How many Burial Kings lay buried in the Burial Domain, that ancient great realm no smaller than the Immortal Domain?
Even the oldest Burial Kings in the Burial Domain probably could not answer that question.
But if asked who was the strongest in the Burial Domain?
Everyone would answer without hesitation with that taboo name.
The Burial Lord!
He was the acknowledged supreme powerhouse of the Burial Domain, the strongest individual ever to exist since the realm's creation. He had once forcibly attempted to break into the Quasi-Immortal Emperor realm, and although he had failed, he had survived.
Rumor had it that this invincible master of the burial dao had a descendant whom the Immortal Kings had nicknamed the Chicken Farmer. She had once encountered a dead phoenix and brought it back to her cave abode, burying it in supreme burial soil. Later, the phoenix corpse had awakened a spirit, and that descendant had kept it outside her abode like poultry.
"You mean to nurture the Undying Heavenly Emperor's corpse, Burial Emperor?"
The Corpse Emperor had never heard the story of the famous Chicken Farmer, of course, but he instantly guessed Yuangeng's intent and asked in shock.
Although he did not know the Undying Heavenly Emperor's true origins, he had witnessed the Heavenly Emperor's rise and his ascension as the God of the Myriad Races. His bloodline was unquestionably among the strongest in this universe. His five-colored blood resembled the myriad daos themselves, its power shaking the heavens.
"Why not?"
Yuangeng smiled faintly in response. He controlled the Burial Emperor Hall to seal the five-colored immortal phoenix corpse completely, isolating the area around it and transforming it into a unique "Land of Death and Life." Only then did he stop.
He had indeed never considered nurturing a five-colored immortal phoenix corpse before, but after developing his burial method here for five hundred years, the thought had come naturally.
After all, at least half the Undying Heavenly Emperor's combat strength came from his five-colored immortal phoenix bloodline. This bloodline was truly exceptional. In Immortal Ancient times, it would unquestionably have ranked among the bloodlines of the Ten Fiends, easily sweeping aside immortals and ruling over a vast realm.
If nurturing the corpse truly succeeded, it would surely become a powerful source of aid for Yuangeng.
"Fellow Daoist, does your Corpse-Nurturing Method help this corpse form a Reincarnation Seal?"
To Yuangeng's surprise, after his initial shock, undisguised delight crept into the Corpse Emperor's voice. He gazed expectantly toward the Burial Emperor Hall and asked in a low voice.
"It should. After all, I have no supreme burial soil. With this Burial Zone alone, I cannot produce a burial cultivator in a short time."
Yuangeng answered frankly. After some thought, he understood the Corpse Emperor's change in mood. This ancient venerable of the Underworld was himself a being "nurtured" in this fashion. If the immortal phoenix corpse awakened a spirit, it would, in a sense, be the same kind of being as the Corpse Emperor.
"If a corpse of that level forms a Reincarnation Seal, what sort of primordial spirit will it nurture? That is something to look forward to."
The Corpse Emperor told Yuangeng that the Netherworld Venerable had excavated not only him from the Epoch Burial Pit, but also at least three imperishable corpses. Those corpses had all been fundamentally at the level of Extreme Dao Supremes. The Underworld had poured immense effort into nurturing spirits within them, but unfortunately, every attempt had failed.
"The Netherworld Venerable said that perhaps the stronger a being was, the slimmer its chances of forming a Reincarnation Seal. Success might require extraordinarily exacting conditions of timing and terrain, along with an enormous expenditure of resources."
According to the Netherworld Venerable's conjecture, Reincarnation Seals were deeply mysterious and might contain the sealed Dao Fruits of previous lives. If one someday fully understood and broke the "seal" of a Reincarnation Seal, it would be equivalent to merging the Dao Fruits of two lives into one. One plus one would be far greater than two, unleashing terrifying power.
In other words, beings in the Extreme Dao realm were too powerful, their Dao Fruits too formidable, making it exceedingly difficult for them to form Reincarnation Seals. But success would also signify far greater potential.
The Corpse Emperor was clearly highly enthusiastic about nurturing the Undying Heavenly Emperor's corpse. His great bow shot back into the Corpse Emperor Hall and returned a moment later, carrying a set of ancient methods left behind by the Netherworld Venerable and a large pile of jade slips. They were all records concerning corpse nurturing made by the Netherworld Venerable, the Corpse Emperor, and other members of the Underworld.
"Good heavens!"
As Yuangeng read through these materials, he could not help being astonished. The Netherworld Venerable had indeed attached tremendous importance to Reincarnation Seals and had conducted corpse-nurturing experiments on vast numbers of ancient corpses. After the Netherworld Venerable left, the Corpse Emperor and his lineage had inherited his research, expanded its scope, and carried out many experiments.
Cultivation, race, sex, constitution, the great dao cultivated in life... From the final years of the Mythological Era until now, heaven alone knew how many different ancient corpses the Corpse Emperor's lineage had nurtured. Even Yuangeng could not help marveling at their rigorous approach.
"The purpose of every attempt I have made is to let me form a second Reincarnation Seal!" the Corpse Emperor declared firmly.
He understood all too well the gulf between himself and the Netherworld Venerable. With his aptitude, it was almost impossible for him to fully comprehend the essence of Reincarnation Seals in this life. His only option was to have his corpse nurtured again after death, form a second Reincarnation Seal, and then pass his memories to the entirely new primordial spirit born from that second seal, achieving "immortality" in another sense.
"But even if that primordial spirit inherits your memories, it still will not be you." Yuangeng completely disagreed with this method.
In his view, memories were not the key to the self. Even if the Corpse Emperor succeeded in forming a second Reincarnation Seal in the future, and the new spirit inherited all his memories and even accepted his identity as the Corpse Emperor, it would not necessarily be the Corpse Emperor himself.
"Our views differ," the Corpse Emperor said.
Yuangeng nodded. Over all these years, he had long since learned to respect others' ideas. He remembered that in the original story, Cao Yusheng had "been reborn" in precisely this fashion.
"Fellow Daoist, how many Reincarnation Seals do you think the Netherworld Venerable's body has accumulated from the Mythological Era until now?"
Perhaps because he so rarely encountered a powerhouse who had studied Reincarnation Seals, the Corpse Emperor shared quite a few secrets of the Mythological Era. As the world changed, much of its history had been buried beneath windblown sand. Only a living epic like him still knew it.
"Two? Three?"
Yuangeng's interest was immediately stirred. If he remembered correctly, Duan De would have four Reincarnation Seals in the future era of Ye Fan. That meant the Netherworld Venerable would have already succeeded several times by then, and might even have attained the dao under the identity of some Ancient Emperor.
"My guess is that he has at least two by now. Those who have never met him will never know just how profound his cultivation truly is. The Underworld has searched for him for millions of years. Perhaps during that time, he has already lived another life successfully right under our noses."
The Corpse Emperor sighed. Although those who possessed Reincarnation Seals had powerful bodies, their primordial spirits were entirely new, after all, and still had to cultivate anew, laying a solid foundation step by step. Back then, the Corpse Emperor had received the Netherworld Venerable's personal guidance, and their relationship had been almost that of master and disciple.
"I have always believed that even if we found the Netherworld Venerable now, it would be useless. With the Extreme Dao Fruits of at least three lives united, no one but you, Fellow Daoist, could subdue him."
One life as the Tribulation Transcendence Heavenly Venerable, one as the Netherworld Venerable, and one as an unnamed Ancient Emperor of Primordial Antiquity, with the Dao Fruits of those lives stacked together...
Yuangeng calculated inwardly that he would probably have to draw upon his Immortal Ancient Dao Fruit to suppress him.
Moreover, the Netherworld Venerable's ambition hardly stopped at a mere two or three Reincarnation Seals.
Yuangeng sighed inwardly. The ambitions of the Netherworld Venerable-or rather, Cao Yusheng-were far greater than one might imagine. He wanted to form nine reincarnation seals, then use their mighty power,
To unite the Dao Fruits of nine lives within a single body and achieve red dust immortal ascension.
This was undoubtedly a grand path. After all, lifespans in this universe were truly short, allowing corpse nurturing and reincarnation to be carried out effectively. There might be some dangers and obstacles while forming the first few Reincarnation Seals, but as more and more seals accumulated, the last few would form increasingly quickly.
Unfortunately, it still consumed far too much time.
Yuangeng thought of Cao Yusheng. That Extreme Dao cultivator's red dust immortal path was far too long. Even discounting the vast stretch of time at the end of the Chaotic Ancient Era, it spanned the Mythological Era, Primordial Antiquity, Desolate Antiquity, and the Heavenly Emperor Era that followed. There were far too many uncertainties along the way. His juniors, Ye Fan, Ruthless, and Wushi, had long since become immortals while he was still on the road, accumulating Reincarnation Seals.
But that did not stop Yuangeng from being willing to spend time studying the path the Netherworld Venerable had once walked.
"Fellow Daoist, do you have any scriptures the Netherworld Venerable left behind?" he asked, looking at the Corpse Emperor.
"Of course. Whether the scriptures he used while cultivating the netherworld dao or those he used while cultivating the origin dao, the Underworld has collected them all," the Corpse Emperor said with a nod.
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