Shrouding the Heavens: The Ultimate Daoist Venerable

Chapter 13 The Five Heavenly Venerables
Liang Yu turned his head and saw a figure wearing a purple-gold crown and a Taoist robe. He held his long sword upside down and walked into the main hall.

The name of the Eternal Life Celestial Venerable is legendary. As one of the Nine Celestial Venerables, Liang Yu naturally longs to meet him. Especially since the Eternal Life Celestial Venerable has not yet launched the Dark Turmoil.

"Fellow Daoist Changsheng, you're too kind. Fellow Daoist Wuji and I are discussing the Dao of Longevity, how could we leave you out?" the Underworld Lord greeted him.

Liang Yu bowed to him first: "Fellow Daoist Changsheng's secret technique has saved my life several times, and I should treat him with the respect due to a master."

The Celestial Venerable of Longevity declined, saying, "There is a sequence to learning the Dao. We fellow Daoists treat each other as equals, and those who are accomplished come first."

"Then I won't stand on ceremony, Fellow Daoist Changsheng." Liang Yu probed slightly, and sure enough, Changsheng Tianzun was still the good Tianzun for the time being.

"Fellow Daoists, you are in high spirits. We two would also like to join in the fun of Daoist Mingzun's Reincarnation Tea. Would that be permissible?" At this moment, another voice came.

Two figures appeared. One had gray hair, an empty aura, and no sign of life in his body, but there were traces of undying divine light hidden within him. The other held the Immortal Tear Green Gold Bottle in his hand, with a slender figure. Although he was standing still, he gave people a feeling of being sometimes near and sometimes far, and elusive.

The Underworld Lord greeted them again, "So it's Fellow Daoist Silent Extinction and Fellow Daoist Free and Unfettered. Please. What's the occasion? Why are you all here today?"

The Celestial Venerable of Nirvana laughed and said, "I smelled good tea here, so I came to freeload. We've known each other for so many years, it won't be easy for me to take advantage of you."

The Underworld Lord feigned anger: "Am I such a petty person? Fellow Daoist Nirvana is maliciously slandering me. There will be plenty of tea today. Don't let anyone enter my Underworld and then say that I can't even afford a cup of tea."

He then chuckled and said, "Fellow Daoist Nirvana is one thing, but Fellow Daoist Xiaoyao, you're not even in the Underworld yet you've made a special trip here. Could it be to see me?"

The Carefree Celestial Venerable shook his head and said, "It's rare to have so many people gathered here, Fellow Daoist Netherworld Venerable. I'm also feeling restless and want to move around."

Liang Yu was about to bow to the Free and Unfettered Celestial Venerable, but was interrupted: "Alright, Fellow Daoist Wuji, Fellow Daoist Changsheng's attitude is my attitude. Such formalities are unnecessary."

“I was being old-fashioned, Fellow Daoist Xiaoyao, please,” Liang Yu said with a smile.

The five took their seats in turn, and before they knew it, five of the Heavenly Venerables had gathered in the Underworld. In total, half of the Nine Heavenly Venerables of Mythology had arrived.

Longevity, freedom, annihilation, and limitlessness, plus the Underworld Lord, who can be considered half a Tribulation-Transcending Heavenly Venerable.

The eight Celestial Venerables who appeared in the mythological era, in chronological order, are: the first is the Celestial Venerable of Tribulation Crossing, who created the Secret of the Character "Lin," the strongest method of self-protection; the second is the Celestial Venerable of Morality, who created the Secret of Numbers, the strongest method of self-strengthening.
The third is the Celestial Venerable of Longevity, who created the Secret of the Character "Zhe," the strongest method of resurrection; the fourth is the Celestial Venerable of Nirvana, who created the Secret of the Character "Qian," the strongest method of primordial spirit; the fifth is the Celestial Venerable of Spiritual Treasure, who created the Secret of the Character "Zu," the strongest method of array patterns.
The sixth is the Carefree Celestial Venerable, who created the "Travel" secret technique, the strongest method of speed; the seventh is the Boundless Celestial Venerable, who created the "Soldier" secret technique, the strongest method of magic weapon; the eighth is the Limitless Celestial Venerable, who created the "Fight" secret technique, the strongest method of attack.

The Underworld Lord is positioned after the Celestial Lord of Nirvana and before the Celestial Lord of Spiritual Treasure. Of course, this is only the order among the eight Celestial Lords; in reality, there are other enlightened beings among them, and the order is not continuous.

Apart from Daode and Lingbao, who are likely to have passed away, and Wuliang, who is confirmed to have passed away, all the other Heavenly Venerables are present at this tea ceremony.

The Underworld Lord said, "Since this is my residence, as the host, I will first determine the theme. Fellow Daoists, we cultivators strive to become immortals. So let's begin with the topic of immortality."

The Celestial Venerable of Nirvana shook his head and said, "Immortals are the ultimate goal of cultivators like us, but the more I cultivate, the more I doubt whether immortals really exist."

The Celestial Venerable of Immortality sighed, “To become an immortal is so difficult! Millions of years have passed since our time, yet no one has become an immortal. The legendary Desolate Emperor is even more of a myth; if it weren’t for the Desolate Tower, we wouldn’t even be able to confirm his existence.” Upon hearing this, Liang Yu brought out the Desolate Tower, saying, “Since the Desolate Tower is here today, we can study it carefully.”

As he spoke, he turned his gaze to the Underworld Lord. But to his disappointment, the Underworld Lord did not react in any particular way.

"Incredible! The laws within this tower are indeed different from ours, and different from the laws of heaven and earth. This immortal characteristic is undoubtedly a law of immortality." The Celestial Venerable of Longevity came to this conclusion after careful observation.

The Celestial Venerable of Nirvana said, "What a fine tower! It's fortunate that such a thing exists in the world, as it proves the existence of immortals."

After examining it, the Carefree Celestial Venerable said with some regret, "It's a pity it's not the Celestial Bell, otherwise I could have used it to verify my own laws of time."

Liang Yu said, "If there is a tower for immortals, then there must be immortals."

The Underworld Lord shook his head and said, "Theoretically, that's true, but immortal artifacts don't necessarily require immortals to forge. The Immortal Bell was born from the Kunlun Immortal Mountain."

The Celestial Venerable of Immortality said, "Since there are laws governing immortality, immortals must exist. We only need to focus on the methods to become immortals."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

The Underworld Lord continued, "The Immortal Bell originated from Kunlun. Even if it didn't start from scratch, it at least shows that a wondrous place like Kunlun Immortal Mountain can repair and reforge immortal artifacts. Perhaps this indicates that there are also methods to become an immortal hidden in the mortal world."

Liang Yu suddenly had a sudden realization. The reason why the Netherworld Lord, who created the Origin Technique, attacked Kunlun Immortal Mountain together with the Emperor Lord was probably because he wanted to use it to uncover the secrets of becoming an immortal. He also benefited greatly from the process of refining the immortal artifact, the Origin Cauldron of All Things, with the Emperor Lord.

This is probably a major reason why the Underworld Lord's Heaven-Reaching Underworld Treasure could later transform into a Celestial Artifact. Moreover, the Underworld Lord did not participate in the Emperor's attack on the Path to Immortality, perhaps because he had already understood the secret of becoming an immortal through the process of refining a Celestial Artifact, and thus began his transformation.

The current Lord of the Underworld is merely a theorist; his theories haven't been tested in practice, and what he says is just speculation. Liang Yu believes in the Lord of the Underworld because he knows about events in the future, but others may not.

The Celestial Venerable of Nirvana said, "Is there any way for mortals to become immortals outside the Immortal Realm?"

Liang Yu replied, "Perhaps, repeated rebirths are the way to become an immortal in the mortal world."

The Celestial Venerable of Longevity sighed, “My fellow Daoists Morality and Spiritual Treasure, one lived before me and the other after me. Both of them were exceptionally talented and lived through four lifetimes, but in the end, they still had to die. This path is no different from the path to death.”

Of the four incarnations of the Celestial Venerable of Morality and the Celestial Venerable of Spiritual Treasure, only the last one was truly significant. This is because their second and third incarnations relied on the elixir of immortality and the Nine-Turn Immortal Pill, while their fourth incarnation was a genuine transformation achieved through their own efforts. It was precisely because of this fourth incarnation that they subtly surpassed other enlightened beings in the mythological era.

These words saddened the other Celestial Venerables, since Morality and Spiritual Treasure were stronger than them, yet they still failed to become immortals.

The carefree Celestial Venerable sighed, "How easy is it to live through life after life? Our era has lasted for millions of years, but not a single Daoist has been able to live to the fifth life. Even if one could become an immortal, who knows how many more lifetimes it would take?"

The Celestial Venerable of Longevity said, "Fellow Daoists Wuji and Mingzun may achieve something on this path, but the three of us have already severed our own immortality and have no hope of continuing."

(End of this chapter)