The Aura of the True Dragon Elixir

"Tribulation Heavenly Venerable!" Li Ming was also taken aback.

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 became the Netherworld Venerable—or Underworld Emperor—who had undergone Corpse Spirit Awakening and attained the Dao anew in people's eyes.

The Netherworld Venerable of the original work had reincarnated continuously and became Duan De by Ye Fan's era.

Daode Tianzun had likewise reincarnated continuously through Corpse Spirit Awakening, becoming Laozi by Ye Fan's era.

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

"I have only found a few clues myself. Whether they are true or not will require you to judge for yourself, fellow Daoist!" Daode Tianzun said with a smile.

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

"No one knew his origins, nor could anyone deduce his background. All they knew was that he was exceedingly mysterious!"

Li Ming nodded.

He remembered that during the Perfect Era, Cao Yusheng and Big Black Dog had buried themselves in the earth early on.

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

The length of time that man and dog slept was truly outrageous.

They slept for who knew how many tens of thousands of years before emerging into the world.

If one only looked at Shrouding the Heavens, Netherworld Venerable Duan De truly seemed incredibly impressive.

But when compared to the Perfect Era, Netherworld Venerable appeared far too ordinary.

Back then, he was still called Cao Yusheng and had sworn brotherhood with Shi Hao in his youth.

Shi Hao had long since become an Immortal Emperor, perhaps even entering the Sacrificial Dao Realm after countless years, while Tribulation Heavenly Venerable was still buried in the earth, muddling through life in the Human Dao Realm.

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

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

Though it was not the complete version, 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.

Thinking of how 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 on the Dao.

It was rare to encounter a Heavenly Venerable with whom he could communicate, so Li Ming was also quite generous.

Nine Secrets: Xing, Nine Secrets: Zhe, Nine Secrets: Zu—then 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 union of the Nine Secret Techniques.

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

That was because it concerned the path he would take in the future.

Li Ming and Daode Tianzun discussed the Dao for a hundred years before he finally departed.

Before leaving, the two joined forces to deduce what seemed 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 still alive and whether there was still hope for survival.

With the doubt in his heart unresolved, he could not feel at ease.

Boom, boom, boom.

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

Ahead lay an incomparably dazzling river of stars. He took a step forward and searched carefully.

He soon found an irregular planet.

Just as he had guessed, it was a celestial body shaped like a head.

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

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

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

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

His divine sense spread out, carefully scanning the planet and sensing the Grand Dao Divine Resonance flowing from it.

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

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

Dense formation patterns covered the planet, protecting the star.

Li Ming could tell that this was a supreme formation laid down after Nine Secrets: Zu had been deduced to its utmost limit.

"In the original work, after Emperor Zun and Netherworld Venerable discovered this place and confirmed Lingbao Tianzun's death, they simply turned it into a training ground for soldiers."

"But now, it has yet to fall under the control of Emperor Zun's Ancient Heavenly Court. It is merely a seemingly vast and prosperous life-bearing planet."

While scanning the planet just now, Li Ming discovered that several Great Saints had actually been born here.

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

After all, an ordinary planet would struggle to produce even a single Great Saint, while this one had several. It was clear just how profound its foundation was.

Li Ming descended upon the planet silently, and no one noticed his arrival.

Countless lofty, magnificent mountains stood upon the planet, shrouded in endless Chaos qi.

With just the slightest act of comprehension, the Grand Dao Heavenly Sound immediately rumbled.

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

Li Ming directly descended to the location of the Immortal Platform and flew toward the depths of the planet.

There, he discovered countless formation patterns, all incomparably mysterious.

An ordinary Supreme or Heavenly Venerable would certainly be unable to break these formations.

Even after obtaining Nine Secrets: Zu, they might not necessarily be able to break them.

But the mysterious Bronze Mirror 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, blazing with sacred flames as though they pierced through ancient times, the present, and the future.

A mysterious and powerful divine force emanated 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 watched the incomparably scorching flames.

They should have been the so-called Primordial Spirit Fire.

Countless even more mysterious formations and Immortal Dao Runes lay within.

Clearly, Lingbao Tianzun had set these up for his own revival.

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

Li Ming observed everything here with blazing eyes, deducing madly.

His hands even continued drawing patterns as he sought to uncover more secrets.

Judging from 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 in the past.

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 power of gestation was actually drawn from the void.

With a slight deduction, Li Ming immediately traced it to that immortal corpse.

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

He still needed to borrow part of the Immortal Dao power within the Teng Snake corpse to live out another Lifetime.

After carefully deducing matters here, he felt that everything was truly astonishing.

This 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 within.

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

After Li Ming comprehended the place for some time, the Four Swords of Zhu Xian rang sharply, seemingly urging him to leave quickly and not disturb Lingbao Tianzun's transformation.

Li Ming cupped his hands in salute and soon left.

Li Ming returned to Ziwei Star once more.

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

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

Li Ming's incomparably majestic voice spread throughout Ziwei Star.

Extreme Dao Divine Might erupted, and countless living beings prostrated themselves in worship.

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

After so many years, the people from back then had long since passed away. Who knew how many generations had gone by, and a new generation had grown up.

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

Being able to hear the Demon Venerable expound the Great Dao was absolutely a heaven-sent fortune and opportunity for them.

They also hoped that, like the seniors of old, they could gain some realization.

The news of the Demon Venerable's return to Ziwei Star sent the entire planet into a frenzy.

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

They told them to spare no cost and use the Starry Sky Teleportation Array to send their clans' peerless geniuses over to hear the Demon Venerable expound the Great Dao.

Countless people refused to miss this opportunity to hear the Dao.

Ever since the Demon Venerable attained Enlightenment as Supreme, 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.

Now that the Demon Venerable had lived out another Lifetime, he had actually returned to Ziwei Star after several hundred years.

This was absolutely a momentous event, enough to be recorded in history.

The last time Li Ming expounded the Great Dao on Ziwei Star, not only were there members of the Human Race from Ziwei Star, but other powerful races from across the universe had also come from the Extraterritorial Starry Sky.

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

The news soon spread throughout the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands.

The major races arrived in force, sending experts and geniuses from their clans to Ziwei Star.

Even in the depths of the universe, many powerful cultivators who had been cultivating in seclusion broke through their retreats and desperately teleported toward Ziwei Star.

For a time, nearly half the universe's experts gathered on Ziwei Star, making it extraordinarily lively.

No one had expected Li Ming's exposition of the Great Dao to last for a full ten years.

This time, he likewise explained the cultivation methods of the Five Great Human Body Secret Realms.

They were all very basic cultivation methods.

Yet with such clear and thorough 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 remained reluctant to leave.

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 Scripture and Extreme Dao Weapons Li Ming had given them, they were doing very well and developing splendidly.

After scanning them, he concealed his figure. Though he remained on Ziwei Star, no one could find him again.

He flew into the cosmic starry sky and remained seated amid the stars 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 incredibly astonishing.

Yes, they were Extreme Dao Weapons forged by Li Ming.

Genuine Heavenly Venerable Weapons.

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

In this era, perhaps only Li Ming could afford such extravagance, forging nine heavy weapons at once.

Moreover, they were bells, cauldrons, and towers, universally acknowledged as the finest kinds 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 from 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 the nine heavy weapons throughout the starry sky around Ziwei Star using Nine Secrets: Zu.

At that time, they would form a peerless grand formation to protect all of Ziwei Star.

Then, any Dark Supreme seeking to launch a Dark Turmoil on Ziwei Star would likely be slain by the peerless grand formation.

Or frightened into retreat.

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

He had even obtained the formation used to besiege a True Immortal's corpse.

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

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

Ordinary Supremes simply could not find so many astonishing materials.

Yet Li Ming had obtained them with such ease.

If anyone else tried to forge so many Heavenly Venerable Weapons, they would certainly find it extremely taxing and might not even succeed.

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

He was innately in harmony 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 not yet 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, one day, they would become genuine Immortal Weapons.

He did not intend to take them away, nor did he intend to tell anyone.

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

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

Besides protecting Ziwei Star from the harassment 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,

leaving behind some contingency measures early on still counted as preparing for the unexpected.

Furthermore, Li Ming also wanted to study Faith Power.

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

In any case, Li Ming directly channeled all the inexhaustible Faith Power he had obtained into these 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 around Ziwei Star.

It was a small world, or perhaps a cosmic bubble, that he had personally opened up.

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 one hell of a surprise.

If one had to find a reason for Li Ming, 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 finishing the weapons, Li Ming did not leave Ziwei Star.

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

In other words, the True Dragon Elixir should currently be somewhere on Ziwei Star; it simply had not yet been discovered.

Perhaps it existed within some mysterious world.

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

If he did not know, then so be it. But since 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 the original text had emphasized, Li Ming sat there for a full hundred years and still found no trace of the True Dragon Elixir.

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

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

This greatly shocked him.

According to the original text and certain fan novels,

back then, when the Chaotic Body Wang Bo had reached the Eighth Heaven Quasi-Emperor realm, the restless Boundless Heavenly Venerable had killed him again.

The result was that, on the surface, the Chaotic Body Wang Bo had died, but in truth, he had undergone Nirvana and been reborn.

Meanwhile, the Boundless Heavenly Venerable had suffered severe injuries and died after barely more than a hundred years.

Beidou Star was the place where numerous powerhouses had deduced that the Road to Immortality would open.

In later generations, Beidou Star and Feixian Star would both become places where the Road to Immortality opened.

Therefore, many Dark Supremes planned to relocate to these two planets before the Road to Immortality opened and wait for the right opportunity.

And Beidou Star's Chaos Grand Formation had been forged by the Boundless Heavenly Venerable after refining the body of the Chaotic Body Wang Bo into a Chaos Formation.

When the Chaos Formation had first been forged, numerous Dark Supremes had joined forces and supplied many precious materials before it could finally be completed.

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

The Chaotic Body Wang Bo had possessed such astonishing strength, while the Boundless Heavenly Venerable had only won a miserable victory.

Legend said that after setting down the formation, the Boundless Heavenly Venerable had simply died.

Moreover, judging from the original text, the Boundless Heavenly Venerable had truly died completely that time. There was no further news of him throughout the later End of the Mythology Era, Primordial Era, or Desolate Ancient Era.

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

He contributed the most, only to die in the end without even leaving behind bones. What terrible luck.

And in the era after Ye Fan, the Chaotic Body Wang Bo had actually attained the Dao and become an emperor as well.

He became the renowned Chaos Heavenly Emperor. Fate truly played tricks on people.

Li Ming had not expected that, while carefully deducing information and traces of the True Dragon Elixir on Ziwei Star, he would unexpectedly discover traces left by the Boundless Heavenly Venerable.

This left Li Ming utterly stunned.

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

Following the vague sense of connection, he carefully searched and investigated every trace related to the 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 different from other Immortal Medicines.

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

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

"Could the Boundless Heavenly Venerable truly still be alive?"