Translator: CinderTL
Dao Venerable Xu Yun's words left everyone, including Spirit Wisdom Supreme Sovereign, without a rebuttal.
No matter how they argued, the inescapable truth remained: the Great Void Ancestral Dragon...
had perished.
And the only one who had fought him to the death was Li Chunjun!
That innate divine being shrouded in mystery!
After eliminating all impossibilities, the remaining conclusion, however absurd, might be the only truth.
"That Divine Sage Li has unified with the Dao in a way we cannot comprehend..."
Spirit Wisdom Supreme Sovereign glanced at him. "A plausible theory, but there's a flaw."
"What is it?"
"Divine Sage Li is proficient in both the Void Dao and the Destruction Dao, yet no new Dao Venerable has emerged from either path."
Spirit Wisdom Supreme Sovereign stated.
"This..."
For a moment, the dao unification experts exchanged uneasy glances.
After a long silence, Professor Tian Heng ventured, "Dean, could it be the Grand Dao of Karma instead? Given Divine Sage Li's ability to distort our perception of the Great Void Ancestral Dragon, he must also possess profound mastery of karma and even the Dao of Soul."
"Impossible," someone countered. "How could a divine sage master so many great dao laws? If he truly achieves dao unification, wouldn't he ascend to Supreme Sovereign status at an unprecedented pace?"
Dao Venerable Tai Chu frowned.
"This is easily investigated. We simply need to consult the Dao Venerables of the Grand Dao of Karma and the Great Dao of Soul. We could even ask all forty-nine Dao Venerables—they would immediately sense if a corresponding Dao Venerable had been born."
Director Han Lan spoke, already contacting the other Dao Venerables to gather information.
As he sent his messages, something caught his peripheral vision. His expression twisted in sudden horror.
Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, he recoiled violently. His mind churned with panic as he shrieked, losing all composure: "You?! You?!"
Director Han Lan, a dignified Dao Unification expert, paled instantly. His terror startled Tai Chu, Tian Heng, Xu Yun, and even Dean Ling Hui, whose mental power had projected here.
But when they saw the source of Han Lan's terror, their pupils contracted sharply as well!
"How is this possible?!"
"When did he appear?!"
Xu Yun couldn't contain his shock: "Li Chunjun?! You... when did you arrive?!"
Li Chunjun!
Unbeknownst to them, Li Chunjun had already materialized among the five supreme powerhouses—the four great Dao Venerables and Spirit Wisdom Supreme Sovereign's mental projection—watching their discussion with evident amusement.
They were debating whether he had achieved dao unification and, if so, which of the great daos he had merged with.
Yet, throughout the entire process, the four great dao venerables remained completely oblivious.
They detected not a trace of his presence, nor could they fathom how he had approached them undetected.
This realization...
Even for these four great dao venerables—each a cosmic apex predator who had lived for tens of millions of years—sent a chill down their spines.
It was terrifying!
"I've been here since you said, 'How could such a massive Great Void Ancestral Dragon just vanish?'" Li Chunjun replied calmly to Dao Venerable Xu Yun's question.
But those words...
Plunged the already shaken four great dao venerables into an icy abyss!
He had been present since then?
Did that mean...
Li Chunjun had been lurking since they first arrived at the True Dragon Great World?
Constantly lurking nearby?
Listening to their entire discussion?
Yet, from beginning to end, they hadn't sensed the slightest trace of his presence?
Not even a hint?
This...
"How is this possible?!" Dao Venerable Tai Chu murmured in disbelief.
Meanwhile, Spirit Wisdom Supreme Sovereign's mental power surged rapidly, locking onto Li Chunjun with unwavering intensity.
Dimly...
She could sense Li Chunjun's presence, yet this Li Chunjun felt illusory and unreal, as if he could vanish from their perception at any moment, silently slipping into concealment.
It wasn't just the Spirit Wisdom Supreme Sovereign. Others, like Dao Venerable Xu Yun, Director Han Lan, and Professor Tian Heng, were also exerting their utmost efforts to manipulate the great daos, even invoking the soul law, in their relentless attempts to truly lock onto Li Chunjun.
Among them, Dao Venerable Tai Chu, whose mastery of the soul was comparatively weak, treated Li Chunjun's figure as a mere projection or avatar. He focused on sensing the power behind this projection, hoping to uncover Li Chunjun's true form.
In other words...
He couldn't even determine whether the Li Chunjun before them was his true body, let alone pinpoint his actual location.
"I can't sense him at all! Not even a trace!"
"I can't lock onto his presence either, but I can tell his true body is right here. Yet it's as if a thick barrier separates us, dividing us into two distinct realms!"
"This is a power we can't even begin to comprehend. I can't even tell if it's Grand Dao Power or something else entirely."
"How... how did he do it?!"
At that moment, the four great dao venerables and the five others present, including Spirit Wisdom Supreme Sovereign's dao heart divine, were all struck by a profound blow.
This blow wasn't physical; it struck at their very understanding, at their minds and souls!
Even when facing the Ultimate Powerhouse, these Dao Venerables might lack the variety of his techniques, but they could at least discern the nature of his methods.
Yet now, confronting Li Chunjun directly...
They couldn't even grasp how he had evaded their mental perception and the Grand Dao's lock.
This was utterly unacceptable to these rulers who considered themselves to stand at the pinnacle of the Cosmos.
"Progenitor Divine Being!"
Dean Ling Hui suddenly exclaimed, as if realizing something.
Her gaze fixed on Li Chunjun, she declared solemnly, "The progenitor divine being who pioneered a Dao!"
As she spoke, a look of astonishment flashed across her face. "You've pioneered a new great Dao!?"
Li Chunjun glanced at the Vice Dean of the Supreme Research Institute.
Unlike the Great Void Ancestral Dragon, who primarily served as a research subject, this Vice Dean likely possessed far more comprehensive knowledge than even the Supreme Sovereigns.
The institute itself was established to unravel the mysteries of the cosmos and pave the way for future Ultimate Powerhouses.
Their supreme powerhouse, who called himself Tian Wen, was revered as the "omniscient supreme powerhouse," implying that there was no knowledge in the Cosmic Void beyond his grasp.
He was also the most erudite scholar in the entire Human Race.
Since that supreme powerhouse had only recently entered the great dao river, Li Chunjun knew it would be difficult to seek information from him directly. However, Ling Hui, as the Vice Dean of the Supreme Research Institute, seemed like an excellent alternative.
"A progenitor divine being!? How could it be a progenitor divine being!? In all my long life, I've never encountered a single progenitor divine being... Li Chunjun, he..."
The others present were visibly shaken by Dean Ling Hui's words, their eyes wide with astonishment.
Li Chunjun, however, ignored the dao unification experts and turned his gaze to Dean Ling Hui. "I've already answered one of your questions. Now, as I answer yours, you must answer one of mine."
"Just now?" Dean Ling Hui glanced at Xu Yun.
Then she turned back to Li Chunjun, suppressing the mental ripples caused by her suspicion that he was a dao founder. Her voice deepened as she said, "That's fair! What do you want to know?"
"Does the Supreme Research Institute have a way to resurrect a dead mortal?" Li Chunjun asked calmly.
"Resurrect a mortal?" Dean Ling Hui pondered. "There are many methods, as long as..."
"With no corpse remaining, not even a remnant soul," Li Chunjun clarified.
"That's not difficult either," Dean Ling Hui replied. "When a corpse decomposes, its nutrients are absorbed by the soil and plants. Similarly, when a living being's soul dissipates, it merges with the world's consciousness, becoming part of the Dao of Heaven and Earth..."
As she spoke, something occurred to her. "You've fought the Great Void Ancestral Dragon, so you should understand his ability to harness the power of the World Will. The World Will is the collective consciousness formed by all living beings over countless ages. A master of the Dao of Soul can extract the consciousness of a deceased individual from the World Will of a Great World, reshape their soul and physical body, and thus effectively resurrect them."
"World Will? Heaven and Earth Consciousness?!" Li Chunjun was stunned. "Are you saying... that a Dao Venerable who has cultivated the great dao of soul can extract a deceased person's consciousness from the Heaven and Earth Consciousness, reshape their soul, and bring them back to life?"
"Exactly," Dean Ling Hui replied with a slight nod. "For Dao Venerables who haven't cultivated the soul lineage, this would be an impossible dream. But for those who have mastered the great dao of soul, it's not particularly difficult."
"Not particularly difficult..."
Li Chunjun was dazed by this statement.
Effortless!
Dean Ling Hui's words were so casual, so dismissive.
It seemed...
Even if the physical body and soul had completely dissipated, resurrecting the dead was not difficult.
The problem that had stumped him throughout his mortal, Qi Refining, Spirit Refining, and Void Refining stages had been solved so easily?
It felt like a dream...
"Of course, a mortal's soul is weak, so extracting it from the World Will takes considerable time," Dean Ling Hui added. "Moreover, if the world has been destroyed, finding the soul becomes exponentially more difficult. After all, the Cosmos is in constant motion. Once a world shatters, the search area expands countless times..."
"No! The world hasn't shattered!" Li Chunjun took a deep breath.
At that moment, he was immensely grateful that his intuition had been correct.
Years ago, when Blue Star had fallen into the Land of Buried Demons, he hadn't abandoned the Azure Star Minor Realm. Instead, he had used a cave heaven to retrieve it.
The Azure Star Minor Realm had never truly been destroyed.
"I need all the information you have on the Dao of Soul's methods for resurrecting the dead," Li Chunjun said gravely.
"Very well."
Dean Ling Hui nodded slightly, magnanimously condensing all relevant information from her Heart-Mind and handing it to Li Chunjun. "This is how the Dao Venerable of the Dao of Soul resurrects the dead. Even resurrecting mortals is merely a matter of extra effort."
She added with genuine goodwill, "If you need assistance, I can help. I am a Supreme Sovereign who has achieved body-soul unification with the Dao of Soul, and I also cultivate the four great daos of chaos, creation, flowing light, and karma."
"No need," Li Chunjun replied.
He would find a way to achieve dao unification himself and accomplish this.
"Then, my question..."
"Agreed!" Li Chunjun answered without hesitation.
At this moment, he possessed the confidence to face any risk.
He declared plainly, "I am the dao founder!"
(End of the Chapter)
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