409: Immortality!

Over these hundred years, Xiao Shi had already begun to construct his Behind-the-Scenes Dao.

He had basically succeeded in constructing the prototype of his Behind-the-Scenes Dao.

However, it was extremely difficult to make this Behind-the-Scenes Dao transform into a Heavenly Dao.

If Xiao Shi were to do it himself, he estimated that it would take at least another hundred years before there was any hope of transforming the Behind-the-Scenes Dao into a Heavenly Dao.

Fortunately, now that Martial Ancestor had revived, he would directly help him form the Heavenly Dao.

"Dao River, open!"

As Martial Ancestor spoke, the sky of the entire The Primordial Martial Era immediately changed.

However, this change could only be perceived by those in the Upper Three Realms of Martial Dao.

Those whose cultivation had not reached the Upper Three Realms of Martial Dao could not see any abnormality in the sky at this moment.

Xiao Shi, however, clearly saw that the entire sky, at this moment, turned as black as ink.

But he could not discern any abnormality from this pitch-black sky.

It wasn't until Martial Ancestor reached out and lightly tapped his glabella.

Hiss!

It was as if an all-seeing eye had been opened for him.

Xiao Shi immediately saw that on the sky, which was like unfurled black velvet, countless pea-sized dao stars were densely scattered, some bright and shimmering, others dim and lusterless.

"This is..."

Xiao Shi's mind trembled.

He could feel that these dao stars existing above the sky were not ordinary dao stars.

"These are the dao stars in the Dao River of my The Primordial Martial Era!" Martial Ancestor said to Xiao Shi, gazing at the myriad dao stars in the sky.

"Each dao star represents a Dao existing in The Primordial Martial Era!"

"These smallest dao stars represent the Lower The Mortal Dao."

"The larger dao stars above are the Upper The Mortal Dao."

"And the topmost dao stars are the Heavenly Dao!"

As Martial Ancestor explained, Xiao Shi's gaze also focused on these dao stars.

He clearly saw that these dao stars were divided into three layers: upper, middle, and lower.

The dao stars in the lowest layer were all pea-sized.

The dao stars in the middle layer were about the size of a basketball.

And the dao stars in the topmost layer... to Xiao Shi, they felt as massive as the sun!

In terms of quantity, the lowest layer had the most dao stars, and the higher up, the fewer there were.

Not only that, but most of the dao stars emitted brilliant, dazzling light, shining brightly.

However, a small number of dao stars appeared dim and lusterless.

"Those dim dao stars represent that the person who previously held this Dao has fallen and died, making these Daos ownerless," Martial Ancestor said from the side.

Xiao Shi suddenly understood.

He recalled that in the Great Martial Era, Saints who wished to grasp a Dao and become a Dao Lord typically competed for these ownerless Daos.

In the Great Martial Era, no one could create a Dao; they all competed for existing Daos.

If the number of existing Daos was insufficient, with no extra Daos, then one could not grasp a Dao and advance to the Dao Lord Realm.

Therefore, in the Great Martial Era, the number of Dao Lords was limited and fixed.

If there were only a dozen or so Daos in total in the Great Martial Era, then at most, only a dozen or so Dao Lords could be born.

However, in The Primordial Martial Era, it was different.

Perhaps it was due to the existence of Dao Ancestors in The Primordial Martial Era that the number of Daos existing throughout The Primordial Martial Era was vast.

At this moment, under Xiao Shi's focused observation, he found his Dao of Slaughter among the many Lower The Mortal Dao in the Dao River above.

At the same time, he also found his Exclusive Dao among the Upper The Mortal Dao.

"When I return to my era, will my Dao also appear in the Dao River of my era?" Xiao Shi suddenly thought of this question.

After all, the Daos existing in the Dao Rivers of different eras are not the same.

Especially between The Primordial Martial Era and the Great Martial Era, there were vast stretches of time.

Most of the Daos that existed in The Primordial Martial Era had already disappeared under the long river of history.

Now that his Dao was in the Dao River of The Primordial Martial Era, Xiao Shi couldn't help but worry whether his Dao would still appear in the Dao River of the Great Martial Era when he returned.

However, Martial Ancestor nodded in response to this.

"You don't need to worry about that. As long as you can return smoothly, the Dao you control will also enter the era you belong to."

"Moreover, your Dao will then become an Ancient Dao!"

"Any Dao in the world, the longer it exists, the stronger its power becomes."

"Even a Lower The Mortal Dao, after experiencing a long period of time, will thus advance to an Upper The Mortal Dao, and even to a Heavenly Dao."

"Time is also a way for a Dao to advance."

"It's just that for martial artists, there isn't enough lifespan to wait for their Dao to advance through time."

Xiao Shi suddenly understood.

Looking at it this way, if people from other eras could successfully grasp a Dao in The Primordial Martial Era and leave here to return to their own era, their Daos would all receive the amplification and blessing brought by time, thereby transforming into Ancient Daos.

This made Xiao Shi's heart full of anticipation.

"Then..."

"Now, let me find your Dao first."

Martial Ancestor's eyes glowed as he intently gazed at the Dao River above.

Because Xiao Shi's Behind-the-Scenes Dao had not yet fully formed, it had not transformed into a dao star and appeared in the Dao River.

However, Martial Ancestor made a discovery among the luminous specks near the Dao River.

"Found it!"

He reached into the Dao River above and extracted a fragmented dao star.

It was precisely Xiao Shi's Behind-the-Scenes Dao, which had not yet fully formed.

"Have you decided to use this Dao as your Heavenly Dao?" Martial Ancestor asked, looking at Xiao Shi.

"Yes!" Xiao Shi nodded solemnly.

Martial Ancestor immediately said no more and began to infuse his aura into this fragmented dao star.

In The Primordial Martial Era, not only could Dao Ancestors create Daos, but Martial Ancestor, as the controller of The Primordial Martial Era, could also create Daos!

Not only that, but Martial Ancestor also possessed absolute control over all Daos in The Primordial Martial Era.

With a single thought, he could elevate a Lower The Mortal Dao in The Primordial Martial Era to an Upper The Mortal Dao, and at the same time, he could cause an Upper The Mortal Dao to fall to a Lower The Mortal Dao.

And at this moment, he was using his authority to make Xiao Shi's Behind-the-Scenes Dao the Heavenly Dao of The Primordial Martial Era!

Normally, in other eras, there would only be one Heavenly Dao.

However, the special nature of The Primordial Martial Era meant that there was far more than one Heavenly Dao here.

At the same time, there were often significant differences between different Heavenly Daos.

For example, a Heavenly Dao formed by an ordinary person and a Heavenly Dao formed by Martial Ancestor would be as different as heaven and earth.

After all, for the strongest of an era like Martial Ancestor, the Heavenly Dao he created would directly be the strongest Heavenly Dao of that era.

And in order to repay Xiao Shi for his act of revival, Martial Ancestor and Dao Ancestor were already prepared to help Xiao Shi create an unprecedentedly powerful Heavenly Dao.

Buzz!

Under Martial Ancestor's manipulation, this fragmented dao star began to detach from Martial Ancestor's palm, rapidly ascended, and merged into the star river above.

And as it continuously ascended, the fragmented parts of this dao star quickly received replenishment, thus becoming complete and no longer fragmented.

It directly appeared in the topmost layer, the level belonging to the Heavenly Dao.

However, after this dao star appeared at the Heavenly Dao level, it appeared slightly smaller compared to the two adjacent stars of heavenly dao.

Yet, the two stars of heavenly dao on either side of this dao star simultaneously gathered rays of starlight, continuously integrating into Xiao Shi's dao star.

This caused Xiao Shi's dao star to immediately begin expanding at a visible speed.

Xiao Shi watched this scene, his mind greatly shaken.

He knew that the two stars of heavenly dao, one on the left and one on the right, belonged to Martial Ancestor and Dao Ancestor, respectively.

They were clearly using their own Heavenly Daos to enhance his Heavenly Dao.

Such a situation had never occurred in any era throughout the entire Tianwu Continent.

In an instant, Xiao Shi's dao star, with the help of Dao Ancestor and Martial Ancestor's two stars of heavenly dao, had already become incomparably vast.

It even directly surpassed the stars of heavenly dao of Dao Ancestor and Martial Ancestor, becoming the most prominent and dazzling dao star in the star river!

Like the master of all dao stars!

Furthermore, dazzling starlight flowed freely around Xiao Shi's dao star.

These starlights, like a mist, brought a mysterious blessing to Xiao Shi's dao star, making it appear extremely enigmatic.

The naked eye could only see the numerous starlights circulating around the outside, unable to penetrate them to see the dao star itself within the starlight.

Mysterious, powerful, magnificent, and unique!

This was the most intuitive feeling Xiao Shi's dao star gave people.

At the same time, the moment Xiao Shi's dao star transformed into a star of heavenly dao, a subtle aura also emanated from Xiao Shi's body.

"This is... my Heavenly Dao!"

Xiao Shi carefully sensed the newly formed Heavenly Dao.

Typically, different Daos possess different functions.

For example, Xiao Shi's Dao of Slaughter belongs to the combat and slaughter aspect of Daos, primarily providing an increase in combat power.

The Exclusive Dao, on the other hand, focuses on modifying the state of items and does not directly affect one's strength.

Different Daos have different functions, and not all Daos bring an increase in strength.

And the Behind-the-Scenes Heavenly Dao that Xiao Shi had formed at present primarily had two functions.

At this moment, Xiao Shi was deeply shaken by these two functions!

The first function of the Behind-the-Scenes Heavenly Dao was immortality!

Even if Xiao Shi's current body were blasted into smithereens, or even his soul annihilated, he would not die!!

Even powerful beings like Martial Ancestor and Dao Ancestor... could not kill him now!!

Now, there were only two ways he could die.

First, if his lifespan ran out.

Second, if he revealed himself from behind the scenes to the forefront.

Besides these two methods, there was no other way to kill him!

Even if his current main body were shattered and his soul annihilated, his Behind-the-Scenes Heavenly Dao would regenerate a new body, thus achieving immortality!

And the so-called revealing oneself from behind the scenes to the forefront did not mean he couldn't show his true appearance.

Rather, it meant he couldn't let people know his true identity.

Xiao Shi had many identities.

For example, the Hall Master of Tianji Hall.

For example, the current Sect Master of the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect.

For example, the controller of the Fifth Domain.

For example, the Old Ancestor of the Red Tiger Sect.

If only a single identity among these four were exposed, it wouldn't have too much impact.

But if all four identities were exposed, letting people know that these four identities were actually the same person, and that this person was named Xiao Shi, then his Behind-the-Scenes Dao would be shattered!

At that time... he would no longer be immortal.

"Actually, the biggest key is not to let people know that I am Xiao Shi," Xiao Shi suddenly realized.

He wasn't worried about this, after all, a long time ago, he had already hidden the identity of Xiao Shi.

Even the members of the Red Tiger Sect did not know that their Old Ancestor was Xiao Shi.

Even high-ranking officials like Guo Chengdao, the Sect Master of the Red Tiger Sect, did not know that a person named Xiao Shi existed.

The only ones who knew Xiao Shi were Cen Qingci and a few others.

However, in the perception of Cen Qingci and the others, Xiao Shi was just an ordinary Red Tiger Sect disciple.

It was impossible for them to associate Xiao Shi with identities such as the Hall Master of Tianji Hall, the Sect Master of the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect, the controller of the Fifth Domain, or the Old Ancestor of the Red Tiger Sect.

"As long as I don't reveal it, the identity of Xiao Shi can forever remain behind the scenes."

"I can continuously maintain my Behind-the-Scenes Heavenly Dao!"

A sharp glint flashed in Xiao Shi's eyes.

Besides immortality, the Behind-the-Scenes Heavenly Dao also had another function.

That was, Xiao Shi would no longer be subject to any observation or prophecy.

For example, predictions similar to the tianji plate would no longer be able to foresee any information related to Xiao Shi.

He would be protected by the Heavenly Dao, thereby evading all predictions related to himself.

Unless his identity was revealed and he no longer hid behind the scenes, as long as his Behind-the-Scenes Heavenly Dao remained, no one would be able to uncover his true identity.

At this moment, Martial Ancestor also gazed at Xiao Shi's Heavenly Dao, which existed at the very top of the Dao River.

Even with Martial Ancestor's strength and cultivation, he could not see through Xiao Shi's Behind-the-Scenes Heavenly Dao.

"Your Heavenly Dao... is somewhat unique," Martial Ancestor said, his eyes gleaming.

With his vision and experience, he had never seen such a Heavenly Dao before.

Dao Ancestor's figure also emerged from nothingness.

"Indeed, it's a very good Heavenly Dao; even I can't discern its intricacies," Dao Ancestor's gaze was also filled with novelty.

Before this, they had worried that Xiao Shi's Heavenly Dao wouldn't be strong enough, and even if they helped Xiao Shi achieve a Heavenly Dao, its strength would be very limited.

After all, they were mostly just providing assistance.

The true key still lay in Xiao Shi's own construction.

Now it seemed their worries were completely unnecessary.

Even if Xiao Shi achieved such a Heavenly Dao with his own abilities, this Heavenly Dao would be extremely powerful.

At this moment, Xiao Shi already possessed three Daos simultaneously: the Lower The Mortal Dao of Slaughter, the Upper The Mortal Dao of Exclusive Dao, and the Behind-the-Scenes Heavenly Dao!

He had successfully mastered three different Daos in just a hundred years in The Primordial Martial Era.

Xiao Shi believed that with his current strength, he was already an invincible existence within the Dao Lord Realm.

Ordinary Dao Lords would certainly not be his match.

He could even fight a Demigod!

Anyway, he was now immortal; even if he was defeated, a Demigod couldn't kill him!