Who could have guessed that Carefree Heavenly Venerate was Carefree Heavenly Venerate, while Yun Gen was merely one of his alternate identities? Carefree Heavenly Venerate carefully searched for his alternate's presence, but could not sense it at all. After a little deduction, he discovered that his alternate was already dead.
Carefree Heavenly Venerate sensed the heavenly heart imprint and soon understood what had happened back then.
Sure enough, his alternate had tried to take over the body of the Great Emperor of that age, only to be killed instead.
Carefree Heavenly Venerate searched again, more carefully this time, and his expression suddenly turned astonished.
He sensed an incomparably tyrannical presence suppressing every bloodline in the entire world.
To his surprise, he discovered that during the time he had spent trying to transform into a Saint Spirit and live a fourth life, two more incomparably powerful human constitutions had appeared in the world: the Indestructible Golden Body and the Heavenly Tyrant Body.
Carefree Heavenly Venerate could not help sighing. "The blue seas have turned to mulberry fields, and the waves behind drive on those ahead. The younger generation is truly formidable!"
"Such a terrifying constitution has appeared in the world, and its possessor has even succeeded in proving his Dao."
Hearing Carefree Heavenly Venerate's sighs, the two Quasi-Emperors and one Great Saint of the Carefree Holy Land all wore expressions of extreme complexity.
Clearly, they too had tasted what it felt like to have their bloodlines forcibly suppressed by Xiao Ping'an's. That indescribable, inexplicable feeling, as though someone were somehow sitting on their heads, was truly stifling.
Carefree Heavenly Venerate had proved his Dao and become a powerful expert hundreds of thousands of years ago.
Relying on his own abilities, he had forcibly lived a third life, transforming from Carefree Supreme into Carefree Heavenly Venerate. His strength was beyond formidable.
People had originally thought he had slashed himself and gone into hiding in a forbidden zone. Others believed he had long since passed away.
No one had expected the real Carefree Heavenly Venerate to have hidden himself on Carefree Ancient Star, intending to transform into a Saint Spirit there and live a fourth life.
Some experts believed that Yun Gen, who hid in the Reincarnation Sea forbidden zone, might be the real Carefree Heavenly Venerate.
They had no idea that he was merely one of Carefree Heavenly Venerate's alternate identities.
Carefree Heavenly Venerate, meanwhile, had turned himself into a Saint Spirit stone embryo. His body and primordial spirit had fallen into a deathlike stillness, leaving only a spark of sentience undying as he gestated within this dragon vein.
After these long seven hundred thousand years and more, nourished by the origin of heaven and earth, he should have become a Heavenly Venerate once more as a Great Perfection Saint Spirit, forcefully living a fourth life.
But for some reason, the transformation had failed.
Though he had failed, Carefree Heavenly Venerate was in a very unusual state.
His lifespan had not increased wildly as expected, nor had he lived a fourth life, but he was still a little stronger than he had been in his third. He remained worthy of his place among the Nine Great Heavenly Venerables, his strength far surpassing that of an ordinary Supreme.
It was precisely because his transformation had failed that Carefree Heavenly Venerate had carefully investigated all of Carefree Ancient Star, wishing to learn everything about the planet.
During his deductions, he had also discovered Xiao Ping'an's bloodline suppression, which permeated the entire Nine Heavens and Ten Lands.
As one of the Nine Great Heavenly Venerables, Carefree Heavenly Venerate's cultivation reached the realm of creation, and his divine senses were extraordinarily keen.
Others might not have been able to sense its effects, but Carefree Heavenly Venerate had indeed felt that terrifying bloodline suppression.
Yet he had been a Saint Spirit for so many tens of thousands of years. He should not have been affected.
Could Xiao Ping'an really have been the reason he had emerged prematurely?
The few people could see that Carefree Heavenly Venerate knew only the broad outlines of what had happened and was not very familiar with the history that followed his transformation into a Saint Spirit.
So they respectfully told Carefree Heavenly Venerate what had happened after he fell dormant.
They paid particular attention to the changes of the past several hundred thousand years.
A great deal had indeed happened in that time.
In later ages, several more Heavenly Venerates had risen one after another, joining Carefree Heavenly Venerate to make up the Ten Great Heavenly Venerables.
The Heavenly Venerate of the present age, in particular, was the tenth, known as Overlord Heavenly Venerable.
Experts such as Netherworld Venerable and Emperor Venerable had also appeared in the world. Of course, Emperor Venerable was not yet called Emperor Venerable, nor had he lived a new life.
At present, Emperor Venerable was off transforming in some obscure corner.
Although Carefree Heavenly Venerate knew that much would have happened over so many years, as he listened to their account, his former composure gradually gave way to open-mouthed astonishment.
He had not expected that, besides the Nine Secrets: Xing, which he had created, other Heavenly Venerates had successively created other secret techniques, which together were known as the Nine Secrets.
Most notably, the current tenth among the Ten Great Heavenly Venerables, Overlord Heavenly Venerable, had created a secret technique called the Nine Secrets: Ba.
It was said that he could sever time with one hand and space with the other. Combined with his unique Third Supreme Technique, it could contend with the Nine Secrets.
Carefree Heavenly Venerate found this incredible. The strange name "Third Supreme Technique" in particular made him feel as though he were dreaming.
Carefree Heavenly Venerate had thought that once he emerged, he would be able to suppress the present age and that no one would be his match.
He had believed that those Dark Supremes and Heavenly Venerates who had slashed themselves would be utterly unable to withstand a single blow from him.
He had not expected things to turn out so differently.
The more Carefree Heavenly Venerate learned, the more turbulent the waves in his heart became.
Carefree Heavenly Venerate was an old-timer, after all. He soon calmed his Dao heart and returned to his usual self.
Carefree Heavenly Venerate looked at the two Quasi-Supremes and nodded approvingly. "To have become Quasi-Supremes under the dual suppression of such a terrifying great Dao and bloodline was no easy feat."
Hearing Carefree Heavenly Venerate's praise, the two Quasi-Supremes immediately bowed respectfully. "Thank you for your praise, ancestor. We will surely continue to work hard."
Carefree Heavenly Venerate said no more. He seemed to have sunk into deep recollection.
"While I was being nurtured by heaven and earth, I felt myself merging deeply with this world. The instant I awoke, in a daze, it was as though I had gained a supernatural insight. I seemed to see a glimpse of the future..."
His words astonished them all. They had not imagined that their ancestor could peer into the future.
"I saw what seemed to be an unparalleled expert rising in the world. I overestimated myself and went to challenge him. In the end, I formed a great karma with him, and he struck me into dust and ashes. I died completely."
The scenes Carefree Heavenly Venerate described seemed to show Yun Gen's death, yet also seemed to show his own.
Carefree Heavenly Venerate had a vague feeling that another tribulation might await him in the future. He did not know whether he could make it through.
If he could not, he would be reduced to dust and ashes.
As experts of the Carefree Holy Land, their expressions immediately changed when they heard what Carefree Heavenly Venerate said.
Was the scene he had seen not what had happened when Overlord Heavenly Venerable proved his Dao, when that impostor Carefree Heavenly Venerate challenged him and was killed?
Although they were certain that man was not the legendary Carefree Heavenly Venerate, they did not dare go to Xiao Ping'an to explain.
They could only return obediently to Carefree Ancient Star and keep an extremely low profile.
Even the two Quasi-Supremes did not know that the impostor Carefree Heavenly Venerate was actually one of Carefree Heavenly Venerate's alternate identities.
Carefree Heavenly Venerate had never told anyone.
Now that Carefree Heavenly Venerate had brought it up, the few of them were immediately struck with horror.
They had heard back then that Carefree Heavenly Venerate had gone to kill Overlord Heavenly Venerable, only to be killed instead. His remains had been refined into a weapon, and his weapon had been taken and refined into a weapon as well.
Even the Carefree Heavenly Art and the Nine Secrets: Xing had been extracted by Xiao Ping'an through interrogation of the Great Dao Treasure Bottle's weapon spirit.
The people of Carefree Ancient Star did not dare set foot on the Tyrant Body Ancestral Star. They did not even dare peer in the direction of that planet, for fear that Xiao Ping'an would notice.
Carefree Heavenly Venerate looked at the Immortal Tear Green Gold Great Dao Treasure Bottle and said to its weapon spirit, "You did well. You did not go to your death, but stayed here to protect me. That was the wisest decision you could have made."
"Nothing was more important than my becoming a Saint Spirit and living a new life."
"If I had succeeded in my nirvana today and become a Saint Spirit Heavenly Venerate, dealing with that Overlord Heavenly Venerable would naturally have been as easy as taking something in hand." "But now that my transformation has failed, it's hard to say how I would fare against him with my current strength."
"If I don't go and settle this karma with him, I'm afraid it will remain a source of trouble. He may even come to my door to settle the score himself."
Carefree Heavenly Venerate's tone was perfectly calm, but his words were frightening.
That glimpse of the future he had seen when he first awoke had truly frightened him.
The feeling that a supreme expert was watching him, the feeling that the end of days had arrived, made Carefree Heavenly Venerate feel that he lacked even the strength to resist.
Though that feeling of utter despair and helplessness had vanished in an instant, it had sunk deep into Carefree Heavenly Venerate's heart.
At first, Carefree Heavenly Venerate had suspected he was hallucinating.
But after sensing that his alternate had been killed, and feeling the presence suppressing the bloodlines of the universe's experts, he was truly shocked.
He could sense just how powerful and terrifying Xiao Ping'an's presence was.
Although he had lived three and a half lives, he would definitely come off badly if he fought Xiao Ping'an.
Moreover, Overlord Heavenly Venerable's blood and Qi were vigorous, and he was at the peak of his first life. No one could withstand his edge.
After some thought, Carefree Heavenly Venerate felt he could only avoid his edge for the time being.
Thinking of the glimpse of the future he had chanced to see, Carefree Heavenly Venerate was certain that the unparalleled expert who would kill him had to be this Overlord Heavenly Venerable.
That terrifying strength and suppression left Carefree Heavenly Venerate somewhat uneasy.
Carefree Heavenly Venerate even felt as though he had survived a calamity.
It was a strange feeling he had never experienced since becoming a Heavenly Venerate.
The holy lord of the Carefree Holy Land, that Great Saint, respectfully asked Carefree Heavenly Venerate, "May I ask, ancestor, why did your attempt at rebirth through nirvana fail?"
The Great Saint was indeed very curious. Someone at his level could naturally be sealed in Divine Source or even Immortal Source for two or three million years, then emerge without any trouble, alive and kicking.
But this ancestor was different. He could no longer be sealed.
Not unless he was willing to slash himself and become a Dark Supreme, or use some other similar method of longevity to stay alive.
The failure of this transformation was indeed a tremendous blow to Carefree Heavenly Venerate.
Gestating into a Saint Spirit could easily take a million years, or even several million.
The time required was simply too long.
It was said that in a still more distant age, before the world had shattered, Saint Spirits had supposedly needed several million years to gestate each time.
Legend had it that the Saint Spirits of that age, especially Great Perfection Saint Spirits, were at the True Immortal level from birth: immortal Dao Saint Spirits at the True Immortal level.
Those immortal Dao Saint Spirits had also been very good. They never committed evil, and instead repaired heaven and earth from time to time, giving back to all living beings.
How unlike the Saint Spirits of today, every one of whom was utterly hostile to humanity and the myriad spirits of heaven and earth, wishing they could kill them all.
Carefree Heavenly Venerate's plan to turn himself into a Saint Spirit had only ever been passed down through divine sense between successive sect leaders of the Carefree Sect. No one else had ever been told.
The outside world knew practically nothing about Carefree Heavenly Venerate's condition.
Some in the Carefree Holy Land had feared that after becoming a Saint Spirit, Carefree Heavenly Venerate would disown all ties and kill everyone in the holy land.
Although Carefree Heavenly Venerate had failed to transform, he had not gone on a killing spree either. For the many disciples of the sect, that was a good thing.
Now that Carefree Heavenly Venerate had returned to life, it was unquestionably an earthshaking event for the entire Carefree Holy Land.
At the thought of the Carefree Holy Land once again shaking the universe with its might and standing as an equal to the Tyrant Body Ancestral Star, terrifying divine light appeared in the two Quasi-Supremes' eyes.
Seeing their expressions, Carefree Heavenly Venerate understood what they were thinking in the blink of an eye.
He could not help shaking his head.
In the Immortal Domain, such a long span of time would have been enough to produce a Saint Spirit at the True Immortal level.
But here in the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, becoming an immortal was impossible, and without becoming an immortal, one was not even qualified to enter the Immortal Domain.
The only alternatives were to take the Road to Immortality, or have several Red Dust Immortals force their way in together.
Becoming an immortal was too difficult.
Although Carefree Heavenly Venerate had failed to transform, after being nourished by heaven and earth for so long, he was fortunate not to have perished immediately on the Red Dust Immortal Path.
As one of the Nine Great Heavenly Venerables, he had experienced many rises and falls over the years and had accumulated a deep foundation.
But even though he had grown stronger, he had only a few thousand years of life left. Even if he used special medicinal herbs to extend it, he likely would not live more than ten thousand years.
With the lifespan he had left, he would not even outlive the Great Saint before him.
At that thought, Carefree Heavenly Venerate considered slipping into a Life Forbidden Zone immediately.
While he still had a relatively ample lifespan, he could hurry and slash himself, then lie dormant in the forbidden zone for a long time.
Perhaps he could remain hidden until the great change came to heaven and earth in the future.
After the Mythological Era ended, he could silently watch those who succeeded in proving their Dao in the new age.
Then he could repeatedly take over their bodies and merge with them, using this alternative method of longevity to continue living.
That way, he would not need to devour the myriad spirits of heaven and earth. He would only need to devour those who had proved their Dao.
Moreover, each person who had proved their Dao that he devoured would allow Carefree Heavenly Venerate to remain dormant in the forbidden zone for several hundred thousand or even a million years.
Carefree Heavenly Venerate felt that he was far cleaner than those Dark Supremes who readily devoured billions or tens of billions of living beings.
He, Carefree Heavenly Venerate, ate only the big ones, not the little fish and shrimp.
After all, only one person proved their Dao in tens of thousands of years, and he would only need to devour one every few hundred thousand years. By comparison, Carefree Heavenly Venerate felt he was as pure as a white lotus.
The other Supremes were called Dark Supremes, but he did not want to wallow in the mire with them.
Indeed, many experts had deduced that after the next opening of the Road to Immortality, all of heaven and earth would undergo a tremendous change, entering a new age in which the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth would be even more depleted.
Before that, however, Carefree Heavenly Venerate felt that if he wanted to live in peace, he had to speak frankly with Overlord Heavenly Venerable.
Thinking of Overlord Heavenly Venerable's title, Carefree Heavenly Venerate felt that the man must be incomparably overbearing.
He felt it would be unwise to come into conflict with Overlord Heavenly Venerable, and secretly decided to go to the Tyrant Body Ancestral Star and apologize to Xiao Ping'an.
To be honest, Xiao Ping'an had no idea that when Carefree Heavenly Venerate got scared, he would give in to his heart so completely.
Where was his domineering spirit when it came to devouring others who had proved their Dao?