"The Heavenly Court has grown vast and prosperous, and there is much to attend to. When the time comes, I'm afraid we'll have to trouble you to lend us a hand, Overlord Heavenly Venerable," Emperor Venerable said.
Xiao Ping'an said, "Becoming immortals is a wish we all share. When you need my help, just say the word. There's no need to be so polite."
Emperor Venerable smiled. "You've already lived out a new lifetime, and your Qi and blood are abundant. You don't need to slash yourself and hide in Immortal Source like the other Dark Supremes."
"I intend to visit the various Dark Supremes now. Why not come with me, Overlord Heavenly Venerable? It would help make our case more convincing."
After hearing this, Xiao Ping'an immediately realized that Emperor Venerable wanted him to help persuade the Dark Supremes.
It seemed that Emperor Venerable had yet to gain the prestige attributed to him in later legends.
Though everyone acknowledged his great strength, he could not command universal support with a single call.
If a Dark Supreme had no intention of emerging or getting involved, Emperor Venerable could hardly drag him out of a forbidden zone by force. If he did that, his reputation throughout the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands would truly be ruined.
Xiao Ping'an smiled. "There's strength in numbers. Since we're opening the Road to Immortality together, the more people we have, the better. Everyone can contribute their strength, and we'll have a greater chance of breaking through the true Road to Immortality."
Still, Emperor Venerable would have to choose the Dark Supremes carefully. He could not pick just any stray cat or dog.
Sure enough, Emperor Venerable's list included Netherworld Venerable, one of the Nine Great Heavenly Venerables, as well as Carefree Heavenly Venerate and Longevity Heavenly Venerable. As for Annihilation Heavenly Venerable, whom Emperor Venerable had sealed away on the Road to Immortality on Flying Immortal Star, was he hiding in a forbidden zone at this point, or had he already been sealed away?
As for Netherworld Venerable, perhaps after he and Emperor Venerable had refined the Ninety-Nine Dragon Mountains, he had buried himself in the ground again.
Remembering how Netherworld Venerable had once said in his previous lifetime that he wanted to dig up his grave, Xiao Ping'an felt an urge to do some grave robbing himself.
If he dug Netherworld Venerable, that big zongzi, out of the ground, would he blow his top?
By now, Lingbao Heavenly Venerable was probably dead beyond all doubt, wasn't he? Or was there still hope of his revival?
In any case, Xiao Ping'an remembered that by this point, Lingbao Heavenly Venerable's body should already have transformed into a world in the starry sky. Although the fire of his Immortal Platform still burned fiercely, he had already lost his chance to live out a new lifetime.
As for Tribulation Crossing Heavenly Venerable, that was Netherworld Venerable's alter ego.
As for Emperor Venerable, some said his former alter ego was called Primordial Beginning Heavenly Venerable, though Xiao Ping'an did not know whether that was true.
As for the legendary Immeasurable Heavenly Venerable, Xiao Ping'an had always suspected that Netherworld Venerable had once suffered at his hands.
By Ye Fan's era, Netherworld Venerable's corpse had gained sentience again and taken the name Duan De. The words he constantly muttered were "Immeasurable Heavenly Venerable." Whenever something happened, or whenever he pretended to be an otherworldly expert, he would cry, "Immeasurable Heavenly Venerable!"
It seemed that Immeasurable Heavenly Venerable had also defeated Netherworld Venerable back then, and had even given him guidance. Otherwise, after his corpse gained sentience, he probably would not still have Immeasurable Heavenly Venerable's name on his lips.
Before going to invite the Heavenly Venerables and Dark Supremes to emerge, Emperor Venerable invited Xiao Ping'an to enter a mysterious place with him.
According to Emperor Venerable, Xiao Ping'an had once slain a True Immortal who was suspected to have fallen into this world through a crack in the Immortal Domain.
Now Emperor Venerable had also stumbled upon a gravely injured True Immortal, and he had decided to invite Xiao Ping'an to help finish him off.
Xiao Ping'an was astonished to hear that Emperor Venerable had also found an injured True Immortal.
Were the spacetime rifts in this era really so formidable, dropping people into this world every now and then?
As it happened, his alter ego Yongsheng needed to devour powerful sources. Although Yongsheng had already devoured the sources of the dozen or so Dark Supremes Xiao Ping'an had hunted down, as well as that True Immortal's source, they were not enough to cultivate an Acquired Chaos Body. He needed more extraordinary sources.
Since Emperor Venerable had generously invited him to kill that gravely injured True Immortal, he could ask for the True Immortal's source when the time came. As for the corpse, he would leave it to Emperor Venerable.
A streak of golden light and a streak of purple light vanished from the Tyrant Body Ancestral Star in an instant.
The universe was so cold and dark. If one had to describe the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands as a whole, the vast majority consisted of a cold, dark void.
One should not imagine that Life Source Lands and life-bearing planets were everywhere. In truth, there were not that many places suitable for living beings to survive, reproduce, cultivate, and comprehend the Dao.
In this starry sky, anyone who had not become a Saint would find it difficult to cross the stars alone.
Normally, upon entering the Immortal Platform Secret Realm, one could already fly freely through the universe.
Even so, they faced great danger. Even in the void, there might be unknown, powerful creatures.
If these Immortal Platform experts really wandered the starry sky alone, they would most likely become food, or even be captured and enslaved.
The two passed through one galaxy after another and arrived at the Big Dipper.
On the Big Dipper at this time, Xiao Ping'an saw that humans were practically nowhere to be found.
Every region was occupied by the so-called myriad spirits of heaven and earth.
It was truly hard to imagine that the Big Dipper, one of humanity's mother stars in later generations, now resembled such a primordial world.
Yongsheng had already paid the Big Dipper a visit.
Many tombs had been reduced to ruined walls and broken masonry. A single glance showed that a tomb robber had stolen the corpses inside.
Yongsheng possessed the strength of an ordinary Supreme, and he was at his peak, having never slashed himself.
Being a tomb robber with such strength was indeed somewhat beneath him, but no one could stop him.
In any case, as he traveled through the various Life Source Lands, he could be said to have ravenously devoured the corpses of all manner of dead experts, constantly consuming their sources.
According to the deductions he and Xiao Ping'an had made, this version of the Heaven Devouring Demonic Art was at least ninety percent as powerful as the one wielded by the Ruthless Great Emperor in later ages.
Although it could not compare to the Heaven Devouring Demonic Art at its full strength, Xiao Ping'an and Yongsheng followed different great Daos. Thus, they had simply renamed their version the Devouring Demonic Art. They could even call it the Black Hole Heavenly Art, as a simple and blunt alternative.
It was only a name, anyway. The Ruthless Great Emperor had not been born yet, so there was no need to fight him over copyright.
Yongsheng knew his limits. He knew better than to meddle recklessly with the Life Forbidden Zones, so unless he was actually going to ask for Immortal Divine Medicine or some heavenly materials and earthly treasures, he rarely dealt with those Dark Supremes.
In the original story, Yaoguang Holy Son had labored to break free of the restraints of his original cultivation art even before he proved his Dao and became an emperor.
But this Yongsheng was different. No expert like the Ruthless Great Emperor stood in the path ahead of him.
Moreover, he already possessed the peak strength of an ordinary Supreme. With that cultivation, if he refined himself into an Acquired Chaos Body, he would surely become powerful.
If he could successfully transform into a Flawless Chaos Body, then he could definitely live out a new lifetime.
Soon, they reached the Big Dipper.
At this time, the Big Dipper radiated a powerful and mysterious presence, blazing like the scorching sun in the sky.
Moreover, the so-called Seven Stars of the Big Dipper circled it, forming the Big Dipper Star System together with this planet's sun and moon.
Though the Big Dipper was already an incomparably massive planet, no human or other living being had yet proven their Dao here.
What Xiao Ping'an found somewhat chilling was that, although no one born here had proven their Dao, the planet naturally radiated that powerful presence. It made one wonder whether someone had truly succeeded in proving their Dao on this planet.
Why had he never heard of it?
But now, after carefully working through a deduction, Xiao Ping'an immediately understood what made the Big Dipper different.
In the future, this planet would not only give birth to a powerful Great Emperor; more people would become Great Emperors.
At this time, there were almost no humans on the Big Dipper.
An ancient Supreme had once made a deduction and concluded that this extraordinary planet had most likely come into existence naturally.
As for whether its five continents had been refined from the body of Wang Bo, a Chaos Body, that was hard to say.
In any case, many living beings now cultivated diligently on the five continents formed from his body, hoping to set foot on the Starry Sky Ancient Road and advance further.
Many did not even know that the five continents had been refined from the body of a Chaos Body. After Xiao Ping'an came to this world, he was surprised to discover that between the Chaotic Ancient Era and the Mythological Era, there had been another dimly remembered stretch of history, recording an age called the Netherworld Ancient Era.
Judging by the records, humanity had truly suffered terribly back then, and the great Dao of heaven and earth had also been very different.
In Xiao Ping'an's view, the Big Dipper might already have existed before the Mythological Era, in the so-called Netherworld Ancient Era.
Xiao Ping'an was surprised to discover that Emperor Venerable actually had an unbroken expanse of heavenly palaces on this planet.
They all belonged to Emperor Venerable's Heavenly Court.
Inside these heavenly palaces were densely packed, mysterious Dao patterns. Not only did they enclose the entire Big Dipper, they also spread into the universe.
Xiao Ping'an thought of how Emperor Venerable would later try to refine the Strange World and this world into the World Cauldron. It was truly madness.
The palace was now filled with densely packed Dao patterns. Could Emperor Venerable already have started engraving Dao patterns throughout the universe?
Judging from the original story's timeline, that was indeed possible at this point.
As for the location of these heavenly palaces, perhaps it was where the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land stood in Xiao Ping'an's memories.
Xiao Ping'an and Emperor Venerable descended into the heavenly palaces.
Just then, a youth carrying a stone staff and a sturdy bow on his back suddenly flew over to them.
He bowed respectfully. "Welcome, Emperor Venerable. You have come to inspect the place!"
Xiao Ping'an took one look. Wasn't this Chuan Ying? When he had first revived, Chuan Ying had visited him on Emperor Venerable's behalf.
Chuan Ying did indeed look like a handsome youth, with very delicate features.
Xiao Ping'an had long since committed Chuan Ying's presence firmly to memory.
Now Chuan Ying's life force was truly vigorous. His Immortal Platform shone as brilliantly as the blazing sun, and his blood and Qi surged through his body. He even automatically refined the essence Qi of heaven and earth and drew it into his body.
Although Chuan Ying had already reached the Quasi-Emperor Ninth Heaven, Emperor Venerable had proven his Dao in this age. If Chuan Ying wished to prove his Dao and become an emperor, he had practically no hope.
By now, Chuan Ying could already be considered the Ancient Heavenly Court's foremost divine general.
He was tremendously strong, and Emperor Venerable was both a teacher and a friend to him. Ordinary people could not possibly shake his position as the foremost divine general.
He looked at Emperor Venerable with a face full of admiration. Emperor Venerable immediately told him to rise and dispense with the formalities.
"Chuan Ying, there's no need to be so formal," Emperor Venerable said. "How is the matter I sent you to handle coming along?"
Chuan Ying said, "You can rest assured when I handle things. I'll make sure everything is taken care of properly."
Chuan Ying then looked at the Overlord Heavenly Venerable beside Emperor Venerable.
He recognized the Overlord Heavenly Venerable at once. After all, he had personally visited him back then.
"So it's the Overlord Heavenly Venerable!"
"Your great name is renowned far and wide. It rings in my ears like thunder." Chuan Ying bowed politely.
"There's no need for courtesy. Rise," Xiao Ping'an said.
Seeing the Overlord Heavenly Venerable walking side by side with Emperor Venerable, Chuan Ying immediately realized he was a good friend Emperor Venerable had invited, and that he must show him sufficient respect.
The fact that Emperor Venerable had personally invited him showed that he had acknowledged the Overlord Heavenly Venerable's strength.
With Chuan Ying leading the way, the two inspected the Heavenly Court's arrangements on the Big Dipper.
Those who had come because of Emperor Venerable's reputation also met with him.
After spending some time in the heavenly palaces, Emperor Venerable and the Overlord Heavenly Venerable immediately entered the Big Dipper's Arctic Sea Eye.
The Arctic Sea Eye on the Big Dipper also connected to the Road to Immortality. Had it been abandoned yet?
The True Immortal who had fallen into this world had landed in the Arctic Sea Eye. It was hard to say whether he was lucky or unlucky.
Outside the Arctic Sea Eye, ice and snow covered everything.
On this day, three figures suddenly appeared amid the ice and snow.
They were Xiao Ping'an, Emperor Venerable, and Chuan Ying.
All of them were powerful figures of the age, and naturally had no fear whatsoever of the supposedly gravely injured True Immortal.
Chuan Ying in particular had felt his blood boil as soon as he heard that the Overlord Heavenly Venerable and Emperor Venerable were going to kill the True Immortal together.
They soon entered the Arctic Sea Eye.
Within the Arctic Sea Eye lay a boundless sea that blocked searches with divine sense, making it impossible to see the whole place clearly.
The presence inside had indeed changed.
According to Emperor Venerable, a startling upheaval had suddenly occurred here several hundred years ago. From time to time, someone obtained Northern Pole Immortal Light, but far more people went in and never returned.
After making a series of deductions, Emperor Venerable finally learned that the great danger there was actually a True Immortal who had descended upon the place.
After personally coming to investigate, Emperor Venerable had carefully sealed the place, leaving the True Immortal to continue sleeping in this world.
After all, the True Immortal had been terribly unlucky to come to this world.
He would be suppressed by the laws of the great Dao of the entire world, fall into slumber, and then suffer a drop in cultivation realm.
Although Emperor Venerable wanted to kill the True Immortal, he had not been strong enough at the time. So he suppressed the news, sealed the path to the world within the Arctic Sea Eye, and left it alone, observing in silence.
One day, a heaven-shaking upheaval suddenly occurred throughout the area of the Arctic Sea Eye, and a mysterious, powerful presence spread in every direction.
When Emperor Venerable returned to investigate, he found that the place resembled a mass grave, packed with countless corpses.
All of them had been lured there and then killed by the gravely injured True Immortal.
Emperor Venerable could sense that the monster seemed to be silently devouring the corpses and mocking him for overestimating himself.
After sealing the passage into the sea eye again, he went straight to invite a helper like the Overlord Heavenly Venerable, lest he capsize in a gutter.
There were countless Saint-level corpses here, all of whose source essence blood had been devoured by the True Immortal.
The True Immortal was not dead. He had been healing here all along, unable to leave for some unknown reason.
At this moment, a terrifying presence that pierced heaven and earth suddenly erupted from him.
The True Immortal seemed about to awaken from his slumber once more.
Xiao Ping'an could sense that the True Immortal also possessed an extraordinary source. If Yongsheng devoured it, he would surely undergo an astonishing transformation.
He immediately decided that, no matter what, he had to kill this True Immortal and seize his source.
(End of chapter)