Amidst the primordial chaos, above the boundless land, a magnificent palace complex floats above an ancient mountain forest.
This is the Central Dao Domain, the Dao God Continent, and the True Saint Hall.
This mountain range serves as the True Saint Hall's sanctuary on the Dao God Continent.
One day, a figure brimming with surging Dao Might returned from the Dao God Sect and landed in the deepest recesses of the palace complex. A middle-aged man in the Dao Harmonization Realm hurried forward, presenting a jade stone engraved with an image before the figure. He said respectfully:
"Second Palace Master, this is footage of Junior Sister Su Xi's battle with Han Yi, obtained from the Myriad Journeys Palace. I have verified it to be genuine."
This middle-aged man, Daoist Feiyu, held the Daoist Title Feiyu. He was the strongest cultivator in the True Saint Palace after the three Heavenly Venerate-level Palace Masters, and in terms of status, he ranked highest among all cultivators below the Heavenly Venerate level within the palace.
The female cultivator who had returned from the Dao God Sect, radiating turbulent Dao Might, was the Second Palace Master of the True Saint Palace, Celestial Venerable Yu Chang.
At that moment, Daoist Feiyu's heart churned with unease. He had already viewed the jade stone footage he was now presenting to Second Palace Master Yu Chang.
The image of the youthful cultivator wielding the Heaven-Shaking Malevolent Ancient Artifact left him utterly stunned.
This youth, aligned with both the Immortal Cultivation Path and the Chaos Divine Clan, combined the External Dao Realm with Peak Limitless power. The resulting strength transcended simple addition; it surpassed Harmonization with the Dao in every aspect.
After viewing the recording, he knew he was no match for this opponent. If they ever clashed without Ancient Artifacts, he would undoubtedly be the one to perish—and that death might come far more swiftly than he could imagine.
This wasn't due to a lack of self-confidence; the youth's displayed power was simply extraordinary, transcending the Dao Realm. He had already taken a half-step, perhaps even a full step in certain aspects, across the threshold of the Heavenly Venerable Realm.
Having obtained the Jade Stone through covert channels, he promptly contacted several Palace Masters of the Dao God Sect.
Before him, Celestial Venerable Yu Chang, the Second Palace Master, her expression cold and severe, accepted the Jade Stone. With a flick of her finger, she projected the images within the stone onto the Great Hall.
In the dark, lightless Chaos, two figures clashed at breakneck speed, their collisions unleashing raging surges of Primordial Chaos Qi. The scene depicted utter destruction.
In the span of a moment, the two figures clashed hundreds of times.
The vision didn't continue until the end of the battle but abruptly cut off, ending on a youthful figure whose eyes radiated golden light. He held a gilded divine spear, his expression frozen in murderous intent.
This young man was no stranger to Celestial Venerable Yu Chang.
Four thousand years ago, just before arriving at the Dao God Continent, she had intended to crush him. However, another Heavenly Venerable intervened. Later, she learned that this Heavenly Venerable's Daoist Title was Age Candle, and he hailed from a Great World called Primordial.
Her subsequent inquiries revealed that the Primordial Great World was far from ordinary. It housed over ten Heavenly Venerables, and several Heavenly Venerables from the Chaos had even ventured there to claim their own territories.
She still hadn't unraveled the full implications of this.
"This man is Han Yi, a youth from the Primordial Great World in the Eastern Fuhang Realm. He comes from the Sui Zhu Immortal Court, which is led by a Heavenly Venerable named Age Candle. I once clashed with Age Candle, and his strength is no less than mine."
"This time, we unleashed the Holy Sword and sent Su Xi to draw away the Age Candle and slay Han Yi. Yet despite the Holy Sword's intervention and the absence of Celestial Venerable Suizhu, Han Yi displayed a shockingly transcendent battle prowess," Celestial Venerable Yu Chang said softly. With a flick of her wrist, she wiped the Jade Stone clean and turned to Daoist Feiyu.
"Fortunately, the Dao God Sect didn't require all three of us to perform the divination this time, leaving me free. I'll head to Volant Heng immediately to eliminate Han Yi and retrieve the Holy Sword. Then, I'll investigate the Primordial Great World to assess its true nature. If circumstances permit, I'll eradicate the Age Candle and settle this grudge once and for all."
Daoist Feiyu hesitated. "Second Palace Master, given Han Yi's transcendent power, could he be guarded by a Heavenly Venerable? To progress from the initial Dao Realm to the External Dao in just four thousand years, and even display peak Dao Realm combat strength... This is highly unusual. Even the Dao Children of the Dao God Sect couldn't achieve such a feat."
"In fact, I suspect Han Yi might be an avatar of some powerful Heavenly Venerable."
After listening to Daoist Feiyu's words, Celestial Venerable Yu Chang nodded slightly.
"That possibility cannot be ruled out."
"Dealing with a Dao Realm cultivator is no challenge for a Heavenly Venerable. Even with a Heavenly Venerable present, a sudden ambush would make it effortless to eliminate them."
"I'm no fool."
After giving a few more instructions, Celestial Venerable Yu Chang flickered into motion, departing the Hall. In mere breaths, she traversed the vast space and vanished into the Chaos beyond the Dao God Continent.
Once she was gone, Daoist Feiyu finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had a premonition that, left unchecked, Han Yi's future achievements would be limitless. He was highly likely to ascend to the Heavenly Venerable Realm, and once he reached that pinnacle, his combat prowess would become truly staggering.
Yu Chang's earlier words made it clear she now viewed Han Yi as a formidable adversary, not someone to be underestimated. Abandoning any notion of "bullying the weak," she would resort to unscrupulous methods—even ambush—to eliminate him.
With such resolve, for a Heavenly Venerable to slay a Dao Realm cultivator was indeed no great feat.
The gulf between the Dao Realm and the Heavenly Venerable Realm was immense. The Chaos teemed with prodigiously talented Dao Harmonization Realm cultivators, yet most were mercilessly halted in their path toward the Heavenly Venerable Realm.
Therefore, no matter how powerful or heaven-defying Han Yi might be, he could never ascend to the Heavenly Venerable Realm in a short span of time.
Ancestor God Dao Domain.
A not particularly large Immortal Mountain floated and moved, appearing entirely purple from the Chaos. If a cultivator were to enter, they would discover that the mountain's space was vast, its area equivalent to dozens of Great Worlds combined, an immense expanse.
If an ancient Heavenly Venerable were present, they would recognize this Immortal Mountain as Purple Mountain, a Dao Domain-level Great Power that had emerged only about ten thousand years ago.
Purple Mountain's status as a Dao Domain-level Great Power stemmed from its Master, a Half-Step Transcendent-level powerhouse.
Moreover, cultivators with sufficiently ancient lineage would know that Purple Mountain itself was the True Form of this Half-Step Transcendent-level powerhouse.
In other words, the Lord of Purple Mountain had cultivated and attained enlightenment as this Immortal Mountain.
At this moment, on the surface of this immeasurable Immortal Mountain, in a certain location, a White-Browed Daoist slowly opened his eyes within his Immortal's Cave. If Han Yi were present, he would recognize this White-Browed Daoist as the Celestial Venerable Suizhu, who had been missing for thousands of years.
What Han Yi didn't know was that during his time in the Chaotic Antiquity Dao Domain, Celestial Venerable Suizhu had engaged in a fierce battle with a Heavenly Venerable from the Chaotic Ancient Immortal Mausoleum, sustaining significant injuries. When he fled to the Primordial Demon Dao Domain, he discovered a signal from his Purple Mountain Token, indicating that Purple Mountain was nearby. He immediately set course for the mountain.
Today, this Immortal Mountain, which moves through the Nine Great Dao Domains, has arrived in the Ancestor God Dao Domain. Nearly ten thousand years ago, during his travels through the Vast Heng Dao Domain, Age Candle stumbled upon Purple Mountain by chance and joined its ranks. It was this serendipitous opportunity that allowed him to break through the shackles of the Dao Realm and ascend to the Heavenly Venerable realm.
One could say that Purple Mountain was the very opportunity that led to his ascension.
This was hardly surprising, given that Celestial Venerable Suizhu's True Form was the Primordial Mountain Range of the Primordial Great World—the Sui Zhu Mountain Range.
After Suizhu's ascension, he refined the mountain range into Sui Zhu Mountain and established the Sui Zhu Immortal Court, with the mountain at its heart.
In essence, he and the Lord of Purple Mountain had walked the same Great Dao.
Of course, most of those who joined Purple Mountain were spirits of nature who had cultivated into Venerables—mountains, water, rivers, marshes, wood, plants, and so on.
As Age Candle emerged from his cultivation, a single thought revealed that over four thousand years had passed. This span of time was hardly significant compared to his entire cultivation journey.
But for Han Yi, trapped in the Chaotic Antiquity Dao Domain, this period must have been unbearably long.
With a thought, he rose and, with a flicker of movement, left his Immortal's Cave and headed toward a nearby Great Hall. This hall housed some functional institutions of Purple Mountain, a major power. These institutions could provide information on the Nine Great Dao Domains, as well as offer missions to take on or post.
Of course, whether it was obtaining information, posting missions, or accepting them, the rewards were always in Dao Crystals, or even Source Crystals.
Celestial Venerable Suizhu was particularly wealthy in this regard, having lived for such an immense span of time.
Upon entering the Great Hall, before he could even begin his investigation, he noticed several Outer Path cultivators engaged in animated discussion.
"Lu Jiuxiao truly lives up to being a Peak Heavenly Venerable—his strength is overwhelming! He forced the Myriad Journeys Palace of the Vast Heng Dao Domain to halt its operations, and even the Wuxiang Celestial Venerable vanished without a trace under his relentless pursuit."
"Though a rogue cultivator, he forced a major power to submit. Lu Jiuxiao is simply too heaven-defying, far beyond our reach."
"Exactly. What we should focus on is the second battle that occurred outside the Myriad Journeys Palace."
"Indeed. The Great True Saint Sword's power is terrifying. As the Primordial Ancient Sword of the True Saint Palace, even though Daoist Suxi's strength is slightly inferior to that youthful cultivator's, the final battle ended in a superficial stalemate."
"It only looks that way from the surface. That Ancient Artifact in the shape of a gun must have sustained severe damage. The cost to repair it would be exorbitant."
"However, the mysterious youth should be unharmed. Although severely injured, he is still far stronger than Daoist Suxi, whose Dao Body was destroyed."
"He's truly formidable. With that Ancient Artifact in hand, his combat strength is already approaching that of a true Heavenly Venerable. In fact, if he had just recently ascended and wasn't wielding the artifact, he might even be able to hold his own against some peak Heavenly Venerables."
"I wonder if this youth is a rogue cultivator or has some inheritance. If he's a rogue, he might become another Lu Jiuxiao in the future."
Celestial Venerable Suizhu, who had just been about to leave, suddenly stopped. The mention of the "True Saint Palace" and the "Great True Saint Sword" by the Dao Harmonization Realm cultivators was what had caught his attention. He paid no mind to the mysterious youth whose combat strength merely approached that of a Heavenly Venerable.
In the Chaos, there are many powerful rogue cultivators. These individuals may have originally belonged to sects or been tied to specific worlds, but over vast stretches of time, their worlds were destroyed, their sects fell, and they refused to join new factions, thus becoming rogue cultivators.
During his travels through the Chaos, Celestial Venerable Suizhu had often heard of the rogue cultivator Lu Jiuxiao.
"Fellow Daoists, what are you discussing?" Age Candle asked as he approached.
Several Outer Path cultivators stood up and bowed respectfully to Celestial Venerable Suizhu. "Greetings, Heavenly Venerable."
Although Celestial Venerable Suizhu had joined Purple Mountain, he didn't reside there year-round, so these Outer Path cultivators had never met him before.
"Heavenly Venerable, we were just discussing a great battle that took place thirty-five years ago in the Vast Heng Dao Domain."
"That battle had two phases. In the first, Lu Jiuxiao intercepted the Myriad Journeys Palace, forcing Wuxiang Celestial Venerable and the other two Heavenly Venerables of the palace to intervene. Their clash triggered Chaos Tides that spread for tens of millions of miles."
"The inner details of that battle remain largely unknown to outsiders."
"The second phase occurred near the Myriad Journeys Palace, where an Outer Path cultivator from the Vast Heng Dao Domain's True Saint Palace used an Ancient Artifact—the Great True Saint Sword—to ambush a mysterious young man."
"To everyone's shock, the young man also wielded an Ancient Artifact. After a fierce battle, both retreated, heavily wounded."
"The second great battle occurred near the Myriad Journeys Palace. Powerful cultivators who had achieved Harmony with the Dao captured fragments of Chaos, synthesized them into images, and widely disseminated them."
The Outer Path cultivator retrieved a Jade Stone and gently wiped it. A small image materialized before him.
Celestial Venerable Suizhu's thoughts were still focused on the True Saint Palace and the Great True Saint Sword. After all, he had clashed with a Palace Master from the True Saint Palace on the Dao God Continent, and Han Yi had killed one of their Dao Fruit Realm cultivators, solidifying their enmity. Understanding their Ancient Artifact could be considered preparation.
But the moment he glanced at the emerging image, his eyes lit up with sudden excitement. His Heavenly Venerable aura surged violently, but in an incredibly brief moment, he suppressed his emotions and retracted his aura.
The surrounding Outer Path cultivators paled with shock, but because Age Candle had retracted his aura so swiftly, the unsettling sensation vanished almost instantly.
The Outer Path cultivator who had produced the image cautiously asked, "Heavenly Venerable, is something wrong with the image?"
Suizhu Celestial Venerable didn't respond, his gaze fixed intently on the brief image, recognizing that familiar face.
A tidal wave of emotions surged within him.
"Han Yi... It's actually Han Yi."
"That's right, I recognize this Ancient Artifact. It's Yueguang, the weapon of Gu She, the Primordial Ancient God from the Primordial Era."
"So Han Yi has obtained Gu She's Inheritance. No wonder the Divine Race's cultivation has advanced so rapidly."
"Furthermore, he's reached the External Dao Realm in just a few thousand years. This... this is simply unbelievable."
He averted his gaze, taking a moment to calm his agitated mental state before turning back to the External Dao cultivators and continuing his questioning:
"By the way, you mentioned that Daoist Suxi's Dao Body was destroyed in the battle. What happened to the Great True Saint Sword?"
One of the External Dao cultivators shook his head. "Heavenly Venerable, according to the reports, the fragmented soul of Daoist Suxi was absorbed into the body of the Great True Saint Sword. Then, the Ancient Sword used its Escape Technique to vanish into the Chaos, leaving no trace."
"The mysterious youth also disappeared just as mysteriously."
"That is the outcome of the second great battle that took place outside the Myriad Journeys Palace."