The Aura of the True Dragon Elixir

"Tribulation Heavenly Venerable!" Li Ming was startled as well.

He had not expected Daode Tianzun to already know about Tribulation Heavenly Venerable.

And he had actually guessed correctly.

After successfully transforming, Tribulation Heavenly Venerable had become the Netherworld Venerable—or Netherworld Emperor—whom people believed had undergone Corpse Spirit Awakening and attained the Dao anew.

In the original work, Netherworld Venerable continually reincarnated and became Duan De in Ye Fan's era.

Daode Tianzun had likewise continually reincarnated and undergone Corpse Spirit Awakening, becoming Laozi in Ye Fan's era.

"Please enlighten me, Daode Tianzun!" After some thought, Li Ming wanted to learn more from Daode Tianzun.

"I have only uncovered a few scattered clues. Whether they are true still requires you to judge for yourself, Fellow Daoist," Daode Tianzun said with a smile.

"After the Primordial Ancient Era ended, Tribulation Heavenly Venerable, the first person to attain the Dao in the Age of Mythology, was an exceedingly mysterious figure."

"No one knew his origins, nor could anyone divine his background. They only knew that he was incredibly mysterious!"

Li Ming nodded.

He remembered that in the Perfect World era, Cao Yusheng and Big Black Dog had long since been buried in the ground.

Even after the Desolate Heavenly Emperor passed down the Five Secret Realms Cultivation Method, later severed eternity with a single sword, and departed this world, Cao Yusheng and Big Black Dog were still buried in the earth, not yet having crawled out of the Burial Soil.

The length of sleep shared by that man and dog was truly absurd.

They would sleep for tens of thousands of years before emerging into the world.

Looking only at Shrouding the Heavens, Netherworld Venerable Duan De truly had an imposing reputation.

But when compared to the Perfect World era, Netherworld Venerable seemed far too ordinary.

Back then, he was still called Cao Yusheng and had sworn brotherhood with the young Shi Hao.

Shi Hao had long since become an Immortal Emperor, perhaps even stepping into the Sacrificial Dao Realm, while Tribulation Heavenly Venerable was still buried in the ground, muddling through in the human realm.

After hearing Daode Tianzun's account, Li Ming sighed. "So that's how it is."

What surprised Li Ming was that Daode Tianzun actually possessed an incomplete version of the Tribulation Heavenly Art.

Although it was not complete, Li Ming still discerned a trace of something from the incomplete Tribulation Heavenly Art.

Li Ming had not expected Daode Tianzun to be so generous as to pass on the incomplete Tribulation Heavenly Art he had painstakingly acquired.

Remembering that he had once cultivated Daode Tianzun's Dao Scripture, Li Ming also brought out his Thunder God's Heavenly Art and shared it with Daode Tianzun.

He also shared the scriptures of Longevity Heavenly Venerable and Carefree Heavenly Venerable.

Then the two discussed Lingbao Tianzun's scriptures and exchanged insights into the Dao.

It was rare to encounter a Heavenly Venerable capable of discussing such matters with him, so Li Ming was generous as well.

Nine Secrets: Xing, Nine Secrets: Zhe, Nine Secrets: Zu—and afterward, he obtained Nine Secrets: Shu from Daode Tianzun.

Li Ming had also developed secret arts similar to the Nine Secret Techniques, so he was not particularly interested in the so-called unification of the Nine Secret Techniques.

Instead, he cared more about his comprehension of his own Great Dao.

That was because it concerned his future path.

Li Ming discussed the Dao with Daode Tianzun for a hundred years before finally departing.

Before leaving, the two joined forces to deduce what appeared to be the coordinates of Lingbao Tianzun's true body.

Li Ming decided to take a look.

He wanted to see whether Lingbao Tianzun was truly still alive and whether there was still hope of survival.

With the doubts in his heart unresolved, he could not put his mind at ease.

Rumble!

Amid an earth-shaking roar, Li Ming entered another world.

A dazzling river of stars stretched before him. Taking one step forward, he searched carefully.

Before long, he found an irregular planet.

Just as he had guessed, it was a star shaped like a human head.

If he was not mistaken, it should be the legendary Heavenly Soldier Ancient Star.

The twinkling stars nearby should also once have been parts of Lingbao Tianzun's body.

Li Ming stepped forward and looked down upon Heavenly Soldier Ancient Star.

The entire planet resonated with the Great Dao. It was flourishing and prosperous, truly a paradise for cultivation.

He spread out his divine sense, carefully scanning the planet and sensing the Dao's divine charm flowing from it.

Only after a long time did he withdraw his divine sense.

The star transformed from Lingbao Tianzun's head was indeed extraordinary.

Dense formation patterns covered the planet, protecting the star.

Li Ming was certain that they were supreme formations laid down after Nine Secrets: Zu had been deduced to its ultimate limit.

"In the original work, after Emperor Zun and Netherworld Venerable discovered this place and confirmed that Lingbao Tianzun had died, they simply turned it into a training ground for troops."

"But now, it has not fallen under the control of Emperor Zun's Ancient Heavenly Court. It is merely a prosperous life-bearing planet."

While scanning it earlier, Li Ming had discovered that several Great Saints had actually been born on this planet.

Although there were no Quasi-Emperors, that was already astonishing enough.

After all, an ordinary planet would struggle to produce even one Great Saint, yet this single planet had several. That showed just how profound its foundations were.

Li Ming descended upon the planet soundlessly. No one noticed that he had arrived.

The planet possessed countless towering, magnificent mountains, along with endless chaos energy winding through them.

With only a slight moment of perception, the Grand Dao Heavenly Sound immediately rumbled forth.

The region corresponding to the Immortal Platform of Heavenly Soldier Ancient Star was especially astonishing.

Li Ming descended directly into the place where the Immortal Platform was located and flew toward the depths of the planet.

There, he found densely packed formation patterns, all incomparably mysterious.

Ordinary Supremes or Heavenly Venerables would certainly have been unable to break these formations.

Even if they had obtained Nine Secrets: Zu, they might not have been able to crack them.

But he possessed a mysterious Bronze Mirror that concealed all his aura.

Thus, he encountered almost no obstruction as he reached the underground world beneath the Immortal Platform.

It was an incomparably vast underground world.

A continent floated in the void, upon which sacred flames blazed fiercely, as though they pierced through past, present, and future.

A mysterious and powerful divine force radiated from it.

Just as Li Ming had guessed.

Such powerful life force meant that Lingbao Tianzun had not yet passed away in meditation.

Li Ming flew above the continent and looked at the incomparably scorching flames.

They should be the so-called Primordial Spirit Fire.

Countless dense and even more mysterious formations lay there, along with Immortal Dao Runes.

Clearly, this was something Lingbao Tianzun had arranged for his own revival.

He wanted to use these things to live out another lifetime.

Li Ming watched everything here with blazing eyes, deducing frantically.

His hands constantly traced patterns as well, seeking to uncover more secrets.

Judging by the aura here, no other Supremes or Heavenly Venerables should have discovered this place yet.

The reason Li Ming and Daode Tianzun had been able to deduce these approximate coordinates was still due to the agreement Daode Tianzun and Lingbao Tianzun had made back then.

Soon, he discovered a Great Dao Cocoon within the blazing flames.

Lingbao Tianzun's soul light remained unextinguished, gestating within the Great Dao Cocoon.

It was like nurturing a Sacred Spirit, except the nurturing power was actually drawn from the void.

With only a slight deduction, Li Ming could immediately trace it to that immortal corpse.

It seemed that the Teng Snake corpse was indeed extremely important to Lingbao Tianzun's transformation.

He needed to borrow a portion of the immortal Dao power within the Teng Snake corpse to live out another lifetime.

After carefully deducing things here, he found it all truly astonishing.

Lingbao Tianzun was indeed exceptionally mysterious and powerful.

In a daze, he seemed to see a figure within the Great Dao Cocoon.

A man dressed like a Daoist sat cross-legged there.

Lingbao Tianzun's formation diagram and the Four Swords of Zhu Xian hovered around him.

After Li Ming comprehended the scene for a time, the Four Swords of Zhu Xian rang with a sharp clang, seemingly urging him to leave quickly and not disturb Lingbao Tianzun's transformation.

Li Ming cupped his hands and soon departed.

Li Ming returned to Ziwei Star once more.

"I was born on Ziwei Star, so I should bring blessings to all living beings of Ziwei."

"Today, I shall once again expound the Great Dao for all beings!"

Li Ming's vast voice spread across the entirety of Ziwei Star.

Extreme Dao divine might erupted, and countless living beings bowed in worship.

More than ten thousand years later, Demon Venerable had returned to Ziwei Star to expound the Great Dao for everyone once again.

So many years had passed that those from that era had long since died. Who knew how many generations had gone by, and a new generation had grown up.

To those newly risen peerless geniuses, the legends of Demon Venerable were practically myths.

Being able to hear Demon Venerable expound the Great Dao was undoubtedly a heaven-sent opportunity of immense Fortune.

They also hoped to comprehend something, just as their predecessors had once done.

The news of Demon Venerable's return to Ziwei Star set the entire planet ablaze with excitement.

Even many powerful cultivators traveling on Ziwei Star immediately sent word to their clans.

They told them to spare no expense and use starry sky teleportation formations to send their clan's peerless geniuses over to hear Demon Venerable expound the Great Dao.

Countless people refused to miss this chance to hear the Great Dao.

Ever since Demon Venerable attained the Dao and became a Venerable, Ziwei Star had become renowned throughout the universe.

Ziwei Star had now become a place where the Human Race's fortune gathered.

Many people also regarded Ziwei Star as an important place for training and experience.

Several centuries after Demon Venerable lived out another lifetime, he had unexpectedly returned to Ziwei Star.

This was undoubtedly an extraordinary event, one worthy of being recorded in history.

The last time Li Ming expounded the Great Dao on Ziwei Star, not only did the Human Race of Ziwei Star attend, but powerful races from other regions of the universe also arrived from beyond the starry sky.

This time, Li Ming had originally intended to speak only to the myriad living beings of Ziwei Star, but he had clearly underestimated his own influence.

Before long, the news spread throughout the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands.

The major races sent their experts and geniuses to Ziwei Star in great numbers.

Even many powerful cultivators deep within the universe, who had been in secluded cultivation, broke out of seclusion and desperately teleported toward Ziwei Star.

For a time, nearly half the powerful cultivators in the universe gathered on Ziwei Star, making it extraordinarily lively.

No one had expected Li Ming's exposition of the Great Dao to last an entire ten years.

This time, he likewise explained the cultivation methods of the body's Five Secret Realms.

They were all extremely fundamental cultivation methods.

Yet through such clear and profound explanations, even Great Saints and Quasi-Emperors would benefit for the rest of their lives.

Many geniuses broke through their realms on the spot.

Even after the exposition ended, many people still found it hard to part.

Only after a long time did Ziwei Star regain its former tranquility.

After this exposition ended, Li Ming did not return to Sun-Moon Holy Land or Ziwei Holy Land.

With the Heavenly Venerable Scriptures and Extreme Dao Weapons Li Ming had bestowed upon them, they were living very well and developing splendidly.

After scanning them once, he concealed himself. Though he remained on Ziwei Star, no one could discover him again.

He flew into the cosmic starry sky and sat above Ziwei Star.

Before him appeared three bells, three cauldrons, and three towers.

They had all been refined by Li Ming from Immortal Gold.

There was Phoenix Blood Crimson Gold, Eternal Blue Gold, Dragon-Patterned Black Gold, Immortal Tear Green Gold...

The auras they emitted were extraordinarily astonishing.

Yes, they were the Extreme Dao Weapons refined by Li Ming.

True Heavenly Venerable Weapons.

Li Ming had actually forged another nine Extreme Dao Weapons in one go!

In this era, perhaps only Li Ming could be so extravagant as to forge nine heavy weapons at once.

Moreover, they were bells, cauldrons, and towers, universally acknowledged as the finest types of heavy weapons.

He had forged three of each, nine in total.

The materials used to refine them had all been seized from those Dark Supremes.

Whether from the Dark Supremes he had killed or those he had forced to offer tribute,

in any case, all those materials had ended up in his hands.

As for why he had forged nine heavy weapons, it was because he intended to leave behind a safeguard on Ziwei Star.

He planned to arrange these nine heavy weapons throughout Ziwei Star's starry sky according to the methods of Nine Secrets: Zu.

When the time came, they would form an unparalleled grand formation to protect all of Ziwei Star.

Then, if any Dark Supreme wanted to launch a Dark Turmoil on Ziwei Star, they would likely be killed by the unparalleled grand formation.

Or driven away in fear.

Others did not have conditions as favorable as Li Ming's, allowing them to obtain the complete Nine Secrets: Zu.

He had even obtained the formation that had once trapped the corpse of a True Immortal.

How could an ordinary Dark Supreme withstand the attacks of such a formation?

On top of that, Li Ming possessed so many Immortal Gold materials, all of which he had forged into top-tier Heavenly Venerable Weapons.

Ordinary Supremes simply could not find so many astonishing materials.

Yet Li Ming had acquired them with such ease.

If anyone else tried to forge so many Heavenly Venerable Weapons, they would surely struggle immensely and might not even succeed.

But Li Ming was different. He possessed a Chaotic Body.

He was innately aligned with the myriad Daos.

Any Great Dao could resonate and harmonize with him.

Thus, forging Extreme Dao Weapons was easier for him than it was for any Great Emperor or Ancient Emperor.

These nine Extreme Dao Weapons had taken shape, but the matter was far from over.

Li Ming had used abundant materials—enough to forge Immortal Weapons.

As long as they continuously absorbed Faith Power from Ziwei Star for nourishment, they would one day transform into true Immortal Weapons.

He had no intention of taking them away, nor did he intend to tell anyone about them.

He planned to seal them within the starry sky surrounding Ziwei Star.

Then, he would use Ziwei Star's endless Faith Power to nurture these nine weapons.

Besides protecting Ziwei Star from the disturbances of those Dark Supremes, they could also prevent the future Emperor Zun from going mad and refining the entire world.

Although Li Ming believed that he would certainly become stronger than Emperor Zun in the future,

it was still wise to leave behind some safeguards early, just in case.

In addition, Li Ming wanted to study Faith Power.

Using Faith Power to temper the nine weapons was also a form of Dao comprehension and cultivation.

In any case, Li Ming directly poured the endless Faith Power he had obtained into the nine weapons.

As for his Heavenly Demonic Saber, it had already devoured enough Faith Power and did not need any more for the time being.

Afterward, he used Nine Secrets: Zu to link the nine weapons together.

He sealed them within the starry sky surrounding Ziwei Star.

It was a small world, or perhaps a cosmic bubble, personally created by him.

It would ensure that even Supremes and Heavenly Venerables could not discover their existence.

When the time came, they would give those Dark Supremes who launched Dark Turmoils a massive surprise.

If Li Ming had to give a reason, it was that Ziwei Star carried the beautiful memories of his weaker days. He did not want anyone to destroy this place, and he was willing to protect those precious memories.

After completing the forging of the weapons, Li Ming did not leave Ziwei Star.

According to the original text, the True Dragon Elixir originated from Ziwei Star.

In other words, the True Dragon Elixir should currently be somewhere on Ziwei Star, only undiscovered thus far.

Perhaps it existed within some mysterious world.

Li Ming intended to carefully deduce its whereabouts here and search for the legendary True Dragon Elixir.

If he did not know, that was one thing. But now that he knew, he would dig three feet into the ground if necessary to unearth the True Dragon Elixir.

He searched carefully, yet never found any trace of the True Dragon Elixir.

Even at the Falling Star River, which had been heavily described in the original text, Li Ming sat there for a full hundred years without finding any clues concerning the True Dragon Elixir.

Just as Li Ming was beginning to feel disappointed, the situation unexpectedly took another turn.

One day, Li Ming unexpectedly discovered ruins left behind by Boundless Heavenly Venerable.

This greatly shocked him.

According to the descriptions in the original text and the claims of certain fan novels,

back when the Chaotic Body Wang Bo had reached the eighth level of the Quasi-Emperor realm, Boundless Heavenly Venerable could no longer restrain himself and killed him once again.

As a result, the Chaotic Body Wang Bo appeared to have died, but in truth, he had been reborn through Nirvana.

Boundless Heavenly Venerable, however, was severely wounded and died after just over a hundred years.

Beidou Star was where many experts had deduced that the Road to Immortality would open.

In later ages, Beidou Star and Feixian Star also became places where the Road to Immortality opened.

Therefore, many Dark Supremes intended to relocate to those two planets before the Road to Immortality opened and wait for the right moment.

The Chaos Grand Formation on Beidou Star was a Chaos Formation forged by Boundless Heavenly Venerable after refining the body of the Chaotic Body Wang Bo.

When the Chaos Formation was forged, numerous Dark Supremes had joined forces and provided many precious materials before it could be successfully completed.

But Boundless Heavenly Venerable never had the chance to wait for the Road to Immortality to open.

The Chaotic Body Wang Bo had been incredibly powerful, while Boundless Heavenly Venerable had only achieved a miserable victory.

Legend had it that after Boundless Heavenly Venerable set up the formation, he simply died.

Moreover, judging from the original text, Boundless Heavenly Venerable had truly died completely that time. No news of him ever appeared again during the End of the Mythology Era, the Primordial Era, or the Desolate Ancient Era.

It had to be said that Boundless Heavenly Venerable was truly an unlucky bastard.

He contributed the most, only to die in the end without even leaving behind a corpse. What rotten luck.

As for the Chaotic Body Wang Bo, in the era after Ye Fan, he actually attained the Dao and became an emperor as well.

He became the renowned Chaos Heavenly Emperor. Fortune truly toyed with people.

Li Ming had never expected that while carefully deducing information and traces of the True Dragon Elixir on Ziwei Star, he would unexpectedly discover traces left behind by Boundless Heavenly Venerable.

This greatly startled Li Ming.

Could it be that Boundless Heavenly Venerable, like Lingbao Tianzun, had not truly died in this era and still had a chance at revival?

Following a vague sense of intuition, he carefully searched and investigated every trace related to Boundless Heavenly Venerable.

Very soon, he unexpectedly found the aura of an Immortal Medicine.

That indescribable fragrance was something Li Ming had never experienced before.

It was completely unlike any other Immortal Medicine.

If he was not mistaken, it was very likely the aura of the True Dragon Elixir!

"Could the True Dragon Elixir have fallen into Boundless Heavenly Venerable's hands long ago?"

"Could Boundless Heavenly Venerable truly still be alive?"