Chapter 974: Great Era Development

This civilization draws inspiration from "A Dream of the Cosmos." In "A Dream of the Cosmos," the entire world and universe are treated as a dream, with Zhou Meng hidden in a remote mountain hut, dreaming it all. This civilization, however, views its entire existence as a world within a television, where higher-dimensional beings, seated before their screens, "manipulate" the lower-dimensional beings within.

The 40th year of the East Qing Dynasty. Deities entered a period of explosive growth, countless emerging to create an age of mythical prosperity. A vast number of deities began spending immense sums to purchase "Patata TVs" and paid regular "cable TV fees," ushering in a subscription era. This gradually became the very foundation of the entire world. All powerful individuals clearly understood just how formidable this divine artifact was! Even though the entangled quantum combat body, a clone, possessed only 70% of the main body's power, it was incredibly safe, alleviating concerns about life or death. The main body could also hide with family members in the shadows, guarding them at all times, thereby eliminating any weaknesses and ensuring that threats involving family would never recur. However, with such a bizarre and powerful divine artifact, how could they not be wary of the inscrutable television headquarters?

At this time, in the imperial court of the East Qing Divine Dynasty, various ministers had already begun to discuss in private: "This mysterious organization is likely forming the true foundation of the world, bringing together all the powerful individuals from our various eras."

"Yes," another responded, "they have been very straightforward. They haven't made any subtle moves, nor do they have any means to restrain us. If we were to become hostile, at most, we could destroy our Patata TVs, preventing the use of quantum combat bodies and their various functions..."

Indeed, the other party truly had no leverage over them; there were no threats to their lives. Naturally, their main body's combat power was stronger than that of the quantum entangled clone. But if they became hostile, they would be the ones to suffer. This was an overt strategy, binding them with benefits, executed in a forthright manner. This special "organization" must be orchestrated by extremely intelligent and powerful individuals. Its mechanism is highly sophisticated and orderly. They also understand that when dealing with powerful and wise talents and deities like themselves, clandestine tactics would eventually be exposed. It was better to be direct from the start.

"It seems the organization behind this is run by ancient immortals and deities," everyone concluded.

The 50th year of the East Qing Dynasty. The seven great levels of the Tower World were now fully interconnected, with each realizing the existence of the others. The seven divine dynasties within the Tower became either adversaries or allies. Within the East Qing Dynasty alone, the number of deities reached thousands, and Seventh-tier Heavenly Emperors were almost ubiquitous, creating an ineffable golden age. However, the spiritual energy across the entire world began to thin significantly.

"Primordial spiritual energy is becoming scarce..." Dense streams and waterfalls of spiritual energy began to disappear, and the land was transforming into a mortal realm. The universe's energy is balanced. The ubiquitous streams, waterfalls, and spiritual springs of energy were now being absorbed into the bodies of the various deities, existing as individual life forms. At this point, numerous clones began to govern the world from the imperial court. In the mortal realm, no deity's "true body" descended anymore. This era was known as the Great Schism Mythical Age.

The "True Saint History of East Qing" records:In ancient times, there were originally no divine beings in heaven and earth. Ancient sages and powerful figures taught mortals skills: animal husbandry, farming, literacy, and clothing production. Then, sensing the rules of heaven and earth, they gradually cultivated themselves from mortals to saints. Over several decades, they progressively entered the void, beginning the separation of their realm from that of mortals. For several millennia thereafter, immortals and deities walked the human world as avatars, governing the great era and engaging in divine wars. While it seemed as though humans and gods coexisted in a flourishing age, in reality, no true gods had descended upon the world for a long time.

Outside the Tower. It remained a desolate, void-like magma domain. In the dark and eerie vacuum of space, various debris and corpses still floated, testament to the brutality of the previous battle.

"The spiritual energy of heaven and earth is beginning to thin," Carolyn said. Carolyn stood amidst the ruins, hovering in the void. Looking at the tower in her hand, she stated calmly, "The space isn't very large anymore. While its tower-like structure can accommodate more beings, the spiritual energy is depleting too quickly." Only seventy years had passed. This was the accumulated foundation of the Teer Empire, tens of thousands of years old, which she had collected. It was predicted to last for a hundred years. But what was happening now? It was depleting much faster. This was because the players' mechanism significantly boosted the speed of cultivation and combat. It was akin to having a "cultivation simulator," where one sat in front of a TV, engaging in life-and-death battles and intense training daily, naturally leading to extremely rapid breakthroughs.

"Almost all the gains from the trip to the Cosmic Garden have been invested," Carolyn said with a deep breath, unable to contain herself. "However, while all the energy has been expended, the various talents, the majority of the Teer Empire's and Bird Planet's leadership, and essentially their entire species, were directly taken by me at that time... Energy is not important; knowledge and talent are the true foundations of a civilization." The elites, emperors, and research talents of that land were all swept up and brought into the mental universe. What remained were some mid- and lower-level individuals who had not transformed into deities, along with a large number of ordinary citizens, still on those planets. Without leaders, they were bound to experience great turmoil, and new empires or dynasties might rise, but that was no longer her concern.

"Is there not enough spiritual energy?" At this moment, the Ultra-Ancient God suddenly appeared beside her.

"Yes, the resources consumed are far greater than anticipated," Carolyn said, frowning slightly. "According to normal world development, it should have entered a period of peaceful development... Deities would remain high above, while mortals' cultivation speed would slow, creating a complete disconnect. Even geniuses would only enter an era of slow progress."

That was indeed the case. They had absorbed too much energy, causing the spiritual energy of the entire world to thin, which in turn slowed down later cultivators. Such an exaggerated explosive period could no longer occur. After all, that's how the world is—a zero-sum game. The total amount is fixed; the more you get, the less others get. There's a saying: "As long as saints exist, great bandits will not cease." Although deities could now draw energy from the void, what about ordinary people? And Heavenly Emperors? They simply had no opportunity to reach such a realm and could only acquire resources from their surroundings.

"Yes, it's about to enter a peaceful period," the Ultra-Ancient God mused thoughtfully. He sighed, "This is only the seventh major domain; the original plan was for a thirty-three-story tower... But there's no need to worry. I still possess a considerable amount of energy to sustain the world's progression."

Carolyn took a deep breath. "You've spent too much for my world."

The Ultra-Ancient God shook his head. "Accumulating wealth is merely external. Its greatest use is to increase one's strength... By the way, with countless deities, someone should be close to completing the Ninth-tier path, right?" For ordinary beings, the Ninth-tier path is distant and uncertain, but the Super Saiyan race is different! Their Ninth-tier path is extremely short. With only a few million cells, considering the time, Ninth-tier Super Saiyans should be appearing soon, similar to the Super Saiyans in the previous micro-universe. Although their combat power isn't strong, they possess the realm.

"Yes, the fastest group is nearing the end of their Ninth-tier path..." Carolyn's expression also suddenly turned serious. "Do you mean for them to remain in the weak Ninth-tier and forge a perfect four-gene Dao foundation?"

Carolyn pondered for a few seconds, deep in thought.

"Yes," the Ultra-Ancient God continued, "their Ninth-tier path is short. The time wasted climbing the Ninth-tier path isn't long, and they have plenty of time left in their lives to potentially forge a perfect Dao foundation before breaking through to the Ninth-tier." This is an advantage of the Super Saiyan race. But is that truly the case? Their difficulty has not decreased either! They are merely "getting on the train first and buying the ticket later." The actual difficulty of becoming a complete Ninth-tier being will be no lower than for ordinary creatures; it's simply a more gradual, alternative method of breakthrough.

"The truth of the Tenth-tier, of course, cannot be told to them," Xu Zhi smiled. "However, at this point, we can suggest that they forge a perfect Dao foundation, implying that such combat power would be stronger and their future prospects wider. Ambitious powerful individuals naturally wouldn't let go of such an opportunity."

Carolyn was momentarily stunned by these words, her eyes gradually brightening. She said with surprise, "This is an excellent plan, truly... It can prevent the weak from knowing the truth and falling into despair, causing them to stubbornly cling to their Dao foundation and die of old age... It can also hint to truly capable powerful individuals that they can pursue higher realms."

Carolyn smiled and softly said, "This is a truly brilliant approach. A single piece of information revealed externally can convey two different meanings to two different types of people."