Chapter 1340: Traces of History (First Update)
Back then, the Crimson Emperor had sensed the immense power and terror of the Outer Heaven. To forge a path of retreat for humanity, he traversed through time and space, searching for a glimmer of future hope.
What he found was this very place. However, the Crimson Emperor of that era was gravely wounded by this perilous, chaotic space and was on the verge of death. Thus, he transformed his body into the Floating Realm and released his indestructible divine consciousness to notify his people.
The Floating Realm was merely on the periphery of this chaotic space. Now, Dawn Celestial Venerable had fallen into its center.
Dawn Celestial Venerable looked around, his brow deeply furrowed. He had initially thought Moon Celestial Venerable had merely exiled him to the depths of the universe, but he never expected that the place of his banishment was one he himself had never visited nor even heard of.
The space here was disordered. He stood within a bizarre stretch of spacetime, where there was no distinction between up and down, no difference between left and right. Not far away, other spatial fragments drifted past, eliciting a gasp of astonishment from Dawn Celestial Venerable.
His body was twisted by the spatial distortions, stretched like a massive python, curving and bending for thousands of miles. Only when that spatial fragment drifted away did he return to normal.
"No matter what, I must leave this place!"
Just as he was about to take a step, an octahedral pyramid-shaped space fell from above his head. Dawn Celestial Venerable immediately felt an excruciating pain.
He saw himself split into eight bodies!
Eight complete bodies, even including eight complete primordial spirits, yet the pain came from each and every one of them!
"In this world, no anomaly can harm a Celestial Venerable!"
He forcibly activated his cultivation, forcibly merging his bodies back together, and began to walk aimlessly, leaning on the Primordial Wood.
Suddenly, he saw the back of his own head.
This was the effect of another space.
He not only saw the back of his head, but also his own internal organs, his brain, and even the fluctuations of his thoughts within his mind—a consciousness as vast as the boundless cosmos, with countless rays of thought shining like a starry sky!
His body seemed to have no boundaries, its interior immeasurably vast.
"Nothing can trap a Celestial Venerable, nothing can trap *Us*!"
He pushed his cultivation to its peak, and his body returned to normal. Along this path, he encountered countless bizarre events, yet the labyrinth of this space seemed to have no end, no terminus.
Dawn Celestial Venerable calmed his mind. Suddenly, he activated the Primordial Wood. One by one, the leaves of the Primordial Wood flew up, drifting into those strange spatial fragments.
The roots of the Primordial Wood extended in all directions. This tree, which supported the myriad realms within the Primordial Realm, showed no decrease in its power here.
This was Dawn Celestial Venerable's capital for leaving this place alive. No matter how complex this chaotic space, this land of exile, might be, he was certain he could escape!
Just then, he suddenly felt the roots of the Primordial Wood touch something solid. His heart stirred.
He followed the roots of the Primordial Wood, rushing over. Along the way, all sorts of bizarre events occurred, nearly burying him in this chaotic space several times. However, a Celestial Venerable was formidable after all, and he managed to endure.
He arrived at the place the Primordial Wood's roots had touched. It was a stretch of land that hadn't completely disintegrated. It wasn't large, only about thirty to fifty li in circumference, floating in this chaotic space without ever being destroyed.
A sorrowful aura of death permeated that land. Even the roots of the Primordial Wood suddenly withered upon reaching it.
Dawn Celestial Venerable sensed this sorrow. It wasn't left behind by a deity, but by the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth themselves—the lament of the Dao as it died.
He withdrew the Primordial Wood and cautiously descended onto this incredibly ancient land, struggling to suppress the fear in his heart.
The aura of the Dao's death here instilled fear even in him. Even though he was the Grand Beginning among the Five Primordial Eminences, his heart was inevitably filled with dread for this place.
But he was, after all, the former Heavenly Emperor and now a Celestial Venerable. He forcefully suppressed the fear in his heart, restrained his inner demons, and continued to search for the secrets of this place.
The sorrow of this Dao affected his own Dao heart, causing him to feel sorrow as well, and unbeknownst to him, tears fell from his eyes.
And the fear of this Dao also made him fearful, trembling with caution, as if walking on thin ice.
Finally, Dawn Celestial Venerable saw the source of the Dao's sorrow and fear. It was an incredibly ancient tree, massive, with a stunning canopy, but it was completely devoid of leaves, leaving only withered branches, trunk, and body.
It had been uprooted, lying slanted on the ground, its roots completely dried up.
Countless branches were broken, and the black, withered twigs seemed as if they would shatter at the slightest touch. Yet, what shocked Dawn Celestial Venerable was that even in this state, the tree still managed to protect this land!
This land was able to survive in the chaotic space, untouched by the strange spatial fragments, precisely because of this withered tree!
"Is there a divine tree more powerful than the Primordial Wood?"
He steadied himself. Then, he noticed a shriveled, wrinkled fruit hanging from one of the branches. The fruit was pitch black, covered in many patterns, but they were impossible to discern clearly.
Dawn Celestial Venerable was stunned.
He had seen this kind of fruit before!
This was a Dao Fruit!
When the Grand Emperor had imprinted his divine consciousness onto the Ultimate Void, and the Dao had formed the Divine Consciousness Grand Celestial Realm, Dawn Celestial Venerable was still the Grand Beginning, the nominal adopted son of the Grand Emperor!
The Grand Beginning had witnessed an extremely sacred scene. He saw the formation of the Divine Consciousness Grand Celestial Realm, and within it, the Grand Emperor's Dao transformed into a Dao Tree.
The Dao Tree took root, sprouted, grew branches, and slowly developed into a towering giant whose canopy shaded the entire Divine Consciousness Grand Celestial Realm!
Furthermore, the Grand Beginning had also seen the Grand Emperor's Divine Consciousness Dao bloom with Dao Flowers on the tree, and bear a Dao Fruit. Though it was just an unripe fruit, it still brought him unparalleled shock!
And this withered tree before him was clearly the Dao Tree of another incredibly powerful being, imprinted onto the Ultimate Void!
That shriveled, wrinkled fruit was that being's Dao Fruit!
"No! This can't be right!"
Dawn Celestial Venerable could barely contain the shock in his heart, exclaiming in a lost voice, "The Grand Emperor is the only one who imprinted his Dao onto the Ultimate Void! No second person could have accomplished this! Within the Ultimate Void, there is only his Divine Consciousness Grand Celestial Realm. How could there be a second person who imprinted the Void before the Grand Emperor, and even formed a Dao Fruit?"
This Dao Fruit should have been a mature one. Even though it was now withered and shrunken, it was still much larger than the Grand Emperor's Dao Fruit.
The thought of such an existence dying here silently sent chills down his spine.
Dawn Celestial Venerable steadied himself and walked towards the Dao Fruit.
---
Nether Realm.
Earth Lord was confronting the Divine Artifact Imperial Celestial Venerable controlled by Void Celestial Venerable. Void Celestial Venerable had clearly sensed the unusual activity in the Nether Realm and, seeing an opportunity to deal with Earth Lord, had taken control of the artifact.
Nether Celestial Venerable saw this from afar and frowned. Qin Mu laughed and said, "Now that we also have a Divine Artifact Imperial Celestial Venerable, there's no need to fear Void Celestial Venerable anymore."
Nether Celestial Venerable agreed. He tore off the yellow talisman paper from Dawn Celestial Venerable's Divine Artifact Imperial Celestial Venerable and took control of it. The artifact grew larger and larger, taller and taller, matching the size of Void Celestial Venerable's artifact.
Seeing this, Void Celestial Venerable immediately retracted her aura.
Nether Celestial Venerable intended to destroy her Divine Artifact Imperial Celestial Venerable, but Earth Lord's vast voice boomed out: "Benevolent Saint King, there is no need for that."