Ying Hao walked through Kunlun Mountain and soon saw a gigantic coffin in an extraordinary location.
Nine Heavens of the Divine Spirit!
This was a coffin for burying divine spirits. Aside from an Emperor, no one was qualified to use a coffin of this scale.
In other words, an Emperor was buried inside the coffin before them. No wonder it faintly radiated Ultimate Emperor Might.
"Which Ancient Emperor is buried here?" Cao Yusheng asked, his face filled with wonder.
The Nine Heavens of the Divine Spirit Coffin before them looked incredibly ancient. It had clearly existed for many years and was likely something from an age long past.
Yet as far as he knew, most of the Ancient Emperors had chosen to sever their own cultivation and enter the Forbidden Zones. So which one was inside this coffin?
Anyone who knew of Earth and had buried himself in Kunlun Mountain was definitely an outstanding figure among the Ancient Emperors.
"It isn't an Ancient Emperor, but a Heavenly Venerate!" Ying Hao said.
Although he had already guessed some of the truth, he still was not completely certain—until the system's reminders began ringing frantically in his mind.
"Ding! One of the Grand Pure Sage's Three Corpses has been discovered. A quest has been issued! Quest One: Approach within one li of the Sage's Three Corpses and persist for one day. Reward: one Heaven-Opening Mark! Quest Two: Safely retreat from the Sage's Three Corpses. Reward: Golden Light of Earth-Traversing from the Thirty-Six Heavenly Dipper Techniques! Warning! The Sage's Three Corpses are extremely dangerous. They possess combat power standing at the pinnacle of the Primordial World. Host, choose carefully!"
Ying Hao sighed. The system was as cautious as ever. Couldn't it issue a slightly bolder quest?
For example, a quest to fight the Sage's Three Corpses and suppress them, with a casual reward of an Innate Supreme Treasure. He would not refuse that.
Approach within one li of the Sage's Three Corpses? Persist for one day?
Who did the system think it was looking down on?
However, precisely because of the quest issued by the system, he understood that the one buried in the Nine Heavens of the Divine Spirit Coffin was Daoist Heavenly Venerate.
"Heavenly Venerate? Which one?" Cao Yusheng was slightly startled, his face filled with astonishment.
His first Lifetime was Cao Yusheng, the Tribulation Crossing Heavenly Venerate, while his second was the Nether Venerate. Together, his two lifetimes spanned the entire Mythological Era.
There had not been only nine Heavenly Venerates during the Mythological Era. However, the Nine Heavenly Venerates had each reached the pinnacle of a certain field, which was why their names had been passed down through the ages.
"One of the Nine Heavenly Venerates—Daoist Heavenly Venerate!" Ying Hao said.
As he spoke, he had already reached the Nine Heavens of the Divine Spirit Coffin and began lifting off its layers of coffin lids.
Earth was a rare ancient star capable of nurturing corpses. It could greatly accelerate the time required for a corpse to develop a spirit. No wonder Daoist Heavenly Venerate had buried himself here.
Layer after layer of coffin was opened. When the final layer revealed the tiniest crack, Emperor Fiend Qi immediately surged into the sky.
That was right! An Emperor was indeed buried within the nine-layered coffin. Emperor Fiend Qi spread across the heavens and earth like a vast sea, boundless and immeasurable.
When the final layer of the coffin was completely opened, sinister winds howled, demonic shadows flickered, the sky and sun were obscured, and flying sand and rolling stones made the scene look exceptionally terrifying.
The Emperor's aura surged and swept across the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, yet Ying Hao did not waver in the slightest. His gaze remained fixed inside the coffin.
Inside the coffin lay an old Daoist priest. His eyes were tightly shut. He looked immortal and transcendent, with white hair and a youthful face, carrying an otherworldly air.
The old Daoist's face was rosy, and he looked extremely healthy. No matter how one looked at him, he did not resemble a corpse in the slightest.
"Remarkable! It really is Daoist Heavenly Venerate. He looks like he's almost developed a spirit!" Cao Yusheng said with clicking admiration.
His first Lifetime had been spent becoming an Emperor through the Corpse Dao. When it came to researching corpses developing spirits, he claimed second place, and no one dared claim first.
A pure-white Reincarnation Seal had already formed inside Daoist Heavenly Venerate's body, and new vitality had been born within his flesh. This was clearly a sign that the flesh had developed a spirit.
"His body remains, but his spirit is no longer the same. Will the one who returns be Daoist Heavenly Venerate?" Ying Hao murmured.
Emperors did not believe in reincarnation. They believed only in their own Dao. This was an invincible conviction, but it was not necessarily the truth.
Otherwise, even someone as powerful as the Emperor Venerate would not have been affected by a similar flower and consequently developed doubts about himself.
Of course, the Emperor Venerate was also an old schemer. Whether he had been affected or had done it deliberately was still open to debate.
But Cao Yusheng was undoubtedly an excellent example, because he was someone who had reincarnated in the world.
Beginning with his first Lifetime as Cao Yusheng, the Tribulation Crossing Heavenly Venerate, Cao Yusheng would reappear in the world after every interval of time.
His body remained the same, but he would sever his entire origin, lose his former memories, and reincarnate in the world.
At that point, was Cao Yusheng the Tribulation Crossing Heavenly Venerate Cao Yusheng, or an entirely new living being?
Moreover, once his nine Lifetimes of reincarnation were complete and he formed the Nine Paths of Reincarnation Seals, Cao Yusheng would reach perfection and recover all his memories.
Once Daoist Heavenly Venerate's corpse developed a spirit, a new will would appear. His body would remain, but his spirit would be different, making him an entirely new living being rather than Daoist Heavenly Venerate.
But if Daoist Heavenly Venerate could recover his former memories, would he still count as Daoist Heavenly Venerate?
That inevitably involved an important question: Was someone who reincarnated still the same person they had once been?
"You want to awaken him?" Cao Yusheng asked.
Daoist Heavenly Venerate's corpse had already developed a spirit and given birth to a new will. Awakening him was not difficult.
But Daoist Heavenly Venerate himself had not awakened, clearly because he had another purpose. He was probably waiting for the right time.
"This is an experiment," Ying Hao said.
Daoist Heavenly Venerate had clearly thought of what he had thought of as well, which was why he had arranged everything before his death.
He had placed his corpse on Earth, using this corpse-nurturing ground to transform himself and give birth to a new will, intending to emerge when the time was right.
What was the right time?
Naturally, the era when the Immortal Ascension Path opened!
Throughout the ages, becoming an immortal had always been the ultimate goal of countless powerhouses!
For this reason, countless powerhouses had made all kinds of attempts, and Daoist Heavenly Venerate was no exception.
The only opportunity in all eternity to truly enter the Immortal Domain through the Immortal Ascension Path would also fulfill Daoist Heavenly Venerate's lifelong wish.
Moreover, if he truly managed to enter the Immortal Domain and reach a higher realm, Daoist Heavenly Venerate might not be without a chance to return.
For Daoist Heavenly Venerate, this was an experiment!
Awakening Daoist Heavenly Venerate ahead of time was likewise an experiment for Ying Hao.
Guided by the Emperor's divine sense, a consciousness began to awaken within Daoist Heavenly Venerate's body, and new vitality began to emerge.
In the next moment, Daoist Heavenly Venerate's Emperor Corpse opened its eyes. A glint of light flashed and vanished, replaced by confusion.
"Who am I? And who are you?"
He sat up in the coffin. The Emperor Fiend Qi vanished in an instant, while vigorous vitality emerged, as if a withered tree had blossomed with new life.
Ying Hao silently watched Daoist Heavenly Venerate. This was the process of passing from death to life, containing the profound principles of heaven and earth—the Great Dao of Life and Death.
It was the body of a Heavenly Venerate, yet a new will had been born within it. Where exactly did this wisp of will originate?
The more he comprehended it, the more he felt that its mysteries were endless. Suddenly, his heart stirred. Wasn't this precisely the mystery of the human body?
He could see that within Daoist Heavenly Venerate's body, a pure-white Reincarnation Seal had taken shape, likewise containing boundless mysteries.
He could not help wondering: If Daoist Heavenly Venerate formed the Nine Paths of Reincarnation Seals within his body just like Cao Yusheng, could he also complete his transformation into a Mortal World Immortal?
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