Living in the deep palace

Fifteen hundred years have passed, yet not a single trace has been left on Su Chen.

He chose to return here, to the place where he settled down years ago, and to live in seclusion here, stripped of all his glory and status.

No one would have imagined that the Celestial Venerable, whom even the Ten Ancient Venerables, the Ten Great Celestial Venerables, and the Twenty Supreme Rulers could not find, would be hiding here.

Hidden in the origin of the new path!

Occasionally.

He will also leave this place, stroll out of the green mountains, and head to a cultivation city called "Wen Dao" a hundred miles away.

This city is the largest and most prosperous city on Jianmu Star, and it is also a microcosm of the entire New Dao Civilization.

This place is a gathering place for countless True Immortals who have successfully transcended tribulations, reached the pinnacle of True Immortals, and cultivated the new path of the Ten Refinements to True Immortals.

Furthermore, there is a Three Talents Jade Immortal in the city, a newly cultivated genius who has gathered the three powers of Heaven, Earth, and Man and has reached perfection in his cultivation, who is presiding over the city.

There are no strict hierarchies or magnificent palaces in this city; instead, there are various platforms for exchanging teachings, pavilions for transmitting the Dharma, and towers for refining the mind.

The monks came and went in an endless stream, their faces radiating a genuine confidence and high spirits.

They might argue heatedly over a certain Taoist concept, but they lack the reverence for the upper class and the apathy for the future that the cultivators of the old era possessed.

Su Chen's favorite place to go is a small tavern in the corner of the south of the city.

The tavern owner was an old cultivator who had lost an arm. He was said to be one of the earliest people to follow Feng Canyun. He was injured in a battle against the Void Demons. Although he had reached the True Immortal realm, he had no hope of becoming a Profound Immortal, so he retired here and opened this tavern.

Every time Su Chen came, he would only order a pot of the strongest "Burning Heart Brew," sit by the window, and quietly listen to the loud discussions of the cultivators around him.

"Have you heard? The 'Ten Thousand Demon Celestial Venerable' in the north and the 'Ancient Dragon Emperor' in the East Sea are now locked in a standoff at the edge of the Star Sea over a newly discovered chaotic mineral vein!"

"It is said that both sides mobilized millions of demon soldiers and aquatic creatures, and the battle formations stretched across several star fields. The scene was truly spectacular!"

"Hmph, it's just dogs fighting! These so-called Celestial Venerables and Ancient Venerables are nothing but 'Mythical Heavenly Dao' in disguise!"

"They divided up the star seas and established new rules, but they've simply changed the people who enslave us. If you ask me, among these fourteen star seas, our New Path is still the most free!"

"That's true, but Xindao is in a rather awkward situation right now. Although we don't participate in the Star Sea Conquest, our development momentum is too strong, which has already aroused the vigilance of those twenty old guys."

"It is said that the 'Ten Celestial Venerables' have met to discuss how to 'deal with' our uncontrolled force. After all, we are following a new path, but we just don't yet have a Golden Immortal capable of holding the reins."

"What's there to be afraid of! We cultivators of the New Path only cultivate ourselves and do not worship external gods! If they dare to come, let them see what kind of power we cultivators can unleash to defend the New Path! Don't forget, we... have the inheritance of that 'Time Celestial Venerable'!"

"Lord Feng Canyun has now cultivated to the half-step Golden Immortal level and can break through to become a giant at any time. He can gather the power of all living beings in the New Path, and no one less than twenty Venerables can kill him! But would twenty Venerables dare to kill the disciple of Venerable Shi Tian?"

The moment the words "Shi Tianzun" were mentioned, the entire tavern fell silent.

On everyone's face was a complex expression, a mixture of reverence, fervor, and pride.

That was a myth, a totem.

It was He who personally buried the old gods and began a new chapter.

It was He who transmitted the "Way of the True Self," enabling the beings of the New Way to be liberated.

Although He never truly "ruled" the New Path, and has long since vanished without a trace, His spirit has been imprinted in the very bones of every New Path cultivator.

Su Chen picked up his wine glass and downed the spicy liquor in one gulp, a barely perceptible smile playing on his lips.

He is satisfied.

This is exactly what he wanted to see.

A civilization without "gods," but only "the Way." A new Way civilization that, even without Him, can rely on its own will to steadfastly move forward.

This is the legacy he left behind.

"Is Feng Canyun only half a step away from becoming a Golden Immortal?"

Su Chen closed his eyes to sense.

In other distant star systems, he sensed Feng Canyun's aura, but to his astonishment, Feng Canyun was already a Golden Immortal.

"Good boy."

Su Chen opened his eyes and chuckled to himself.

This kid is actually hiding his true abilities. Feng Canyun is a Golden Immortal, and at the peak of the mid-stage Golden Immortal realm. According to his realm, he is already on par with this Dao Ancestor.

After careful calculation...

With the addition of methods that borrow the power of all living beings in the new path, even the Ten Venerables could hold their own.

That's quite remarkable!

His seed has taken root, sprouted, and grown into a towering tree that can shelter him from the wind and rain.

And he could finally relax and take care of his own affairs.

……

……

As night fell, Su Chen returned to the thatched hut at the foot of the mountain.

He did not light a lamp, but simply sat quietly cross-legged on the futon.

As he entered a meditative state, the "memories of the Immortal Ancestor" deep within his sea of ​​consciousness, which had been completely absorbed and integrated, was like an archive sealed for billions of years, slowly opening the last and most crucial door to him.

For the past 1,500 years, he seemed to be living in seclusion, drinking, and observing the world from the sidelines.

But in reality, 99% of his mind was immersed in this vast sea of ​​memories, undergoing an extremely dangerous yet incredibly rewarding "life regression".

He witnessed the long years that the immortal ancestor spent rising from a mortal to the heavens, eventually reaching the fifth realm.

He mastered countless long-lost supernatural powers and secret techniques, and gained insight into many of the fundamental mysteries of the universe's origin.

And now, he has finally touched upon... that final, and most crucial, truth.

The truth about the "outside world".

He was very curious about all of this.

boom!
Su Chen's consciousness seemed to be pulled away from this familiar sea of ​​stars by an irresistible force and thrown into a vast, ancient, and dark void!
Here, he "saw" a cosmic landscape that overturned all his previous understanding.

It turns out that the "universe" he was in, composed of fourteen star seas, was not a complete world at all.

It... is just a "bubble".

A massive, relatively enclosed "corpse barrier" formed by the collapse and explosion of the inner world of a fifth-realm life form after its fall!
Beyond this "bubble" lies the truly vast and boundless... chaotic universe!
This chaotic universe is so vast that it cannot be described in any language. Its scale is so large that even a unit like "sea of ​​stars" seems incredibly small and laughable.

According to the records in the Immortal Ancestor's memories, this endless chaotic universe was roughly divided into two major regions by the ancient beings.

A region called: Ruins.

Another region is called: the Celestial Realm.

Su Chen's "perspective," following the memories of the Immortal Ancestor, first arrived at the "Heavenly Domain." It was a territory filled with the radiance of "order."

Here, the laws of the universe are clearly visible and as stable as a mountain.

Countless massive galaxies, billions of times larger than the "Sea of ​​Stars," float silently in the void like orderly cosmic kingdoms.

Within each divine kingdom, there is a complete civilization system, a strict hierarchical system, and... a supreme ruler.

The Immortal Ancestor's memories told Su Chen that in the Heavenly Realm, beings of the Fourth Realm are called "Realm Lords," meaning the masters of a divine kingdom in a universe.

after all.

Within the fourth realm, there is already a vast sea of ​​stars, the rudimentary form of a universe.

Above the Realm Lord is the fifth realm, where one truly steps into the threshold of immortality and is able to roam freely in the chaotic universe. They are revered as... "Ancient Saints"!
The fallen immortal ancestor, whose real name and Daoist name was "Chen," was a highly accomplished cultivator in the Heavenly Realm known as "Chen Saint."

"Chen Sheng?"

"The Immortal Ancestor is left with only his remnants, unable to see much clearly. Presumably, his fall meant that he was unable to inherit many of his killing moves."

"Otherwise, in the universe where he perished, no one should have been able to oppose him..."

Su Chen shook his head and sighed, secretly rejoicing.

Thankfully, that's the case.

Otherwise, if he had descended upon the Mythical Era, he would probably have been annihilated the very first moment, or even before he stepped into the Fallen Era, he would have been possessed by Chen Sheng...

He never dared to underestimate the terrifying existence that could step into the fifth realm!
after all.

How could life capable of nourishing fifteen vast star systems be considered ordinary?

Su Chen continued to spy.

Immortal Ancestor Chen Sheng reached the fifth realm in Tianxu. Under his command, a territory called "Star Sea Divine Kingdom" was ruled, with countless powerful figures under his command. He was once a well-known figure in the Tianyu.

However, the scene changes.

Su Chen's consciousness was pulled into a completely different and terrifying realm.

Ruins domain.

In the lingering memories of the Immortal Ancestor, all the scenes were fragmented and disjointed, but the fear of this place was deeply imprinted in Chen Sheng's memory.

The images in my memory seem to be trembling.

If the Celestial Realm is a temple of "civilization" and "order," then the Ruins Realm is an abyss of "chaos" and "destruction."

There are no stable laws here; spacetime is like boiling porridge, constantly being twisted, broken, and reassembled.

Everywhere are the shattered remains of the world, the corpses of fallen ancient gods, and the "Void Evils" that roam among them, formed from the purest negative concepts and the will to destroy.

This is the junkyard of the universe, the graveyard of a failed world, and even more so... a paradise for outlaws and ambitious people!

There are no living beings here, only terrifying monsters, evil spirits, and madmen who are not tolerated by the Heavenly Realm.

Because chaos also means opportunity.

Deep within the Ruins Domain lie secrets coveted by countless ancient holy cities of the Heavenly Realm.

It could be a treasure left over from the previous chaotic era, or it could be the legacy of a cave dwelling left by a great being who had surpassed the fifth realm.

The fall of that "Saint Chen" began with an "invitation" from the Ruins Domain.

The scenes in my memory became incredibly clear.

That was a powerful being who called himself "Skeleton Lord" and was also in the fifth realm.

He came from the Ruins Domain, yet he behaved with great politeness. He told Chen Sheng that he had discovered an ancient cave dwelling, suspected to be left behind by a powerful being of the "Sixth Realm," deep within the chaotic eye of the Ruins Domain.

He said that the restrictions on that cave were too powerful for him to break alone, and he hoped to invite Chen Sheng, an equally powerful ancient saint, to join forces and share the opportunity.

Faced with the allure of the legendary "Sixth Realm," Chen Sheng, an ancient saint who had lingered in the Fifth Realm for too long and yearned for a breakthrough, was tempted.

Although He knew the Void Realm was extremely dangerous, and that cooperating with a powerful figure from the Chaotic Faction was tantamount to asking a tiger for its skin, He ultimately agreed, driven by an irresistible desire for advancement.

He followed the Skeleton Lord, leaving his orderly Star Sea God Kingdom, crossing the boundary between the Heavenly Domain and the Ruins Domain known as the "Wall of Sighs," and venturing into that chaotic and insane territory.

What followed was filled with bloodshed and betrayal.

The so-called "powerful cave" did exist, but the moment the cave's entrance was blasted open by the two of them, the Skeleton Lord revealed its ferocious fangs.

He didn't want to share the opportunity with Chen Sheng at all; instead, he wanted to... use Chen Sheng's life to sacrifice the final restriction of that cave!
An earth-shattering battle of the Fifth Realm erupted deep within the chaotic Ruins.

Su Chen experienced the entire battle from a first-person perspective.

He sensed the "Order" Dao of Chen Sheng, which was capable of reshaping the galaxy and defining the laws.

They also sensed the even more violent, unreasonable, aggressive, and destructive "Skeleton" Dao of the Skeleton Lord.

In the end, Su Chen came to a conclusion that made his heart sink.

Chen Sheng... his loss was not unjust.

It's not that His way isn't strong enough, but rather that He is too "weak".

The weakness here does not refer to one's level of skill, but rather to one's will and methods in the fight.

Having long resided in the Heavenly Realm, which contained the Well of Order, Chen Sheng, this ancient saint, had become accustomed to fighting under the "rules." His divine powers and magical treasures were all filled with the magnificent and righteous beauty of "order."

As for the Skeleton Lord, this powerful figure from the Void Domain who crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, every move and every stance of His exists for the most efficient "slaughter"! His path is filled with filth, treachery, and ruthlessness to the extreme!
In the chaotic Ruins Domain, Chen Sheng's proud Dao of Order was suppressed and hampered at every turn.

Finally, with the most vicious backstab, Chen Sheng's holy body was severed at the waist, and his holy soul was ignited by the Skeleton Lord's "White Bone Nether Flame," emitting a resentful and painful wail.

In his final moments, Chen Sheng unleashed all of his cultivation and the divine kingdom within his body.

That terrifying self-destruction failed to kill the Skeleton Lord, but it severely injured Him.

More importantly, the power of the explosion created an enormous spacetime singularity, engulfing both the remains of Chen Sheng and the Corpse Venerable within it.

Ultimately, this singularity drifted through the Ruins, evolving into the isolated place we know today, which later generations called the "Fourteen Star Seas"... a prison.

And Chen Sheng's undying obsession, his ultimate desire for "order," eventually combined with the origin of this barrier, giving birth to the original... Heavenly Dao Will.

This is the end of my memory.

Inside the thatched hut, Su Chen slowly opened his eyes, a glint of insight that seemed to have seen through the truth of eternity flashing across them.

His chest heaved violently, not only from the shock of that brutal divine battle, but also from the despairing truth revealed behind it.

"It turns out...that's it."

"The reason why Minglian has always wanted to break through this star sea has been found. He wants to break through the barrier, let chaos devour the star sea, and release the Skeleton Lord who is suppressed under the star sea universe..."

He murmured softly, his voice carrying a complex and indescribable meaning. (End of Chapter)