Chapter 260 - 104: Heaven’s Change

Chapter 260: Chapter 104: Heaven’s Change

"This story begins in ancient times."

Ge Changgeng said smugly, "Great Yu has forbidden its history. Forget ancient times, not many people even know about events that happened during the Great Yu era. It’s only because my lineage has such a long and storied tradition."

"Then I suppose I’ve come to the right person," Fang Rui chimed in at the perfect moment.

With such an excellent listener in Fang Rui, Ge Changgeng’s enthusiasm for storytelling surged. He stroked his beard and said, "In ancient times, it was a true golden age of Cultivation. There were Innate Divines who could move mountains and drain seas, Ancient Spirit Masters who could summon wind and rain, and Divine Beasts that roared through the Nine Heavens..."

As he spoke, a look of longing appeared in his eyes.

’So terrifying?!’

Fang Rui had anticipated that this world’s upper limits were high, but he never imagined they could be *this* high. ’I thought this was a world of chivalrous martial artists, then one of immortal cultivators. I never expected it to be a top-tier fantasy epic instead.’

"Ahem, this is all just my own speculation, pieced together from fragments passed down by my sect. You should take it with a grain of salt, young friend."

Ge Changgeng returned to the main topic. "In ancient times, the concept of ’Qi Fortune’ didn’t exist. There was only an endless supply of Spiritual Qi between heaven and earth. Until... the Heavenly Change."

’The Heavenly Change?!’

Fang Rui subconsciously sat up a little straighter, his expression turning serious. He had a feeling the main course was about to be served.

"Regarding the Heavenly Change, my sect’s records don’t have many details. All we know is that it was a terrifying cataclysm in ancient times!"

Ge Changgeng’s face was grave. "This cataclysm brought an end to the glorious golden age of the ancients!"

"After the Heavenly Change, the once-infinite Spiritual Qi in the world dropped to an extremely low level. The Spiritual Qi also gained a new characteristic: it became attracted to extreme negative emotions. And Cultivation could no longer grant long life..."

He sighed mournfully. "It is said that in ancient times, a Spirit Master above the Upper Grade could live for five hundred years. Now, a Spirit Master above the Upper Grade can only live for a hundred and fifty."

’A sudden drop in Spiritual Qi? Is it because the world is in decline, or was the Spiritual Qi suppressed and sealed away? And adding a characteristic to Spiritual Qi, making it attracted to extreme negative emotions... does that involve changing things at the level of a Rule? As for Cultivation no longer granting long life, that’s a bit easier to understand. Is it because of the drop in Spiritual Qi?’

Fang Rui’s eyes flickered, his mind in turmoil.

"During this Heavenly Change, a remarkable individual appeared out of nowhere... In the end, he ended the cataclysm and founded the Great Yu. He would later be known as Saint Emperor Yu..."

’This Saint Emperor Yu... why does he sound a bit like the protagonist of heaven and earth? Also...’

Fang Rui finally couldn’t hold back and asked, his voice cracking, "Daoist Ge, has the Great Yu truly existed ever since the Heavenly Change in ancient times, all the way to the present day?"

This was even more terrifying than he had imagined. This wasn’t just a dynasty that had lasted a thousand years; from ancient times to now, it must have been tens of thousands of years.

But how could there be a dynasty in this world that lasts for ten thousand years?!

"Yes, is there something wrong with that?" Ge Changgeng asked in return.

Faced with Ge Changgeng’s matter-of-fact expression, Fang Rui fell silent.

For Ge Changgeng, who had grown up in this environment, it was all perfectly normal.

It’s like if a person grew up in a world with two suns in the sky, they wouldn’t think anything of it. Instead, they would be terrified if one day one of the suns was missing.

By the same logic, only a Transmigrator like Fang Rui could feel the profound sense of discord in all this.

Fang Rui didn’t know how to explain it, so he could only shake his head and change the subject. "So, was the concept of ’Qi Fortune’ defined by Saint Emperor Yu?"

"Yes and no."

Ge Changgeng continued, "While Saint Emperor Yu was able to define Qi Fortune because he himself was a Great Power with Great Magical Power, a large part of the reason was also the Innate Supreme Treasure, the Map of Mountains and Rivers."

"Oh, and an Innate Supreme Treasure like the Map of Mountains and Rivers is now called a ’Saint Emperor’s Relic’ within the Great Yu."

"The Innate Supreme Treasure, the Map of Mountains and Rivers?"

Fang Rui subconsciously thought of the Primordial Chaos, but then immediately shook his head. ’It’s unlikely to have any connection to the Primordial Chaos. Innate Supreme Treasure just means a ’treasure born of the Innate world.’ It’s not exclusive to any single world. The name Map of Mountains and Rivers is probably just a coincidence, too.’

’But one thing is for certain: the upper limits of this world are extremely high.’

’Adding characteristics to Spiritual Qi, defining Qi Fortune... this is already operating on the level of a Rule. Such a Great Power must be far beyond even someone above Martial Arts First Grade, right?’

Fang Rui sighed internally.

"Haha, you’re intimidated, aren’t you, young friend? It’s not quite what you’re thinking."

Ge Changgeng seemed to have guessed Fang Rui’s thoughts and shook his head. "Even for a remarkable man like Saint Emperor Yu, who was like a bright moon in the sky and suppressed an entire era, and even with the Innate Supreme Treasure, the Map of Mountains and Rivers, he couldn’t just create a new form of energy out of thin air."

"Let me put it this way: the collective power of the masses is a force in itself. Saint Emperor Yu didn’t create Qi Fortune, it’s more like he... unleashed it."

"This was what an ancestor of my lineage, who was above the level of an Upper Grade Spirit Master, said a thousand years ago. I don’t fully understand the specifics myself, but that’s the general idea."

"On the contrary, in that ancestor’s view, the truly terrifying thing was the new characteristic that Spiritual Qi gained after the Heavenly Change."

As he mentioned this, his expression grew much more solemn.

’Now that you mention it, I think I understand a little better. It seems that during the ancient Heavenly Change, Saint Emperor Yu won by leveraging his home-field advantage, but it was a pyrrhic victory?’

Fang Rui mused to himself, then asked, "Daoist Ge, did Saint Emperor Yu define Qi Fortune to secure an eternal foundation for the Great Yu? And what are the specific constraints of this ’dog leash’ you mentioned?"

"That’s not the case."

But Ge Changgeng shook his head. "How could a great hero like Saint Emperor Yu be so narrow-minded?"

"It’s said that when Saint Emperor Yu first defined Qi Fortune, it was seemingly to replace Spiritual Qi. Only later did it gradually evolve into the dog leash clasped around the necks of the Imperial Spirit Masters."