307: Unable to merge

As the panel prompt popped up, Xiao Zhuo immediately noticed it.

With a light touch of his will on the 'deduce' button, a vast and magnificent torrent of memories instantly surged into his mind.

Having experienced the Great Dao of Space, Xiao Zhuo was much calmer this time. He focused his mind, actively guided and segmented the massive amount of information regarding the Great Dao of Time, and systematically received this one-tenth of comprehension.

As the memories flowed, his understanding of time skyrocketed like a rocket.

After a while, he withdrew from the vast memories of the Great Dao of Time, his eyes filled with shock.

The Great Dao of Time, it actually spanned all of eternity!

If other Great Dao were anchored to "the present moment," the Great Dao of Time connected the past, present, and future.

Fragments glimpsed from it revealed the Law of this world: Demonic Lord-Grade comprehended the Great Dao, Demonic Lord-Grade controlled the Great Dao, and Devil King-Grade needed to control at least two Great Dao.

The Quasi-Saint Realm required integrating the Great Dao into one's Physical Body and condensing the Fruit of the Great Dao.

Gathering three Dao Fruits would allow one to challenge the supreme saint position.

However, even in an ordinary Great Thousand World, the saint position was limited to nine. The Immortal-Demon Realm, with its strong Origin, could have eighteen saint positions.

What shocked Xiao Zhuo even more was that, to his knowledge, there was not a single Saint alive in the entire Immortal-Demon Realm at present. Traces of Saints only existed in ethereal legends, as if an unimaginable upheaval had occurred.

Other paths to sainthood also subtly appeared in the fragments: attaining Dao by force, or fusing the past, present, and future to achieve the One True Self.

Xiao Zhuo's mind was churning, unable to calm down for a while.

He suddenly realized the core of Cultivation after the Golden Immortal Realm — the Great Dao! Cultivation Technique Divine Ability could enhance combat power, but they were no longer fundamental.

In the Major Thousand Worlds, the gap between Realms was like a chasm, with even a small Realm difference meaning a power gap of more than ten times.

And Great Dao comprehension was the accelerator for advancing Realms above the Demonic Lord-Grade. The deeper the comprehension, the faster the breakthrough.

An Epiphany could indeed lead one from the Early Stage Demonic Lord to the Mid to Late Stage.

The depth of Great Dao comprehension was also the watershed for differences in combat power among those of the same rank.

In the Immortal-Demon Realm, a unified standard for combat power at the same Realm was already difficult to establish; only the difference in major Realms was most distinct.

"No wonder the Cultivation Technique scriptures Hao Duo gave me all focused on Great Dao comprehension..." Xiao Zhuo composed himself, picked up a leather-bound ancient book beside him, and suddenly understood.

"Compared to those old demons who have Cultivated for many years, my Cultivation time is ultimately too short. Fortunately, I have the panel!" His eyes suddenly sharpened, he put down the ancient book, and his belief became incredibly firm, "As long as I have enough Attribute Points, I will never fall behind in Great Dao comprehension!"

"The most urgent task is to try to fuse the Great Dao of Time and Space! If successful, deduction will save a huge amount of time!"

Thinking of this, Xiao Zhuo's will moved, and he simultaneously dragged the Great Dao of Space and Great Dao of Time entries to the 'deduce' button.

"host's comprehension of the Great Dao is currently shallow, unable to initiate deduction and Fusion! Please improve your comprehension and try again!"

The panel prompt popped up.

Xiao Zhuo frowned slightly, then relaxed.

Although he had expected it, he couldn't help but feel a hint of disappointment.

"Number One!"

"Present! host!"

"To what extent does Great Dao Fusion require comprehension at a minimum?"

"host! Great Dao Fusion requires reaching at least the control level!"

"Demonic Lord level, huh..." Xiao Zhuo muttered to himself.

"Yes! host!"

He shook his head and chuckled, secretly thinking he should have asked Number One earlier.

The most urgent task was to prioritize deducing the three main Cultivation Great Dao and strive to reach the Demonic Lord Realm!

He placed the Great Dao of Space into the deduction slot, setting the goal — Perfection! Two million seven hundred thousand Attribute Points instantly evaporated.

Xiao Zhuo no longer paid attention to the panel, immersing himself in comprehending the Cultivation Technique.

With his current knowledge and talent, even though comprehending Cultivation Technique Divine Ability on his own was far from as fast as the panel, his progress was still far beyond ordinary people.

In just over a month, he had thoroughly understood the essence of three ancient Divine Ability, each with its own unique uses.

Integrating their essence into his own Divine Ability, such as Universe God Step, could further enhance their power.

Cultivation knows no years.

While Xiao Zhuo was in secluded Cultivation, the Place of Cessation of Grief was also experiencing a brewing storm.

Corpse Clan legions were established like mushrooms after rain. The entire Place of Cessation of Grief, under the will of Great Annihilation Demon Venerable Hao Duo, had fully transitioned into a state of war, preparing for battle.

Under Hao Duo, fourteen Corpse Kings, transformed from the Physical Body and Divine Soul of ancient powerhouses, were unswervingly loyal to him.

However, besides him, there was another Quasi-Saint-Grade existence in the Place of Cessation of Grief — Shortened name Immortal Venerable.

It was just that this Quasi-Saint was at odds with him.

If Hao Duo had not cunningly taken control of her Divine Soul Origin back then, this Place of Cessation of Grief would probably have been shattered by her long ago.

In the deep underground palace.

Shortened name, dressed in white, coldly stared at Hao Duo in blue robes, expressionless, her tone icy: "Hao Duo, don't think that controlling this Venerable's Divine Soul allows you to do as you please. If you have the guts, release the Restriction and fight a fair battle!"

"Alas, alas, Shortened name, that's wrong!" Hao Duo looked innocent, "If this Venerable hadn't desperately protected your Physical Body and Divine Soul back then, you would have long turned to ash. This is a life-saving grace; how can you repay kindness with enmity?"

"Hmph!" The anger in Shortened name Immortal Venerable's eyes burned even brighter, "If you hadn't interfered back then, how would my Bright Immortal Domain have collapsed? And how would this Venerable have nearly perished? What kind of kindness is that!"

"Uh... setting aside the facts..." Hao Duo was speechless, then argued forcefully, without any shame, "If you hadn't monopolized that item back then, how would that earth-shattering war have been provoked?"

"You!" Shortened name Immortal Venerable's eyebrows shot up, her rage soaring. Not mentioning this matter was fine, but bringing it up only added fuel to the fire, "If you hadn't spread the news of this Venerable acquiring the treasure throughout the Immortal-Demon Realm, how would it have come to this?!"

Before she finished speaking, her jade hand suddenly lifted!

Light gathered in her palm, dazzling and resplendent, like the first wisp of Chaos light when heaven and earth were first created, containing destructive power, threatening to blast towards Hao Duo.

Hao Duo's eyes narrowed, his mind raced, and he instantly activated the Restriction!

Shortened name Immortal Venerable's movements suddenly froze, the terrifying light flickering in her palm, but unable to be unleashed.

"Despicable villain!" The fury in her eyes almost gushed out, but she was controlled by him, helpless.

Seeing this, Hao Duo sighed and removed the Restriction: "Shortened name, we have known each other for more than a million years. Now, both of us have transformed into these eternally indestructible Corpse Clan bodies that do not enter Reincarnation. We are the true kin."

Shortened name Immortal Venerable snorted coldly, no longer attempting to attack, and dispersed the light in her palm.

With a flick of her sleeve, a jade long chair, emanating a chilling cold Qi, appeared out of thin air.

She turned her back to Hao Duo, leaning back languidly, closing her eyes to rest, as if the other party no longer existed.

A bitter smile appeared on Hao Duo's face.

His entanglement with Shortened name was too complex; if they were truly sworn enemies, why would he have risked his life to protect her back then?

But over a million years, evidence had been obliterated, and misunderstandings were hard to dispel.

He had a thousand words to say, but found it difficult to prove himself.

Shortened name's attitude made his subsequent plans impossible to advance — he couldn't truly kill her, and she clearly refused to cooperate.

Just as he was troubled, the "tap-tap" of footsteps approached from afar.

Yue Li, dressed in blue robes, entered the underground palace.

She first respectfully bowed to Hao Duo, then bowed remotely towards the closed-eyed Shortened name Immortal Venerable, before turning to Hao Duo, her voice clear and efficient:

"Revered Master, the ten great legions are ready. Corpse One requests Disciple to ask, when shall we depart?"