The Ancient Saint Emperor of the Heaven-shading

Chapter 155 The Ultimate Weapon Shattered, the Celestial Venerable Still Alive? (6K)

The Eight Wonders of Life and Death, the Ancient Tomb of the Celestial Venerable Opens.

A gate stands tall here, filled with patterns from the mythological era. The Great Sage sheds blood here, disintegrates and burns, astonishing everyone.

They've only just opened the tomb and found the way in, and a patriarch has already fallen. What will happen once they're inside?

"In the mythological era, those who attained enlightenment were all revered, with Dao Venerables and Heavenly Venerables gathering together. Among them, only those who created the Nine Secrets were called the Nine Great Heavenly Venerables. I wonder which category this mausoleum belongs to?"

Wang Hongwu's Heavenly Eye, which seemed to see the sun and moon, peered through the vast divine light and fixed its gaze on the stone gate. It was covered with ancient relics from the mythological era, and contained no elements of the ancient Heavenly Court. It was unlikely that these were the Venerables who had been invited to the Heavenly Court.

“There aren’t many Daoists who are willing to quietly pass away peacefully. I hope this one hasn’t caused any trouble.” The Heavenly Empress gently pressed down on the hilt of the Heavenly Blade, her eyes sharpening. Especially during the mythological era when the Underworld Lord left the Reincarnation Seal and explored it with the other venerables, the research on immortality reached a chilling level, with no means spared.

At this moment, ancient chanting emanated from behind the massive stone gate, rising and falling like the celestial music, deafening and making everyone's soul tremble, unable to bear it.

"Is this a scripture? Could it be an ancient scripture left by the Heavenly Venerable?" A sage king pondered, feeling that he had grasped an opportunity. He immediately took out an enlightenment platform and began to comprehend it. However, the Dao sound from his platform suddenly blazed up, causing his body and the platform to explode together. Blood and bone fragments flew everywhere, a shocking sight.

Ah! Another Heavenly King tried to force his way through the stone gate, but the moment his hands touched the gate, he was petrified. He first turned into a statue, and then flattened himself, becoming a new stone carving on the gate.

A demon race trial participant not far away growled, trying to escape, but it was all in vain. A peacock stone carving on the stone gate lit up, and a ray of light shot out with a sweep of its tail feathers, instantly shattering him into dust, leaving only a cloud of blood mist.

It is lamentable that someone spends half their life cultivating themselves, hoping for a stroke of luck, only to end up dying and losing their spiritual essence. If even outstanding individuals suffer this fate, one can imagine how much more difficult and dangerous the path is for ordinary people.

Someone once said that the greatest victory is to live. In the end, people of the same era are not compared by their fighting strength, but by who can live the longest. At least in the eyes of most people today, this makes a lot of sense.

The tomb has only just been opened, and several trial participants have already died outside, some along the way, and now another one is gone. Who knows how many will be left after we go in?

"I refuse to believe that a mere door can stop so many people!" The Great Sages were furious. They joined forces and charged forward, unleashing their legendary artifacts and even some quasi-royal weapons that roared as they suddenly rushed forward to clear a path. They collided with the power emanating from the stone door, causing the heavens and earth to tremble and the earth to split. It was as if two pieces of divine metal were violently colliding, and the shock almost shattered the ear bones of some people.

Only then did people realize that no matter how many intruders there were, the stone gate attacked everyone equally, and the killing power fluctuated, like a kind of selection. Many people felt that this was a test, and only those who met the standard were qualified to enter.

But what should be considered when selecting a grave for a dead person?
To find a successor, or to choose a sacrificial offering?
The next moment, the bronze coffin of the underworld opened, and a Great Sage flew out. With a single punch, he split the heavens and the earth, controlled life and death, and dominated reincarnation. He clashed with the divine light shooting out from the gate and was sent flying, but he did not explode. As if he had discovered the key, he laughed loudly, took something from the divine light, turned back in mid-air, and rushed into the back of the gate.

The door wasn't even a crack open, yet someone so fresh and clean entered, leaving the rest of the people stunned.

At the same time, the Great Sage of the Underworld was also quite wicked, drawing in the Yellow Springs from the outer perimeter to block those who came later. Others also wanted to enter, but crossing the Yellow Springs would take a lot of time. This was terrifying Yin death energy, and although it only contained a trace of it, it was still not something ordinary people could withstand.

"I understand." Wang Hongwu's expression shifted, and his Heavenly Eye captured the key point. Although the divine light shooting out from those stone gates was killing power, it also contained an aura consistent with the gates, just like those stone carvings. If one survived the killing light and captured the aura, the stone gate would regard it as something of the same origin and allow one to enter freely.

He immediately stepped forward, and a dragon-shaped stream of light shot out from the stone gate, baring its fangs and claws, and clashed with his iron fists one after another, causing countless waves of energy to surge around him, and the sound of great bells and drums to rise and fall continuously. Finally, he grabbed the dragon's head with one hand and plunged the other hand into the dragon's body, pulling out a wisp of energy.

Then Wang Hongwu strode forward with his aura, crossed the Yellow Springs, and arrived directly in front of the stone gate. He stepped inside without any hindrance.

"You really got in? It's that simple?" Everyone was stunned. Compared to the others before, the Holy Venerable seemed so relaxed and at ease. They had thought there would be some troublesome trials, but it turned out to be very simple. If you were strong enough, you could get through it.

The Empress's daughter followed closely behind Wang Hongwu, obtaining a wisp of his aura, and also transformed into a stone carving before rushing through the door.

At this point, people discovered something subtle: the images of those who entered seemed to be preserved on the stone gate, forming engravings that were constantly moving. What did this mean?
Despite their doubts, the allure of wealth and profit ultimately prevailed, and they disregarded everything else, eagerly attempting to enter the stone gate.

In an instant, teams from all factions and different races joined forces to cross the Yellow Springs. Most of them did not have the abilities of the young supreme beings, so they naturally needed to pool their strength to avoid the calamities left behind by the underworld. For a time, there were many figures and yellow mist flowing, as if many heavenly soldiers were entering the Nine Netherworlds.

Besides the human race, many powerful figures from other races also came this time. Even if they had grudges, they temporarily put them aside. Nothing was more important than seeing the treasure left by the Heavenly Venerable. For a Great Sage who had struggled to make any progress even after thousands of years of arduous cultivation, this was a destiny of immortality.

In the end, only half of the army successfully entered the gate; the rest remained outside.

Inside the tomb, people walked forward along a deep, dark river of the underworld. It was an extreme deathly aura. They entered the river of the underworld through the Gate of Death, but the light ahead grew brighter and brighter, with wisps of life emerging. It was truly a case of living towards death and reversing the yin and yang.

"To set up such a formation, to bring about life from death, could it be that the Celestial Venerable of that time was unwilling to perish and wanted to return by borrowing the terrain to prove his Dao with his corpse?"

"Using a corpse to prove the Dao? It seems that only two people have succeeded in that method throughout history. I think the possibility is slim. Perhaps there is an immortal divine will involved."

"There might be a resurrected divine corpse that survived the tribulations and escaped the judgment of heaven, becoming a terrifying Yin god."

The trial participants from all the star realms were talking here, and they were all very interested. Many people believed that the Celestial Venerable would not simply accept his fate and would definitely leave behind various means to try to reverse life and death.

From the mythological era to the end of the Heavenly Court, and then to the ancient imperial era, one supreme being after another rose up, creating an immortal golden age, and then one by one they grew old, and so much happened.

Such extraordinary individuals, looking down upon all the heavens throughout the ages, how could they willingly accept death and the annihilation of their cultivation? Sweeping across the three thousand realms and defying the nine heavens, they would not succumb to fate.

Rebirth after death has also become a research direction for them, and they will go to any lengths to explore it.

Wang Hongwu glanced in the direction of Wuliang Daoist, whose expression remained unchanged, as if he had not noticed anything.

Whoosh! Soon, the River Styx came to an end, and the scene before them suddenly opened up. White light replaced the darkness, and they stepped onto the shore. In front of them, towering mountains stretched as far as the eye could see, shrouded in wisps of pure white mist, making them feel as if they were in a dream.

Is this really a huge tomb? It feels like I've entered a celestial realm.
The entire world was teeming with life, as if it had absorbed the life force of the surrounding star fields and accumulated it over millions of years to obtain this divine land.

"This is truly awe-inspiring. There are hidden traces of the Dao. If we can comprehend it, perhaps we can break through to the next level." On the spot, a Great Sage sat down cross-legged, facing countless immortal mountains, his face solemn as he sought enlightenment.

"There's a rich aroma of herbs ahead!" "Is that a medicinal herb garden?" People cautiously advanced, entering the sacred mountain. Mist swirled around them, filling the air with a sacred and peaceful atmosphere. To their surprise, they discovered a medicinal herb garden ahead.

Inside, there are ancient medicinal plants that have been growing for hundreds of thousands of years. There is more than one of them, which emit an amazing fragrance. There are also some withered plants that have been there for so long that they have turned into medicinal mud and rotted on the ground, and their seeds have become ancient medicinal plants.

In an instant, the saints began to scramble for it. Although the trial participants were still young, the saint kings and great saints from various realms who had arrived were not. This medicinal garden was of great use to them.

What's even more striking is that behind the herb garden, there appears to be a small burial mound. It doesn't look like a burial site, but rather like an altar. On it are some broken objects, some of which are radiant and exude immortal brilliance, while others are simple and unadorned, without any fluctuation, as if they were dead and decayed.

Upon closer inspection, a stone tablet stands before the altar, inscribed with the words "Tomb of the Past" as if in remembrance.

"The Tomb of the Past? Burying the past and ushering in a new life?" Wang Hongwu murmured, sensing a certain artistic conception left by the tomb owner, representing a decision to defy fate.

With the intervention of a Great Sage, a legendary artifact forged by the Purple Jade King was brought forward. The jade bracelet, radiating purple light, tentatively touched the altar. However, upon contact with the fragments on it, an unbelievable fluctuation erupted, and a dazzling flame shot out, directly incinerating the legendary artifact!

Hiss! Everyone was stunned and couldn't help but gasp. How powerful must this divine object be? Even though it was shattered into eight pieces, it could still break a legendary sacred artifact!
The Empress's expression turned solemn as she said, enunciating each word clearly, "Ultimate Divine Weapon!"

"No way! The aura of an ultimate divine weapon! These are fragments of a Heavenly Venerable's Dao-proving artifact. Who could possibly shatter something like this?" People could hardly believe it, yet no one questioned the Phoenix Lord's words.

“This is unimaginable. I have only heard of such a fierce battle between gods during the mythological era and when the ancient Heavenly Court collapsed. Could it be the supreme being of that time?” A great sage asked in a puzzled tone.

But the Boundless Heavenly Venerable shook his head and said, "This thing was not destroyed."

Upon hearing this, everyone became even more eager to investigate and couldn't help but approach, wanting to peek inside. It was a fragment of a Heavenly Venerable Artifact, but unfortunately, they couldn't see it clearly. The blazing holy light caused people to bleed and their divine senses to shatter, but they still couldn't see its true form or know what shape it was.

This is where the Celestial Venerable buried his weapons, the divine artifacts that accompanied him throughout his life of conquest. Naturally, not just anyone can pay homage here.

"The weapon spirit was devoured? To prolong life... or as a sacrifice?" The Boundless Daoist's expression hardened, sensing something amiss. "Burialing his own weapon and naming it the Tomb of Past Lives, was he trying to extend his life? Where are his primordial spirit and physical body?"

He discovered something strange: the Celestial Artifact wasn't shattered by external force, but broke on its own! This was very intriguing. What exactly did the owner of this great tomb do in his later years to cause such a Celestial Artifact to break like this?
Hearing his words, Wang Hongwu felt a chill run down his spine. He thought of the Blood Phoenix Ancient Emperor who had become a spirit within the ancient imperial weapon. Could it be that this Celestial Venerable had also tried a similar method, only to end up shattering his own ultimate divine weapon?
The Empress looked up at the top of the sky, slightly surprised, and said, "This world seems to have given birth to its own Dao, and has its own will?"

This was very unusual; it was not formed naturally but was created by human intervention. This discovery made Wang Hongwu wary and alert.

As the crowd approached, the altar trembled slightly, revealing the true form of the eight fragments. They vaguely pieced together the shape of a Bagua furnace, with the eight symbols of Qian, Kun, Xun, Zhen, Li, Kan, Dui, and Gen surrounding it. They were connected to and complemented the Eight Trigrams of Life and Death in the outside world, rotating like internal causes and external yang. Unfortunately, they were too thoroughly broken, and the fragments were all very dim. Each piece had a sense of vicissitude and antiquity, having endured countless millennia.

"Even though the fragments of the ultimate divine weapon have lost their weapon spirit, they still retain the laws. Even without being restored, they are still stronger than ordinary quasi-royal weapons!"

"What an incredible stroke of luck! There are eight fragments in total. Anyone who can obtain just one of them can rule the world."

"The world's opportunities belong to the capable. Kill!"

In an instant, all the heroes moved, and the place was in chaos. The Great Sages displayed their supernatural powers, the Heavenly Kings summoned wind and rain, and the Holy Kings' laws shook the heavens, as they engaged in an extremely fierce competition.

Although this fragment self-destructed and even lost its spirit, it is still not something that ordinary people can obtain. It requires items related to the ultimate path or special secret techniques and artifacts to collect.

Even if they knew all this, they would turn a blind eye, because wealth is a powerful motivator. With such a great opportunity right in front of them, they would not be willing to give up without truly seizing it.

Wang Hongwu also ventured deep into it. These fragments were quite useful, whether for controlling the emperor or for nourishing the Eastern Emperor Bell and the Humanity Flag. He moved with great force, cutting through everything in his path and shattering all living beings along the way. Thousands upon thousands of mountains flew through the air, appearing as dark clouds filling the sky. Then they suddenly stopped and began to melt, with flames dancing and stars pouring down, dazzling and radiant.

This was an immense pressure; the sky shattered, the earth turned into magma, shooting straight upwards, scorching the vegetation until it withered and turned to ashes, and causing mountains to collapse and turn into dust. Many contenders coughed up blood and were forced to retreat, their faces showing shock.

He charged forward until he reached a fragment, and reached out to grab it. Just then, several figures approached from the side. The God-Demon Overlord wanted to seize the fragment, and phantoms appeared around him. These were ancient gods and demons roaring and manifesting, surrounding him in a terrifying manner.

He struck out with his hands in a hand seal, displaying immense power and majesty as a pure-blooded descendant of gods and demons. Everyone's hearts pounded. This was a true young god and demon, with a body as hard as divine iron and magical power as vast as the ocean, making him the most terrifying.

However, this attack failed to work, and was blocked by Wang Hongwu's punch. He held off the God-Demon Overlord with one hand, making the opponent's heart tighten. How could a Saint King be unable to do anything to a Saint at the peak? On the other side, the Divine Blood Supreme was glowing all over, and the divine blood in his body was rumbling and releasing immortal power. He seemed to be standing high in the nine heavens, fighting fiercely with the Azure Heaven Overlord Blood for another fragment.

At that moment, a series of figures rushed over, including trial participants and powerful beings from other realms. The God-Demon Overlord frowned, ultimately displaying his pride and disdain for a group attack, and flashed away to compete for another fragment.

Without a word, Wang Hongwu drew out the Humanity Banner, and its spirit, glowing brightly, charged out. Each palm strike resonated with the Heavenly Dao, causing the sky to rumble. It fought against veteran Saint Kings, creating ripples in the surrounding heavens. The mountains below flew up like paper and shattered in the high sky.

With a muffled groan, a Saint King fell, his blood a vivid crimson, scattering across the sky, drenching the mountains below, and causing all trees to wither. He was instantly killed by the spirit of the artifact.

It was a bleak scene, with blood splattered everywhere and corpses falling into the dust.

The remaining trial participants and extraterrestrial beings screamed in agony as they were instantly blasted apart. Wang Hongwu cleaved his palm and flicked his fingers, unleashing a vast wave of Dao energy that swept across countless groups of people, causing them to explode on the spot.

The overlord of the winged race tried to escape, but was grabbed and torn in two with a forceful rip, causing his body and soul to perish.

After killing several experts and clearing the surrounding area, Wang Hongwu finally made his move, collecting the fragment of the Dao-proving artifact corresponding to the Li Fire. Just then, he saw Wuliang Daoist looking over from not far away. He had just taken a Qian Tian fragment, and soon, the Heavenly Empress also snatched a fragment corresponding to the Xun Wind.

Besides them, the four Great Saints, including those from the Underworld, each obtained a fragment. The last fragment was obtained by the Dao Tribulation Holy Spirit, who possessed a heart of immortal gold.

Those who obtained the eight fragments were wary of each other and did not act rashly. Instead, they tacitly joined forces to move forward, traversing the area and arriving at a Taoist altar.

"Someone?!"

Just then, someone exclaimed in surprise, noticing that an old Taoist priest was sitting cross-legged on the platform, his back to them, his head bowed, as if he were contemplating the Tao.

"Is the tomb owner not dead?" A great sage looked on in horror, sensing a terrifying aura that threatened to destroy him. Could it be the former Heavenly Venerable?
"Is this real?" People trembled, unable to believe the fact that an ancient celestial being had manifested in the world, as if it were a fairy tale.

However, Wuliang Daoren shook his head and said, "No, that is not the Heavenly Venerable, but something he left behind."

"What was left behind? Could it be a corpse? I knew it! Even a Dao-proving being from the mythical era couldn't have lived this long. It must be a corpse!"

People suddenly realized what was happening and breathed a sigh of relief. But even though it was just a corpse, it exuded a terrifying aura of the highest Dao, shaking the eternal heavens. Swarms of saints prostrated themselves, involuntarily worshipping. It was a tremor of the soul as they kowtowed forward.

The heroes' bodies went limp and they couldn't stand up at all. The nearby cultivators were all cracked and broken, their bones broken, turning into a bloody mess.

This is the pressure of a Celestial Venerable, which even a Saint cannot withstand. It is like an ant looking up at a giant dragon, or a mayfly trying to shake the heavens. The difference is too great.

"Quickly, kill the people from the Underworld and drive them away from this place. Don't let them get close!" Just then, a Great Sage reacted and shouted, "We absolutely cannot let the Underworld obtain the Heavenly Venerable's corpse!"
"Too late!" The Great Sage of the Underworld laughed sinisterly. With a clear whistle, tens of thousands of Yin soldiers, each exuding a terrifying aura of death, converged on this place.

This place instantly became a hellish place, where even tens of thousands of ghost soldiers were not enough to kill. With a single move from the Great Sage, everything would turn to smoke, and ashes would be scattered throughout the universe.

However, many visitors came from the underworld, the drums of hell beat, the hellish realms appeared, and countless large ships of white bones and numerous underworld palaces manifested in the void, with even more underworld soldiers descending.

The 100,000 Yin soldiers were all powerful, selected from ancient burial grounds in various ancient star regions of the universe, and gathered together. This was a power that made all the heavens and myriad realms tremble.

However, a strange thing happened. Despite their chanting, the corpse of the Celestial Venerable, who had his back to everyone, did not react at all and even gradually faded away.

To everyone's surprise, the corpse condensed, and although its life force was immense, it turned into a pool of blood, revealing its true nature.

That was a drop of semen.

It was left by the ancient Celestial Venerable.

All the phenomena I had witnessed before were caused by a single drop of blood.

"The aura of this drop of blood belongs to the Celestial Venerable, but why do I feel that the entire world shares the same origin with it?" Wang Hongwu was puzzled. He had seen through many mysteries with his Heavenly Eye, but the mystery remained.

The entire world gave him a feeling of blood, as if it were part of the Celestial Venerable's corpse. Why was that?
"Why? No reaction? Only a drop of blood?" The people of the underworld couldn't accept it and couldn't help but roar in anger. Even the Great Sage's eyes turned cold. "Where did the Heavenly Venerable's corpse go? I clearly sensed an extremely dense trace of the ultimate path in this world. Could it be that we are inside the Heavenly Venerable's corpse?"

"Are you saying that this world, this great tomb, is the transformed corpse of the Celestial Venerable?"
That Celestial Venerable transformed himself into the universe itself? This...this can't be possible!

The other saints were even more shocked and their expressions changed drastically upon hearing this.

"The Celestial Venerable was indeed not completely dead. He abandoned his physical body and used the Eight Trigrams Furnace combined with the Eight Wonders of Life and Death as fuel to transform into a chaotic divine land, nourishing it and generating Dao traces. In order to achieve immortality, his primordial spirit chose to 'seize' this world, using the supreme terrain to reverse the primary and secondary, replacing the origin of the world, and transforming himself into an existence like the Heavenly Dao."

Unfortunately, the Tao is still the Tao; approaching the Tao does not necessarily lead to enlightenment, but rather carries the risk of being assimilated by it. The final outcome, in this case, will likely be unsatisfactory.

At this moment, the Boundless Taoist finally saw through the secret, sighed softly, and revealed the truth.

His words echoed in people's ears, but what he said was too shocking!

To seize the body of Heaven and Earth, to become the Heavenly Dao, and to be immortal and indestructible?

This is about creating another universe within the universe!

If he succeeds, the Heavenly Venerable's Path will give rise to countless other paths, and this world might truly undergo a divine transformation, perhaps even giving rise to a smaller version of the myriad paths!
"If I obtain this method, will I be able to utilize the Immortal Seed and transform it into my own secret world?" Wang Hongwu's eyes lit up. With a goal in mind, success would be a major breakthrough for him.

(End of this chapter)