Chapter 362: The Non-Existent Cycle Heavens

Zi Zai, Zi Xiao, Lang Xia, Da Luo, Da Fen, You Ming, Hua Shi, Li Hen, Yu Se—these nine great heavenly maps instantly transformed into celestial shadows, swirling rapidly within the heavenly maps that lacked their core essence.

The powers of the nine great Heavenly Venerables were repeatedly practiced in Chen Xiao’s mind. At the realm of Mystery, Chen Xiao could even clearly deduce the nature of each Venerable’s power.

What is a Heavenly Venerable?
It is the Dao!

A Divine Venerable comprehends and controls a certain rule, while a Heavenly Venerable transforms that rule into their own Dao. The Dao has no beginning or end, no form or shadow.

The nine original Heavenly Venerables had perfected their Dao to the extreme, representing the pinnacle of Heavenly Venerables.

Within Chen Xiao’s dantian, the laws of water transformed into laws of nourishment and destruction constantly clashed with the law of life and death. The resulting repulsive forces evolved into Mystery, which was absorbed by Chen Xiao’s soul flame.

Over and over again, Chen Xiao continued to delve into the Dao and the mysteries of life and death.

“So that’s how it is…”

Suddenly, an epiphany struck Chen Xiao.

The law of life and death is the most powerful rule in the universe—unmatched, even surpassing all other rules. Even rules themselves are subject to life and death!

The path of the Immortal Lord lies in comprehending the law of life and death, mastering it thoroughly. As long as no one kills the Immortal Lord, they can live forever, almost achieving true immortality.

However, the path of the Immortal Lord is entirely different from that of a Heavenly Venerable. A Heavenly Venerable transforms the rule they comprehend into their Dao, using their Dao heart to control that rule completely, even manipulating it at will.

The foundation of an Immortal Lord is the law of life and death, while that of a Heavenly Venerable is their own Dao.

Yet, despite having complete control over a certain rule, a Heavenly Venerable is far from matching an Immortal Lord. An Immortal Lord, who comprehends life and death, even controls the Dao of a Heavenly Venerable.

Immortal Lords and Heavenly Venerables represent two distinct paths of cultivation. Yet, Heavenly Venerables are the strongest beings below Immortal Lords. Without Immortal Lords, it would be the Heavenly Venerables who rule the universe.

“An Immortal Lord… is essentially also a Divine Venerable—one who comprehends the law of life and death. Yet, even in terms of control over rules, they fall far short of other Divine Venerables. It’s just that the rules understood by Immortal Lords are so powerful that no Divine Venerable or Heavenly Venerable can compare to them.”

Although Immortal Lords only comprehend the law of life and death, the powers they wield within this vast realm far surpass those of Divine Venerables or Heavenly Venerables.

Some even use life and death to create the universe—like the Immortal Lord of Eternal Life or the Immortal Lord of the Hidden Dragon. Even if they perish, they can transform their bodies into the primal worlds of the universe.

At this moment, the collision of the two rules within Chen Xiao’s body had reached a boiling point, and his realm of Mystery had reached its apex. He had even deduced the essence of an Immortal Lord.

“The path of an Immortal Lord… seems to have taken a wrong turn…”

Suddenly, Chen Xiao’s brows furrowed slightly. At the Xuan realm, his mind could not deduce what the Way of the Immortal Lord truly was, but instinctively, he felt that there was something wrong with it.
“The Immortal Lord… the rules of life and death he comprehended are too powerful—so powerful that they cannot control them but can only borrow them. If one wants to control the rules of life and death, even to manipulate them at will… the Supreme Lord of Life and Death?”
A bitter smile appeared on Chen Xiao’s face. Did the Supreme Lord of Life and Death really exist? The rules of life and death were so powerful that even he, at the Xuan realm, could not figure them out.
If rules were compared to threads, with the thickness of the thread representing the strength of the rule, then ordinary rules would be like the threads used for sewing on Earth. But the rules of life and death were as vast as Earth’s diameter—or even more so.
This was the conclusion Chen Xiao had reached at the Xuan realm.
“People can pick up ordinary thin threads, but can they handle threads as thick as Earth’s diameter?”
Chen Xiao shook his head. It seemed that the Immortal Lord was doomed never to truly control life and death. Even the strongest ordinary people could not handle such threads.
“The seven Immortal Lords of the City of Chaos all desire me to become an Immortal Lord and join them to fight against that mysterious, powerful entity. But why must I follow in your footsteps?”
With these thoughts, a strange smile appeared on Chen Xiao’s lips.
The Xuan realm still existed, but now Chen Xiao began to analyze and assess the nine great celestial shadows in the Heavenly Map. He intended to inherit the power of the nine Supreme Lords and follow the path of a Supreme Lord!
Throughout history, those who understood life and death usually focused all their attention on those rules, having seen their immense power, so they paid no attention to other rules. Even someone like the Divine Immortal Lord, who possessed both the rules of water and those of life and death, was an outlier. Yet her rules of water remained at the level of a Divine Lord, never evolving into a true path that would make her a Supreme Lord.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to—it was simply that she lacked the vast mental capacity to comprehend two rules; that was already her limit.
But Chen Xiao was different. His power was still at the level of laws, far from true rules. At this point, his path was not yet determined.
“What if I were to inherit the paths of the nine Supreme Lords and merge them into one?”
Chen Xiao’s heart stirred slightly. It seemed that the being who created the Heavenly Map also had this in mind. However, the true core of the map—the Heart of the Heavenly Map—had not returned. Chen Xiao could use the power within the map but could not obtain it.
He could roughly sense the location of that Heart of the Heavenly Map through his mother, but he could never summon it.
As for the cultivation method of ascending to heaven, Chen Xiao had completely abandoned it. He had deduced that ultimately, ascending to heaven meant using oneself as a crucible to merge with the Heavenly Map, becoming part of it and serving as a foundation for others.

So, at present, Chen Xiao could only operate within the realm of Xuan, using his vast mind to continuously calculate everything within these nine celestial maps and comprehend the paths of these nine Heavenly Lords.
“Huh?!”
Suddenly, Chen Xiao’s brows furrowed tightly, and the vital energy around his body trembled disharmoniously. Only when someone at his level experienced a profound mental shock would such a thing happen.
And right now, Chen Xiao was in the realm of Xuan—what was shaking his state of mind was no trivial matter.
……
“What’s wrong with him?”
Mo Xian, who appeared carefree atop the bamboo hut but was actually guarding Chen Xiao, arrived by his side almost the moment something abnormal happened to him.
Only when she saw that Chen Xiao was merely frowning deeply, seemingly lost in thought, did she relax.
“Hmm, it seems I’m quite worried about him after all.”
Mo Xian smiled self-mockingly, then crouched down to examine Chen Xiao’s face carefully.
His appearance was ordinary, not outstanding, and his cultivation level didn’t seem particularly strong in Mo Xian’s eyes.
Yet, it was this man who, after learning the truth about himself, showed no fear and remained steadfast in his original intentions.
Mo Xian let out a soft sigh. She herself didn’t know what her fate would be—perhaps in the next moment, those pursuing her would arrive, putting her life at risk at any time.
“Aren’t you afraid of death?”
Mo Xian raised her head and gazed at the night sky, lost in thought.
……
At that moment, Chen Xiao’s mind was in turmoil. Within the realm of Xuan, his mind kept calculating over and over again, but to no avail.
“That’s not right, that can’t be right—what’s going on…?”
Chen Xiao’s face turned red, as if on the verge of breaking free from the emotionless realm of Xuan.
But his soul flame flickered, and his state of mind gradually calmed down.
“What about Rebirth Heaven?”
Chen Xiao felt confused.
Among the nine Heavenly Lords, there was no Rebirth Heaven! And now, there was no trace of Rebirth Heaven in the celestial maps either!
Yet earlier, he had obtained the complete Rebirth Heaven map, even the Rebirth Heaven artifact—the Great Rebirth Mirror—and he had also mastered its secret technique, the Eye of Rebirth.
But now, the trace of Rebirth Heaven in the maps had vanished, replaced by Humidity Transformation Heaven.
In the realm of Xuan, Chen Xiao’s mental calculation abilities could even deduce some information about the Heavenly Lords, but he had no clue about Rebirth Heaven.
It seemed as if it had never existed!
“That doesn’t make sense. Although this celestial map has the influence of a Immortal Lord behind it, it’s still orchestrated by a Heavenly Lord. Even their hidden schemes can’t deceive my mind.”
“Could it be that Rebirth Heaven is actually set up by an Immortal Lord as well?”
“Wait!”
Suddenly, Chen Xiao remembered something.
Life and Death Dual Kill!

Life and Death Double Kill was obtained by Chen Xiao along with the Cycle Heaven Map. In the Book World, the spirit of Cycle Heaven is the most powerful, followed by the spirit of the book that contains Life and Death Double Kill.
Previously, Chen Xiao had always thought that Life and Death Double Kill was created by the Immortal Lord who embodied himself in the Heavenly Realm. But just now, while eavesdropping on the conversation between Shui Miao and Kandralas, he saw an attack similar to Life and Death Double Kill in the depiction of the rise and fall of three thousand worlds.
It seems that the technique of Life and Death Double Kill does not originate solely from this world.
If, in the Book World, the stronger the book spirit, the more powerful the techniques recorded, then undoubtedly, Life and Death Double Kill ranks only second—ranked first is undoubtedly the Cycle Heaven Map.
And who left behind the Cycle Heaven Map, or Life and Death Double Kill, and the Book World itself?
The Book World is akin to a Master God Space. What is a Master God Space? It is the body transformed from that of an Immortal Lord!