The old man couldn’t fully explain what happened back then, but he was certain someone had aided him.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Could the Great Venerable have cultivated the Biluo Way and lived a second life?”
He asked this because he thought of Ming Emperor.
Besides the Calamity Venerable, Ming Emperor was the only Zhang descendant to achieve divinity.
The blueprints for the sacred altar and the Biluo Way’s cultivation method in Ming Emperor’s possession puzzled Zhang Ruochen.
But right after asking, Zhang Ruochen shook his head. “Forget I asked.”
The Biluo Way’s founder, Biluozi, was a peerless medieval god of the Kunlun Realm, but he couldn’t have crossed paths with the Immovable Ming Wang Great Venerable, who lived ten eons ago.
Biluozi’s age couldn’t possibly span ten eons.
Strangely, after hearing Zhang Ruochen’s conjecture, the Calamity Venerable fell into rare contemplation, then solemnly shook his head. “Impossible. That old fellow Biluozi lived two lives, but his age couldn’t outlast the Great Venerable. Besides, in the Great Venerable’s era, the Biluo Way didn’t exist.”
The events were too ancient. Even the Calamity Venerable, a god, couldn’t unravel what happened after the Great Venerable’s death. Zhang Ruochen, barely two thousand years old, found such guesses pointless.
He gazed again at the eighteen celestial realms above the Calamity Venerable’s head. “Old man, could you demonstrate the insights you gained from the Great Venerable’s divine source? Let me learn something to better prepare for breaking into divinity.”
Cultivating the *Thirty-Three Heavens* didn’t involve condensing divine seat planets but forming celestial realms above the head. Yet, how were they formed?
Zhang Ruochen had no clue, and the *Nine Heavens Ming Emperor Scripture* offered no relevant records.
Though the Calamity Venerable was only a pseudo-god, he had inherited a Heavenly Venerable’s power, manifesting eighteen celestial realms. Zhang Ruochen could only manifest nine.
How to construct the tenth, eleventh, and beyond?
He needed guidance.
The old man grinned slyly. “Are you begging me?”
“Sort of,” Zhang Ruochen said.
“Remember well, you promised to contribute to the Zhang family’s revival. Now you’re asking for my help, owing me a huge favor. Don’t forget that!”
As he spoke, the old man walked toward the depths of the ancestral tomb forest.
“Where are you going?” Zhang Ruochen asked curiously.
“I’m going to fetch the Calamity Venerable.”
Zhang Ruochen was baffled, unsure what the old man was up to.
A while later, the old man emerged from the tomb forest, impeccably dressed in a purple divine robe, a jade crown on his head, white hair neatly combed, standing tall with radiant divine light, feet on five-coloured auspicious clouds, exuding an immortal charm.
One could imagine him as a dashing, elegant youth in his prime.
Striking a grand pose, he hovered above the tombs, five-coloured chaotic qi flowing around him like a celestial river.
His majestic divine aura poured in all directions.
Zhang Ruochen stared, stunned.
The same man, but his aura, attire, and demeanor had transformed dramatically.
“Did you just go change clothes?” Zhang Ruochen couldn’t help but purse his lips.
The Calamity Venerable gazed into the void, his voice resonant. “This Venerable doesn’t understand your words, young one. Since you’re a Zhang descendant with divine potential, I’ll make an exception and demonstrate how to construct celestial realms. Watch closely!”
“First realm, Taihuang Yellow Realm.”
Above his head, winds surged, clouds gathered, lightning flashed, and rules wove, forming a vast, boundless celestial realm.
At that moment, Zhang Ruochen sensed the Calamity Venerable’s divine aura matching that of Mo Yunduan, a pseudo-god of the Death God Temple.
“Second realm, Taiming Jade Realm.”
The second celestial realm formed above his head, stacking atop the first.
His divine aura doubled, reaching twice Mo Yunduan’s strength.
“Third realm, Taiqing Spiritual Fire Realm.”
Countless flames appeared above the second realm, forming the third.
His divine aura doubled again.
…
“Ninth realm, Chiming Heyang Realm.”
With nine celestial realms above his head, the terrifying divine aura, despite the tomb forest’s nine-coloured divine light, still pressed heavily on Zhang Ruochen.
At this point, the Calamity Venerable’s divine aura was over a hundred times stronger than Mo Yunduan’s.
Zhang Ruochen was speechless. Was this truly a pseudo-god?
Even some true gods couldn’t match his divine aura.
“Tenth realm, Xuanming Gonghua Realm.”
His divine aura continued to multiply.
His hovering figure grew ever more sacred, like a supreme deity descending.
Zhang Ruochen sat cross-legged, his pupils filled with dense truth rules, closely observing how each celestial realm took shape.
Simultaneously, memory fragments surfaced in his mind, strikingly similar to the scene before him.
These fragments came from refining the Great Venerable’s will-shadow, emerging from his bloodline. But they were too fragmented to help him then.
Now, watching the Calamity Venerable form the realms, these fragments began to connect.
“Fifteenth realm, Taihuan Jiyao Realm.”
…
“Sixteenth realm, Yuanzai Kongsheng Realm.”
…
“Seventeenth realm, Taian Huangya Realm.”
…
“Eighteenth realm…”
The Calamity Venerable’s face flushed red, unable to recall the latter half. After struggling briefly, he dispersed the seventeen realms and the shadow of the eighteenth.
His divine aura rapidly receded, his face turning pale.
He struggled to maintain his composure, asking loftily, “Did you see clearly? How much did you comprehend?”
“Can you demonstrate again?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
The Calamity Venerable nearly spat blood.
Seeing his strained effort, Zhang Ruochen said, “Your injuries haven’t healed? Is the deathly qi in your body that hard to refine? Should I have the Heaven-Connecting Divine Tree absorb it to aid you?”
“Your Heaven-Connecting Divine Tree is just a sapling. Absorbing my deathly qi would turn it into a dead twig instantly.”
Unable to hold on, the Calamity Venerable said, “This Venerable has urgent matters and must leave.”
Carrying his five-coloured chaotic clouds, he flew into the tomb forest depths.
Moments later, the gaunt, ragged old man rushed out, panting. “Kid, did you see the Calamity Venerable?”
Zhang Ruochen stared at him for a while and nodded. “Didn’t you already admit you’re the Calamity Venerable?”
“What are you talking about? How can’t I understand? The Calamity Venerable is such a grand figure. If not for my connection with him, I couldn’t have summoned him!” The old man snorted.
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes grew suspicious, wondering if the old man had too many debts outside, hence his disheveled state and hiding in Wang Mountain, as if afraid to reveal he was alive.
Too worn to expose him, Zhang Ruochen said, “Is the Calamity Venerable really a pseudo-god?”
“Yes, just a pseudo-god, with little lifespan left! His greatest wish is to see the family produce descendants with divine potential before he dies,” the old man said, sounding mournful.
Here we go again!
With the strength the Calamity Venerable just displayed, it’d be a miracle if a typical eon tribulation could kill him.
Zhang Ruochen said, “How can a pseudo-god cultivate eighteen celestial realms?”
“That’s from inheriting the Great Venerable’s divine source, which contains his complete Way. With enough insight, one might comprehend the nineteenth or twentieth realm. But it’s incredibly hard. Each additional realm increases comprehension difficulty tenfold,” the old man said.
Zhang Ruochen fell silent, realizing the *Thirty-Three Heavens* technique was unique. The Calamity Venerable wasn’t a pseudo-god at all but had inherited the Great Venerable’s cultivation.
It was like passing on power.
Or a wedding dress.
The Great Venerable made the dress, and the Calamity Venerable wore it.
Pity the old man was too inept, only comprehending eighteen realms.
The old man cautioned, “Never reveal the technique’s secrets.”
“After the Great Venerable’s death, the Zhang family was massacred. Some Heavenly Court and Hell Realm forces coveted the second-ranked technique on the *Taiyi Divine Techniques List*. To protect descendants, a Zhang ancestor spread a colossal lie, claiming the *Thirty-Three Heavens* had thirty-three layers, but only nine remained after the Great Venerable’s death, making it incomplete and unable to lead to divinity.”
Zhang Ruochen frowned deeply. “The Great Venerable’s power was immense. After his death, with no gods to guard the Zhang family, many greedy forces surely eyed his technique.”
The old man said, “If you break the Nether Clan’s curse and reach divinity, never easily manifest more than nine realms. Back then… the Calamity Venerable manifested eighteen, inviting a deadly calamity. Only the Great Venerable’s divine source saved him.”
“Is that why you dare not leave Wang Mountain?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
The old man laughed. “There’s nothing the Calamity Venerable fears. His injuries just haven’t healed, so there’s no need to go out and wreak havoc.”
“Does the Calamity Venerable know the Sword Pavilion’s spirit, Seven-Coloured Haitang?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
The old man’s face shifted slightly, shaking his head. “Never heard of it. I know of the Sword Pavilion, but what’s a spirit? It’s not even a divine artifact’s spirit.”
“What if the Sword Pavilion became a divine artifact?” Zhang Ruochen said.
“Divine artifact!”
The old man’s eyes lit up, then he snorted. “So what? If the Great Venerable’s divine artifact, the Jade Emperor Cauldron, hadn’t been lost, would the Calamity Venerable have been injured in that battle? A mere Death Clan god—smashed with one cauldron.”
“What does the Jade Emperor Cauldron look like? Why was it lost?” Zhang Ruochen’s mind conjured the Kaiyuan Deer Cauldron.
The Kaiyuan Deer Cauldron, used by the Shengming Central Empire for ancestral, divine, and heavenly rituals, seemed unremarkable, just heavier and larger than an ordinary bronze cauldron.
Only after Zhang Ruochen refined its bronze surface did the cauldron reveal its extraordinary nature. Later, in the Moon Goddess’s hands, it unleashed unprecedented power.
Zhang Ruochen shared this with the old man.
The old man’s expression changed dramatically, his divine aura nearly blasting Zhang Ruochen away. “In ancient times, after the Great Venerable’s death, the Zhang family faced calamity. To protect the divine artifact from being seized, ancestors likely sealed the Jade Emperor Cauldron in thick bronze, passing it to descendants.”
“That Moon Goddess, looking pure and noble, yet she stoops to deceit! Come, follow me to the Heavenly Court. We must reclaim the divine artifact.”
“Zhang Ruochen, I’m not scolding you, but how could you let a woman trick you out of a divine artifact? Were you swayed by her beauty? Stay rational. Back then, I was charmed by her… bah, I was never charmed!”
