Shrouding the Heavens: The Ultimate Daoist Venerable

Chapter 30 The Road to Supreme Ruler in the Forbidden Zone
Liang Yu was naturally unaware of the series of changes in Xiaoyao Tianzun's mindset, and he secretly became more vigilant.

Although the carefree Celestial Venerable had a pleasant conversation with him, in later generations, he would begin to cross the line, attacking newcomers to replenish his life essence, and even using the method of primordial spirit fusion to seize their bodies.

Although compared to other Dark Sovereigns, the Carefree Celestial Venerable undoubtedly has a higher bottom line, because he targets at least late-stage Quasi-Emperors and even cultivators attempting to prove their Dao, rather than indiscriminately slaughtering all living beings.

But this was only the information he knew. The world had changed considerably, and it was impossible to be sure whether the Carefree Celestial Venerable would remain the same as before.

If possible, Liang Yu really didn't want to be his enemy. After all, Xingzi Mi had helped him through many difficulties.

Upon seeing Liang Yu, the Celestial Venerable Xiaoyao said, "Fellow Daoist Wuji, rest assured, my trip is merely to collect the remaining fragments of the Immortal Bell's laws. However, since the last agreement, I haven't returned to the forbidden zone, so this cannot be considered a breach of contract."

Liang Yu looked at the Carefree Celestial Venerable and sensed something amiss. The Venerable had previously exuded an air of weariness, partly due to his dwindling lifespan and depleted energy, and partly due to a flaw in his mental state.

But now, the Celestial Venerable of Freedom's mental state is completely different. The divine light in his eyes has brightened again, and the confident, high-spirited, and self-important aura of a Daoist has reappeared, as if the Celestial Venerable of Freedom, who was once spirited and invincible, has returned.

Liang Yu said, "I see. The Immortal Bell contains the laws of time of the Immortal Dao, which is indeed of great benefit to you, fellow Daoist."

The Carefree Celestial Venerable asked, "Fellow Daoist Wuji, did you gain anything from this great battle regarding the immortal laws of the Immortal Bell?"

Liang Yu shook his head and said, "The laws of immortality are indeed different from what I know. I have only grasped some of the basics this time."

The Celestial Venerable Xiaoyao said, "Then I wonder if Fellow Daoist Wuji could pass on these insights to me? I can exchange them for divine treasures and immortal gold."

Liang Yu opened his right palm, revealing a celestial bell mark. He handed it to the Carefree Celestial Venerable and said, "Fellow Daoist Carefree's 'Travel' secret has helped me escape danger many times; there's no need for such a trivial matter."

The Celestial Venerable of Freedom accepted the mark and said, "Since that's the case, then I am unworthy to accept it. If I gain anything, I will certainly invite Fellow Daoist Wuji to come and discuss the Dao."

Liang Yu smiled and said, "Then I'll wait and see."

Just as he was about to take his leave, he heard the Carefree Celestial Venerable ask, "Fellow Daoist Wuji, has our path to immortality been severed?"

Liang Yu was taken aback. The words of the Celestial Venerable of Longevity had already aroused his suspicions, leading him to speculate that the Celestial Venerable of Longevity might have understood the unspoken meaning between him and the Underworld Venerable.

This time, the fact that the Celestial Venerable of Freedom directly asked this question further proves that this guess is most likely correct. Indeed, none of these nine Celestial Venerables are undeserving of their titles.

However, the states of the Carefree Celestial Venerable and the Immortal Celestial Venerable were completely different. The Immortal Celestial Venerable was clearly pessimistic; he had begun to accept the fact that his hope of becoming an immortal was gone, but he still clung to a last glimmer of hope for venturing onto the path to immortality. Perhaps, he simply regarded that place as his grave.

After all, for someone who was single-mindedly pursuing immortality, dying on the path to immortality was indeed the best way to die.

The carefree Celestial Venerable, on the other hand, also saw through this cruel reality, but he did not give up. Instead, he rallied again and wanted to overcome this problem.

Liang Yu said in a deep voice, "Fellow Daoist Xiaoyao, do you want to become an immortal or live forever?"

The Carefree Celestial Venerable frowned slightly: "Is there any difference?" Liang Yu said: "Very different. Immortality does not necessarily lead to immortality, but immortality certainly requires immortality. Fellow Daoist Carefree may have heard that countless years before our time, there was a period of cultivators whose lifespans far exceeded ours. Compared to us, they could be considered to have achieved immortality, but they were still not immortals."

The reason for this is that at that time, there existed special substances in the world that could grant immortality. The immortal essence of immortality that we might accumulate over several lifetimes might not be enough to live another life, but they could obtain it directly from external sources.

Here, Liang Yu concealed the fact that even True Immortals would age and reach the end of their lifespan in the extreme Dharma-ending Age or even the Age of Spirit Extinction. After all, he didn't want to discourage the Rejuvenated Celestial Venerable.

The carefree Celestial Venerable shook his head and said, "This kind of immortality is nothing but a false external force. Once the world changes, it will ultimately be an empty shell that will collapse with a push. What I seek is, of course, an immortality that is immortal in itself."

Liang Yu continued, "If you want to become an immortal, I know two ways. One is through transformation after transformation, and one day you will reach the point of immortality in the mortal world, but it is extremely difficult."

Another option is to find an environment where one can achieve immortality, cultivate diligently there, and gradually break through to become an immortal immortal. Even after entering the Immortal Realm, the process remains the same.

The carefree Celestial Venerable sighed slightly and said, "But no matter which one it is, we need to repair the damaged Immortal Platform first."

Liang Yu also sighed, "Yes. No matter what happens next, repairing the Sendai is your top priority. But repairing the Sendai also means that you will be unable to seal yourself off, and the issue of lifespan will follow."

The Celestial Venerable of Freedom remained unmoved. He said, "So, if I want to become an immortal, I must first solve these two problems simultaneously? Indeed, the hope is slim. Fellow Daoist, do you know how to repair the Immortal Platform?"

Liang Yu uttered three words: "He Dao Hua".

In the universe of Shrouding the Heavens, there are three extraordinary flowers. The first is the Demon God Flower, which can transform young demons and greatly increase their potential.

The most famous user of this flower was the later Demon Emperor Xue Yueqing. An ordinary snow rabbit soared to the heavens after eating the Demon God Flower, and even transformed into a true dragon through a secret technique, becoming a legendary emperor in the history of the demon race.

The second type is the Divine Flower, the most beautiful flower in the world, blooming only once every hundred thousand years or more. It contains a mysterious Dao principle, and only those at the Great Emperor level can observe it for extended periods without being affected. Before becoming an Emperor, Ye Fan further enhanced his strength by comprehending this flower.

The third type is the Dao-Merging Flower. This flower can directly enable a person to merge with the Dao and become an Emperor. It was obtained by the Ruthless Great Emperor and used to restore the cultivation of Ye Fan's disciple, Xiao Song.

Without a doubt, the Harmony Flower is the most precious and hardest to find among the three extraordinary flowers; it could even be said to be more mysterious than the elixir of immortality.

Ye Fan, the eighth incarnation, once learned from Rong Cheng that the He Dao Flower was first born in Kunlun and then flew away to heaven.

But who knows when he was referring to Kunlun?

Is it the Kunlun that is still in the hands of the Kunlun clan, the Kunlun that was conquered by the Emperor and then taken over by the Heavenly Court, the Kunlun that eventually fell to the ancient star of the primordial world after the fall of the Heavenly Court, the Kunlun that was activated and repaired by the Feathered Divine Dynasty to repair the Origin Cauldron of All Things, or the Kunlun that was partially destroyed by the Ruthless Great Emperor?
However, the most likely scenario is that the Ruthless Great Emperor obtained the Harmony Flower in the end, which means that when the Harmony Flower was activated, the Ruthless Great Emperor happened to enter Kunlun to look for traces of his brother and also disrupted the formation that the Feathered Divine Dynasty had activated to repair the Cauldron of All Things.

Afterwards, although it flew away as soon as the Dao Flower bloomed, it was still captured by the Ruthless Great Emperor.

But this is the age of mythology, who knows where this thing is?

(End of this chapter)