Shrouding the Heavens: The Ultimate Daoist Venerable

Chapter 17 A Gift from the Forbidden Zone
After Liang Yu finished his enlightenment, he stepped out of the Underworld. His main purpose in coming here was to discuss the Dao with the Underworld Lord and obtain the Source Technique, which he achieved perfectly.

The arrival of the other three Celestial Venerables was an unexpected delight, far exceeding his expectations.

His secondary purpose in coming here was to observe the true nature of the underworld, and he successfully achieved this goal.

At this time, in the underworld, besides the Underworld Lord, the Longevity Lord, and the Annihilation Lord, there were three other supreme beings. Among these three supreme beings, two had previously instigated the Dark Turmoil.

However, the one who never launched the Dark Turmoil was actually the Prison Emperor, who was later brought to his death by the First Divine General Chuan Ying. This surprised Liang Yu, but it was also quite normal.

After all, a cultivator who was once invincible and likely protected all living beings will still have some principles. Unless absolutely necessary, they will still try to struggle and preserve their bottom line.

At this time, the Prison King had not been self-proclaimed for long, and his mindset had not yet changed.

Before leaving, Liang Yu visited the three Source God brothers. These three were indeed similar to yet different from the Holy Spirit, possessing extraordinary aura. However, at this time, they were still slowly growing in the greenhouse constructed by the Underworld Lord using Source Technique.

The Origin Techniques used by the Underworld Lord were extremely profound, and Liang Yu could only replicate a small portion of them. Although he had mastered the Origin Scripture, he was still far from reaching that level, after all, it was the Underworld Lord's signature technique.

Besides these three, the Underworld also harbors an ancient corpse. Liang Yu knows this is most likely the Corpse Emperor who attained enlightenment in the Primordial Era. After the Corpse Calamity, the Supreme Being of the Underworld has finally figured out some tricks and is using the correct methods to nurture corpses.

However, matters concerning the underworld should be put aside for now; he needs to explore the Kunlun Immortal Mountain.

"What's going on? Why are there so many people at the entrance of the Underworld?" Liang Yu asked, puzzled. He had just stepped out of the Underworld when he was blocked by a group of Quasi-Venerables.

They bowed deeply with utmost respect: "Greetings, Supreme Heavenly Venerable!"

Liang Yu frowned slightly and said, "Get up. Who are you people, and why are you blocking my way?"

These people said in unison, "We come from the forbidden zone to offer gifts to the Celestial Venerable."

From the forbidden zone? A gift? Liang Yu now understood. The supreme beings from the other forbidden zones were afraid that he would try to extort money from them one by one, so they sent people to deliver gifts in advance.

It is estimated that the loss of the Holy Spirits of Xuanqiong Divine Mountain was too great, and they were under extreme pressure. These Supreme Beings could not bear it and were afraid that they would be treated the same way.

Moreover, almost every forbidden zone in the universe sent envoys together, which was a gesture of solidarity to tell Liang Yu not to go too far.

Liang Yu hadn't originally planned to venture into every restricted area, so this saved him some trouble.

Thinking of this, Liang Yu said, "Present whatever gifts you have."

These messengers came forward one by one, taking turns to present treasures.

"To celebrate the attainment of enlightenment by the Heavenly Venerable, the Primordial Ancient Mine presented a Primordial Life Stone Temple."

"The Sea of ​​Reincarnation presents a bottle of Nine-Turn Immortal Elixir to the Heavenly Venerable in celebration of his attainment of enlightenment."

"The Divine Ruins presented a piece of black gold with dragon patterns to the Heavenly Venerable in order to celebrate his attainment of enlightenment."

"To celebrate the Heavenly Venerable's attainment of enlightenment, the Immortal Mausoleum presents a pair of laurel fruits from Fusang."

"Heaven bestowed upon the Heavenly Venerable a piece of auspicious orange gold to celebrate his attainment of enlightenment."

"To celebrate the Heavenly Venerable's attainment of enlightenment, Tianyuan presented him with a Celestial Source Palace."

"To celebrate the Heavenly Venerable's attainment of enlightenment, Yuhua Island presents a naturally formed cloud-shaped jade peak."...

Liang Yu listened with increasing amazement, not because these forbidden zones' supreme beings were wealthy, but because there were actually fourteen or fifteen forbidden zones, and the supreme beings within them probably numbered fifty or sixty. Although more than a third of them came from before the mythical era, it was still astonishing enough.

This also means that even if he takes another step forward and reaches the Heavenly Emperor level of combat power like Ye Fan, it will still be difficult to eradicate the forbidden zone.

However, not all Supreme Beings in the Forbidden Zone are enemies. If he can help these self-severed Supreme Beings reconnect their severed paths, then these people may be his staunch allies.

Liang Yu looked at these people and did not make things difficult for them, accepting all the gifts.

He transmitted his voice to the various forbidden zones, saying, "Since you fellow Daoists are willing to coexist peacefully with me, I will naturally give you face. However, we must first make an agreement and swear an oath as proof."

The supreme beings of the various forbidden zones, who had not been asleep, echoed in response, "Please speak, Heavenly Venerable."

Liang Yu extended his finger: "I want you all to make a pact with me that you shall not be born before the path to immortality opens, and you shall not cause any trouble."

The various supreme beings remained silent, but the condition wasn't excessive, and they could accept it. After all, there were only a few hundred thousand years left, and even the supreme beings in the worst condition could withstand it.

After a moment of contemplation, a supreme being said, "Then, Heavenly Venerable, please refrain from entering the forbidden area. Let us keep to ourselves, shall we?"

Liang Yu nodded and said, "Alright, unless a fellow Daoist invites me, I will not enter the forbidden area, and none of you will leave the forbidden area. This agreement will remain in effect until the Path to Immortality opens."

All the supreme beings expressed their approval, and thus they and Liang Yu made a vow to not interfere with each other, but not to take heaven and earth or ghosts and gods as their witness, but to take their own Dao heart as their witness.

Liang Yu then said, "There is one more small matter. From now on, Shencha Mountain will be my Taoist temple. I hope everyone will be aware of this."

Shencha Mountain, the place where the ancient tea tree of enlightenment is located, is also known as the Immortal Mountain in later generations. Although at this time only the ancient tea tree of enlightenment was of high value on this mountain, and the mountain itself had not yet matured, it was still considered a unique place.

Liang Yu's move completely nipped the Immortal Mountain in the bud.

The venerable ones also expressed their approval. Although they could no longer freely pick the leaves of the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree, they no longer needed these things. As for their descendants, using other things as substitutes was not out of the question.

Liang Yu glanced around, a slight smile playing on his lips. Aside from the Underworld and Xuanqiong Divine Mountain—two forbidden zones he had already visited—and the already destroyed Tianhe Divine Realm, only Kunlun Immortal Mountain hadn't sent anyone.

So, if they don't intend to reconcile with me, then they want a fight? I like that kind of stubbornness. I was worried that if they came with gifts, I wouldn't have an excuse to cause trouble, but now it seems I don't need that.

Liang Yu feigned nonchalance: "Oh dear, I just realized, where are the fellow Daoists from Kunlun Immortal Mountain? Is something holding them back?"

The esteemed sages exchanged bewildered glances. Didn't you understand why they hadn't come? First, they defeated the carefully nurtured immortal prodigy, and then they killed one of their ancestors, the Serpent Transformation. The Kunlun clan, with their immortal mountain as their base and wielding the immortal bell, has always been powerful and domineering. Their absence was naturally due to their inability to swallow this insult.

Liang Yu sighed, "It seems that the fellow Daoists from Kunlun Immortal Mountain do not wish to cooperate with us. Fellow Daoists, what should we do? They are not only disrespecting me, but also disrespecting all of you."

"This matter is none of our concern. Please let the Heavenly Venerable decide for himself. Just keep your promise."

These supreme beings decisively chose to continue their severing ties, letting the fighting go on as it pleased, since it had nothing to do with them. After all, their relationship with Kunlun Immortal Mountain had never been good. The Kunlun clan had always been proud, and if they could suffer a great loss, these supreme beings would be happy to watch the spectacle.

Even if the Kunlun tribe is truly powerful enough to defeat Liang Yu, that won't stop them from watching the spectacle. They're just watching anyway, so what difference does it make who they watch? As long as they don't get themselves involved.

Liang Yu said with righteous indignation, "Since that's the case, then I will go to Kunlun Immortal Mountain to have a discussion with those fellow Daoists. Openly refusing to participate in the talks shows that they don't respect me and my fellow Daoists at all."

(End of this chapter)