First Contact with Dark Strangeness

Li Ming watched the Immortal Dao Runes erupt from the Bronze Immortal Hall. Though the Thunder Sea raged, it caused no damage to the Bronze Immortal Hall.

Upon closely examining the Chaotic Dragon Nest, Li Ming noticed many details he had overlooked before.

Each of those ink-black Dragon Woods was ancient and weathered, as though it had endured the passage of countless ages.

Judging from the Immortal Dao Runes that occasionally flickered across them, these Dragon Woods might truly have originated in the Immortal Domain rather than being trees native to this world.

Once the violent upheaval in the Thunder Sea subsided, Li Ming emerged from the Bronze Immortal Hall.

The moment he stepped onto the Dragon Wood, endless Grand Dao Runes surfaced, brimming with boundless killing intent.

Li Ming circulated the incomplete Boundless Heavenly Art and relied on the Bronze Immortal Hall's protection to evade that endless killing intent.

He had never expected that old thief Boundless Heavenly Venerable's research into formations had reached such a level.

Had Li Ming not carefully studied Nine Secrets: Xing and Nine Secrets: Zu, he might truly have fallen into the trap.

With the Bronze Immortal Hall above his head, Li Ming headed deeper into the Chaotic Dragon Nest.

After passing through the densely packed Dragon Woods and entering the Chaotic Dragon Nest, he found an incomparably vast Thunder Sea within.

Nine-colored immortal light surged turbulently.

Nine-colored lightning filled every inch of space.

That terrifying aura was enough to reduce a Supreme to ashes here.

Even Li Ming sensed a grave threat.

The True Dragon Elixir regarded Li Ming with curiosity, like an inquisitive child.

Li Ming looked at the True Dragon Elixir and said with a smile, "I mean you no harm!"

"I can take you away from this dangerous place!"

"You can see the world outside!"

Upon hearing Li Ming's words, the True Dragon Elixir fled like a startled hare, darting back into the Dragon Woods and hiding far away as it watched him.

Li Ming was somewhat speechless. He had not expected the True Dragon Elixir to be so skilled at fleeing.

If not for the layers upon layers of Immortal Dao Runes and lightning here, Li Ming would have forcefully seized it long ago.

"Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you!"

"I truly want to save you from the Bitter Sea!"

As Li Ming spoke, he employed a mysterious art that made anyone who heard him unable to resist trusting him, believing everything he said was truth.

It resembled the God-Degreeing Art, yet it was not the God-Degreeing Art.

Sure enough, the True Dragon Elixir slowly flew toward Li Ming.

It emitted a faint spiritual fluctuation.

"I sense the aura of an Immortal Medicine on you!"

"Did you eat it?"

"Or did you imprison it within your body?"

Li Ming had not expected the True Dragon Elixir to sense the aura of the Flat Peach Divine Medicine.

Thinking that the Flat Peach Divine Medicine might have formed from Pan King's Nirvana after his death in the perfect age, Li Ming guessed that the True Dragon Immortal King might truly have crossed paths with Pan King before.

With that thought, Li Ming directly took the Flat Peach Divine Medicine out of his Bitter Sea.

"Look, this is the Flat Peach Divine Medicine!"

"It has always been rooted in my Sea of Bitterness. As long as it absorbs my Heavenly Venerable Life Spring Divine Liquid, it can live very well."

"And it doesn't need to worry about encountering danger!"

"Of course, its presence in my body has also brought me countless benefits."

"We benefit each other!"

The True Dragon Elixir stirred restlessly and drew closer and closer.

Li Ming took out another clump of Chaos Immortal Essence.

"See that? My Heavenly Venerable Life Spring Divine Liquid is different from that of ordinary Heavenly Venerables."

"I am the legendary Chaotic Body!"

"The Life Spring Divine Liquid I produce is Chaos Immortal Essence. Even Divine Spring Water cannot compare to its astonishing effects."

Li Ming was telling the truth.

As a Chaotic Body, his Heavenly Venerable Life Spring Divine Liquid was far more precious than Lingbao Tianzun's Life Spring Divine Liquid. This was one of the Chaotic Body's unique advantages.

"I don't want to be trapped here either. I want to go out and have some fun too."

"But I don't want to be imprisoned in your Life Spring..." the True Dragon Elixir said.

Li Ming frowned. He had not expected the True Dragon Elixir to be so difficult to handle.

Li Ming continued, "You can fly through the skies and burrow through the earth. You can go anywhere you wish."

"If you want to leave, then of course you may leave."

"I can make an agreement with you. I'll take you away, and you'll stay in my Life Spring for ten thousand years. After that, you'll be free to come and go, and I will never force you to remain."

Though Li Ming said that, he thought to himself, As long as I can trick the True Dragon Elixir into my hands, who cares whether it wants to stay or leave?

Once it falls into my hands, does it think it can still run?

At the very least, I'll have to fully comprehend it before that happens.

The True Dragon Elixir tilted its head and thought for a moment. Sensing the aura of Li Ming's body harmonizing with all Dao, it was indeed deeply tempted.

It sniffed the Chaos Immortal Essence Li Ming had taken out, seized it from afar, and swallowed it in one gulp.

Its nine leaves immediately spread open, releasing golden misty radiance as the unique fragrance of an Immortal Medicine spread in every direction.

In an instant, even Li Ming felt slightly intoxicated upon smelling that fragrance.

Li Ming had not expected his Life Spring Divine Liquid to be so effective.

The True Dragon Elixir swayed as though drunk and took quite some time to regain its senses.

After circling Li Ming once, it indicated that it was willing to follow him.

It flew directly onto Li Ming's body, its golden roots tightly clutching his arm.

Li Ming was extremely satisfied. With a casual motion, he branded it with his mark, then placed it and the Flat Peach Divine Medicine into his Bitter Sea.

Li Ming asked, "True Dragon Elixir, do you know what lies within the Chaotic Dragon Nest?"

Upon hearing this, the True Dragon Elixir seemed to sink into recollection. Only after a while did it say, "I don't know either."

"I've been here ever since I was born."

"My earliest memory seems to be growing upon the remains of a True Dragon!"

"Hm? The remains of a True Dragon?"

Li Ming was also shocked. Could the Chaotic Dragon Nest contain the corpse of the True Dragon Immortal King?

He carefully examined the True Dragon Elixir's memories.

An indescribable power flowed through his body as he meticulously deduced the truth. Feeling that strange aura, the True Dragon Elixir nearly fled.

Yet it was within Li Ming's Bitter Sea, with nowhere to escape. It could only tremble and allow that mysterious power to descend upon it.

Li Ming's divine sense descended upon the True Dragon Elixir, carefully observing its entire life and those fragments of memory.

He discovered that the True Dragon Elixir had been born less than five hundred thousand years ago!

Its memories before that were completely blank, or rather, it had no memories at all.

It was as though it had suddenly undergone Nirvana and been reborn hundreds of thousands of years ago.

Or perhaps it had simply been born then.

Li Ming pondered. This was the Myriad Dragon Nest, suspected to be a True Dragon's nest. The True Dragon Elixir was suspected to have formed from the Nirvana of a dead Immortal King. He had no choice but to doubt the True Dragon Elixir's true origins.

Could it be that the True Dragon Immortal King's corpse had already fallen into Boundless Heavenly Venerable's hands?

Li Ming truly coveted the corpse of an Immortal King.

Even the body of a True Immortal could yield so many insights. If it were the remains of an Immortal King, it was difficult to imagine how many benefits they could bring.

Yet this still could not explain why the endless lightning was so violent.

Nor why it never dissipated.

Could it be that when Boundless Heavenly Venerable sought to use Wang Bo's Chaos Origin to transform into a Chaotic Body and live another Lifetime, another change had occurred here?

Or perhaps he had been killed by the ripples of the Grand Dao emanating from that Immortal King's corpse?

Who knew?

Li Ming looked at the incomparably violent Thunder Sea within the Chaotic Dragon Nest, unable to see what lay in its depths.

Rumble.

As Li Ming pondered, the Thunder Sea ahead entered another period of violent activity.

He had no choice but to temporarily hide within the Bronze Immortal Hall.

The Thunder Sea roared with incomparable fury as endless nine-colored lightning churned within it.

Chaos qi surged violently. Blazing lightning danced everywhere like thunder dragons, every bolt resembling a river of stars and leaving one utterly shaken.

Dragon roars rang out without end, as though tens of thousands of True Dragons had awakened. The entire Chaotic Dragon Nest seemed to have come alive.

From the nine enormous dragon caverns, endless immortal light erupted and streamed into the Chaotic Dragon Nest.

Countless strands of Immortal Dao Divine Thunder also merged into the lightning.

One divine dragon after another appeared, as though cast from Divine Marked Purple Gold, galloping and roaring within the Thunder Sea.

These True Dragons formed from dragon qi were all constructed from dragon qi and Grand Dao Runes, guarding the Myriad Dragon Nest and the Chaotic Dragon Nest.

Li Ming suddenly felt the Bronze Mirror within his body tremble gently, as though something were drawing it in.

After considering it, he piloted the Bronze Immortal Hall toward the depths of the Chaotic Dragon Nest.

Within the Myriad Dragon Nest, endless Grand Dao Runes flashed, many of them Immortal Dao Runes.

After countless years had passed, these Immortal Dao Runes had still not been worn away.

Complete formations still shone here, and immortal aura permeated the surroundings.

Li Ming piloted the Bronze Immortal Hall into the depths of the Chaotic Dragon Nest.

The closer he drew to the depths, the denser the immortal aura became.

Before long, Li Ming discovered in astonishment that there was a person ahead—or rather, there was a person within the Chaos Thunder Sea.

He was utterly shocked as well.

Deep within that incomparably terrifying Immortal Dao Divine Thunder stood a tall and majestic figure, enduring the heavenly tribulation as though undergoing a tribulation.

Li Ming opened his Heavenly Eye and examined the figure carefully.

This person actually looked like Wang Bo, the Chaotic Body!

He had once seen a portrait of that unlucky Chaotic Body, Wang Bo, and recognized him at once.

He could sense that it was not the real Wang Bo, but merely the origin of Wang Bo's Chaotic Body.

The incomparably terrifying Immortal Dao Divine Thunder seemed not to regard the Chaotic Body's origin as an outsider. Instead, it treated it as part of this place and did not actively attack it.

Yet the Chaotic Body's origin was continuously trying to merge with and refine that Immortal Dao Divine Thunder.

It sought to absorb the power and aura of the immortal Dao from it.

This seemed to enrage the lightning.

The incomparably terrifying lightning frantically struck Wang Bo.

Countless phantom Immortal Spirits evolved from lightning surrounded Wang Bo and attacked him madly.

Yet Wang Bo showed no fear and actually began a great battle with the Immortal Spirits.

Every Immortal Spirit radiated the aura of a Supreme, making them terrifying beyond measure.

Yet Wang Bo actually withstood that level of power, tearing apart divine dragons and phoenixes.

Even the phantom Immortal Spirits evolved from lightning could not destroy him.

The Immortal Dao Divine Thunder did not attack him. What attacked him was lightning at the Heavenly Venerable level.

It was as though heavenly tribulation continuously descended, seeking to destroy this challenger.

Li Ming was even astonished to discover that the lightning had evolved into the forms of Immortal Medicines.

He remembered that Wang Bo himself had not reached the Heavenly Venerable level. Boundless Heavenly Venerable had killed him when he was at the eighth level of Quasi-Emperor, or so it should have been.

Could it be?

Could Boundless Heavenly Venerable have fused with this Chaotic Body's origin?

Li Ming's gaze burned as he carefully sought traces of Boundless Heavenly Venerable's aura within the Chaotic Body's origin.

One face after another evolved from Immortal Medicines radiated immortal Dao laws and frantically attacked Wang Bo.

Yet Wang Bo, evolved from the Chaotic Body's origin, showed no fear and charged toward one Immortal Medicine after another.

That figure struggled with all his might, and the final technique he unleashed was actually Boundless Heavenly Venerable's forbidden secret art!

Just as Li Ming had guessed, Wang Bo's Chaos Origin had truly been refined by Boundless Heavenly Venerable.

He even intended to use the Thunder Sea and Immortal Dao Runes here to live another Lifetime!

"Mortal-World Ascension!"

Wang Bo let out roar after roar, as though he wanted to devour all the lightning.

The incomparably terrifying lightning all descended upon him, wrapping around him layer upon layer.

The next moment, the Grand Dao Heavenly Sound rumbled, and endless chaos surged forth. Wang Bo's Chaotic Body aura strengthened somewhat further.

Wang Bo's Chaotic Body form transformed, becoming another familiar figure.

Wang Bo's Chaotic Body appearance actually became that of Boundless Heavenly Venerable.

Sure enough, Boundless Heavenly Venerable had truly devoured Wang Bo's Chaotic Body origin.

This was merely his origin, continuously attempting to devour Immortal Dao Runes within the Thunder Sea.

"It seems Boundless Heavenly Venerable truly isn't completely dead yet!"

"Since he can devour immortal Dao lightning within this Chaos Thunder Sea and attempt to fuse with it, he must have something to rely on."

Li Ming opened his Heavenly Eye and observed carefully, attempting to make the chaos within his body resonate with this Chaos Thunder Sea.

He wanted to pry into Boundless Heavenly Venerable's secret.

Before long, amidst the layers of chaos, Li Ming discovered a mysterious coffin at the bottom of the Chaotic Dragon Nest.

It was ancient and weathered.

It seemed to have crossed countless ages to remain in this world.

What astonished Li Ming even more was that the coffin bore the mark of the Desolate Pagoda.

This mark belonged exclusively to the Desolate Heavenly Emperor.

"Could this be a coffin forged by the Desolate Heavenly Emperor?"

"Could it be a coffin specially forged by the Desolate Heavenly Emperor to heal the eight hundred old soldiers?"

"Could Boundless Heavenly Venerable's body be hidden within this coffin?"

"And did his origin wish to use the Heavenly Dao power here to completely devour Wang Bo's origin, transform into a Chaotic Body, and live out a new Lifetime?"

Boundless Heavenly Venerable had been trying all along to refine and devour the Immortal Dao Divine Thunder here.

If not for that mysterious coffin, this origin might have long since been reduced to ashes.

Boundless Heavenly Venerable, transformed from the Chaos Origin, seemed to sense Li Ming's presence through the haze.

He abruptly opened his eyes, turned his head, and looked in Li Ming's direction.

He was a majestic-looking middle-aged man dressed in a Daoist robe, exactly like the portrait of Boundless Heavenly Venerable from the legends.

He looked at Li Ming in utter confusion.

After hesitating for a moment, a fierce expression suddenly appeared on his face, as though he feared Li Ming would seize or destroy everything here.

He charged toward Li Ming, brimming with murderous intent.

He rushed over with endless lightning and boundless killing intent.

It was as though a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood were charging toward Li Ming.

Even Boundless Heavenly Venerable's weapon of enlightenment—a crimson killing sword—rang sharply as it flew out from the coffin.

Li Ming shouted, "Boundless Heavenly Venerable!"

That incomparably grand voice was like a Daoist shout.

The aura unique to a powerhouse spread in all directions, crushing down upon Boundless Heavenly Venerable.

Sensing Li Ming's terrifying aura, Boundless Heavenly Venerable's face once again showed confusion.

"Who are you?"

"How can you be so powerful?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Do not disturb my cultivation and transformation!"

At that moment, an eerie smile suddenly appeared on the face of Boundless Heavenly Venerable, who had been transformed from the Chaos Origin.

Dense, strange black runes emerged across the surface of his body. They were exceedingly sinister, making one feel as if a single glance could drag them into corruption and depravity.

"Dark Strangeness?" Li Ming was startled as well.

He had never seen such strange runes or such an eerie aura.

In a daze, he seemed to understand something.

"Could Boundless Heavenly Venerable have been contaminated by Strange Substance while transforming?"

"Or was he contaminated by strange creatures that had drifted into this world?"

"No wonder the terrifying lightning here is so dreadful. Was it meant to seal or destroy these strange things?"

The Bronze Mirror within Li Ming's body trembled gently when the aura of Dark Strangeness spread out, releasing a mysterious power.

It proactively wrapped around Boundless Heavenly Venerable, who had been transformed from the origin, forcibly stripping away the strange runes and aura.

Li Ming looked at the Strange Substance floating there, black as ink and resembling a drop of black blood. Sensing its eerie aura, he found it deeply unbelievable.

A force—or rather, a pressure—that seemed capable of destroying eternity itself, piercing through the past, present, and future, erupted forth.

Then, the ink-black Strange Substance was completely ground away by the mysterious power within the Bronze Mirror.

After the Strange Substance had been completely erased, Boundless Heavenly Venerable's divine sense remained blank for a moment before seeming to awaken.

An incomparably terrifying aura erupted. Boundless Heavenly Venerable had actually lived out his Third Lifetime.

The myriad Daos of heaven and earth roared and resonated. Though he had not transformed into a true Chaotic Body, he had indeed lived out his Third Lifetime.

He had already abandoned his contaminated old body within the coffin and forcibly transformed the Chaos Body origin he had seized from Wang Bo into a Divine Embryo.

Right before Li Ming, he forcefully broke through and transformed into his Third Lifetime.

Such incomparably abundant vitality and such heaven-shaking momentum were unbelievable.

Once all the aura and radiance had subsided, Boundless Heavenly Venerable returned to calm.

He cupped his hands toward Li Ming. "So it was the Demon Venerable!"

"Thank you, Demon Venerable, for saving me from the Bitter Sea and allowing me to live out a new Lifetime!"

"You know me?"

Li Ming was greatly surprised. By all reason, Boundless Heavenly Venerable had been trapped here all along and should not have known that Li Ming had later attained the Dao and become a Venerable. Moreover, the two of them seemed never to have crossed paths in history.