Da Xuan Martial Saint Chapter 1483 - 712: Comprehending Creation (Part 2)

A portion of Chen Mu’s consciousness was dedicated to deciphering the Creation Dao, while another part drifted freely, maintaining an untethered state of liberty.

Divine Monarchs possess the ability to fragment their thoughts into thousands of threads, and upon ascending to the rank of Dao Venerable, they can further divide their mind into millions of distinct strands. While those in the divine realm still cling to certain 'mortal' characteristics, a Dao Venerable has entirely transcended the limits of mortal thought, reaching a pinnacle that is utterly beyond common comprehension.

Swish.

While focusing one part of his intellect on the refinement and distillation of Origin Power, Chen Mu cast his collective gaze across the sprawling universe. With a single flick of his intent, an avatar materialized silently within the cosmic void.

He did not travel toward the Yellow Flame Void or the Primordial Domain; instead, he manifested at the very periphery of the universe.

Boom!

Within Chen Mu's sight, a magnificent and sprawling world appeared, teeming with billions of living souls. However, at this precise moment, this world was drifting toward the universe's edge, finally succumbing to the corrosive aura of silent annihilation that seeped from the Great Beyond.

The foundations of that world began to fracture and fail.

"Ah!"

"A calamity of heaven and earth... in the end, escaping fate is an impossibility..."

In a heartbeat, billions of mortals were snuffed out by the world’s violent tremors. Though the more powerful cultivators did not perish instantly, they could only stare in paralyzed despair as their home crumbled into nothingness.

Ultimately, the entire world was obliterated, and the billions of lives within it were extinguished.

"The cycles of arrival and departure are merely facets of creation; among the infinite masses, those capable of escaping reincarnation are few and far between."

Chen Mu watched the destruction with quiet detachment, choosing not to intervene.

Having attained the status of Dao Venerable, he felt a flicker of pity for the myriad living things. Yet, the silence of the universe is governed by supreme laws—an unyielding origin will that represents destiny itself.

Coming as tathagata, departing as tathagata; all living beings, following their collapse and extinction, are refined into Creation Power. They merge back into the Creation Dao and are reclaimed by the Origin River, lingering there until the universe is reborn in the future, where they will manifest in a new guise.

In a certain sense, the life and death of all creatures is merely a transitional process, a shift from one state to another. Regardless of how they meet their end, it is only their physical forms that rot and dissolve into the fundamental Creation Power of the cosmos; they never truly vanish.

This is the essence of reincarnation.

Reincarnation is neither a post-death rebirth nor a journey to an underworld; it is simply the act of returning to the Origin River after death, only to flow back into the universe at a later time.

By then, however, that specific essence might no longer be a sentient being, but could instead become mountains, rivers, flora, or stone.

"Neither increasing nor diminishing, without beginning or end—this is the nature of creation."

Chen Mu’s eyes remained clear and unwavering.

At his current level of Cultivation, his heart does not waver at the death of living things. Even the extinction of billions is the same to him; when one is centered on the Origin Dao, the concepts of life and death are viewed merely as a transmutation of state.

Only the mental will can truly rise above it. Dao Venerables transcend these notions entirely, their will having fused with the Origin Dao to move beyond reincarnation, though those who reach such a height are exceptionally rare.

Chen Mu watched the world fade into silence at the universe’s brink before turning his attention back to the cosmic boundary.

The edge of the universe was in a state of constant collapse, shrinking inward as the void and creation itself disintegrated. These ruined fragments did not disappear but were converted into pure Void Force to be gathered by the Void Dao. Similarly, the destruction of a world resulted in its return to the purest Creation Power, which was then reabsorbed by the Origin River.

Chen Mu walked forward along the crumbling edge of the universe, witnessing the death of worlds while gaining a profound understanding of the mechanics of the Creation Dao and its most fundamental, cryptic laws.

...

The river of time flowed onward.

As the universe officially entered its final era of tribulation, the passage of time seemed to quicken. The shifts within each epoch now surpassed the changes seen in any previous 'great calamity'.

Chen Mu had relocated the Da Xuan World into the depths of the Nine Layers of Void at the universe's heart. Despite this protection, the influence of the end-times tribulation caused a gradual shift; most notably, the natural lifespans of the world's inhabitants began to contract.

Back when Chen Mu first began his rise, a mortal's life was often restricted to thirty or forty years. While partially due to the chaos of the era, even during times of peace, mortals rarely lived past fifty or sixty.

As he ascended through the divine realm and reached for the rank of Divine Monarch, the Da Xuan World underwent profound transformations. The Heaven and Earth’s Yuan Qi surged, reshaping the world and significantly enhancing the vitality and lifespans of its people.

In those days,

The mortals of Da Xuan typically required significant natural talent to even begin martial arts; otherwise, they would find themselves stuck at the Tendon Changing stage.

However, as the concentration of Yuan Qi thickened, the very bloodlines of the populace improved. The barrier of innate talent slowly faded, permitting nearly everyone to reach the Five Viscera Realm. Eventually, even the Marrow Cleansing Realm became easily accessible.

Even those mortals who did not practice martial arts could easily live to be a hundred and forty, with those of stronger constitutions reaching nearly three hundred years. The increase in longevity for cultivators was even more staggering.

Now,

With the arrival of the universe’s final tribulation, the influence of the Great Dao caused lifespans to dwindle, dropping from several centuries back down toward a single century.

This rise and fall was also in accordance with the Creation Dao—a perfect cycle.

Even as the universe drifted toward decay and lifespans shortened, the number of geniuses appearing grew exponentially. Within the Da Xuan World, beings of the divine realm began to emerge as frequently as stars in the sky.

Divine Monarchs appeared one after another; in the span of just a single epoch, ten Divine Monarchs were born!

Among them,

Chen Yao, the first to prove her position as a Divine Monarch, advanced with incredible speed. After reaching the peak of the Seventh Layer Heaven, she broke through into the Eighth Layer Heaven, becoming a Divine Monarch Dominator.

It appeared as though the Da Xuan World was experiencing a rapid ascent, but this prosperity was merely a final, fleeting radiance—a brief bloom before the end. Other worlds experienced the same phenomenon. Divine Monarchs appeared constantly, as if the Origin Dao had loosened its restrictions to allow beings to observe and grasp its truths freely. Yet, despite this, very few could truly master the Dao.

In the sixth epoch following Chen Mu’s breakthrough, another Dao Venerable ascended. The light of the Origin River illuminated the entire universe, shocking all living things. However, to the established Dao Venerables like Chen Mu, this was not entirely unexpected.

In these end times, with Divine Monarchs appearing so frequently, the birth of a new Dao Venerable was logical. Among the infinite masses, there would always be exceptional figures capable of crossing that final threshold to grasp the true meaning of the Dao.

During this time,

An inconspicuous milestone was reached: Chen Mu’s Creation Lineage Experience hit one hundred million points. For a being of his status, accumulating such experience was a simple matter.

He did not hesitate, immediately utilizing the system panel to expend the hundred million points. Once again, the panel laid bare the total mysteries of the Creation Dao before him, and he entered another deep meditative retreat.

As a Dao Venerable of the Void Lineage, he could perceive the Origin River and view the Creation Dao directly. However, he lacked the ability to deconstruct it into its most basic, understandable forms in the way the system panel could.

Of course,

By this stage, Chen Mu had already become a Dao Venerable. The assistance provided by the system was no longer as vital as it once was; it had transitioned into a purely supplementary tool for his cultivation.

Even without the system’s aid, Chen Mu was certain he could eventually master the entirety of the Creation Dao. It would simply have required more time and exertion. The system panel merely served to accelerate the process, allowing him to command the power of creation much sooner.