Swallowing the starry sky, my clones can evolve infinitely.

Chapter 256 The Two Ancient Celestial Venerables, the Treasure Furnace Manifests Myriad Paths

On the other side, in the capital of the ancient Heng Dynasty.

This is an ancient sacred mountain, and it is also an inverted, suspended sacred mountain, so a supreme divine city stands on its vast base.

Unlike the Chiwu Dynasty, the three major families of the Chiwu clan each possessed an ancient city.

However, the ancient Heng Dynasty has thirty-six great divine realm families, each with a divine realm venerable in charge, and all of their ancestral lands are located in this ancient imperial capital.

At this moment, in the most sacred Heavenly Venerable Pavilion in the center of the imperial capital.

"Senior brother, are you serious?"

Hengtian Venerable found it hard to believe that a Divine Realm Venerable could rival a Supreme in soul attacks.

Faced with Heng Tianzun's doubts, Gu Tianzun sighed, "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it either."

As he spoke, glimpses of time gathered before him, revealing the scene of Shen Mu unleashing his willpower.

Although Hengtianzun could not perceive the true details of the battlefield through the images, the visual impact was still there.

The Wind and Thunder Demon Lord, one of the three guardian demon lords in the northwest of the Demon God Palace, lost consciousness in an instant.

Such terrifying illusions are unmatched even by the only elder in the Immortal Palace who has comprehended the Dao of Illusion.

"I remember now. Junior Brother Gu Yun once said that before this Fellow Daoist Shen had even reached the Divine Realm, he instantly trapped two Venerables in an illusion, leaving them without any power to resist."

"That is to say, at that time... his soul strength already far exceeded that of a Divine Realm Venerable."

"Senior brother, do you think he really comes from the Qin Dynasty?"

The Great Qin mentioned by Hengtian Venerable is none other than the mysterious Eastern Divine Dynasty, which is talked about by countless cultivators in the Northwest Continent.

Those who have reached their level, while not the most powerful figures on the entire continent, are still regional governors who guard their respective territories, and naturally have a deeper understanding of the so-called Eastern Divine Dynasty.

Upon hearing this, the Ancient Celestial Venerable paused, "Now that you mention it, I do feel that something is amiss."

"As far as I know... there is indeed no True Spirit family with the surname 'Shen' within the territory of Great Qin."

"Moreover, the surname Shen is very special. I have never seen this surname before, from ancient times to the present."

Surnames in this world all originate from bloodlines.

For example, the Chiwu clan is named after the supreme spirit of ancient times, known as the Golden Crow Great Sage, who is said to be the incarnation of the sun.

For example, the Li Yang clan is named after their ancestor who attained a divine state at the Li Yang Volcano.

There are also many surnames such as Teng and Shi, which are directly derived from the power of their own bloodline.

Hengtianzun's voice echoed softly: "Senior brother, do you remember some time ago when the Grand Elder emerged from seclusion and made a prophecy... that the ancient saints would return?"

True Spirit and Great Sage are just different names; they actually refer to the same level of existence, which is a supreme life that transcends the limitations of the mortal realm.

Ancient Celestial Venerable was taken aback: "Junior Brother, do you mean that this Shen Mu... is one of the returned ancient sages?"

Before Heng Tianzun could answer, Gu Tianzun answered his own question directly. "In that case, it does explain why this person, who has not yet attained godhood, possesses a soul attack at the level of a Tianzun."

Heng Tianzun added, "Moreover, as soon as this Fellow Daoist Shen emerged from seclusion, he went straight to the Chiwu Clan."

"As far as I know, although the Chiwu clan has the bloodline of the True Spirit, they are not the only ones who possess the bloodline of the True Spirit."

"What is most special about the Chiwu clan is the ancestral pagoda that has been passed down from ancient times."

"Even the Palace Master himself said that this ancestral pagoda is not simple, and it is suspected to be a contingency plan left by that Golden Crow Great Sage. We must not act rashly."

Shen Mu was unaware of this information.

If they knew, they could explain the doubts that had been lingering in Shen Mu's heart all along.

That's why the Celestial Palace or the three great dynasties completely ignored such a supreme treasure as the Ancestral Pagoda.

This is unreasonable. Bloodline certification is completely unimportant.

When Chi Wuyan was alive, even with the help of the Ancestral Tower, he was at most an invincible ordinary god. How could he possibly resist a Heavenly Venerable?

They directly enslaved his soul, and the ancestral tower became their own possession.

"In ancient times, eight hundred million years ago... This is too complicated. Let's go to the Immortal Palace instead."

"This is the only way."

……

At this moment, Shen Mu was unaware that he had been targeted by the most powerful force in this world.

But it doesn't matter if I'm being targeted.

Shen Mu has already established a solid foundation. Given enough time, he will have the resources to establish himself in this world.

At that time, suppressing the second level of the God King Realm head-on will not be a problem, and facing the true ultimate God King Realm, self-preservation should not be an issue.

A group of figures stood before the ancestral tower of the Chiwu clan.

At the center of the crowd were Shen Mu and his newly acquired soul servant, the Divine King Realm True Dragon Illusion Mist.

"Illusionary Mist, from now on you will reside in the Ancestral Tower and protect the Chiwu Clan."

Shen Mu's gaze fell on Huanwu beside him.

The divine body of the Illusionary Mist is very special, with defensive capabilities far exceeding those of beings at the same level.

This defensive power is not about brute force, but about deflecting force, which is somewhat similar in principle to the ultimate emptiness of the Void Path.

If one day, the Illusionary Mist perfectly integrates the transformation of illusion into reality, the transformation of reality into illusion, and another branch of the Illusionary Path, its defensive power will be enough to give most beings at the second level of the God King realm a headache.

"Yes, Master!"

Although Huanwu looked down on the people of the Chiwu clan, she naturally complied with Shen Mu's requests.

Shen Mu waved his hand: "Venerable Illusionary Mist is my follower and one of the guardian venerables of the Chiwu clan. Proclaim this to the world."

Thus, Shen Mu had indirectly completed his greatest karmic connection with Chi Wuyan.

Although he did not leave his own bloodline in the Chiwu clan, he did give them a young god-level being as the guardian deity of the nation.

"Liyue, a thousand years ago you just switched to the Path of Illusion. If you have any questions about this, you can ask Huanwu. His attainments in the Path of Illusion are higher than mine."

Shen Mu does not cultivate the Great Dao of the Origin of Light, therefore he cannot guide Chiwu Liyue.

Shen Mu gave Chi Wu Li Yue a suggestion: since Chi Wu Li Yue had not yet truly stepped into the realm of the Origin Dao, she could directly switch to cultivating the Illusion Dao.

The Illusionary Branch of the Illusionary Path is inherently related to light and shadow. If she switches to this branch as soon as possible, she can receive guidance in the future.

However, now that we have the Illusionary Mist, there's no need for Shen Mu to personally guide us.

After all, in terms of the Illusionary Path, Shen Mu only had some understanding of the Illusionary Heart Branch and the Practitioner to Become Real Branch, which can only be considered minor success, and is far inferior to the True Dragon Illusionary Mist.

Upon hearing Shen Mu's words, Huanwu quickly replied, "My lord is infinitely great. I, Huanwu, have only gained some insights into minor illusion techniques. How dare I presume to be arrogant before you?"

Shen Mu laughed. This was probably the negative effect of soul control; his mindset and personality had been distorted.

Unless this illusionary mist possesses talent and resources comparable to the Beast King of the Realm, future breakthroughs will be even more difficult.

Chiwu Liyue obediently bowed to Shen Mu, and then paid her respects to Huanwu.

"Liyue pays respects to Venerable Phantom Mist. We hope to receive your guidance in the future."

Over the course of a thousand years, Chiwu Liyue has also been studying the Chiwu clan's inherited scripture, the "Illusory Dream Heart Sutra," and has already entered the realm of illusion, though it is still very superficial.

Huanwu nodded indifferently; he had no interest in humans other than Shen Mu.

"I will be going into seclusion again. If there are any major issues that Illusion Mist cannot handle, then please inform me."

Shen Mu will not go into seclusion inside the ancestral tower; the ancestral tower has always given him a very oppressive feeling.

If there were any other option, Shen Mu would never enter the Ancestral Tower again.

……

A world of bamboo groves and courtyards.

Shen Mu sat cross-legged beneath the most majestic ancient bamboo, his body radiating an endless, clear spiritual light.

Then a hazy rosy cloud bloomed from above Shen Mu's head and condensed into the Myriad Spirits Treasure Furnace in mid-air.

"According to my calculations... with the blessing of the Myriad Spirits Furnace, the difficulty for me to comprehend the Great Dao will be reduced countless times."

Since Shen Mu comprehended the path of spirituality, not only has his own comprehension and mental acuity greatly improved, but he has also developed many ingenious ideas.

For example... using the wisdom of all living beings to comprehend the great Dao within oneself.

"The radiant light of wisdom, manifest!"

Within the hazy, misty furnace, some illusory flames of wisdom suddenly burst forth with dazzling brilliance.

Over a thousand years, the thoughts and spirituality of nearly 30,000 beings in the Chaos Realm have manifested and condensed into nearly 30,000 rays of profound wisdom.

The Great Wisdom Technique created by Shen Mu has only been disseminated for a thousand years, and its reach is still relatively small.

If several decades or hundreds of thousands of years pass, it will at least become a necessary method for ordinary cultivators throughout the Northwest Continent.

Given enough time, all ordinary life forms in this realm will cultivate Shen Mu's Great Wisdom Technique.

Let alone all the ordinary life forms in this realm, even just in the Northwest Continent, there are countless Chaos Realm life forms.

Every second, every snap of the fingers, every instant, beings in the Chaos Realm die for various reasons.

This means that countless thoughts and spiritual insights can cross endless time and space to converge on Shen Mu at any time and place.

"The Origin of the Heart Sutra...Evolution!"

With a thought, Shen Mu manifested his understanding of the Dao of Soul and the Dao of Illusion, condensing into countless secret patterns and symbols.

This is Shen Mu's greatest gain in this world, and his most important insight.

hum!

Endless symbols and secret patterns intertwine, evolving into illusory images of the universe, telling the mystery of the endless path of the soul.

Then all these endless cosmic phantoms merged into this Mind Furnace.

The beams of wisdom and profound light shone ever brighter, intertwining with these secret patterns to evolve new information and mysteries.

This entirely new information is very crude, very superficial, and even 99% of it is wrong.

But Shen Mu didn't want the secrets and information they deduced; he wanted the perspective and thought process behind the evolution of these profound wisdoms.

When trying to understand any kind of difficult problem or mystery.

The most crucial thing is always that flash of inspiration, that completely new way of thinking.

Often, once you adopt a completely new perspective, the mysteries that you once struggled to understand may suddenly become clear, and this is what is known as sudden enlightenment.

Shen Mu has thoroughly understood the spiritual branch of the soul path, and naturally, the diversity of his thinking and the variety of his perspectives on comprehending the Great Dao far exceed the imagination of other god-kings of the same realm.

But no matter how high Shen Mu's comprehension or how diverse his ideas are, there is a limit to his abilities.

But the number of sentient beings is endless...

With enough wisdom and insight, and enough ideas, Shen Mu will eventually gain perspectives he has not yet discovered.

These perspectives are the most important things for comprehending the Great Dao, and the inspiration that Shen Mu values ​​most.

……

Time flows by, and things change over the millennia.

In the blink of an eye, another thousand years have passed.

For the vast majority of ordinary beings in this world, those lowly beings who aren't even considered cultivators.

A thousand years, a full ten million days, is already more than half a lifetime, because they themselves can only live for two or three thousand years.

Since a thousand years ago, the story of the True Dragon Demon God Huanwu, a follower of Venerable Shenmu, also serving as the protector of the Chiwu clan has spread.

The Chiwu Dynasty thus became the second largest dynasty in the Northwest Continent, after the three major dynasties.

It was not only because the Chiwu clan only had three guardian deities (outsiders were unaware of Chiwu Yan's demise), but also because of a great battle that took place a thousand years ago on the border between the Chiwu clan and the Ten Thousand Mountains.

Outsiders are unaware of the outcome of this great battle, or who the powerful figures involved were.

However, some people saw the vast image of the Heavenly Venerable, because the phenomenon was too great and the pressure was too astonishing, and too many people saw it.

Combined with the previous "sun and sky" phenomenon, a rumor spread widely throughout the Northwest Continent.

That was the old venerable one of the Chiwu clan, Chiwu Yan, who comprehended the meaning of the Heavenly Dao and attained the realm of Heavenly Venerable.

Initially, this rumor was only believed by ordinary cultivators, while the great guardians of the nation were skeptical, because it was too dramatic for that old fellow Chiwuyan to break through when he was about to die.

The dignitaries from various countries exchanged ideas but were still unsure, so they sought confirmation from the ancient Heng Dynasty.

Then they received an astonishing reply: the Chiwu clan has a being comparable to a celestial being in charge; if you offend them, you will bear the consequences.

……

On this day, outside the most prosperous imperial city of the Chiwu clan.

As a unique chanting sound echoed, various strange phenomena appeared in the sky.

An endless stream of clear light surged and intertwined, coalescing into a phantom humanoid silhouette.

Immediately following this enormous and vast outline, three thousand worlds manifested.

Within the three thousand worlds, clusters of flames rose, and within each flame, a figure was worshipping, sacred and solemn.

This scene is just like the ancient myths and legends, where the ancestors worshipped the supreme spirit.

This strange phenomenon first alarmed the True Dragon Illusionary Mist within the imperial city.

A dreamlike, semi-transparent true dragon body floated directly in mid-air, its dragon eyes looking towards Shen Mu's small world with both shock and joy.

"As expected of our Lord, in just a thousand years, he has comprehended yet another realm of spiritual understanding!"

"Perhaps within this era, His Majesty will be able to comprehend the three realms of soul essence, and then fuse them to attain the realm of Celestial Venerable!"

Others might not be able to discern the profound mysteries behind this strange phenomenon, but the Demon God Illusionary Mist certainly could.

As a being who attained godhood through the Dao of Illusion, the Demon God Illusion Mist already possessed a certain understanding of the Dao of Souls. The two great Daos are inherently complementary.

Within the Path of the Soul, there is a branch called the Soul Illusion.

Within the Path of Illusion, there is also a branch called Illusionary Mind, which focuses on the soul.

……

[PS (This section is free): As many of you have noticed, this book is nearing its end. There are only a few dozen chapters left before it concludes. My new book will likely be released around the 9th or 10th. Please continue to support me!]

(End of this chapter)