Chapter 263

"The Void Great Emperor left so many array patterns in the Undying Mountain."

The Fighting Victorious Buddha was moved and couldn't help but ask: "How difficult was the situation he faced back then? This doesn't conform to common sense."

"According to the tacit understanding between Forbidden Zones, during years of turmoil, there shouldn't be so many Venerables emerging together."

Dark turmoils existed in the Desolate Ancient Age and the Primordial Age as well.

In one era, at most two or three Venerables would emerge to launch a dark turmoil, both to avoid having too many people and uneven distribution leading to conflicts between Venerables, and to guard against over-harvesting, eating the great universe clean and cutting off all the leeks.

When the Fighting Holy Emperor was on the throne, he pacified a turmoil and beat two dark Venerables to death, scaring the Life Forbidden Zones so they dared not emerge, which brought tens of thousands of years of peace to the great universe, leading to the coexistence of all races in the late Primordial Age.

"Things turn into their opposites when they reach the extreme. The Wu Shi Great Emperor was born too late; the situation he had to resolve was encountered by the Void Great Emperor."

Lin Xian shook his head: "The Desolate Ancient Age saw countless miracles; one Emperor star after another shone across the nine heavens and ten earths, nine Great Holy Bodies suppressed the firmament, and generations of Human Emperors emerged one after another, forcing the Life Forbidden Zone Venerables to retreat again and again."

"By the time of the Void Great Emperor, many Venerables could no longer hold back."

Emerging to fight a bloody battle with an Emperor is a nine-in-ten chance of death, but not emerging and letting blood energy run out is a ten-in-ten chance of death.

Compared to passing away in obscurity in the passage of time, the dark Venerables naturally chose to defy the heavens and fight; a pack of tigers hunting a dragon might, outside of blood-washing the universe, allow them to harvest Emperor essence blood and extend their peak for another thousand years.

The Void Great Emperor had it too hard. That lifetime had historical records of him killing six or seven Venerables, and the Venerables he stood off against were at least double that—a dozen or more.

This was using the body of an Emperor to forcefully achieve the combat record of a Huang Tiandi.

The scene was silent. After a moment, the Master Master Hei Huang sighed, rarely speaking human words: "The Void Great Emperor was the most bitter Human Emperor of the Desolate Ancient Age, bar none. The Wu Shi Great Emperor once said that this Emperor spent his whole life in battle and had little time to attain the Dao; otherwise, with his talent of crossing two tribulations in a row, he would have been even more glorious."

"Void is not inferior to anyone in his life" is not just talk. Whether it was crossing two tribulations in a row to rival the qualifications of Wu Shi or Ruthless, or his Huang Tiandi-level glorious combat record, all were enough to shine through eternity.

From hacking through the Undying Mountain to the Reincarnation Sea, he didn't even blink as he raised his hand and dropped his blade; the Void Mirror was killed until it was almost an immortal artifact!

"Therefore!"

The big black dog smiled extremely cunningly. At this moment, it stuck out its bright red tongue, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws: "Today, we are going to take revenge for the Void Great Emperor. If we can't beat the Venerables, we will empty out the Undying Mountain and collect some interest first!"

Truly you, Master Master Hei Huang!

As long as this dog is around, the scene can never become sentimental; it's always full of naked, bad intentions.

"Let's go!"

Lin Xian was elated, his ambition coinciding with the Master Master Hei Huang's—to eat the mountains when he sees them and collect the water when he sees it, sweeping through the Life Forbidden Zone like a swarm of locusts.

The very cute Little Nan Nan, unaware of the truth, ignorantly led the dog and pointed forward: "In front of that big tree, I saw many patterns, including black lines wreathed in black mist, and golden lines flowing with radiance."

"Black is the dead path, gold is the living path; that is the Void array patterns pointing the way for us."

The big black dog led everyone to charge over, shouting: "Revenge for the Void Great Emperor, harvest all the Undying Medicines!"

In the end, the group did not find the Ten Thousand Year Xuanwu Undying Medicine but arrived before the Dao Enlightenment Tea Tree.

It was not very tall, only about three meters, but it was as sturdy as a coiled dragon, its old bark cracked as if it had taken hundreds of millions of years to grow to its current state.

Lin Xian, however, knew this was not the case. This tree had a bitter life; it had been felled by several attainers of the Dao to be made into coffin boards. He couldn't help but touch his chin and mutter: "Is it that the Emperor coffin made from Undying Medicine helps with Nirvana, or is it that watching the Dao Enlightenment Tea Tree regrow is beneficial for rebirth?"

The Dao Enlightenment Tea Tree before them had spirit and couldn't help but tremble a bit, its branches swaying. What kind of people are these? They want to cut down the tree as soon as they arrive; they really aren't acting like human offspring.

"Such a familiar feeling; Little Nan Nan seems to have been here before."

Little Nan Nan whispered, causing everyone's bodies to tremble, and they couldn't help but look back.

"Emperor!" the Master Master Hei Huang exclaimed. Beneath the Dao Enlightenment Tea Tree, two figures had unexpectedly appeared.

One person was Wu Shi, who paced around the ancient Dao Enlightenment Tea Tree as if he didn't see the group at all. Above his head was a Wu Shi Bell wreathed in chaotic mist.

The other person was even more terrifying; only a shadow could be seen. The place where she stood was a huge black hole, and a jar engraved with a ghost face was floating.

Wu Shi met Ruthless; the two Emperors were discussing the Dao across eternity, and they were also exchanging blows, sharing the path to longevity.

The Fighting Victorious Buddha was immersed in this Dao rhyme and gained much, but Lin Xian had self-knowledge. He didn't carry a Bodhi seed, so he couldn't understand a thing. He simply stepped forward and used the God-Beating Whip to knock down one hundred and eight Dao Enlightenment tea leaves.

After the Four Extremities, the effect of resources weakens slightly; cultivators need to attain the Dao to break through realms. Otherwise, even if you are given Holy Body-level source, you cannot advance even half a step.

But Dao Enlightenment tea leaves broke this limitation. Although they are not as good as the Source of Dao, if the quality is not enough, quantity can make up for it.

Although the tea tree bears fruit slowly, it grows one hundred and eight tea leaves every year. Accumulating them for ten thousand years means one million leaves.

Even if using a few doesn't necessarily succeed, a dozen or so will definitely lead to enlightenment once!

Lin Xian took a bottle of divine spring water and merit water from his Wheel and Sea, then stuffed more than a dozen Dao Enlightenment tea leaves into his mouth. In an instant, it was as if an immortal spirit had descended, resonating with the Dao patterns and Dao characters left by the Emperors.

In the void, immortal mist rose, and small tripods, immortals, bagua, divine bells, and immortal phoenixes—various visions revolved around Lin Xian, like myriad gods arching over a supreme Immortal King.

Even if I, Lin Mou, discard the Bodhi seed and don't use the Chaos Green Lotus to cheat, my comprehension is still earth-shaking and comparable to an Emperor!

"Cattle chewing peonies, cattle chewing peonies!"

At this moment, even the extremely extravagant Master Master Hei Huang began to jump and curse: "No one drinks Dao Enlightenment tea leaves like this!"

The Fighting Victorious Buddha also nodded. Even with the Fighting Holy Emperor's hot temper, when he picked Dao Enlightenment tea leaves in the past, he would light a purple clay divine furnace, brew them with immortal spring water, and invite his family to sit around the fire and taste the tea.

Lin Xian's operation was truly insulting to refinement.

The big black dog's teeth itched with anger, so it simply grabbed a dozen or so Dao Enlightenment tea leaves and stuffed them into its bloody maw, instantly causing countless visions, with the sun, moon, and stars wrapping around its flesh, leaving the Fighting Victorious Buddha speechless.

This one is even less particular; Lin Xian at least poured some water, which counts as drinking tea.

The Master Master Hei Huang is chewing them hard directly.

"How does it feel?" The Fighting Victorious Buddha asked curiously after the two finished their enlightenment. This extravagant method had never been tried by any attainer of the Dao throughout history.

It was simply too wasteful; it felt like hitting people with gold bricks.

"Uh, Brother Monkey, does the Dao Enlightenment tea taste good?" Lin Xian pondered for a moment and couldn't help but ask: "What does it taste like?"

Brother Monkey—what kind of ghost title is that? The Fighting Victorious Buddha was speechless, but considering Lin Xian's future Buddha identity and that Ye Fan and the Holy Prince were peers, Lin Xian was indeed a generation higher, so he couldn't be bothered to argue about the title.

The Fighting Victorious Buddha just asked back: "Didn't you just eat it? Why ask me?"

"I swallowed it whole just now and didn't chew it carefully; I didn't even taste it. There aren't many Dao Enlightenment tea leaves left, so I can't waste them anymore." Lin Xian said regretfully: "If it really doesn't work, I'll cut off a branch and taste what the Dao Enlightenment tree tastes like."

Before the words fell, a booming sound was heard.

Light flourished, five colors soared to the sky, and seven colors covered the sun. This old tree pulled itself up by the roots; its two main roots were just like a person's two legs, very vivid.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh."

It broke through the soil and ran away, its speed reaching the extreme, and in the blink of an eye, it disappeared into the depths of the Undying Mountain.

"It ran!"

"It ran?"

A monkey and a dog looked at each other. Even though they had accompanied Ancient Sovereigns and Emperors and had seen much in their lives, they had never seen this scene.

Although Undying Medicines have intelligence, this was a bit too much; it was just like a living creature.

It wasn't that they hadn't come into contact with Undying Medicines; whether it was the True Dragon Undying Medicine or the Divine Phoenix Medicine in the Purple Mountain, they had intelligence, but they were like naive children, definitely not like the old fox that was the Dao Enlightenment Tea Tree.

"To give is to receive; there is gain in giving."

Lin Xian looked at the departing figure of the Dao Enlightenment Tea Tree, thoughtful. This tea tree had encountered several great disasters from ancient times to the present and had been felled more than once, yet it still preserved its old roots, unlike the Qilin Divine Medicine which encountered a great tribulation and was left with only a Nirvana seed, needing to start all over again.

Besides bearing fruit when it has three thousand leaves, the Dao Enlightenment Tea Tree grows one hundred and eight leaves year-round, scattering them to those with affinity with the wind, letting all living beings know the preciousness of the Dao Enlightenment Tea Tree, so that whether it is an Emperor or other cultivators, they can all use it.

Unlike other Undying Medicines which are one-time deals, this tree engages in long-term business, containing great wisdom.

If one speaks of the immortal roots of the world, the most mysterious are two: one is the Flat Peach Tree, and the other is the Dao Enlightenment Tree.

The Flat Peach Tree was the Pan King in its previous life; those who know, know. This is a well-connected person with origins related to the Desolate Heaven Emperor.

Have you not seen that before the Green Emperor attained the Dao, the Desolate Tower and the Flat Peach Tree both stayed in the same Divine Ruins Forbidden Zone, extremely close?

If the Green Emperor hadn't seized the Desolate Tower, who knows, in a few hundred thousand years, the Flat Peach Medicine might have taken human form and a Pangu Great Emperor might have popped out.

As for the latter, unlike other Undying Medicines, it is not transformed from an Immortal King but is an ancestral root.

There are a limited number of Undying Medicines between heaven and earth; some are born of heaven and earth and are true ancestral roots of a world, such as the Dao Enlightenment Tea Tree, the World Tree, and some are transformed after the fall of an Immortal King or an Immortal King of Immortality, holding extraordinary significance and symbolizing a glimmer of life.

The true Dao Enlightenment Tea Tree, even among the ancestral roots of the myriad heavens and worlds, ranks in the top three; even Immortal Kings feel a sense of enlightenment when drinking its tea.

The tea tree in the Undying Mountain today is only one-half of the true Dao Enlightenment Tea Tree, and then it was slashed by a blade of Heaven's Will.

But even so, it is extremely precious.

In the Shrouding the Heavens great universe, there are thirty-three Undying Medicines, but ancestral roots are few and far between, and there might only be this one!

"If I want to attain the Dao, I will need to come to the Undying Mountain again in the future."

Lin Xian pondered for a moment and soon threw the Dao Enlightenment Tea Tree to the back of his mind. One cannot give up the whole forest for one tree; the rare treasures in the Undying Mountain are simply too many!

Deepening further, black mountains stood with majestic momentum, wreathed in mist and mysterious. These were Kings of Mountains and Emperors of Peaks. Between the mountains, a river of the underworld flowed, devoid of life, and in the middle, there was a spring pool, yellow like corpse water.

Right in that Yellow Spring, a black divine herb slowly floated up, its fragrance assaulting the senses, rich and fragrant, making one unable to extricate oneself, wishing to pounce on it immediately.

It was shaped like an orchid, sparkling and translucent, as if carved from black jade, flowing with intoxicating brilliance, floating in the Yellow Spring and possessing Dao charm.

The big black dog drooled all over the ground; just smelling it made it feel comfortable in body and mind. If it ate this, wouldn't it feather-transform and ascend?

"A lake formed by the Yellow Spring, like a yellow dragon pearl, while the black river of the underworld is like an evil dragon. The two combined, life gestating in death—there must be great fortune here; it must be an Undying Medicine!"

The big black dog was overjoyed and prepared to pounce to snatch the Undying Medicine, but was awakened by Lin Xian's ghostly voice.

"This is Nether Grass. I don't know if you'll ascend if you eat it, but you'll definitely feather-transform."

Lin Xian said calmly: "Do you remember what those three old monsters in the Holy City ate?"

Nether Grass?!

The big black dog calmed down instantly, feeling its dog fur stand on end, baring its fangs and feeling extremely unwilling.

Nether Grass indeed has some Undying Medicine divinity, but its negative effects are even more powerful.

It can strengthen spiritual sense and allow the Primordial Spirit to exist eternally, but it will cause the physical body to rot and turn into a corpse.

"This thing must be related to Undying Medicine; it is some kind of product of the Forbidden Zone Venerables' experiments with longevity methods."

After the black dog calmed down, it muttered: "Of the thirty-some Undying Medicines throughout history, half were ruined because of seeking immortality."

"A thief never leaves empty-handed; I want the Nether Grass too."

Lin Xian asked the Fighting Victorious Buddha to pick the Nether Grass, leaving the Master Master Hei Huang dumbfounded.

"Holy Master Lin, are you tired of living?" the big black dog complained: "If you want to die, leave the treasure to me before you go eat the Nether Grass."

"I'm not eating it; can't I just keep it in my Wheel and Sea for viewing?"

Lin Xian said calmly: "I've obtained a bit too much immortal medicine recently, and the vitality is too strong. I'll plant some Nether Grass to balance the karma."

As long as you don't eat the Nether Grass, in a sense, this also counts as half an Undying Medicine.

Leaving it in the Undying Mountain to be wasted is simply not the character of him, Lin Mou.

Where there is life, there is death; where there is death, there is life.

Planting green lotus in the Bitter Sea and growing Nether Grass in the Life Spring is also a kind of yin-yang balance.

"This damn thing works too."

The big black dog was stunned at first, then sneered, not believing that a poison like Nether Grass would have any great use.

Even if Nether Grass can be planted in the Wheel and Sea, what about the river of the underworld and the Yellow Spring?

You can't just suck the river of the underworld and the Yellow Spring into the Wheel and Sea; that would be truly seeking death.

"Why wouldn't it work?"

Lin Xian muttered: "Even if I can't eat it, I'll sell it to Duan De later; this guy has many treasures on him."

The effect of Nether Grass sublimating the Primordial Spirit and rotting the physical body is a joke to Duan De.

The place where life is most extinct in the world is the endless Bitter Sea of the human body; as time passes, even Emperors cannot escape death.

Yet the Huang Quan Emperor can seek life in death, repeatedly faking his death, and he has more than one reincarnation seal; he can be called the biggest old mummy in the world, the number one rotting corpse.

Lin Xian believes that the Huang Quan Emperor, as the creator of the Huang Quan Forbidden Zone, will definitely be able to withstand the erosion of the river of the underworld and the Yellow Spring, and facing death will be just like returning to his own home.

(End of chapter)