Covering the Sky: I Prove the Great Dao Through the Gate of Immortality

The Sage descended into this void, his body suddenly expanding.

In that instant, the entire boundless darkness was filled by his body, stars twinkled within him, and the Milky Way flowed through his veins.

He does not stand in the universe, but the universe is contained within him.

It's not just this one tower in the starting area.

In other blessed lands, before the unopened Eternal Trial Towers, figures of wise saints appeared one after another.

The same illusory and unreal presence, the same overwhelming power. They simultaneously raised their hands and pressed them against the towers in front of them.

Willpower surged in like a tide.

Those towers, which were originally just inanimate objects, suddenly came to life.

This isn't a metaphor; it's a real heartbeat.

One, two, three strikes, steady and powerful, like a giant beast that had been sleeping for countless years finally opening its eyes.

Runes flowed across the tower, no longer arranged in a rigid pattern, but surging like blood; restrictions appeared in the void, no longer cold barriers, but as natural as breathing.

The entire tower came to life.

It's not an upgrade, it's a qualitative change.

It transformed from a controllable magical artifact into an entity with its own will.

It can think, judge, and learn; it will automatically adjust the difficulty when the trial participants encounter danger and repair loopholes when it discovers them. It no longer needs the Sage of Wisdom to constantly monitor it; it can operate on its own, grow on its own, and become stronger on its own.

Zhisheng withdrew his hand, his body slowly shrank, and returned to normal.

The moment the Fire Emperor stepped into the Tower of Eternal Life, he froze on the spot.

Where his gaze fell, there was a vast and boundless void.

And in that void, there stood a person.

No, that is not something that can be described by "humans".

The figure stretched to the heavens and the earth, merging with the entire void. The stars beside him were as small as dust, and the Milky Way flowed slowly between his fingers.

The Fire Emperor strained his neck, trying to see the figure clearly, but no matter how hard he tried, he could only catch a glimpse of it.

It was too vast, so vast that it exceeded his comprehension, so vast that even he, the ruler of a nation, felt a tremor from the depths of his soul.

What exactly is this place?

What kind of existence is that figure?

The Fire Emperor's Adam's apple bobbed, and he subconsciously clenched his fist.

He had seen grand scenes and weathered countless storms, but at this moment, he felt like an ant standing at the feet of a giant.

It wasn't fear, but an instinctive awe of power.

The figure didn't even look at him; it just stood there quietly, yet it still gave him the urge to kneel down.

The Fire Emperor stood in that boundless void, gazing up at the towering figure, and felt a sense of insignificance he had never experienced before.

He stood at the pinnacle of the eight lower realms, the master of an ancient kingdom, and an existence that countless cultivators looked up to.

But at this moment, he felt like a speck of dust, floating in the wind beneath the giant's feet.

The figure was so enormous that even looking up at it seemed futile.

What terrified him even more was that the enormous figure was gradually becoming ethereal. Not disappearing, but merging into the entire void.

The stars, the Milky Way, and the chaotic mist were all converging on that figure, or rather, returning to that figure.

The Fire Emperor suddenly had a strange feeling—it wasn't that the figure had merged into the void, but rather that this void itself was a part of that figure.

Gods?

The word popped into the Fire Emperor's mind, but he immediately dismissed it.

Although he is not a god, the history of the Fire Kingdom has produced more than one being who ignited the divine fire.

He had read through the books left by his ancestors and listened to various legends about gods.

The gods described were powerful, majestic, and inviolable, but no record ever mentioned a being that could make the entire void a part of itself.

This was beyond his understanding of "gods".

"Greetings, senior."

The Fire Emperor bowed deeply, his posture extremely humble.

He was the ruler of a country, a venerable being standing at the pinnacle of the eight realms of the lower world, and normally only others would bow to him.

But at this moment, in this boundless void, before that towering figure, he performed this salute willingly, even feeling it was only right and proper.

The ethereal figure did not respond, nor did it even glance at them.

The Fire Emperor remained bowed, motionless. He knew the other party must have heard him, but was simply too lazy to respond.

Or rather, the other person is not on the same level as him, so it takes time for his words to reach their ears.

"What is it?"

The sound finally rang out.

Indifferent and lofty, it seemed to come from another time and space, or perhaps it resonated directly in the depths of the Fire Emperor's soul.

The voice was devoid of any emotion, as if asking about a trivial matter, or scrutinizing an ant that happened to pass by.

The Fire Emperor straightened up, his expression respectful, his tone steady.

"Having heard that you have entered the Tower of Eternal Life, I have brought my daughter here to pay my respects."

He turned to the side, revealing Huo Ling'er not far behind him.

The little girl was dressed in a bright red dress, her hair tied in two small buns, and she was staring at the towering, illusory figure with her bright, sparkling eyes.

She didn't know what that figure meant, she only felt that it was so big, so big that she couldn't see the top even if she stretched her neck out.

The Fire Emperor did not explain how he knew that his "senior" had entered the tower.

No explanation is needed.

When the news came that someone had entered the Tower of Eternal Life Trial alone without being led by anyone from the Fire Kingdom, he already knew the answer in his heart.

Who owns this tower?

Who built it? Who has the right to step through that door without anyone's permission?

The answer is obvious; there's no need to guess.

So he immediately brought Huo Ling'er over. Not to ask for anything, but to express an attitude.

The Fire Kingdom knew how to be grateful, and the Fire Emperor knew his limits. That being had given the Fire Kingdom an immense opportunity, and he could not pretend not to know it, much less accept it with a clear conscience.

The Fire Emperor adopted an extremely humble posture.

He completely abandoned his airs as a monarch at this moment.

There was no authoritative gaze, no unquestionable tone, and even his back was more hunched than usual.

It wasn't a deliberate attempt to please, but rather a heartfelt reverence.

The ethereal figure before him, the boundless void, and the stars that seemed to drift between the giant's fingers all silently told him that the one standing here was not someone he could measure with his mortal eyes.

As he walked, he pondered the matter repeatedly in his mind.

Those records about gods, those fragments passed down from his ancestors, kept churning in his mind.

Mortal cultivators have different realms such as Blood Transformation, Spirit Transformation, Inscription, Array Formation, and Venerable. Each level is a hurdle, and each level is a new heaven.

The Fire Emperor believed that the world of gods was not monolithic.

Igniting the divine fire is one step; how to keep the divine fire burning forever is another, even higher level of achievement.

Some deities, in their later years, have their divine flame flickering until it eventually goes out, and they return to the mortal world.

Such beings, though they once reached the realm of gods, could not ultimately escape the erosion of time.

They were powerful and glorious, but that power had its limits, and that glory would eventually fade.

But some gods are different.

The Fire Emperor pondered to himself, his gaze involuntarily glancing again at the enormous figure that was merging with the void.

Legend has it that there is a being whose divine fire only goes out after death.

It's not that it won't go out, but rather that from the moment it's lit, it's destined to burn until its last breath.

Whether in their prime or old age, whether their vitality is at its peak or declining, their divine fire remains constant, never dimming in the slightest with the passage of time.

The Fire Emperor recalled the ancestor in the history of the Fire Kingdom who had once ignited the divine fire.

In his later years, that ancestor's divine fire became unstable, and he often fell into a deep sleep, resulting in a significant decline in his combat power.

Finally, the fire quietly went out on an ordinary night, without any earth-shattering events or strange phenomena, just like a lamp that had run out of oil.

That was a false god, an existence in the Divine Fire Realm that failed to take that crucial step.

The Fire Emperor could almost certainly conclude that the one before him was at least a true god whose divine fire had only extinguished after his death.

It wasn't that he had seen a true god, but rather that the aura of merging with the entire void and allowing stars to flow within his body was something that false gods could never achieve.

No matter how powerful a false god is, he cannot surpass the boundaries of heaven and earth.

But this one is heaven and earth itself.

The Fire Emperor took a deep breath, suppressing the thought deep within his heart. He didn't voice it, nor did he dare let his expression reveal it. Some guesses were best kept to himself.

Saying it out loud would only make me seem frivolous.

The Fire Emperor stepped aside, and the gaze of the ethereal figure naturally fell on Fire Spirit.

The little girl has grown another year older, and she's become much taller than when we last met.

Her jet-black hair was tied up with a crimson ribbon, making her small face appear even whiter and clearer. She wore a fiery red dress and stood in that boundless void, like a flower quietly burning in the darkness.

If the little kid who was recently thrown out of Stone Village were here, he would definitely shout: "Fat Sister has gotten fatter again!" Unfortunately, the child is currently in some corner of the Great Wilderness, holding his broken pottery jar, pondering where to steal the next litter of animal milk.

"Uncle God!" Huo Ling'er called out in a clear and bright voice, which sounded particularly crisp in the silent void.

She looked up at the towering, illusory figure, her eyes filled not with fear, but with curiosity and affection.

She didn't know who this "divine uncle" was, only that her father treated him with utmost respect, and that all the benefits she received in the tower were related to him.

"Not bad." Zhisheng's voice descended from above, still indifferent, but with a hint of warmth compared to before.

"Your skill has improved quite a bit."

He could see the girl's talent.

It's not the kind of extraordinary talent that can amaze the world, but rather a gentle, enduring potential.

She is calm and composed, never competing or vying for anything, taking each step steadily and building a solid foundation at every level.

Such a child may not soar to great heights at any particular stage, but her path often goes further than that of those who are already exceptionally talented.

More importantly, every time she enters or leaves the Eternal Trial Tower for trials, a secret power would quietly descend from the tower, merging into her body and gradually purifying the dormant Immortal King power within her bloodline.

The power was so weak that it was almost imperceptible, but over time, her talent was quietly increasing at a speed invisible to the naked eye.

It's not a direct surge in cultivation level, nor a sudden breakthrough in realm, but rather an improvement in innate constitution, an enhancement in comprehension, and a gradual deepening of affinity with the laws of heaven and earth.

These are all things that cannot be seen or touched, but when they come together, they form the foundation for how far a person can go in the future.

Huo Ling'er was a little embarrassed by the praise. She smiled with her lips pursed, her little hands unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes.

She didn't know anything about the Immortal King's bloodline or the secret power tempering. All she knew was that every time she came out of the tower, her cultivation became much smoother. Runes that she couldn't understand before suddenly became clear, and magical techniques that she couldn't master before suddenly became easy.

The Fire Emperor stood aside, looking at his daughter's slightly flushed face, feeling both gratified and moved.

He knew what the tower had given Huo Ling'er, and he also knew that the being had been generous enough to the Fire Kingdom.

He didn't say anything more, but simply bowed again to the ethereal figure.

Zhisheng shifted his gaze from Huo Ling'er back to the boundless void.

The towering figure faded even further, as if it might completely merge into the world at any moment.

What needed to be said has been said, and what needed to be seen has been seen.

The rest is up to fate.

"I found it very easy to practice."

Huo Ling'er raised her little face, a hint of smugness in her tone.

Those eyes sparkled, like a little fox that had stolen some honey.

How can you not feel relaxed?

The Fire King bloodline within her grew stronger, making her cultivation of the Vermilion Bird Treasure Technique as natural as a fish in water.

She could understand runes that others needed to ponder repeatedly with just a glance; she could obtain fire elemental power that others needed to painstakingly accumulate with a simple activation of her bloodline.

This isn't talent, it's just good fortune.

The Fire Emperor stood aside, listening to his daughter's lighthearted words, his lips twitched, but he stubbornly remained silent.

Immortal arts and magical techniques are effortless?

In his youth, in order to learn a fire-based magic technique, he burned half of his hair and destroyed three alchemy furnaces.

He couldn't accept that; to do so would be like stabbing himself in the heart.

"It's just a magic technique; it's really not difficult."

Zhi Sheng's voice drifted over, surprisingly echoing Huo Ling'er's words.

He paused, then added, "Once you've mastered this precious technique, you can come back to the tower to get a new one, or choose a suitable trial ground."

Huo Ling'er's eyes lit up, while Huo Huang silently pulled his daughter back two steps.

He feared that if he stayed any longer, his heart would be pierced through a sieve.

Upon hearing this, Huo Ling'er's face immediately lit up with a smile. She nodded her head rapidly, the red ribbon in her hair swaying gently, making her look like a joyful little bird.

"Thank you, Uncle Deity!"

The sound was clear and crisp, filled with undisguised joy.

She didn't really understand what bottlenecks or trial grounds were; all she knew was that this divine uncle had shown her a clear path, a path that would make her stronger and allow her to fly further.

"Get ready." The resounding voice echoed from the void, like the long tolling of bells, reverberating among the stars. "Soon, this tower will be fully open."

The Fire Emperor shuddered.

Has the time finally come?

He had known this day would come for a long time, and had even mentally rehearsed countless times how he would deal with it when it finally arrived.

But when those words actually came from that being's mouth, he still felt a strange tension and disorientation.

Those comfortable days of making a fortune quietly by getting in early are coming to an end.

From this day forward, the gates of this tower will no longer be occupied only by the Fire Kingdom and a few allies, but by heroes from all corners of the world, paying homage from all directions.

He took a deep breath, steadied himself, and bowed again.

"I understand."