Venerable One... He Was Definitely Holding Back Back Then

If the orthodox path of cultivation were likened to a vast ocean, then the various Great Dao laws would be the waters within it, with countless cultivators striving to cross its expanse.

Different cultivators begin their journeys from different starting points—those with high innate talent set sail in sturdy boats, those with strong backing have elders escorting them, while those without talent or connections are left with nothing but a rickety wooden raft!

The storms at sea are fierce. To sail toward the distant shore and reach the other side, cultivators must extract laws from the waters to reinforce their vessels—this is what is commonly referred to as cultivation!

Each breakthrough allows them to refine laws more efficiently, strengthening their ships to withstand greater storms and venture deeper into the boundless ocean.

Qi Refinement, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Spirit Transformation, Soul Unity, Tribulation Crossing, Jade Immortal (Pseudo-Immortal), True Immortal, Celestial Immortal, Profound Immortal, Golden Immortal, Taiyi, Great Luo, Dao Ancestor!

Fifteen realms of cultivation, each a world of its own!

If a Qi Refinement cultivator starts as a small raft, then a Dao Ancestor is nothing less than a drifting continent!

And what about Chen Yi?

To be honest, he too began by rowing his little raft, braving the winds and waves, following the orthodox path of cultivation. He refined laws from the ocean to reinforce his vessel, transforming his raft into a grand sailing ship—reaching the Tribulation Crossing stage!

But even a sailing ship has its limits against the tempests. To explore the deeper reaches of the ocean, one must endure the Immortal Ascension Tribulation, transcending mortality to become an immortal, turning the wooden ship into an ironclad vessel capable of sailing through the thunderous maelstrom!

Yet, as is widely known, the Immortal Ascension Tribulation is absurdly brutal—ordinary wooden ships would be shattered with a single strike, their crews lost to the depths!

Chen Yi’s grand ship couldn’t withstand it either. After one strike, it felt on the verge of sinking!

Fortunately, his piloting skills were decent. Pushed to the brink of life and death by the tribulation, he executed a spectacular drift—spinning out of the tribulation’s range with a flick of his tail!

Then, as soon as he escaped, he performed a masterful maneuver: retracting the sails, diving into a hidden cove, vanishing into the depths, completely shaking off the tribulation’s pursuit!

The sheer brilliance of this move left even the Immortal Ascension Tribulation in tears!

Of course, hiding forever wasn’t an option. To break through the tribulation’s blockade and reach the wider ocean, Chen Yi immediately began modifying his ship.

Trial and error, loss after loss—each attempt against the tribulation brought new insights.

Yet no matter how much he reinforced his wooden vessel, victory remained elusive. Frustrated, Chen Yi couldn’t help but consider unorthodox methods.

If conventional sailing couldn’t pierce the dense lightning net of the Immortal Ascension Tribulation, then why not abandon the ship altogether? Why not sprout wings, soar into the sky, and break through the oppressive clouds to behold the boundless blue heavens?

And so, after numerous attempts, he succeeded. No longer bound by the constraints of the Law Ocean, Chen Yi’s signature super fighter jet—powered by the Immortal Ascension Tribulation itself—took to the skies!

What did the storms at sea matter now? Above the clouds, all was serene and free!

While orthodox cultivators still struggled against the waves, Chen Yi had already flown off to who-knows-where!

And this wasn’t an exaggeration—Chen Yi genuinely had no idea where he was!

The clouds above the Law Ocean were too thick to see the orthodox cultivators’ fleets below. He couldn’t discern their course, nor the trials they faced, nor how they transformed their ships into drifting continents amidst the endless, stormy seas!

But those who flew couldn’t descend—just as birds and fish could never love.

So he could only dispatch wingmen (his clones) to skim the surface, carefully observing the orthodox cultivators’ every move, attempting to learn their method of condensing continents (fundamental Dao marks).

The process was deciphered, but achieving the result proved nearly impossible!

Why?

Because he’d already taken off mid-journey!

How could he dive back into the ocean to refine laws?

He simply didn’t know how!

No experience meant no experience—without braving the storms, how could he gain sailing expertise?

Even if he could send clones skimming the waves, or even launch a full-scale bombing run on a Dao Ancestor’s continent, the fact remained: he couldn’t return to the sea. The moment he tried, his engines would stall!

“This is boring. I’m done!”

Once Chen Yi realized he could never condense fundamental Dao marks, he gave up on sparring with Black Earth.

The limits of his five-star clones had been tested—they could tangle happily with a half-step Dao Ancestor, but in a life-or-death struggle, if the half-step Dao Ancestor burned their fundamental Dao marks, the five-star clones would likely lose.

After all, clones were just clones. A single wingman could bomb a forming mini-continent, but to sink a full continent, you’d need a nuclear bomber!

For example… a six-star clone!

Or… calling in long-range support from the mothership!

Such as… the main body’s will descending in person!

Back in the Illusory Star Cave Heaven.

Chen Yi’s true form casually dispersed the unstable embryonic form of the fundamental Dao marks he’d been unable to solidify, then reached into the void!

Like an aerial carrier reporting coordinates and firing an annihilation beam, his colossal hand pierced the thick clouds in an instant, striking the designated target with precision!

Locking onto his five-star clone’s coordinates, Chen Yi’s true form seized the ‘Spring-Autumn Cocoon’ that had trapped the clone and refined it in a flash!

“Huh?! What the—?!”

Hu Fangyuan’s eyes bulged like copper bells as he stared at the enormous hand that had materialized out of nowhere, his face a mix of shock and disbelief.

What the hell is this?!

This power… how is this possible?!

Intercepting and refining already-burned fundamental Dao marks back into primal essence?!

Even a Dao Ancestor couldn’t do this, right?!

Is he even a normal kind of freak anymore?!

This is freakish to the point of absurdity!!!

We agreed to only use clones for this fight, so what’s with this giant hand?! Don’t even try to claim this isn’t your true form—the sheer outrageousness is off the charts!!!

Chen Yi, you’ve killed all my love for this!!!

“Brother Fang Fan… the Honored One was definitely holding back back in the Supreme Treasure Secret Realm…”

Xuanji Little Ring trembled, staring at the massive hand that had suddenly breached the Boundless Realm before vanishing just as quickly. A mix of lingering fear and profound relief washed over her.

No wonder she’d felt such terror when the Honored One had descended with just a clone barely at Dao Ancestor level!

Logically, it made no sense—a Chaos Supreme Treasure shouldn’t fear a Dao Ancestor. If she wanted to leave, not even a Celestial Emperor could stop her!

But now she was absolutely certain: if not for Fang Fan’s presence back then, she would’ve been in deep trouble!

Why?

Because the Honored One was simply unfathomable, beyond comprehension!

“Sigh, you’ll get used to it…” Fang Fan waved a hand, sighing nostalgically. “Now you understand why clearing the Nightmare difficulty in the Illusory Dream Secret Realm guarantees a direct promotion to First-Rank True Heaven Grade, right?”

“Because it’s literally impossible!”

“The one guarding the Nightmare difficulty isn’t some Nightmare Spirit—it’s a wisp of the Honored One’s battle will, left behind to amuse himself!”

“You know Senior Xu Jinghong, the current record-holder for the fastest clear on Advanced difficulty, right?”

"That guy only attempted the Hell difficulty once and never touched the Illusory Dream Secret Realm again. I heard he used to love diving in there to break records, but now he just spends his days moping around the Xiuzhi Temple, questioning his life. Who knows what kind of blow he suffered? With such a precedent, even the other top-tier experts who cleared the advanced difficulty are too intimidated to challenge Hell mode..."