Translator: CinderTL
"Enough!"
Liu Yu watched Li Chunjun, who had suddenly lost his composure and ordered her to stop, her expression deepening with sorrow.
She understood perfectly why Li Chunjun had grown agitated, why he had suddenly lost control and demanded she be silent.
Because...
"You knew," she said. "The moment you learned that the Soul Dao Venerable revived others by reassembling their scattered souls from the fabric of heaven and earth, you already knew this outcome. You simply clung to a sliver of hope, unwilling to face reality, even pretending to be optimistic, believing you had found a way forward."
The atmosphere in the hall seemed to freeze.
"You can deceive others, but you cannot deceive your own heart," Liu Yu continued. "Your soul remains incomplete."
The greatest tragedy in life is knowing everything, understanding it clearly in your heart, yet being powerless to change anything.
Even if you exert a thousandfold, ten thousandfold effort, the outcome remains unchanged, with no glimmer of hope in sight.
"Before, when you were at the Void Refining stage, you could place your hopes on achieving Dao Unification. But now... you have already achieved Dao Unification."
As Liu Yu spoke these words, a strange expression flickered across her face.
A soul that remains incomplete.
Theoretically, dao unification should be impossible.
But...
"You chose the path of an innate divine being... or rather, an innate demon god. You forged a Great Dao of Devouring that leans toward the Demonic Race..."
Liu Yu's voice was filled with admiration, yet tinged with regret.
Even her admiration couldn't erase the pity in her tone. "Having made this choice, you will inevitably face the backlash of following a flawed path. This world lacks Heavenly Tribulation, but it has heart tribulation."
Dao founder.
As the first to encounter him, Liu Yu understood some of his hidden truths. At this moment, she had already guessed the source of his anomalies.
However, she attributed these anomalies to a completely new Great Dao he had forged—a demonic path of soul devouring, akin to the void great dao.
Though her guess was slightly off, the outcome remained the same for Li Chunjun.
"So what? What are you trying to say?" Li Chunjun asked, his gaze indifferent yet numb. "Prove you were right? That your database doesn't need updating? That I'm the one who's wrong, the one who's been deluding myself all along?"
Hearing Li Chunjun's emotionally charged words, Liu Yu fell silent.
She knew very well that when someone was caught in an emotional state, any attempt at communication would be futile.
After speaking those words, Li Chunjun fell into silence as well.
Liu Yu watched him sink into despondency and suddenly realized something.
Hope!
Li Chunjun...
He had been living on this hope all along!
Otherwise, back in the Azure Star Minor Realm, he would have been crushed into dust like any other mortal long ago.
He knew it.
But what did it matter if he knew it was wrong, false, illusory?
Should he simply succumb to despair and degradation?
What he truly needed during this time was merely a release from the emotional pressure.
Even if...
Deep down, he knew it was self-deception.
A wave of guilt washed over Liu Yu. "I'm sorry, Dao Venerable Li. I..."
"No need to say more," Li Chunjun interrupted, his emotions gradually stabilizing. The fluctuations in his spiritual energy began to subside.
"It's just... I'm tired of it all," he murmured. "I want to escape."
Then, with a barely perceptible tremor in his voice, he added, "I'm truly... sorry."
Liu Yu gazed at him.
She knew this apology wasn't meant for her.
It was for her.
"Dao Venerable Li, I think... if she truly had a spirit beneath the Nine Springs, she would want you to live a better life..."
Liu Yu opened her mouth to offer comfort.
But before she could finish, Li Chunjun cut her off: "A better life? Am I not living well now? My cultivation has reached the pinnacle of the Cosmos! At will, I could rule a Great Thousand World teeming with trillions of lives. Power, wealth—everything I possess towers above the heavens. Countless beings envy my achievements. What right do I have to say I'm not living well?"
But was any of this... real?
For someone without a spiritual anchor, the entire world was nothing more than an illusion.
Like a life unrecognized by any other being, what meaning could even absolute power hold?
In a virtual world where every creature but himself was an NPC, even if he could destroy the heavens and earth, and then reshape the shattered world, all things, and all beings, what would be the point?
The greatest joy of a game world, aside from the initial novelty...
"It's the person you play games with!"
"But I should thank you," Li Chunjun said. "Thank you for reminding me that I can't afford to relax or stop. I can still do better."
These words finally brought Liu Yu back to her senses.
Has he regained his resolve?
She quickly replied, "Exactly! You can keep pushing yourself! Keep striving! If dao unification, Supreme Sovereign, and Ultimate Powerhouse aren't enough, then aim for the realm beyond Ultimate Powerhouse! If that's not enough, take another step! Transcend even that realm beyond Ultimate Powerhouse!"
"Mm," Li Chunjun responded calmly, not pursuing the topic further.
Beyond Ultimate Powerhouse...
Levels 44 to 46!
Transcending even that would mean reaching the Great Unification Realm, levels 47 to 49!
Though, based on the information he currently possessed...
Even the Great Unification Realm couldn't restore someone whose soul had completely dissipated.
But...
There was no point in saying it.
Liu Yu was only a Quasi-Tenth-Tier.
The strongest individuals in the entire Human Race were only equivalent to level 43.
The path ahead...
He was destined to walk this path alone.
Liu Yu couldn't know what Li Chunjun was thinking.
But from the moment he attained the Dao Venerable realm, their statuses and positions had irrevocably shifted.
Now, with her spirit-type life's acute emotional sensitivity, she could faintly sense that this divide...
had grown even wider.
Even when they stood face-to-face, barely a meter apart, the distance between them felt like the chasm between heaven and earth, as if they existed on entirely different planes.
This change...
filled Liu Yu, as a spirit-type life, with a profound sorrow.
And...
regret.
She shouldn't have revealed the truth to him.
She should have let him pause, rest for a while.
Even if she knew it was a fabricated, self-deceiving dream.
At that moment, Li Chunjun stood up.
Seeing this, Liu Yu quickly understood the reason.
She glanced in one direction, then quickly shifted her gaze to another.
She needed to find a way to make amends for her mistake as much as possible.
That direction led to Li Chunjun's mountain peak.
But her true focus was on a courtyard atop the peak.
There, a woman in a long azure robe was continuously activating the mystical powers of her Flaming Phoenix Bloodline, striving to reach an even higher realm.
By this day, her cultivation had advanced at an astonishing pace to the Nine Tribulation Primordial Spirit stage.
However...
The Primordial Spirit was not enough!
She needed to reach Void Refining!
Void Refining granted a lifespan of at least 129,600 years...
Liu Yu made her decision.
"Greetings, Supreme Elder!"
"Congratulations, Supreme Elder, on attaining the Dao Venerable realm!"
"The Supreme Elder's mystical powers are unparalleled! All members of the Profound Yellow Sect pay their respects!"
Over a dozen Supreme Sages from the Profound Yellow Sect, including the three Sage Venerables of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, simultaneously arrived at the mountain peak where Li Chunjun resided. They bowed respectfully in greeting.
Li Chunjun nodded slightly at the assembled figures.
"No need for such formalities."
Having resolved to continue striving forward, he could no longer afford to waste time on pleasantries.
Before Huang Daozhen could offer any congratulatory remarks, Li Chunjun cut straight to the point: "Send a message in my name, summoning representatives from all factions in the Profound Yellow Great World to convene in one year. We will discuss initiating war against the Divine Race."
"War against the Divine Race?" Huang Daozhen paused in surprise.
But he immediately responded without hesitation: "Understood! We will contact all factions at once!"
He added, "This includes forces like the Celestial Qin Dynasty and the Heavenly Principles Sect..."
"Inform them that participation is entirely at their discretion."
As Li Chunjun spoke, he produced a jade token. "With me overseeing the Profound Yellow Sect, we've been elevated to Council-level Power within the Immortal Alliance. They should be sending representatives soon. You'll be responsible for coordinating with them and handling all matters related to our promotion to Council-level Power."
As for becoming a High Council-Level Force...
"If we can achieve it this time, great. If not, we'll just wait a bit longer. We'll naturally reach that level eventually."
"Council-level Power!"
Huang Daozhen gazed at the jade token Li Chunjun held, his eyes brimming with barely suppressed joy.
Ever since first contacting the Immortal Alliance, the Profound Yellow Sect had been striving for Council-level status, aiming to secure the same treatment as the Wu Ji Sect and Taixu Sword Sect.
This pursuit had lasted for over ten thousand years!
Now that the Wu Ji Sect had collapsed, existing only in name, the Profound Yellow Sect had finally reached this long-dreamed-of moment.
Huang Daozhen could already envision his name being prominently recorded in the sect's future historical records as the Sect Master who led the Profound Yellow Sect to such heights.
Having brought the sect to this level during his tenure, he felt his life had been well-spent.
"Thank you, Supreme Elder! Thank you, Supreme Elder!" Huang Daozhen repeated his gratitude twice.
He immediately continued, "We've already discussed restructuring the Profound Yellow Sect. We propose replacing the Council of Supreme Elders with a Council of Elders. From now on, the true Supreme Elder of the Profound Yellow Sect will be none other than Dao Venerable Li himself, and the Supreme Elder will hold the highest authority within the sect..."
Li Chunjun wasn't surprised by these changes.
In the current world, there were countless sects like the Profound Yellow Sect, numbering in the tens or even hundreds of thousands, all at the Supreme Sage-level. Even the Immortal Alliance had over thirty thousand members.
But how many Dao Venerables were there?
The ratio was utterly disproportionate.
Not every Great Sect could produce a Dao Venerable, but any Dao Venerable could easily establish a Great Sect if they so desired.
"Expedite the war between the Profound Yellow Great World and the Divine Race," Li Chunjun stated bluntly. "This conflict has dragged on for over a decade with no substantial action. Such inefficiency is unacceptable."
He continued, "Since the War Commission and the Immortal Alliance refuse to act, I will personally intervene and flatten the Great World of the Gods."
(End of the Chapter)
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