Within the Origin Land, there were thirty-three Eternities, known as the Thirty-three Heavens!
They were also the Thirty-three Heavenly Venerates!
The power of the Origin Land was beyond imagination.
If not for the Heavenly Emperor, an existence who hailed from the Origin Land, personally speaking of it, who would dare believe it.
After all, one must know that within the Chaos Sea, this Deficient Primordial Realm, aside from the great god Pangu who cleaved heaven and earth, there were no other Eternities.
"The Thirty-three Heavens of the Origin Land are the true Heavenly Venerates, also called Eternal Heavenly Venerates."
"In the Origin Land, only true Eternities have the qualification to be called 'Heaven' or 'Heavenly Venerate'. Otherwise, anyone else who dares to presumptuously claim titles related to 'Heaven', such as Heavenly Venerate, Heavenly Sovereign, or any title connected to 'Heaven', will be punished by the Origin Land. An immense causality will descend from the unseen, and they will ultimately meet with sudden calamity," the Heavenly Emperor said.
Ye Chen understood. It was like the ancient titles of Emperor and Sovereign; one could not arrogantly bestow them upon oneself, or else it would provoke endless punishment from the myriad heavens throughout eternity, with immense causality descending from the unseen, terrifying beyond measure.
However, he couldn't help but look at the Heavenly Emperor.
One could not proclaim oneself as 'Heaven'. Why, then, was he called the Heavenly Emperor?
Or perhaps, the name Heavenly Emperor was one he bestowed upon himself, harboring immense ambition, desiring to return to the Origin Land and become the Emperor of all Heavens?
Or did it contain other intentions?
Ye Chen was somewhat curious.
"Of course, the Chaos Sea is a Deficient Primordial Realm, a land of exile. This place is inferior to the Origin Land, so calling oneself Heavenly Venerate, Heavenly Sovereign, and the like here will incur punishment from the great causality of the unseen. Just as in the cultivation world, titles like Emperor, Sovereign, and Immortal can be claimed by ordinary mortals in the mundane world."
Ye Chen naturally understood.
However, the Heavenly Emperor did not elaborate on his own title of Heavenly Emperor and continued, "Moreover, that Heavenly Dao Ancient Ancestor of the Origin Saint Race, though claiming to be the origin of all Heavenly Daos, is in truth merely the origin of the Heavenly Dao of this Deficient Primordial Realm. The true origin of the Heavenly Dao Ancient Ancestor is actually related to an Eternal Heavenly Venerate. He once fortuitously obtained the heaven-defying opportunity of a fallen Eternal Heavenly Venerate, effectively becoming one of the Heavenly Dao controllers of the Origin Land, and came to this Deficient Primordial Realm to become the Ancient Ancestor of Heavenly Dao Origin."
"Wait," Ye Chen frowned. "Senior Heavenly Emperor, can Eternal existences truly fall? Isn't it said they are eternal in the world, undying and indestructible?"
He was very curious.
Legend said that Eternities were undying, indestructible existences; nothing in the world could truly kill an Eternity.
If Eternities could also fall, why were they still called Eternities?
As for whether the great eternal god Pangu had fallen, Ye Chen actually believed he had not.
His divine soul was merely split into three parts, and Pangu's Heart still existed, still beating.
Even his physical body had fused with the Chaos Ancient Universe, becoming the Pangu Universe.
In his understanding, the great god Pangu had not fallen; he merely existed in the form of a Chaos Ancient Universe.
The Heavenly Emperor's gaze was profoundly deep, as if containing the vicissitudes of myriad ancient epochs, piercing through the endless causality of the world. "In this world, nothing is truly eternal. What is called 'eternal' is only because their form and spirit have completely fused with the Origin Land, possessing an Eternal origin, enabling them to roam through past, present, and future, undying and indestructible. But even true Eternal Heavenly Venerates can fall. Like the departed Eternal Heavenly Venerate whose opportunity was obtained by the Heavenly Dao Ancient Ancestor—in fact, it cannot truly be considered 'falling', because their Eternal origin returned to within the Origin Land, and their Eternal origin world also returned to the Origin Land."
"Of course, their Eternal origin worlds still contain their Great Dao imprints, immortal and indestructible. They are actually still alive in another form, though their thoughts have become exceedingly slow. The so-called myriad heavenly stars are actually transformed from their thoughts, continuing to observe the entire world, but they have become existences akin to the Heavenly Dao."
"Incidentally, the Eternal Heaven Realm is not merely the Origin Secret Realm; it is actually the origin world of an Eternal Heavenly Venerate. The Eternal Ancient Stele was naturally left behind by that Eternal Heavenly Venerate."
"Back then, when the exile occurred, the Eternal Heaven Realm was also exiled along with it, thus entering this Deficient Primordial Realm."
Ye Chen nodded. No wonder the Eternal Ancient Stele was so peculiar, capable of recording so much unknown information. It turned out to be an ancient stele left by an Eternal Heavenly Venerate, naturally no ordinary object.
"Although the Origin Land seized nearly all the creative power of the Primordial Realm, the Primordial Realm ultimately retained a small portion. Over endless eons, it finally gave birth to one supreme Eternity—Pangu!"
"Pangu, with his Eternal body, broke into the Origin Land, established a mighty reputation, and ultimately became one of the Thirty-three Heavens of the Origin Land."
Ye Chen understood. So the great god Pangu was not an Eternal Heavenly Venerate born from the Origin Land, but one born from the Primordial Realm.
"The Thirty-three Heavens rule the Origin Land, like an eternally indestructible Heavenly Dao, lofty and supreme, presiding over everything in the Origin Land."
"This is the origin of the Thirty-three Heavens. It is also why, throughout the ages, within the Chaos Sea, this Deficient Primordial Realm, there has always been the saying of the Thirty-three Heavens."
"However, what must be said here is that within heaven and earth, there is the saying of the Thirty-three Heavens, yet there is also the saying of the Ten Heavens. Do you know why?" the Heavenly Emperor suddenly asked.
"This junior does not know. Please enlighten me, Senior!" Ye Chen shook his head. He originally thought it was because 'ten' represented the number of great perfection, hence the Ten Heavens.
But with the Heavenly Emperor speaking thus, he knew it was definitely not as he imagined.
The Heavenly Emperor slowly began to narrate an earth-shattering, monumental event that shook the ancient and illuminated the present: "You must know that although the Origin Land gave birth to the Thirty-three Heavenly Venerates and was extremely prosperous, it was not eternally prosperous. The so-called 'peak leads to decline' is an immutable principle throughout eternity, applicable to the ancient Pangu Universe and equally applicable to the Origin Land."
"After the Origin Land and the Primordial Realm gave birth to thirty-three Eternal Heavenly Venerates, their capacity reached its limit. From that day forth, the Eternal Great Dao of the Origin Land suddenly experienced a great collapse. Its creative power dried up, and from then on, it could no longer give birth to new Eternities."
"If it were merely this, it would be one thing. The Thirty-three Heavenly Venerates, lofty and supreme, looked down upon the Origin Land, proud throughout past, present, and future, and also did not wish for others to ascend to their supreme Eternal positions."
"But, the great collapse of the Eternal Great Dao caused the origin of the Origin Land to wither. From the unseen, it began to reversely seize the Eternal Great Dao origin of the thirty-two Eternal Heavenly Venerates to replenish its depleted origin."
"The Origin Land is a land of creation, containing the hope of nurturing Eternal Heavenly Venerates, possessing unfathomable power. It could similarly reversely seize the Eternal origin of the Eternal Heavenly Venerates."
"Only the great god Pangu, an Eternal Heavenly Venerate born from the Primordial Realm, was immune to the Origin Land's reverse seizure of his Eternal origin!"
"Of course, those capable of becoming Eternal Heavenly Venerates were not weak. Their power was beyond imagination."
"Naturally, they were unwilling to have their Eternal origin seized by the Origin Land. But within the Origin Land, they were subject to its restrictions, because the Origin Land contained a special power. All those born from the Origin Land, even Eternal Heavenly Venerates, would be subject to certain limitations."
"However, they also could not destroy the Origin Land, because the Eternal origins of all the Eternal Heavenly Venerates were entrusted within the Origin Land, intimately connected to it. Once the Origin Land was destroyed, although they might not die, they would most likely forever lose their Eternal Heavenly Venerate status."
"To avoid the Origin Land reversely seizing their Eternal origin, the thirty-three Eternal Heavenly Venerates launched the most fearsome war in history. That war was called the Eternal Dusk War."
The Eternal Dusk War!
Just hearing the name, Ye Chen knew how utterly terrifying it must have been.
It involved Eternities!
"That war aimed to reduce the number of Eternal Heavenly Venerates, allowing part of the Eternal origin to return to the Origin Land, enabling it to maintain balance."
"This was also the unanimous decision of all the Eternal Heavenly Venerates, a way to both preserve the Origin Land and prevent the Eternal Heavenly Venerates from losing their Eternal status!"
"But, no Eternal Heavenly Venerate was willing to return their Eternal origin to the Origin Land. No one was willing, precisely because of this, no one yielded to another, and the most fearsome war erupted."
"The Eternal Dusk War was the most terrifying war throughout the ages, causing the vast, endless Origin Land to nearly collapse. Numerous Eternal Heavenly Venerates fell one after another. In the end, only ten Eternal Heavenly Venerates survived, clinging to life," the Heavenly Emperor sighed softly. That war, how earth-shattering it was, shaking the ancient and illuminating the present. Throughout all time, no other war could surpass it.
Of the thirty-three Eternal Heavenly Venerates, more than half fell. In the end, only the ten remaining Heavenly Venerates clung to life.
Ye Chen listened, his heart and spirit shaken, much like when he was weak and learned of the Great Mythical Destruction War.
Eternal Heavenly Venerates were still quite distant from his current self.
Through the Heavenly Emperor's narration, he could fully imagine how terrifying that Eternal Dusk War of the past must have been. If placed in the Chaos Sea, this Deficient Primordial Realm, forget thirty-three Eternal Heavenly Venerates battling; even if just two random Eternal Heavenly Venerates fought, it would likely have long since caused destruction.
Never mind that he was hailed as one of the most powerful Half-Step Overlords throughout history; facing a peerless overlord, he still had little means to fight back, let alone a true Eternity, who must be far beyond peerless overlords.
"However, after the Eternal Dusk War, the final ten Eternal Heavenly Venerates discovered that the Origin Land was still seizing their Eternal origin. The fall of the twenty-three Eternal Heavenly Venerates did not completely return it to the Origin Land. At that moment, they realized the ultimate destination of the Eternal origin was not the Origin Land, but the Primordial Realm."
The Heavenly Emperor continued slowly, "The Eternal origin of the twenty-three fallen Eternal Heavenly Venerates was immensely vast, yet little of it returned to the Origin Land; almost all of it returned to within the Primordial Realm."
"Originally, the Origin Land had seized the endless creative power of the Primordial Realm. The Primordial Realm was abandoned, losing its creative power, becoming an endless land of abandonment."
"And the Origin Land, lofty and supreme, was like the myriad domains of the Pangu Universe or the Heavenly Realm of the Primordial Immortal Realm—the absolute upper realm."
"Now, the vast majority of the endless Eternal origin had returned to the Primordial Realm. The Eternal Heavenly Venerates feared that the Primordial Realm would once again become that true Source Realm, the Eternal Sacred Realm, and even give birth to a second Origin Land."
"Because once a second Origin Land was born and gave birth to multiple Eternal Heavenly Venerates again, this situation would be faced once more."
"The Eternal Heavenly Venerates launching the Eternal Dusk War would become utterly meaningless."
"To maintain the current balance, in the end, the remaining Eternal Heavenly Venerates jointly struck at the Primordial Realm. They completely shattered the Primordial Realm, which held the hope of giving birth to a second Origin Land, causing it to ultimately collapse into a singularity. And they imposed endless curses, seizing half of the Eternal Great Dao, ensuring the Primordial Realm could not give birth to a second Origin Land, nor could it give birth to true Eternal Heavenly Venerates."
"But, Pangu was an Eternal Heavenly Venerate born from the Primordial Realm. He could not stand by and watch the Primordial Realm degenerate into a useless ruin. Therefore, he personally acted, cleaving open the Primordial Realm that had become a singularity, and returned his own Eternal Great Dao to this Primordial Realm, intending to nurture a new Origin Land to oppose the Origin Land."
"But, no matter how powerful Pangu was, even after returning his Eternal Great Dao to the Primordial Realm, the Primordial Realm remained under the curses of the Eternal Heavenly Venerates, having lost the other half of the Eternal Great Dao. It could not give birth to true Eternities, nor could it give birth to an Origin Land."
Only then did Ye Chen understand. So this was the reason why the Chaos Sea always lacked the other half of the Chaos Great Dao.
Aside from the great god Pangu, there were also the curses imposed by the nine other Eternal Heavenly Venerates.
Although the great god Pangu was powerful, he could not possibly withstand the curses of nine Eternal Heavenly Venerates alone.