Chapter 145: Paragon Realm Complete
[Cultivation Increased]
[Realm: Paragon Layer 360]
[Paragon Realm Complete]
[Derived Technique: Supreme Dao Deduction Art]
Deducing the Dao Extremity Realm proved even more difficult than Caelum had imagined.
Tens of thousands of years ago, he had successfully deduced and mastered the Myriad Daos.
Yet after all this time, he still had not managed to push even a single Dao to its ultimate extreme.
It felt like gazing across the Sea of Transcendence toward the distant shore.
A shore that seemed to have no end.
No destination.
No matter how he continued his deductions, the ultimate limit remained unreachable.
Time flowed on.
The State of Effortless Freedom had already elevated his cultivation to the peak of the Paragon Realm.
Fortunately, the path ahead was not a dead end.
The Secret of Transcendence had once again opened a way forward.
Built upon the foundation of the three hundred and sixty Hidden Vault Worlds and their endless deductions, the Secret of Transcendence had produced a new technique upon the completion of the Paragon Realm.
The Supreme Dao Deduction Art.
As its name implied, it was a method designed specifically to deduce the Great Dao all the way to its ultimate extreme.
The process might take an unimaginably long time.
But it would eventually lead him into the Dao Extremity Realm.
Boom!
The might of the Great Dao swept through everything.
Caelum’s aura rose once more.
Though his cultivation still had not reached the Dao Extremity Realm, he had taken another step closer.
[Cultivation Increased]
[Realm: Immortal Layer 1]
For a moment, countless Daos intertwined around him.
Lightning flashed.
The Five Elements revolved.
Yin and Yang gave birth to one another.
The Taiji emerged.
This was a power terrifying enough to recreate The Infinite Realms themselves.
In the past, Caelum possessed the ultimate power of destruction.
At full strength, he could shatter The Infinite Realms.
Now, with mastery over the Myriad Daos, he could reverse the process and rebuild them.
Not that he had any interest in such a troublesome task.
Opening his eyes, the rippling power of the Great Dao instantly erased the black-clad cultivator who had entered the estate.
Then Caelum examined the operating speed of the State of Effortless Freedom.
His eyebrow rose slightly.
At this rate, reaching Immortal Layer 360 would likely require one million four hundred thousand years.
The estimate did not surprise him.
He had expected something similar.
Still, cultivation measured in millions of years was undeniably excessive.
That was enough time to outlive countless Immortal Emperors.
"There’s plenty of time ahead."
"Then I may as well see what this era has become."
Stepping out of the estate, he immediately sensed how much weaker The Infinite Realms had become.
The most obvious change was the concentration of World Essence.
Compared to tens of thousands of years ago, it had fallen dramatically.
During the War of the Imperial Calamity, Immortals, Immortal Kings, and Immortal Emperors had joined forces to construct the grand formation.
To fuel it, they drew directly upon the origins of countless Great Worlds.
Only then had they managed to grievously wound Longevity Immortal Emperor and his companions, finally bringing the war to an end.
But such power came at a price.
After the war, the Great Worlds naturally sought repayment.
The cultivators had drained the worlds.
Now the worlds drew upon the cultivators in return.
Some Immortals were stripped of so much origin essence that they fell from the Immortal Realm entirely.
As a result, Immortals had no choice but to retreat into hidden realms and secret lands, barely preserving their existence.
Immortal Kings sealed themselves away completely, waiting for the origins of heaven and earth to recover.
Only then would they dare awaken again.
It was a dangerous gamble.
If the world’s origins failed to recover before their lifespans ran out, they would simply die within their seals.
Yet compared to having their origins steadily drained away, most preferred gambling on a future revival.
Immortal Emperors had fared even worse.
That was why so few remained after the war.
Already grievously wounded, they had then suffered the loss of their origins as well.
Almost none could endure it.
"The Age of Immortal Silence..."
Caelum could feel the Great World’s power attempting to draw upon his own origins.
But his cultivation was far too powerful.
More importantly, his origins had been nurtured by the Sea of Transcendence itself.
No matter how the world tried to drain him, his foundation remained utterly unmoved.
"Senior Monk, are you an immortal?"
A youthful voice suddenly spoke nearby.
Caelum turned toward the sound.
A boy of roughly thirteen or fourteen years old peeked out from behind a boulder.
He wore simple commoner’s clothing.
His eyes were bright with curiosity.
One look was enough to tell he was a fearless troublemaker.
Caelum asked,
"What is your name?"
"I have one!"
Delighted to have caught the attention of such an extraordinary figure, the boy quickly replied,
"Vaelor!"
"Vaelor..."
There was no doubt.
This was the same Vaelor Caelum had once encountered in the Celestial Arc Realm.
The man possessed the ability of reincarnation.
This boy was his reincarnated self.
Most likely because his Wheel Divine Power had not yet awakened, he had not recovered the memories of his previous life.
Yet by a twist of fate, he and Caelum had met once again in Desolateheaven World.
To ordinary eyes, it seemed entirely natural.
In reality, it was exactly as Aurelius had once said.
Acting without acting.
Accomplishing everything without force.
Two months later.
Vaelor sat cross-legged atop a boulder, following the cultivation method he had been taught.
A short while later, his eyes lit up with excitement.
"Senior! I finally sensed spiritual energy!"
"Mm."
Caelum gave a casual response.
He sat beside a river, fishing.
He had never said he intended to accept Vaelor as a disciple.
As a result, Vaelor could only address him as Senior.
Compared to disciples like Wyrmvine and the others, Vaelor’s aptitude was shockingly poor.
Simply sensing spiritual energy had taken him two full months.
The talent was honestly dreadful.
Without tremendous opportunities and resources, his cultivation path in this life would be exceptionally difficult.
Even reaching the Realm necessary to awaken his Wheel Divine Power would be no easy task.
Outside of cultivation, Vaelor still had to work for a living.
Otherwise he would have nothing to eat.
He had yet to enter even the Initiate Realm.
His body was weak and frail.
A wild beast could easily kill him.
Hunting was out of the question.
He had never been trained as a hunter.
Aside from cultivation, his favorite pastime was listening to storytellers outside the local tavern.
He loved tales of wandering heroes and sworn vendettas.
Stories of the cultivation world.
Legends of immortals.
After bundling a load of firewood, Vaelor carried it toward town.
These past few months had been the happiest of his life.
Now that he had stepped onto the path of cultivation, everything seemed full of possibility.
Soon enough, he thought, he would truly be able to ride the wind upon a flying sword.
"Senior, are you really not an immortal?"
"An immortal?"
Caelum shook his head.
"I have never become one."
"I see..."
A trace of disappointment flickered through Vaelor’s eyes.
Still, he hid it well.
Being taught a cultivation method was already an extraordinary blessing.
He would never dare complain.
When he returned to town and approached the tavern...
Smack!
A sharp sound echoed from inside.
Vaelor’s eyes immediately brightened.
He quickly set down the firewood and rushed over to the doorway.
As expected, the storyteller had arrived.
The old storyteller slapped the table.
The crowd instantly perked up.
The tale had reached its most exciting point.
"Now then, let us speak of the Great Calamity of the Immortals!"
"The war seventy thousand years ago was so catastrophic that heaven and earth themselves nearly collapsed!"
"The corpses of immortals could have paved the land."
"Their blood filled entire rivers of stars."
"Countless immortals marched into battle."
"And only a handful ever returned."
"It was a tragedy beyond imagining!"
