The Empress Dowager nodded, speaking slowly, "The Sea of Primordial Force is formally known as the Sea of Spiritual Primordial Force. It was a miracle created by the First Emperor of the Empire. It was precisely thanks to the support of the Sea of Primordial Force that the Original Humans evolved into the True Humans, thus giving rise to the True Human Empire."

"That would have been over a hundred thousand years ago, wouldn't it?" The Empress Dowager’s words immediately captured Yang Ying’s attention. He had once attempted to clone the True Human bloodline, but what grew were only Sub-Humans. Yang Ying had always been intensely curious as to why True Humans naturally awakened and possessed the Third Level of Soul Essence. Now, he finally had the answer: the Sea of Primordial Force.

The Empress Dowager continued her narrative, "The True Human Empire has experienced various political structures, such as Alliances, Federations, and Republics; the term 'True Human' didn't even exist back then. Only a select few among humanity could awaken, much like the Sub-Humans in the Empire today, or Earth in the Orion Arm. We now refer to that era as the Primitive Age."

"Over a hundred thousand years ago, His Majesty the First Emperor appeared like a comet, unifying the fractured and internally conflicted Republic and establishing the Empire. The First Emperor, who achieved this monumental feat, was unwilling to see the Empire he founded crumble one day like the Republic. He desired to establish an eternal Empire that would endure for ten thousand generations, so he decided to surpass the Fourth Level of Realm and step into the Fifth Level, using his own eternity to shepherd the Empire’s eternity."

"His Majesty the First Emperor was truly astonishing. According to the secret chronicles passed down within the Imperial Family, his wish nearly came true. He spent a thousand years conceptualizing the nascent form of the Sea of Primordial Force, and then mobilized the entire might of the Empire to construct it. The First Emperor's original intent was likely to use the Sea of Primordial Force to connect the spiritual world of all humanity, gathering the strength of the entire race to fuel his own ascension."

At this point, Yang Ying suddenly recalled the spiritual linkage between his divine insects, which seemed remarkably similar to the Sea of Primordial Force.

The Empress Dowager, unaware of Yang Ying's thoughts, pressed on, "However, during its creation, the Sea of Primordial Force experienced a deviation and did not achieve the intended effect. It could not aggregate the spirit of all humanity; instead, it gained the ability to awaken individuals. Of course, the Sea of Primordial Force at that time was incomplete; it couldn't awaken the masses, and could only be controlled by the First Emperor, who expended his own spiritual power to enlighten a single, unawakened being."

"That must have been incredibly difficult," Yang Ying remarked.

"Indeed," the Empress Dowager sighed, shaking her head. "Later, when the First Emperor saw that the experiment with the Sea of Primordial Force had failed, he abandoned that path and began exploring other avenues. Then, one day—no one knows exactly what happened—the First Emperor finally broke past the Fourth Level of Realm and advanced toward the Fifth."

The Empress Dowager paused, her face etched with profound admiration. As the first being in the Milky Way to transcend the limit of the Fourth Level, the deeds of the First Emperor clearly captivated her. However, she shifted the topic, "Sadly, although the First Emperor stepped beyond the Fourth Level, he never fully entered the Fifth. He became lost somewhere between the two realms."

"What does that mean?" Yang Ying asked, both curious and perplexed.

"I do not know either," the Empress Dowager replied with a wry smile. "How could I possibly fathom the realm that surpasses the Fourth Level limit? It is merely recorded in the ancestral journals, and I speak only what is written."

"I see. Please continue," Yang Ying requested earnestly.

The Empress Dowager nodded and narrated, "Stuck precariously between the Fourth and Fifth Levels, the First Emperor found his state extremely unstable, constantly on the verge of annihilation. Thus, he made a decision: to completely abandon everything he was, infusing all of his transcendent spiritual power beyond the Fourth Level into the Sea of Primordial Force. This act perfected the Sea of Primordial Force to its ultimate degree, making it self-sustaining and inexhaustible, capable of supporting the evolution of the entire human race into True Humans."

"Magnificent! A truly great First Emperor," Yang Ying praised.

The Empress Dowager smiled. "Because of the Sea of Primordial Force, humanity achieved the ultimate goal of universal awakening, and then began to expand. Their territory grew continually until the True Human Empire was established, eventually encompassing the entire Milky Way. Since the First Emperor, every successive Emperor has made the research of the Sea of Primordial Force their highest priority. They too hoped to unearth the secrets of ascending to the Fifth Level, but after more than a hundred thousand years of research, it has all come to naught, yielding no results. What His Majesty the First Emperor left behind was pure power, devoid of any subjective consciousness; it only follows the succession laws he established to choose the Emperors, generation after generation."

Yang Ying nodded, then suddenly asked, "What about the Great Cataclysm ten thousand years ago, which caused the True Human Empire to lose half its territory? What happened there?" The Empress Dowager pondered for a moment. "Since I have told you everything about the Sea of Primordial Force, there is no need to conceal what happened ten thousand years ago. In fact, eleven thousand, six hundred and forty-two years ago, the Empire discovered a spatial-temporal node emitting massive energy reactions. After scientific analysis, they believed it could potentially become a gateway to galaxies beyond our own."

"Even with the Empire's current technological power, reaching extragalactic systems is not difficult, but developing them is still beyond our current capabilities. However, the scientific community at the time generally believed that once that spatial-temporal node could be opened, they could colonize other galaxies and expand the Empire's dominion once more."

"And so this led to disaster?" Yang Ying questioned, half-asking, half-lamenting.

"Precisely," the Empress Dowager confirmed. "The spatial-temporal node was opened, but from the other side burst forth a terrifying army, numbering only tens of thousands, yet every single one was a Fourth Level existence! They were bloodthirsty and began slaughtering immediately upon arrival."

Yang Ying's heart jolted. Tens of thousands of Fourth Level beings—surely that surpassed the total number of all Fourth Level entities that had ever appeared in the Milky Way throughout history.

He listened as the Empress Dowager continued, "Fortunately, the Empire's power was at its peak then. To combat this Fourth Level army, nearly the entire Empire was mobilized. Among the first wave of scientists who opened the node, over a dozen Fourth Level beings were present. They almost all chose to sacrifice themselves to construct a sturdy barrier, locking down the spatial-temporal node and buying time for the army to delay entering the Milky Way. Later, hundreds more Fourth Level entities, upon learning the news, rushed to the node. They desperately reinforced the barrier, finally securing enough time."

"Subsequently, countless warships moved toward the node, one after another, and with the combined efforts of all Fourth Level beings across the galaxy, they managed to annihilate the majority of that terrifying army. A small fraction escaped back through the node. The Empire and all the races under its dominion suffered devastating losses. The surviving Fourth Level entities worked together to reseal the spatial-temporal node, ensuring that the Milky Way remains glorious to this day."

"Hm?" After listening, Yang Ying paused to think for a moment, then asked with some surprise, "If that’s the case, although the Empire suffered heavy losses, the fighting was primarily concentrated near the spatial-temporal node. How did that cause the Empire to contract its territory completely, retreating to half its former glory?"

"The Empire's territorial contraction was not caused by direct attack, but by an accidental chain reaction—a consequence of the Sea of Primordial Force collapsing." At this point, the Empress Dowager's face darkened, and she sighed. "The Emperor at that time, just as the dawn of victory was in sight, was assassinated by a concentrated enemy strike. Normally, the Sea of Primordial Force would automatically seek out the next successor, but the problem was that the Emperor failed to leave behind an heir who met the Sea of Primordial Force's succession rules!"

"The succession rule of the Sea of Primordial Force states that upon the death of the current administrator, it first seeks the direct descendants of the current administrator. If none exist, it looks to the direct descendants of the previous administrator. If neither exists, the succession line is declared extinct. For example, Elly is the Empress now; if she were to meet with misfortune and had no children, Sophie, the other child of the former Emperor, would inherit. If Sophie were then to die without issue, and the former Emperor had no other remaining bloodline, the Sea of Primordial Force would judge the succession severed."

"Over ten thousand years ago, because of that Emperor's death, the lineage of the Sea of Primordial Force was once broken. At that time, the entire Sea of Primordial Force collapsed, its energy overflowing, causing terrifying natural disasters on many planets inhabited by True Humans. Your Excellency Yang Ying, coming from Earth, should be able to find some clues in your myths."

Upon hearing this, Yang Ying nodded. Whether it was Yu the Great controlling the floods in the East or Noah’s Ark in the West, both mentioned great floods in ancient times. Even the legendary continent of Atlantis was swallowed by a massive flood. Although these legends have slight discrepancies in timing, ancient myths are generally vague about chronology, so some deviation is to be expected.

"So, that was the consequence of the Sea of Primordial Force collapsing," Yang Ying murmured to himself, looking away.

The Empress Dowager continued, "To stop the ravages of the Sea of Primordial Force, many of the Empire’s Fourth Level existences began dealing with it after sealing the spatial-temporal node. After decades of careful management, they finally managed to stabilize the energy flow of the Sea of Primordial Force again. The ancestor of the late Emperor, being a collateral branch of the Royal Family and having the closest ties to the main bloodline, contributed the most. Thus, he assumed the Imperial throne, became the Emperor, took control of the Sea of Primordial Force, and restarted the succession."

At this point, the Empress Dowager’s face revealed a hint of sorrow and bitterness. "Alas, because the Sea of Primordial Force was in collapse for too long, its very foundation was damaged. The inexhaustible spiritual power that the First Emperor once infused suffered catastrophic harm. Many Imperial citizens lost the support of the Sea of Primordial Force and degenerated back into Original Humans—what we now call Sub-Humans. Due to the severity of this regression, their spirits were damaged, causing them to forget their true selves and begin a new cycle of civilization. Furthermore, because the energy of the Sea of Primordial Force was greatly diminished, it could no longer support the territory of the entire Milky Way, forcing us to abandon the Orion Arm and the Perseus Arm, right up to this very day!"