Chapter 1974: Heavenly Venerate!

Ling Han turned his gaze to Shu Yarong.

Shu Yarong hadn’t left with Ji Wuming. Instead, she simply watched him leave with an expression of respect and reverence. Only when he disappeared from sight did she change from kneeling to sitting. At the same time, the confidence and relaxed expression of a supreme prodigy returned to her face.

This was the true Shu Yarong.

“Lady Shu, who in the world is this Ji Wuming?” Ling Han asked.

Shu Yarong smiled, and replied, “I’m sure you can guess. He’s naturally an extremely mighty person!”

It was clear that she wasn’t willing to talk about Ji Wuming’s true identity.

Ling Han could only guess. “Eighth Heaven Celestial King?” He focused on Shu Yarong’s expression, and he saw a hint of disdain flash across her eyes.

“Ninth Heaven Celestial King!” he said in certainty.

Shu Yarong didn’t say anything. She ignored Ling Han, and she instead started to focus on the stone tablet that recorded the true meaning of the great dao.

‘Ninth Heaven Celestial King.’

Ling Han repeated this in his mind. This was absolutely astonishing.

Why did a Ninth Heaven Celestial King need to reincarnate? After all, they were already standing at the pinnacle of the world. Perhaps he desired to suppress fellow Ninth Heaven Celestial Kings and become genuinely invincible, so he resolutely abandoned his paramount cultivation, and decided to start from scratch again?

Let alone becoming a Ninth Heaven Celestial King, even becoming a First Heaven Celestial King was filled with obstacles and dangers. Thus, what if he couldn’t return to the same height again?

After all, it wasn’t a foregone conclusion that a Celestial King could definitely return to the same cultivation level after reincarnating. Cultivation was a heaven-defying matter in itself, so those who reincarnated to cultivate from scratch would naturally be targeted by the heavens. Their heavenly tribulation would become significantly more difficult.

Moreover, who could guarantee that they wouldn’t be killed during this process of recultivation?

Even Ling Han didn’t have the courage to sever his own fruits of cultivation and start from scratch again.

After reaching the pinnacle, just how strong would one’s willpower need to be to sever their own cultivation?

“Small Tower, is reaching the level of Ninth Heaven Celestial King truly the pinnacle of the Celestial Realm?” Ling Han asked. He refused to believe that Ji Wuming had severed his own cultivation simply to become the most powerful Ninth Heaven Celestial King. After all, with so much time on their hands, Ninth Heaven Celestial Kings could definitely mend the imperfections in their cultivation, all the way until they reached a state of perfection.

Unless… this was to prepare for a foundational transformation, and to prepare for a higher cultivation level.

As such, there was only a single possibility. That was… the level of Ninth Heaven Celestial King wasn’t the true pinnacle of the Celestial Realm.

Small Tower paused for a moment before saying, “Above Ninth Heaven Celestial Kings are the paramount beings of the world… Heavenly Venerates!”

Heavenly Venerate!

Ling Han’s heart jumped when he heard this. He suddenly recalled Small Tower referring to the previous owner of the Black Tower as Heavenly Venerate.

Above Ninth Heaven Celestial Kings were the paramount beings of the world, Heavenly Venerates. They were the venerable rulers of the world.

“What kind of existence is this?” Ling Han asked. His mouth felt slightly dry, and he said, “After all, Ninth Heaven Celestial Kings already enjoy an equal standing with heaven and earth.”

“They’re transcendent above the great dao, and they can manipulate both heaven and earth. With a single thought, they can materialize a clone anywhere in the world. Moreover, this clone possesses a power equivalent to Ninth Heaven Celestial Kings’. Even if one simply mentions their title, this will still trigger a reaction from heaven and earth,” Small Tower said in a leisurely voice.

Ling Han composed himself, yet his limbs were starting to feel slightly cold. “So, the owner of the Black Tower was a Heavenly Venerate, yet… he passed away!”

“That’s correct!” Small Tower replied. It didn’t ignore Ling Han’s question. Instead, it answered him in a frank manner.

‘Even Heavenly Venerates can pass away! These are beings who are transcendent above the great dao!

‘Anyhow, no wonder the Indestructible Heaven’s Scroll is so freakishly powerful. It managed to attract both the Nine Heavens Flame and the Xuanyin Source Water. As it turns out, this is a cultivation technique that’s transcendent above the great dao!’

However, the more Ling Han learned about the power of Heavenly Venerates, the more he was unable to fathom how such an existence could possibly die. Even if they wanted to commit suicide, that would probably still be impossible, right? There was no longer any power in the world that could erase such beings.

“There’s no need for you to mull over this now. Raise your cultivation, and you’ll eventually understand everything in the future,” Small Tower said.

Ling Han nodded in understanding. Small Tower was extremely good at keeping secrets, so it would be useless to push for any more information.

It was clear that Ji Wuming had severed his own cultivation so that he could aim for the title of Heavenly Venerate. He wanted to reach the true pinnacle of the world. Both his courage and resolve were astounding, so it was no wonder that Shu Yarong treated him with such respect and reverence.

‘Hang on… Then why did Shu Yarong reincarnate as well? Also, what about Tang Minglong? Perhaps they all want to become Heavenly Venerates?’

After answering a question, many more new questions arose. This caused him to feel extremely frustrated.

‘Whatever! Forget about it!’

He returned his attention to the stone tablet.

Ji Wuming’s grasp of Regulations had clearly reached an astonishing height already. As such, he only needed three days to completely digest the true meaning of the great dao recorded on this stone tablet. Ling Han naturally couldn’t emulate such a feat.

He was genuinely at the Severing Mundane Tier, so he didn’t have the experience from a previous life or of several epochs. There was simply no way for him to compete with Ji Wuming.

After half a year, Shu Yarong also stood up. She glanced at Ling Han, and there was some slight change in her expression. There was a hint of darkness, yet she ultimately didn’t do anything. She gracefully descended the mountain.

When she turned around, Ling Han also opened his eyes. A faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips. If Shu Yarong had attacked him just then, he wouldn’t have shown mercy, either. He would have unleashed his full power to kill her.

He returned his attention to the true meaning of the great dao again, continuing to solidify his grasp on the Regulation of Slaughter.

After a full 13 years, Ling Han finally completed his comprehension.

However, he still hadn’t managed to fully comprehend this true meaning of the great dao yet. Even so, he had finally managed to commit each symbol to memory. Of course, if one asked him to draw these symbols now, he definitely couldn’t do so.

These were symbols that could only be perceived by intuition. They couldn’t be passed onto another person. Heaven and earth didn’t allow this.

He had once thought about digging the stone tablet up and placing it inside the Black Tower. However, he had discovered that this was impossible. The stone tablet was connected to the entire mountain, so if he wanted to take it, he would have to take the entire mountain.

If this mountain were composed of ordinary rock, Ling Han wouldn’t mind taking it. Indeed, he could draw it into the Black Tower with a simple wave. However, this place was far too peculiar, so he couldn’t take this mountain at all.

As such, he spent a full 13 years to commit the symbols of the great dao to memory.

Upon seeing Hu Niu, the Empress, and Bewitching Maiden Rou still comprehending the true meaning of the great dao, Ling Han decided to enter the Black Tower first. He started to cultivate under the Reincarnation Tree.

From this, he could also determine that Hu Niu wasn’t the reincarnation of a Celestial King. Otherwise, with the dao foundation of her previous life, would she need so long to comprehend the true meaning of the great dao?

Under the Reincarnation Tree, 700,000 years passed by in a flash. In the outside world, only a mere 20 years had passed. Ling Han exited the Black Tower. He had finally achieved initial mastery of the true meaning of the great dao.

Indeed, this was only initial mastery, and not comprehensive mastery.

Meanwhile, Hu Niu and the others were still committing the true meaning of the great dao to memory. Ling Han didn’t disturb them, and he entered the Black Tower again. He retrieved a piece of Celestial King Bloodstone, and started to compare this with the true meaning of the great dao. He continued to mull over the Regulation of Slaughter.

Another 10 years passed in the outside world, and this was equivalent to over 300,000 years under the Reincarnation Tree. At this moment, Hu Niu and the Empress finally completed their comprehension. They had finally committed the true meaning of the great dao to memory.

Because Bewitching Maiden Rou was still comprehending the stone tablet, Ling Han drew Hu Niu and the Empress into the Black Tower first. They started to investigate the Regulation of Slaughter together.

However, Hu Niu felt extremely displeased. Why did they have to wait for that stupid bewitching woman?

Yet, Ling Han and the Empress didn’t say anything, so she could only obediently enter the Black Tower to comprehend the Regulation of Slaughter. Fortunately, this was a fresh matter for her, so she was extremely keen and excited. She didn’t feel bored at all.

And thus, another 50 years passed in the outside world. Bewitching Maiden Rou finally stood up. Meanwhile, Yan Xianlu, Shan Jitong, and the others had already left more than 20 years ago.

This was the gulf between them.