245: An era without saints?! (Forty-four)

A massive rift was slashed open in the sky of the Heavenly Dao Ruins.

The cold and heartless chains of Law shattered inch by inch.

The violent, devouring will retreated with a mournful cry.

The supreme pressure that had weighed on Gu Yun's heart, nearly causing his Dao Heart to crumble, vanished completely.

The shackles had disappeared.

Gu Yun's cracked and nearly shattered Venerable Dao Fruit finally stopped collapsing.

The newly born "Intention to Punish Heaven" merged into the Dao Fruit like streaks of divine light, repairing and smoothing over every crack.

Furthermore, it branded Gu Yun's own unique and Invincible Dao Marks onto the Dao Fruit.

Boom!

A terrifying aura far exceeding the God Realm erupted violently with Gu Yun at the center.

His life force, which had been weakened to the extreme, surged continuously at this moment.

His position in the Venerable Realm was completely stabilized.

However, before Gu Yun could even feel the joy brought by this new power, a sudden change occurred.

Within his body, the Azure Heaven Indestructible Art completely lost control and began to circulate frantically.

It operated with madness, erupting with a domineering devouring power.

The fragments of the Heavenly Dao that had been shattered by the "Heaven-Slaying" strike and were scattered across the sky were all forcibly sucked into Gu Yun's body.

Gu Yun let out a muffled groan, feeling as if his body was about to be burst by this massive energy.

But the Azure Heaven Indestructible Art did not seem satisfied.

Its devouring power penetrated Gu Yun's Physical Body and enveloped the entire Heavenly Dao Ruins.

In every corner of these ruins, Law fragments left behind from the collapse of the Heavenly Dao since the previous era remained.

At this moment, these fragments were forcibly awakened and stripped away, turning into streaks of light that surged toward Gu Yun.

"This Cultivation Technique..."

Gu Yun's heart shook violently.

He began to feel a deep sense of wariness toward this mysterious Cultivation Technique that originated from the unknown space within the small tower.

Just as he was about to reach his limit, the massive amount of Heavenly Dao Fragments flooding into his body began to undergo a strange transformation under the forced refinement of the Azure Heaven Indestructible Art.

They were compressed and condensed, eventually nurturing a... seed next to the Dao Fruit in his Dantian. It was Chaos-colored, but its surface was wreathed in wisps of purple-gold Primordial Qi.

The moment this seed appeared, a secret his Saint Ancestor had told him as a child suddenly flashed through Gu Yun's mind.

Since ancient times, there have been two paths for cultivation in the Venerable Realm, with no distinction in rank.

One path is to use the embryonic form of one's own Dao as a Foundation to directly nurture a Natal Dao Fruit. This path is stable and direct, chosen by the vast majority of Venerables in the world.

The other path is to first find a "seed" that is compatible with one's own Dao, fuse it with the embryonic Dao to turn it into one's "Natal Dao Seed," and then use that as a Foundation to nurture a Dao Fruit.

This path is difficult as "seeds" are hard to find. However, ancient legends mention that walking this path seems to provide assistance in attaining the Dao and becoming an Emperor in the future.

Originally, the Saint Ancestor had prepared a decent seed for Gu Yun to use once he stepped into the Venerable Realm.

But plans cannot keep up with changes. His breakthrough to the Venerable Realm was sudden, and with no seed to be found, Gu Yun had already prepared himself to directly condense a Dao Fruit.

Yet he never expected that the Azure Heaven Indestructible Art would give him such a massive surprise.

It had forcibly plundered the Heavenly Dao Fragments to condense a high-quality "Heavenly Dao Seed" for him.

This meant that he had not only stepped into the Venerable Realm but also had the opportunity to walk the legendary path that aided in becoming an Emperor.

A blessing in disguise—this was exactly it.

However, the joy lasted for only three breaths.

A sense of crisis rose from the bottom of his heart without warning.

Gu Yun's newly stabilized Venerable-level Divine Sense trembled violently.

He "saw" that in the deepest part of the Heavenly Dao Ruins, within that Chaos Forbidden Zone that even he could not peer into.

A pair of massive, cold eyes slowly opened.

There was no emotion in those eyes, only pure hostility toward everything in the world.

A taboo aura, far exceeding the Heavenly Wolf Demon Venerable he had faced before and even more terrifying than the Demon Saint who had acted earlier, had awakened.

Gu Yun's heart tightened.

He immediately realized that the awakening of this being was inextricably linked to his "Heaven-Slaying" strike just now, or perhaps the Indestructible Art's devouring of a large number of Heavenly Dao Fragments.

In short, he had broken some kind of balance and startled this terrifying existence.

Flee!

He had to flee immediately!

Gu Yun clearly judged that with his current strength as a newcomer to the Venerable Realm, he had no chance of resisting such an unknown and terrifying existence.

He suddenly turned his head and looked at the stunned members of the Chi and Bone clans under the light barrier of the huntian bell.

There was no time to explain.

Gu Yun took a step forward and returned within the light barrier, his powerful Venerable pressure instantly enveloping everyone.

"If you don't want to die, follow me immediately!"

His cold voice rang in everyone's ears.

In the next moment, Gu Yun poured his new Venerable power without reservation into the huntian bell above his head.

Clang—

The bell rang again.

But this time, it was no longer for defense.

A powerful force that suppressed space-time forcibly smoothed and suppressed the violent and chaotic Law storms nearby, opening up a brief "Absolute Safety Zone."

Having done all this, Gu Yun once again joined his fingers like a sword.

That newly born, pure "Intention to Punish Heaven" condensed at his fingertips once more.

He slashed down fiercely toward a patch of seemingly empty Void Realm in front of him.

"Open for me!"

Screech!

An ear-piercing tearing sound rang out.

The incredibly sturdy spatial barrier was actually torn open by this strike, creating a pitch-black rift several meters long.

On the other side of the rift was the chaotic and dangerous Spatial Turbulence.

But it was also the only way to survive.

"Go!"

Gu Yun gave the order and, sweeping up the still-dazed members of the two clans, he was the first to charge into the spatial rift.

The Clan Chiefs of the Chi and Bone clans finally snapped out of their extreme shock.

They looked at that resolute back and the world barrier torn open by a single strike, their hearts filled with awe.

They no longer dared to hesitate and immediately led their respective clansmen to follow closely behind, charging into the rift.

Just as the last clansman entered the rift.

A terrifying will completely descended upon this area.

Under the gaze of this will, the spatial rift Gu Yun had torn open made a sound as if it couldn't bear the weight and began to heal rapidly.

Gu Yun looked back, using his Minds Eye for one last glance into the depths of the Chaos.

He seemed to see Heterochromatic Pupils swirling within those cold eyes... Gu Yun withdrew his gaze, his eyes cold.

He activated his final strength, carrying everyone with him as they completely vanished into this doomed land that was about to be sealed.