Shrouding the Heavens: The Ultimate Daoist Venerable

Chapter 651 The fallen genius

After the Corpse Emperor departed, his Dao Imprint began to dissipate, and the human universe once again entered a period of recovery.

Compared to the past, the conflicts that have erupted over these ten thousand years have been more intense. However, these conflicts have primarily focused on other races, and have had less impact on the human race.

After all, the three emperors of the past, from the Taiyin Human Emperor to the Shengxuan Heavenly Venerable and then to the Corpse Emperor, all played a significant role in the development of the human race.

Even disregarding whether they might have left any contingency plans to ensure the development of humanity, the current foundation of humanity has already reached a terrifying level. Not to mention, the two mysterious forces, the Underworld and the Immortal Tomb, also have close ties with humanity.

If they want to challenge the human race's dominance, they would probably need to form an ancient race alliance that is even larger than the one during the reign of the Taiyin Human Emperor.

Clearly, this was practically a pipe dream, utterly impossible. Therefore, the human race's position remained as secure as ever.

Amidst this chaotic situation, the Corpse Emperor's Dao Imprint slowly dissipated, and a new era of great contention began. Countless new geniuses and past geniuses began to emerge, all vying to stand at the center of the stage and write their own legends.

At this moment, the human race felt extremely excited. This was because three peerless geniuses had emerged in their generation, making them highly competitive for the throne.

Although they are all prodigies from different eras and do not belong to this generation, they are all certified as true young emperors.

These three prodigies include one from the divine race, which officially returned to the human race during the reign of the Taiyin Emperor. He is a born divine blood supreme, with extraordinary comprehension and excellent aptitude, showing the potential of a young ancient emperor. He was personally taught the Ming Emperor Scripture by Xin Lingxiao, the self-proclaimed Ming Emperor's son who had been in power for many years, thus beginning his path of cultivation.

One of them came from the lineage of the Undying Golden Body, and was an extremely rare first-generation Undying Golden Body. He was also exceptionally talented, and upon his birth, he activated the Six Paths Treasure Wheel left behind by the Undying Holy Emperor, causing the remnant will of the Undying Holy Emperor within it to personally build his foundation.

There was also a member of the Azure Heaven Overlord Body lineage, who was also the first Azure Heaven Overlord Body. After his birth, he also activated the Overlord Bell left behind by the Azure Heaven Overlord Emperor, allowing the remnant spirit of the Azure Heaven Overlord Emperor within to baptize and build his foundation in the Azure Heaven Blood Pool, helping him to begin his cultivation path.

With these three prodigies, it seems that humanity is destined to usher in an even more glorious era. Or rather, it is precisely because humanity is now thriving that it has such great fortune to support the simultaneous birth of these three prodigies within its ranks.

After all, this prodigy of the divine race might become the second Emperor Ming and successfully attain enlightenment, while the two with indestructible golden bodies and the Heavenly Tyrant Body have a high probability of reaching the pinnacle or even the highest level of cultivation, possessing the strength to challenge the current emperor.

The fact that three prodigies with such abilities were born in the same era naturally inspired the human race. Even if the prodigy of the divine race failed to attain enlightenment, the presence of these three could, to some extent, restrain the newly born emperor.

Of course, because these messages were widely circulated, many ancient tribes knew about them.

However, while the prodigies of other races were wary of this, they couldn't simply retreat without a fight. Under this pressure, they cultivated even harder, determined to carve out their own path.

Although that prodigy of the divine race possessed unparalleled talent, almost on par with a young ancient emperor, this did not guarantee his success in attaining enlightenment. After all, there are many hurdles in cultivation; a high starting point does not guarantee one will not fall behind along the way, nor does it guarantee that one will ultimately reach the pinnacle.

As for the other two, due to their own physical characteristics, they can only be stuck at the realm of completely unconventional enlightenment, also known as the "Broken Path Level," and cannot make the final leap to truly become the emperors of this era.

Even the progenitors of their respective lineages, the Undying Saint Emperor and the Azure Heaven Overlord, who successfully attained enlightenment, relied on the power of the Dao-Merging Flower to reconnect their severed paths, and could not accomplish this on their own. Therefore, the probability of either of them taking this step is practically zero.

Therefore, the prodigies from other races naturally did not lose their fighting spirit. They still chose to embark on the ancient starry road after arduous cultivation to compete for the supreme Dao fruit that would make them invincible in this lifetime.

But soon, most of the geniuses of this generation in the universe felt despair.

Because this extraordinary prodigy of the divine race displayed a speed that astonished everyone after he began his formal cultivation. He began cultivating the Minghuang Scripture and the Mind-Stabilizing Technique in his childhood, ascended to the Immortal Platform at the age of ten, severed his Dao and became a king at the age of sixteen, and became a saint at the age of twenty-two.

Most importantly, this prodigy of the divine race maintained his profound foundation throughout the entire process and was not inferior to anyone in battles against opponents of the same realm.

This record not only amazed the gods, but also deeply shocked the humans and all other races in the universe.

However, there have been cultivators who became saints in their twenties before, comparable to this prodigy of the divine race, so this record is not unprecedented.

However, the former record holder was stopped at the Saint King level in his lifetime, while this prodigy of the gods clearly still has great potential.

After embarking on the ancient starry road, this prodigy of the divine race displayed even more terrifying abilities. In just over a decade, he became a Saint King. And at this time, he was only thirty-three years old.

After that, he continued to advance by leaps and bounds, successfully breaking through to the Great Sage realm at the age of fifty, and leaving his name on the crystal monument before the ultimate ancient road. He was also the first genius of this era to meet the requirements and leave his life here.

The prodigies within the Ancient Starry Road, as well as those who had not yet reached the optimal level to enter the Ancient Starry Road, were all plunged into a deep sense of powerlessness after learning of this news through various channels.

Even the contemporary Undying Golden Body and the Heavenly Tyrant Body, both prodigies of the human race, couldn't help but feel the same way. However, their paths were very different from those of other prodigies, so although they felt a sense of defeat, they did not slacken in the slightest, but instead cultivated even more diligently.

Without a doubt, this prodigy of the divine race is the most amazing genius of this era.

As the news spread further, the name of this prodigy finally became known throughout the universe, making him a rising star in the eyes of all.

His name is Dumu.

In the nearly fifty years that followed, Du Mu continued to advance by leaps and bounds, eventually reaching the pinnacle of the Great Sage realm. A Great Sage at the pinnacle of the realm in less than a hundred years old—this is a legend that is hard for anyone to imagine.

Du Mu's cultivation process broke the records accumulated over countless eras, making him the fastest cultivator in recorded history.

Perhaps there are geniuses in the world who can rival his cultivation speed, but based on existing records, he is number one.

Just when everyone thought that this young prodigy of the divine race, Du Mu, would continue to create miracles and become the new emperor of this era, Du Mu's cultivation progress came to a standstill.

One hundred years, two hundred years, three hundred years, five hundred years...

Hundreds and thousands of years passed, and Du Mu remained stuck at the pinnacle of the Great Sage realm, showing no sign of breaking through. Even further into the future, he never made any further progress throughout his entire life.

This legendary genius, who was once highly anticipated, ultimately fell from grace, becoming a fleeting shooting star.

However, to leave one's own name in history and become the record holder for the fastest cultivation speed in the long years that followed, and to always remember it, is something that many enlightened beings have not been able to do.

(End of this chapter)