Shrouding the Heavens: The Ultimate Daoist Venerable

Chapter 19 Choice
Divine light shone brightly from beyond the ancient star Kunlun, accompanied by rolling Dao sounds, and endless Dao patterns of laws continued to evolve. In the blink of an eye, this situation had lasted for fifteen days.

In this situation, many people have lost patience, feeling that the current Celestial Venerable seems to have exaggerated. How come the major restricted areas yielded one moment, and then couldn't make any progress at all, not even getting through the gates in fifteen days?
Only the supreme beings in the forbidden zone knew just how difficult Liang Yu's actions were. Liang Yu wasn't trying to enter; he wanted to render Kunlun's gates useless from that moment on.

In fact, if it weren't for the natural Dao traces of the Kunlun Immortal Array, Liang Yu would probably have already broken it. But even so, he is now close to success.

Liang Yu's progress was accelerating, but the supreme beings within the Kunlun Ancient Star dared not interfere. This was because if they did emerge, there was a high probability that Liang Yu would abandon his efforts to break the formation and instead force his way in to suppress and kill them.

Because of the desolate tower, they didn't even dare to leave Kunlun Immortal Mountain. Only within the Kunlun Immortal Array could they rest easy.

But now, Liang Yu is breaking through the great formation. If he is allowed to gradually erode it, then all other areas of Kunlun Ancient Star except for Kunlun Immortal Mountain will probably fall.

They had two choices: either defend Kunlun Immortal Mountain and abandon the ancient Kunlun Star, or risk their own lives to stop Liang Yu from breaking the formation. Clearly, all five supreme beings chose the former.

Finally, Liang Yu completed the formation break. He stood up, and layers of great formations appeared on his body, evolving into endless worlds like the Myriad Phenomena Annihilation Formation. His Qiankun Creation Tower became even more wondrous, with countless array patterns and Dao traces imprinted on it, and the entire tower exuded a Daoist charm close to that of immortals.

Zhulong exclaimed, "What a magnificent Wuji Heavenly Venerable! He has completely deciphered the great formation set up by the nine supreme beings of Kunlun in just half a month, and even developed changes that we are unaware of. Amazing, truly amazing."

The four villains were already somewhat numb, because if they were in their shoes, they would never have been able to do this. This enormous gap shattered the hearts of these once invincible figures who had suppressed their enemies for a lifetime.

They had to admit that even the most invincible Dao-proving masters were still stronger than themselves. While Zhulong was strong, he was still within the same level, but Liang Yu was on a completely different level.

Liang Yu stepped into the ancient star Kunlun. This ancient star had few plains; everywhere were towering mountains reaching into the clouds and vast, bottomless rivers and lakes. Four seas were located in the four directions, with countless islands on them.

This ancient star is home to numerous races, all of which are extremely rare and exotic species. There is the Bifang, a divine bird with blue feathers and red spots, and one leg; the Zheng, a strange beast resembling a red leopard, with five tails and a single horn; the Feiyi, a strange snake with six legs and four wings on its back; and the Hujiao, a water beast with a fish's body and a snake's tail…

These strange beasts all possessed a faint, almost immortal aura, echoing the Kunlun Immortal Mountain at the very center of the continent. Clearly, this was due to the Kunlun Immortal Blood they possessed.

Instead of heading towards Kunlun Immortal Mountain, Liang Yu began wandering around this ancient star, using his Origin Heaven Divine Eye and Profound Subtle Dharma Eye to discern the Dao traces in various places. During this process, Liang Yu discovered that someone seemed to be transferring these life forms, allowing them to avoid the impending great battle.

He followed the man's aura and saw a strange beast. It had the body of a horse, the face of a human, tiger stripes, and bird wings, and its cry was like a pomegranate. This was the strange beast Yingzhao, an old friend of Liang Yu.

Liang Yu laughed and said, "Ying Shenxiao, it's been five hundred years, and you've only just begun to achieve enlightenment through this unorthodox method? Did I break your spirit?"

As the strongest Kunlun Immortal Bloodline, appearing only once every hundreds of thousands of years from Kunlun Immortal Mountain, Ying Shenxiao did not stop after being defeated by Liang Yu, but continued to cultivate. At this time, he had already reached the level of an alternative path to enlightenment.

If it were a different era, his attainment of enlightenment would have been almost inevitable. Among the nine supreme beings who have emerged in the history of the Kunlun clan, even the strongest, Zhulong, did not possess the same level of Kunlun immortal blood strength as him.

However, this genius, who had the potential to become the strongest supreme being in the history of the Kunlun clan, encountered Liang Yu and failed to attain enlightenment. This is the root cause of the Kunlun clan's hatred for Liang Yu.

Ying Shenxiao looked at his former rival with a complicated expression. They were no longer on the same level.

He sighed deeply, transformed into human form, and cupped his hands, saying, "Heavenly Venerable, please show mercy and spare my people."

Liang Yu felt a sense of distance, but this was inevitable. Firstly, the difference in their strength was too great to be treated as equals; secondly, Liang Yu had a grudge against their clan's ancestor, which was difficult to resolve.

In this way, these old friends who once cherished each other and were both enemies and friends can never return to the way they were before. The smile on Liang Yu's face faded, and he said, "Ying Shenxiao, we have known each other for many years. Don't you know what kind of person I am? On this trip, I will only target those old geezers in Kunlun Mountain."

Before Ying Shenxiao could answer, he continued, "Instead of pleading with me, you should think about why your ancestor chose to leave these people alive."

Ying Shenxiao remained silent. The nine tribes that had produced supreme beings were now deep within the Kunlun Immortal Mountain; those still outside were clearly abandoned. Even his own Yingzhao tribe had only a portion of its members accompany him into the Immortal Mountain.

These clansmen were clearly cannon fodder used to make Liang Yu hesitate to act rashly. Given Liang Yu's consistent style, he would certainly not allow these Kunlun clansmen to die on the battlefield while he fought against the Supreme Beings. And if he were to be distracted protecting these people, the Supreme Beings' chances of victory would be even greater.

They were clearly their own people, yet they were used as a weapon against outsiders.

Ying Shenxiao naturally disagreed with such a thing. Although he had achieved enlightenment in an unorthodox way and could be considered a supreme enemy, his foundation was still shallow and he had virtually no control over the Kunlun Immortal Array.

In a one-on-one fight, the four evil spirits, apart from Zhulong, might not be able to defeat him without ascending to higher levels. However, if they activate the Kunlun Immortal Array, the situation will become one-sided.

Therefore, Ying Shenxiao lacked sufficient influence to change the decisions of the Five Supreme Beings. It was for this reason that Ying Shenxiao chose to lead his people away, including not only his own Yingzhao tribe, but also the tribes that had been abandoned.

Liang Yu further said, "Ying Shenxiao, you and I once drank and talked happily. You personally said that you would sweep away the forbidden zone and make the world free from darkness and turmoil."

“Now, look at the four fierce beasts of Kunlun. Which one of them doesn’t have a blood debt? Even Zhulong has killed many. No matter how well they hide, this bloodthirsty aura cannot be erased. You and they are not on the same side.”

"So, take your people and leave. I will not harm them, nor will I harm you."

"Today, I probably won't be able to wipe out this place. But one day, I will make all the supreme beings who have committed murder pay for their blood debts. Right now, we are still half friends, and I don't want us to become enemies in the future."

"That's all I have to say. I just hope you won't forget your original aspirations."

Ying Shenxiao was speechless; Liang Yu's sincerity made him unable to look directly at him. But perhaps, what he couldn't bear to look at was his past self—the one who was once spirited and righteous.

He rolled up his long sleeves and led the remaining members of his clan to flee into the starry sky, not daring to look back.

In the Kunlun Immortal Mountain, Chaos asked in bewilderment, "Why can't we listen to that brat Shenxiao and bring all the tribes back to the Immortal Mountain?"

Zhulong sighed, "The storm is brewing. My intuition tells me that something big is about to happen. This time, I deliberately forced Shenxiao away. He is different from us; he is too young and too soft-hearted. But because of this, he is pure. If one day Kunlun is doomed, he will be the last hope of our clan."

Taotie said with dissatisfaction, "How can you boost the morale of others while diminishing your own? I admit that Wuji Tianzun is indeed very strong, but he could not possibly break through my Kunlun Immortal Mountain, let alone cause the extinction of my race."

Qiongqi also said, "Indeed, my Kunlun clan has stood for millions of years. What calamity could possibly destroy us?"

Taotie said, "Unless three or five Wuji Heavenly Venerables join forces, what is there to fear?"

Zhulong shook his head and said, "It's just a feeling, better safe than sorry. Gentlemen, now that we have no worries, we can proceed with our actions."

(End of this chapter)