Chapter 499
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Chapter 499: Tao Achieving Gone
Zhong State, Danxia Sect
"*Puff*"
While meditating, Wu Kuiling suddenly spat out blood, looking shocked at himself. He was completely dumbfounded.
He was the great-grandson of Wu Zilin, a former leader of the Danxia Sect who had achieved Tao Achieving. Wu Zilin had even kept him out of important battles to protect his life. After a major battle, Wu Kuiling went into seclusion and quietly surpassed the Tao Achieving level five years ago.
Instead of announcing his progress, Wu Kuiling continued to cultivate in secret, hoping to make a grand entrance later to amaze everyone. But today, he realized that his cultivation level had dropped from Tao Achieving to Void Achieving.
He had never heard of such a thing before. A cultivation level drop usually happened when someone just broke through Tao Achieving and got seriously injured while the level was unstable. But he wasn’t injured.
Wu Kuiling took a special medicine to heal his injuries. He wanted to go back to the Tao Achieving Realm but couldn’t find the way.
"Tao Achieving doesn’t exist anymore."
Wu Kuiling was very scared when he realized this.
Meanwhile, in the cultivation world, other powerful masters who were trying to reach the peak of Void Achieving also faced the same problem. The door to Tao Achieving had disappeared for them too.
········
"Tao Achieving is gone."
Cao Ying found Lin Jiang in Qing State and the first thing she said was that Tao Achieving was gone.
"When did this happen?"
"Just now."
"The time since Disaster Crossing Period ended is about sixty years, time flies fast."
Lin Jiang calculated the time and realized it had been sixty years since they obtained the Jiujie Divine Silkworm, which was faster than he expected. He thought it would take at least a hundred years to achieve Tao.
"This news cannot be kept secret. Many cultivators in the cultivation world are breaking through to Void Achieving. They must have discovered it. In one or two years at most, once they communicate, problems will arise. Should we announce the news?"
"We can’t announce it. Once the news is out, the entire cultivation world will be in chaos. Besides, if we make preparations in advance, we will become targets when the time comes. You are not the only one who has achieved Tao, and we won’t be able to control the situation."
Lin Jiang instinctively refused. Becoming an immortal was the goal of all cultivators and the temptation that drove them forward. If the concept of becoming an immortal no longer existed, some cultivators might go crazy, and even some antisocial elements might appear.
They knew the news ahead of time and made preparations in advance. Once this matter became known, they would definitely be targeted. If Cao Ying’s realm fell, they would not be able to control the situation, and the outcome could be tragic.
"Okay, let’s pretend we don’t know."
"Apart from the realm falling, do you have any other issues, like a decrease in lifespan or anything?"
"No, everything is fine, everything is still the same, except for the realm falling. My strength has reached the pinnacle of Void Achieving."
"That’s good, let’s go back to Yun State. We will send reliable people to guard Qing State."
Lin Jiang said that they had been in Qing State for decades. Cao Ying brought many Formation Masters together, working hard to break through. They managed to refine some tiny spatial fragments, but couldn’t handle anything larger. If they had a group of Tao Achieving level Formation Masters, they might have succeeded, but now they have no opportunity left.
The two returned to Yun State, pretending to be unaware of the situation, but secretly speeding up their efforts. Lin Jiang went to the Lin family, while Cao Ying used the Yunzhong City channel to secretly accumulate some treasures. Since they were going into hibernation, they needed some treasures on them.
"Five Element Pill, Green Rock Pill, Elderly Longevity Pill, Second Life Pill, Seven Treasures Pill, Eight Treasures Transformation Pill. Theoretically, these six pills can extend life by 1,600 years. If you take one every three years, it will actually extend your life by around 1,200 to 1,300 years."
Lin Jiang placed six bottles of pills in front of Lin Ying. These pills were all for longevity, and they were the best choice when combined together.
"Brother, I already said I don’t want them."
"Lin Ying, I’m not joking. Swallow them."
"I’m serious too. I don’t want to go into hibernation. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life like this. Can’t I guard the Lin family? Why do you have to force me?"
"I’m not forcing you to hibernate. Even if you don’t hibernate, you still need to take them. You want to guard the Lin family, right? But if you have no lifespan left, how can you protect them?"
"Others will naturally protect it when the time comes."
"Let me tell you, there will be no more cultivation in the future."
"Here we go again, right?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Ying fell silent for a moment and then said.
"Yes, the cultivation world no longer has Tao Achieving, Cao Ying has become Void Achieving."
"When did this happen?"
"A couple of days ago."
"I’ll eat."
Upon hearing this, Lin Ying quietly put away the elixir.
"Little nightingale, I don’t know how to comfort you, but now I only have you as family. If there’s a chance, I would give my life for you. If you leave, I will truly be all alone."
Lin Jiang sighed, feeling worried about Lin Ying’s mindset. He didn’t know how to face life anymore, truly scared of being lonely in this world.
"You can marry Cao Ying, she can accompany you for a long time."
"It’s different, you’re my sister. We are siblings sharing the same parents, blood is thicker than water."
"Brother, I understand."
"Sigh"
Lin Jiang let out a long sigh, both adults now, all reasons have been said, he didn’t know what to do.
······
Tao Achieving which was thought to be non-existent, was discovered by the cultivators. The peak practitioners of various sects’ Void Achieving practices were all facing issues. They couldn’t avoid communicating, and once they did, nothing could be kept secret.
So Wu Kuiling and his Void Achieving friends arrived at Yun State to meet Tao Achieving master Cao Ying at Zhonghang Sect.
"Ancestor Cao, you…"
When they saw Cao Ying, they immediately sensed something was wrong because they realized that Cao Ying was also just a peak Void Achieving.
"Dear taoist friends, have you also encountered problems in your cultivation?"
Cao Ying pretended to be surprised and asked the group.
"Yes, Ancestor Cao, to be honest with you, a few years ago I had achieved Tao Achieving and was planning to solidify my cultivation before progressing further, but unexpectedly my level suddenly dropped."
Wu Kuiling said, and the other Void Achieving friends looked at him in surprise, realizing that he had hidden this fact from them all along, and they had thought Wu Kuiling was still in the process of breaking through.
"I am similar to Taoist Friend Wu, a few days ago my cultivation suddenly dropped, and I didn’t know why nor dare to speak out, only to find out that everyone was facing the same issue."
"Ancestor Cao, you didn’t know about this at all?"
"Of course I didn’t know. If I did, I would have prepared earlier to avoid the current outcome."
"That’s true. Did Ancestor Cao ever search for the reasons?"
"No clues found."
Cao Ying said. This is the right response. If Cao Ying gave a simple explanation, that would be strange.
"Ancestor Cao, do you know if the demon clan also has this issue? If the demon clan has no Demon Emperor, it’s fortunate for our human cultivators. If the demon clan has not fallen in power, the day of our human extinction is approaching."
Void Achieving asked. The demon clan already has several Demon Emperors. If their Demon Emperors have not fallen, it means they can still advance. For the humans who cannot advance to Tao Achieving, it’s a doomsday scenario.
"I don’t know about this, but I have sent people to investigate in the Wilderness. Elders can also send their elite disciples to investigate. We should share information and unite."
"Ancestor Cao is right. This matter is significant. We must find the cause of this Tao Achieving Realm. Is it accidental or a conspiracy? This matter is crucial to the foundation of cultivators and must not be taken lightly."
Someone spoke up to emphasize the importance of reminding everyone about this matter.
This is nonsense, stepping into Tao Achieving is their top priority, once someone reaches Tao Achieving, they become the ancestor of all sects, who would let them go easily?
"Also, this matter must be kept secret, until the results are found, it must not be leaked, otherwise the cultivation world will be in chaos."
"Ancestor Cao, rest assured, we are also respected figures in our sects, not so foolish."
"Alright, many thanks to all of you."
Cao Ying bowed to everyone, then they talked for several days without reaching a conclusion, so everyone dispersed temporarily.
"Do they suspect anything?"
After everyone left, Lin Jiang finally appeared and asked Cao Ying.
"No, they’ve been fooled for now, but once Void Achieving is no longer hidden, they won’t be fooled anymore."
"Void Achieving, sigh, who knows when it won’t be hidden anymore."
Lin Jiang shook his head, this situation didn’t provide any experience for him to understand what Void Achieving was all about.
"The lower our cultivation, the more disadvantageous it is for our plan. We need to prepare early."
"Yes, Demon Emperor Feng Jiu disappeared from the Disaster Crossing Period after Tao Achieving in a hundred years. The time from Disaster Crossing Period to Tao Achieving disappearing is sixty years. If there’s a pattern to this, then Void Achieving disappearing would take at most sixty years. In these sixty years, we must be prepared."
"If we put a Void Achieving to sleep now, and later it disappears, will its cultivation still remain?"
"I don’t know, it hasn’t been tried before. But I don’t recommend doing it."
"Why? If this succeeds, he will be the only Void Achieving…"
"True, let’s not try it then. If one dies, all will die together, that’s fair."
"Agreed, let’s not discuss it further, I will go prepare."
Lin Jiang nodded, since the timeline has advanced, he needed to speed up his preparations to avoid being caught off guard.