Shrouding the Heavens: The Ultimate Daoist Venerable

Chapter 29 The Carefree Celestial Venerable
Liang Yu suppressed his chaotic thoughts and moved his hands even faster. He continuously formed hand seals, throwing out beams of divine light that merged with the shattered starry sky, forming hidden and mysterious array patterns.

After completing all the array patterns, he wiped his hand, and the starry sky returned to its original state, completely indistinguishable from before the great battle.

The array patterns created by combining these methods are so intricate that even if the supreme beings of Kunlun Immortal Mountain were to observe them up close, they would not be able to decipher them, let alone emerge from the world.

Of course, if they have nothing better to do and want to break through this starry sky to take a look, they can still find out.

This is one of the preparations Liang Yu is making for his next attack on Kunlun Mountain.

After finishing all this, he got up and left.

Seeing that Liang Yu had finally left, the five supreme beings of Kunlun Immortal Mountain lowered their guard and began to restore the ancient star of Kunlun.

Together, they activated the array patterns within the immortal mountain, causing it to reverse its flow. Instead of gathering the essence of heaven and earth to form immortal liquid, it redirected the remaining immortal liquid back, decomposing it to nourish the ancient star itself.

At the heart of the Kunlun Immortal Pool, where dragon veins converge, countless stone dragon heads emitted roars, as vibrant as true divine dragons. They opened their mouths and inhaled, drawing in the remaining immortal elixir. This wondrous liquid, a treasure born of the very essence of heaven and earth, transformed into nourishment and returned to the world.

This ancient star, which was only able to stay afloat thanks to the Kunlun Mountains, began to regain its vitality and slowly restore its former glory.

Liang Yu embarked on his journey home. He hadn't returned to his hometown for over a thousand years, and it was time to go and see it.

However, halfway through his journey, he encountered an unexpected person.

Liang Yu said, "Fellow Daoist Xiaoyao, how have you been? What brings you here in your true form?"

Let's rewind the timeline a little.

As the Supreme Representative of the Forbidden Zone rushed to the battlefield in his avatar, a figure had already appeared near the ancient star Kunlun. He was covered in wounds from the aftershocks of the previous battles, and was nearly shattered by the shockwaves.

But his face was filled with excitement: "Is this the power of the Immortal Bell? Zhulong is only comparable to me. Although his laws of time are different from mine, we can only say that we each have our own strengths. But this Immortal Bell contains laws of time that surpass mine. Perhaps my path can go even further."

Upon seeing this figure, the Supreme Avatar who arrived later exclaimed in surprise, "Fellow Daoist Xiaoyao, you actually came in your true form, and at such close range. This battle has already surpassed our level. Fellow Daoist, it is extremely unwise of you to put yourself in such danger."

This person was none other than the Carefree Celestial Venerable. As he healed his injuries, he said, "To hear the Dao in the morning is enough to die content in the evening. To witness the complete revival of the Immortal Bell and to comprehend the laws of time within it, what are a few injuries?"

"You're insane, you're absolutely insane." The other supreme beings simply couldn't understand it.

The Carefree Celestial Venerable didn't take it to heart and said, "Are you going to try to reconcile us? What a pity, who knows when we'll see the Immortal Bell again. You go ahead, I still need to collect the fragments of laws left behind by the Immortal Bell."

After dismissing the other supreme beings, the Carefree Celestial Venerable followed the trajectory of the Immortal Bell and collected all the remaining imprints along the way.

Those who can attain enlightenment are all exceptional talents of their generation; they were once invincible and astonished an era. In the past, they were full of confidence, determined to make their path unparalleled throughout history.

But later, overwhelmed by the fear of death and the resentment of not being able to become immortals, they severed themselves, clinging to life. This severance severed not only their realm of cultivation but also their Dao heart.

They still delve into their own Taoist practices, but that's no longer their primary focus. Immortality and longevity have taken over most of their minds.

In fact, the Carefree Celestial Venerable was once like this, focusing most of his energy on immortality, and his own Taoist skills did not improve for a long time.

However, after the Five Celestial Venerables discussed the Dao, the Carefree Celestial Venerable learned that pushing his Dao to its extreme might evolve into a special physique, thereby completing a great transformation.

Reflecting on the experiences of the Moral Celestial Venerable, the Carefree Celestial Venerable began to regret his initial choice.

Unlike most enlightened beings who, after achieving enlightenment, merely perfect their own Daoist practices and immediately seek immortality and longevity, ultimately having no choice but to commit suicide, the Celestial Venerable of Morality focused his main energy on perfecting his own Daoist fruition from beginning to end.

The so-called attainment of immortality through the Dao means that one must attain the Dao to become an immortal. Others who have attained the Dao believe they have achieved it and thus begin to explore the path to immortality. However, the Celestial Venerable of Morality believes that the Dao is limitless, and becoming an immortal is merely a higher stage on the path of pursuing the Great Dao.

Therefore, he placed the pursuit of the Tao as his top priority from the very beginning.

Although he researched and developed the Nine-Turn Immortal Pill based on some incomplete ancient pill formulas, allowing those who had attained the Dao to live an extra lifetime;
Although he forged more than one divine weapon for proving the Dao, and all of them were exceptionally powerful;

Although he created the most powerful incarnation and clone techniques to date;

But these were all byproducts of his pursuit of the Tao.

The Celestial Venerable of Morality did all this simply to give himself enough time and resources to perfect his own Dao fruition.

He continuously refined his Dao in his first three lifetimes, and finally achieved a significant breakthrough in the crucial late years of his third lifetime, thus transforming into the Supreme Immortal Body and living out his fourth lifetime.

The Supreme Lord of Morality truly deserves his title of Daoist Venerable; his path is undoubtedly replicable to some extent.

The second life, which was originally achieved by relying solely on the first life and the elixir of immortality, would be impossible for most Daoists to take their already perfected Dao techniques to the next level, let alone escalate them to a higher level.

But the Celestial Venerable of Morality changed everything with the Nine-Turn Immortal Pill. Two lifetimes weren't enough, so what about a third? Perhaps most seekers of enlightenment would still fail, but at least they wouldn't be so hopeless.

During the Daoist debate a few days ago, the Carefree Celestial Venerable keenly sensed that the Underworld Venerable and the Limitless clearly knew more, and that there were some things they hadn't said outright.

The Carefree Celestial Venerable pondered the words of the two men repeatedly and ultimately came to two conclusions: First, it was virtually impossible for them to enter the Immortal Realm. Both the Underworld Venerable and Wuji shared this view.

Although the Celestial Venerable of Freedom was unaware of the reasons, it was clear that neither of them intended to take this path. Furthermore, they didn't believe anyone else could succeed, at least not the three Celestial Venerables who had severed their own lives, including the Celestial Venerable of Freedom.

Secondly, one can become an immortal even in the mortal realm. The Underworld Lord expressed this view by being nurtured by the Kunlun Immortal Mountain through the Immortal Bell, while Wuji further pointed out the path of transformation through lifetimes.

Thinking about it now, the fact that the Moral Celestial Venerable, who was born into a mortal body, transformed into the Supreme Celestial Body in his fourth incarnation might be an implication left by Wuji.

At that time, the carefree Celestial Venerable dismissed the topic by saying that both the Moral Celestial Venerable and the Spiritual Treasure Celestial Venerable had failed.

Looking back now, perhaps this is the true path to immortality.

The moment he understood, the carefree Celestial Venerable rekindled his desire for the Dao, and his once dormant heart was once again filled with passion.

After a few attempts, the Carefree Celestial Venerable understood why Wuji and the Underworld Venerable hadn't directly stated their intentions.

For supreme beings in forbidden zones like them, lifespan is only one issue; the damage they suffered after the Execution Platform, which even the Nine-Turn Immortal Pill could not restore, is another.

If these two problems are not resolved, they will not be able to make any further progress. If the former is not resolved, they will not have enough time to elevate their own cultivation; if the latter is not resolved, they will not be able to improve their cultivation, and may not even be able to live to the next life.

Perhaps it was because of these two points that both the Underworld Lord and Wuji believed their future was bleak. Under these circumstances, speaking frankly would be tantamount to sentencing them to death.

The Carefree Celestial did not give up. If there was no future, he would forge a new one himself.

If we fail, the worst that can happen is death.

Despite the slim chances of success, the carefree Celestial Venerable remained highly motivated.

(End of this chapter)