Chapter 1747 : A Legacy Across Infinite Realms

If one's fortune were truly heaven-defying, and among the descendants who cultivate their own Dao [the fundamental principle or path in Chinese philosophy] arts, a single Great Luo Golden Immortal [the supreme pinnacle of immortal cultivation, a being of unfathomable power and enlightenment] were to be born, then as the guide who led that Great Luo Golden Immortal onto the path, one might very well soar to the heavens in the future.

Of course, a Great Luo Golden Immortal is far too rare. The vast majority of Heavenly Immortal Paragon [an immortal who has reached the apex of the Heavenly Immortal realm, a sovereign among immortals] who illuminate all heavens and myriad realms with their Illuminating All Heavens [a supreme divine ability that spreads one's teachings and influence across infinite dimensions]—even after hundreds of millions of years, having opened cultivation paths for a million great worlds—may still fail to produce a single Heavenly Immortal Paragon, let alone a Great Luo Golden Immortal.

This time, Lyra Jiang was, while in secluded cultivation, using the method of Illuminating All Heavens to spread her legacy across infinite dimensions and within the Starry Sky Great Universe [a vast, star-filled cosmos of unimaginable scale], instantly seizing this opportunity to gather Merit [a metaphysical "currency" representing good karma or virtuous deeds] and fortune.

"Having broken through to the Heaven Immortal Realm [the realm of a true celestial immortal, a master of profound laws], I have yet to test the wonders of Illuminating All Heavens."

"Perhaps it is time I, too, attempt Illuminating All Heavens."

Eldrin Chen murmured to himself, then slowly lowered his gaze.

As his eyes closed, a violet-gold divine halo blossomed behind his head. Boundless fortune and Merit Radiance [a luminous aura formed from condensed merit, signifying immense virtue and karmic power] spilled forth across the myriad heavens, instantly projecting into infinite dimensions, the starry Cosmos, and measureless worlds.

At that same moment, within the depths of the Boundless Starry Sky [the infinite, star-studded void], across countless dimensional ancient realms, an ethereal figure clad in White Robe [a simple yet profound garment often worn by sages and immortals] simultaneously appeared.

His form was shrouded in Immortal Qi [the purified, potent energy that constitutes and empowers an immortal's being]. Above his head, a violet auspicious cloud stretched for millions of Li-lengths [one Li-length equals five hundred meters], while a Merit Golden Light [a radiant golden light born from supreme merit, capable of purifying evil and blessing all beings] universally illuminated the heavens.

"A miracle... has an ancient Immortal [a being who has transcended mortality through cultivation, possessing longevity and great power] descended to the mortal plane?" Discover more cultivation stories at audio-novel*com.

Within tens of thousands of great worlds, countless mortals prostrated themselves upon the earth, gazing upon that figure with a mixture of awe and reverence, their hearts filled with either trepidation or joy.

Eldrin Chen sensed the expanse of these million great worlds, a slight frown creasing his brow. Among these myriad worlds, most had been opened for many tens of thousands of years, their own traditions and paths of cultivation long established.

Even if Eldrin Chen were to impart his own teachings now, he would likely be at a disadvantage. His legacy might instead be usurped by the inheritors of other Heaven Immortal [a powerful immortal realm cultivator].

"I must seek out a Primordial Chaos's Beginning [a world in its earliest, most primal state of creation], a world where the path of cultivation is still in its infancy."

As this thought solidified, the light of his Illuminating All Heavens [a divine ability to perceive across vast distances and dimensions] instantly swept across the tens of thousands of ancient worlds. He found that most bore the marks of established legacies; only a precious few were newly opened primordial realms.

Yet Eldrin Chen understood clearly. The location where myself had projected his consciousness was within the shallows of the Endless Dimensional Void [the infinite, layered expanse separating worlds and dimensions], the area most easily illuminated by such divine perception and thus long since claimed by various great powers.

In the deeper layers of the endless dimensions, places beyond the reach of early and mid-stage Heaven Immortal [a powerful immortal realm cultivator], there were undoubtedly many more ancient worlds untouched by any legacy.

With this realization, Eldrin Chen once again stirred his cultivation base, casting the illuminating light of his perception deeper into the heart of the Dimensional Void [the void between dimensions].

Thus, he traversed the Endless Void [the boundless emptiness between existences], until finally, within a sea of dimensional ancient worlds, he discovered a cluster of newly opened Primordial Chaos's Beginning [worlds in their earliest, most primal state of creation].

"Three thousand nascent primordial worlds."

Eldrin Chen murmured softly, a faint smile touching his lips.

These three thousand ancient realms were all born from the Primordial Chaos [the primordial state of undifferentiated matter and energy before creation], having been established for no more than one hundred thousand years.

Within these ancient realms' Heavenly Layers [the stratified heavens or higher planes of existence], although other Heavenly Immortal Paragon [a supreme rank among celestial immortals] had left behind legacies, none of these inheritances exceeded ten thousand years in age.

With less than ten thousand years having passed, the power structures within these Heavenly Layers had not yet fully solidified. These realms were still dominated by primordial Fierce Beasts [ancient and powerful monstrous creatures] and Heaven and Earth Divine Spirit [spirits born from the essence of heaven and earth], while the Human Race and the various factions of the Demonic Tribe [a tribe or race of demons] had not yet risen to prominence.

Witnessing this, Eldrin Chen disseminated his own Dao lineage.

He divided three thousand strands of his divine consciousness, sending them into the three thousand ancient realms. There, he Creation [the act of creating or manifesting something from nothing] a single monument for transmitting the Heaven-Bearing [a legendary treasure capable of supporting the heavens], and passed down nine volumes of profound techniques.

These were, respectively, the Chaos Heaven Scripture, the Five Elements [a cultivation art based on the five fundamental elements], the Pure Yang [the state of pure, unadulterated Yang energy], the Profound Darkness [a divine ability of profound and mysterious darkness], the Life [a divine ability governing life force], the Primordial Chaos [a cultivation art of primordial chaos], the Earth-Fortress [a divine ability of unshakable earth defense], the Lucian, and the Indestructible [a cultivation art of indestructibility].

These nine volumes of profound techniques represented nine distinct paths of cultivation. With the Primordial Chaos Heavenly Scripture at their core, the other eight paths were all derived from the Chaos Heaven Scripture.

Any individual who cultivated one of these paths to its ultimate peak and used it to Ascending to Immortality [transcend mortality and ascend to immortality] could become a disciple of the Abyssal Grotto-Heaven [a celestial paradise or hidden realm].

If anyone could cultivate any one of the following—the Pure Yang Celestial Flame [a celestial flame of pure Yang essence], the Profound Nether True Water [the true water of the profound netherworld], the Seed of Life [a mystical seed containing the essence of life], the Primordial Chaos Ancient Metal [an ancient metal born from primordial chaos], the Source Earth of All Things [the foundational earth from which all things originate], or the Primordial Chaos Indestructible Body [a body constitution of indestructible primordial chaos]—they might even have the potential to become a Grotto-Heaven Direct Descendant [a direct lineage descendant of the grotto-heaven] of Eldrin, the Abyss.

After leaving behind the Dao Transmission Stone Tablet [a stone monument imbued with profound cultivation knowledge], the divine sense of Eldrin Chen roamed the three thousand newly opened Ancient Realms [primal worlds in the early stages of formation]. He discovered that within these realms resided numerous legacies of Heaven Immortal [a high-level immortal cultivation realm] cultivators, among whom were several familiar faces to Eldrin Chen.

There was Chunxu Zi from the Pure Yang Grotto-Heaven [a sacred realm of pure yang energy], the Western Qi Celestial God, the Divine Abyss Ancient Ancestor, and the Heavenly Immortal Paragon [a pinnacle expert within the Heaven Immortal realm] from the White Tiger Grotto-Heaven.

"It seems this Dimensional Void [the interstitial space between realms] is relatively close to the Six Heavenly Domains [a cluster of six major celestial realms]," murmured Eldrin Chen inwardly.

Thus, Eldrin Chen allowed his divine sense to wander among the Heavenly Layers [the stratified celestial planes of existence], intending to explore the customs and landscapes of these newly formed planes.

However, he had not traveled far before a slight frown creased Eldrin Chen's brow.

Likely due to the Primordial Chaos's Beginning [the state of primordial disorder at the dawn of creation] of these Heavenly Layers, Eldrin Chen found them teeming with all manner of savage Fierce Beasts [ferocious and powerful magical beasts]. Among them were supremely malevolent creatures like the Qiongqi [a mythical, voracious beast] and the Taotie [a gluttonous, insatiable monster]. Original English translation available at audio–novel.com.

The Human Race within these realms had only just begun to tread the path of cultivation. They were utterly incapable of resisting these great calamities of the Heavenly Layers.

Most crucially, cultivation required a Spiritual Root [the innate spiritual foundation that determines one's aptitude for cultivation]. Yet, within these newly opened Heavenly Layers, because the bloodline of the Human Race was frail and weak, those among them who possessed a Spiritual Root were exceedingly rare.

In the past, within the Chen Immortal Clan of the Purple Realm, roughly one in a thousand mortals would manifest a Spiritual Root and the Immortal Sprout [the initial awakening stage of cultivation]. But in this world, a Human Race individual with a Spiritual Root was less than one in a million.

This was because their bloodlines lacked the heritage of cultivators. In nature, beings who naturally possessed a Spiritual Root were exceptionally rare anomalies.

"Without a Spiritual Root [the innate spiritual foundation required for cultivation], one cannot set foot upon the path of cultivation."

"Yet, the chance for a Spiritual Root [the innate spiritual foundation required for cultivation] to manifest within the bloodline of ordinary mortals is vanishingly slim. It is no wonder that in any of the Great Thousand World, the first several hundred thousand years after the Heavenly Layers [the primordial layers of reality] first opened were the most tragic and desperate times for the Human Race."

In the eyes of the Fierce Beasts and the Demonic Tribe, humanity was merely a reserve of blood and flesh, a source of sustenance that posed no conceivable threat.

Only after hundreds of thousands of years of bloody, tear-stained development, as more and more among the Human Race awakened with Spiritual Root [the innate spiritual foundation required for cultivation] and gave birth to high-ranking cultivators, could they finally stand against the Demon and God Races and the primordial Fierce Beasts.

"In the worlds of the Primordial Chaos's Beginning, the Human Race faced such profound hardship."

"It seems that across countless worlds, the initial rise of the Human Race was invariably a tragic and sorrowful epic."

Eldrin Chen sighed inwardly with profound feeling, yet he did not intervene to aid these people. He understood that across the boundless worlds, humanity must endure this most dreadful age of darkness.

To strike down these Primordial Era behemoths, the Demonic Tribe, or even the Divine Spirits [primordial beings of immense power born from natural laws] would be to treat the symptom, not the root cause—a gesture of little lasting significance.

"If the path of immortal cultivation is barred, might there be another road to tread?"

Eldrin Chen murmured to himself, continuing his exploration of these ancient realms.

He was astonished to discover that these primitive Human Race [the collective term for humanity], practicing slash-and-burn agriculture and traversing the wild Heavenly Layers [the primordial, untamed layers of the world], had all, one after another, independently forged the same path.

They learned from Heavenly Layers nature itself, emulating the ancient behemoths and even the Heaven and Earth Divine Spirit [the primal spirits of heaven and earth], and through different means arrived at the same destination: creating a path of cultivation.

"The Martial Path [a cultivation path focused on physical refinement and martial prowess]!"

Eldrin Chen murmured softly, a flicker of pleasant surprise in his eyes, which faded into disappointment moments later.

These ancient Human Race emulated Heavenly Layers nature and pioneered the Martial Path cultivation path. Yet, the Martial Path created by almost all of them ultimately stalled at the second or third realm.

Emulating the ancient behemoths to refine one's body through the Martial Path was, in the end, a dead-end road.

For the ancient behemoths were innately gifted, born with supreme physiques and formidable Physical Body [the cultivation of the physical form]. The Human Race, with their frail Physical Body, attempting to mimic these titans was inherently an endeavor yielding half the result for twice the effort.

"A century of bitter cultivation could not match a single year of natural growth for an ancient behemoth."

Eldrin Chen whispered, his voice low, for he could sense the despair of these primordial Human Race sages.

Among these Human Race sages were many with truly dazzling talent. Eldrin Chen believed their comprehension and willpower were in no way inferior to many Immortal [beings who have ascended to immortality]. Yet, tragically, their cultivation journey was utterly severed by a mere Spiritual Root [the innate spiritual foundation determining one's cultivation aptitude].

With this thought, Eldrin Chen felt a pang of regret for the wasted talent, yet also seemed to gain a flash of insight: "To emulate the Heavenly Layers and follow nature, seemingly learning the ultimate Physical Body of the Primordial Beasts, is in truth to walk another's path—a path ill-suited for the Human Race."

"Those who learn from me shall live; those who merely imitate me shall perish!"

"The true Martial Path should be one of constantly surpassing oneself, of refining and transcending one's own being to forge an ultimate Martial Path True Body."

Finally, Eldrin Chen drew a slow, deep breath. "Perhaps," he murmured, "I can do something about this." Find this and other novels at audio - novel . com.