356: Chapter 347 The Sixth Incarnation: Heavenly Venerable (Thirty-Five)

Let us have a contest!

Four simple words, yet they spoke of the ultimate loneliness and cruelty at the Peak of the 'Dao'.

The struggle for the Great Dao is like a hundred rivers returning to the sea; in the end, only one main river channel can carry that final 'sea'.

The more fellow travelers there are, the fiercer the competition; this is an unchangeable iron rule.

Since, no matter what, a life-and-death Dao struggle to determine the 'Unique One' is inevitable in the end.

Then, should one choose to fight a chaotic battle against the unknown 'Heavenly Mandate' and each other on the stage of the old world—a stage shrouded in the shadow of 'destiny' and potentially already set with traps?

Or choose to... join forces to clear the field first, creating a relatively 'clean' new stage that contains the great Opportunity of 'Opening the Heavens', and then on this new stage, decide the sole winner?

The answer seemed self-evident.

"What 'death' says is correct."

The will of 'Time' flowed, carrying a calmness of accepting destiny.

"An early struggle or a late struggle, there must eventually be a struggle. Rather than passively waiting in the mist of the old game, why not..." Its intent turned toward the 'Opening the Heavens' blueprint; although not explicitly stated, its inclination was already clear.

"Joining forces to sweep away external enemies is acceptable."

A heavy intent came from the cornerstone of 'Space', serving as a preliminary stance. "Gathering the resources of ten thousand Daos is also acceptable. As for the end..."

"We shall see who has the superior methods!"

...

The Dao Rhyme of the Xuan Xuan Land went from initial shock, doubt, and analysis to its current state of gradual integration and condensation.

The 'gazes' of all the ancient existences finally converged once more upon Dao Lord Shang Qing, who had proposed this motion.

"In that case," the giant coffin representing 'the end', its deathly still intent acting to some extent as the representative for the will of All Venerables, slowly made the decision, its voice echoing through the Xuan Xuan Land:

"—We shall follow the proposal of Shang Qing."

"We shall join forces."

"First, we clear away external enemies, gather the various Daos, and accumulate resources for Opening the Heavens."

"When the time is ripe, we shall re-refine the earth, wind, water, and fire, harmonize Yin and Yang and the Five Elements, and work together..." A decisiveness like that of creating the world leaked from its intent.

"—To open up a new realm!"

"As for to whom the 'Heavenly Dao' of the new realm belongs," the Dao Lord of Death's 'gaze' slowly swept over everyone, including Shang Qing, before finally returning to a deathly silence that carried the end of all things,

"—Within that torrent of Opening the Heavens,"

"—Each shall rely on their own abilities to decide life and death, and determine... the Unique One!"

The resolution was reached; the alliance was initially established.

However, this was not the end, but rather the beginning of the truly arduous work.

Opening a common Dao Realm was not a difficult task for any of the Ancient Venerables present; it was nothing more than partitioning space, stabilizing Laws, and injecting Origin.

But what they were plotting for this time was a 'New Heaven' capable of supporting the birth of a 'Soul Transformation Heavenly Venerable', where all Daos reached Perfection, and which formed a perfect cycle!

Its complexity, the harshness of the required conditions, and the depth of the levels involved were far beyond imagination.

"Now that the alliance is established, we must clarify our primary tasks." The will representing 'Time' was the first to flow. "To carry out the act of 'clearing external enemies and gathering the various Daos', there are two major obstacles that urgently need to be resolved."

"First, killing the Dao Lords of later generations is easy. However, after they are killed, how do we ensure that the 'Great Dao' they wielded does not return to the world and dissipate into nothingness upon their fall, or be instinctively reclaimed by the old world to repair the 'defects' we have weakened? And how can we completely 'steal' and 'strip' it, then securely 'store' it to await future refinement into the 'New Realm' we wish to open?"

When a Dao Lord falls, their Dao Fruit disintegrates, and the authority over the Great Dao they held usually returns to the world's Great Dao cycle, either dissipating or being inherited by others with a Dao affinity, making it difficult to capture in its entirety.

What they wanted were complete, active 'Dao Seeds' containing all the insights and authority of the original owner, to serve as 'building materials' for constructing the 'New Heaven'!

This required a Heaven-Defying method capable of forcibly stripping, imprisoning, and sealing the Great Dao Origin at the moment of a Dao Lord's fall, while isolating it from its connection to the old world!

"Second, killing a Dao Lord is not like crushing an ant. Especially those with deep Foundations who are deeply bound to their own Dao Realms; when they fall, it will inevitably trigger the wailing of the Great Dao, drastic changes in celestial phenomena, and tremors in Karma. The anomalies will be enough to alarm all realms! If our tracks are exposed, it might lead the remaining Dao Lords to join forces in fear, or even trigger the instinctive backlash of the old world, prematurely setting off unknown variables..."

The problems were laid out before them, cold and realistic.

The alliance existed, and the goal was set, but specifically how to 'steal the Dao' and how to remain 'hidden' became a towering mountain standing before the first step of the plan.

All 'gazes' focused once again on Dao Lord Shang Qing, who had proposed the overall concept.

Since he dared to propose such a world-shaking plan, he surely had considerations for the details of its implementation.

Meeting the scrutinizing gazes, Dao Lord Shang Qing's expression remained calm.

He nodded slightly; clearly, he had already prepared a draft for this.

"What you all worry about is precisely the key." He spoke slowly, his voice echoing in this place. "Stealing the Dao, hiding our tracks, obscuring the heavenly secrets... this cannot be achieved by a single method; it requires a multi-pronged approach where every link is interconnected."

"However,"

He changed the subject, the seven-colored Dao Rhyme in his eyes accelerating its flow, evolving into a mysterious scene where infinite runes and Great Dao trajectories intertwined.

"Ten thousand methods return to the source; the core of all difficulties lies in isolation—isolating the Dao Fruit of a fallen Dao Lord from its connection to the old world, isolating the anomalies and the spread of Karma caused by the slaughter, and even... briefly isolating the resonance between our Dao Rhymes and the world when we act!"

"To perform such Heaven-Defying acts of isolation, ordinary Divine Abilities, Magic Treasures, and even the Dao of a single Ancient Venerable are all insufficient."

Dao Lord Shang Qing's gaze swept across All Venerables, and he finally threw out his solution.

"We need to combine the power of all the Ancient Venerables present, each taking a wisp of the original intent of the 'Root Great Dao' they hold, merging the characteristics of various Daos, and then using Innate Mother Qi from before Chaos opened, supreme curios that carry Karma and destiny, and even rare divine materials like Void Divine Iron that pierces through heavenly dimensions as a Foundation..."

Dao Lord Shang Qing paused, the seven Dao Rhymes behind him rising with a boom, faintly resonating with the Dao Rhymes of the other Venerables, as if simulating the scene of some grand refinement:

"—With a hundred-year period, deep within the turbulence of time and space, in a place where Karma does not exist, we shall work together to refine a..."

"—Something that can briefly obscure heavenly secrets, confuse Karma, isolate the ten thousand Daos, and form its own cage..."

Every word from Dao Lord Shang Qing was as heavy as a thousand catties.

"—A Heaven-Reaching Dao Treasure!"

"A Heaven-Reaching Dao Treasure?!"

The intents of All Venerables rippled slightly.

A dao treasure was already an object that contained a complete Great Dao and possessed unfathomable power; to label it 'Heaven-Reaching', its conception and ambition were evident.

"If this treasure is completed,"

Dao Lord Shang Qing continued to describe its effects, his tone carrying a hint of certainty.

"It can be deployed during our actions to form an 'Absolute Domain' temporarily isolated from the old world! Within the Domain, the flow of time is controllable, space dimensions can be locked, Karma and destiny can be severed, and the connections to the ten thousand Daos can be blocked!"

"By killing a Dao Lord within this Domain, the anomalies of their Dao Fruit disintegrating, the ripples of Karmic backlash, and even the fluctuations of the Great Dao's wailing will all be imprisoned, absorbed, and digested within this treasure's Domain, with absolutely no leakage! The Great Dao Origin and authority dissipated after their fall will also be forcibly extracted, sealed, and stored by this treasure!"