Three Hundred Years Drifted By

Time was forever the most merciless force in the world.

It changed the ages, reshaped mountains and seas, turned raven hair to white bones, and reduced prodigies to dust.

No matter how enchanting the mortal world might be, time always flew past. As people often said, time flowed like water-an endless river surging mightily toward the future, never stopping for anyone.

The age flourished. Three hundred years had passed since the Heavenly Venerable last attained the Dao.

Over those three hundred years, prodigies had soared into the heavens, becoming Quasi-Venerables and reigning supreme over entire regions; divine maidens had danced across the boundless world, smiling upon the mortal realm. Dynasties rose and fell, great rivers changed course, and stars fell like rain. Even the most ordinary people among the teeming masses played out their own wonders in this towering world of mortal dust.

During those three hundred years, Ziwei had truly become the center of the universe. Five-Colored Altars rose high, and Star Gates opened frequently. Bearing the might of a Heavenly Venerable lineage, Wuliang Dao reigned over the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, and its disciples could now be found stationed throughout the great star domains.

It also built Heavenly Venerable temples far and wide, spread the teachings of the Dao, and frequently manifested miracles in the mortal world, bringing blessings to countless millions. Filled with gratitude, all living beings now praised the name of Immeasurable Heaven Venerable.

The rolling tide of the mortal world's devotional thoughts became boundless faith, surging toward the great temples throughout the universe. Steeped in that faith, the temples seemed to transcend the mundane world and attain immortality, inspiring awe.

Yet, with Immeasurable Heaven Venerable no longer walking the mortal world, the universe had gone three hundred years without such grand occasions as the Heavenly Venerable preaching the Dao and the myriad races gathering to pay homage. Inevitably, this flourishing age, rare even in ten thousand years, felt somewhat lonely.

Meanwhile, He Mu had already sat cross-legged within the Heavenly Palace for three hundred years.

His eyes were tightly shut. He had drawn in every trace of his overwhelming blood energy, which could subdue the universe and crush the eight wildernesses, yet terrifying immortal light rose from above his head, piercing straight into the heavens.

As he breathed in and out the essence of heaven and earth, even the sea of stars beyond the world was disturbed, its radiance flickering.

A vast, primordial aura emanated from him, evolving ceaselessly before becoming harmonious once more and returning to his leakless Heavenly Venerable divine body.

The cycle repeated, and the Dao resonance surrounding He Mu grew ever loftier and more profound.

Here and now, all the Daos of heaven and earth were suppressed. The laws wailed, submitting beneath that supreme being's unsurpassed Heavenly Venerable Dao, while countless Dao traces interwove, becoming the finest backdrop for He Mu.

Within his body, the five great secret realms blazed with light, divine power surging as though heaven and earth were about to be cleaved into existence. It also seemed as though chaos were unfolding anew and the myriad Daos were returning to their source. Boundless creation arose within them, only to slowly return to nothingness.

The next instant, He Mu opened his eyes. His extreme Dao divine might erupted without restraint, towering over the universe and the eight wildernesses.

After three hundred years of cultivation, he had finally emerged from seclusion, his cultivation brought to fruition and his strength greater than ever before.

It could be said that He Mu had now reached the pinnacle of this world. Having comprehended the Heavenly Heart Imprint, he far surpassed his self of three hundred years ago in both cultivation and combat strength. The aura emanating from him even seemed poised to exceed the normal level of an Extreme Dao Supreme, as though he were about to enter the next realm.

Feeling the changes within himself, He Mu could not help thinking.

As expected, the Heavenly Heart Imprint is unquestionably the greatest opportunity Desolate Heavenly Emperor left for everyone who attains the Dao. To think it could improve me so much! If this continues, I might have a chance to glimpse the Heavenly Emperor Dao Fruit in this lifetime and truly set foot on the Red Dust Immortal Path.

But He Mu himself knew that further union with the heavenly heart could never produce the miraculous effects of his first comprehension.

Still, as long as he continued to hold the Heavenly Heart Imprint, his cultivation would undoubtedly undergo another explosive surge. That, too, was a foreseeable future.

While He Mu was still rejoicing over his improved cultivation, elsewhere lay a region of the Cosmic Frontier.

The shattered remains of stars littered this expanse of space, and immense ancient corpses drifted through the universe. One could faintly make out deathly energy and bloody malice spreading through it, undying across the ages.

Across this entire star domain, there was no sign of life. Silence lay everywhere, as though deathly stillness and ruin were its only eternal themes.

In such a flourishing age, this frontier region was utterly out of place. It seemed to have been wholly banished and forgotten by the world, huddling in a corner of the universe like an ugly scar upon the age.

Yet according to legend, this had once been an ancient star domain with a flourishing civilization. Tens of thousands of years ago, however, it had been destroyed in a divine battle between Heavenly Venerables. From then on, it had become a true wasteland: no living beings remained, the myriad Daos had withered into silence, and all spiritual vitality had vanished. The world had utterly forgotten it.

Today, however, this frontier star domain, which had lain desolate for ten thousand years, suddenly received an uninvited guest.

A wisp of black energy appeared eerily and took the form of a hideous Ghost Mask. Black blood seeped from its surface, and its utterly yin, utterly evil aura left no room for doubt: anyone touched by even the slightest trace of that black blood would fall completely, becoming another evil being.

A closer look at the black energy coiling around the Ghost Mask revealed what seemed to be the resentment of countless souls entwined within it. Faint, agonized wails rose from it, chilling anyone who heard them, while the black energy itself inspired dread at a glance.

Yet, terrifying as the Ghost Mask was, something was wrong with its aura. It seemed somewhat weak, as though someone had grievously wounded it and it had yet to recover.

Intense venom filled the Ghost Mask's eyes, while overwhelming pain and fury mingled upon its face.

It let out a shrill scream.

"Wuliang, Changsheng, you destroyed my cultivation, ruined my chance at nirvana, and left me unable to recover for three hundred years! Just wait, both of you! I will make you pay!! Aaaah!! I will kill you both!!!"

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