Covering the Sky: The Years I Was the Empress's Strictest Master

What's most striking are his small eyes, which are darting around, yet filled with a hint of bewilderment as if he'd just woken up.

"May the Heavenly Venerable grant me boundless blessings... uh... ha... I slept... for a damn long time..."

The fat Taoist priest yawned widely, his voice hoarse and dry.

He gripped the edge of the coffin with both hands and awkwardly sat up from inside, stretching his stiff neck as he squinted and looked around.

"Hmm? This place is millions of years old... The dragon energy is quite strong, it's quite something! It's a place for raising corpses... a good place to recuperate and thrive!"

"My eye for choosing graves in my past life is as good as ever!"

He muttered to himself, a satisfied look on his face as he boasted.

But soon, this satisfaction turned into financial pain:

"But this pattern... hiss, Nine-Colored Netherworld Gold? Such a big piece?"

"Back in the day, I was really willing to invest! If I could just pry this off and sell it... cough cough!"

He seemed to remember something, quickly stopped, and looked around furtively.

He breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that there was no one else in the underground cave except him, and his lazy yet shrewd expression returned to his face.

"Let's see how long he slept this time, and what the outside has become..."

Duan De muttered to himself, reached into the coffin and rummaged around for a while, pulling out a translucent purple crystal the size of a pigeon egg.

This is a "Memory Crystal," containing a record of his life before he "slept."

Important memories and information from the previous life, or even earlier, were deliberately injected.

He placed the divine crystal on his forehead and closed his eyes to read it.

A moment later, Duan De put down the divine crystal, a complex expression appearing on his round face.

There was emotion, reminiscence, and also a subtle weariness and a sense of bewilderment.

Immediately after his consciousness briefly returned to a higher level, he made some deductions about the outside world.

"Another life... The Devouring Emperor? This life even produced an Acquired Chaos Body?"

Wow, amazing! This era is quite lively; it's a golden age for cultivation.

Unfortunately... that person attained enlightenment first, and with the suppression of all paths, it's impossible for anyone in this life to break through to the top..."

He smacked his lips:

"But what does this have to do with me, Daoist Master?"

Thinking of this, a signature, slightly lewd grin appeared on his face again.

But the smile quickly faded.

Because he knew that after reading the memory crystal...

He only had one hour to digest and process these memories of his "past life" and the possible entanglements.

An hour later, he would need to follow the established hand seal method.

To erase most of the past memories from one's mind.

Only the most essential cultivation methods, techniques, and secret arts are retained, and then the fourth cycle of reincarnation condensation process is initiated.

Until the end of its lifespan, it will bury itself again and fall into a long slumber, waiting for the next "awakening".

This is his method of achieving immortality, but also his shackles.

Each "awakening" is a unique rebirth and a farewell to the past.

"One hour...time is tight, and the task is heavy."

Duan De scratched his messy hair and began to hurry up.

While adjusting to their still somewhat sluggish bodies and minds after "waking up,"

While rapidly sorting through the massive amount of information in the memory crystal, he attempted to connect it with his current state and the external environment to deduce the future.

He sat cross-legged in the coffin, his plump body enveloped in a rich, pale golden aura.

His breathing was sometimes strong and sometimes weak, his facial expression was sometimes solemn and sometimes dazed, and he would mutter a few words that outsiders could not hear from time to time.

"A golden age will emerge in the future... the demon race... the ancient race... hmm?"

Another new forbidden area has been created in Beidou? Chixia River? This is interesting..."

"Those little guys in the penalty area seem to be pretty quiet lately."

Hmm, no, it hasn't been that long since the last turmoil..."

"It seems quite a few prodigies have been buried over these millions of years; once we get out, we can dig to our hearts' content..."

He was completely absorbed in his own world and didn't notice anything amiss.

In the shadows outside the cave, a peerless, ethereal figure had been silently watching him from afar for quite some time.

The Empress silently gazed at the fat, neurotic Taoist priest in the coffin, whose expressions were sometimes furrowed in thought, sometimes chuckling to himself, and whose manner was so varied it was almost comical.

After observing for a moment, the expression on her face beneath the ghost mask seemed to become somewhat unpredictable.

This shouldn't be the Celestial Venerable who transcended tribulation in the mythological era, right?

The image before my eyes...

It is indeed far removed from the ethereal and otherworldly connotations of the title "Celestial Venerable".

However, the Empress was not one to judge by appearances. She could clearly sense the fluctuations within the other person's body, which, though subdued, had transformed into several mysterious marks.

And the aura of the Great Dao that is faintly related to reincarnation and calamity.

Especially after the other party read the memory crystal, the aura of a position that seemed to contain the mysteries of life and death that appeared at the ancestral aperture between their eyebrows made her gaze slightly narrow.

"Could it really be that person?"

She had already made her own judgment at that moment.

Over the years, through countless trips back through time in different locations, she has learned too many secrets.

It was already vaguely known that the Celestial Venerable who had transcended tribulation had not lived more than one lifetime, and that his identity had changed many times.

Now that I see him, it seems the rumors are true. This person is indeed practicing a unique method of longevity, and it is related to reincarnation.

To be able to live through several lifetimes in this way, his "Transcending Tribulation Heavenly Skill" must have some unique aspects.

pop... pop...

at this time,

Inside the coffin, Duan De seemed to have finally sorted through most of the information and gained a clear understanding of the outside world in this life. He let out a long sigh of relief and patted his round belly.

He climbed out of the coffin and stood before the "grave" he had prepared for himself.

With his hands behind his back, he struck a pose of "mourning," shaking his head and sighing:

"May the Heavenly Venerable grant you boundless blessings! Duan Shude, Duan Shude, you were truly... incredibly talented in your past life! It's just that this coffin lid is a bit uncomfortable; next time you'll need to make it softer..."

"Now that this life is over, I, the Daoist, need to find a more secluded and comfortable place to lie down!"

He muttered to himself, completely unaware that his words had been overheard by others.

After all, his secret place is isolated from the outside world. However, there will be a slight flaw that appears before and after his awakening, and only an Emperor-level figure can detect it at close range.

But what are the chances of such a coincidence in the world?

Outside the grave,

The Empress remained silent as she watched.

She discovered that this "celestial being" seemed to have a strong tendency to talk to himself after waking up.

Or rather, when alone, one unconsciously reveals a certain carefree, humorous, and even somewhat "unreliable" nature.

Is this a personality change caused by reincarnation?

Or is this simply its nature?

The Empress pondered this in her heart.

At the same time, she was also using a secret method to silently sense and trace the traces of time and space in this place.

She wanted to see how this being had arrived here in the past, and how it had buried itself.

However, the results of the retrospective analysis surprised her somewhat.

Centered on this place, the spacetime spanned for a considerable period of time was shrouded in a hazy mist, as if deliberately disturbed or obscured by some force.

Only a faint glimpse can be seen, as if a blurry stream of light fell into this star a very long time ago, after which nothing unusual happened.

It wasn't until a meteorite impact a century ago, which caused the earth's veins to tremble, that this tomb was "opened".

"The person who can interfere with my rewinding must undoubtedly be that Tribulation-Transcending Celestial Venerable."

His methods are unfathomable, and even in his current special circumstances, he should not be underestimated.

The Empress thought to herself.

She became more interested in and wary of the seemingly comical fat Taoist priest in front of her.

at this time,

Duan De, who was admiring his own grave, suddenly froze!

His small eyes suddenly widened, and the laziness and smugness on his chubby face froze instantly.

Then, as if his consciousness was rising, he finally realized something and slowly, with extremely stiff movements, turned towards the direction where the Empress was.

Although the Empress's aura was perfectly concealed, as if it were nothingness,

But he was no ordinary person either.

The Celestial Venerable of the mythological era, the "Old Ghost" who has reincarnated countless times, has reached the pinnacle of his perception of crisis and insight into the environment.

He had only just "awakened" and had not yet accessed the divine crystal; his consciousness had not fully recovered.

Meanwhile, his mind was still immersed in sorting out past memories and assessing the current situation, so he did not immediately notice.

But at this moment, as he calmed down a little, the feeling of being "watched" was like a drop of cold water falling on the back of his neck, making his hair stand on end instantly!

"Who?!"

Duan De let out a low shout, his voice changing tone, his fat face filled with horror.

He reflexively jumped back a large step, almost falling back into the coffin, and frantically assumed an extremely awkward defensive stance.

A pair of small eyes stared intently at the shadowy corner where the Empress was, and she shouted, her voice trembling with fear:

"What...what ghostly creature dares to spy on my peaceful rest?!"

Let me tell you, I, Daoist Master, am not someone to be trifled with!

This Taoist master possesses unparalleled cultivation; those who know what's good for them should get lost!

Otherwise, if I were to lose my temper, even I would be afraid of myself!

He shouted fiercely, but his slightly trembling calves and constantly shifting eyes betrayed his inner panic.

Unfortunately, his current condition isn't very good.

This is actually the beginning of a new life. In a sense, everything returns to zero. It is a temporarily elevated consciousness that will "revert to its original form" once the memories are severed.

And whoever wakes up one day to find that their "home"... has a silent "guest" in the grave.

Even in this deep underground, a place that should be absolutely hidden as a corpse-raising ground, one would still be startled.

Especially given his "professional habit," having dug up countless graves throughout his life, his biggest fear is running into the "owner" or a fellow professional coming to his door.

His first reaction at that moment was,

Is it karma that I'm getting punished for digging up too many graves?

Was this a ghost encounter?!

Or……

Outside the tomb, the Empress watched Duan De's panicked and screaming appearance.

Even she, at this moment, had a somewhat strange look in her eyes behind the ghost mask.

This Celestial Venerable is truly...unique.