Shrouding the Heavens: The Ultimate Daoist Venerable

Chapter 235 Xuandu Cave and Eight Views Palace
This statue is naturally also a self-severed supreme being, but it has merged into a statue that he has carefully crafted using the method of merging the primordial spirit with the Dao weapon.

He came from before the age of mythology. When these four supreme beings arrived, he had almost lost consciousness. Because of this, they treated him as an extraordinary ancient artifact, not only refining him but also using him as the core of the Mount Sumeru Grand Array. Therefore, even when he occasionally awoke, he dared not resist, his consciousness sinking even deeper into oblivion. He was almost completely transformed into a weapon, and even the aura of the opening of the Path to Immortality failed to awaken him.

But the collision between the celestial bell and Mount Sumeru finally brought him to his senses, and he quickly grasped the situation. Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately decided to flee. Taking advantage of the moment when neither side was paying attention, he quietly tore through the void and disappeared. Amidst the battle, he escaped unscathed.

The supreme deity who had escaped death laughed, "My journey here is like a bird soaring into the sky, a fish entering the sea; I am no longer bound by any constraints! You four almost drove me to my doom, you deserve to die!"

"However, this Wuji actually calls himself a Great Celestial Venerable, which is really too arrogant. Although your methods are amazing, you are still lacking in wisdom and strategy. You are about to exterminate the forbidden zone of life, and you don't even know to make arrangements to deal with unexpected events. If you send another Supreme Venerable here as a reserve force, wouldn't I be doomed? You are still too young."

At this moment, an aura quietly appeared; it was none other than the Heavenly Venerable of Annihilation, who had returned to his peak with the help of the Nine-Turn Immortal Pill.

Upon hearing the statue's words, the Celestial Venerable of Nirvana said, "Fellow Daoist, I'm afraid you're celebrating too soon."

The statue paused slightly, then said, "I had no choice before, but now I want to be a good supreme being. Give me a chance?"

The Celestial Venerable of Annihilation shook his head and said, "If you hadn't instigated the Dark Turmoil, then I could naturally give you a chance. But unfortunately, you are not worthy. Even if you have merged your primordial spirit with the Dao weapon, it is difficult to hide that bloodthirsty aura. I cannot even estimate how many lives you have stained your hands with. So there is no need to say more, you should just die."

Seeing that the Heavenly Venerable of Nirvana was resolute, the statue immediately launched an attack. Divine light flashed within the Heavenly Venerable of Nirvana's altar, as if it had anticipated the enemy's move and prepared a response in advance, as if it could foresee the future.

This is naturally the ability to foresee the future that one possesses after reaching an extremely profound level in the Secret of the Forgotten Words. This is what is meant by the saying that the path of utmost sincerity can lead to foreknowledge.

The two were already on unequal footing, and with the further advancement of the "Previous" secret by the Celestial Venerable of Annihilation, the statue was seen through step by step, ultimately leading to its defeat.

Meanwhile, the battle near Mount Sumeru had reached a stalemate.

Ying Shenxiao's opponent was the first to reach the ultimate sublimation, because facing such an unconventional Dao attainment that was comparable to his peak state, he had no chance at all without sublimation.

The other three also ascended to a higher level. After all, although their opponents were not as strong as Ying Shenxiao, they were still young and vigorous cultivators who had achieved enlightenment through unconventional means. Even if they did not fall behind in the short term due to the depletion of their vital energy, they would eventually be defeated in a prolonged battle. In this situation, their only option was to strive for the ultimate ascension to fight to the death.

Even so, they ultimately could not change their fate and were all killed. Although the three except Ying Shenxiao managed to defeat their opponents by exhausting their own life force, this great battle was still enough to benefit them greatly.

After the battle, they activated the Immortal Bell, dragging Mount Sumeru away along with it. The Celestial Venerable of Morality was in charge of the Great Luo Immortal Mountain, and this forbidden zone was indeed a wondrous place. However, strangely, this wondrous place never appeared in later generations; it's unknown whether it was completely destroyed or simply never found it. After all, the universe is vast, and if it were hidden in some remote corner of a small world, even a Dao-proving being would find it difficult to discover.

This majestic and precipitous Great Luo Immortal Mountain is shrouded in celestial mist, abundant with immortal herbs and spiritual plants. Countless celestial birds and auspicious beasts can be faintly seen inhabiting it, each possessing intelligence and devoid of any demonic or beastly nature, resembling celestial beings. Such a magnificent scene is truly like a paradise on earth. However, after they participated in the plan of the Carefree Celestial Venerable, Great Luo Immortal Mountain fell into disrepair. Yet, it is still a wondrous place, and thus retains its extraordinary aura.

The core treasure of this Great Luo Immortal Mountain is not actually within the mountain itself, but at its summit. It is a chaotic cave connected to the mountain, yet it also subtly gives birth to a small world. This cave is called Xuandu Cave. Although it is not yet fully formed, it is enough to accommodate these supreme beings who have sealed themselves within it.

The Celestial Venerable of Morality was very pleased to see this place. Since his resurrection, he had either been traveling in the universe or in seclusion at Liang Yu's Wuji Immortal Mountain, and had not even rebuilt his own Daoist temple. Now this immortal mountain was just right to serve as his new Daoist temple.

After all, Liang Yu had the Wuji Immortal Mountain, Ming Zun had the Underworld Earth Palace, and even the later Yuanshi Tianzun had a Kunlun Immortal Mountain. If he and Lingbao Tianzun didn't set up a special place for their Daoist practice, they would feel like something was missing.

But are extraordinary places so easy to find? There might not even be ten extraordinary places in the entire universe, and many of them already have owners. Looking for other special locations just doesn't seem quite respectable. Once this damned competitive spirit took hold, the Celestial Venerable of Morality and the Celestial Venerable of Spiritual Treasure never rebuilt their sacred sites.

Finding a rare and wondrous place is difficult, but acquiring it is not. After all, there is more than one rare and wondrous place among the remaining ten forbidden zones; all you have to do is seize it.

Liang Yu naturally knew the thoughts of the Moral Celestial Venerable and the Spiritual Treasure Celestial Venerable, so he had specifically arranged for the Moral Celestial Venerable to quell the Great Luo Immortal Mountain. As for the six supreme beings among them, the Moral Celestial Venerable could easily eliminate them, so Liang Yu naturally didn't take them seriously.

While the six supreme beings were being schemed against by the carefree Heavenly Venerable and unable to escape, the Moral Heavenly Venerable was already in the Great Luo Immortal Mountain, studying the terrain of the place.

As soon as the dimensional gate appeared, the Celestial Venerable of Morality released the Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Exquisite Pagoda, intending to directly block the teleportation. However, upon sensing something unusual within it, he stopped, refraining from destroying the dimensional gate. After all, the auras of the Celestial Venerable of Freedom and the Heavens emanated from within the dimensional gate, and he couldn't help but wonder what they were planning.

As the teleportation of the six supreme beings was interrupted, the Celestial Venerable of Morality revealed his aura. Although he now seemed to have returned to simplicity, with all his original supreme and transcendent immortal light disappearing and transforming into wisps of Daoist charm, his aura was even more terrifying and unpredictable.

The six supreme beings looked on in despair, completely overwhelmed by the aura of the Moral Celestial Venerable. They immediately reached their peak and launched a joint attack. The outcome was inevitable; the Moral Celestial Venerable directly intervened, activating four weapons—the Taiji Diagram, the Vajra Bracelet, the Eight Trigrams Furnace, and the Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Exquisite Pagoda—to completely suppress and kill them. Due to the vast difference in strength, the counterattack of these six supreme beings did not even shake the Great Luo Immortal Mountain.

The Celestial Venerable of Morality said to himself, "This Xuandu Cave is just right for rebuilding my Eight Views Palace. Fellow Daoist Wuji is very thoughtful."

(End of this chapter)