What exactly is a "Heavenly Venerate?"
Across the vast universe, none of the cultivators who had ascended to the Immortal Realm truly knew.
Could it be that beyond the Immortal Realm lies the level of Heavenly Venerate?
Thus, throughout countless star systems, those cultivators who had achieved immortality began flying toward the teleportation arrays, guided by the vague sense of direction they felt.
Some True Immortals had teleportation arrays right on their own planets and directly transmitted to the so-called Immortal Realms.
Others lived in star systems where the teleportation arrays were not on their home planets, but having already become True Immortals capable of spaceflight, traveling through the void to a planet with a teleportation array was not difficult.
Sadius and Ignis gave these True Immortals ten years' time—enough for them to reach the Immortal Realms.
Ten years passed quickly.
Among the thirteen Immortal Realms, each was now home to a number of True Immortal cultivators.
Though the decade was short, these cultivators had already begun to settle in each of the realms, forming many small groups for mutual support.
Sadius and Ignis silently observed all that was unfolding within the thirteen Immortal Realms.
One day, as the True Immortals cultivated diligently, awaiting the lecture from the Heavenly Venerates, golden light suddenly descended from the skies.
A vast palace appeared in the Heavens, visible to all thirteen Immortal Realms simultaneously.
A deep bell sounded from within the palace, shaking all who heard it.
"The grand Dao lecture of the Thirteen Immortal Realms is about to begin. All True Immortals, proceed to the Palace of the Heavenly Venerates to listen."
Very soon, one by one, the True Immortals of each realm began flying toward the palace in the sky.
But although the palace appeared close, no matter how far they flew, it remained in the distance—never seeming to grow nearer.
It was, of course, an illusion cast by Sadius—a trial for these True Immortals who had been born after the cosmos was formed.
Still, none of them faltered. They had different levels of talent and thus different flight speeds. Some pulled ahead, others lagged behind.
After who knew how long, someone finally arrived before the palace.
Bathed in celestial light, the palace exuded unmatched majesty.
A giant roc transformed into human form and entered the palace. The sacred aura made him feel as though he had stepped into a divine abode.
But once inside, he was even more astonished—for the interior was dozens of times larger than it appeared from outside.
From afar, he saw three towering figures seated on meditation mats.
They were Sadius, Ignis, and the Heavenly Dao Incarnation of this universe.
The Dao Incarnation sat in the center, expressionless, its illusory form emanating an unfathomable aura.
Sadius sat to the left, Ignis to the right. The three of them looked like deities overlooking the roc-turned-human.
The roc scanned them with his divine sense but failed to detect that these three giants were mere projections—without physical form.
"True Immortal Pengyu," the Dao Incarnation spoke, "you have entered this place—why do you not offer your respects?"
The voice pierced space and directly struck Pengyu's soul.
He trembled as an uncontrollable urge to kneel surged from within.
He frantically summoned all his cultivation to resist this mysterious pressure—but the more he resisted, the greater the pressure became.
Unable to withstand it, Pengyu fell to his knees and performed a deep bow.
At that moment, two more True Immortals arrived and, seeing Pengyu kneeling in submission, were briefly puzzled.
But upon witnessing his struggle to rise, they immediately understood.
"Junior True Immortal Yiqi greets the Heavenly Venerates."
"Junior True Immortal Jiuxiao greets the Heavenly Venerates."
Both bowed respectfully to the three figures.
Pengyu also ceased resisting.
"Junior True Immortal Pengyu greets the Heavenly Venerates."
The oppressive pressure vanished instantly.
Relieved as though receiving amnesty, he quickly stood up.
"You three have arrived first at the Palace of the Heavenly Venerates," said Sadius.
"You may each choose a mat to sit on and begin your cultivation. When all have arrived, the lecture shall begin."
These three were unfamiliar with each other, each hailing from different Immortal Realms, yet all were top-tier True Immortals in their respective worlds.
They looked around and saw that the palace contained hundreds of thousands of meditation mats.
Of course, they were not all laid out on the floor but stacked in vertical layers, with ten meters of space between each level.
The three of them flew to the topmost row and selected the foremost mats—being the strongest, they naturally would not settle for sitting below others.
One by one, more True Immortals flew into the palace.
Those who lacked awareness were immediately suppressed by the Dao Incarnation's divine pressure.
Those who understood the situation offered their bows to Sadius and the others of their own accord.
Gradually, the palace filled with more and more people.
The universe was vast beyond measure, home to nearly endless planets, with life thriving in nearly every star system.
Given that, it was no surprise that tens of thousands of cultivators had reached the True Immortal realm since the universe's creation.
With so many True Immortals, it was no wonder that Hongmeng wished for Sadius and Ignis to preach the Dao to them.
As time passed and the final True Immortal arrived, the palace doors closed.
"I am the Heavenly Venerate of Immortal Dao," said Sadius. "Today, I shall lecture on cultivation, expound upon the Three Thousand Daos. May you all gain insight and spread the Immortal Dao throughout the universe."
The True Immortals focused their attention.
Sadius began by explaining the Immortal cultivation system—from Qi Refinement to True Immortal—detailing the characteristics of each stage.
He described how to advance step by step, from having no cultivation at all to achieving True Immortality.
Most of these True Immortals were born from the natural laws of their star systems. Becoming Trur Immortals and transcending tribulations was simple for them, so they cared little for the stages below True Immortal.
However, many had descendants whose talent paled in comparison and had not reached immortality. Thus, they still listened attentively, as the knowledge could be passed on to their progeny.
After covering all realms below True Immortal, Sadius turned to the stages above it.
Everyone listened carefully.
"The laws of Heaven and Earth are divided into Three Thousand Daos," Sadius said, "which fall into thirteen major categories: the Seven Great Laws and the Six Great Dao Principles."
With a wave of his hand, the Three Thousand Daos manifested—threads of glowing law energy appearing one after another.
The thirteen categories each emitted distinct auras.
This was Sadius using his mastery of the Dao to render the Three Thousand Daos visible.
Everyone saw the threads and quickly identified the Daos they had cultivated.
"A True Immortal must fully comprehend a single Dao and be acknowledged by the Heavens through tribulation. To advance further, one must master more Daos.
But even mastering all Three Thousand Daos only makes you a stronger True Immortal."
The crowd was shocked.
Many of them had already begun cultivating second, third, or even more Daos—believing that the more Daos they grasped, the stronger they'd become.
But Sadius' words shattered that assumption.
This universe was different from the Coiling Dragon universe.
There, mastering all profound mysteries of a single element—without any fusion—could make one a Highgod.
Here, no matter how many Daos you comprehend, unless they are woven together, you cannot ascend to the next realm.
"To advance beyond True Immortal," Sadius continued, "one must choose a primary Dao as a core and weave the other Daos into it."
He selected one Dao as his core, then drew in other Daos, weaving them together.
As two Daos merged, they formed a unified whole, their combined aura far surpassing that of any single Dao.
"Weaving two Daos together elevates you to Second Level True Immortal. Weaving twelve Daos together breaks through to a new realm—I call it the Mystic Immortal realm."
Sadius demonstrated the weaving of twelve Daos, revealing their mysterious transformations and wondrous powers.
All present were stunned. The Mystic Immortal realm seemed vastly superior to True Immortal.
"Twenty-four woven Daos raises you to Second Level Mystic Immortal. One hundred and eight weaves break you into yet another new stage—I call it the Golden Immortal realm."
This stage corresponded to the Highgod level of the Coiling Dragon universe.
"Fully weaving all Daos of a single law yields Perfect Golden Immortal. When heavenly merit descends…"
He demonstrated the descent of heavenly merit once a law was fully woven.
This universe had Seven Laws and Six Dao Principles, totaling thirteen. The Three Thousand Daos were unevenly distributed.
Each of the Seven Laws and Five of the Dao Principles had 230 Daos.
The Dao of Life and Death had 240.
Sadius showed the complete woven web of each law, and many present immediately entered a state of enlightenment—clear evidence of their exceptional talent.
At that moment, someone spoke up.
It was Pengyu, the first True Immortal who had been suppressed by the Dao Incarnation.
"May I ask, Heavenly Venerate—if the Three Thousand Daos are divided among different laws and principles, is it possible to weave Daos from different laws together?"
Sadius shook his head.
"Ordinary cultivators cannot."
"Then it is possible?" Pengyu pressed. "May the Heavenly Venerate enlighten us."
This universe had no concept of 'soul mutation' as in the Coiling Dragon universe.
"If one possesses multiple Dao Bodies, one can weave together Daos from different laws and principles."
"Then may I ask, what is a Dao Body?" another True Immortal asked, voicing the curiosity of many.
"Let the Heavenly Venerate of the Divine Dao explain," Sadius said, glancing toward Ignis.
Ignis nodded.
"I am the Divine Dao Venerate. Today I will teach you the Dao of Body Refinement and expound upon the Three Thousand Dao Bodies. May you all gain insight and spread the Immortal Dao across the universe."
Ignis explained each cultivation stage from acquired body to True Martial Body in detail.
He then elaborated on the concept of Dao Bodies.
"There are three thousand Dao Bodies corresponding to the Three Thousand Daos. Innate beings born of Heaven and Earth can awaken their Dao Bodies at the Great Ascension Stage.
"Acquired beings not born of Heaven and Earth must cultivate their bodies to the True Martial stage and fully integrate a Dao into their physical form. After enduring a heavenly tribulation and using the blood essence of an innate being as a catalyst, they may awaken their Dao Body."
"Can multiple Daos be integrated into the True Martial Body?" someone asked.
"Extremely difficult. A hundred billion cultivators might not yield one success. Failure means utter annihilation—no matter how strong you are, outside help is useless."
"But success means forming a Fused Dao Body, capable of weaving Daos from different laws and principles."
Ignis demonstrated the weaving of Daos from multiple laws.
When 108 Daos from two different laws were woven into a single net, heavenly merit descended.
When 72 Daos from three laws were woven together, heavenly merit also descended.
He didn't demonstrate weaving four laws.
That was because, just like in the Coiling Dragon universe, fusing four laws into the True Martial Body would automatically trigger a higher heavenly merit—akin to a Four-Way Soul Mutation.
If one could weave 54 Daos from each of four laws, two waves of merit would descend.
A four-way soul mutation was almost certain death. A five-way was certain death.
This universe was the same.
Ignis's lecture helped everyone understand clearly.
Given that, they resolved to focus on their own Dao comprehension and not chase dreams of cross-law fusion.
"Possessing a Dao Body allows easier weaving based on your core Dao. As the Dao Web grows and one's cultivation advances, the Dao Body also strengthens. When an entire law is fully woven, the body surpasses its limits and enters a new realm."
Ignis only referred to it as a new realm—he did not know what it was.
Sadius and Ignis looked toward the Dao Incarnation, awaiting its judgment on the realm beyond Golden Immortal.
The Dao Incarnation slowly spoke:
"The Immortal Dao is fifty. Heaven operates as forty-nine, leaving one hidden. The cosmos shall bear forty-nine Immortal Kings."
"How may we become Immortal Kings, O Heavenly Venerate?"
"It cannot be said."
At present, there was not even a single Golden Immortal in the universe. Naturally, the Dao would not bestow an Immortal King's throne yet.
Indeed, becoming an Immortal King was like becoming a Sovereign in the Coiling Dragon universe: one had to first become a Golden Immortal, then obtain the Throne of the Immortal King.
Immortal Kings were even rarer than Sovereigns in Coiling Dragon.
There were no upper, middle, or lower tiers among them, and no set number per law or Dao Principle.
The Immortal King's throne was not directly tied to any specific law or Dao.
The Immortal King—this was the ultimate realm in the universe.
"Heavenly Venerate, may I ask—is there a stage beyond Immortal King? How might one reach it?"
"Immortal King is the terminus of the Immortal Dao."
"Then how did you three become Heavenly Venerates? Are you more powerful than Immortal Kings?"
"Heavenly Venerates cannot be cultivated into. We are the personifications of the Dao—manifestations of this universe's natural laws."