Shrouding the Heavens: The Ultimate Daoist Venerable

Chapter 357 The Past

After learning that this mysterious person was indeed the Desolate Heavenly Emperor, Zhang Bairen was genuinely somewhat moved, never expecting that he had ever crossed paths with this legendary figure. After all, putting everything else aside, this was the only person in the countless millennia of the human universe whose ascension to immortality was almost certain.

Moreover, it was because of this fortuitous encounter that he was able to remain in seclusion until now, and then obtain this new opportunity to be accepted as a disciple by the Celestial Venerable of Morality, and to have his physical body and bones refined by the Celestial Venerable of Limitless Ultimate. Therefore, Zhang Bairen was extremely grateful to this benefactor whose identity had become blurred.

It can be said that if he hadn't encountered the Desolate Emperor back then, his path of cultivation would have been much more difficult.

Although Liang Yu had achieved his main objective and even received an unexpected bonus, he was still very curious about some details of that era.

He then asked, "What did the Desolate Emperor say when you met him back then?"

As Zhang Bairen recalled, he said, "After he came to this continent from beyond the realm, he seemed very interested in the past history and asked me some questions about it, but I didn't know much about it either. Then he left."

Liang Yu knew that the Desolate Emperor at that time was in a special state of incomplete primordial spirit and had lost his memories, which was why he was like this. Now that he knew what he wanted, he turned his attention to the Moral Celestial Venerable.

The Celestial Being, also curious about the past, asked, "So, what was it like in that past era? I'm also curious."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Bairen then described in detail the creatures and vegetation of that era that differed from those of the present. As for the cultivation system, the two of them already knew about it, so there was no need to elaborate.

Over these long years, this continent has long since transformed into the universe we know today, bearing no trace of the past. Therefore, these things now exist only in his memories.

After recalling Zhang Bairen's words in their minds, Liang Yu and the Moral Celestial Venerable observed the continent and couldn't help but feel a sense of the vicissitudes of time. After all, all the living beings on this continent now resembled those of this era, quite different from before.

Comparing the two, one can indeed feel that this change is absolutely earth-shattering.

Liang Yu then asked, "What happened in this world before you?"

Zhang Bairen said, "Actually, I only heard about many things secondhand, so they may not be accurate. This continent was once an ancient realm called Nine Heavens and Ten Earths. Legend has it that when this ancient realm was complete, most of the life in the universe gathered here. But I only heard about it in that era, so I don't know the details."

"The hundreds of thousands of years before I met the Desolate Emperor was a terrible era of great turmoil. In this great chaos, even the heavens were shattered, countless continents sank and collapsed, and even the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths became such a broken and fragmented state. Many small worlds and forbidden areas were directly removed from the list and completely disappeared from the human world."

"During this period, countless supreme experts descended, causing chaos and destruction, with the sun and moon losing their light, the sky collapsing and the earth sinking, the stars shattering, and even this universe being broken apart."

Upon hearing this, the Celestial Venerable of Morality and Liang Yu exchanged a glance. They immediately thought of the current state of the human universe and realized that this great war was a major reason why the human universe had become what it is today.

Of course, this is only one of the reasons, because the great damage suffered by the human universe is not limited to this war.

For Liang Yu, who had cultivated the Origin Technique to a state of divine perfection, and the Moral Celestial Venerable, who had integrated the Dao into the Great Dao of the Universe, they were somewhat aware of the damage to this universe. Zhang Bairen, immersed in his memories, continued, "The core of this great upheaval was this ancient realm called Nine Heavens and Ten Earths. Therefore, to prevent further encounters with such a great war, the few powerful races and lineages in this ancient realm relocated their entire clans, leaving this place and scattering throughout the universe, never daring to return."

"When they left, they used their great supernatural powers to move all the sacred mountains and divine lands left in this broken ancient world, turning them into pure lands and wonderful places among those ancient life stars."

"Countless people died in this great war, and countless races perished, never to exist again."

“There were indeed immortals in the ancient era, and perhaps a terrible war like that also took place in that era, which led to its complete annihilation.”

Both the Celestial Venerable of Morality and Liang Yu couldn't help but think of the countless ancient corpses from various eras beneath the Netherworld, which seemed to bury an entire era. Perhaps those were the countless beings buried during the great upheavals of the Immortal Ancient Era and the Chaotic Ancient Era.

The Supreme Lord of Morality asked, "In that case, wouldn't the vast majority of living beings in the human universe at that time have perished as a result?"

Zhang Bairen said, "I have heard that a large number of people in this mortal universe were taken away by a powerful figure in the Immortal Realm in order to continue the bloodline of this world and ensure that life in our mortal universe is not completely destroyed."

The Celestial Venerable of Morality frowned and said, "The Immortal Realm? There were such powerful figures in the Immortal Realm back then? However, this senior can be considered to have done a great service to my mortal universe. But now even the Immortal Realm has been shattered, so what about this senior and those beings who were brought into the Immortal Realm..."

Zhang Bairen was taken aback upon hearing this, and he couldn't help but say, "The Immortal Realm has been shattered?"

Liang Yu said, "Yes, the Immortal Realm has now been fragmented, so cultivators from the mortal universe cannot enter it. Only those who become immortals in the mortal world, like the Desolate Heavenly Emperor, have any hope of entering it."

Zhang Bairen murmured, "It seems that the old people were right back then. The turmoil did not end, but it has simply shifted to another world."

"No wonder they all hope that those who leave will never come back."

After learning about these events, the Celestial Venerable said, "What a terrible era! Even the Immortal Realm could not escape it. I wonder if this turmoil has completely ended yet?"

Liang Yu said, "Even if it ends now, the future will probably not be peaceful forever. Entering the Immortal Realm is not the end. We still need to ensure that we can stand firm amidst such turmoil. Perhaps we need to completely quell the source of the turmoil in order to truly achieve immortality."

The Supreme Lord of Morality said, "In that case, let us encourage each other."

After learning these things, the Celestial Venerable of Morality broadened his horizons, but also felt a sense of urgency. After all, no one knew whether they would encounter this turmoil again after entering the Immortal Realm.

After learning these things, Liang Yu bowed and took his leave, then transformed into a primordial force of the universe and returned to the world.

(End of this chapter)