# Chapter 2619: Eighteen Layers of Heavenly Vault
Regarding what happened back then, the old man couldn't figure it out either. The only thing certain was that someone must have given him a helping hand.
Zhang Ruochen said: "Could the Great Venerable have cultivated the Path of Falling into the Azure? And lived a second life?"
The reason he asked this was because he thought of the Ming Emperor.
Aside from Jie Zunzhe, the Ming Emperor was the only member of the Zhang Clan to become a god.
The blueprints for the sacred altar and the cultivation method for the Path of Falling into the Azure had appeared in the Ming Emperor's hands, which also left Zhang Ruochen unable to guess the reason.
But just after asking this question, Zhang Ruochen shook his head and said: "Pretend I didn't ask."
Although the founder of the Path of Falling into the Azure, Luozi, was a supreme great god from the medieval period of the Kunlun Realm, it was impossible for him to have any connection with the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable. After all, the Great Venerable was already a figure from ten eons ago.
Luozi's age absolutely could not be ten eons.
Strangely enough, after hearing Zhang Ruochen's speculation, Jie Zunzhe rarely fell into deep thought, and finally shook his head solemnly: "Impossible. That old fellow Luozi, although he lived two lives, his age cannot be more ancient than the Great Venerable. Besides, in the era when the Great Venerable lived, there was no Path of Falling into the Azure at all."
Too much time had passed. Even Jie Zunzhe, a god, couldn't figure out what happened after the Great Venerable's death. Zhang Ruochen had lived less than two thousand years; such wild speculation was meaningless.
Zhang Ruochen stared again at the eighteen layers of heavenly vault above Jie Zunzhe's head and said: "Old man, could you demonstrate the Dao you comprehended from the Great Venerable's divine source? Let me comprehend it too, so I'll have more confidence when I eventually impact the divine realm."
Cultivating the "Thirty-Three Heavens" didn't involve refining a Star Soul Divine Throne, but rather condensing a heavenly vault above the head. But how exactly was one supposed to condense it?
Zhang Ruochen currently had no clue at all. The "Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture" also had no corresponding records.
Although Jie Zunzhe was only a false god, he had at least inherited a Heavenly Venerable and could manifest eighteen layers of heavenly vault. But Zhang Ruochen could currently only manifest nine layers.
How to construct the tenth layer, the eleventh layer...
He needed guidance.
The old man let out a sinister chuckle and said: "Are you begging me?"
"You could say that," Zhang Ruochen said.
"Remember this well. You already promised me earlier that you would contribute to the Zhang Clan's prosperity and growth. Now you're begging me again, so you owe me a huge favor. Remember, remember clearly!"
As the old man said this, he walked toward the depths of the ancestral tomb forest.
"Where are you going?" Zhang Ruochen asked curiously.
"I'm going to invite Jie Zunzhe out."
Zhang Ruochen was somewhat bewildered, not knowing what the old man was up to.
After a while, the old man walked out of the tomb forest again, dressed impeccably — purple divine robe, jade crown on his head, every strand of white hair combed neatly, his figure straight, his whole body radiant with divine light, stepping on five-colored chaotic clouds, every gesture carrying the bearing of an immortal.
It could be imagined that in his youth, he must have been a graceful and handsome young man.
The old man floated quite stylishly above the cemetery, five-colored chaotic qi flowing around him like a heavenly river.
Overwhelming divine might poured out in all directions.
Zhang Ruochen stared blankly for a long time.
The person was still the same person, but his temperament, clothing, and demeanor had undergone earth-shattering changes.
"Did you just go change clothes?" Zhang Ruochen couldn't help but purse his lips.
Jie Zunzhe gazed into the void, his voice ethereal: "I don't understand what you're saying, junior. Since you are a member of the Zhang Clan and have the potential to become a god, I will make an exception and demonstrate for you how to construct the heavenly vault. Watch carefully!"
"First layer, Taihuang Huangjing Heaven."
Above Jie Zunzhe's head, wind surged and clouds gathered, lightning intertwined, rules shuttled, condensing into a vast and magnificent heavenly vault. At a glance, no boundary could be seen.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen perceived the divine might intensity on Jie Zunzhe's body reaching the level of the Death God Temple's false god, "Mo Yunduan."
"Second layer, Taiming Yujing Heaven."
The second layer of heavenly vault condensed above Jie Zunzhe's head, superimposing onto the first layer.
The divine might erupting from his body doubled, reaching twice that of Mo Yunduan.
"Third layer, Taiqing Linghuo Heaven."
Countless flames appeared above the second layer of heaven, condensing into the third layer of heavenly vault.
The divine might erupting from Jie Zunzhe doubled again.
...
"Ninth layer, Chiming Heyang Heaven."
The heavenly vault above Jie Zunzhe's head reached nine layers. The terrifying divine might erupting, even with the nine-colored divine light from the tomb forest blocking it, still put enormous pressure on Zhang Ruochen.
At this moment, Jie Zunzhe's divine might fluctuations were already more than a hundred times stronger than Mo Yunduan's.
Zhang Ruochen felt very speechless. Was this really a false god?
Even some true gods, when erupting divine might fluctuations, were far inferior to him.
"Tenth layer, Xuanming Gonghua Heaven."
Jie Zunzhe's divine might fluctuations continued to multiply.
His figure floating in the air became increasingly sacred, as if a world-covering heavenly god had descended.
Zhang Ruochen sat cross-legged, truth rules densely appearing in his pupils as he carefully gazed at how each layer of heavenly vault converged and took shape.
At the same time, some memory fragments appeared in his mind, very similar to the scene before him.
These memory fragments came from when he had refined the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable's will divine shadow, manifesting from the depths of his bloodline. Unfortunately, they were too fragmented to help him.
Now, watching Jie Zunzhe condense the heavenly vault layer by layer, these memory fragments finally connected.
"Fifteenth layer, Taihuan Jiyao Heaven."
...
"Sixteenth layer, Yuanzai Kongsheng Heaven."
...
"Seventeenth layer, Taian Huangya Heaven."
...
"Eighteenth layer..."
Jie Zunzhe's face flushed red, but he ultimately couldn't utter the latter half. After struggling for a moment, he dispersed the seventeen layers of heavenly vault above his head and the phantom of the eighteenth layer.
Divine might quickly converged, his face turning from red to white.
He tried to maintain his image and asked mysteriously: "Did you see clearly? How much did you comprehend?"
"Could you demonstrate it one more time?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Jie Zunzhe almost spat out a mouthful of old blood.
Seeing how reluctant he looked, Zhang Ruochen said: "Your injuries haven't healed yet? Is the death qi in your body that hard to refine? Do you want me to have the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree absorb it and give you a hand?"
"Your Sky-Connecting Divine Tree is just a mere sapling. If it absorbs the death qi in my body, I guarantee it will turn into a dead sapling in an instant."
Jie Zunzhe really couldn't hold on any longer and said: "I have important matters to attend to. I'll take my leave first."
Jie Zunzhe carried the five-colored chaotic cloud qi and flew into the depths of the tomb forest.
A moment later, the skinny, ragged old man ran out of the tomb forest, panting heavily, and asked: "Boy, did you see Jie Zunzhe?"
Zhang Ruochen stared at him for a long time, then nodded: "Didn't you already admit earlier that you are Jie Zunzhe?"
"What are you talking about? I don't understand. Jie Zunzhe is such a majestic existence. If I didn't have a connection with him, I wouldn't even be able to invite him out!" The old man snorted lightly.
Zhang Ruochen looked at him suspiciously. He suspected that this old fellow had owed too many debts outside, so he kept himself dirty and ragged, unrecognizable, and even hid in the Wang Mountain, as if he didn't dare let anyone know he was still alive.
Zhang Ruochen couldn't be bothered to expose him. He was already beyond redemption anyway. "Is Jie Zunzhe really a false god?"
"Yes, just a false god, with not much lifespan left. His greatest wish is to see a batch of descendants with the potential to become gods emerge from the clan before he dies." The old man sounded quite sorrowful.
Here we go again.
Given the strength Jie Zunzhe had just displayed, it would be strange if an ordinary eon calamity could kill him.
Zhang Ruochen said: "How could a false god cultivate eighteen layers of heavenly vault?"
"That's because he inherited the Great Venerable's divine source. The divine source contains the Great Venerable's complete Dao. As long as one's comprehension is high enough, in the future, one might even comprehend the nineteenth layer, the twentieth layer from the divine source. But it's too difficult. From now on, every additional layer of heaven increases the difficulty of comprehension tenfold." The old man said.
Zhang Ruochen fell silent. It seemed that the "Thirty-Three Heavens" cultivation method had its particularity. Jie Zunzhe was never a false god at all; he had simply inherited the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable's entire cultivation.
Similar to passing down power.
Or a wedding garment.
The Immovable Bright King Great Venerable made the wedding garment, and Jie Zunzhe wore it.
It was just that this old fellow was too useless, having only comprehended eighteen layers.
The old man reminded him: "Never reveal the secret of this cultivation method."
"After the Great Venerable died, the Zhang Clan's descendants were bloodily purged. Some forces in both the Heavenly Court and Hell wanted to seize the cultivation method ranked second on the 'Taiyi Divine Skill Ranking.' To protect their descendants, a Zhang Clan ancestor spread a huge lie, telling the world that the 'Thirty-Three Heavens' had thirty-three layers in total, but only nine were left after the Great Venerable's death. The cultivation method was incomplete and couldn't be used to cultivate to godhood."
Zhang Ruochen frowned deeply: "The Great Venerable's cultivation was too powerful. After he died, the Zhang Clan had no gods to guard it. There must have been many greedy people coveting the cultivation method the Great Venerable once practiced."
The old man said: "In the future, if you break the Underworld Clan's curse and cultivate to the divine realm, never lightly manifest more than nine layers of heavenly vault. Back then, I... back then, Jie Zunzhe attracted lethal disaster precisely because he manifested eighteen layers of heavenly vault. Fortunately, the Great Venerable's divine source was powerful enough to save his life."
"Is this the reason you dare not leave Wang Mountain?" Zhang Ruochen said.
The old man laughed: "There's nothing Jie Zunzhe doesn't dare to do in this world. It's just that his injuries haven't healed yet, so there's no need to go out and slaughter in all directions."
"Does Jie Zunzhe know the Sword Pavilion's artifact spirit, the Seven-Colored Begonia?" Zhang Ruochen said.
The old man's expression changed slightly. He shook his head: "I don't know him. Never even heard of him. I've heard of the Sword Pavilion, but what's an artifact spirit? Is it worth mentioning? It's not even the artifact spirit of a divine artifact."
"What if the Sword Pavilion has transformed into a divine artifact?" Zhang Ruochen said.
"Divine artifact!"
The old man's eyes lit up, then he snorted: "So what if it's a divine artifact? If the Great Venerable's divine artifact, the Jade Emperor Cauldron, hadn't been lost back then, how could Jie Zunzhe have been injured in that battle? A mere Death Clan god — one cauldron smash would have killed him."
"What did the Jade Emperor Cauldron look like? Why was it lost?" In Zhang Ruochen's mind, the Kaiyuan Deer Cauldron involuntarily appeared.
The Kaiyuan Deer Cauldron was an ancestral artifact that the Sacred Bright Central Empire must use when sacrificing to ancestors, gods, and heaven and earth.
It was unremarkable, no different from an ordinary bronze cauldron, just heavier and larger.
It wasn't until Zhang Ruochen refined the copper skin on the Kaiyuan Deer Cauldron's surface that the cauldron displayed various extraordinary qualities. Later, in the Moon God's hands, it erupted with unprecedented power.
Zhang Ruochen told all this to the old man.
The old man's expression changed drastically. The divine might erupting from his body nearly sent Zhang Ruochen flying: "In the ancient times, after the Great Venerable died, the Zhang Clan suffered calamity. To protect the divine artifact from being taken, the Zhang Clan ancestors likely sealed the Jade Emperor Cauldron within thick copper skin and passed it down to later generations."
"That Moon God! She looks pure and icy, but she can also do such deceptive things. Come on, go with me to the Heavenly Court. We have to get the divine artifact back."
"Zhang Ruochen, I'm not saying this to criticize you, but the Jade Emperor Cauldron is a divine artifact. How could you let a woman trick you out of it? Were you bewitched by her beauty, losing all reason? You need to maintain rationality. Back then, I was bewitched by her... pah, back then, I was never bewitched by her."