Xiao Ping'an was surprised to discover that Longevity Heavenly Venerable's body was suffused with an eerie corpse Qi.
Chaos Qi surged and roared through his body, while chaos Immortal Essence, vast as an ocean, continually washed through it.
He seemed to have spent many years trying, yet he still had not completely washed the corpse Qi from his body.
Because of this corpse Qi, his Heavenly Venerable body, which should have been flawless, looked somewhat mottled and aged.
There really was a reason his voice sounded so weathered and hoarse.
At the sight of Xiao Ping'an, Longevity Heavenly Venerable's spirits lifted, and he seemed to feel much better.
It was as though he had gained confidence and hope.
Xiao Ping'an silently studied Longevity Heavenly Venerable's body. Longevity Heavenly Venerable seemed to understand what Xiao Ping'an meant and silently began circulating his cultivation arts and secret techniques, allowing Xiao Ping'an to observe.
A long time passed before Longevity Heavenly Venerable stopped circulating his cultivation arts and secret techniques.
He said to Xiao Ping'an, "All this corpse Qi in my body is because Lingbao Heavenly Venerable led this old man into a trap."
The mention of Lingbao Heavenly Venerable naturally brought to mind his Lingbao Heavenly Venerable Formation Diagram, the Four Immortal-Slaying Swords, the Nine-Turn Immortal Pill, and the Deliverance Scripture, which was devised specifically to counter corpse calamities...
He was a superlative expert who had lived several lifetimes.
Seeing the curiosity on Xiao Ping'an's face, Longevity Heavenly Venerable said, "It's a long story. First, come with me to a mysterious place."
Longevity Heavenly Venerable, Emperor Venerable, and Xiao Ping'an then transformed into streaks of divine light and flew straight toward that mysterious place.
The land of the other shore.
There was a divine domain here.
Aside from the true god here, there were several thousand subordinate kingdoms. Almost everyone here could cultivate, and even some weapons and plants had taken human form. It truly was a flourishing golden age of cultivation.
The moment Xiao Ping'an arrived in this world, he sensed what made it strange.
He had never imagined that, even at this time, Lingbao Heavenly Venerable's Dao Palace Secret Realm had already evolved into a world like this.
He truly had not expected Longevity Heavenly Venerable to have discovered this place already.
Here, the sun, moon, and stars, the mountains and rivers, the flourishing human race, and all the various races coexisted in harmony in this world.
The so-called true god here had long since been suppressed by Longevity Heavenly Venerable.
Led by Longevity Heavenly Venerable, the three entered the so-called Divine Demon Flesh Mound.
From time to time, this place produced what was known as Divine Demon Liquid. Its effects far surpassed those of Divine Spring Water and could even rival a Great Emperor's essence blood.
At the site of the Divine Demon Flesh Mound stood an incomparably majestic mountain. It had the imposing bearing to suppress heaven and earth, with mist rising from it and Chaos Qi swirling around it.
Longevity Heavenly Venerable, Emperor Venerable, and Overlord Heavenly Venerable each sat cross-legged on a slab of bluestone.
Looking at this flourishing world, Xiao Ping'an could not help but admire it.
The world formed from Lingbao Heavenly Venerable's body was full of life.
There were rare flowers and exotic grasses, precious birds and wondrous beasts, and talented cultivators. There were even quite a few Medicine Kings more than eighty thousand years old, as well as divine liquid from a Heavenly Venerable Life Spring gushing forth.
What shocked Xiao Ping'an even more was that the Divine Demon Flesh Mound was now giving off faint wisps of a True Immortal's presence.
Although it seemed somewhat faint, Longevity Substance truly did permeate this place.
Lingbao Heavenly Venerable's formation diagram and the Four Immortal-Slaying Swords floated in the sky above this world.
Now, facing the three men, they did not dare release the slightest trace of their ultimate dao presence, behaving like well-behaved children.
The Lingbao Heavenly Venerable Formation Diagram in particular solemnly apologized to Xiao Ping'an.
Although it had been controlled by the Blood Demon Supreme when it attacked Xiao Ping'an back then, the fact remained that Xiao Ping'an had nearly perished.
"Lingbao Heavenly Venerable actually evolved an Immortal Domain inside his body?" Xiao Ping'an was shocked.
Lingbao Heavenly Venerable had actually tried to force an Immortal Domain into existence within his own body. It was truly extraordinary.
Sensing the faint wisps of a True Immortal's presence here, Emperor Venerable also found it incredible.
Longevity Heavenly Venerable said, "Do you two think Lingbao Heavenly Venerable evolved this True Immortal's presence himself?"
"Take a closer look and sense the difference between the presence here and Lingbao Heavenly Venerable's."
Longevity Heavenly Venerable smiled mysteriously. "This was where I fell into the trap."
As he spoke, Longevity Heavenly Venerable raised his cup and clinked it against the other two. Each drank a cup of the local Divine Demon Liquid.
After Xiao Ping'an drank the Divine Demon Liquid, he abruptly felt his primordial spirit grow a little clearer. He even sensed faint wisps of Longevity Substance, which increased his lifespan a little.
"Hmm?"
At Xiao Ping'an's level of cultivation, even taking Immortal Divine Medicine would have made it difficult to increase his lifespan by the slightest amount.
Yet this Divine Demon Liquid was so miraculous, with such an incredibly powerful effect.
Xiao Ping'an looked at Longevity Heavenly Venerable, who nodded, seemingly confirming the suspicions in Xiao Ping'an's and Emperor Venerable's hearts.
Longevity Heavenly Venerable's Longevity Sword, Emperor Venerable's Immortal Ascension Cauldron, and Xiao Ping'an's Overlord Heaven Bell all sent down faint wisps of chaotic presence, concealing every trace of presence here.
Clearly, Longevity Heavenly Venerable did not want others to know what he was discussing.
"Fellow Daoists, from the records Lingbao Heavenly Venerable left behind, I was surprised to discover that he had found a wondrous art called the Corpse-Lying Technique, which allowed him to live one lifetime after another."
"The world we are in now was formed from Lingbao Heavenly Venerable's corpse."
"But it seems Lingbao Heavenly Venerable's Corpse-Lying Technique failed in this lifetime. It looks as though he truly died."
"This doesn't look like an old body he shed. It looks more like his true self."
"And this Divine Demon Flesh Mound is a world formed from fragments of the body of the so-called gravely injured True Immortal he slew back then," Longevity Heavenly Venerable said calmly.
Xiao Ping'an was greatly shocked to hear this.
No wonder that, in the Shrouding the Heavens era, there was a mysterious region called the Divine Demon Flesh Mound within Lingbao Heavenly Venerable's body.
Whether the divine charm of the great dao or the presence there, both were utterly at odds with the dao resonance of Lingbao Heavenly Venerable, a Heavenly Venerable of the Daoist tradition.
It turned out that this place truly was a world evolved from the broken remains of that True Immortal.
It was now the Mythological Era. Between it and the post-Desolate Ancient Era in which Ye Fan lived lay the long Primordial Era and Desolate Ancient Era.
Many things had not been described in the original text, while others that had been described had long since changed from the original facts after the passage of countless years.
Many things had already been buried in the long river of time.
"Back then, Lingbao Heavenly Venerable came across that so-called True Immortal by chance."
"That True Immortal fell into this world through a rift in the Immortal Domain and was already gravely injured. After barely managing to escape a land of certain death, he ran into Lingbao Heavenly Venerable, who was at his peak and had come to that land of certain death in search of treasure."
"Then Lingbao Heavenly Venerable slew that unlucky True Immortal and took his remains."
As Xiao Ping'an listened to Longevity Heavenly Venerable's account, he silently compared it with the stories that had circulated in later ages.
That was probably how the rumor that Longevity Heavenly Venerable had slain a True Immortal came to be spread.
"After that unlucky True Immortal was slain by Lingbao Heavenly Venerable, the matter should have ended there."
"However, Lingbao Heavenly Venerable was surprised to discover that the True Immortal's flesh was difficult to destroy. It would constantly regenerate because it contained a rich abundance of Longevity Substance." "Lingbao Heavenly Venerable could not extract and use all of that substance, which contained the laws of the Immortal Domain's great dao, so he drew on his research into formations and forcibly created a great formation. He divided the True Immortal's flesh into countless pieces and sealed them away."
"Just like brewing wine and letting it ferment, he intended to use the formation to refine the True Immortal's corpse into a furnace of great medicine, which he would use to live a new lifetime in the future."
"Lingbao Heavenly Venerable also constantly studied the immortal dao runes in the True Immortal's flesh and imprinted them into his body. That formed this place, which looks at first glance like the Immortal Domain. In truth, it only has the Immortal Domain's presence and cannot truly produce substance. The faint wisps of Longevity Substance we sense still come from that True Immortal's corpse," Longevity Heavenly Venerable said.
"No wonder Lingbao Heavenly Venerable was so powerful. Constantly studying the immortal dao runes and imprinting them into his body and primordial spirit must have given Lingbao Heavenly Venerable another astonishing transformation."
Xiao Ping'an had also refined a True Immortal's corpse, so he naturally knew its value. It truly could transform a person and let them live a new lifetime.
Every True Immortal's corpse had astonishing value for research.
No wonder Lingbao Heavenly Venerable had been so forceful and overbearing, his fearsome reputation even rivaling those of Netherworld Venerable and Emperor Venerable.
"Then why didn't Lingbao Heavenly Venerable come back to life afterward?" Emperor Venerable asked. "After I came to this world, although I sensed abundant vitality here, I couldn't divine the slightest hope of Lingbao Heavenly Venerable living a new lifetime."
"It looks as though he has already passed away in meditation."
"Judging by the imprints at his Heavenly Venerable Life Spring, he had already lived several lifetimes. I never expected him to perish like this."
Longevity Heavenly Venerable said, "This flesh ball of his is where he refined a furnace of great medicine using the True Immortal's corpse."
"The refining of that furnace of great medicine did indeed fail."
"I didn't ruin it. When I came here, I discovered that corpse Qi had already appeared here, and that corpse Qi was what harmed me."
"If it were corpse Qi produced by a Heavenly Venerable's corpse, I believe I could refine and devour it with ease. But the corpse Qi produced by a True Immortal's corpse is truly too vicious. I reckon I'll need at least several hundred more years to expel or refine it completely."
Xiao Ping'an nodded. He too had the feeling that Lingbao Heavenly Venerable was indeed dead.
Moreover, the history recorded in Shrouding the Heavens made it very clear.
Lingbao Heavenly Venerable's corpse had already become the Other Shore World in this starry sky.
Even by the time Ye Fan was born, there was still not the slightest sign of him coming back to life.
Even his Immortal Platform divine liquid had been taken in its entirety by Golden Crow Great Emperor.
Xiao Ping'an examined it carefully. Judging by the traces at his Heavenly Venerable Life Spring, Lingbao Heavenly Venerable had already lived five lifetimes.
In this age, that was a truly astonishing number.
After all, even the Reincarnation Seals in Netherworld Venerable's body had not yet reached that number.
Emperor Venerable had lived a new lifetime and had also touched the threshold of a Red Dust Immortal, but at this point he still had a long way to go before he could catch up to Lingbao Heavenly Venerable's becoming a Red Dust Immortal.
It was truly a pity that Lingbao Heavenly Venerable had failed to reach the end.
If he could discover the path to the Strange World now, perhaps he could enter that world and use the faint wisps of Longevity Substance there to stay alive. Perhaps, relying on this Corpse-Lying Technique, he really could lie his way to becoming a Red Dust Immortal.
Emperor Venerable's Heavenly Court had already discovered the Heavenly Soldier Ancient Star and taken possession of it as a training ground for troops.
Emperor Venerable had once tried to divine whether Lingbao Heavenly Venerable's body had evolved into a world in the starry sky, but had found nothing.
He had never expected Longevity Heavenly Venerable to find it.
Not only had he hidden himself in this world, but he had also spent a long time cultivating and comprehending the dao here.
Perhaps it had been to seize the furnace of great medicine refined from the True Immortal's corpse.
He had sat cross-legged here for tens of thousands of years.
But in the end, he had regrettably discovered that the great medicine Lingbao Heavenly Venerable refined had failed.
It had exploded in the starry sky.
He had seized a portion and taken it, only to be poisoned instead.
Of course, Longevity Heavenly Venerable also suspected that Lingbao Heavenly Venerable might not truly be dead.
This might only be one of his old bodies.
The real Lingbao Heavenly Venerable might be lurking in some forbidden zone, watching this world with cold eyes.
Xiao Ping'an, Emperor Venerable, and Longevity Heavenly Venerable carefully divined the matter together.
They wanted to see whether they could determine if this was an old body shed through transformation or his true body.
The three were especially curious about the methods Lingbao Heavenly Venerable had used to live those lifetimes.
They also very much wanted to obtain that secret technique.
After the three joined forces to divine the matter, they reached the conclusion that this had indeed been formed from Lingbao Heavenly Venerable's true body.
Emperor Venerable in particular emphasized the discovery on the Heavenly Soldier Ancient Star.
He was one hundred percent certain that it had been formed from Lingbao Heavenly Venerable's head.
Although the Immortal Platform there still burned with a raging divine fire, Lingbao Heavenly Venerable's last true spirit had already vanished.
Emperor Venerable also mentioned Netherworld Venerable.
He said that, shortly after living a new lifetime, he had encountered Netherworld Venerable again.
After becoming a corpse, Netherworld Venerable had actually lived another new lifetime.
It was truly shocking.
Although Netherworld Venerable had left the Underworld without saying goodbye, Emperor Venerable had searched the starry sky and carefully divined his whereabouts, but had found no trace of him.
He could only give up.
He had also gone to the Underworld to speak with the Heaven-Penetrating Nether Treasure, but had likewise learned nothing.
The Heaven-Penetrating Nether Treasure knew nothing of anything he asked.
Even when he seized its weapon spirit and forcibly searched its soul, he still found nothing.
Emperor Venerable simply concluded that Netherworld Venerable was walking an incredible path to longevity and did not want to enter the Immortal Domain with him, so he stopped looking.
But Emperor Venerable had always held Netherworld Venerable in high regard.
Emperor Venerable said that Netherworld Venerable had also carefully studied the Heavenly Soldier Ancient Star and concluded that there was little hope of Lingbao Heavenly Venerable coming back to life.
He had also concluded that the planet truly had been formed from Lingbao Heavenly Venerable's original body.
Xiao Ping'an nodded. He too greatly acknowledged Netherworld Venerable's strength and his judgment.
"I've met Netherworld Venerable as well, and discussed mysteries and debated the dao with him. His accomplishments truly reach Fortune itself, and his research into life and death is incredible."
"Counting the time I met him and this time, he has already transformed twice. He still hasn't died, his corpse has still gained sentience, and he has still made great achievements and can prove the dao anew. His strength truly deserves to be called unfathomable."
"It's a pity I couldn't discuss mysteries and debate the dao with Netherworld Venerable again in this lifetime," Xiao Ping'an said with a sigh.
He was not deliberately putting on an act. Netherworld Venerable really did think differently from other people.
Not only was his imagination boundless, but he also made new achievements in every lifetime. That alone earned Xiao Ping'an's deep admiration.
(End of chapter)