Shrouding the Heavens: The Ultimate Daoist Venerable

Chapter 489 Regaining the Dao Heart
Looking back, Qitian was undoubtedly unfortunate. He was born with a disability and suffered nine near-death experiences. Without a doubt, he was a representative figure plagued by bad luck.

But he was also lucky. Because everyone he met, including his parents, relatives, friends, and lover, loved him deeply, which was enough to soothe his soul.

Even those who dislike him would find it difficult to truly harm him.

Therefore, he did not suffer much malice from others; the malice he received mainly came from the fickle and unpredictable nature of fate.

Despite his many misfortunes, he never considered himself unlucky. He viewed everything as a test, a trial that would help him grow.

The people he encountered were the key anchors that supported him in maintaining this positive and upward spirit, and enabled him to keep striving forward through countless hardships.

But now, all of that is gone. Cruel fate caused his life to take a sharp turn for the worse when it was full of love and hope, ultimately leading him to truly lose everything.

He was not afraid of his body being killed, but this time, he was facing the death of his spirit and beliefs.

What savior, what child of tomorrow, it's all just an unrealistic dream of a teenager.

The name "Qitian" was merely one manifestation of his impotent rage.

Qi Tian wandered aimlessly on this ancient star that was already on the verge of destruction, like a lost soul. Ten thousand years was far too long, long enough for everything he knew to vanish without a trace.

He couldn't find any trace of his past in this strange world. He recalled everything from the past over and over again, but he still couldn't find everything he wanted to see.

Under these circumstances, Qitian even found it difficult to muster the interest to cultivate, let alone have the enthusiasm to save this ancient star.

At this point, the ancient star no longer contained any familiar people or things, and few people even remembered anything from the past.

For Gu Xing, with whom he had almost lost all emotional connection, Qi Tian could no longer offer much hope of salvation.

Perhaps, dying alongside this ancient star would be the best way to end my life.

With this thought in mind, he wandered among the ancient stars, quietly awaiting the moment of his demise.

Although I don't know how many years from now, it probably won't be too far off.

After all, the laws of heaven and earth on this ancient star were slowly weakening at a speed he could perceive, and the earth veins and core deep within the ancient star had also begun to fall into silence and gradually lose their vitality.

Soon, no more cultivators will be able to be born on this ancient star.

One day, Qitian encountered a flash flood that destroyed a village. The collapsing mountain buried everything underground, causing widespread devastation and almost no one survived.

Seeing such a tragedy, Qi Tian felt no emotion. He originally wanted to leave immediately, but then he sensed a life force.

It turns out there was one survivor in this disaster, an ordinary boy who, though on the verge of death, remained tenacious.

Before Qi Tian could even react, he had already saved the boy.

He said self-deprecatingly, "Habits are truly terrifying. Even though I've resolved to withdraw from worldly affairs and bury myself here, I still subconsciously do things like this."

In a daze, the boy saw the person who had rescued him and himself flying in the sky, and murmured, "Immortal?"

However, since he was already nearing the end of his life, he quickly lost consciousness.

When he awoke again, he found himself completely healed, even radiating vitality, far healthier than before. Without bothering to examine his condition closely, he knelt before Qitian and pleaded, "Please, Immortal, save my family, and..."

Qi Tian interrupted him, saying, "When I arrived, you were the only survivor. Perhaps they were swept away to other places, but I didn't find a second person alive."

The boy, still undeterred, continued to ask, "Then, immortal, can you bring the dead back to life?"

Qi Tian was momentarily dazed and said, "Birth, aging, sickness, and death are the natural order of things. How can they be reversed? Besides, I am not an immortal, but merely a cultivator."

The boy said, "Then can you teach me cultivation?"

Qi Tian looked back at his hopeful eyes and saw a glimmer of hope in them.

He said, "Cultivation is not a panacea. If you want to use it to reverse life and death and save your family, you are probably indulging in wishful thinking."

The young man remained unmoved: "Since you are not a god, but just a cultivator, and therefore cannot reverse life and death, then perhaps a true god can?"

Upon hearing this, Qi Tian's heart stirred, and he couldn't help but say, "Do you know what becoming an immortal means? In the history of this ancient star, there has never been anyone who has become an immortal. Do you think you will be the first?"

Although the boy was frustrated, he still said, "Man proposes, God disposes. I can't just do nothing, can I?"

Although the boy spoke those words because he was completely unaware of the difficulty of cultivation, his fearless spirit inspired Qitian.

Perhaps he should do something instead of just slowly dying like this.

He felt despair simply because, despite his high talent, he had never seen any record of anyone on this ancient star who could reverse life and death or become an immortal. Therefore, he had never even considered that if he became extremely powerful, he might be able to do these things.

But since he is the most talented cultivator in the recorded history of this ancient star, he should naturally be able to surpass all his predecessors and reach a height that no one can reach.

A glimmer of hope rose in Qi Tian's heart once again. Perhaps if he continued to cultivate and became a true immortal, he might be able to reverse life and death, or even travel back in time and space to see everyone he wanted to see again.

Thinking of this, Qi Tian felt as if he were coming back to life. He had a goal again and his hope was rekindled.

Then, a smile appeared on his face, which he hadn't shown in a long time: "Alright, then I'll teach you how to cultivate."

After this baptism, Qitian's Dao heart became even more steadfast, and his cultivation speed increased significantly.

During those years buried deep underground, he seemed to have unexpectedly absorbed the last essence of this ancient star, accumulating a large amount of earth vein essence and countless fragments of laws within his body.

Starting today, Qitian has once again rekindled his desire to save this ancient star.

Over the next few decades, he guided the boy onto the path of spiritual practice and helped him find his lost family. However, only two or three members of the family survived.

As his cultivation progressed, Qitian finally succeeded in breaking through the Dao in this harsh environment and became a king.

After that, he continued his cultivation and eventually reached the semi-saint realm.

After being stuck at the bottleneck, Qitian bid farewell to this ancient star, stepped into the starry sky, and headed towards the future.

(End of this chapter)