Year 57, Han Wuyou broke through to the Foundation Establishment Stage, Late Stage.
Year 58, the ten-year period had arrived.
The Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance dispatched a group of black-clad cultivators to begin purging all unallied loose cultivators across the land.
Loose cultivators rose up in resistance, but they crumbled at the first touch.
While the loose cultivators were indeed not very strong, the battle prowess displayed by the black-clad cultivators was truly formidable.
Although their individual strengths were not high, most were at the Nascent Soul Stage, they were incredibly terrifying in actual combat. They could simultaneously engage in combat against ten or more cultivators of the same realm without falling behind.
Their attacks were ruthless, leaving no survivors.
No matter where the loose cultivators hid, the black-clad cultivators could always precisely pinpoint their location, leaving them with nowhere to escape.
For a time, blood flowed endlessly across the land.
After barely repelling a group of black-clad cultivators, the offworlders gathered and decided to join the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.
After practicing the secret technique, “One Hand Covers the Sky”, obtained from the Tianji Sect’s ruins, and through the efforts of Shuo Feng, they successfully passed the Jade Heart-Testing Platform’s test.
They temporarily lay dormant within the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.
Year 60, the war concluded.
Within the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance’s territories, there were no longer any loose cultivators.
Year 61, the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance issued a decree:
Maintaining the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Array was everyone’s responsibility.
All cultivators within the alliance were required to practice a technique called “Mending the Heavens”.
While this technique did not increase one’s cultivation base, it generated corresponding “Heavenly Gifts” within the Tianxuan Mirror based on the progress achieved.
Similar to Contribution Points, Heavenly Gifts could be exchanged for various techniques and resources.
Despite some grumbling, most cultivators reluctantly followed the requirements and began practicing “Mending the Heavens”.
Year 63, Han Wuyou broke through to the Golden Core Stage.
In the same year, during a secluded cultivation session, he comprehended the “Heavenly Doctor Immortal Scripture” from the Breaking Formation Jade Plate.
Year 65, rumors spread. It seemed as if a barrier had appeared in the world, preventing cultivators from fully absorbing the cultivation base they gained.
A small portion of it disappeared, its whereabouts unknown.
The rumors were quickly suppressed.
The offworlders held a secret meeting, exchanging and verifying information, confirming the truth of the rumors.
Xiao Heng instructed everyone not to spread the word.
The day after the meeting, the offworlders were warned by a group of black-clad cultivators.
Year 69, the Five Elders Association suddenly launched a surprise attack on the Eight Directions Province.
This time, they seemed to have discovered a method to temporarily shield themselves from the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Array’s detection.
They swept through the province like a storm, conquering most of its territory within a single day.
Just then, thousands upon thousands of densely packed black-clad cultivators descended, engaging in a bloody battle with the Five Elders Association.
The Five Elders Association’s elite force had a significant advantage in overall strength over the black-clad cultivators.
However, the black-clad cultivators fought with reckless abandon, their numbers seemingly endless. As one fell, another quickly took their place.
In the end, the Five Elders Association was forced to retreat, suffering heavy casualties.
After this battle, cultivators across the land learned the identity of the black-clad cultivators:
“Sky Warlocks”.
Year 71, more information about the Sky Warlocks was leaked.
Unlike the current cultivation system, Sky Warlocks did not need to cultivate. All they needed was to gain recognition from the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Array.
They could then leverage its authority, harnessing the energy enveloped by the Soul-Locking Array to engage in combat.
Currently, the highest-level Sky Warlocks were comparable in strength to Nascent Soul Stage cultivators.
Year 72, a strange incident shocked the entire world.
Golden Core Stage cultivator Tang Fangsheng, while clashing with another cultivator, accidentally killed over a hundred ordinary people in Red Dragon City.
Among them, an ordinary person named Shi Qing miraculously survived.
However, his entire family perished in the tragedy.
Shi Qing was consumed by grief and despair.
In his desperation, he prayed to the heavens.
For unknown reasons, he gained recognition from the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Array, becoming a Sky Warlock.
In an instant, he achieved the combat strength of a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator and ruthlessly slaughtered his enemy, Tang Fangsheng.
Cultivators who had toiled for hundreds of years were no match for an ordinary person’s simple prayer.
Cultivators across the land were filled with fear and anxiety.
Year 75, Sky Warlocks with the power of a Soul Transformation Stage cultivator emerged.
At the same time, cultivators discovered that their cultivation progress was becoming increasingly slow.
Year 80, the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance uncovered a major plot to destroy the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Array.
Over a hundred cultivators were executed.
Year 85, Han Wuyou comprehended a technique called “Crucible of Ten Thousand Forms” from the “Heavenly Doctor Immortal Scripture”.
He had thoroughly read the Heavenly Doctor Immortal Scripture, studying the countless different creatures documented within it.
He vaguely noticed a commonality among all living beings.
The world was like a crucible, melting down what was originally one being into the ten thousand forms of the world.
By cultivating this technique, he could achieve free transformation among these ten thousand forms.
As long as he mastered the physiological structure, he could transform into the appearance of plants, animals, or any other creature.
Ordinary cultivators would find it difficult to discern the truth.
Han Wuyou was overjoyed, breaking through to the Golden Core Stage, Middle Stage.
Year 86, the number of Sky Warlocks steadily increased.
Year 90, a natural phenomenon occurred.
Blood rained down across all the provinces, and cries of anguish echoed throughout the heavens.
It continued for months.
Year 91, a Sky Warlock with the power of Dao Integration intervened, suppressing those involved in a plot to overturn the Soul-Locking Array.
Year 101, the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance established a clear quota for cultivators practicing “Mending the Heavens”.
Year 139, Han Wuyou received a secret message from Xiao Heng. After arriving at an underground base thirty thousand zhang deep, Han Wuyou learned that in recent years, “Rebirth Immortals” had gathered a large number of like-minded cultivators under the banner of overthrowing the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Array.
At the same time, Han Wuyou learned even more shocking news.
Over the past century, countless cultivators had mysteriously disappeared. They were neither seen nor heard from again.
Plenty of evidence pointed to the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance as the culprit.
Han Wuyou learned an upgraded version of the “One Hand Covers the Sky” technique, which could interfere with the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Array’s surveillance within a certain range.
Year 150, news emerged of an impending merger between the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance and the Five Elders Association.
The world was stunned.
Year 159, the Xuanhuang Realm was unified.
The Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance and the Five Elders Association were collectively known as the “Heavenly Alliance”.
A group of Sky Warlocks began constructing the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Array within the former territories of the Five Elders Association.
Year 160, Han Wuyou broke through to the Golden Core Stage, Late Stage.
Year 163, during the construction of the Soul-Locking Array, the “Rebirth Immortals” attempted to assassinate the array masters and obtain the Soul-Locking Array’s structural blueprint.
But their attempt failed, and seventy-eight of them were killed.
Afterwards, the Heavenly Alliance launched a brutal purge.
Many innocent cultivators were killed.
The “Rebirth Immortals” went into complete hiding.
Year 171, the construction of the Soul-Locking Array was completed throughout the entire Xuanhuang Realm.
From that point onwards, the sky permanently took on a green hue.
The Xuanhuang Realm entered a period of relative peace that lasted nearly a century.
The number of Sky Warlocks continued to grow.
However, cultivators’ cultivation speed slowed down drastically.
Their overall numbers also steadily declined each year.
Beneath the apparent tranquility of the Xuanhuang Realm, undercurrents swirled.
Year 260, Han Wuyou broke through to the Nascent Soul Stage.
Year 263, a “Declaration to Cultivators of the World” spread throughout the Xuanhuang Realm overnight.
It marked the beginning of a war between cultivators and the Soul-Locking Array.