"Why..."
Venerable Lingyu was very curious.
Someone like Cao Ya, who has clearly attained enlightenment, does not break through layer after layer of void with his own Great Dao Laws, until finally imprinting them within the ultimate void of the thirty-sixth heaven, so that they may exist eternally since the creation of the Great Luo Heaven.
Such behavior is unprecedented in history; it has basically never occurred in the previous sixteen cosmic eras.
Except for some ruthless characters with special innate backgrounds, the Dao cannot be imprinted in the ultimate void.
But Cao Ya is a normal human being.
It is not an innate deity born of some unique rules; it may have supernatural abilities, but it also has limitations.
"Only by going to the ultimate void and being able to exist independently and unaffected in the thirty-sixth heaven can one reach the thirty-sixth level of the Dao Realm."
"The thirty-seventh level of the Dao Realm is still in the ultimate void, but a Dao Tree can grow there. The thirty-eighth, thirty-ninth, and fortieth levels correspond to the mysterious realms of Dao Flower, Dao Fruit, and Dao Palace, respectively. Among the many Dao attainers in prehistoric times, they are not considered weak."
"If one surpasses the past, present, and future in a certain aspect and achieves what even the master of the Miro Palace has not accomplished, then one can be called a young master."
Venerable Lingyu sighed.
The strength of the Mi Luo Palace lies not only in its master, who is hailed as the greatest expert in prehistoric times, but also in its seven young masters and a large number of palace lords.
As for ordinary enlightened beings, they are simply too numerous to count.
The accumulated wisdom of the Miro Palace over sixteen eras is unfathomable.
Of course, the sixteen prehistoric periods were such a long time, measured in billions or hundreds of billions of years. Even if the Great Destruction and the Cataclysm of Creation could destroy countless lives, only those who attained enlightenment would have a chance to struggle and survive.
However, with accumulated power, the Miro Palace will naturally not be the only force.
The World Tree, the Heavenly Capital City, and scattered Dao-attaining individuals like Venerable Lingyu.
As a prehistoric master, Venerable Lingyu was a lone wolf with great strength but a small target. Taking advantage of the war that broke out in the ancestral court in the past, which resulted in hundreds of millions of corpses, he sacrificed his blood and secretly crossed over to the seventeenth era of the present world.
However, his strength has been greatly diminished and he is no longer at his peak.
The Dao Fruit withered and shriveled, and much of its magical power vanished—in reality, it returned to the past cosmic era.
Therefore, it wasn't until a few years ago, when the Ancestral Court opened and the Dao Fruit was accidentally obtained by the Divine Emperor Langxuan, that he gradually recovered with the help of the Divine Emperor Langxuan, broke free from the restrictions of the rules, and began to awaken.
Because of his desire to keep it a secret, he never took over, but continued to subtly influence the Divine Emperor Langxuan.
Until now, facing a crisis, there was no other way but to take action. He devoured the God of Langxuan, used his body to appear in Xuandu, and confronted Cao Ya.
"In fact, the development of the Seventeenth Era was very slow," Venerable Lingyu said leisurely, not in a hurry, as if after his full awakening, his Dao Fruit of the Thirty-Nine Heavens was invincible and could easily suppress the previously powerful Cao Ya.
Cao Ya observed, his eyes flashing slightly. The withered Dao Fruit was constantly rotating in the broken Heavenly Court where the Divine Emperor Langxuan had fallen. Its laws flowed, enveloping a large area of the Heavenly Palace and Treasure Hall, rapidly eroding it, trying to take over completely, rebuild the broken Heavenly Court, and infinitely approach the realm of the Great Heavenly Court!
It is obvious that Venerable Lingyu's inner world is not as calm as he appears on the surface.
"Boom!!"
Cao Ya made his move, his sword light crisscrossing, his might overwhelming the four seas, attacking the Venerable Lingyu, but it was blocked by a primordial Dharma aura and then shattered.
Faced with everyone's astonishment, Venerable Lingyu chuckled and said, "In the Sixteenth Era, I possessed the body of the Primordial Beginning. Although the Sixteenth Era was destroyed in just over a billion years due to the large number of experts who secretly entered the void, with layers of void collapsing, heaven and earth being destroyed, the universe decaying, and all living beings dying, resulting in almost no experts from various forces having time to cultivate their Dao Fruits, my Primordial Beginning Dao still attained the Dao and can freely enter and exit the ultimate void."
"So there's no need to be so surprised. Calm down and don't act like a country bumpkin."
Lingyu Shangzun spoke with a hint of disdain, saying lazily, "Among the prehistoric Daoists who did not join the Mi Luo Palace, nor were they among the Creators of the Heavenly Capital City, nor did they rely on the World Tree, but relied purely on themselves to overcome the great calamity of birth and death of a cosmic era, none of them were weak."
Cao Ya nodded.
In any case, beings who can attain enlightenment are all very powerful.
The other celestial beings were somewhat annoyed upon hearing this.
It turns out that in the sixteen prehistoric cosmic eras, they were not considered any particularly prominent figures; there were far more powerful beings than them!
Of course, they wouldn't underestimate themselves either.
Given billions of years, they are confident that they will attain enlightenment!
The flowers and fruits of the Dao are not necessarily the limit!
It is not impossible for them to form a Daoist temple comparable to the temple master of the Mi Luo Palace.
Among the prehistoric Daoists, the Mi Luo Palace is the strongest force. Although Venerable Lingyu does not belong to the Mi Luo Palace, in terms of strength, he is naturally no match for the Mi Luo Palace Master and the seven young masters. He is also no match for the powerful palace masters, but he is not afraid of ordinary palace masters.
If it weren't for the immense losses incurred during the seventeenth century of smuggling, with the abilities of Venerable Lingyu, he would have long ago unified all realms, living a carefree and unrestrained life, and cutting off all channels for prehistoric masters to smuggle themselves across.
The more powerful individuals who smuggle themselves over, the shorter the lifespan of the Seventeenth Era will be.
The Sixteenth Period is clear evidence of this, lasting only a little over a billion years, while the Seventeenth Period is already several billion years old.
It was all thanks to Taiyi who guarded the ancestral temple.
"What a pity, Venerable Cao Ya. If you were in prehistoric times, you might have become a young master of the Mi Luo Palace and received personal guidance from the master of the Mi Luo Palace," Venerable Ling Yu sighed.
"You keep talking about the master of the Miro Palace, is he... very strong?" Consort Qiangtian couldn't help but ask, wanting to know who was stronger or weaker compared to her true form, the Supreme Emperor.
Lingyu Shangzun glanced at Qiangtianfei and sneered, "I know you. You were the ancient cosmic overlord, Taidi. You once obtained the incense and sacrificial methods of the Yuansheng of the Miluo Palace and relied on the faith of billions of creators to achieve enlightenment."
Consort Qiangtian blushed and looked proud.
Venerable Lingyu scoffed, “A Dao fruit achieved by relying on external forces is not worth mentioning. It has absolutely no hope of reaching the Dao Palace of the Forty Heavens. At best, it is just a gatekeeper dog.”
Consort Qiang's face immediately darkened.
"Relying on the Creator, yet lacking self-confidence, and as the leader, actually turning around and attacking the Creator... Hmph, trash." Even a blind person could see the contempt in Venerable Lingyu's attitude!
Consort Qiang's face turned pale and then red, looking very unwell.
If it weren't for Cao Ya's attack, with its dazzling Five Elements Immortal Light, flowing Heavenly River, and endless array formations, which swept in and made it impossible for him to escape, he would definitely not have had a good time with Lingyu Shangzun!
Cao Ya did not retract that portion of his power.
He knew very well that if he gave Consort Qiangtian an opening, she would definitely turn around and run away without saying a word.
All arguments based on personal feelings are just nonsense.
Survival is the top priority!
"Bang bang bang!!!"
Cao Ya even intensified his offensive, using nested formations containing celestial light and celestial rivers, and other powers from the universes such as the [Immortal Gourd], [Primordial Era], and [Yang God], to swiftly attack Qiang Tianfei. The Heavenly Palace trembled violently, the treasure hall shook and teetered on the brink of collapse, and her divine sense was suppressed. Her overall situation was quite dire.
It was only because the Venerable Lingyu, Venerable Gong, Lady Yuanmu, and several divine artifacts, the Venerable Yutian, attracted too much of Cao Ya's powerful magic; otherwise, he could have killed Qiangtianfei in just three to five rounds.
"I am clearly the overlord of the universe, so why... in this seventeenth era, have so many awesome characters emerged?!" Qiang Tianfei was extremely frustrated.
Since the original Taidi is still alive, it's not that terrifying.
On the other side, a loud explosion shook Xuandu, and the void shattered layer by layer. Fierce divine power pierced through the ultimate void, shaking heaven and earth!
Lingyu Shangzun retreated a million miles and praised, "Seventeen eras have been billions of years. Apart from Taiyi, the only one who can truly enter my eyes is Cao Tianzun."
As he spoke, he glanced at Qin Mu on the other side of the battlefield.
This is Chaos, the seventh prince of the prehistoric Miro Palace, but no one knows how Qin Mu got to the prehistoric era.
Now it seems that Qin Mu is not nearly as formidable as the Seventh Prince.
"The rest of them, whether they are the Supreme Emperor, the Ancient God Emperor, or various Heavenly Venerables such as the Heavenly Duke, the Earth Lord, or even the Kaihuang and Haotian Venerable, are not worth worrying about and are not qualified to be my enemies." Venerable Lingyu said arrogantly, looking down on everyone present except Cao Ya.
Immediately, the group of celestial beings all had unfriendly expressions.
Damn it, you have to belittle it all, otherwise you won't feel comfortable, right?
Although they joined forces to deal with Cao Tianzun, they were seriously at odds with each other and disliked each other.
However, Cao Ya will not let them go; any one of them will be forced to leave Xuandu alive—as long as they can hold on!
Cao Ya shook his head and calmly said, "It's just a matter of time. If they have all lived for trillions of years, how could they not attain enlightenment?"
The celestial beings stared at Cao Ya, blinked, and were somewhat dazed.
Why is Cao Tianzun speaking up for us?
"That's the truth. Being on opposing sides doesn't mean we have to lie," Cao Ya said calmly.
This can be seen from his increasingly rapid offensive.
Gong Tianzun, Yuanmu Furen, and Qiangtianfei all cursed inwardly, urging the laws to resist with all their might.
Venerable Lingyu smiled and unleashed a variety of Daoist techniques, which neutralized a large portion of the sword energy.
Then he said, "You want to unify the seventeen eras and become the overlord? With your abilities, you are qualified, at least more qualified than the Supreme Emperor and the Ancient God Emperor."
The power that Cao Ya displayed was not only numerous but also very strong. In the eyes of Venerable Lingyu, Venerable Cao Ya had the potential to bear multiple Dao Fruits.
Such figures are rare even in prehistoric times, placing them among the most prominent.
Moreover, through the memories of the Divine Emperor Langxuan, Venerable Lingyu learned that Cao Ya's years of cultivation were so short.
"I'm afraid... billions of years from now, only the master of the Mi Luo Palace will be able to steadily suppress Cao Tianzun. The seven young masters of the Mi Luo Palace, as well as the former Lord of Tiandu and the World Tree, will all find it difficult to defeat this person."
Lingyu Shangzun pondered, deeply shaken.
In fact, he had never seen such a terrifying cultivator!
In just one or two hundred years, he rose from an ordinary mortal to become the overlord of the universe!
However, there was one thing he never understood.
"Why don't you... enter the ultimate void, create your own Great Luo Heaven, let the laws manifest, leave your mark, and exist forever, indestructible through countless eons?" Venerable Lingyu asked, puzzled.
Cao Ya asked in surprise, "Why should my Dao be imprinted in the ultimate void?"
Venerable Lingyu was taken aback.
Lady Yuanmu, Consort Qiangtian, Palace Celestial Venerable, including Celestial Venerable Hongtian, Ancestral God King from another battlefield, as well as Qin Mu and the Heavenly Duke, were all stunned.
"What...do you mean?" Venerable Lingyu asked.
Cao Ya said leisurely, "The ultimate void is not real, nor does it exist eternally. Every great cataclysm begins in the ultimate void. The imprints left by those who attain enlightenment only increase the burden on the ultimate void and hasten the arrival of the great cataclysm."
Everyone was quite taken aback.
Is that true?
They glanced at Venerable Lingyu, and judging from his solemn expression, it was no exaggeration.
Immediately, the expressions of the assembled venerable ones changed slightly, and their hearts skipped a beat.
"Thirty or fifty Dao-attaining beings pose no pressure in the ultimate void. This applies to hundreds or thousands as well, unless there are tens of thousands!" Venerable Lingyu said in a deep voice, as if making a defense.
This shortened the lifespan of the cosmic era, causing the Great Cataclysm to arrive prematurely. The universe withered, all living beings perished, all realms collapsed, and the starry sky returned to nothingness...
"We're just trying to survive!" Venerable Lingyu said stubbornly.
The venerable ones curled their lips.
Cao Ya chuckled and said, "My own path to enlightenment requires seeking outwards, but also clarifying inwards, so that my Dao heart is clear, perfect, and flawless."
"What happens outside is not important, as long as the path to immortality is completed..."
After a slight pause, Cao Ya thought to himself, "The 'Covering the Sky' universe is indeed a mortal path to immortality, a journey of seeking enlightenment in the human world, but the 'Shepherd of the Gods' universe should be a path to enlightenment, a path to the Great Heavenly Court."
"I can recognize my own improvement, that's enough. Why do I need external validation?"
Cao Yaping remained calm, but his nonchalant expression left Venerable Lingyu completely stunned.
Suddenly, Venerable Lingyu's face twisted in anger as he roared, "Stop spouting nonsense and trying to corrupt my Dao heart!"
"This is the path pioneered by the master of the Miro Palace. It is the strongest path throughout history. Countless masters have followed this path and achieved great success."
"The Lord of Tiandu, who opened up a new path, was also killed by the Master of the Mi Luo Palace."
"This demonstrates the formidable power of the Dao Realm system!"
Lingyu Shangzun raised his head and said in a very contemptuous tone, "What do you know, you mere Dao cultivator of the seventeenth century? Short hair, even shorter vision!"
"You can't talk about ice with a summer insect."
Lingyu Shangzun was somewhat embarrassed and angry. The rhythm within his Dao Fruit erupted, maintaining the collapsing Heavenly Palace and unleashing a power far greater than that of Langxuan Divine Emperor. He also activated the Primordial Dao and other powers, launching a fierce attack on Cao Ya. His killing intent was overwhelming, as if he were gritting his teeth and hating him to the bone.
"Hit a nerve?" Cao Ya sneered.
Prehistoric enlightened beings, through blood sacrifice, replaced themselves with the material energy of the future, resulting in a drastically shortened lifespan in later cosmic eras, leading to their rapid annihilation.
Such actions are, in truth, deeply sinful.
The destruction of a universe would kill trillions of lives.
"Nonsense, trying to corrupt my mind? Heh, Venerable Cao, you're overthinking it. I've survived countless cosmic eras, I must have extraordinary abilities!" Venerable Lingyu sneered.
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"Whoosh~~"
The incomplete Heavenly Court, maintained by the Dao Fruit and seemingly on the verge of collapse, suddenly spun around, aligning itself with the trajectory of the Dao Fruit and merging together, unleashing boundless and fierce magical power. A vast and mighty divine light swept over, turning everything in its path to dust!
Furthermore, all of Lingyu Shangzun's Dao principles were invoked, causing the radiant glow to flow and spread rapidly, covering millions of miles. He also drew corresponding energy from the depths of the void to amplify his power!
This was an unparalleled and dazzling power that illuminated Xuandu and even the myriad realms. Not to mention ordinary people or ordinary cultivators below the Heavenly Palace God Realm, even countless gods and demons, looking up at the sky, were stunned by this sight.
"What is that...?"
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