Chapter : Chapter VIII: The Shattering of Heaven's Mandate
Era: Crown Cycles 099,000,000 to 100,000,000
Theme: War of Pillars, Realm Division, Supremacy of the Eternal Powers
Focus: The rise of the Eternal Pillars as supreme forces that eclipse the 33 Supreme Races, and the division of the Azure Vast
I. Prelude to Immortal Supremacy
Though the 33 Supreme Races had risen to prominence, their dominions spanned stars and their sages walked between suns, their might was eclipsed by a greater storm brewing at the heart of the Azure Vast. From ancient roots, secretive vaults, and abyssal crucibles, four immortal forces finally broke their long silence:
The Heavenly Gu Family of the East
The Ancient Ebonridge Empire of the West
The Verdant Crest Sect of the South
The Voidspire Pavilion from the drifting void above
These were not mere sects or dynasties. They were immortal institutions whose foundations spanned countless reincarnations and epochs. Their emergence was not a return—it was a claim.
II. The Mandate Fractures
At the heart of the Azure Vast, the World Tree, now ancient and reclusive, remained the spiritual anchor of reality. Yet, even her roots could not restrain the ambitions of the Pillars.
Each Eternal Pillar declared sovereignty over a quadrant of the Azure Vast, citing divine right, ancestral law, or cosmological entitlement:
Gu Family: Claimed the East as the Sanctified Domain of Soul Contracts
Ebonridge Empire: Took the West as the Imperial Crucible of Martial Order
Verdant Crest Sect: Rooted itself in the South as the Flourishing Expanse of Harmony and Life
Voidspire Pavilion: Enfolded the North and Above into the Endless Expanse of Void and Thought
The World Tree, still at the heart of the Azure Vast, was deemed neutral ground, sacred and untouchable. Her silence was not weakness—but mourning.
III. The War of Pillars
Diplomacy failed within the first hundred years. The war was inevitable. It began with:
Gu Family executing soul-binding on three Supreme Race kings.
Ebonridge Empire enforcing martial decrees in shared borders, igniting battle.
Voidspire Pavilion erasing a dimension inhabited by spirit archivists aligned with Verdant Crest.
Verdant Crest retaliating by binding an entire planetary biosphere into a living warship.
The Azure Vast fractured.
Leylines were redirected.
Celestial beasts were enslaved.
Qi was taxed and rationed.
Forbidden scriptures were pulled from ancient vaults.
IV. Suppression of the 33 Races
Once luminous and sovereign, the 33 Supreme Races found themselves overshadowed. Many resisted. Most submitted. A few attempted to unite but were shattered by:
Soul Inquisition Rituals by the Gu
Voidfolded Annihilation from Voidspire
Eternal Thorn Rebirth arrays by Verdant Crest
Dragonsteel Battalion incursions from Ebonridge
The Supreme Races were forced to swear fealty, retreat into minor realms, or vanish into the folds of space.
V. Division of the Realm
By the end of the epoch, the Azure Vast had been redrawn:
East: A landscape of spirit temples, ancestral courts, and soul prisons
West: A militarized galactic expanse governed by martial decree
South: A living continent of sentient forests, sacred rivers, and elemental communes
North and Above: A drifting void where time folds, laws shatter, and mind cultivators reign
At the center—rooted in silence—the World Tree stood. No longer a ruler, but an eternal observer.
VI. Cultivation Aftermath
In this divided era, cultivation adapted:
Qi Paths were bound to geography and allegiance
New Spiritual Taxes required cultivators to donate energy to Pillar Forges
Soul Contracts became mandatory for inter-region travel
Legacy Seals ensured the arts passed only to approved descendants
VII. A World Reforged
Peace was not declared—but enforced. The Eternal Pillars stood unchallenged. The age of chaos was gone. The age of dynasties faded. What remained was:
Eternal structure
Rooted power
Bound souls
The Azure Vast had been reforged—not into unity, but into a celestial machine.
The silence of the World Tree deepened. Yet, far beneath her bark, in roots older than light, a new dream stirred.