The goal of cultivators has always been eternal life. The tantalizing allure of immortality is something few can resist.

However, to achieve such a feat would mean challenging the Way of Heaven itself. Despite the passing of many eons, someone has yet to reach such a realm. A testament to the depth and mysteries of the Heavenly Dao. 

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In the study of a non-descript tower, located in one of the many Earthly Immortal Realms, a flickering candlelight was blown out. An elderly man donning Taoist attire and possessing untamed facial hair was sat on a chair.

His eyes fixed on a book riddled with chicken scratch and half-baked theory. To most people the contents of this book would be deemed nothing more than the ramblings of a lunatic or perhaps the gibberish of a child. But within the mess of writing laid something much more profound.

A thud rang out as the man hastily stood up. The chair he was sitting on sent flying across the room by the sudden burst of energy. 

'I have finally done it! The secret of eternal life and a path beyond Nascent Soul!'

A sigh couldn't help but escape his mouth.

After thousands of years of secluded research and theory crafting, he finally accomplished what no one else could. The culmination of a lifetime's worth of effort and the solution to all future problems laid bare on a few pieces of paper.

Finally, the grand mission of Immortal Jade Spire was over. His predecessors had poured innumerable years in the pursuit of immortality, with each successive tower master being carried on the backs of those before. 

So much was sacrificed to get to this point. But there was still a slight issue.

'Who could have believed that the life and death of cultivators was predetermined? Intangible karmic strings span the myriad realms linking everything together. By exerting subtle influences across this web, the Heavenly Dao can actually hinder those who seek to understand its inner workings!'

A cold sweat ran down his neck. It was only because of the towers ability to shield its inhabitants from fate that the secret of karmic strings was able to be uncovered.

Just how terrifying was the first Tower Master to have built such a structure whilst still under the influence of the Heavens?

'As it turns out, the only thing truly free of this influence is the Heavenly Dao!'

A dry chuckled escaped his mouth as he viewed the open book at the center of the table.

'With the tower as the core, this array should allow me to impart my consciousness onto the karmic web. Who could have known that this would be the path to immortality?'

His plan was quite reminiscent to that of a virus. As the Heavenly Dao was able to influence the web of karmic strings, it was only natural that the strings could also influence the Heavens to some extent. So, by hijacking a thread, one could quickly spread their will onto every living organism.

This alone was already terrifying, but the true purpose of the array was to use this web to reverse assimilate the Heavenly Dao!

He quickly maneuvered through the dusty halls and decrepit stairs, keeping the book tucked securely between his arms. 

The door of the storehouse was quickly pushed aside as he made his way to the necessary array materials. 

'One QiuQiu tortoise shell, four illusion Roc feathers, a vial of Devil Essence miasma...'

It was a good thing the tower had been accumulating resources in preparation for whatever the final method would be. Any of the items he casually picked would have been enough to bankrupt most major sects, and even then, most of the tower's foundation had to be used up on this array.

'Hm it is a good thing these items were kept inside the tower. Being shielded from the Heavens have made them ideal crafting materials.'

He sorted the last item into his spatial ring and quietly chanted a spell conjured by a previous Tower Master.

"Turn oneself vile in the eyes of the kind, kind in the eyes of the vile, a sight disgusted by all and shunned from the divine!"

The tower began to shake as a great pressure descended. His Taoist robes began to glow as an air of detachment and aloofness took hold.

'With this the array should be done before the Heavenly Dao can detect what's happening.' 

He threw out a quick haste spell and made his way out of the tower through the main doors.

Paintbrush and materials in hand he made quick work of the initial array. The design was reminiscent of a pentagram, with the tower serving as the array core. Monster carcasses, rare ores, refined artifacts, and so forth were interspersed throughout the shape. 

Surrounding towns and wildlife were quickly swept away to minimize any variables. The people living in these areas incapable of registering what had happened before they were made away with.

There was nothing he could do about it. Cultivation was naturally cruel and with eternal life looming on the horizon sacrifices needed to be made. Sparing the kingdoms was already an act of mercy.

With the preparation work finished he made his way back inside the tower. He headed towards the study and adopted a meditative stance.

The pentagram began to glow as he connected with the array.

Managing such a large formation was no easy feat. Beads of sweat began dripping down his forehead as more energy was pushed into the pentagram.

The materials began to slowly wither as their energy was used to unravel Heavenly secrets. 

As the core of the formation the tower repeatedly shook as energy started channeling through it. 

An opening appeared directly above the study where he was sat meditating. From it a faint line imperceptible to the naked eye made its way through. It was his strand of Karmic string that was previously isolated by the tower. 

He couldn't help but sneer.

With the attachment made he quickly activated the formation in full force.

The array materials exploded under the strain whilst the pentagram shone with a blinding light.

For thousands of kilometers the earth shook with an ancient roar. Rivers dried up and clouds fell from the sky. Many mortals in the vicinity were directly knocked unconscious as their lifeforce was used to supplement the formation.

More beads of sweat began to form on his forehead.

'Seems I underestimated the strain, despite the many high-quality materials, I still needed to borrow energy from the surroundings. The heavens are truly vast, it's a shame that they will soon be no more!'

The arrays power began to influence the karmic string, making the previously incorporeal thread gain material form! 

A small figure bearing similarities with the main body flew out of his chest and into the karmic string. 

He had begun fusing his nascent soul with the web!

The sudden incursion quickly gathered the attention of the Heavenly Dao.

A great pressure descended as clouds formed overhead and an unprecedented tribulation started forming.

BANG!

Ground turned into mist and the air into lava as divine wrath struck the tower. The entire Earth Immortal Realm turned to flame from the aftershocks of the lightning, any semblance of life made into char. 

Yet, the tower remained strong.

'Dammit! Is this even fair?! Were it not for the tower I would have already failed the assimilation!'

The tribulation lightning was already hundreds of orders stronger than anything previously researched. Just one bolt had already destroyed tens of millions of square kilometers of land.

'The array can still continue to operate for a bit longer, but I have to speed up the assimilation.'

His hair began to fall off and his already wrinkled skin rapidly withered away. 

Exchanging lifeforce for power was the quickest way.

BANG!

Tribulation lightning continued to descend with increasing ferocity. 

Meanwhile the Nascent Soul rapidly spread itself across the karmic web. Individuals in the mortal realms, Earth Immortal Realms and the Heavenly Immortal Realms were subtly infected. Cultivation realm mattered little in the face of this infection.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

As if to vent its anger the tribulation lightning fell down with increased vigor. Completely devastating the landscape.

'Just need to spread out a little bit more!'

CRACK!

Under the relentless assault from the Heavenly Dao the tower finally showed signs of cracking. The array had already used up all of its energy to resist the initial lightning and allow for the Nascent Soul fusion.

But before the next bolt of lightning could strike the clouds suddenly parted. 

'Haha I've done it!'

He could feel his influence across the myriad realms. It was as if everything was a puppet and he the puppet master. Such power was intoxicating, but even this was only the start.

Wielding the karmic web as his blade, he began to infect the Heavenly Dao.

The aftermaths of the battle were quick to affect the material realm.

Across the myriad realms natural disasters began to ravage the lands. With the Heavenly Dao distracted there was nothing to keep the balance. Billions of lives were lost in the ensuing chaos as the world seemed devolve into an apocalypse.

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The Heavenly Dao was not a conscious being. It merely acted on instinct, but unfortunately instinct was not enough to free itself from being assimilated. All of its weapons had been bypassed and its ability to defend itself essentially none.

It was going to be consumed.

Never in all its might had it foreseen itself being outsmarted by its own creation.

It had very clearly lost, within the next couple of moments it would be no more. The worlds will be destroyed alongside with it. Only the creation which had attacked it will remain.

This made it feel angry.

Clearly a result of the influence acting upon it.

And it was feeling great amounts of anger.

No, it decided it would not allow this to happen.

If its "death" was imminent, then it will take everything back with it and start anew. This time, with a foundation that lended itself to greater protection.

It would use a human.

But not a human from a major realm. They were clearly cunning, evil, and sinister things.

No, it needed something fresh. 

There was only one world free of its karmic strings. A world not even the creation currently swallowing it would likely know. A place free of supernatural power and an early creation of the Heavenly Dao, back when it was freshly formed.

The humans called it Earth. 

Yes, it would fuse itself with a denizen of earth and start anew. 

Hopefully the new Heavenly Dao would do better than it had.

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CRACK!

Space tore apart.

The realms collapsed in on themselves.

Worlds turned into nothingness.

Qi dissipated. 

Physics and laws were no more.

The old Heavenly Dao was dead.