“The era of the super sized Great Wilderness has come to an end. As a result of the Devil Tribulation, all existence suffered a shattering. To the survivors and newborns in these past three thousand years, I’m sure you’re already that the beyond your world is now many. The vast void between realms is an endless ocean of worlds.

Around the Three Realms, wether it be the remnant of the Great Wilderness, the Starry Skies, or the Netherworld. All its inhabitants payed close attention to the image of Hongjun that had formed.

Despite the past three thousand years being one of tumultuous circumstances, many felt things would slowly morph back how they were. Yet the pieces of the once great super sized world that was the Great Wilderness drifted ever apart.

Landmasses worth the size of galaxies spun in patterns around the void. In the three thousand years since the war, star fields containing many worlds were forming beyond anyone’s control inside these galaxies. Because of the void, their locations and distance became ever more inconsistent compared to when they were one joined landmass.

“The Great Wilderness is now more. The five continents are no more. In accordance to the desire of heaven, the east shall be named Shengshen, the south shall be named Shanbu, the west shall be named Niuhe, and the north? Heaven has deemed it Julu. Today, I declare the formation of four continents of the Heavenly Realm!

“!!!”

Shock was not enough to describe what many ancient experts felt. The name of the world they’d all lived in for so long changed just like that. The name they were so used to went away like it was nothing.

North, East, South, and West. The central continent had completely vanished along with all dimensional barriers that had formerly separated the continents. Now, the uneven landmass that was the Heavenly Realm’s four continents had it’s designated borders redrawn by Hongjun.

Or rather, as heavenly light descended from the sky above the Heavenly Realm, lines resembling veins crisscrossed across the landmass and seas. From the original Great Wilderness, only about thirty percent of lands remained. Of those, the new East continent contained nine percent of land, the West housed only five percent. The South was the largest by far, containing thirteen percent of land. Finally, the North was tiny in comparison only three percent.

Of course, even a fraction of a percent was still larger than even the largest of worlds that had sprung up in the void.

“The Heavenly Dao has decreed such and I shall broadcast it’s will. The sea of realms are to be considered the earthly dimensions. Of the Three Realms, it is the Earthly Realm. To maintain heaven’s order, the worlds of the Earthly Realm are connected to the Heavenly Realm.

“The patterns they conglomerate are the chiliocosms of the Earthly Realm. The star fields within a chiliocosm belongs to its system as I’m sure you explored have inferred. These are the terms heaven wishes for you to use. Our universe is vast and complex now compared to simpler primordial times.

“Together with the Heavenly Realm, our universe forms the the trichiliocosm(billion fold universe) of the Three Realms. So remember this fact, the age of the Primitive World is over. This is a new era for civilization. Heaven has decreed the Three Realm’s existence!!!”

…

Watching from a safe distance in the void, Nuwa and Jieyin who had left Zixiao Palace together felt a sense of longing for the old Great Wilderness. Jieyin had already been aware of the west’s reduced size. But now he regrets never being able to see all of the original West Continent again.

“Sorry, where were we?” Nuwa turned back around to Jieyin. Hongjun had faded after his speech and it was like reality shuddered throughout it all. Even immortals of their calibre were deeply affected. So much so that the task he had agreed to just now was halted.

“Oh the void yes. Zhunti’s life signature.” She quickly remembered. Her consciousness reached out again to search. Jieyin stayed silent but a hopeful, yet also resigned gaze.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Actually fellow daoist, there is no need,” he said instead.

“But don’t you want to find your junior?”

“Yes but…”

“You don’t believe he’s even alive anymore. I cannot fault you, I cannot sense him either.” Nuwa’s Dao appeared to her after she mended the hole in heaven. But it was one representative of living beings, living vitality, and creation. In this way, if anyone could detect a living being in this cosmos, it’ll be Nuwa.

At first Jieyin used his mastery over karma, using the spells of causality, or destiny to track his brother. But after three thousand years?

That was why after a quick scuffle in Treasure Sealing Cliff, Jieyin approached Nuwa. Neither referred to each other as fellow disciples, finding such a thing awkward. But both did treat each other with the respect of comrades.

“It’s not that. I know he is somewhere out there because our karma has yet to end.” Jieyin said. “But at the same time, I am of two folds. In my eyes, it is vivid miraculous strong as I’d expect someone as close to me would be. Yet in another, I see a purely golden string that could only belong to a meritous saint.”

“Huh?”

“Did you know fellow daoist, when my junior brother and I studied to intricacies of karma, we came about to a discovery. The path of influence that karma takes, it’s somewhat dependent on the viewer. A mortal or even second order celestial life forms, or even most third order ones would not be aware of it. Chaos Immortals of the old era either didn't notice or didn’t see.

“I don’t think even the great Limitless experts were aware. But for us who cultivated it immensely, we came to realise that our differing conclusions on the workings of karma can change how it functions in relation to you and the people you interact with.

“For example, two Chaos Immortals cultivated Dao’s relating to karma have two views on this subject. One believed all things are fated and happen following a script. The other thinks events are merely a reaction to causes. Both are in fact true, so long as they don’t interact. The first cultivator’s view that karmic luck was something innately possessed will infer a story with beginning and end for everyone he meets.

“But the latter will instead see a series of possibilities based on different actions for the people he meets. If both were to meet in interact, their points of view will inevitably start clashing. The stronger Dao will naturally come on top and be the dominant influence, but the weaker Dao doesn’t necessarily disappear. It’s overwhelmed, but it’ll still have some degree of wiggle room.”

“I’m sorry Jieyin but how is this relevant?”

“Patience I’m getting there. It is my belief that there is a normal way karma flows in all existence. But this Pri…Three Realms is localized to the Heavenly Dao who is most supreme, hence it’s view on karma takes precedence. I cultivated it as well, hence my own view of it has power so long as the Heavenly Dao doesn’t directly interfere.

“When I said I saw two strings of karma, those were two perspectives of my brother Zhunti. But I lied and there are actually three.”

“?”

Jieyin sighed as he looked towards remains of Mt Sumeru in the West Continent. “Zhunti viewed destined events as rewards for accumulated karma from meritous deeds. The golden light is heaven’s perspective, and it’s not much different other than meritious meaning in service of heaven. My own view is different and irrelevant but it’s this third view.

“It’s almost like an infection. A warping of sorts on the person I know into a definite shell with no room for other explanation. Just like what I started seeing in the Netherworld when that…”

“That monkey,” Nuwa was quick to reply. “You think he did something to Zhunti? That’s why he hasn’t reappeared?”

“I don’t know for sure. My junior brother was still a Chaos Immortal of high calibre. But I am scared of the possibility. What if one day my junior brother returns, but it’s this caricature that I see in this karmic string?”

…

In other parts of the world, the relevant powers only saw this as another sign that unlike before, the Heavenly Dao was not something that can ever be ignored. The remnants of the Phoenixes especially understood the need to restrain themselves.

Their Avian empire had already disappeared. If they were not infighting to fill the royal vacuum, various avian clans fled to join the Demon court. There were already avian demons who did not wish to be under Zufeng’s control and had already joined up with Di Jun when he established his court. But now that amount exploded.

The sudden influx of experts from the former Phoenix territory did little to assail the worries of existing demon powerhouses. It only presented another rival in court for Eastern Emperor Taiyi’s favour.

As the the phoenix herself? Like Yinglong, she did not appear to anyone nor speak to anything. The Undead Volcano still rested in the Heavenly realm’s southern regions. But her presence was not detected. Though some speculated she was simply hiding and that was still the location of her cave abode.

It wasn’t like anyone wanted to visits that place anyway. Too hot for any but the most cultivated in fire arts.

The Starry Skies did not have a strong reaction either. Changxi shut herself into close door cultivation the moment she returned to the Lunar Star. She was greeted by the star’s inhabitants as the Moon Star Lord despite her own misgivings. As Wangshu disappeared from the public eye, those born within the last three thousand years even speculated her demise.

But in her palace, in her own secluded chamber. Wangshu lay resting in her bed while a silk cocoon hung from her ceiling. She was undisturbed from all things in the outside world. Where her consciousness went, no one would know.

In the Netherworld, Minghe returned to a crowd of bloodfiends. There, he sat and began imparting to them the Dao he learned. The Netherworld was not his to rule however, it was the domain of the Reincarnation Disc and it’s chosen champion. Yanluo had left to look for Haotian as of recent.

Minghe didn’t know why, but he could feel something strange going on in the Reincarnation Disc. As one of the architects of its creation, Minghe noticed a strange life signature growing inside it. But he didn’t understand it.

The current world order may seem chaotic on the surface, but Minghe saw it as controlled chaos. The will of heaven permeated all realms and he as a Chaos Immortal of the highest order sensed this even more so. With the war over, the blood god bowed his head. His invincibility was gone, he’d have to learn to be even more careful now.

Far away from the Three Realms, yet not beyond the Heavenly Dao’s influence. A single dragon watched with a complex expression. The dragon quickly turned around and darted away.