Chapter 1458 : Dark Cloud Demon Lord

In an instant, thunderous sword energies crisscrossed and clashed, vanquishing the formidable foe in the blink of an eye.

With 2 Earth Immortals at the Great Perfection realm falling in succession, the faces of all the demonic leaders turned ashen. The remaining 4 Earth Immortals at the Great Perfection realm now found themselves at an overwhelming disadvantage against the gathered experts.

Seeing the situation was beyond salvation, the 2 fiendish cultivators at the Earth Immortal Perfection Realm who had been confronting Patriarch Violet Mystery immediately took to flight and vanished. Likewise, the opponents facing True Monarch Shattered Cauldron and Soulsnatch Fairy fled without the slightest hesitation.

"Fiend, you shall not escape!"

Watching the fiends flee for their lives, True Lord Potstill still intended to give chase.

Eldrin stopped him, his expression grave as he declared, "This is no place to linger. We must return to the Western Aether Divine Abyss Sea at once."

Seeing this, Daoist Zixuan also nodded and said, "Currently, countless fiends are hunting us within the Abyssal Inferno Sea. We cannot linger any longer."

Upon hearing this, True Lord Pofu said no more and journeyed westward with the others toward the Xī Qì Shényuān Hǎi (Western Aether Divine Abyss Sea).

Not far from the Western Qi Divine Abyss Sea now, the group arrived at the confluence of the 2 seas—the Serene Abyss and the Western Qi—after a brief flight.

Just as they were about to depart, an endless expanse of black clouds surged forth from the void behind them.

But lo, the black clouds swept across heaven and earth, ultimately coalescing into a colossal hand that blotted out the skies as it came crushing down.

"Not good."

Eldrin's heart skipped a beat. He hastily urged the Sky-Soaring Shuttle to flee, only to discover the surrounding void had subtly congealed into stillness.

Elder Zixuan’s expression shifted drastically as he witnessed the scene. “Retreat, now!” he exclaimed, his voice laced with unprecedented urgency.

As his voice faded, Patriarch Zixuan flicked his sleeve, unleashing a blinding arc of lightning. Once more, he summoned the 9 Heavens Divine Thunder Sword, directing its devastating edge toward the colossal black cloud hand.

Yet such a strike was but a flicker of firefly light before the colossal hand of black clouds, extinguished completely in an instant.

The colossal black cloud hand was halted for less than an instant before descending upon the crowd with undiminished, boundless might.

Fortunately, that momentary delay was enough for the group to cross the boundary and step into the Western Mist Divine Abyss Sea.

The colossal black cloud hand halted before the Western Mist Divine Abyss Sea, then slowly withdrew, coalescing into a handsome man cloaked in black robes.

His eyes emitted a chilling gleam before he finally let out a cold snort and turned to leave.

At that moment, Eldrin and the others who had managed to escape glanced at the departing figure and finally let out a heavy sigh of relief.

"Who is he?"

Eldrin (Person Name) spoke up, unable to resist asking.

Violetmyst Daoist’s face turned pale. He took a deep breath and finally spoke, “The foremost Earth Immortal of the Demonic Path, ranked third on the Creation Roll of the Qingcang Immortal Domain—Heiyun Demon Lord.”

"Lord of the Dark Clouds?"

Eldrin (Person Name) furrowed his brow slightly. As the Purple Mystic Daoist (Person Name) recounted the tale, he gained a clearer understanding of the Dark Cloud Demon Lord (Person Name).

This Dark Cloud Demon Lord was the foremost Earth Immortal of the Abyssal Refinement Sea, rumored to have once stepped into the forbidden realm—at the very least, an unparalleled Demon Lord who had opened 10 celestial layers.

Such a supreme demon, whose talent and brilliance among Earth Immortals had already reached the pinnacle.

"If nothing unexpected occurs, Lord Heiyun has likely cultivated 3 Great Primordial Foundations, establishing a flawless Celestial Immortal foundation in 1 fell swoop."

Elder Zixuan spoke in a measured tone, his face etched with profound gravity.

Eldrin also furrowed his brow slightly. At his level of cultivation, he naturally possessed a clear understanding of what it meant to possess a flawless Celestial Immortal foundation.

With only 2 types of Taiyi foundations, 1 could at most cultivate to the mid-stage of Celestial Immortality in the future.

However, those capable of cultivating 3 types of Taiyi Foundations could advance all the way to the Great Perfection of Celestial Immortals, with even the potential to reach the realm of the Great Luo. The disparity between the 2 was nearly insurmountable.

At this thought, Eldrin (Person Name) couldn't help but ask, "Since the Dark Cloud Demon Lord has already cultivated 3 types of Great Firmament Foundations, why hasn't he broken through to the Celestial Immortal realm?"

Daoist Zixuan shook his head and spoke, "Because the path of demonic cultivation differs from that of us immortals."

"Oh?"

Eldrin was momentarily taken aback when the Violet Mystery Daoist remarked, "All methods under heaven and all paths in this world can lead to enlightenment. Demonic cultivators focus on channeling supreme power into their own being, and most would never advance to the realm of a grotto cosmos."

"If you wish to understand this, you must first comprehend that the cultivation path of the primordial era differed fundamentally from today's practices."

As the Violet Mystic Daoist recounted, Eldrin gradually understood why the Blackcloud Demon Monarch had not broken through to the Celestial Immortal realm.

In the primordial era of antiquity, the methods of cultivation were vastly different from what they are now.

In the distant past, when the 3 1000 Immortal Domains and the boundless cosmos first took form, the Primordial Chaos Qi permeated the heavens and earth, and even Innate Qi was not considered rare.

In that primordial era, the ancient deities needed only to seek out the Primordial Chaos Qi, Innate Qi, and the Indestructible Primordial Radiance to shatter the shackles binding their immortal bodies, cosmic laws, and Dao Fruits—thus paving their path to the Great Perfection Realm.

Those innate divine beings were born with 'Innate Indestructible Radiance' and 'Innate Spiritual Treasures', reaching the Great Perfection Realm upon maturity.

In that era, the realms were divided differently, known as Divine Spirits, Divine Lords, Celestial Gods, and Great Gods, corresponding to the current 4 realms: Ascending Immortal, Earth Immortal, Celestial Immortal, and Great Luo.

It could be said that in that era, there existed no cultivation system capable of cleaving heaven and earth. As long as 1 possessed sufficient talent and insight, coupled with crucial resources, they could advance unhindered on their path of cultivation.

By the late Primordial Era, the Primordial Qi and World-Originating Qi within the immortal realms had gradually been depleted to exhaustion.

The demon race, humanity, and other post-natal beings discovered that upon reaching the Ascendant Realm of cultivation, the path forward was completely severed.

As postnatal beings, whether human, demon, or any of the myriad races across heaven and earth, none could ever set foot in the Heaven Opening Realm throughout their entire lives.

Unlike the spirits born of heaven and earth, they as postnatal beings had almost no chance to advance further.

In the ancient era, the Sun God Emperor established the Primordial Demon Court, rising to power by leading the myriad races in rebellion against the divine tribes. He forged an overwhelmingly domineering cultivation method.

This technique is named the Heaven-Seizing Art, capable of seizing the very essence of creation from heaven and earth. It refines the innate primordial essence within divine beings into 1's own body, thereby shattering the acquired shackles that bind the self. Through this, 1 may break through the realms of Divine Lord and Celestial God.

However, at its core, such a method still does not depart from the original path of cultivation.

In the final years of the ancient era, humanity rose from insignificance. As the weakest acquired tribe among the myriad races of the immortal realm, they could advance no further once they reached the Realm of Ascendant Immortality.

To seek the path forward, countless human sages advanced wave upon wave. Through the efforts of 70-2 generations of pioneers who continuously drew inspiration from the cultivation methods of various races, they ultimately forged a celestial pathway to the heavens.

Without the Primordial Qi of Creation, the ancient sages ventured forth to carve out heaven and earth.

Without the Primordial Qi, the ancient sages opened up the Primordial Grand Cosmos, using their acquired bodies to converge supreme grotto-heavens and reverse-engineer that single strand of Primordial Qi.

Without the Primordial Undying Radiance, the ancient sages shattered the 9 Heavenly Barriers. Through earth-shaking means, they condensed the Primordial Undying Radiance, shattering the shackles that confined them from reaching the Great Perfection Realm.

As it turned out, this path transcended all eras, and the Great Luo Golden Immortals who achieved it were far more powerful than those from the Primordial Age.

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