Although the fat man was extremely fond of digging up graves and robbing tombs, Xiao Ping'an held his strength in high regard. "Netherworld Venerable is truly too mysterious. I spoke with him back then, and his strength was indeed unfathomable," Longevity Heavenly Venerable said. "I looked for him in this lifetime as well, but things had changed. The soul was no longer the one from before."
Longevity Heavenly Venerable and Emperor Venerable also told Xiao Ping'an that they had discovered Netherworld Venerable's secret.
To their great surprise, they had discovered that Netherworld Venerable's body had actually formed when Tribulation Crossing Heavenly Venerable's corpse gained sentience.
He truly had lived on, lifetime after lifetime.
They thought Xiao Ping'an did not know the secret, but he had read the trilogy and had long known it.
He even knew that, before this, the old monster had lived through a vast era and had once called Desolate Heavenly Emperor a brother.
To Xiao Ping'an's surprise, both Emperor Venerable and Longevity Heavenly Venerable possessed the Tribulation-Transcending Heavenly Art.
Back then, Longevity Heavenly Venerable had discussed mysteries and debated the Dao with Tribulation Crossing Heavenly Venerable, obtaining part of the Tribulation-Transcending Heavenly Art's scripture.
Emperor Venerable and Netherworld Venerable had an even closer bond, like that of master and disciple. Although Netherworld Venerable had not taken him as a disciple, he had indeed taught him the complete Tribulation-Transcending Heavenly Art.
Xiao Ping'an had indeed obtained part of the incomplete Tribulation-Transcending Heavenly Art from Netherworld Venerable, as well as the complete Underworld scripture from the lifetime in which Netherworld Venerable had founded the Underworld.
Prison-Suppressing Emperor's Son and Yama's Son, for example, cultivated the scripture Netherworld Venerable had created in the lifetime when he founded the Underworld.
After the three compared what they knew, they were surprised to find that, although each of their versions of the Tribulation-Transcending Heavenly Art was incomplete, they were all different.
Most of the content was similar, but some passages meant the complete opposite of one another.
Longevity Heavenly Venerable had wanted to seize Lingbao Heavenly Venerable's great medicine and use his body as a Dark Supreme to live a new lifetime.
But now, it seemed he had failed.
Although so much corpse Qi had accumulated in his body, he had not gone without benefits.
Xiao Ping'an could sense that Longevity Heavenly Venerable now had at least another five thousand years in a peak Great Emperor state.
With the immortal pill Emperor Venerable had given him added to that, Longevity Heavenly Venerable would have the strength of a peak Heavenly Venerable for at least five thousand years.
Emperor Venerable had also been greatly surprised when he met Longevity Heavenly Venerable.
He had thought Longevity Heavenly Venerable was lying low in a forbidden zone. He had not expected him to be hiding in this land on the other shore.
When the two had met in the starry sky, both had been stunned.
Emperor Venerable had immediately invited Longevity Heavenly Venerable to join the Heavenly Court and forge a supreme undertaking together.
Longevity Heavenly Venerable had agreed.
That was why they had later invited Xiao Ping'an to explore this world with them.
After so many years here, Longevity Heavenly Venerable had obtained Lingbao Heavenly Venerable's scripture, as well as many of his cultivation arts and secret techniques, and his cultivation experience.
Thus, the three stayed here to discuss mysteries and debate the Dao, discussing Lingbao Heavenly Venerable's cultivation arts and secret techniques, Netherworld Venerable's Tribulation-Transcending Heavenly Art, and the secret of longevity.
They also discussed the so-called path of the Red Dust Immortal.
From Emperor Venerable, Xiao Ping'an also learned part of a method for transforming into a Saint Spirit and living a new lifetime.
At this point, Emperor Venerable had not yet succeeded in using this method to live another lifetime either.
Xiao Ping'an also shared the method by which a Heavenly Venerable could transform into a Saint Spirit, his deductions, and what he had learned from Carefree Immortal Venerable about that failed transformation.
They discussed it together.
Longevity Heavenly Venerable was extremely curious about this method of transforming into a Saint Spirit to mend the cracks in one's Immortal Platform and attain the Dao anew in a Saint Spirit's body.
As a Dark Supreme who had severed himself with a single cut, Longevity Heavenly Venerable naturally valued this method of mending the cracks in his Immortal Platform above all else.
He paid particular attention when he heard that Carefree Heavenly Venerate had endured the passage of long ages and, although he had not lived a new lifetime, had mended the cracks in his Immortal Platform.
After leaving here, he planned to visit Carefree Heavenly Venerate in person. He also had some questions about reincarnation for the Lord of Reincarnation in the Reincarnation Sea, so he could attend to both matters at once.
In particular, after discussing the method of transforming into a Saint Spirit, mending the cracks in the Immortal Platform, and living a new lifetime at the same time, the three unexpectedly made a discovery.
Xiao Ping'an knew that Ascension Great Emperor had truly succeeded in later generations, and he made bold deductions based on the descriptions of Ascension Great Emperor in the book.
His words brought sudden understanding to Emperor Venerable and Longevity Heavenly Venerable.
Emperor Venerable's eyes shone in particular. His sudden realization made it seem as though he had found a way to live a new lifetime.
After their discussion, the three actually worked out a highly feasible path.
Xiao Ping'an had originally wondered whether, once he developed this method of using a Saint Spirit to mend the cracks in an Immortal Platform, he could use it to trick a batch of Dark Supremes to their deaths and prevent them from starting a Dark Turmoil.
Now it seemed that, without any prompting from him, Emperor Venerable and Longevity Heavenly Venerable would study and spread the method themselves.
After all, another friend meant another road, and the stronger they became, the more help they could offer when the time came.
The Heavenly Venerables and Supremes were not locked in a fight to the death with one another. In the future, they could venture into the Immortal Domain together.
Under Xiao Ping'an's astonished gaze, Emperor Venerable and Longevity Heavenly Venerable actually deduced the entire path.
Only now did Xiao Ping'an learn that Longevity Heavenly Venerable really had studied methods of transforming into a Saint Spirit before.
Emperor Venerable had even nurtured a Saint Spirit with his own hands.
According to Emperor Venerable, aside from Chuan Ying, the Heavenly Court's first divine general, whose potential was boundless, the other person he held in the highest regard was a Great Perfection Saint Spirit.
This person had also joined the Heavenly Court and was now guarding the Heavenly Soldier Ancient Star.
Although the Great Perfection Saint Spirit was stronger than the current Chuan Ying, the Saint Spirit had almost no chance of advancing any further.
Chuan Ying, on the other hand, had a very good chance of attaining the Dao if he could avoid this golden age.
Emperor Venerable and Chuan Ying could be said to be both master and disciple and friends.
From them, Xiao Ping'an also obtained the complete Nine Secrets: Jie and Nine Secrets: Zhe, as well as the Nine Secrets: Qian and Nine Secret: Bing, which he had not expected to receive.
Xiao Ping'an also shared the Nine Secrets: Zu and his own Nine Secrets: Ba with them.
He also discussed with Emperor Venerable exactly what the Third Supreme Technique and the Nine Secrets: Jie had in common and how they differed.
Xiao Ping'an had not originally intended to pass on the Nine Secrets: Ba, but after some thought, he did so.
After all, it was the path of his fundamental Great Dao and the foundation on which he had attained the Dao. No one could surpass him in their understanding of it.
Since Longevity Heavenly Venerable and Emperor Venerable had been so open with him, Xiao Ping'an was generous this once as well.
Of course, he held something back. As for how much the two could understand and comprehend, that depended on their own comprehension.
Longevity Heavenly Venerable then continued cultivating and comprehending the Dao here, while Emperor Venerable returned to the Heavenly Court to attend to other matters.
Before leaving, Xiao Ping'an took some Divine Demon Liquid and some divine liquid from the Heavenly Venerable Life Spring.
He planned to leave these things to his descendants as part of their foundation.
Then he flew in the direction of the Heavenly Soldier Ancient Star.
He soon arrived at the Heavenly Soldier Ancient Star.
The planet was indeed extraordinary. Viewed from a distance in the starry sky, it really did resemble a head. Even the vast mountain ranges formed by its two ears jutted far out into the stars.
It was named the Heavenly Soldier Ancient Star because it was where the Heavenly Court trained its troops.
Compared with the surrounding stars, the Heavenly Soldier Ancient Star really did look like part of a corpse that had exploded in the starry sky. Xiao Ping'an naturally knew that this was a disguise. The rest of the body beyond the head had long since formed the world on the other shore.
Xiao Ping'an gazed at the Heavenly Soldier Ancient Star, sensing the Dao essence it radiated. It was indeed wondrous and powerful.
Because it had formed from Lingbao Heavenly Venerable's head, it was, in theory, a place where countless geniuses would be born even in an age when the Great Dao did not manifest. They would not have to worry about suppression from the Great Dao of the wider world, either.
Or rather, the Great Dao's suppression here was not as severe. Saints and even Great Saints would continue to emerge in endless succession.
For cultivators, this was undoubtedly a place of their dreams.
Xiao Ping'an circulated Lingbao Heavenly Venerable's scripture and found it indeed harmonized with the planet's Great Dao, allowing him to continuously grasp its imprints of the Great Dao and Lingbao Heavenly Venerable's Dao essence.
The planet remained extremely prosperous even in Ye Fan's era.
Countless Great Dao formation patterns covered the place, densely packed together. Netherworld Venerable, or rather the Source Emperor, had indeed made numerous arrangements here back then.
At present, dozens of planets also orbited densely around the Heavenly Soldier Ancient Star, all refined by Emperor Venerable's Heavenly Court.
It seemed this was another place of importance to Emperor Venerable.
Xiao Ping'an quickly slipped onto the planet. Although he sensed the presence of a Quasi-Emperor and many Saints, none of them had anything to do with him.
He had come here hoping to take some of Lingbao Heavenly Venerable's Immortal Platform divine liquid back to the Tyrant Body Ancestral Star, where his clansmen could keep it as part of their foundation.
With the Nine Secrets: Xing, the Nine Secrets: Zu, and the Nine Secrets: Ba he had comprehended himself, breaking through the formations here was effortless.
He also possessed the scripture of the Source Heaven Great Dao, so slipping underground was very simple.
Before long, he had gone straight underground.
There lay an incomparably vast world.
The Immortal Platform had become a continent that stretched as far as the eye could see, suspended in the void.
Sacred flames blazed upon it, containing a divine power brimming with life.
Had Xiao Ping'an not known that Lingbao Heavenly Venerable was truly dead, he would have suspected these flames were the flames of his soul.
Xiao Ping'an felt the flames for himself. They were indeed wondrous and powerful, nearly setting his primordial spirit alight and driving him into a state of Dao transformation.
It seemed the flames here had indeed weakened considerably in later generations. Back then, Ye Fan had slipped in with only the strength of a Saint and had not been burned to death. Clearly, after several million years, the flames here had become much weaker.
Xiao Ping'an soon found numerous arrangements here, all made by Lingbao Heavenly Venerable expressly for his own resurrection.
Unfortunately, the many Dao patterns here had either been destroyed or undergone bizarre changes, as though some mysterious force were preventing his resurrection.
Here, Xiao Ping'an circulated Lingbao Heavenly Venerable's cultivation arts and secret techniques. Along with the scripture and the Nine Secrets: Zu, he even began silently reciting his Deliverance Scripture.
He wanted to see whether he could find any treasure here or provoke some reaction.
Soon, he sensed the traces of Emperor Venerable and Netherworld Venerable here.
Although he knew that Emperor Venerable and Netherworld Venerable had carefully made arrangements here, Xiao Ping'an shamelessly took a great deal of Immortal Platform divine liquid.
He had originally intended to take the whole lot, even carrying off the continent formed from the Immortal Platform.
But after thinking it over, he decided that this was still an important Heavenly Court site, one that concerned its heavenly soldiers and generals. He had better leave it alone for now.
Once Emperor Venerable's Heavenly Court collapsed, he would watch for an opportunity to come and seize it.
If Emperor Venerable knew Xiao Ping'an had already set his sights on the treasure behind him, who knew whether he would explode with rage?
In any case, hearts were hidden behind flesh and bone. Who knew what anyone else was thinking?
Xiao Ping'an took more than half of the Immortal Platform divine liquid here.
Golden Crow Great Emperor had once undergone a transformation here. Since it was useful even to an unparalleled powerhouse like him, this substance was sure to have an astonishing effect on improving one's physique.
It might not be as astounding as the Fortune Source Eye, but it was undoubtedly an extraordinary treasure.
He would take it back and leave it to his descendants.
In this era, one had to either strengthen oneself, strengthen one's descendants, or make more allies.
Since Xiao Ping'an knew that the great tree of Emperor Venerable was going to fall, he naturally had to prepare early.
Even if he became stronger, so what? Before becoming a Red Dust Immortal, he felt there was truly no need to be as high-profile as Emperor Venerable.
Emperor Venerable, in particular, had established the Heavenly Court.
In Xiao Ping'an's view, that was simply courting death.
Word passed down since ancient times held that the Heavenly Court was inauspicious and carried great karma. Everyone who established a Heavenly Court met with calamity, dragging their friends and family down with them.
Thus, Xiao Ping'an was surprised to discover that Emperor Venerable did not even have a woman.
He was a true bachelor.
Although he had disciples and many heavenly soldiers and generals, he had neither a woman nor children.
He was, through and through, a lone-wolf type.
Xiao Ping'an's collection of so much Immortal Platform divine liquid soon alerted the Great Perfection Saint Spirit stationed here.
An angry roar rang out. "What thief dares trespass on Heavenly Court territory and steal its treasures?"
Xiao Ping'an frowned. The Great Perfection Saint Spirit was too loud, and he wanted to crush him to death.
At the thought, a fierce light blazed in Xiao Ping'an's eyes.
He turned around and looked at the Great Perfection Saint Spirit.
The Saint Spirit had fully taken on a body of flesh. His handsome appearance was almost identical to that of a human, as befitted a Saint Spirit born of heaven and nurtured by earth.
Now, he bravely charged at Xiao Ping'an.
His presence had locked firmly onto Xiao Ping'an.
In his view, anyone who sneaked in here was courting death. In any case, he had Emperor Venerable backing him, and if he made trouble, Emperor Venerable would cover for him.
Thus, he charged at Xiao Ping'an with savage force, as though he could topple mountains and overturn seas.
"You dared steal the Immortal Platform divine liquid here? Die, thief!"
Rumble!
A token of Dragon Marked Black Gold, black as ink and born alongside the Saint Spirit, smashed viciously toward Xiao Ping'an.
With Emperor Venerable's Nine Secrets: Jie boosting his strength tenfold, he was confident he could smack Xiao Ping'an, the thief, to death in one blow.
He felt that, with his current strength, he could confidently smack even a Dark Supreme to death.
With an incomparably violent momentum, he slammed the Dragon Marked Black Gold token into Xiao Ping'an's hand.
A smile had already appeared on his face, as though he could go to Emperor Venerable for a reward in the very next moment.