Swallowing the starry sky, my clones can evolve infinitely.

Chapter 257 The Immortal Palace of Governance

A small world, inside a bamboo grove courtyard.

"Congratulations, my lord, on once again discerning the essence of the supreme soul."

The true dragon, its body shimmering with starlight, bowed to Shen Mu in reverence.

Beneath the ancient bamboo, Shen Mu's eyes shimmered with a hazy, colorful light, and the Daoist aura surrounding him intertwined and evolved with this small world.

"It's just a branch of understanding the Way of the Soul; it's nothing special."

Shen Mu has made considerable progress over the past thousand years, but as his understanding of the Dao of the Soul deepens, his progress has become slower and slower.

In the future, integrating multiple branches to advance to the second level of the God King realm will likely be a major bottleneck.

The origin of the soul is infinitely variable. Upon reaching the God-King realm, every slight progress requires entering a state similar to enlightenment.

"If it weren't for the help of the Myriad Spirits Furnace, I wouldn't have been able to comprehend the mysteries of the soul perception path over the course of a thousand years."

As Shen Mu spoke, a hazy, colorful glow appeared, coalescing into the shape of the Myriad Spirits Treasure Furnace.

On the crystal-clear, glass-like treasure furnace, nearly a million rays of wisdom intertwined, forming a secret pattern of trillions of microparticles.

It contains not only the mysteries of the Dao of the Soul, but also many other great Daos that Shen Mu comprehended, such as the Dao of Birth and Death, the Dao of Illusion, and the Dao of Void.

Each ray of wisdom offers a unique perspective when deducing the Great Dao.

At this level, even a slight change in thinking can bring about entirely new insights and understandings.

However, the possibility is extremely slim.

In Shen Mu's eyes, almost all the principles derived from the wisdom and profound light were riddled with errors and not worth a second glance.

There are very few truly insightful perspectives that can inspire Shen Mu.

Fortunately, while the quality was lacking, the quantity made up for it. Nearly a million rays of wisdom were equivalent to the wisdom of nearly a million beings in the Chaos Realm.

Given enough time, by exhaustively trying and failing little by little, one will eventually deduce some subtle secrets that Shen Mu might not have noticed.

"The fact that our lord can forge such a supreme treasure is due to his unparalleled skill."

Faced with Shen Mu's modesty, Zhenling Huanwu launched another round of flattery.

At this moment, Zhenlong Huanwu's gaze also fell upon the endless mysteries deduced on Shen Mu's treasure furnace, and he naturally noticed that Shen Mu was also comprehending the illusionary realm.

"My lord, I have gained some insights into the Way of Illusion, and I wish to offer my humble understanding in order to contribute my modest efforts."

As Zhenlong Huanwu spoke, dreamlike starlight intertwined around him, forming countless ancient demon race symbols that arranged into a profound and mysterious illusory scripture.

This true dragon primarily comprehends the three major branches of the Illusionary Path: transforming reality into illusion, refining the false into the real, and the Illusionary World.

However, only the lineage of "transforming reality into illusion" has been thoroughly comprehended, while the other two lineages have only been touched upon slightly, and are not as profound as the "Dream Heart Sutra" of the Chiwu Clan.

"No need. My understanding of the Illusionary Dao is merely using other people's experiences to improve my own."

Shen Mu's current focus is mainly on comprehending the Dao of the Soul and honing his own will.

The Soul Path is the foundation of Shen Mu's enlightenment, while Willpower is Shen Mu's main means of attack.

The strength of willpower depends primarily on mood and the strength of consciousness.

The strength of consciousness is basically equivalent to the strength of the soul, so it still depends on the level of one's state of mind.

The so-called state of mind is the way of the mind.

This realm is divided into three channels, which can be understood as the three channels of the true nature, the self-control, and the mind.

The so-called true nature is the secret of controlling one's innate instincts and desires.

The so-called "self-image" refers to the secrets of controlling one's acquired personality and emotions.

As for the final mental image, it is a deeper mystery of one's fundamental nature.

The so-called innate nature determines whether a person is inherently good or evil, and their basic nature. All emotions and desires are greatly influenced by this innate nature.

Therefore, the Way of the Mind is very special. Generally speaking, all the lineages of the Original Great Way are equal.

However, in the three lineages of the Mind-Image Path, the Original Image and the Self-Image are listed together, while the Mind-Image is a higher level of existence.

Only after thoroughly understanding and integrating the two lineages of true nature and self-image can one delve into the mysteries of the root nature of mind.

"Looking back now, the so-called Lieyuan Technique is, to be precise, just a special secret technique of the ultimate path of mind."

"Although it is more powerful than ordinary supreme secret techniques, it cannot be considered a supreme ultimate technique at the Hunyuan level."

Comprehending the Great Dao and tempering one's will are both processes that require gradual effort, and Shen Mu has ample time for them.

"A thousand years have passed, and the Great Conference of the Gods is about to begin."

"I'm afraid I won't be staying in the Chiwu Dynasty for much longer, so the responsibility of the Guardian of the Nation will fall entirely on you. If there is any emergency, please notify me immediately."

Faced with Shen Mu's entrustment, Huanwu immediately bowed her dragon head: "Huanwu will swear to protect the Chiwu clan with her life and not let the master worry."

"Furthermore, more than twenty years ago, the Ancient Heng Dynasty sent envoys to the capital, but they have been waiting for the emperor to emerge from seclusion and have not disturbed him."

Shen Mu nodded slightly, his gaze fixed on the outside of the small world.

"I never expected the envoy to be him."

At this moment, outside Shen Mu's small world, the former Grand Venerable Gu Yun, followed by several attendants, was waiting for Shen Mu to emerge from seclusion.

Not long ago, Shen Mu comprehended the strange phenomenon formed by the way of soul perception, which naturally alarmed the Great Venerable Gu Yun.

"Fellow Daoist Gu Yun, please come in."

Shen Mu's voice echoed outside the small world, and a spatial vortex appeared.

With a solemn expression, Gu Yun turned to give a few instructions to his attendants before entering Shen Mu's small world.

"Greetings, Great One Origin. I apologize for any slight offense I may have caused. Please forgive me."

The Venerable Gu Yun now adopts a very humble attitude in front of Shen Mu, and even no longer addresses Shen Mu by his full name.

He already knew Shen Mu's methods and strength, especially after receiving instructions from the two Heavenly Venerables, Gu Heng. He no longer had the same attitude as before in front of Shen Mu.

Shen Mu smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist Gu Yun, there's no need to be so formal. Did you come here for the Conference of the Gods?"

Gu Yun quickly shook his head, looking helpless, and said, "I have come here to carry the decree of the Immortal Palace and invite the Great Venerable to join the Immortal Palace."

The Cloud Sea Immortal Palace is the true ruler of the Northwest Continent.

This is one of the six most powerful forces in this world. There are countless Divine Realm Venerables within the sect, and Heavenly Venerable Elders are not uncommon. There are also powerful figures such as the Chief and Peak Master of the Supreme Realm.

Such a colossal entity, even on the Origin Continent, is comparable in size only to the two ancient kingdoms.

Seeing that Shen Mu remained silent, Gu Yun quickly said, "If Your Excellency has any concerns, you can first join the Heavenly Venerable Pavilion of my Ancient Heng Dynasty..."

Shen Mu waved his hand, interrupting Gu Yun: "There's no need for that. Since the Immortal Palace thinks highly of me, I naturally won't refuse."

Having lived in this world for a mere two thousand years, I have finally come into contact with the true pinnacle of this world.

It would be good to join the Cloud Sea Immortal Palace. If necessary, Shen Mu would not mind becoming a disciple of a truly powerful being.

"Please trouble Fellow Daoist Gu Yun to describe the layout of the Immortal Palace to me."

"As a traveler, I, Shen, am indeed not very familiar with the Celestial Palace."

Shen Mu's words further convinced Gu Yun of the speculations made by his senior brother and the elders of the Immortal Palace.

Even if this Origin Grand Venerable came from one of the major True Spirit Families of the Eastern Divine Dynasty, or even from the Purple Cloud Heavenly Palace, he would certainly know about the Cloud Sea Immortal Palace.

The extraordinary immortal sects, which are incredibly mysterious to ordinary cultivators, have regular exchanges among themselves.

This Origin Grandmaster possesses such a powerful foundation, yet he is unaware of the six great immortal palaces of the eight hundred million epochs of the world's rule, unless he did not exist in this era.

"That's natural. With the strength of a Great Venerable, if he were to join the Immortal Palace, he would certainly be an elder second only to the heads of the peaks."

"There are thirty-six main peaks in the Immortal Palace. The masters of the sixteen peaks are called the chief, and the masters of the twenty peaks are called the peak masters."

"The sixteen chief seats are all supreme beings, and although the twenty peak masters are not supreme beings, they are still far superior to ordinary Heavenly Venerable Elders and much stronger than Senior Brother Gu Mi."

Gu Yun explained the layout of the Cloud Sea Immortal Palace to Shen Mu in detail.

Besides the thirty-six main peaks, there are many smaller peaks, all of which are ruled by Heavenly Venerables.

Even Gu Yun himself didn't know how many small peaks the Immortal Palace had. Many of them were cultivation grounds opened up by wild powerhouses like Shen Mu who joined the Immortal Palace.

Hearing this, Shen Mu was somewhat moved. The sixteen chief seats were the sixteen ultimate realm gods.

On the Origin Continent, only two ancient kingdoms possess more than ten emperors, which are the ultimate realm of God-Kings.

Furthermore, above the chief of all the peaks, there exists a retainer and a palace master.

Even if the palace master and the enshrined ones are not powerhouses who have surpassed the ultimate realm of the God King, they are at least invincible powerhouses in the ultimate realm.

There are six such enormous creatures in this realm.

"Fellow Daoist Gu Yun, are there any beings in the Immortal Palace who surpass the Divine Realm?"

Whether they are Venerable, Celestial Venerable, or Supreme, they are all in the divine realm.

In this realm, all three possess a lifespan of ten thousand eons. However, this lifespan can be extracted and transformed into treasures that extend lifespan.

Therefore, the vast majority of Celestial Venerables are ancient beings who have lived for more than 100,000 epochs, such as the two Celestial Venerables of the Ancient Heng Dynasty.

As for the supreme beings who exist even higher, almost none of them perished due to the end of their lifespan.

In response to Shen Mu's question, Gu Yun gave a self-deprecating laugh.

"Your Excellency has overestimated me. I am merely a steward dispatched by the Immortal Palace. How could I possibly know the true depth of the realms of the Head Master, Peak Master, and even Palace Master?"

"However... there are also rumors within the Celestial Palace that the Palace Master and the Venerable Ones are truly immortal beings, having survived countless eons of eons without decay."

Shen Mu's eyes flickered slightly.

Without the limitation of lifespan... it seems to be a truly powerful being who has embarked on the path of transcendence.

The titles for these powerful figures are not fixed. For example, they are called Ancestors in the Origin Continent, God Emperors in the Realm Heart Continent, and God Emperors in the Holy Realm.

When a God Emperor reaches perfection, it signifies reaching the end of the path to transcendence, and the title will become unified: a semi-primordial being.

……

The following morning, a silver flying boat set off from the capital of the Chiwu Dynasty, heading towards the ruler of the Northwest Continent... the Celestial Palace high above the sea of ​​clouds.

"Great Venerable One, the Northwest Continent is vast and boundless. Even if a flying boat travels at near the speed of light, it would still take nearly half a year to reach the Immortal Palace."

Beside Shen Mu, Gu Yun explained to him the time required for the journey.

Don't think that near the speed of light is slow; that's a limitation imposed by a cosmic, ocean-like mindset.

As long as it can influence the rules governing the universe, it can travel at countless speeds of light. What's more, what about worlds where even the supreme rules are different?

In the cosmic ocean, even a single thought or intention of an ordinary true god can spread to countless billions of light-years away, forming a projection of that intention.

Shen Mu's feat was even more extraordinary. After achieving the Chaos Realm, Shen Mu's mental power could spread so quickly that it could cover the entire primordial universe in an instant.

However, here, Shen Mu's thoughts could travel at less than one-tenth the speed of light.

Even the Ancient Celestial Venerable, whom they had met once before, could only barely match Shen Mu in terms of the speed at which his thoughts could spread; he was even slower than Shen Mu.

By comparing them in this way, we can see that any ordinary life form in this world, if placed in the vast ocean of space, would be a colossal being of the light-year scale.

As for why such a colossal entity did not generate a gravitational force capable of tearing everything apart, it is naturally because the spacetime of this realm is terrifyingly stable.

Gravity is a product of the curvature of spacetime. If spacetime were not curved, there would be no gravity at all.

The heights referred to as "one zhang" or "one hundred zhang" in this world are all subjective terms used by Shen Mu, who forcibly translates this unit of distance as "chi," "zhang," or "li."

Half a year is not a long time, so Shen Mu did not focus on comprehending the Great Dao, but continued to concentrate on tempering his will.

It's best to slowly deduce it using the Myriad Spirits Furnace. It won't be too late for Shen Mu to comprehend it when some new inspirations emerge.

At this stage, Shen Mu's strongest method is still the attack on will.

Although Shen Mu's current outburst of willpower can rival that of the ultimate realm, his actual mental strength is not yet at that level.

To truly transform one's will to the ultimate level, one must either gain some understanding of the Way of the Mind and complete a transformation of one's state of mind.

This is also a long process, and tempering one's will is just an aid.

……

Six months later, above the endless sea of ​​clouds, in the Nine Heavens.

This is the real starry sky, with countless large stars.

Each star is as large as a dynasty on Earth, like the divine form of a celestial being.

Directly in front of the flying boat was an even larger celestial body, not a real star, but an endless, enormous divine mountain.

Within the sacred mountain, the peaks are majestic and imposing, as precipitous as sharp swords, surrounded by endless divine light and wondrous phenomena.

On the most majestic peak in the center, there is an enormous bronze bell that is upside down.

"This is... one of September?"

The moment Shen Mu saw the sacred mountain, he felt a strange sense of connection emanating from within it.

It was just like the eerie feeling Shen Mu had when he first arrived in this world and looked up at the sun and moon in the sky.

Gu Yun, standing to the side, said proudly, "That's right, the Immortal Palace Holy Land is one of the nine months. Legend has it that each of these nine months in the heavens is formed from the corpse of a supreme true spirit."

"Then is the sun also a corpse of a true spirit?" Shen Mu asked Gu Yun.

Gu Yun immediately shook his head: "The sun is the embodiment of all things, the manifestation of the Dao of Heaven."

"Your Excellency may not know, but even within the sacred celestial palace, the distance from the sun is no different from that on the ground."

"Because the sun is infinitely high and infinitely far, no matter how you fly, you can never get close to the sun."

After speaking, the Great Venerable Gu Yun piloted his flying boat and landed outside the majestic gate of the Cloud Sea Immortal Palace.

"Now that the Great Venerable has joined the Immortal Palace, he needs to meet with the Law Enforcement Elder of this era first."

"With his cultivation level as a Grand Venerable, he can either join any main peak as an elder or establish his own peak and cultivate alone, barring any unforeseen circumstances."

(End of this chapter)