Heavenly Venerable Lingbao?!
Across the entire Shrouding the Heavens era, with its hundred-plus ancient sovereigns and Great Emperors, it was difficult to say whose battle prowess reigned supreme over all ages. But if the question was who excelled most at slaughter, it had to be Heavenly Venerable Lingbao, the peerless powerhouse who attained the Dao in the early mythic age.
Everyone knew that Heavenly Venerable Lingbao had once sought to forge an unsurpassed imperial weapon. Using Nine Secrets: Zu, he refined four Killing Swords that swept across the cosmos, reputedly unbreakable even by the combined might of four Heavenly Venerables. On the day the swords were completed, he had wielded them to fight his way into the legendary "Immortal Domain," returning with immortal blood upon their blades. From then on, the sword formation he left behind was known as "Immortal-Slaying."
Beyond that, He Mu also knew that this legendary, supreme Heavenly Venerable, who had accomplished the feat of slaying an immortal, had sought immortality by evolving myriad living beings and uniting them as one. Sadly, he failed just short of success. Even so, countless chaos gods and demons were born because of him, and his Sea of Bitterness and Immortal Platform had indirectly brought about two great powerhouses: the Golden Crow Great Emperor and Ye Fan.
He Mu looked toward Longevity Heavenly Venerable and spoke.
"I have naturally heard of Heavenly Venerable Lingbao. I even had a taste of his power during the heavenly tribulation just now. But what connection does he have to the matter you mentioned, fellow Daoist?"
Longevity seemed to sink into memories of some kind, and sighed.
"Lingbao was astonishing. The world claims that he once fought his way into the Immortal Domain and returned after slaying an immortal. Entering the Immortal Domain was only a rumor, but slaying an immortal truly happened. Only, this so-called immortal would be more accurately described as an Immortal Corpse!"
Longevity paused there, as though he had returned to a past long sealed beneath the dust of time.
"As far back as Daode's time, a dreadful fiend emerged here, at Ziwei's North Sea Eye. His demonic might surged to the heavens, yet his mind seemed clouded. The moment he appeared, he devoured the vital essence of living beings across several star domains.
"Daode was then at the height of his second lifetime, and naturally could not allow him to ravage all living beings so wantonly. Yet when he fought that fiend, he found himself unable to subdue him. Although he could sense that the fiend's primordial spirit was incomplete and his origin wounded, his flesh was incomparably resilient. An immortal resonance of the Dao surrounded him as well-he scarcely seemed a being of the mortal realm. From my deductions, at his peak he must have surpassed the utmost Dao level.
"Daode fought him with his life on the line. Unfortunately, in the end, he could only use his own Dao weapon as the foundation and exhaust all his strength to suppress him. After that battle, Daode's remaining lifespan was greatly diminished, and before long he passed away in meditation.
"Tens of thousands of years later, Heavenly Venerable Yuanshi attained the Dao and ruled over all the heavens. At some unknown point, that fiend regained his reason, destroyed the Xuanhuang Exquisite Tower, and broke free of his seal. His terrifying might was even greater than in Daode's time. Heavenly Venerable Yuanshi risked his life to quell the upheaval. That battle truly shattered the heavens and split the earth, leaving the sea of stars barren and silent. In the end, Yuanshi seemingly perished together with the fiend, and only then did the upheaval subside. Yet the fiend's corpse vanished without a trace.
"Later still, Heavenly Venerable Lingbao attained the Dao. His brilliance was unparalleled: he lived through three imperial lifetimes and forged the greatest killing formation of all time. Yet at the very pinnacle of his power, he fought his way into the Underworld. Only then did this old man learn that, after Yuanshi's passing, the Underworld had stolen the Immortal Corpse.
"By then, the Immortal Corpse had awakened a spirit and escaped the Underworld's control. Fortunately, Heavenly Venerable Lingbao's mastery reached into the very mysteries of creation. Only after the most brutal of battles did he finally destroy the Immortal Corpse. Lingbao then divided its remains and sealed them throughout the universe. It was precisely because those four Killing Swords had been stained with true immortal blood that they were called the Four Immortal-Slaying Swords!
"It took three successive Heavenly Venerables and nearly a hundred thousand years to quell that great calamity. Sadly, Lingbao was gravely wounded as well. In the end, he chose to dissolve his body in a bid for a fourth lifetime. Judging by things now, I fear he failed too."
At this point, Longevity Heavenly Venerable looked at He Mu again.
"Fellow Daoist, it is for this Immortal Corpse that this old man sought you out. Thirty thousand years have passed since Lingbao's death, and only now have you emerged and attained the Dao. Ever since Lingbao dissolved his body, this old man has sat here at the North Sea Eye, and by now I have gained some insight into where the Immortal Corpse is sealed. I invited you here to investigate the truth of that Immortal Corpse. What do you think, fellow Daoist?"
By this point, He Mu had already begun to form a plan, but he frowned outwardly and spoke.
"In that case, how could the other Supremes have no designs on this Immortal Corpse? During the time of those three Heavenly Venerables, did not a single one of them intervene?"
After hearing He Mu's questions, Longevity smiled.
"This old man sat in solitary meditation for ten thousand years, yet barely gleaned anything about the Immortal Corpse's whereabouts. As for the other fellow Daoists, I imagine they have not done as well as I."
As he said this, fierce confidence shone in Longevity Heavenly Venerable's eyes, only to turn swiftly to bitterness.
"As for the time of those three Heavenly Venerables, we severed our own cultivation and withdrew from the world merely to attain immortality and perfect our Dao. With those three still alive then, which fellow Daoist would have risked his life over this?"
He Mu understood, and his knowledge of the Forbidden Zone Supremes deepened a little further. Indeed, they were a group who cherished their lives above all else. Expecting them to expend what little lifespan they had left to protect all living beings was impossible. This matter of the Immortal Corpse, however, offered quite a few possibilities.
With that thought, He Mu smiled and cupped his hands once more toward Longevity Heavenly Venerable.
"Since you have extended such a gracious invitation, fellow Daoist, how could I refuse? I am willing to accompany you and uncover the truth of the Immortal Corpse!"
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