Chapter 501

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Chapter 501: The Crumbling World of Cultivation

Zhong State, a certain place

"Where is the Dao, why can’t I see it? I have been cultivating for one thousand eight hundred years, on the brink of achieving Tao, with hopes of becoming immortal, why treat me like this?"

A former cultivator who had once reached the Void Achieving stage, on this day, cried out in despair. He had cultivated diligently for one thousand eight hundred years, even managing to survive through the great battle between two clans. But overnight, he fell from his cultivation level, unable to accept it.

"Since the Dao is no longer present, what are we cultivators cultivating for immortality for? In the past, we still held hopes of becoming immortal. I will spare you for now. But now that the Dao is gone, I no longer need the Dao in my heart, let me die."

Another cultivator looked coldly at his former enemy. In the past, he would have tolerated their past grievances out of consideration for the Dao path. But now that the Dao no longer exists, he no longer cares about his Dao heart. After speaking, he raised his sword and attacked his old enemy.

"Old thief, in the past, you were at the Void Achieving stage while I was only at the Soul Changing stage. You looked down on me, scolding me as if scolding a child. Today, since you have fallen in cultivation level, it’s a chance given by the heavens for me to seek revenge. Face your destiny."

A Soul Changing cultivator raised his sword towards the fallen Void Achieving cultivator – no, he was no longer at the Void Achieving stage, now they are both at the Soul Changing stage. The grievances he once endured could now be vented.

"I am young, already at the peak of the Soul Changing stage. Now that the Dao is gone and Void Achieving is no more, how can I sit idly by and wait for death? The righteous path is blocked, so I will turn to the evil path. I desire immortality, no one can stop me."

There was a determined cultivator who, since he couldn’t achieve immortality the right way, decided to go down the evil path instead, all for the purpose of becoming an immortal.

"It’s all gone, everything is gone, let it all be destroyed."

Even worse, some cultivators had their minds shattered, fell into demonic ways, developed antisocial personalities, and started killing people on sight.

·······

Bing State, Wangxian Sect

Lin Jiang’s cultivation realm dropped back to the Soul Changing Period. He immediately rushed to the Wangxian Sect, which was in chaos due to receiving news from the outside world.

Besides Lin Jiang, the only Void Achiever in the Wangxian Sect was Li Qing. But this event affected all physical cultivators. The cultivation realm was the foundation of cultivators’ progress, but now that half of it was gone, everyone was lost and questioning from their hearts, "Is cultivating immortality still worth it?"

"Leader"

"Leader"

When Lin Jiang returned, everyone in the upper levels started asking questions about the truth of the matter.

"Everyone, please be quiet and take turns."

"Master, is it true that all Void Achieving cultivators in the outside world have dropped to Soul Changing realm?"

"Yes."

"Oh, how could this happen?"

"Master, what is happening and why is it like this?"

Even though many already knew, hearing Lin Jiang confirm it made everyone anxious and restless.

Quiet down. This is true. So what? Throughout history, no one has heard of anyone reaching Immortal status. The highest cultivation level in the world has only been Tao Achieving. Now that Tao Achieving and Void Achieving are gone, Soul Changing still remains.

So, just because there’s no more Void Achieving, are you all going to stop living? Without Void Achieving, neither we nor others can be bullied.

Everyone, think carefully. If your realm falls and you live fewer years, what other losses are there? It’s still the same for ancestors and getting married.

Lin Jiang spoke to the crowd, trying to calm them down. If the Great Way is gone, the impact on them is minimal. They are all practitioners of Soul Changing, their realm hasn’t fallen, and they still have the treatment they deserve, that’s all.

Lin Jiang’s twisted reasoning does have some merit, coupled with his former prestige, the higher-ups gradually calmed down.

Lin Jiang instructed them to stabilize the Wangxian Sect. On one hand, to prevent his disciples from causing chaos, on the other hand, to prevent attacks from other sects. Lin Jiang has already informed them that whether it’s internal turmoil or external attacks, once detected, they must suppress it forcefully, ensuring that the Wangxian Sect safely passes through this crisis.

"Feel free to ask any questions."

Lin Jiang glanced at Li Qing, who had never left, and said.

"Master, did you already know about the realm falling?"

"Yes, Cao Ying fell from Tao Achieving to Void Achieving decades ago."

"Will this realm continue to fall?"

"From what can be seen, yes."

"So, does that mean that in the future, the cultivation world will have no cultivator left?"

Li Qing suddenly became terrified. Falling from Void Achieving to Soul Changing had already caused many people’s dao hearts to collapse. What should be done if one had no cultivation at all?

"I don’t know. I’m not a god. I don’t know what will happen in the future."

"Master, a few years ago, you took away a group of disciples…"

"I have other uses for them. Do you have any objections?"

"Disciple dare not."

"Go and be busy."

Lin Jiang waved his hand, letting Li Qing go. In Lin Jiang’s plan, Li Qing was not on the list of those to be put into deep sleep. Even if she was given a chance in the end, it would be later.

The Wangxian Sect quickly stabilized. As long as the leaders stayed in control, a group could easily stabilize in such a situation, which is called the backbone.

But not every sect could stabilize quickly. Chaos in the cultivation world continued, mainly due to vendettas. Many cultivators who had reached a high level of cultivation were used to looking down on those of lower levels. In the past, they could rely on their high level of cultivation to avoid trouble, but now that their cultivation levels had dropped, it gave others an opportunity.

Heaven is indeed fair.

Another issue was the collapse of Dao hearts. Many ascetic practitioners who had been striving for hundreds or thousands of years for immortality now found themselves without hope, leading to a significant number of Dao heart collapses.

Some people who experienced Dao heart collapse gave up on themselves, posing no threat to society. However, others turned anti-social, beginning to harm others and committing violent acts.

Lin Jiang was not a savior; he didn’t intervene much. He simply ensured that the Wangxian Sect took care of itself.

After all the noise and chaos for over half a year, the turmoil gradually subsided. Once all the resentment was vented, people needed to calm down. Since it was already destined that they could not return to the Void Achieving Period, many began to accept this reality.

········

"Little Ying, how did your Zhonghang Sect fare this time?"

"For now, things are okay with me around, so no troubles have arisen."

"That’s good then."

Lin Jiang nodded, recognizing Cao Ying’s leadership in both Zhonghang Sect and Wangxian Sect, her reputation was sufficient.

"The situation with Five Elements Sect is not good, Ancestor Shi Yuntang has health issues, and Lin Ying had to come with a group to calm them down."

"Don’t worry, I will go to the Five Elements Sect later and offer a dormant spot to Shi Yuntang, letting him take charge."

Lin Jiang explained, as long as Shi Yuntang can provide benefits to the disciples of the Five Elements Sect, he can quickly stabilize them.

"I wonder when the next decline in cultivation level will happen."

"It might come sooner, maybe in thirty or forty years, so be prepared, the impact of the next decline will be even greater."

Lin Jiang continued, Void Achieving is rare, with only a few individuals achieving it. After over two hundred years of recovery in the cultivation world, there are only around a hundred people at that level. On the other hand, with Soul Changing, there are at least several hundred people, and if they drop to the Nascent Soul level, the impact is greater. If they drop to the golden core level, it’s even more terrifying.

"It will definitely get bigger. Many people’s hearts are breaking this time. Do you think we should announce the news early?"

"Is there any point in announcing it now? Actually, most people have already guessed."

Lin Jiang said that the cultivation world is not lacking clever people. With Tao Achieving and Void Achieving gone, some people will surely think that there will be a continued decline in realms.

"I mean the Sleeping Secret Technique."

"No, resources are limited, and we don’t have enough ourselves."

Lin Jiang directly refused, stating that the Sleeping Secret Technique requires special materials like Soul Nourishing Jade, which are limited. Once they announce the secret technique, these items will definitely be fought over by various sects, causing their prices to skyrocket.

Seeing Lin Jiang so resolute, Cao Ying didn’t know what else to say. Lin Jiang quickly went to the Lin family, a stable family force that easily quelled any possible disturbances.

After visiting the Lin family, Lin Jiang went to see Shi Yuntang, who was already at his limit and barely holding on. Shi Yuntang was very excited to see Lin Jiang back and Lin Jiang revealed some of the truth to him.

"Achieving Tao with one’s body, to repair the natural order, and this is the result?"

After listening to Lin Jiang, Shi Yuntang felt even more excited. How could he have known that this would be the outcome?

"Ancestor Shi, this is destined to happen. I can’t stop it, I don’t have the power."

"I don’t blame you. At this point, what’s important is to resolve the current chaos."

"Yes, that’s why I discussed this with Ancestor Shi. Will the Five Elements Sect be willing to join my plan?"

"Of course, considering the current trend in the cultivation world, sooner or later there won’t be any cultivators left. The Five Elements Sect will also collapse. If we can preserve a legacy for the sect, I would be very happy."

"Then please prepare the resources, Ancestor Shi, and get the disciples ready. The next group of dormant individuals will be in another twenty years."

"Alright, I will have Zhang Chengzu take charge of this matter. Zhang Chengzu is your master Zhang Wanjing’s great-grandson. Please take good care of him when the time comes."

Shi Yuntang immediately suggested a name that Lin Jiang couldn’t refuse. The connection between Lin Jiang and the Five Elements Sect originated from Zhang Wanjing. By having someone from the Zhang family handle this matter, Lin Jiang wouldn’t be able to refuse based on this bond.

Lin Jiang chuckled upon hearing the name. He understood Shi Yuntang’s intentions, but didn’t expose them, and simply agreed.

The plan of deep sleep is still being prepared. The decline in realm in the cultivation world continues to have an impact. Without cultivators above Void Achieving, the impact on the cultivation world is huge. Besides breaking the balance between powers, it also affects various aspects, such as powerful magical treasures and elixirs facing challenges in being made.

Just like Gu Cheng, a top Alchemist, he has the skills but his cultivation level and spiritual energy output are not enough to make high-level elixirs. As for Lin Jiang’s task of getting people to refine space fragments in Qing State, it has already been stopped.

Thirty years later, another realm decline incident occurred, causing turmoil in the cultivation world.