Lin Sheng remained silent for a long while.
The words "the Heavenly Dao has already discovered you" continued echoing within his mind.
Even someone as composed as him found it difficult to remain calm.
After taking a deep breath, he looked toward the formation spirit with an unusually grim expression.
"Elder..."
"What do you mean altering destiny?"
The old man looked at him quietly.
There was neither mockery nor fear in his eyes.
Only pity.
After several breaths, he slowly spoke.
"Destiny.... illusory in nature."
The hall fell deathly silent.
The formation spirit continued in a calm voice.
"That is precisely why this old man was puzzled."
"You have already awakened the memories of a previous life."
"You are an anomaly."
"Yet..."
He narrowed his eyes.
"You are still alive."
Lin Sheng frowned.
"What does that mean?"
The old man slowly stroked his beard.
"It means that after obtaining your previous life's memories..."
"You have not significantly altered the Heavenly Dao's plans."
Lin Sheng immediately asked,
"What plans?"
The old man slowly turned around, his gaze seeming to penetrate the very heavens above the inheritance hall.
"What every cultivator believes is that cultivation is the pursuit of immortality."
"They are not wrong."
"But very few ask another question."
He turned back toward Lin Sheng.
"Where does the spiritual energy they consume come from?"
Lin Sheng remained silent.
The formation spirit answered his own question.
"Heaven and Earth."
"Heaven and Earth nurture all things."
"Spiritual veins."
"Spirit herbs."
"Natural treasures."
"The origin qi that fills this world."
"Everything ultimately originates from Heaven and Earth."
He raised a finger.
"Now imagine..."
"If every cultivator endlessly absorbs that essence..."
"Breaking through."
"Increasing lifespan."
"Ascending toward higher realms."
"What do you believe will happen?"
Lin Sheng's expression gradually changed.
"The world's spiritual energy..."
"...will decline."
The old man nodded approvingly.
"Correct."
"Heaven and Earth's spiritual essence is not infinite."
"Every breakthrough."
"Every century of lifespan gained."
"Every spiritual herb consumed."
"Every spirit vein exhausted."
"Is another portion removed from the world."
He sighed softly.
"If left unchecked..."
"The world itself would eventually perish."
Lin Sheng finally understood why the old man's expression had become so serious.
"So..."
"The Heavenly Dao intervenes?"
"It must."
The old man nodded.
"It possesses no emotions."
"No personal desires."
"It merely maintains balance."
He slowly began walking across the hall.
"It discovered long ago that cultivators themselves carried something useful."
He smiled faintly.
"Greed."
"Jealousy."
"Ambition."
"Hatred."
"They are among the greatest tools for maintaining balance."
Lin Sheng quietly listened.
"When one cultivator succeeds..."
"Another becomes jealous."
"When one obtains treasure..."
"Hundreds become greedy."
"When opportunity appears..."
"Killing follows."
He looked directly at Lin Sheng.
"And when cultivators die..."
"Their bodies return to Heaven and Earth."
"Their blood nourishes the land."
"Their spiritual energy disperses."
"Their souls return to reincarnation."
"The essence they once seized..."
"Gradually returns."
Lin Sheng slowly nodded.
"So conflict itself..."
"...is part of the balance."
"Precisely."
The old man smiled.
"It alleviates the problem."
"But not completely."
"Because throughout countless years..."
"More cultivators continue appearing."
"The world still slowly declines."
He suddenly stopped walking.
"So..."
"The Heavenly Dao devised another solution."
His voice became heavier.
"It divided history into eras."
Lin Sheng focused intently.
"The first..."
"The Golden Era."
"Also known as the Era of Contention."
He waved his sleeve.
An illusion appeared before them.
Towering sects.
Countless cultivators flying through the heavens.
Ancient beasts roaming mountains.
Spirit herbs covering entire valleys.
The spiritual qi was so dense that it almost condensed into mist.
"This..."
"...is the age when the Heavenly Dao releases spiritual energy back into the world."
"Cultivation flourishes."
"Geniuses emerge."
"Great sects rise."
"Countless experts compete for supremacy."
The illusion changed.
Everything gradually dimmed.
Spirit veins dried.
Mountains withered.
The once magnificent sects became ruins.
"The second..."
"The Age of Dharma's End."
The old man's voice echoed solemnly.
"During this era..."
"The Heavenly Dao withdraws nearly all spiritual energy."
"The foundation of the Immortal Dao gradually disappears."
"Spirit herbs wither."
"Spirit beasts vanish."
"Spiritual veins collapse."
"Cultivation becomes impossible."
Lin Sheng watched the changing illusion.
Immortal sects sealed themselves away.
Gigantic formations covered entire mountains.
Secret realms disappeared into space.
Families isolated themselves behind ancient barriers.
The outside world gradually became barren.
The old man continued,
"The strongest sects create secret realms."
"They hide."
"The greatest families seal their ancestral lands."
"They wait."
"They preserve the final traces of spirituality."
He looked toward Lin Sheng.
"Outside..."
"Cultivation gradually becomes legend."
"Immortals become myths."
"The descendants of mortals no longer believe such people ever existed."
"Only the smallest amount of spirituality remains."
"Enough to sustain life."
"Enough for souls to continue reincarnating."
"But nothing more."
Lin Sheng remained speechless.
"So..."
"The Age of Dharma's End..."
"...is intentional."
"It is."
The formation spirit nodded.
"It may last one thousand years."
"Or several thousand."
"Only when the Heavenly Dao determines that the world has sufficiently recovered..."
"Does the next era begin."
The illusion suddenly brightened once more.
Spirit qi surged like oceans.
Countless spiritual veins erupted from beneath the earth.
Ancient ruins reopened.
Secret realms resurfaced.
The hidden sects emerged once again.
"This..."
"...is the beginning of another Era of Contention."
"The hidden powers return."
"The world flourishes."
"And countless geniuses appear."
The old man smiled knowingly.
"But the Heavenly Dao does something else during this era."
"It creates..."
"...Luck."
Lin Sheng frowned slightly.
"Luck?"
"Indeed."
"It gathers the fortune of Heaven and Earth."
"It concentrates destiny."
"And bestows it upon certain individuals."
He looked directly at Lin Sheng.
"These people cultivate rapidly."
"They discover opportunities wherever they go."
"They narrowly escape death."
"They obtain inheritances others could never reach."
"They lead the era itself."
He paused before saying quietly,
"The world calls them many names."
"But among cultivators..."
"They are often regarded as..."
"...the protagonists of the age."
The formation spirit stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze seemingly piercing through countless years of history.
"The so-called protagonists of an era are more than simply talented cultivators."
"They are individuals favored by the fortune of Heaven and Earth."
"Their luck far surpasses that of ordinary people."
"They stumble upon inheritances."
"They narrowly survive certain death."
"They discover treasures others search centuries for."
"They are the very people who drive the Era of Contention forward."
Lin Sheng listened quietly.
The Chip continued recording every word.
The old man continued calmly.
"Because of this..."
"Sects."
"Ancient families."
"Holy lands."
"And every major power..."
"...all seek to establish ties with such individuals."
"Even if they cannot completely control them, merely becoming connected to one often allows an entire force to prosper for centuries."
Lin Sheng frowned slightly.
"So these people are essentially walking fortunes."
The old man nodded.
"That is an apt description."
"Many powerful factions understand this."
"They know that accompanying such individuals often results in countless opportunities appearing naturally."
"Ancient ruins."
"Secret realms."
"Rare treasures."
"Powerful inheritances."
"It is almost as though the world itself wishes to place them into the protagonist's hands."
He sighed softly.
"The Heavenly Dao has already determined the broad direction of their lives."
"Only the finer details remain uncertain."
"For example..."
"Which sect they eventually join."
"Which master accepts them."
"Which companions accompany them."
"Those variables may change."
"But the general course of their destiny rarely does."
Lin Sheng pondered those words.
If everything truly unfolded according to a predetermined current...
Then many seemingly coincidental events were perhaps never coincidences at all.
The formation spirit continued.
"This understanding eventually gave rise to another practice."
"The strongest powers no longer merely waited."
"They actively searched."
"They sought those blessed by fortune before they had fully matured."
Lin Sheng looked toward the old man.
"And then?"
The old man answered without emotion.
"Some genuinely nurtured them."
"Others..."
"...manipulated circumstances."
His eyes became slightly colder.
"There were powers willing to manufacture gratitude."
Lin Sheng remained silent.
The formation spirit spoke matter-of-factly.
"A village may suddenly encounter disaster."
"A family may mysteriously perish."
"A lone survivor would then be rescued."
"Fed."
"Taught."
"Raised."
"In time, they would naturally devote themselves wholeheartedly to the benefactor who appeared when they were most desperate."
He shook his head faintly.
"Such methods have existed for countless generations."
"They are neither righteous nor demonic."
"They are merely choices made by cultivators pursuing their own interests."
Lin Sheng's expression grew thoughtful.
"So they attempt to influence destiny..."
"Rather than oppose it."
"Precisely."
The old man nodded.
"No one with sufficient wisdom attempts to fight the current of Heaven."
"They merely seek favorable positions within it."
He paused before continuing.
"Naturally..."
"Such actions require one thing."
"The ability to recognize those favored by destiny."
Lin Sheng immediately understood.
"Deduction."
A smile appeared on the old man's face.
"You learn quickly."
"There exists within the Hundred Arts a path that few cultivators ever pursue."
"It concerns observing the movements of Heaven, Earth, stars, karma, and fate."
"Some refer to it as astrology."
"Others simply call it the art of deduction."
"It has always been among the rarest of the Hundred Arts."
He looked toward the distant heavens beyond the inheritance hall.
"Those who truly master it can perceive faint traces of destiny."
"They cannot dictate the future."
"They cannot rewrite Heaven's will."
"But they may glimpse possibilities."
"They may perceive hidden currents."
"And sometimes..."
"They may discover those whom Heaven itself has chosen before the rest of the world ever notices."
The hall gradually fell silent once more.
Lin Sheng stood motionless, his thoughts becoming increasingly profound.
Everything the formation spirit had revealed painted a cultivation world far more intricate than he had ever imagined. Here, strength alone was not enough. Fate, fortune, and even the hidden currents of Heaven itself all played roles in determining who ultimately stood at the summit of the Dao.