Stop beating around the bush and take charge personally

"When did the apocalypse begin? Probably around fifty years ago. I wasn’t born yet, only heard stories from my grandfather... Sadly, he passed away when I was nine..."

"Sorry, I got sidetracked. My grandfather told me that back then, technological civilization and cultivation civilization coexisted. A single space engine could pluck stars from the sky, and so-called immortals could reach out and grasp the moon!"

"In that era, people lived in peace and prosperity. Even the poorest households received fifty thousand star coins every month. Super-intelligent systems managed labor, freeing people from toil. The cultivation civilization prioritized human potential, unleashing imagination and letting everyone chase their dreams. It was a truly golden age. My grandfather still longed for it on his deathbed..."

"But then, for reasons unknown, the cultivation civilization suddenly collapsed. Almost all cultivators underwent grotesque mutations—their bodies dissolving into bloody rain. The downpour corroded energy supply systems, triggering catastrophic explosions. Waves of destruction swept across the land, and death was everywhere!"

"And that’s when these monsters appeared. They were once living beings—humans, beasts, livestock, even insects..."

"Any flesh-and-blood creature that came into contact with the virus, born from the fusion of the cultivators’ bloody rain and the unleashed energy waves, would mutate into a monster!"

"Survivors named the virus 'Calamity,' and the monsters became known as 'Calamity Fiends.'"

"The world crumbled. Technological weapons failed. Cultivators melted away, leaving only ordinary people powerless against the fiends."

"In despair, many chose to infect themselves willingly with the Calamity virus, preferring a swift end over being torn apart by the fiends before succumbing to infection..."

"Yet, in that darkest hour, a miracle emerged. The early-stage Calamity virus wasn’t 100% lethal. One or two in ten thousand survived—and those who did underwent a radical transformation. A unique space formed in their minds, granting them extraordinary abilities!"

"These individuals were called 'Awakened.' It was only through their emergence that humanity gained the strength to resist, preventing rapid extinction. Under the leadership of the Awakened Coalition, survival zones were established..."

"But the Calamity Fiends evolved far faster than the Awakened, and their numbers dwarfed ours. No matter how hard we fought, we were pushed back relentlessly, our territory shrinking. If this continues, humanity will face total defeat..."

As he spoke, Liu Bi suddenly clenched his fists. "Before my grandfather took his last breath, he gripped my hand and said, 'You must find the Divine Realm’s Key of Heavenly Dao. Only it can restore the world!'"

"Nearly every elder who survived the apocalypse spoke of the Divine Realm’s Key of Heavenly Dao. But how can we search for something like that when we can’t even hold back the fiends? We don’t even know what it looks like!"

Thud!

Liu Bi suddenly dropped to his knees, pleading desperately, "Sir, I know you’re not from here. Your ability to effortlessly purify the Calamity virus proves you’re stronger than even the mightiest sixth-tier Awakened in our safe zone. Please... save this world on the brink of destruction!"

Noticing his leader’s actions, Dai Yuanshan—previously lost in thought—also knelt heavily and echoed, "Yeah, what he said!"

Yet Ye Ancai ignored their pleas, instead murmuring to the beaded necklace around his neck:

"Elder, this aligns with the intel I’ve gathered—except for Liu Bi’s mention of the 'Divine Realm’s Key of Heavenly Dao.'"

"According to him, this should be common knowledge, but my divine sense detected no trace of it."

"Also, the tattoos on Dai Yuanshan’s body carry traces of rule-based power. They’re beyond what the strongest on this continent could inscribe. I can’t decipher them—your guidance is needed."

Chen Yi fell into deep thought.

This world was undeniably broken—and on a massive scale.

Based on current evidence, he concluded that the continent Ye Ancai had descended upon was merely a fragment of the Calamity Realm!

Yet the timeline of its catastrophe was too recent, mismatching the emergence of the Calamity’s progenitor.

If this land were trapped in a temporal loop—a closed cycle where the end was the beginning—he would’ve noticed.

The Chaos Beads and his true self were separated by infinite spacetime. A temporal loop would’ve caused severe latency in information transfer due to distorted spacetime.

But here, the data flowed seamlessly, without the slightest delay...

"Tsk. Scratching an itch through boots is pointless. How does Wuji endure this?"

"Fine. I’ll just deploy thirty-six avatars. The Calamity Realm’s value might exceed expectations."

With a sigh, Chen Yi resolved to take matters into his own hands.

The next instant—

The thirty-six Chaos Beads around Ye Ancai’s neck vanished!

In their place stood a striking young man in deep-blue Daoist robes, his aura transcendent, as if he’d been standing there since time immemorial.

"Greetings, Elder!" Ye Ancai bowed deeply, his reverence startling Liu Bi and Dai Yuanshan.

They’d assumed Ye Ancai was invincible—yet here was someone even more formidable?!

Liu Bi swallowed hard and stammered, "G-great one... Please, have mercy. Save this dying world..."

Chen Yi remained silent, his piercing gaze boring into Liu Bi’s soul, laying bare every secret.

Hmph. Much clearer without that bothersome isolation barrier.

These so-called Awakened were merely lucky survivors who’d fused with fragments of the shattered Heavenly Dao’s laws.

Liu Bi, a second-tier high-grade Awakened, wielded wind and thunder—equivalent to an eighth-layer Foundation Establishment cultivator.

But their system was peculiar: a unique space in their minds, seemingly derived from the Heavenly Dao’s essence, allowed them to enter a state of unity with nature when using abilities. Ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators couldn’t counter them with spells—only brute-force melee or artifact-enhanced attacks stood a chance.

None of that mattered, though. The real revelation was this:

The Heavenly Dao of this world has shattered into countless fragments... and they’ve merged into every living being here.

So, could the Divine Realm's Key of Heavenly Dao that Liu Bi had been desperately searching for actually be each of the surviving beings themselves?

But Chen Yi quickly dismissed this speculation.

Because the half-faded dragon tattoo on Dai Yuanshan's back concealed a world-shattering secret!