Chapter 218: Guarding the Ages===GLOSSARY=== [{

"White Feng Shenwang, let's go handle the handover." Luo Feng looked toward White Feng Shenwang beside him.

White Feng Shenwang nodded slightly, then instantly split into thirty-six clones: "Let's go, I'll lead the way." Luo Feng likewise split into thirty-six clones, heading to different entrances of the Celestial Pillar Realm to assume duty.

The Primordial Dao of Time, the Primordial Dao of Space, the Primordial Dao of Life, and the Primordial Dao of Infinity all possess clone techniques, yet each differs.

The clone technique of the Time lineage, including the original, yields only three clones: Past, Present, Future! Yet each clone possesses a complete physical body and soul, each at peak power—as if three full versions of oneself faced the enemy. And these three selves can exist across different timelines.

The Space path is similar: the number of clones is limited, but the clones created can retain complete physical bodies and souls.

The Life and Infinity paths are different.

On the Life path, the number of clones is limitless, but all are split from the self. For example, Luo Feng possesses only one powerful soul; when he splits off a portion, the detached soul becomes far weaker.

He can control only so many world-life entities! The more he splits, the weaker he becomes.

The Infinity path is the same: though called "infinite," it remains singular in essence.

This has already made other paths envious.

Destruction, Apex, Cause and Effect, Matter, and World generally cannot cultivate clone techniques.

Yuan's illusory clones, in fact, stem from a Dao nonexistent on the Origin Continent—"Illusory Realm Dao." Yuan's current path is the fusion of "Illusion and Reality," another fused path, aiming to unite "Illusory Realm Dao" and "World Dao." Yet this path is even more arduous than Luo Feng's.

Luo Feng's foundational Daos—Life and Destruction—are both grounded in complete, established Daos.

Yuan's Illusory path has no reference. To seek fusion? It is even more ethereal, distant, and unreachable!

"Luo He Brother, from now on, the duty of guarding this place is yours." White Feng Shenwang, after completing the handover, smiled and advised, "Serving as guardian here may bring you some indignities. You must learn to endure."

"I understand." Luo Feng nodded with a smile.

As the foremost treasure realm, the Celestial Pillar Realm allows only guest elders to serve as guardians; only the high-ranking leaders of the two imperial clans enter its depths. Both imperial clans cultivate vast quantities of Primordial Bloodline, and many possess vile tempers.

White Feng Shenwang nodded, then flew away.

Luo Feng watched him depart.

"White Feng Shenwang and Di Xuan are sworn brothers, and he has fully joined the Yanfeng Ancient Nation. Yet it seems he's endured plenty of insults." Luo Feng thought.

Every guest elder of Shenwang Second Layer heavily favored by the Yanfeng Ancient Nation's imperial clan is extraordinary! After all, the weak are simply ignored by the imperial clan.

White Feng Shenwang's strength rivals that of Tian Du Wang and Gui Xu Emperor, and his reputation is formidable.

Of course, from the outside perspective…

Luo Feng, at Shenwang First Layer, could match the Sovereign of the Shi Nation. Now as Shenwang Second Layer, with his number of clones, he likely stands nearly equal to White Feng Shenwang and Gui Xu Emperor. Most importantly, Luo Feng's rise has been astonishingly swift, his potential immense—Emperors and Sovereigns alike must take notice.

Di Yan, Di Xi, and Di Wu's group targeted Luo Feng not only due to their feud with Di Chu, but also because they sensed the threat he posed.

Thus, they sought to strip him of his guest elder status, denying him opportunities.

Yet…

Di Fu assigned Luo Feng to guard the Celestial Pillar Realm.

The ruling Emperor's authority is supreme; if he favors Luo Feng, Di Yan and the others can do nothing.

"Hum."

Luo Feng activated the array disc he had received, and the array's overwhelming power enveloped the surroundings.

"The thirty-six auxiliary arrays are integrated with the central core array; the entire array is primarily controlled by Di Xuan." Luo Feng could sense it, "I can only guide and channel its power."

"With the array's might alone, I can suppress Gui Xu Emperor and Wu Xin Shenwang." Luo Feng confirmed this.

The array of the Yanfeng Ancient Nation in the foremost treasure realm is the most terrifying in power. Only a team led by "Wind Capital Empress" or "Earth Shenwang" could advance through it.

But then, the Emperor and Sovereigns guarding both ancient nations would arrive simultaneously; with their coordination and the array's power, their combined might is unimaginable.

"Though I am the guardian, I dare not let any cultivators enter freely, for Di Xuan, as the array's controller, senses every movement here." Luo Feng's role is merely to make it ten to a hundred times harder for outsiders to break the array.

Without a guardian, a fixed array disc is far easier to dismantle.

With a guardian carrying it, one must first kill the guardian! Under the array's protection, killing Luo Feng's Shenwang Second Layer clone? The difficulty is obvious.

"According to my Master's intelligence, the greatest opportunity beyond the Celestial Pillar Realm lies in these thirty-six Celestial Pillars." Luo Feng's will shifted, instantly splitting off a clone that flew toward the distant towering pillar.

The opportunities within the Celestial Pillar Realm are inaccessible to guest elders; he could only explore the outer regions.

…

The Celestial Pillar soared endlessly, its peak unseen.

Luo Feng landed before this pillar, immediately noticing a figure clad in purple armor nearby.

"Yanuo Demon King." Luo Feng recognized him at once.

Yanuo Demon King, among the guest elders of the Thunder Ancient Nation, ranks among the top three in strength. He follows the Destruction path and cultivates Primordial Bloodline, his power terrifying, and he is heavily relied upon by the Thunder Ancient Nation.

Yanuo Shenwang looked up at Luo Feng.

"Luo He Shenwang." Yanuo Shenwang smiled faintly. Though arrogant, he dared not underestimate this Luo He Shenwang, whose momentum was truly terrifying; many ancient elites on the Origin Continent believed Luo He Shenwang might one day rival an Emperor.

"Yanuo Demon King." Luo Feng nodded, then carefully observed the towering pillar.

Countless mysterious patterns spread across it. Luo Feng studied them.

"Boom!"

As Luo Feng observed, the spreading patterns transformed into a colossal axe—seemingly infinite in size! The axe was so vast that Luo Feng could see only fragments, yet he felt it cleaved through all rules, splitting everything…

Luo Feng was utterly awestruck.

He stared, entranced, for several days before stopping.

"The meaning of this axe far surpasses a complete Dao." Luo Feng thought, "It bears a faint echo of the Crimson Scales of the Star Tower. Yet the Star Tower's patterns are more vast and intricate—requiring willpower beyond Shenwang level to even observe. This pillar… the patterns feel coarse and casual, and a Shenwang Ultimate willpower suffices to perceive them."

Luo Feng instantly judged: roughly three thousand six hundred coiled, intertwined patterns led him to perceive the giant axe.

The patterns were vastly simpler than the Star Tower's Crimson Scales.

Yet the meaning was profoundly lofty, and the pressure of observation was mild. Normal Shenwang Second Layer cultivators on the Origin Continent could all perceive this scene hidden within the pillar.

"This axe feels like Destruction—but far deeper than the Destruction Dao."

"I can study this further later."

!

Luo Feng did not immediately sink into deep contemplation.

His primary focus now was the "Twenty-Four Forms," and accelerating the breakthrough of his world-life entity was the most urgent matter.

This scene, surpassing even a complete Dao, yet with such simplified patterns! Studying it would surely be far harder than studying a complete Dao! That's precisely why the two imperial clans permit guest elders to observe it.

Great gains are rare; merely grasping a fragment and creating a powerful secret art would be excellent.

…

Luo Feng successively observed all thirty-six pillars. Each bore coiled patterns; with his mental will, he clearly perceived the final scene each pattern resolved into.

Either the axe cleaving all things…

Or an endless, surging river…

Or a strange cube…

Or a flame lotus…

Each scene's meaning towered above any Dao.

"I've heard that after mastering a complete Dao, there is no clear guidance left—you must grope blindly in darkness." Luo Feng thought, "These thirty-six pillars are perhaps lamps in that darkness, guiding the way."

These thirty-six pillars primarily relate to the nine Primordial Daos of the Origin Continent; for example, Life and Destruction each have four pillars.

"Master Yuan truly had the utmost care for his successors." Luo Feng sensed Yuan's benevolence toward younger cultivators.

After briefly exploring the outer regions of the Celestial Pillar Realm, Luo Feng settled into his duty, focusing entirely on cultivation.

Time flowed through countless eons.

"Whoosh."

Two figures flew into the array; their talismans resonated with the array, encountering no resistance.

Luo Feng, the guardian, looked up.

"Ah, it's Luo He Shenwang on duty." One of the figures smiled.

Luo Feng smiled back: "Tianmu Shenwang, long time no see."

When he first entered the treasure realm "Infinite Space," he had met Tianmu Shenwang. As a member of the Yanfeng Ancient Nation's imperial clan, Tianmu Shenwang had been unusually kind to him—rare indeed—and Luo Feng remembered him clearly.

"We're destined. When I first met you in Infinite Space, you were still in Chaos Realm. Back then, I was Shenwang First Layer." Tianmu Shenwang chuckled, "Now you're Shenwang Second Layer, while I remain stuck at Shenwang First Layer."

Tianmu Shenwang sighed. His resources far surpassed Luo Feng's—he could enter countless treasure realms and obtain precious materials.

In his Shenwang First Layer stage, he had scorned using Primordial Bloodline.

He had hoped to reach Shenwang Second Layer first, and only then, if utterly stuck, use Primordial Bloodline.

"Tianmu, hurry up." The other Shenwang Second Layer imperial clan member frowned and snapped—he wouldn't even speak to Luo Feng.

"We're off." Tianmu Shenwang bid farewell to Luo Feng and departed with his companion.

Luo Feng watched them leave.

…

In the blink of an eye, Luo Feng had guarded the Celestial Pillar Realm for twenty-seven eons. During this time, two imperial clan Shenwang from Yanfeng Ancient Nation entered, and three from Thunder Ancient Nation entered. The Thunder Ancient Nation's imperial clan Shenwang merely glanced at Luo Feng, said nothing, and entered the depths of the Celestial Pillar Realm.

"I've heard the Thunder Ancient Nation's imperial clan Shenwang universally cultivate Primordial Bloodline, treating all non-imperial as servants." Luo Feng sighed inwardly, "Compared to them, the Yanfeng Ancient Nation is slightly better."

Amidst this tranquil time, Luo Feng gradually mastered the Twenty-Four Forms. As his accumulation deepened, each subsequent form became easier to comprehend until he fully mastered them all.

"Achieved."

Every clone and avatar of Luo Feng—scattered across Infinite Space, Dream Domain, Celestial Pillar Realm, his homeworld's primal universe, Hu Yang City, and elsewhere—smiled at once.

(End of Chapter)