Chapter 275 The Perfect Closed Loop of the Immortal Cultivation Era

Kyoto Alliance, 800 meters underground at the Supreme Academy of Sciences, top-secret conference room.

There are no windows here.

The walls were all cast from thick lead-zinc alloy, cutting off even the slightest spiritual energy fluctuations and external signals. In the very center of the room, a huge holographic Earth floated in mid-air, slowly rotating.

On the surface of that dark blue planet, countless red dots have now appeared.

Among them, Mount Emei, Mount Tai, the Taklamakan Desert, and the East China Sea are so red they are almost purple, like four burning hearts embedded in the earth's crust.

The people in the conference room were no longer just scholars.

Professor Wang Mingyuan, the chief historian of the Supreme Academy of Sciences, an expert in ancient writing, a geological structure expert, an energy modeler... In addition, there are the core think tanks of the major clans in the Green Zone, senior generals of the military's General Staff Headquarters, and even the Hunter's Guild sent people.

They are not here today to fight for the distribution of benefits.

They came to piece together a picture.

A picture that could reshape the entire worldview.

"Gentlemen."

Professor Wang Mingyuan stood in front of the control panel, his eyes sunken and bloodshot from working for two whole days and nights.

"In the past 48 hours, we have successively recovered the first batch of high-value samples from the periphery of the four main heritage sites, as well as from various small and medium-sized heritage sites around the world."

As he finished speaking, the suspended Earth projection quickly dimmed, and in its place appeared fragmented projections of mural rubbings, broken stele inscriptions, weapon fragments, skeletal images, and energy models.

They were originally unrelated.

But when all of these things are suspended in this conference room at the same time, it inexplicably gives people a sense of oppression that makes it hard to breathe.

"At first, we also thought that these were just scattered relics left behind in different places, in different eras, and under different systems."

Wang Mingyuan's voice was somewhat hoarse.

"It wasn't until we actually put these things together that we realized they weren't isolated entities at all."

He raised his hand and made a gesture.

The first thing to light up was the huge mural on the back of the black stone sword stele at the Sword Tomb of Mount Emei.

On the mural, thousands of sword cultivators soared into the sky on their swords, broken swords raining down, but at the edge of the sky, a huge, pitch-black rift opened. Beyond the rift were blurry, distorted, and indescribable shadows.

Immediately afterwards, the light screen on the other side lit up.

That was a relief on a broken stone pillar outside the Taklamakan War God Temple. The relief was rough and ancient, depicting a group of cultivators, bare-handed, charging towards the end of the sky, stepping over mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Above their heads, there was also a huge rift tearing through the sky.

Then, there are the remaining patterns on a corner of the outer wall of the East Sea Dragon Palace, buried by sea grime.

What's carved there isn't a person, but real dragons coiling around the shattered sea and sky, roaring with their heads raised. The direction of their roars is also a broken sky.

Finally, on the edge of the ruins of the South Heavenly Gate of Mount Tai, there is an inconspicuous broken brick with extremely fine ancient seal script patterns remaining. The most complete part of it is a character that has been repeatedly engraved.

[Calamity].

Wang Mingyuan did not speak immediately.

He left these four images, from different sites, different systems, and different regions, to hang quietly before everyone's eyes.

The meeting room grew increasingly quiet.

It was so quiet that only the low hum of the projector could be heard.

"If there is only one site that mentions the collapse of the sky and a cataclysm, then it can be considered a coincidence."

"If only the Shushan Sword Tomb has records of the 'Heavenly Demon Calamity,' then it can be said to be Shushan's own war narrative."

"But the problem now is..."

Wang Mingyuan slowly raised his head, his gaze sweeping across the entire room.

"In the ruins of four completely different levels, cultivation systems, and even different races and civilizations—Shushan, the Temple of the War God, the Dragon Palace, and the Southern Heavenly Gate—highly similar signs of calamity have appeared."

"This shows that they are not fragments of mythology scattered throughout the long river of history, unrelated to each other."

"They once existed in the same era."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the several powerful strategists around the conference table changed simultaneously.

An elderly man with gray hair spoke in a deep voice:

"Professor Wang, your inference is very bold. But we need stronger evidence."

"have."

Wang Mingyuan seemed to have been waiting for these words.

He raised his hand and brought up another set of projections.

This time, it's not a mural, but an inscription.

A rubbing of a restored stele from a Wuyishan alchemy site is slowly unfolded. Most of the ancient seal script on the stele is missing; only a dozen or so characters are fully legible.

The heavens shatter, dragons weep, immortals fall; we, the rogue cultivators, must also face death.

At the same time, another fragment of a stone carving from the outer perimeter of the ancient sword tomb below the snow line in western Sichuan lit up on the other side.

Only one fragmented sentence remained on it:

[...By order of the Heavenly Court, to aid the East Sea...]

Finally, someone in the meeting room couldn't sit still any longer.

"By order of the Heavenly Court? To aid the East Sea?"

A military general suddenly stood up, his brows furrowed tightly.

"You mean that the Heavenly Court, mortal sword cultivators, and the East Sea Dragon Clan not only existed simultaneously in that era, but were also under the same system?"

"It's not necessarily a matter of superiors and subordinates."

A white-haired paleographer slowly began to speak.

"But at least it shows that they are not independent entities that have no connection with each other, as depicted in myths and legends."

"They knew of each other's existence, and even... helped each other out."

He raised his hand and pointed to the few broken steles and murals.

"Sword cultivators are fighting, body cultivators are fighting, dragons are fighting, even rogue cultivators are fighting."

"This is not a catastrophe for a particular sect, nor is it the destruction of a particular sea area."

"This is a great war that will sweep through the entire cultivation civilization system."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Mingyuan pulled out another set of energy models.

That's an image showing the overlapping energy bands detected by satellite when the four great historical sites came to light.

The soaring sword energy of Emei, the desolate battle intent of the War God Hall, the dragon might of the deep sea of ​​the Dragon Palace, and the remnants of the Heavenly Steps of the Southern Heavenly Gate—four completely different forces, after the models intersected, surprisingly exhibited an extremely strange resonance.

"This set of data is what initially made me feel something was wrong."

Wang Mingyuan stared at the constantly overlapping energy curves, his voice low and deep.

"Although these relics have different systems, their core underlying rules do not conflict. In fact, it can be said that they originally existed in the same environment."

"In other words—"

He paused.

Then, he said, word by word:

"In the extremely distant past, a complete and vast era of cultivation truly existed on this planet."

"In that era, there was a Heavenly Court, a Dragon Palace, sects in the human world, as well as holy lands for body cultivation and a system of independent cultivators."

"They are not isolated myths, but rather a whole civilization existing in the same era, in the same world, and even under the same order."

No one speaks.

Because everyone knows what this conclusion, if true, would mean.

This means that what they are now frantically fighting over is no longer just the remnants of treasures in some ruins.

Rather, it is the remains and last words of a civilization that collapsed and were buried underground for millions of years.

"So here's the question."

From the Hunter's Guild, a high-ranking member with a face full of scars spoke slowly, his voice rough and direct.

"Who wiped out such a vast era?"

These words were like a knife, stabbing right into the most vulnerable spot.

The meeting room fell silent again.

Yes.

If this "closed loop of the cultivation era" is truly established, then Mount Shu, the Dragon Palace, the War God Hall, and the Heavenly Court are already far more powerful than they currently understand.

Yet, even such a civilization was ultimately destroyed.

What on earth could have damaged them all like this?

Wang Mingyuan did not answer immediately.

He simply magnified the most crucial ancient inscription on the back of the Emei Sword Stele, bit by bit, in mid-air.

[A celestial calamity has descended; we sword cultivators must fight to the death to repel it.]

Next is the inscription on the broken stele in Wuyishan, which reads "Sky Crack".

Then, there is the character "劫" (calamity) on the broken brick of the South Heavenly Gate.

Finally, there are the dragon patterns roaring towards the sky on the outer walls of the Dragon Palace.

When viewed individually, these things are merely fragmented symbols of catastrophe.

But when they were placed together, everyone felt a chill creep up their spines.

"We cannot yet determine what that great calamity was."

Wang Mingyuan slowly began to speak.

"But at least one thing is certain."

"That was not an internal strife, not a sect war, not a racial feud, and not the collapse of the natural world."

"It was a disaster from the outside, a disaster that threatened the Heavenly Court, the sects of the human world, and the Dragon Clan all at the same time."

No one objected.

Because there is already enough evidence.

Four major historical sites and thirty-seven small and medium-sized sites, including broken steles, murals, inscriptions, skeletons, weapons, and energy waveforms... everything points in the same direction.

The ancient era of cultivation did not simply disappear naturally.

It died in battle.

Beside the conference table, a strategist from a powerful family slowly exhaled, his face extremely grim.

"So, we're not doing 'archaeology' right now."

"We are turning over the ruins of an apocalyptic war."

No one laughed.

No one thought this was alarmist.

Even the dilapidated South Heavenly Gate of Mount Tai, reduced to only half its original size, could still suppress the mortal Golden Core cultivators, preventing them from raising their heads. No one dared to imagine just how powerful those beings from the complete era truly were.

But the more this is the case, the more terrifying that old calamity seems.

"That's not even the most unsettling part."

Wang Mingyuan stared at everyone, his eyes filled with barely suppressed exhaustion and fervor.

"What's most unsettling is—why did these relics all emerge at the same time?"

"Why not a hundred years ago, not a thousand years ago, but now?"

The moment this question was raised, the atmosphere in the entire conference room suddenly became somber.

No one answered.

Because in everyone's mind, a similar guess has already emerged.

It's just that no one is willing to be the first to say it.

After a long pause, the oldest historian slowly raised his head, his voice so soft it was almost ethereal.

"Perhaps...it wasn't their idea."

"It simply couldn't be buried."

After those words were spoken, even the sound of breathing ceased in the conference room.

It can't be buried anymore.

These four words, no more shocking than any grand pronouncements, simultaneously sent chills down everyone's spines.

If what lies buried on this planet is truly a complete era of cultivation.

If those people really did die fighting to resist the "heavenly calamity".

If all of this, after being dormant for millions of years, were to resurface today in such an almost out-of-control manner...

That means that something is awakening from its silence.

At least, the force that once held all this under control is no longer as stable as it used to be.

"We're still missing one last piece of evidence that can definitively seal the whole story."

Wang Mingyuan slowly straightened up, his voice low and hoarse.

"But even before that piece of evidence appeared, this 'Ancient Immortal Cultivation Era Hypothesis' was already sufficiently valid."

"The Heavenly Court, the Dragon Palace, Mount Shu, and the Temple of the God of War are not fragments of mythology."

They belong to the same era.

"And this era died from a catastrophe that came from outer space."

Within two hours after the meeting ended.

The "Hypothesis of the Ancient Immortal Cultivation Era," compiled jointly by the Supreme Academy of Sciences and various think tanks, spread like wildfire across the internet at an alarming speed.

No one can truly shut this news down.

No one was willing to actually seal it off.

Because all factions understand that once this thing is released, it will bring more than just panic.

There is a force even more powerful than panic—

To reach a consensus.

[Emei Mountain, Dragon Palace, and Heavenly Court belong to the same era?! Experts have pieced together a panoramic view of the ancient cultivation era for the first time!]

[Not a myth, but history! Four ancient ruins all point to the same cataclysmic event!]

What we unearthed wasn't treasure, but rather the remnants of an old civilization?

The news spread like wildfire.

Those who were originally only thinking about finding bargains, getting rich, changing their cultivation techniques, and turning their lives around began to realize for the first time that the broken swords, fragments, broken armor, and ancient jade that they were fighting for were not just opportunities.

They are also the last relics left to future generations by a certain old era.

It could even be a warning.

In an instant, the mood of the entire world changed.

Greed still exists.

The madness continues.

But beneath that fervor, an indescribable chill had begun to seep out.

Above the nine heavens lies Kunlun.

Gu Qing sat deep within the main hall, quietly watching the system panel experience another surge in faith points.

This time, it's not just the quantity that has increased.

And quality.

It's something far more profound than mere awe, fervor, or pilgrimage.

It is the awe, fear, and will to survive that civilization instinctively feels when faced with fragments of truth.

He watched the constantly fluctuating numbers quietly, his gaze calmer than ever before.

The beings have already begun to fill in the background themselves.

Mount Shu, the Dragon Palace, the Temple of the God of War, the Southern Heavenly Gate... These fragments he buried are being pieced together bit by bit by this group of people who are best at piecing together clues from the smallest details, into the shape he wants.

Moreover, the puzzle was pieced together more completely than he had expected.

"The closed loop has been established."

Gu Qing raised his eyes and looked at the boundless sea of ​​clouds outside the main hall.

"Next, it's time to show them the deeper level."

His voice was very soft, so soft that it seemed as if he were just saying it casually.

But the next instant, the starry sky projection floating in front of him suddenly unfolded silently.

In the pitch-black universe, stars rise and fall.

In a corner of that boundless deep space, a shadow, extremely blurry yet instinctively unsettling, lies silently across the edge of the starry sea.

Gu Qing looked at the shadow and gently tapped it with her fingertip.

"The story is complete enough."

"Now, it's time to add a really decent footnote to it."