Shrouding the Heavens: The Ultimate Daoist Venerable

Chapter 10 Blackmail
Liang Yu smiled and said, "Fellow Daoists, won't you invite me in for a seat?"

The holy spirits exchanged glances, but the strongest, Phoenix Blood Crimson Gold Supreme, took the lead and immediately said with a smile, "Of course you are welcome, Heavenly Venerable, please come in."

Upon entering the Xuanqiong Ancient Star, Liang Yu couldn't help but sigh in amazement. Indeed, the wonders of nature were unimaginably exquisite. This ancient star was filled with natural Dao traces, which could greatly accelerate the growth of Holy Spirits. Moreover, the laws of heaven and earth here were extremely peculiar, seemingly suppressing and repelling all races other than Holy Spirits.

The situation on Xuanqiong Ancient Star is somewhat similar to that of the Overlord Ancestral Star. Originally, this place was only suitable for the growth of Holy Spirits, without affecting other races. Later, because several Great Perfection or Dao-proving Holy Spirits transformed here, the laws of the entire ancient star were changed.

Thus, the laws of heaven and earth began to suppress all races except the Holy Spirits, and the Holy Spirit lineage thus became the absolute dominant force on this ancient star.

The ancient star teemed with life, but there weren't many life forms, and these groups were mostly descendants of the Holy Spirit. They possessed the blood of the Holy Spirit, but ultimately weren't truly born and raised by the heavens, and therefore held a low status.

Among these groups, only a very few outstanding individuals can enter the Xuanqiong Divine Mountain to serve as servants or attendants to the beings within.

The extremely small number of natural holy spirits are mostly gathered in the Xuanqiong Divine Mountain; they are the true masters of this ancient star. Outside the divine mountain, they possess the supreme privilege of life and death over other races.

After entering the sacred mountain, Liang Yu couldn't help but sigh. Ancient Star was already extraordinary, but this Xuanqiong Sacred Mountain was even more heaven-defying.

Within the sacred mountain, countless natural Dao traces coalesced and were connected by several supreme array patterns to form an unparalleled divine array, which even ordinary Dao attainers would find difficult to break.

Inside the sacred mountain, all kinds of divine treasures are piled up everywhere as if they were free. Divine essence and divine source can be seen everywhere. Natural holy springs are almost solidified into lakes and rivers, and countless sacred medicines grow vigorously.

Beneath the sacred mountain, dozens or even hundreds of stone embryos slumber, slowly evolving along with many fragments of immortal gold artifact embryos.

Of course, many of them were found by the Holy Spirit Clan from the outside world, and some were born with defects and used the terrain to cultivate the art of mending the heavens. There weren't that many Holy Spirits native to this ancient star.

Liang Yu was tempted and even wanted to carry the entire Xuanqiong Divine Mountain away, but he suppressed his greed when he thought about the purpose of his trip.

He arrived at the foot of the mountain and looked up. The mountain peaks soared into the clouds, reaching straight to the sky. At the summit, countless palaces stood, like a fairyland.

Liang Yu moved forward and arrived at the main hall on the mountaintop. Nine figures sealed in the Immortal Source greeted him. The leader, Phoenix Blood Crimson Gold Supreme, had red hair and red eyes and looked like a man in his prime, with blood and energy as vast as the sea.

The other eight Holy Spirits, though varied in form, were all brimming with vitality, making it difficult to discern that they were self-proclaimed late-life Supreme Beings. However, Liang Yu sensed an overwhelming aura of bloodlust emanating from these Holy Spirits. Clearly, these Holy Spirits had all instigated the Dark Turmoil, devouring countless lives. However, the Phoenix Blood Crimson Gold Supreme Being, as the leader, possessed the faintest aura.

Phoenix Blood Crimson Gold Supreme laughed and said, "Heavenly Venerable, please. We have prepared water from the Cold Jade Divine Spring and leaves from the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree. Why don't we enjoy some tea while we talk?"

Liang Yu cupped his hands and said, "Then I shall respectfully accept your offer."

At the signal of the Phoenix Blood Crimson Gold Supreme, the six Holy Spirits who had not yet attained enlightenment greeted the others and then withdrew from the main hall.

Instead of remaining dormant, they occupied six key positions, constantly monitoring the situation so they could act immediately.

The two remaining in the main hall were the Xuan Yu Supreme, who had attained enlightenment through the Stone Man, and the Qing You Supreme, who had mastered the Heaven-Mending Technique.

The four sat around a smooth, flawless white jade table that exuded a subtle Daoist aura. The Phoenix Blood Crimson Gold Supreme personally brewed tea, placing leaves of various shapes from the Enlightenment Tea Tree into the jade pot, then boiling it with his natal divine fire. Next, he poured the tea into cups.

"Celestial Venerable, please." Liang Yu picked up the teacup and took a sip. Instantly, his primordial spirit and spiritual platform became clear, and his perception of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth became much clearer. Truly worthy of being the leaves of the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree.

Regardless of the era, the leaves of the Wudao Ancient Tea Tree are mostly collected by these supreme beings, making it difficult for them to fall into the outside world.

The Immortal Mountain has not yet become a forbidden zone for life. The reason for this is that the Immortal Mountain is still "growing" and has not yet become as mystical as it would be in later generations. It only has ancient tea trees that have attained enlightenment growing there, and these trees cannot be transplanted.

Even now, the sacred mountain isn't called the Immortal Mountain, but rather the Divine Tea Mountain. This is because the name Immortal Mountain is suspected to be related to the Immortal Emperor and the Immortal Daoist, who have not yet been born.

Liang Yu speculated that this sacred mountain only truly became a sacred mountain capable of accommodating supreme beings and turning them into forbidden zones during the ancient times.

"Good tea. I'm sure you all know why I've come here."

"I know, I know. Zi Ji was blinded by greed and dared to attack the Heavenly Venerable. He was truly courting death. We were all in the same place but failed to stop him. We are ashamed. To make amends to the Heavenly Venerable, our Xuanqiong Mountain will do our best to apologize. What do you fancy? We will try our best to satisfy you." The Phoenix Blood Crimson Gold Supreme lowered his posture even further.

Although Xuan Yu and Qing You were furious, they could only swallow their anger when they saw the desolate tower above Liang Yu's head. They knew that the Phoenix Blood Crimson Gold Supreme was compromising so much for the sake of the Holy Spirit Clan's inheritance.

Once Liang Yu launches his attack, even if they manage to escape, the Holy Spirit Clan will be utterly doomed. Hoping for rescue from other forbidden zones' supreme beings is even more impossible, unless Liang Yu publicly declares his intention to wipe out the forbidden zones, or truly takes action against them. Otherwise, those supreme beings will undoubtedly only care about their own immediate surroundings.

To avoid conflict, both Xuan Yu Supreme and Qing You Supreme tried their best to be patient, allowing the more mild-tempered Huang Xue Chi Jin Supreme to take the lead in the negotiations.

Upon hearing this, Liang Yu laughed and said, "I am not a robber or bandit, but the Celestial Venerable of this world, so what I want cannot tarnish the supreme reputation of the Celestial Venerable."

The Phoenix Blood Crimson Gold Supreme's smile remained unchanged: "Then what does the Heavenly Venerable desire?"

Liang Yu tapped his fingers on the table: "I have just attained enlightenment and do not yet possess an elixir of immortality. Do any of you have one?"

Phoenix Blood Crimson Gold Supreme looked troubled: "We really don't have any elixirs of immortality. The Heavenly Venerable's eyes are sharp, and he can tell at a glance."

The three Holy Spirits cursed inwardly: What are you pretending for? You've already destroyed the Heavenly River Divine Realm. Did that humanoid immortal elixir fly away if it didn't end up in your hands? What use are two of them to you? You can't eat them repeatedly.

Liang Yu then said, "I've heard that the Celestial Venerable of Morality once developed a Nine-Turn Immortal Pill that can allow those who attain enlightenment to live an extra life. Since there's no elixir of immortality, then give me three or five Nine-Turn Immortal Pills."

Before Phoenix Blood Crimson Gold Supreme could speak, Xuan Yu Supreme said, "If there really were Nine-Turn Immortal Pills, we would have eaten them long ago. Why would we have left them until now? Moreover, even the Moral Celestial Venerable himself might not have refined that many three or five pills."

Liang Yu frowned and said, "There's nothing here, nothing there. I can't see any sincerity from you."

Phoenix Blood Crimson Gold Supreme said, "Even a clever woman can't cook without rice. We really don't have what the Heavenly Venerable is asking for. Please ask for something else."

Liang Yu's eyes flashed with a fierce light as he said again, "I've been wanting to forge a few weapons for proving my Dao recently, but I'm lacking immortal metal. Surely I have some of that now?"

(End of this chapter)