Shrouding the Heavens: The Ultimate Daoist Venerable

Chapter 433 Xuanwu Returns Home
Upon seeing that the incarnation of the Power Emperor had acknowledged this relationship, the Xuanwu Emperor couldn't help but feel a sense of dreamlike wonder.

Lingbao Tianzun is an ancient celestial being from the mythological era. If he has been alive all along, wouldn't he have lived for hundreds of thousands or even millions of years?
With such an almost immortal lifespan, could it be that he has already become an immortal in the human world?
The Immortal Sect has now been verified as genuine several times, and Lingbao Tianzun was one of the few celestial beings who built the Immortal Sect back then. There is no reason for him not to ascend if he is able to, unless it would be more beneficial for him to remain in the mortal realm.

So Emperor Xuanwu asked, "Senior brother, has our master already become an immortal?"

The avatar of the Power Emperor hesitated for a moment before saying, "After all, I am not the original body, but merely an avatar existing in the form of a divine array, so I do not know whether my master has already become an immortal."

"But I'm certain that he's not far from becoming an immortal."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Xuanwu was immediately certain that it was possible to become an immortal in the mortal universe. He then asked, "Could you please enlighten me and guide me on the path to immortality, senior brother?"

The avatar of the Power Emperor laughed and said, "These things should have been taught to you by your master, but he is probably not far from becoming an immortal, so I will take the liberty of doing it for him and save him some trouble."

"In the mythological era, several ancient celestial beings, including our master and the Supreme Celestial Venerable Wuji, conducted joint research and came up with four methods to become immortals."

"The first is the Celestial Immortal, who can only be cultivated in a world with an environment better than that of longevity substances or even immortal laws. The Immortal Gate is the path to such a world."

"The second is the Earth Immortal, which is achieved by comprehending the core laws within a wondrous land, coexisting with the land, and gradually becoming one with it, thus attaining immortality and eventually becoming an immortal. The Jade Flower Immortal Scripture we cultivate is the embodiment of the core laws of the wondrous Jade Flower Divine Island. Of course, if one becomes an Earth Immortal, it is almost impossible to leave the human universe."

"The third path is the mortal immortality that our master took. As long as one transforms in the mortal world life after life, constantly comprehending the secrets of immortality and longevity, one can eventually reach the state where time does not affect one's body, thus becoming an immortal in the mortal world. This is also the most powerful and difficult path to immortality."

"As for the fourth method, Corpse Dissolution Immortality, it is still only a theory, and no one has succeeded so far. Those ancient venerables who tried this method in the mythological era either lost consciousness and completely fell into depravity or died. None of them achieved immortality."

"Back then, I only used the Jade Flower Immortal Scripture to complete a transformation, which exhausted my accumulated resources. I had no choice but to ascend through the Immortal Gate and take the path of the Celestial Immortal."

Emperor Xuanwu fell into deep thought. Of the four methods to achieve immortality, the Mortal Immortal was undoubtedly the most difficult. Judging from his aura, the Power Emperor before his ascension was likely much stronger than he was now, but he only underwent one transformation before he could no longer continue. Although he was very confident in himself, he really had no confidence in this path.

However, it's too early to think about these things now. Regardless of which path to immortality he chooses, he still needs to first master the Jade Flower Immortal Scripture.

So he brazenly cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother. May I ask you for further guidance on the cultivation of the Jade Flower Immortal Scripture?"

The avatar of the Power Emperor said, "It is possible, but I do not have the memory of how my original body transformed through this. Those insights may have been left behind on Jade Flower Divine Island. You will have to find them yourself when you return in the future. I can only communicate with you about some of the less profound parts."

Immediately afterwards, Emperor Xuanwu prepared to begin his secluded cultivation in the Ten Thousand Demon Cave.

Of course, he still needed to make some preparations before going into seclusion.

First, just like Emperor Li did back then, he left his scriptures in the deepest part of the Ten Thousand Demon Cave and spread them widely so that all the demons of Gouchen Ancient Star would know about it.

Secondly, he renovated the Myriad Demon Cave. The Xuanwu Emperor didn't touch the outer parts much; instead, he modified them to leave more space for later demon cultivators to set up trials and leave their legacy. The nine trials at the core were further modified into twelve. While the difficulty didn't increase, the tests became more detailed and comprehensive.

Of course, he also left behind his own essence and blood, which, along with various divine treasures, was refined into immortal liquid and included in the ultimate reward after passing the level.

Finally, there was the strengthening and modification of the entire Demon Cave. Although the original Demon Cave was mainly used for trials, the combination of the Imperial Dao array patterns and the Power Emperor avatar still gave it a powerful self-protection ability, which even the Supreme Dao Imperial Weapon could not penetrate. However, it could only passively defend and could not actively attack.

This is also why the Gouchen demon race is not that powerful.

Although Li Huang was a disciple of Lingbao Tianzun, he actually had no talent in array patterns and relied entirely on his superior cultivation level to get by.

However, Emperor Xuanwu possessed a high talent for array patterns and had also mastered the secrets of character formation. Therefore, although his strength was inferior to Emperor Li's, he was able to make extensive modifications to the array patterns here.

Of course, the Xuanwu Emperor did not leave his own avatar here. He only heard that the great formation was further improved and strengthened, so that the Power Emperor avatar, which existed as the deity of the great formation, would become even more powerful.

After all this was completed, Emperor Xuanwu and the avatar of Emperor Li began their cultivation together. Although this arduous cultivation focused primarily on the Jade Flower Immortal Scripture, Emperor Xuanwu did not neglect his own progress in the Dao and Dharma.

After all, he had only recently merged with the Heavenly Heart Mark, and he could still use the myriad paths of the universe to make his realm and his own path more perfect.

Time flies, and years pass quickly. Nearly seven or eight thousand years have passed since the Xuanwu Emperor went into seclusion. During this time, the Xuanwu Emperor's aura has become increasingly vast, almost completely merging with the human universe.

During this process, after achieving a completely unconventional path to enlightenment, the White Tiger chose to seal himself off. He intends to be reborn in the future to fight for the throne.

The Xuanwu Emperor emerged from seclusion, and at the age of ten thousand, his vitality remained at its peak. Due to the influence of his bloodline and physique, the Xuanwu Emperor's lifespan naturally exceeded that of ordinary cultivators, so ten thousand years was not yet enough for him to reach the point of decline.

Over the course of nearly eight thousand years, with the help of his innate divine powers, he successfully perfected his own Dao and cultivated the Jade Flower Immortal Scripture to an extremely high level, thereby further strengthening his Jade Flower Divine Blood and sensing his beloved homeland, Jade Flower Divine Island.

Emperor Xuanwu bowed and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother."

The avatar of the Power Emperor said, "Junior brother, take care. I won't see you off."

Emperor Xuanwu waved goodbye and then left the Cave of Ten Thousand Demons, following his bloodline senses as he headed into the depths of the universe.

Before long, he arrived at the Jade Flower Divine Island, which was almost the size of a continent and floated in the universe. Feeling the familiar aura that resonated with him and seemed to be of the same origin, Emperor Xuanwu was almost moved to tears.

After nearly 10,000 years, he finally returned to his hometown.

(End of this chapter)