords of this realm to attack and break through other realms, a great battle to devour the fruit positions of other realms.”

”This was originally a good thing.”

”After all, by devouring the fruit positions of other realms, the fruit positions of our heaven and earth would continually rise, and the strength of the True Lords would also increase accordingly.”

”However... the True Lords are all selfish!”

At this point, the Innate True Person’s tone revealed some resentment: ”They discovered that the gains from warring with other realms didn’t necessarily need to be integrated into heaven and earth.”

”They didn’t integrate the resources obtained from warring with other realms into heaven and earth but chose to integrate them into their own cave heavens, allowing their cave heavens to never fall, thereby completely monopolizing the fruit positions. The result was that the gains from each war with other realms were all privately swallowed by these True Lords!”

”Clearly, integrating into heaven and earth would strengthen the fruit positions, and they would also become stronger.”

”Simply a bunch of insects!” As he spoke, the Innate True Person waved his sleeve, ”How can heaven and earth thrive with such a group of insects?”

”...” Lü Yang remained silent.

Although the Innate True Person spoke with righteous indignation and sounded reasonable at first glance, upon careful thought, Lü Yang actually agreed more with the actions of the True Lords.

The reason was simple.

A Golden Core True Lord has only a thousand years of lifespan. Although they have no mystery of the womb and can reincarnate continuously, belonging to a different kind of longevity, they are not eternal masters of the fruit position.

Therefore, for a True Lord, what significance does integrating the gains into the fruit position have? What if they become stronger? It doesn’t increase their lifespan. Even if they nurture the fruit position to be plump and healthy, if they die of old age later and fall from the fruit position, and someone else takes it, wouldn’t that be a huge loss?

A lifetime of cultivation, all for someone else’s benefit.

Who could accept that?

In comparison, integrating the gains from warring with other realms into their own cave heavens may be a loss for the fruit positions of heaven and earth, but for the True Lords, it’s a huge gain!

‘No wonder... I misunderstood before!’

‘I previously thought that second-grade true achievements involved integrating the fruit positions of other realms into their own fruit positions. Now it seems they should be integrated into their own cave heavens!’

‘That’s why the characteristic of the mid-Golden Core stage is the cave heaven not falling!’

Lü Yang suddenly understood and also had some guesses about the cultivation of the True Lords: for the True Lords, the fruit position might be important for maintaining their status.

But it’s not the foundation!

The foundation of the True Lords has always been their own cave heavens!

Thinking of this, Lü Yang looked at the Innate True Person again, ”Forgive my ignorance, this matter is a secret among the True Lords. I wonder what it has to do with you, Senior?”

”Because I am different from them.”

The Innate True Person spoke frankly, ”The True Lords privately swallowed the gains from warring with other realms, so heaven and earth naturally needed someone else to help, and I was that person.”

”The talk of the embodiment of the calamity is somewhat misleading, but I do have some support from heaven and earth, with merit upon me. That’s why the True Lords took action!”

”After all, the gains from the other realms have already been monopolized by them. How could they allow another mouth to share the spoils?”

”So they schemed and plotted, causing me to halt at the Foundation Establishment stage. This way, even if I participated in the wars with other realms, I could only take away resources suitable for Foundation Establishment.”

”As for the fruit positions of the other realms, they would still be exclusively enjoyed by them.”

Lü Yang immediately understood.

Damn, how insidious!

At this point, the Innate True Person suddenly clapped his hands, ”One of the True Lords is the most disgusting! It’s that damned Primordial Saint Sect...”

As he spoke, he glanced at Lü Yang, ”Fellow Daoist, you’re not from the Primordial Saint Sect, are you?”

”Of course not.”

Lü Yang responded without hesitation, decisively distancing himself, and said with a calm expression, ”I am a disciple of the Sword Pavilion! The current leader of the righteous path, how could I associate with demons?”

”I see...”

The Innate True Person nodded upon hearing this, then looked in other directions. He didn’t just ask Lü Yang this question; he asked everyone who entered.

The responses varied.

Among them, 【Ang Xiao】, like Lü Yang, chose to distance himself: ”Although I was once a member of the Demon Sect, I deeply felt the treachery of the Demon Sect and had long since defected.”

However, the Clear Snow True Lord crossed her arms and laughed loudly:

”That’s right! I am indeed a True Lord of the Saint Sect!”

”What do you intend to do?”

Retracting his gaze, the Innate True Person’s expression remained calm: ”...Whether you are or not, this is our first meeting, and perhaps our last.”

‘After all, the next time we meet, it will be when you break through the five calamities.’

‘At that time, we can discuss the Dao together.’

As his words fell, his figure quietly disappeared. Then, the clouds parted, and Lü Yang suddenly felt his previously ethereal body sink abruptly.

”Boom!”

The next second, Lü Yang lost consciousness.