Chapter 1356: The Great Venerable of All Dharmas

"Venerable One, Venerable One!"

Su Xiaomei's shouts roused Tianyi from his memories.

"Venerable One, what do you think of this new divine ability I've comprehended?" Su Xiaomei said, her small mouth slightly parted, as a black sword light, filled with an aura of destruction, shot out directly towards Tianyi.

The black sword light was founded on the power of the Five Elements' circulation and endless vitality, propelled by a fearless, do-or-die spirit, and honed to a sharp edge that extinguished everything and brought all things to annihilation. With a single sword strike, it seemed to possess the power to shatter worlds! It was truly difficult to imagine that a divine ability of such power originated from a child not yet ten years old!

A flicker of appreciation appeared in Tianyi's eyes, yet he neither dodged nor avoided the silent destruction sword light. He allowed it to strike him directly in the face! In an instant, Tianyi's face transformed into a network of crisscrossing lines. Like a massive net, it slightly indented and easily blocked the Great Five Elements Annihilation Sword. From the countless lines of the giant net, wisps of golden light emerged. They swarmed towards the Five Elements Annihilation Sword, directly engulfing it. The sword light vanished quietly, like ice melting into water.

Seeing this, Su Xiaomei, who had been extremely excited, immediately pouted and muttered, "Venerable One, you're truly strong. Even though I reached the Nascent Soul realm through the Great Five Elements Grotto-heaven, I'm still no match for you."

Tianyi chuckled, "How long have you been cultivating, little one? If you caught up to me, where would I put my old face?" Patting Su Xiaomei's head, Tianyi's expression grew serious as he slowly said, "While this divine ability of yours is indeed impressive, almost invincible among those of your rank, still..."

Su Xiaomei looked up, her eyes wide, listening to Tianyi's instruction: "It's still quite far from the true meaning of the Great Dao. For example, what is annihilation?" Tianyi extended a finger, and surprisingly, black light also emanated from its tip. However, compared to what was contained within the Great Five Elements Annihilation Sword, it was far more profound and unfathomable.

"True annihilation, within the self-circulation of a world, doesn't exist. What is called extinction is merely for a better rebirth."

"To truly touch destruction, you must venture deep into the star-sea..."

"You're still too young. Get a bit stronger first. Hmm, perhaps when you've advanced to the Dao Integration realm, you can give it a try," Tianyi said, stroking his beard.

Su Xiaomei immediately pulled a long face, "I have to wait until Dao Integration? When will that be? Never mind, I'm going to play with Senior Sister Zhao!" Before her words finished, Su Xiaomei vanished in a flash.

"Zhao Ruoxi..." murmuring the name, a trace of gloom inevitably crossed Tianyi's face. This person was originally the sect master of the Great Dao Sect in the Xuanhuang Realm. The Tianfa Realm's ultimate victory in the ancient two-realm war didn't mean that all cultivators from the Xuanhuang Realm had died. Just as the Xuanhuang Realm was eventually integrated into the Tianfa Realm, a small portion of Xuanhuang Realm cultivators had now become members of the Tianfa Realm. In fact, the Tianfa Realm's ultimate victory back then was closely related to these cultivators. However, this group of cultivators could only share prosperity, not adversity. For the past ten thousand years, things had been fine; although the Tianfa Realm faced numerous calamities, they had long stood at the apex of the cultivation world, so they were naturally not greatly affected. But now... Tianfa was about to fall into the Immortal Ruins. These cultivators, however, harbored ulterior motives, and none were genuinely willing to save the Tianfa Realm. Tianyi snorted coldly in his heart. Currently, these people hadn't completely shown their true colors, so it wasn't wise for him to act first. He would wait! For now, the most important thing was to improve his own cultivation.

Tianyi's bright eyes gazed directly at the sky, as if he could see the True Immortal who was comprehending the Dao within the Immortal Ruins. "Most of my strength comes from the Heavenly Dao of the Tianfa Realm. Although I slept for nearly ten thousand years due to severe injuries, as the Tianfa Realm absorbed the Xuanhuang Realm, the world's overall strength more than doubled. My cultivation also rose accordingly..."

"Especially with all the Heavenly Venerates having perished, the constant Dao of Tianfa now entirely belongs to me."

With a thought, Tianyi's consciousness instantly seemed to drift above the Nine Heavens. He transformed into the ethereal sky, the Heavenly Dao of Tianfa, looking down upon the mortal world. Unlike other cultivation worlds, the Tianfa Realm had no Heavenly Dao consciousness or world consciousness. Only the constant Dao of Tianfa, like a machine, had circulated on its own since the creation of heaven and earth. It did not shift according to the will of any living being in the world. As the saying goes, Tianfa is austere, abiding by rules and regulations. Tianfa cannot be defied. Later, beings of great wisdom emerged between heaven and earth who could resonate with these strands of Tianfa's constant Dao. Thus, they could enforce laws on behalf of heaven. The world called these individuals Venerates. Tianjue, Tianyin, Tianyu — all were Venerates of the Tianfa Realm. However, the two-realm war back then was too brutal, and all these Venerates perished in battle. Before their demise, they transferred all the resonance and insights they had accumulated over the years with the constant Dao of Tianfa to the sole survivor, Tianyi. Therefore, when Tianyi awoke, he found that he had become the unprecedented Great Venerate of All Laws. In other cultivation worlds, he would undoubtedly be considered the incarnation of the Heavenly Dao's consciousness.

With but a single thought, Tianyi felt he could arbitrarily rewrite the geography of the Tianfa Realm, altering mountains, rivers, and even summoning changes in wind and clouds. "And unlike the usual Heavenly Dao incarnation, my power isn't solely derived from the Heavenly Dao consciousness."

"Under ten thousand years of constant Dao resonance, the world's power has long since permeated the depths of my soul, merging with me. Even if I leave the Tianfa Realm and go beyond the star-sea, I can still exert eighty percent of my strength."

"With my power, escaping the Immortal Ruins alone would be effortless. Even taking hundreds or thousands of people with me wouldn't be an issue."

"But to take the entire Tianfa Realm with me..." A sense of powerlessness welled up in Tianyi's heart. "Unless I can master power comparable to a True Immortal."

In the years since his awakening, Tianyi had made attempts in this regard. First, he studied the remnants of True Immortal power scattered throughout the star-sea. From them, he comprehended some True Immortal Seal Characters. This allowed him to master several trump cards, but it offered no substantial help in improving his own strength. Second, he sought to utilize the power of ancient immortal artifacts. The Xuanhuang Realm had profound foundations; it was even said that before the destruction of the Immortal Realm, many sects maintained contact with the upper realm. If the Immortal Realm still existed, the Tianfa Realm would likely never have been a match for the Xuanhuang Realm. Fortunately, by the time the great war occurred, some years had passed since the Immortal Realm's destruction. Even so, the Xuanhuang Realm had deployed several immortal artifacts, causing heavy losses to the Tianfa Realm. After the war, these immortal artifacts were scattered. Most were absorbed by the constant Dao of Tianfa, transforming into miraculous heavenly treasures and becoming power to nourish the world itself. However, a small portion still remained.

"Limitless Mirror."

"Great Sun Golden Bell."

"Primordial Five Elements Disc."

These three were what Tianyi had collected over the years. However, compared to their peak in ancient times, these immortal artifacts were now heavily damaged. Using them to comprehend True Immortal power might be feasible, but if he were to activate them... they would likely be completely destroyed after a single use. Unless Tianyi could find immortal spiritual energy to repair them.

The three immortal artifacts, transformed into three points of light, continuously flickered in Tianyi's sea of consciousness. Insights into immortals, like a trickling stream, continuously emerged in Tianyi's mind.

"The Immortal Ruins' gravitational pull is actually a form of True Immortal Seal Character power."

"Only an immortal can resist an immortal."

"Perhaps I can collect all the remaining immortal artifacts of the Tianfa Realm. Then detonate them simultaneously."

"Fighting poison with poison, using the sudden burst of immortal spiritual energy, should allow the Tianfa Realm to escape the Immortal Ruins."

As Tianyi thought this, he suddenly noticed something amiss. His eyes narrowed, and his gaze drifted beyond the star-sea. "Escape the Immortal Ruins... and then what?" Tianyi faintly felt that something deeper was hidden within the depths of the star-sea. Once the thought arose, it could no longer be suppressed.

"It seems the Tianfa Realm can hold on for a while longer."

"As the saying goes, plan before you act. I must venture deep into the star-sea to find out the truth."

Tianyi pondered for a moment, then made up his mind. He transformed into an almost imperceptible thread of light and flew into the Utter Darkness Star-sea. After leaving the Tianfa Realm, he was drawn by the Immortal Ruins' pull, which altered his trajectory. But eventually, he traced a beautiful arc, successfully escaping the area covered by the Immortal Ruins' pull. He sped through the star-sea.

In the Utter Darkness Star-sea, as far as the eye could see, there was only dead silence and darkness. No matter how far he flew, the surrounding scenery seemed to remain unchanged. Occasionally, there were remnants of immortal power, but they posed no threat to Tianyi. After an unknown period, a continuous sea of relics suddenly appeared before him. While astonished by this magnificent sight, the fact that so many remnants of ruined cultivation worlds were gathered in one place in the star-sea was highly unusual, instantly invigorating Tianyi. He continued deeper.

When he saw the continuous fragments of worlds and sensed the increasingly obvious power that seemed to originate from the same source as the Immortal Ruins' pull, Tianyi finally couldn't stop his heart from trembling violently. Countless once-prosperous cultivation worlds had all become ruins and fragments, buried solitarily in this place. Tianyi was suddenly overcome with sorrow and stood there blankly for a long time. After finally regaining his senses, Tianyi resisted the ubiquitous, tide-like power and arrived at the end of the Utter Darkness Star-sea.

Here, Tianyi was forced to halt his advance. His path was cut off; there was nowhere to go. The Utter Darkness Star-sea was a place of eternal confinement. "No way out..." Even Tianyi himself was somewhat surprised; he didn't take long to accept this reality. An invisible high wall sealed off the entire Utter Darkness Star-sea. No living being within it could escape. Standing beneath the high wall, he felt the complete "nothingness."

After a brief moment of despair, countless thoughts flashed through Tianyi's mind. "The beings of the Tianfa Realm must never know of the wall's existence. Otherwise, despair will spread, and disaster will surely follow."

"This high wall... for a time, even I couldn't peer through it. Perhaps only a True Immortal can cross it."

The thought of bearing the future destiny of the entire Tianfa Realm made Tianyi take a deep breath. "True Immortal power can indeed cross the high wall. But to take the Tianfa Realm with me..."

"Difficult! Difficult! Difficult!"

His mind was shaken, and before a power beyond comprehension, Tianyi couldn't help but feel momentarily dazed. But for some reason, not much despair grew in Tianyi's heart. It seemed that the invisible high wall was not something insurmountable or unbreakable to him. Tianyi once again shot out several golden threads, attempting to perceive the mystery of the high wall. Ultimately, he gained nothing. Feeling that he had stayed too long at the edge of the star-sea and fearing changes in the Tianfa Realm, Tianyi decided to return.

On his way back, as he looked at the continuous Great Wall of Ruined Worlds, an idea suddenly appeared in Tianyi's mind. "The corpses of these worlds might be used to nourish the Tianfa Realm."

"After all, they aren't completely dead ruins; there's still a trace of world vitality remaining."

"Like consuming food, after the Tianfa Realm devours them, it will undoubtedly become stronger..."

Tianyi's decisiveness in action went without saying. The moment the thought arose, countless golden threads flew out, aiming to drag one of them. But just as the golden threads had finished coiling and he was about to act, Tianyi suddenly halted his movement. He pondered and observed the Great Wall of Ruined Worlds once more. A moment later, he realized: "So, the reason these continuous ruined realms can withstand the True Immortal power accumulated beneath the high wall is due to the natural formation they create among themselves. If I were to rashly take away one of these fragments, it would likely break the balance."

"Like a river breaking its banks, or a dam collapsing. The True Immortal power accumulated over these years would spread and sweep across the entire Utter Darkness Star-sea..."

"And even affect the Tianfa Realm."

Tianyi frowned slightly, then quickly relaxed. "It's not that they can't be taken; it just requires choosing the right time and the specific object." Tianyi observed again and finally selected a suitable ruined realm fragment. Sensing when the True Immortal power beneath the high wall was at a tidal low, he seized the opportunity. Countless golden threads, like chains, heavily wrapped around the target. Then, dragging it, he sped through the star-sea towards the Tianfa Realm.

After an unknown amount of time, he finally managed to return. A powerful gravitational pull suddenly struck, and Tianyi gripped the world fragment tightly, preventing it from falling into the Immortal Ruins. Tianyi's mind raced: "Since the Tianfa Realm absorbed the Xuanhuang Realm ten thousand years ago, it hasn't 'eaten' again."

"Not only that, but it has continuously been in a state of being consumed by cultivators. It could be said that much of its foundation has been hollowed out, leaving it very weak."

"If I were to rashly implant this ruined realm, there might be issues with a weak body being unable to tolerate such nourishment."

After pondering, Tianyi nodded slightly: "I need a medicinal primer."

"Xuanhuang Method cultivators devour heaven and earth, insatiably greedy. However, their bodies are merged with the world, making them excellent candidates for a medicinal primer."

"Those few Immortals shouldn't be touched for now. But sacrificing some Dao Integration cultivators wouldn't have a significant impact."

Five transparent threads shot from his left hand, guided by Tianyi's thoughts, towards different corners of the Tianfa Realm. Five Dao Integration cultivators, without any power to resist, fell into unconsciousness. They were bound layer by layer by transparent threads. There wasn't a trace of pity on Tianyi's face. He extended his index finger and pointed at them one by one. Without any expression of pain, these Dao Integration cultivators turned into fine dust. Tianyi waved his sleeve, collecting all the Dao Integration dust. Then he quickly threw it into the ruined realm he had dragged back.

Nourished by the power of the soul of heaven and earth, life seemed to reappear in the ruined realm. It emitted a soft humming sound. Only then did Tianyi slowly stitch it into the Tianfa Realm.