The Ancient Saint Emperor of the Heaven-shading

Chapter 101 The Nine Secrets, Turbulent Times Arise

Outside the Immortal Transformation Pool, the lightning tribulation gradually subsided, and blood-red light mingled with the clouds, creating a scene of poignant beauty.

The long-standing feud between the Sun lineage and the Yama lineage will be settled by the younger generation.

The primordial spirit merges with the Dao again, unleashing an unparalleled killing move that pierces through the stars. The future ruler who emerged from the underworld splits into four or five parts, and blood stains this ancient land red.

*Poof!* Yama's headless corpse was torn to pieces, and even his primordial spirit was covered with cracks, collapsing inch by inch and about to be destroyed. The emanating waves were filled with demonic wails and ghostly howls, and boundless resentment.

His face was filled with grief and anger, resentment, regret, and confusion: "How could you ignore the tribulation lightning? I have already broken through all the tribulations lightning and am destined to become a saint, but at the last moment of this transformation, my soul was lost on the path to sainthood. I am not reconciled!"
"Divine Forbidden Zone, Divine Forbidden Zone! I too have entered that realm, why am I still no match for you?"

"Ignoring the tribulation lightning is due to my technique, the Great Heavenly Tribulation Technique that I created myself; I win only because I am stronger than you, not only because my Dao-Slaying is far superior to yours, but also because I have comprehended the Divine Restriction for many years and can freely enter this realm. This is strength. The ceiling of the Divine Restriction that you touched is just the beginning for me. On this path, I have gone much further than you!"

*Poof!* Flames erupted from Wang Hongwu's palm, shattering Yan Luozi's primordial spirit with a single punch. The flames then swept around and crushed and searched for his consciousness. His methods were incorporated and interpreted by Huangji Jingshi. He was also very interested in the cycle of life and death within it, which he could add to his own Yin-Yang interpretation.

After the battle, he trampled all the glory under his feet and achieved victory, but he did not rush to leave. Instead, he stopped to dig out the secrets of Yanluozi.

The Underworld also collected the Nine Secrets. The universe is so vast and has gone through so many millennia, it is impossible that it did not have any treasures. That would be unrealistic. However, Yama only cultivated one of them, which is also because he was born too young. Otherwise, he would have had the opportunity to learn all the mysteries of the Underworld.

One of the nine secrets possessed by Yama is the secret of numbers!

Wang Hongwu had never obtained this secret. On Ziwei Star, let alone the Eight Views Palace and the One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones inheritance, even Laozi did not exist at this time. Although there was a Daoist Venerable suppressing the Holy Spirit to refine pills on the Ancient Star Road, only pills and divine liquids were left there, but no inheritance.

This secret was arguably the most perplexing and even impossible to grasp, but Yama was very loyal and sent it to him from afar, making it of paramount importance.

"Lin Bing Dou Zhe Jie Shu Zu Qian Xing; Lin Jie Shu Qian Wo Yi De, Xing Yu Bing, Dou may be in the Big Dipper, Zhe Zi Mi is in Ziwei, Zu Zi Mi is on the corpse of Lingbao Tianzun, this has made things much clearer."

Compared to the secret of learning characters, this secret of numbers will likely have a more significant impact on my improvement.

Wang Hongwu pondered and began to study the Nine Secrets he obtained from Yanluozi. The essence was not much, only three hundred words, which explained the various changes in all things and also combined them with the secret realm of the human body's Dao Palace.

During the meditation, Zen chants and ancient sacrificial sounds seemed to pierce through time and space, drifting in from afar. There have been rumors about the Taoist Palace since ancient times, believing that it was jointly constructed by the past self, the present true self, and the future Taoist self.

Though I am gone, I will live on, giving rise to the five elements, lingering in the Daoist realm, invoking the heavens and earth to chant scriptures for me, capturing traces of the Dao to nourish my destiny, so that I may be immortal in this life; I will walk the Dao into the future, resonating with the heavens and earth, paving the way for my future in this life.

This is a very mysterious concept, and few people can explain it clearly. This mystery is difficult to explain thoroughly. Many outstanding cultivators do not believe in the existence of past lives and future lives, but they cannot deny their existence, which is frustrating.

This secret originates from this, utilizing the mysterious connection between the deceased self, the true self, and the Tao self to exert divine power. Since the true self is immortal, the deceased self and the Tao self will not perish. Even if they are destroyed, they can be summoned again next time.

In Wang Hongwu's view, this is quite similar to the later Overlord's strategy of casting an altar to summon the Dao and the Stone Emperor's sacrificial ritual to the Dao, except that it brings out the past self and the future Dao self to participate in the battle.

This is quite similar to the One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones, but there are also differences. The mystery lies in the fact that it does not disappear after touching the forbidden domain of the gods, but can still exist; otherwise, wouldn't this secret seem particularly useless in the hands of the Moral Celestial Venerable?
Those who attain enlightenment reside permanently in the forbidden realm of the gods, making the "One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones" technique rather awkward. It's merely a quasi-imperial law reinterpreted by Lao Tzu after a corpse became spiritualized, and it's fundamentally different.

Wang Hongwu couldn't help but wonder if, when this secret was truly evolved in the hands of the Moral Celestial Venerable, it could touch upon the past and the future through the concept of "the past self and the future self."
The past peak version of yourself, and the future stronger version of yourself—these two forces are also the ever-evolving scenery along this path.

"It feels a bit familiar. When did I see it before?" Duan De smacked his lips, looking at Wang Hongwu who was operating the digital secret with great curiosity. The image of an old Taoist priest vaguely appeared in his mind. He was very kind and always talked about the Tao and going with the flow.

"Hey, little fireman, you can't turn into that, it's too boring..." he muttered to himself, and went off to set up the formation diligently.

During his cultivation, Wang Hongwu appeared solemn and dignified. Five elements surged from his chest and combined with a wisp of pure energy falling from the sky, evolving before him. There were traces of the Dao around him, which could guide the past self and the Dao self to assist in battle. It was not as simple as a mere incarnation, but had profound and inexplicable uses. Furthermore, it could borrow power and methods from the two "selves" of the past and future, with enormous potential.

Just like Yan Luozi, who was originally forced into a dead end, his Dao body suddenly appeared in a short time, which made his Dao power increase significantly. This was much more terrifying than doubling his combat power. In addition, he kept borrowing power from Shiwo Daowo to surround and kill him, and he managed to turn the situation around. If Wang Hongwu hadn't drawn the humanoid lightning from the lightning tribulation to fight, it would have been really difficult to deal with his methods.

Having an extra self can be very convenient in some ways, especially for someone like Wang Hongwu who currently assumes multiple identities.

"The secret of numbers evolves based on the past self, true self, and Dao self. When you first enter the gate, you can only guide the past self. If you want the Dao self to arrive in the future, you need to cultivate it to a high level. At first, you can only borrow its power. But to make it take form, you need divine objects to fill it and cultivate it. This Immortal Transformation Pool is just right and makes it convenient for me to do things."

Wang Hongwu secretly thought that the timing, location, and people were all in place. As the digital secret was activated, an auspicious cloud appeared above his head. Then, five kinds of energy rushed out from his chest, combined with the cloud, and continuously transformed into the human body.

His eyes flashed as he took out the World Stone, which he had originally intended to integrate into the universe in his palm, and used it as the core to directly inject it into the cloud of energy.

Then the Immortal Transformation Pool trembled, and from it rose eighty-one great waterfalls flowing backwards to the sky, like ten thousand horses galloping, like a vast ocean pouring in, straight up to the clouds, and also merging into the auspicious clouds of the five elements.

This is a celestial light flying out of the lake, transforming into a waterfall of divine power. It is using the power of the Immortal Transformation Pool to solidify my body. Suddenly, I saw the sky filled with colorful light, and a refreshing fragrance wafted down, making the entire Immortal Transformation Pool seem like a dream, with light rain like smoke.

Buzz!

Nine days passed, and the human form finally stabilized, forming a deceased self with a face identical to his own, only with a different aura, which was more ancient. The deceased self was his past life, not simply his past self, and even Wang Hongwu could not see through what he was involved in.

With a thought, Shiwo activated the Taiyin Mother Scripture, while he activated the Taiyang Mother Scripture. Each of them produced nine divine scripture characters that collided with each other. Instantly, not only did sunlight soar into the sky, but Taiyin energy also burst forth. A total of eighteen ancient characters stood in opposition, intertwined and rotated, becoming one.

Faintly, chaotic energy burst forth!

Yin and Yang unite in chaos? Duan De was surprised and immediately retreated. After the chaotic energy subsided, Shi Wo Shen and Wang Hongwu walked out together, but their faces showed a look of understanding. To some extent, they confirmed the Sun Emperor's conjecture. If one wanted to transform chaos with one's own power, the Taiyin and Taiyang alone would not be enough. The Shaoyin and Shaoyang would also be needed to participate in the evolution, which is called the Two Forms and Four Symbols.

The Digital Secret is currently in its initial stages. Although he can unleash the divine restrictions himself, this body of the departed can only exert the strength of the eighth restriction, which is still enough to be a half-saint. Once he cultivates this secret to a higher level, the situation will change accordingly.

And yet, he hasn't even reached the point of condensing his Dao self into a physical form.

"Congratulations, little fireman! Your luck is so strong that even I can't quite understand it. But it doesn't matter, this is just the beginning of our harvest." Duan De came closer again, grinning as he pulled him deeper into the Immortal Pool to explore.

Wang Hongwu would not miss this opportunity, so he immediately stepped into the water. Along the way, the two saw many fragments of the Nine Heavens Divine Jade and divine objects, all of which exuded a mottled ancient aura. The divine war of that year not only swept through the extreme path, but also quasi-emperors and great saints, involving a very wide range of people.

Before a body of water, they discovered several enormous skeletons, shimmering with a pale golden light. These were all alien creatures affected by the ancient war of the gods, who had been dead for countless years and had been preserved to this day.

"Demon God Bone, the true remains of the supreme demon race, can be forged into divine artifacts!" Duan De gasped, pointing to a four-inch-long white bone that appeared in front of the corpse and shouting. It looked like the finger bone of some kind of creature, dull and without luster, but it was the essence left by a quasi-emperor, which was extraordinary.

Wang Hongwu, quick-witted and agile, took it. He reasoned that since his own Dao body was still unsettled, this might serve as a means of support.

Duan De was not in a hurry and continued searching forward. The two soon found another mass of Great Luo Silver Essence, with dozens of grains of Immortal Tear Green Gold Sand mixed in within it. After traveling a distance further, they found Star River Divine Sand in a water pit. It was formed from the Star River that collapsed in that battle, weighing a full ten thousand catties. This weight was quite terrifying and would be enough to make even a royal Great Saint tempted.

Then, Wang Hongwu's Heavenly Eye discovered an ancient tree that was half a person tall, with branches like dragons. Although it was not very tall, it was very vigorous, with rolling lightning, and it was nurturing a kind of most primordial power of magic.

"This is the Thunder Sound Tree, containing the original thunder sound of heaven and earth. It can be used to understand the secrets of heavenly tribulations. It is a rare and precious divine tree species in the world. The Great Heavenly Tribulation Technique that you used to deal with Yama's son is very suitable for this. You can take it and use it to help me overcome my tribulation." Duan De recognized its origin and told Wang Hongwu about its preciousness.

Of course, he also has needs. The profound skill he cultivates lacks a bit of pure yang energy, while the Heavenly Tribulation is the purest and most powerful yang energy. If the little fire man guides him, it might be able to satisfy 'part' of his needs.

Upon hearing this, Wang Hongwu nodded and immediately put it into his pocket, merging it with the divine spear of the Great Heavenly Tribulation Technique.

A wondrous sight suddenly appeared within his sea of ​​consciousness: the Thunder Sound Tree stood tall, the divine spear merging into its trunk, and a thunder pool actually grew in the central canopy, making the entire tree seem as if it were embracing the thunder pool. One could sense that his influence over the tribulation lightning had advanced further, and he was even able to control the power of heaven and earth's thunder, giving him a sense of acting as a representative of heaven's punishment.

When they emerged from the Immortal Transformation Pool again, both of them had amassed a fortune. The nascent 'future supreme being' was also sensible, making no rash moves or sending its subordinates to harass them.

Duan De finally completed his formation, extracting eighty-one mountain peaks from this terrain.

As the ancestral dragon energy was drawn into the mountain, each peak underwent a dramatic transformation, forming dragon heads. These dragon heads then emitted roars as if they were alive, with stone-like dragon scales unfolding on their bodies and even gleaming divine light in their eyes.

Each dragon's mouth exudes essence, emanating a mystical aura that rises and condenses within a single palm, creating an atmosphere of unfathomable mystery.

Giant dragons also coil and soar among the peaks of Dragon Head Mountain, forming millions of dragons with their heads raised and roaring. All of them are formed from dragon energy, and countless rays of light shoot out.

"It won't harm the foundation. I'm only borrowing your strength for this trip. When the time comes, I'll activate the formation, and the dragon energy of the entire ancestral vein will be released from it." Duan De advised, communicating with the spirit of the ancestral vein to appease it.

Even the royal family saints who pushed this matter probably couldn't have imagined that someone would use the heaven-defying method of Origin Technique to draw out the ancestral dragon energy array and transform it into a miniature Eighty-One Dragon Mountain.

"Similar to the methods used by the Ninety-Nine Dragon Mountains of the Heavenly Court in the past." Wang Hongwu sighed. As expected of the Source Emperor, even after being reborn and re-cultivated using the Reincarnation Seal, he still has such methods.

As a result, although there was not much damage, the ancestral root, whose power had been extracted, inevitably trembled slightly. One branch was broken, and a mouthwatering aroma emanated from it.

Just one whiff of the incense gave Wang Hongwu and Duan De a feeling of pure bliss, as if they were about to ascend to heaven.

Upon closer inspection, six creatures flew away from the ancestral root of that branch, some resembling ponies, others like swallows, all shrouded in a layer of precious light, dreamlike and enchanting.

"Dream-level Divine Essence!" Duan De exclaimed. A fragrant aroma wafted from there, which could be smelled even from a distance, almost seeping into one's bones and soul.

These were some small creatures born from the Dream Divine Essence Mother Plant. The two immediately reached out to collect them, leaving none behind. This was a major gain from the trip, as the benefits were no less than those of the Immortal Elixir. Of course, the drawback was that it could not achieve the effect of allowing one to live an extra life.

"This could be used to make a difference," Wang Hongwu pondered. With these dreamlike divine essences, he could: first, integrate them into the divine consciousness and prolong their existence; second, extend the lifespan of the guardians of the two great human royal families of Ziwei; and third, trade with the royal family of Beidou, as at least the Old Saint Ape and the Great Saint of Ten Thousand Dragons would greatly need them.

With this assistance, the two of them might even be able to break through the barriers and become quasi-emperors!

"Let's go, our mission is complete, it's time to leave. This attack on the Western Desert is a major operation, don't miss it." Duan De was satisfied, put away the Eighty-One Dragon Mountain and prepared to leave. Wang Hongwu also nodded. Killing Yan Luozi here can be considered as thwarting a major plan of the Underworld.

After they left, the Immortal Transformation Pool fell into a deathly silence again. It was unknown how much time had passed before a faint light appeared at the bottom of the pool, and special patterns appeared on the entire pool, spreading into the Ancient Dragon Cave and drawing on the divine essence that had previously dissipated.

"Without Qinglian, another one has awakened."

In a daze, a faint will emanated from the depths of the Dragon Cave, indicating that this immortal land indeed held a great secret.

Meanwhile, in the underworld.

The black building stands suspended in mid-air, shrouded in mist. Above the magnificent gate is a bronze plaque with three large characters: Yama's Palace.

Swish!
On that very day, one of the enshrined spirit lamps went out and shattered into pieces.

That belongs to Yama's son, the future ruler of the Yama Palace.

His demise was so shocking that the Yin general guarding the place went limp and fell to the ground in utter panic.

In the final image transmitted by the Soul Lamp, the figure of the Sun King appeared. He blasted away the last hope of the Underworld's successor with a single punch, severing it and dying in a rebellious manner!

"How could this be? The young master has fallen, beheaded by the Sun King. He was clearly not even a half-saint, just a Dao Slayer!" Yin Jiang was horrified, unable to believe this fact. It wasn't until a moment later that he managed to stand up and stumbled off to report the news.

Upon learning what had happened, a deep sigh echoed from above the black hall, saying, "Ever since the Yama King fell into slumber, the lineage has truly declined with each generation, and now it is even more wretched. Seedlings and future rulers alike have all been wiped out by outsiders."

"My lord, please calm down. It's just that the Sun King is too strong. It's not that Your Highness isn't trying hard enough." The Yin general below lowered his head and transmitted what he had seen, causing the envoys in the palace to fall silent.

He witnessed Wang Hongwu standing tall in the forbidden realm, manipulating the power of lightning to unleash humanoid lightning to fight against Yan Luozi's digital secrets, and even forcefully annihilating him when he touched the forbidden realm and reached the pinnacle of his life.

This level of strength is indeed beyond what Yanluozi can match; his defeat is not unjust.

"The lineage of the Sun Emperor has actually produced such a figure, even stronger than he was back then; one has to believe in the theory of destiny sometimes, he may be one of the factors that will influence the future of my Underworld." In the end, only this sigh could be heard in the palace.

The two lineages have been enemies since the rise of the Holy Emperor. They originally thought that with the Sun's death and Yama's eternal existence, their lineage was destined to win, and they even mocked them for it. But who would have thought that the Sun's successor would be so powerful, severing their seed and killing Yama's son? It was too outrageous.

"My lord, what should we do now? Are we really just going to watch him rise to power?" The underworld general was somewhat unwilling. No one in history had ever been able to slaughter so many descendants of the underworld.

After a brief pause, the messenger in the Yama Palace said in a low voice, "Let's wait until Zhenyuzi and Minghuangzi have grown up before making any decisions. As for Beidou, let's leave it to Xuenie Dasheng for now."

Right now, they really don't have a good way to deal with that Sun King. They can't beat him in his generation, so they can only rely on their cultivation level to suppress him.

Meanwhile, in a distant secret land, as fragments of the Human Emperor's Seal emerged from the Immortal Transformation Pool, the holder of another artifact also sensed something.

"The fragments of the Human Emperor's Seal have been taken? Who did it?"

A large black seal floated up and down, with thousands of silk ribbons hanging down, protecting a creature with a human face and a snake's body, all red, with vertically elongated eyes, below.

This is a Great Sage with the bloodline of the Candle Dragon. The black seal on his head is an ultimate imperial artifact. However, this treasure seal is obviously flawed, with a corner missing and a crack running straight to the center.

"The direction from which this echo is coming is the Big Dipper? It must be caused by the recent struggle between the remnants of the Underworld and the Heavenly Court, as well as the myriad races." The Great Sage Zhulong's mind stirred, and he sensed the source of the change from the Human Emperor Seal. He immediately ordered, "Send people to the Big Dipper."

Following this command, many beings emerged from this sacred land, all of them outstanding and powerful, standing tall within the Holy Domain.

"It's them? The Kunlun remnants have also mobilized after so many years?"

The other sages in the starry sky were startled when they witnessed this scene.

The Kunlun Remnants are descendants of near-immortals. Of course, the term "remnant" does not refer to a single race, but rather to a group.

"The Kunlun Remnants, these beings once lived on the immortal mountain Kunlun. They aspired to be close to immortals, and they were all excessively powerful, possessing boundless supernatural abilities. Only an Emperor could defeat them; otherwise, who would dare to challenge them?" A Great Sage sighed, shook his head, and revealed a secret.

Everyone was shocked. The mention of the Emperor, the most powerful ruler in all realms throughout history, instantly brought to mind many things and filled them with a sense of awe.

Did the ancient Heavenly Court and the Kunlun Clan actually have a history of enmity?
(End of this chapter)