Shrouding the Heavens: The Ultimate Daoist Venerable

Chapter 638 Corpse Emperor
An ancient corpse from the chaotic ancient era, before the mythical age, attained enlightenment after becoming sentient. The resulting tribulation of enlightenment was thus even more terrifying, shaking the entire human universe.

After all, the existence of such a life form is definitely an anomaly born in the human universe.

Moreover, although the Corpse God successfully communicated with spirits and formed the Reincarnation Seal, becoming a new life, there was still an unimaginably large amount of corpse energy within his body.

This immense corpse energy was like a bottomless ocean; even a quasi-emperor who came into contact with it would be instantly reduced to pus and blood. And for this kind of power, the Heavenly Tribulation, an extremely yang and righteous force, could perfectly counteract it.

Therefore, the human universe naturally takes extra care of this anomaly, raising the difficulty of the Great Tribulation of Proving the Dao to a new level, exceeding the difficulty of the Great Tribulation that the Corpse God should have triggered.

Amidst a sea of ​​lightning, the Corpse God circulated his own scriptures while simultaneously unleashing the power of the Netherworld Scripture, making his already incredibly sturdy physical body even more divine, resembling an immortal ancient god.

At the same time, he also tried his best to condense the endless corpse energy and death energy contained in his body, and shot out divine arrows by drawing his bow, which became raging waterfalls that could sweep across a large star field, constantly eroding the terrifying sea of ​​lightning.

Finally, as time passed, the aura of the Corpse God began to merge with the Heavenly Heart Mark. His eerie aura, a mixture of life and death, also began to combine with the human universe, eventually being protected by all paths.

As the sea of ​​lightning dissipated, the Corpse God's body was charred black, pierced several times by the laws condensed within the lightning, forming several large, translucent holes. He fell from the heavens, managing to remain atop a meteorite, where he began to heal his wounds.

Soon, an invincible aura that dominated the heavens began to emerge, causing all the myriad paths of the human universe to resonate in harmony, and a new emperor was born.

Due to the immense corpse energy within him, his identity as an ancient corpse with spiritual powers, and his lineage from the Corpse God in the underworld, the Corpse God named himself the Corpse Emperor.

The Corpse Emperor is undoubtedly a legend. Looking back, only the Underworld Lord has achieved enlightenment after his ancient corpse gained sentience. And the Underworld Lord is one of the most mysterious enlightened beings of the mythological era, achieving extraordinary feats.

Even though he has been gone for hundreds of thousands of years, the cultivators in the underworld still believe that he will return sooner or later and become an even more terrifying being.

In an attempt to replicate the miracle of the Underworld Lord, many people have tried raising corpses. But even during the darkest era of the underworld, when the corpse scourge was most rampant, no ancient corpse was ever born that could attain enlightenment again after communicating with spirits.

In the end, only the ancient corpse that the Underworld Lord personally sought out and nurtured succeeded.

The Corpse King in the original timeline originally came from the Underworld, which is a forbidden zone for life. Therefore, he naturally severed his own life when his lifespan was nearing its end, becoming the supreme ruler of the forbidden zone.

However, in the current timeline, the underworld is no longer a forbidden zone for life, but has become a sacred place for a considerable number of special cultivators. Although it is dark and filled with death energy, it still nurtures a vibrant life force.

Although the Corpse King, who grew up in this environment, had a body full of corpse energy and death energy, and did not look like a righteous person, his thoughts did not go astray.

Of course, due to its special origins, it is almost impossible to find its own kind. Therefore, the Corpse King only has a sense of belonging to the Underworld and highly identifies with the current state of the Underworld. It doesn't care much about the human world or the universe.

This was also the result of the Underworld Emperor's best efforts to control the situation. He didn't want the Underworld to cultivate powerful beings who could endanger the universe, thus damaging the image of the Underworld he had carefully improved. Most importantly, if those Heavenly Venerables who had embarked on the path of immortality in the mortal world noticed this, the Underworld's days would become even more difficult.

After stabilizing his aura, the Corpse King activated the Reincarnation Seal within his body, bringing his life force and corpse energy into balance. Looking at his near-immortal body, the Corpse King rose and walked towards the Netherworld.

Having successfully attained enlightenment, the Corpse Emperor naturally desired to return home in glory, so he went back to the Underworld, the birthplace that had nurtured and taught him. After attaining enlightenment, most of the Underworld's affairs were no longer secrets to him. Regarding the identity of the Earth Immortals of the Underworld, outside cultivators would likely immediately think of the Underworld Lord.

However, among the cultivators in the underworld, there has always been a legend circulating among them about the succession of the first and second generations of the Underworld Emperor. Therefore, the Corpse Emperor naturally knew that the current Underworld Emperor was actually the Prison Suppressor Emperor from the mythological era.

Thanks to the fact that the Corpse Emperor was born from the Netherworld and cultivated the Netherworld Scripture, which records the laws of the Netherworld, he easily passed through the world barrier and entered the Netherworld. Of course, this was also because the Netherworld Lord, the Netherworld Emperor, did not stop him.

The Corpse Emperor went straight to the core of the Underworld and arrived at the Underworld Emperor's Palace.

At the entrance of the main hall, a figure had already been standing there, his aura intertwined with the underworld, forming a seamless whole – it was the Underworld Emperor.

The Corpse King cupped his hands and said, "Greetings, Underworld King."

The Underworld Emperor said, "Now that you have attained enlightenment, there is no need for such worldly formalities between us."

The Corpse King said, "Your Majesty is too modest. The prosperity of my Underworld lineage today, and my own ability to grow safely to this point, are all thanks to Your Majesty. How could I possibly be negligent?"

The Underworld Emperor said, "You are also a successor of the Underworld Lord, so how about you treat me with the respect due to a senior brother?"

The Corpse Emperor said, "In that case, I will presume to take the liberty, Senior Brother Underworld Emperor."

The two entered the Underworld Emperor's Palace, and the Corpse Emperor couldn't help but ask, "Underworld Emperor, how is the Underworld Lord now?"

The Corpse King was a seed discovered and nurtured by the Underworld Lord, who was also the founder of the Underworld. As a member of the Underworld, the Corpse King was naturally extremely curious about this Underworld Lord.

Another reason is that the Corpse King's situation is similar to that of the Underworld Lord. If he could meet the Underworld Lord and seek his guidance, it would greatly save the Corpse King's time and make his future path clearer.

Moreover, the Samsara Seal within his body contains many mysteries, and the Underworld Lord is undoubtedly the one who has studied it most deeply. Through the Underworld Lord, he can further understand the extraordinary nature of the Samsara Seal.

The Underworld Emperor said, "I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. I don't know where the Underworld Lord is now. Moreover, even if you see him, he may not still be the Underworld Lord he once was."

The Corpse Emperor asked, "What does Senior Brother Underworld Emperor mean by this?"

The Underworld Emperor said, "The Underworld Lord is exceptionally talented and has already explored his own path to immortality in the mortal world. He abandoned everything from the past, taking only the Heavenly Underworld Treasure with him, and began his own transformation. In his next life, he will discard everything from before and start anew as a completely new being."

"Perhaps everything about the Underworld Lord will only truly come back to life after he becomes a true immortal in the mortal world. But who he will be then is hard to say."

The Corpse Emperor fell silent upon hearing this. He too had cultivated the Underworld Emperor Scripture and knew that the Underworld Lord's Path to Immortality in the Mortal World was most likely closely related to the Reincarnation Seal. Even if he couldn't fully grasp it, he might still learn a lot from it and explore his own path. Even if he couldn't find his own Path to Immortality in the Mortal World, it would be good enough to undergo a transformation once.

But to forget oneself, to abandon everything and start anew, only to rediscover oneself upon ultimate success—and even then, a self infused with memories of multiple lifetimes—is this the path he could obtain from the Lord of the Underworld?
(End of this chapter)