Shrouding the Heavens: The Ultimate Daoist Venerable

Chapter 659 Time Does Not Bring Any Feet

Ten thousand years after the Corpse Emperor's ascension, during the period when the Star Emperor and others rose to power, the Primordial Celestial Venerable fell into a deep slumber and began his final period of arduous cultivation before becoming a Mortal Immortal.

Now that the Star Emperor and others have ascended to heaven, the Primordial Celestial Venerable has finally ended his seclusion and awakened once again in the Kunlun Sacred Realm.

Yuanshi Tianzun looked at his body, which was no longer at its peak and had declined considerably, but still faintly exuded an immortal essence, and couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Finally, I've succeeded. Is this the state that Wuji was in back then?"

At this time, the eighth incarnation of Yuanshi Tianzun had lived for over 130,000 years. According to his calculations, his theoretical lifespan in this incarnation should be around 160,000 years.

However, during his decline, Yuanshi Tianzun noticed a subtle change in his state, and the true meaning of immortality began to emerge.

In other words, he has also reached a state where he is untouched by the passage of time, just like the Wuji Tianzun who lived more than 300,000 years ago.

By this calculation, it took approximately 770,000 years for Yuanshi Tianzun to finally cross the gap between immortals and mortals, and to truly attain immortality.

Although he was much slower than Wuji Tianzun, who reached this level in just 540,000 years, he had still successfully surpassed his predecessors, Daode Tianzun and Lingbao Tianzun.

Ye Fan in later generations also reached a point where he was no longer showing signs of aging at around 500,000 years old, which can be considered as crossing the threshold of becoming a Red Dust Immortal. The Ruthless Great Emperor and the Beginningless Great Emperor achieved the status of Red Dust Immortal around the same time as Ye Fan.

Based on this calculation, the Great Emperor Wushi, who was born and cultivated 120,000 to 130,000 years ago, has been a Red Dust Immortal for nearly 700,000 years, while the Great Emperor Ruthless, who was born 200,000 to 300,000 years ago, has been a Red Dust Immortal for more than 800,000 years.

However, Emperor Wushi achieved this after entering the strange world, making it easier for him to become a mortal immortal. Nevertheless, Emperor Wushi possessed great personal talent, so he was in no way inferior to Ye Fan and Emperor Ruthless.

The Ruthless Great Emperor, however, remained in the mortal realm and harbored deep-seated obsessions, thus progressing more slowly. After all, becoming a mortal immortal was not her primary goal.

The time taken by Yuanshi Tianzun was between the two of them, but he achieved this step only with the help of several fellow Daoists, including Wuji Tianzun, Daode Tianzun, and Lingbao Tianzun.

Therefore, even though he had never used the elixir of immortality, his performance was comparable to that of the Ruthless Emperor and the Beginningless Emperor.

Of course, while the time spent on the path to becoming a mortal immortal can reflect talent and ability to some extent, it does not represent the final achievement.

However, the reason why Yuanshi Tianzun was certain that he had reached the state of being immune to the ravages of time was because he had actually witnessed the behavior of Wuji Tianzun after he reached this state, which can be seen from the similarity between himself now and Wuji Tianzun at that time.

If he were alone, he would have to live for tens of thousands of years like Ye Fan to confirm this, only when he discovered that his own state had become constant, that he would no longer age, and that he would not even die of old age.

Seventy-seven thousand years—what a long time that is! Looking back, he has gradually grown from a mortal to this point, finally achieving his wish and realizing one of the highest achievements on the path of cultivation in the mortal universe. If he can enter the Immortal Realm again, all his cultivation in the mortal universe will be complete.

Yuanshi Tianzun rose and used his now incredibly powerful strength to reforge the Kunlun Sacred Realm and the Myriad Origin Cauldron, allowing them to evolve once again.

Then, he opened the world barrier of the Kunlun Sacred Realm and said, "Fellow Daoist Lingbao, it's been a long time." At the moment when Yuanshi Tianzun ended his seclusion, the human universe trembled silently, shaken by this power that completely transcended the human universe. Although almost no one noticed this fluctuation, it could not escape the notice of Lingbao Tianzun, an unparalleled celestial being who was infinitely close to a mortal immortal.

It was clear that the fluctuation originated from Yuanshi Tianzun, but as for why it occurred, Lingbao Tianzun, though unaware, could guess that it most likely stemmed from Yuanshi Tianzun's further advancement, transcending the boundary between immortals and mortals. This conjecture was definitively confirmed the moment he met Yuanshi Tianzun.

Although Lingbao Tianzun had long known that Yuanshi Tianzun would take the lead, he still felt a sense of melancholy when Yuanshi Tianzun actually took this step.

Wuji Tianzun was his junior, but he was at the peak in almost every life, and became a mortal immortal first, only sleeping for tens of thousands of years in the middle to transform into a holy spirit.

Yuanshi Tianzun was not only their descendant, but also the descendant of Wuji Tianzun. Yet, he still transformed himself life after life without using the elixir of immortality, eventually becoming the second person to reach a state where he was immune to the ravages of time.

But now, as a senior, I am still one step away from the final line separating the mortal and the immortal realms, a line that is difficult to cross, and I have already fallen far behind.

Lingbao Tianzun looked at Yuanshi Tianzun, who, although not at his peak, faintly possessed the immortal aura of Wuji Tianzun, and said, "It seems I must congratulate Fellow Daoist Yuanshi on becoming the second Red Dust Immortal in the mortal universe, truly achieving immortality."

Yuanshi Tianzun said, "Fellow Daoist Lingbao, you are only a hair's breadth away from reaching my level. It probably won't be long before you do, will it?"

Lingbao Tianzun said, "It's hard to say. No matter how close we get, if we haven't reached it, we haven't reached it. Fellow Daoist Yuanshi, it seems I need to learn from you."

Yuanshi Tianzun glanced to the side and then said, "Fellow Daoist Morality has finally awakened. Why don't we wait for him, and then the three of us can discuss the Dao together?"

Lingbao Tianzun was still a hair's breadth away from success, so his perception was naturally a little slower. That's why he only sensed the aura of Daode Tianzun when Yuanshi Tianzun was speaking.

Then Lingbao Tianzun said, "Fellow Daoist Daode has been sleeping for far too long this time. It seems that he has lived for about 400,000 years since his eighth incarnation, right? Perhaps he woke up this time because he was stimulated by Fellow Daoist Yuanshi."

Yuanshi Tianzun said, "Yes, Fellow Daoist Morality is the first of the three of us to live to the eighth life, which is indeed about 400,000 years ago. It seems that he will soon take this step as well."

"After a dream spanning hundreds of thousands of years, a single awakening will likely bring one closer to immortality."

Under the watchful eyes of Yuanshi Tianzun and Lingbao Tianzun, all eighty-one incarnations of Daode Tianzun, who were scattered throughout the universe, were exposed.

Before their eyes, the eighty-one avatars, each with its own unique form, crumbled and disintegrated, transforming into fragments of Dao Fruits woven from immortal light and laws. These fragments eventually broke through the void and converged into the Great Luo Immortal Mountain, hidden deep within the universe.

Within that immortal mountain, the Heavenly Venerable of Morality, who had previously become an empty shell, gathered all eighty-one incarnations into one, thus truly reviving him.

Then, he took a step and crossed the endless starry sky to arrive at the Kunlun Sacred Realm.

(End of this chapter)