Shrouding the Heavens: The Ultimate Daoist Venerable

Chapter 589 Xiao Ran Kills the Envoy

Time flies, and nearly two hundred years have passed in the blink of an eye. There are less than twenty years left until the day when Changsheng and the Beast God will fight.

During this period, neither Changsheng nor the Beast God showed themselves again, so Mu Renqing, Cangyun, and others began to distinguish themselves and become the backbone of the human race. After all, during this time, they also became near-Ninth Peak cultivators who were about to attain Dao, making them among the strongest existing cultivators.

However, these individuals are stuck at this stage, unable to make further progress. Only by continuing to improve and accumulate more experience at this stage can they possibly make the final leap. They clearly need sufficient time and experience to refine their skills before they can break through this bottleneck. It's even possible that some of them will remain at this stage forever, unable to break through any further.

Moreover, even if one breaks through this bottleneck, it does not mean that one can successfully achieve enlightenment in the final leap. Throughout history, countless people have surpassed this level but failed to accumulate enough knowledge and skills, resulting in failure in the final leap to achieve enlightenment, and even turning the area where they achieved enlightenment into a death zone.

Mu Renqing, Cangtian, and others were also aware of this, which is why they were so active, hoping to gain more experience by fighting against the top quasi-emperors of the ancient clans.

Even though the existence of immortality and the Beast God prevents them from achieving the ultimate leap to enlightenment, they can still attempt alternative paths to enlightenment. This is still a qualitative change, just with a less dramatic increase in magnitude.

On the other side of the ancient races, the geniuses of other races besides the Beast God, as well as some veteran quasi-emperors who were reborn due to the great changes in the world, also began to make continuous progress and launch an attack on this barrier.

As the saying goes, new talents emerge in every generation, each leading the way for hundreds of years. Although immortality and the Beast God remain the highest peaks for both sides, it doesn't prevent others from beginning to shine in their own way.

However, because these people are getting stronger, the scope of this war is also getting wider and wider. Many powerful clans that did not participate in this war before have also been drawn into it and have to start to consider taking sides.

Xiao Ran, who emerged from the Ziwei Star, evolved his divine blood after mastering the Ancient Scripture of Divine Transformation, transforming himself into a Divine Emperor Body. He became one of the two strongest beings in the Divine Race after Xin Lingxiao, the son of Emperor Ming, and was on par with Xin Lang, who evolved into a Divine Emperor Body after being born with divine blood as a supreme being.

After marrying Xinlang's sister, he was strictly controlled by the gods and could not leave. Hundreds of years have passed and he has no chance to return to Ziwei Star or participate in this great war.

After all, the gods' current attitude towards humans is to avoid conflict, but also not to actively integrate or help them. If Xiao Ran leaves the gods, he will inevitably return to the human race.

At that point, the gods will have no choice. After all, as a top-three contender among the gods, and the brother-in-law of another top-three contender with the potential to become the future leader of the gods, his help to the human race could not be a personal act.

Even if it's a personal act, others won't think that way.

However, as Xiao Ran married and had children in the God Clan, enjoying family life and seemingly forgetting all about home, the God Clan couldn't help but lower their guard.

It was from this point that Xiao Ran learned in detail about the current situation of the human race and Changsheng and others, and the idea of ​​forcing the gods to take sides began to sprout in his mind.

Having lived among the gods for years, he had become very familiar with their strengths and resources. With the help of the Emperor's Mind-Stabilizing Technique, the average strength of the gods had increased by at least half a level.

After all, raising one's divine bloodline to a higher level isn't just about resources; it also requires sufficient talent. Clearly, not everyone in the divine race possesses such talent.

However, the higher the level of divine blood, the harder it is to improve. Ordinary members of the divine race are one level lower than divine bodies, so the difficulty for them to improve is not as high. Therefore, the average combat strength of the divine race is quite formidable.

If the gods could be brought to the side of humanity, it would be enough to change the current stalemate and tip the scales of victory in humanity's favor. However, the gods are quite cautious and have remained in seclusion for years, avoiding contact with the outside world, so Xiao Ran has never found an opportunity.

Finally, after these two forces further expanded the war, the flames of war had spread to the star system where the Protoss resided, making it difficult for them to maintain a neutral stance.

Of course, if they directly activate the array patterns left by Emperor Ming to seal off the ancient star, they can maintain this state. However, this would force the gods to be self-sufficient and unable to obtain the necessary resources from the outside world, which would be detrimental to their development.

Therefore, the gods were still wavering and unable to make a decision. After all, Xin Lingxiao was still in seclusion, and the affairs of the gods were being handled by Xin Lang, who clearly did not have the authority to decide on such a matter of life and death for the gods.

Xin Lingxiao did not fall behind Changsheng and the Beast God back then, and he did not fall behind after leaving the Ultimate Ancient Road. He continued to improve, while the performance of Changsheng and the Beast God put too much pressure on him. Therefore, Xin Lingxiao has not appeared for a long time.

But after all, he is the son of Emperor Ming, and the most talented and strongest cultivator among the gods. Therefore, the choice of which side to choose is ultimately up to him.

Therefore, the gods could only continuously shrink their power and temporarily avoid contact with both sides, waiting for Xin Lingxiao to emerge from seclusion and make a decision.

Just then, the ancient race sent an envoy to persuade the gods to remain neutral. The gods neither agreed nor refused.

After that, the ancient race proposed a series of deals, hoping that the gods would conduct normal trade with them.

Many members of the Divine Race agreed with this, but Xin Lang still refused. This was because once a conflict of interest arose with the ancient races, maintaining neutrality would be difficult.

The ancient races never expected the gods to cooperate with them; in fact, the gods had always maintained a neutral stance. They were deliberately trying to sow discord between humans and gods, making cooperation between them more difficult.

After the ancient envoys left, a fierce argument erupted among the gods. The ancient race's terms were too generous, tempting many in the gods, though the potential consequences couldn't compare to the immediate, tangible benefits.

Moreover, there are already many among the gods who insist on being completely independent from the human race, so this is also an opportunity.

Xin Lang did not have the absolute authority of Xin Lingxiao. Even though he was stronger than the other high-ranking members of the God Clan, he still could not overcome the opinions of the crowd and was overwhelmed by the repeated debates.

However, it was precisely because of the huge divisions within the divine race that Xiao Ran finally found an opportunity. Originally, relying solely on Xin Lang, Xiao Ran's brother-in-law who was roughly equal to him, was already insufficient to completely control Xiao Ran; the protective array and the inherited imperial weapon were needed.

Now that Xin Lang is too busy to be in two places at once, Xiao Ran has finally found an opportunity to leave the God Clan.

He did not return to his home planet Ziwei Star, nor did he go to the human race. Instead, he took direct action and killed all the ancient race envoys.

(End of this chapter)