Ancestral temple.
This was once the domain of the Creator, the place where the heavens were ruled.
However, it was not built by the Creator, but by the prehistoric Miluo Palace. The entire ancestral temple was used as an altar to exchange the energy of the seventeenth century, allowing the enlightened beings of Miluo Palace to sneak over and prolong their lives.
Later, the Creator's lineage was defeated, and the ancestral court was sealed away until a few years ago when it was reopened.
At that time, various celestial deities entered and divided up the ancestral court, which also led to the birth of the Taiji Ancient God and the Taisu Goddess.
Although those celestial beings and ancient gods are now all dead.
Their territory all belonged to Yankang.
Within the ancestral temple, there are also many mysterious and wondrous places, such as the divine mineral veins nurtured by the Five Great Daos. The five ancient gods, such as Taiyi and Taichu, were all born in the corresponding mineral veins.
And... the 100,000-strong Black Mountain!
That place is where the World Tree is located, connecting seventeen cosmic eras. Countless prehistoric masters longed to use the World Tree to come to the present world and avoid the great destruction of the prehistoric era.
When Cao Ya, Qin Mu, Kaihuang, Ling Tianzun, Yue Tianzun, Yun Tianzun, Langwan Shenwang, Shujun, Taishi and others arrived at the ancestral court, Lan Yutian and Xushenghua, who were stationed here to study various mysteries of heaven and earth and the wonders of the ancestral court in order to perfect the Divine Treasury Heavenly Palace system and make it flawless, all came out.
So, when Lan Yutian met Yutianzun, the chubby Lan Yutian was stunned for a moment.
Yu Tianzun smiled but made no further comment.
Even if the reborn self has lost memories and suffered mental impairment, it is enough that it is doing well and still makes contributions to the world and all living beings.
Isn't the myriad realms of today the very scene that the Celestial Emperor sought millions of years ago?
“Ancestral Temple, Black Mountain, World Tree.” Cao Ya stared intently, his expression grave.
With his level of understanding, he could perceive that the extremely faint consciousness within the World Tree seemed to be dormant and had not yet awakened, yet its profound, ancient, and weathered aura seemed to have come from the very beginning of creation, spanning countless ages.
He knew that it must be the intelligence of the World Tree, who called himself "Old Man of Boundless".
Because the master of the Miro Palace attained enlightenment under the World Tree, he was moved and his intelligence emerged. He took the name "Wuya" (meaning "boundless"), which represents his pride.
The Boundless Old Man is an extremely powerful being.
Cao Ya pondered, "It's probably not just a six-star level. It's comparable to the young masters of the Mi Luo Palace, and it surpasses all other Dao-achievers."
In fact, due to the special nature of the World Tree, which connects various eras, countless prehistoric enlightened beings sought refuge with the Boundless Old Man, hoping to survive by relying on his power.
In fact, the number of Dao-attaining beings in the World Tree faction is no less than, if not greater than, that in the Miro Palace!
It is inferior only at the peak level.
The Miro Palace has a total of seven young masters!
Not to mention which of the most powerful masters of the Miro Palace in history.
"If the Boundless Elder and the young master of the Miro Palace are already six-star level, most likely at the initial stage of six-star, and so on... then the master of the Miro Palace might be at the intermediate or advanced stage of six-star, but even he cannot solve the problem of ultimate solitude..."
Cao Ya pondered, his expression grave.
Ultimate desolation is the final and greatest problem in the [Shepherd's Chronicle] universe!
In the original timeline, the eldest son, the second son, and the old man of Wuya of the Miro Palace all fought against it, but all failed and died in the ultimate desolation.
At the final moment, Qin Mu, the seventh prince, returned from prehistoric times. He had achieved great mastery of the fundamental Dao of Chaos and gained other insights, which enabled him to stop the ultimate coldness and save the universe in the critical moment.
But before that, many lives had already been lost.
Moreover, with changes occurring in the timeline, who could predict the final outcome?
"What if..." Cao Ya pursed his lips. He felt that to be on the safe side, he needed to be able to fight against the ultimate coldness, or even eliminate it. He should at least be at the peak of the six-star level.
Of course, if it is a seven-star level, it is the Immortal Emperor of the [Perfect World] universe, the Primordial Saint of the [Primordial World] universe, the Other Shore One of the [Supreme One in This World] universe, the Primordial Controller of the [Panlong] universe, etc., with boundless supernatural powers, beyond imagination, overturning cause and effect, grasping the past and future, and being able to prevent the appearance of ultimate desolation from the very beginning.
Cao Ya sighed softly. Achieving a seven-star level was extremely difficult.
He had traversed enough universes and followed various paths of cultivation, and his attainments were not low, but so far he had only reached the five-star level, not even the six-star level.
As for the seven-star level...
The difference between the peak of the six-star level and the initial level of the seven-star level is an immense and boundless chasm, blocking countless powerful beings!
Not to mention Cao Ya, who is a five-star player.
"Unfortunately, in other universes, I only possess power and memories, including knowledge, which can be shared by everyone within the system space."
Cao Ya felt a little regretful; if only magical treasures and powerful artifacts could be shared...
He, the "Supreme One in His Lifetime," possesses an unparalleled divine weapon, a seven-star weapon of the Other Shore level!
"Hmm, I'm overthinking it. I should take it one step at a time." Cao Ya muttered to himself. The Seventeenth Era will reach its final desolation after eight hundred billion years.
Now, only a few billion years have passed, which is just a fraction of the time. There is still plenty of time for him to cultivate and advance.
Despite the sense of urgency, I was able to remain calm and composed.
Moreover, the most urgent and pressing issue is not the ultimate desolation that will occur more than 700 billion years from now.
Rather, it was the covetous eyes of various prehistoric powers!
After the energy was replaced, the 17th-century universe was incomplete, and its lifespan was greatly reduced. It is very likely that the ultimate cold and desolation will arrive ahead of schedule.
The most obvious example is the same universe. In the Sixteenth Era, because too many people stowed away to attain enlightenment, it was destroyed in just over a billion years, with the five signs of decay for the gods and humans, and the universe returned to nothingness.
This is the difference between life and death. As a being of the 17th century, Cao Ya is naturally an enemy of the prehistoric enlightened beings. He must do everything in his power to eliminate their influence and protect the present world.
If the prehistoric enlightened beings could relinquish all power and reincarnate seventeen centuries solely with their pure true spirits, perhaps Cao Ya's attitude wouldn't be so hostile, and to some extent, it could be tolerated.
After all, in that case, the energy replaced by a true spirit that contains no power would be extremely weak, and on a timescale of eight hundred billion years, the time reduction would be negligible.
Taiyi's reincarnation was like this.
But those guys all wanted to bring over all the Dao fruits, Dao flowers, Dao trees, and so on.
The amount of cosmic energy that such power requires to be replaced is unimaginable, it is absolutely massive.
It will drastically shorten the lifespan of the universe!
Even though the latter were also trying to survive, they threatened the myriad spirits of the Seventeenth Era, so Cao Ya naturally targeted them due to their differing stances.
Only the former, Cao Ya and the others would give leniency.
Sometimes, Cao Ya didn't understand why a powerful being who could achieve enlightenment in prehistoric times couldn't give up his power and start anew in a new cosmic era.
Could it be that they are worried that if they try again, they will not be able to attain enlightenment?
Of course, Cao Ya also knew that he was just talking without understanding the situation.
Who would willingly abandon countless billions of years of arduous cultivation in a single day?
"Since we have different stances, there's nothing more to say. It involves life and death, not right or wrong. It all comes down to who has the better skills and will have the last laugh," Cao Ya murmured to himself. After chatting with the others for a while, he wandered around the ancestral courtyard to observe the situation.
The entire ancestral temple is actually an altar. Influenced by the third and fourth sons of the Mi Luo Palace, any casualties or dissipated energy will be replaced by the "ancestral temple altar" and sent to prehistoric times.
This was the work of a six-star veteran. Although Cao Ya knew the intelligence, he also noticed it after careful observation.
But he still couldn't destroy it.
The ancestral temple was built in a very special way, conceived by the master of the Mi Luo Palace, who hoped to use it to overcome the cycle of birth and death, protect all living beings, and reach a new cosmic era in a reasonable and just manner.
Although it ultimately failed, the ancestral temple's fortification was unparalleled throughout history, and even enlightened beings could not destroy it.
Even the supreme ancient god Taiyi could only guard the Black Mountain and eliminate those who had sneaked over, but he could not fundamentally destroy the ancestral court and the altar.
As night fell, Cao Ya returned to Daheishan.
Qin Mu and the others were all here.
Boom!
!
In the dead of night, the earth shook violently, the Black Mountain swayed wildly, various divine lights shone brightly, and the ancient aura of the Great Dao filled the sky, but it was confined to a corner and could not spread out, as if it was restricted by something.
As everyone scanned the area, they discovered that among the many peaks, there were distorted figures emerging, some as tall as stars, with huge hands that covered the sky. They tried to reach out, but were blocked by destructive forces. Judging from their appearance, they seemed to be angry and were roaring.
Some were very short, as if being shorter made it easier to smuggle themselves across the border.
However, the power of creation and destruction between different cosmic eras is enough to destroy everything, and even enlightened beings cannot withstand it.
Feeling threatened with death, they had no choice but to retreat.
However, the cosmic era they lived in had already fallen into great destruction, and all living beings had perished. But they had attained enlightenment and were strong enough to barely preserve themselves and attempt to travel to the future.
The previous sixteen universes have long since ended.
Otherwise, where did these seventeen centuries come from?
The Great Black Mountain is actually the World Tree, which stretches across the outer realms and supports the heavens and the earth.
However, the World Tree is surrounded by towering peaks that reach into the clouds and are extremely steep.
At this moment, the roots of the world grew in those mountains, giving the prehistoric enlightened beings a chance to struggle out and reveal their human faces. In the end, they failed and had to retreat, waiting for the next night to try again.
Cao Ya observed, but did not make a move.
We'll target the prehistoric masters once they've truly broken free.
Taking action now would only create an opening and provide them with a golden opportunity.
The Kaihuang, Langwan Divine King, Lingtian Venerable, Yuetian Venerable, and others who were arriving for the first time were all very surprised to see such a scene.
At the same time, they also sensed a threat from the magic used by those figures.
“They are all enlightened beings,” sighed the Moon Celestial Venerable.
How come there were so many highly accomplished masters in the sixteenth century prehistoric period?
In this era, including the deceased Emperor Tai, there were very few such emperors; you could count them on one hand.
"Fortunately, according to Cao Tianzun, the other shortcut—the Guixu Abyss—is off-limits to the prehistoric heroes because of the presence of the Second Young Master of the Mi Luo Palace," Yun Tianzun said thankfully. Otherwise, where would they find so many experts to guard two places? It would inevitably lead to loopholes!
"The Great Abyss of Guixu..." Qin Mu stroked his chin, a look of excitement on his face.
Everyone glanced at him and remained speechless.
That restless fellow, Mu Tianzun, is probably itching to go explore the Ruins of Return again.
"Don't court death," Tai Shi warned. The depths of Guixu were impenetrable to all the great Daos, demonstrating the danger there.
“The ancient god-king Boyang was banished to the depths of the Guixu Abyss by the Empress and Lady Yuanmu, which led to his demise,” Shujun pondered. “I think that those two ancient gods of Guixu did not truly explore their birthplace before they were alive.”
“If they understood that, they wouldn’t have chosen the Dao Realm system,” Cao Ya laughed. The Path of Returning to Nothingness is quite different from all the mainstream cultivation paths.
Suddenly, Cao Ya turned around and noticed that someone had appeared out of nowhere in this direction.
The others were unaware of this, but they knew that Cao Ya would not leave without a reason.
“It’s Taiyi!” Qin Mu said.
Sure enough, a simply dressed old man, carrying a small iron bucket, walked with faltering steps, but at an extremely fast pace. In the blink of an eye, he covered hundreds of millions of miles.
People saw water sloshing inside the iron bucket, and a section of willow branch, its green color shimmering, giving a very unique feeling.
Suddenly, Kaihuang had a thought.
"Those are... the branches and leaves of the Dao Tree, and the dew condensed on the Dao Tree?" Kaihuang was surprised. This Taiyi Ancient God was much more powerful than Lingyu Shangzun and Miluo Palace Yuansheng.
The old man arrived too easily, glanced at Ling Tianzun, and then looked away.
"You guys are quite something, overthrowing the Heavenly Court," Taiyi laughed, putting down the iron bucket.
"It's all thanks to Heavenly Venerable Cao," said the God King Langwan, shaking his head.
Without a doubt, the person who contributed the most and achieved the greatest results in that war was Cao Ya.
Taiyi smiled, looked at Cao Ya, and said, "To be honest, your appearance was unexpected."
Cao Ya smiled as well.
He did indeed travel to the universe of "The Legend of the Shepherd God"; originally, he did not exist.
However, Taiyi clearly doesn't mean that.
Because of the system space, Taiyi would not recognize that Cao Ya had transmigrated from another universe.
In fact, Cao Ya's life trajectory from birth until he entered the Rehabilitation Village was no different from that of many others.
It wasn't until he entered the Miserable Old Village and then the System Space, where he gained a great deal of power, that he underwent a transformation unlike any other, and his increase in strength became even more unbelievable.
"That's good. With you, my burden will be lighter, and I can do what I want to do," Taiyi said calmly.
"Hmm?" Cao Ya raised an eyebrow. He knew that Taiyi's true spirit was the prehistoric ruler of Tiandu. After being reborn in the 17th century, he became the ancient god Taiyi, cultivated anew, and became powerful.
The Lord of Tiandu once followed the Master of the Mi Luo Palace, but later left the Mi Luo Palace due to differing ideologies, and founded Tiandu City, where he has a group of powerful followers who agree with his ideals.
During the Seventh Era, a group of powerful individuals from Tiandu City opened up the heavens and were known as the Creators.
In the end, however, the ruler of Tiandu was killed by the master of the Mi Luo Palace. Tiandu City was leaderless, fell apart, and gradually declined.
Many people say that it was the master of the Mi Luo Palace who was worried that the Heavenly Capital City might surpass the Mi Luo Palace, and that he himself might be overtaken by the Heavenly Capital City Lord. Out of fear and anxiety, he ruthlessly killed the emperor.
But Taiyi himself understood very well that the master of Miluo Palace had a broad mind and great ambition, and was not a petty person who was jealous of others.
"I want to see what the Heavenly Capital did back then... from an outsider's perspective... exactly how it wreaked havoc on the universe after the creation of the world... such profound sins..."
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