The Ascending to Heaven Campaign

Overview

Approximately ten thousand years ago, the Ascending to Heaven Campaign marked the foundational cosmological conflict of the world, wherein humanity rebelled against the ancient gods of the heavenly court. Prior to this massive uprising, the high gods treated humanity as subjects and a mere source of incense, ruling from an exalted position over the earth. Uniting their will and strength, the earliest human cultivators—including early Daoists, the patriarchs of the Three Teachings, the Military Ancestor, and formidable sword cultivators—scaled the highest peaks and struck directly at the heavens to shatter the old order.

The campaign was unimaginably catastrophic, tearing the heavens and earth apart and leaving a trail of divine and human casualties. During the assault on the heavenly gates, the first Daoist in the human world cleared the path upward. The first male cultivator to physically enter the Heavenly Gate was the revered head of the sword cultivators (one of the Ten Heroes of the Ancient World), while the first female cultivator to cross the threshold was the sword cultivator Bai Jing. The battles saw tremendous devastation; in one famous instance, a divine general clad in Frost Armor defending the Heavenly Gate chose to fight to the death, ultimately being nailed to the gate by a single sword strike from the Sword Bearer, one of the five highest gods of the heavenly court.

The war ended with the fracturing of the ancient heavenly court. More than half of the twelve high-ranking gods perished in the world-altering conflict, while other surviving deities were either driven into hiding in the outer voids, forced into deep slumber on earth, or compelled to reincarnate. This monumental victory succeeded in ending the absolute rule of the gods, placing the destiny of the world into the hands of humanity and early cultivators.

Outcome / Consequences

The Ascending to Heaven Campaign permanently established humanity as the dominant force in the newly separated worlds, but the united front immediately fractured in the war's aftermath. A fierce internal schism erupted among the victors—primarily between the radical sword cultivators who wished to occupy the heavenly ruins and ruthlessly exterminate the remaining gods, and the patriarchs of the Three Teachings who advocated for establishing a new, peaceful order for all living beings. This profound ideological disagreement led to a devastating civil war, ultimately resulting in the exile of the sword cultivators and the creation of the Sword Qi Great Wall.

References

• 剑来48：随手斩飞升，第一章 — 你是谁: Supports the details of the first Daoist clearing the path, the head of sword cultivation being the first male to enter the Heavenly Gate, and Bai Jing being the first female cultivator to enter.
• 剑来26：人间最得意，第五章 — 饮者留其名: Details the overarching history of humans ascending to the heavens to shatter the heavenly court, the overthrow of the high gods, and the subsequent ideological split and civil war among the human victors involving Chen Qingdu and the Three Teachings.
• 剑来41：山青花欲燃，第八章 — 邀请函: Mentions the divine general in Frost Armor who defended the Heavenly Gate and was nailed to it by the Sword Bearer.
• 剑来50：蜉蝣见青天，第五章 — 蜉蝣见青天: Explicitly names the conflict the "Ascending to Heaven" campaign (登天一役) and describes it as the first war of the ancient era, followed immediately by the second war, which was the internal strife among the victors.