"Millennium Tribulation?"
The term seemed to ring a bell in Qi Tian's mind.
He recalled his master mentioning it before.
But at the time, he had paid no heed, too engrossed in his own creations to listen to his master's words.
"When the Millennium Tribulation appears, a single oversight could lead to the annihilation of an entire civilization. To emerge from the Millennium Tribulation means that civilization has the potential to ascend to immortality," the Qi cultivator said, a hint of nostalgia in his voice as he spoke of the matter.
"I think I'm remembering something."
Qi Tian suddenly recalled that the Artifact Sect possessed many ancient texts, which spoke of the Qi cultivators themselves being remnants from thousands of years ago.
"Qi cultivators, did you fail during the Millennium Tribulation?" Qi Tian suddenly asked.
"If I had failed, I wouldn't be able to be here chatting with you now." The consciousness negated Qi Tian's words.
"But, you didn't succeed either."
Qi Tian instantly understood, "You neither failed nor succeeded back then, which is why you could continue to exist in this world. However, your original world, your original civilization, was indeed completely destroyed."
"That's correct." This time, the consciousness did not deny Qi Tian's words. "We paid a heavy price back then, allowing a portion of us to survive the tribulation. But, it took us hundreds of years of recuperation to barely recover. By then, a new human civilization had already begun in the outside world."
"That was a newly born civilization, and we also knew that the era of us Qi cultivators had come to an end." The voice held a touch of sorrow. "At that time, we numbered no more than a hundred people in total. How could a mere hundred people support a civilization?"
"Indeed." Qi Tian understood. They were powerful, but with only a hundred individuals, they could no longer be called a civilization.
"Since the first time, I have experienced nine Millennium Tribulations," the Qi cultivator began to speak freely. "Apart from the very first one I personally experienced, every subsequent tribulation was remarkably simple, like a joke from the heavens compared to ours. Thus, human civilizations have been passed down time and time again."
"However, these Millennium Tribulations have been continuously intensifying over these nine thousand years. By the last one, that tribulation was already not much different from the one we experienced initially."
"Barring any unforeseen circumstances, this current Millennium Tribulation will reach the level of despair that we Qi cultivators experienced."
"And given the current development of this world, along with your peak combat power, this tribulation should cause the complete disappearance of human civilization." The Qi cultivator's consciousness conveyed a sense of regret. "Even if we were to intervene and help as we have done in every previous instance, it would already be impossible for anyone to turn the tide."
Qi Tian seemed to hear something rather unsettling. "Are you saying that human civilization will end? That this tribulation will destroy all of humanity's civilization?" This was certainly not good news. What if this tribulation descended before he could break through, and his life ended here? No!