Shrouding the Heavens: The Ultimate Daoist Venerable

Chapter 437 The Second Generation of the Xuanwu Emperor
Time flies, and seven thousand years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Even though Xuanwu Emperor, whose race was inherently long-lived tortoises, had elevated the Jade Flower Divine Blood to an extremely high level, his first incarnation still reached its end.

The Heavenly Heart Imprint in the human universe trembled, as if it were about to disintegrate and collapse. Even the Great Dao Imprint that he had engraved in the universe and merged with all the Daos began to tremble continuously.

All of this foreshadowed the approaching end of the reign of Emperor Xuanwu.

Although he has not appeared in the mortal world for nearly seven thousand years, he still has some presence in the human universe. Therefore, countless cultivators are waiting for the result.

However, based on past experience, those who attain enlightenment but do not live to the next life often ascend directly at their peak. Therefore, those who live to old age in the human world are likely to live to the next life.

However, while waiting, they couldn't help but be shocked by the Xuanwu Emperor's lifespan. One lifetime is 17,000 years, which is considered a very long lifespan, whether in the mythological era or in the present era.

Most physical constitutions and bloodlines don't significantly increase lifespan; only those with top-tier constitutions and bloodlines who have achieved enlightenment will see a noticeable increase in lifespan.

Without a doubt, the Jade Flower Divine Blood is such a top-tier bloodline.

Over the years, Emperor Xuanwu, with the aid of the Dao diagram given to him by the Celestial Venerable Lingbao, has been diligently cultivating the Jade Flower Immortal Scripture.

Furthermore, he also obtained the inheritance left by the Power Emperor on Jade Flower Divine Island. By comparing the Power Emperor's understanding of the Jade Flower Immortal Scripture with his own understanding, he greatly accelerated his cultivation progress.

Even so, Emperor Xuanwu still did not fully master the Jade Flower Immortal Scripture, reaching the point where he could transform into the Jade Flower Divine Body.

Through this process, Emperor Xuanwu deeply realized the difficulty of the path to immortality in the mortal world.

As the one with the most powerful Jade Flower Divine Bloodline to date, he possessed a natural advantage in cultivating the Jade Flower Immortal Scripture, yet he still couldn't complete the Jade Flower Immortal Scripture and achieve transformation within a single lifetime of 17,000 years. This was even with the existing case of the Powerful Emperor as a reference and a source of learning.

If he were to use any other method of transformation, he would have even less confidence in completing it.

In other words, it is impossible for the vast majority of enlightened beings to research the method of transformation within one or two lifetimes.

Fortunately, unlike the Power Emperor, the Xuanwu Emperor still had the Elixir of Immortality and the Nine-Turn Immortal Pill to buy him two lifetimes. At least he was confident in completing the Jade Flower Immortal Scripture, which he had already traversed more than halfway through.

He might not even need the Nine-Turn Immortal Pill; he could simply use the Elixir of Immortality to extend his life for another lifetime, just like the Power Emperor of yesteryear, to complete his transformation with the help of the Jade Flower Immortal Scripture.

As for what comes next, he can only take it one step at a time. But at least he still has a direction: to study the mysteries of the Xuanwu Elixir of Immortality.

The mysteries contained within this immortal herb are still beyond the Xuanwu Emperor's comprehension, but they share a very close bond. Throughout the Xuanwu Emperor's cultivation journey, this Xuanwu Immortal Elixir has always been by his side, inseparable, even leaving Biyou Palace, a place closer to the core of Yuhua Divine Island, to accompany him to the mountains and rivers.

Emperor Xuanwu also tried to explore the reasons. There are probably two possible reasons. One is that he himself has some inexplicable affinity with this Xuanwu Immortal Elixir, which may indicate that he has the potential to evolve into a true immortal spirit Xuanwu.

Secondly, there is his Jade Flower Divine Blood and Jade Flower Immortal Scripture.

While the Xuanwu Immortal Elixir didn't achieve the same high degree of symbiosis with its corresponding wondrous land as the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree or the Ginseng Fruit Tree, it still benefited from the continuous evolution of Jade Flower Divine Island, allowing itself to evolve continuously and significantly enhance its intelligence and foundation. It can be said that although the Xuanwu Immortal Elixir's evolution wasn't as rapid as that of the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree, the Ginseng Fruit Tree, the Humanoid Immortal Elixir, or the Chaos Green Lotus, it was still far superior to many other immortal elixirs that showed no signs of evolution at all.

However, it was precisely because of this process that the Xuanwu Immortal Elixir and the Jade Flower Divine Island developed an extremely profound connection. Therefore, the Xuanwu Emperor would naturally be attracted to it because of the Jade Flower Divine Blood and the Jade Flower Immortal Scripture.

After all, although Lingbao Tianzun also cultivated the Jade Flower Immortal Scripture, it was only an insignificant part of his Dao and Dharma, and it had long been completely altered.

Therefore, Emperor Xuanwu is indeed the one with the closest connection to Yuhua Divine Island at present.

Perhaps it was for these two reasons, or one of them, that he became the closest individual to the Xuanwu Immortal Elixir.

Emperor Xuanwu didn't dwell on these issues too much. Looking at his gray hair, withered body, and the thick aura of death emanating from him, he knew he had reached the end of his life and could not delay any longer.

So he summoned the Xuanwu Immortal Elixir, which was lazily strolling around, and said to it, "My life is about to end. I will borrow your fruit for a while, and you will surely repay me handsomely in the future."

Over the years, Emperor Xuanwu had practically become brothers with the Xuanwu Immortal Elixir, so he subconsciously chose to ask for its opinion instead of picking it directly.

Although the Xuanwu Immortality Elixir wasn't the most intelligent immortality elixir, it was still a significant improvement over its previous state. Therefore, upon hearing this, it tilted its head and nodded in agreement.

Seeing this, Emperor Xuanwu plucked the fruit and swallowed it in one gulp. Immediately, his life force burst forth.

What followed was that his withered body instantly became translucent, his white hair instantly turned black, and his old aura vanished forever. Only his enormous blood energy surged and moved, covering the endless mountains and rivers of Jade Flower Divine Island, causing all living beings there to marvel and submit.

In the human universe, although this aura was not leaked out due to the methods of Lingbao Tianzun, his powerful aura of the Great Dao was restored to its former state of close integration with all the Dao.

This undoubtedly signifies the emperor's return to his peak.

Although the Xuanwu Emperor did not improve in strength after living a second life, the extra lifespan was enough for him to continue to improve and even explore the method of reversing life in the next life.

Even for ordinary cultivators, if they can strive in the same direction—the first life after attaining enlightenment, the second life after obtaining the Elixir of Immortality, and the third life after obtaining the Nine-Turn Immortal Pill—all in the same direction that suits them best and most, then they might be able to accumulate a rebirth through reversal.

Emperor Xuanwu was clearly far superior to ordinary Dao Prodigies in every aspect, so he was confident that he could successfully reverse his life without the Nine-Turn Immortal Pill.

Of course, despite his confidence, Emperor Xuanwu immediately immersed himself in the cultivation and comprehension of the Jade Flower Immortal Scripture.

Having lost its fruit, the Xuanwu Immortal Elixir temporarily left Emperor Xuanwu and went to Biyou Palace to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth from the core of Yuhua Divine Island in order to further evolve itself.

Lingbao Tianzun naturally noticed this fluctuation. However, Xuanwu Emperor still had a long way to go and did not need his guidance for the time being, so Lingbao Tianzun once again went into seclusion.

(End of this chapter)