Shrouding the Heavens: The Ultimate Daoist Venerable

Chapter 12 Underworld
After leaving the Holy Spirit Ancestral Land, Liang Yu decided on his next destination—the Underworld.

His primary reason for choosing the Underworld was to meet the Lord of the Underworld, and secondly, to explore its true nature. This forbidden zone was known as the final resting place of all spirits, possessing profound historical roots, and was not eradicated until the post-primordial era. He wondered what its current state was.

The golden road illuminated the desolate darkness of the universe, revealing a vast and boundless underworld. It was clearly a continent, yet it was larger than any star.

The black, desolate land was filled with a deathly aura, and long rivers of blood flowed endlessly across it. Beneath the ground, the Yellow Springs accumulated, in which ancient corpses of various races floated and sank, as well as ancient coffins made of various special divine woods.

As far as Liang Yu could see, there were all sorts of tombs from unknown eras, occupying various burial sites. The underground world was also home to all sorts of strange and bizarre ghostly monsters, most of which lacked reason.

Before long, he arrived at the center of this underworld. A huge black bronze plaque appeared, inscribed with the words "Underworld".

This bronze plaque was the gateway to the underworld, and also a supreme divine weapon. In later generations, the Western Emperor split this bronze plaque in two.

Beneath the bronze plaque, a figure stood quietly, seemingly having been waiting for a long time.

This was an ancient venerable figure with a bulky build, dressed in a Taoist robe. A jet-black, crystalline treasure wheel hovered above his head, emanating an inexplicable Taoist aura. Although his corpse energy was completely concealed within his body, Liang Yu could still sense it.

This is the Underworld Lord! The Heavenly Venerable Emperor who transcended tribulation and attained enlightenment a second time through spiritual communication with the corpse, the founder of the Underworld, the source of the Corpse Calamity, the progenitor of Origin Techniques, an old friend and mentor of the Emperor, and one of the seven mortal immortals in the world of Shrouding the Heavens.

It can be said that this is the most influential person Liang Yu has met so far.

The Underworld Lord cupped his hands and said, "Fellow Daoist Wuji, I have been waiting for you for a long time."

Seeing the fat Taoist priest's serious expression, Liang Yu felt that he didn't quite match the Duan De of later generations. He also cupped his hands and said, "Fellow Daoist Mingzun, I've long admired you."

"It is entirely their own fault that Yama attacked you, fellow Daoist. It is a pity that I have been in a critical period these years and have not had time to take care of the Underworld, which has led to them causing one disaster after another." The Underworld Lord also sighed.

Liang Yu smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist Mingzun, with you here, this matter can be put aside. I came here to discuss the Dao with you."

"Discussing the Dao? Discussing what?"

"To achieve immortality, to become an immortal."

"Fellow Taoist, please."

Liang Yu and the Underworld Lord stepped into the Underworld together. Deep within the Underworld stood magnificent halls filled with eerie yin energy, including the Yama Hall, the Prison Hall, the Hall of Longevity, the Hall of Annihilation, and so on. Of course, the most central place was the Underworld itself.

After a brief conversation with the Underworld Lord, Liang Yu finally understood part of the Underworld Lord's story. In his later years, during his cultivation, the Underworld Lord underwent a special transformation using the Reincarnation Seal, which caused him to fall from the Supreme Celestial Venerable realm without severing his own life, and he even almost died as a result.

Left with no other choice, he fell into a deep sleep to repair himself. During this process, the underworld he had created became leaderless and began a series of chaotic studies, turning the universe into a human hell overrun by corpses.

It wasn't until Lingbao Tianzun quelled the corpse calamity that he was awakened by the Zhuxian Sword Qi that had come knocking on his door. Thus, both sides reached an agreement, each taking a step back.

But then, the Lord of the Underworld fell into a deep sleep again, and he still hasn't completed his transformation. This time, he was only awakened by Liang Yu and the Desolate Tower. After learning the cause and effect, the Lord of the Underworld came again to settle the matter and prevent the Underworld from being wiped out.

According to Liang Yu's calculations, the Underworld Lord likely completed his transformation during the time of the Emperor Lord's predecessor, thus reaching a state where he could possess his full-fledged combat power without needing the Heavenly Heart Imprint. It was from this point that he achieved extraordinary results in his subsequent incarnations without needing to prove his Dao. Duan De's first incarnation during Ye Fan's time lasted 15,000 years, which is longer than many who have proven their Dao.

However, Liang Yu was somewhat speechless at the Underworld Lord's intervention this time. The Underworld Supreme had caused trouble twice, and both times the Underworld Lord had to be brought in to resolve the issues, and the Underworld Lord had actually taken the blame himself, which was really too much of a nice guy.

But is that right, Lord Ming, the predecessor of Duan De? Does he seem like that kind of person?

So, Liang Yu couldn't resist his curiosity: "What is the relationship between Fellow Daoist Mingzun and the other supreme beings of the Underworld? Why are you protecting them so much?"

The Underworld Lord sighed, “I once used the Origin Technique to enlighten the divine treasures within the Origin, transforming them into three divine embryos. However, I was too busy with my own transformation to take care of them, so I had to entrust them to them. Therefore, I am helping them.”

Three divine embryos? Liang Yu immediately knew what they were.

The Underworld Lord's forte is the Source Scripture, which is the origin of later Source Techniques. The three divine embryos he created with Source Techniques are actually the Source God, Source Ghost, and Source Demon of later generations, and are also one of the sources of the curse that caused the Holy Body and the Source Celestial Master lineage to suffer misfortune in their later years.

The Source God and Source Demon were killed by Ye Fan in his later years. The Source Demon did not appear, perhaps because he died at the hands of the Western Emperor or the Great Emperor Wushi.

However, the Source Gods, Source Ghosts, and Source Demons have not yet taken shape; they were born in the Primordial Era.

However, the Source God, Source Ghost, and Source Demon have another kind: the Chaos Monster. The other supreme beings of the Underworld created a divine embryo in imitation of the Underworld Lord, and then gathered all kinds of true blood into the divine embryo, using the Heaven-Reaching Underworld Treasure to forge a monster into a unified whole of all blood.

However, this chaotic monster was completed later, probably during the ancient era, most likely after the Ruthless Great Emperor transformed into a chaotic body.

Thinking about all this, Liang Yu sighed. How many times has this happened? The Underworld Lord is simply the ultimate war criminal, directly or indirectly causing countless disasters. Yet, it's hard to attribute the problem to him personally, because he didn't cause these disasters himself.

First, the Emperor Corpse's method of using the corpse to prove the Dao caused a calamity, but he himself was in a deep slumber; then came the Origin Gods, Origin Ghosts, and Origin Demons he created, but he himself had already ended his life as the Underworld Lord before they were born, and the cultivation work was done by other supreme beings in the Underworld.

Then, the supreme beings of the underworld launched a dark turmoil, committing boundless atrocities in order to collect various kinds of true blood, and also issued the Holy Body Curse, but all of these things happened after he had nothing to do with the underworld anymore;
Finally, his own immortal artifacts merged with the chaotic monsters, and he joined forces with other supreme beings in the underworld, but he himself remained untainted because his immortal artifacts had long since severed ties with him.

Even the mastermind behind the destruction of countless ancient life stars caused by using Kunlun Immortal Mountain to forge the Origin Cauldron of All Things was Emperor Venerable; he was at most an accomplice.

Liang Yu became increasingly speechless. Was this fatso doing it on purpose or by accident? Could he be intentionally having others scout ahead for him to reduce his own karmic burden?
But now is not the time to think about these things. Liang Yu said, "I wonder if these three divine embryos are related to the Holy Spirit?"

The Underworld Lord laughed and said, "Fellow Daoist has a keen eye, indeed. Back then, I used the Origin Technique to draw upon the power of creation in heaven and earth, imitating the way the Holy Spirit was conceived, to shape these three embryos generated from the Origin. However, human power is limited and cannot be as exquisite as the natural world, so they need a long time to be nurtured before they can be born."

As they spoke, the two entered a grand hall inscribed with the words "Netherworld." The Lord of the Underworld took out some leaves from the ancient tree of life and brewed tea with holy water from the Yellow Springs.

Liang Yu took a sip and said, "The leaves of the Ancient Tree of Life are full of vitality and can be called the best of the immortal medicines; the Yellow Spring Holy Water is born from the earth's veins and is a condensation of yin energy and death energy. The two do not cancel each other out, but rather they are intertwined and transformed into one. This tea subtly embodies the meaning of reincarnation. Good tea, good tea."

Just as the Underworld Lord was about to respond, a voice came from outside the hall: "Fellow Daoists, Changsheng has come uninvited. I hope you will not take offense."

(End of this chapter)