In this world of Gu Masters, looking back from the present through more than three million years of history, there were ten Gu Cultivators who stood proudly at the pinnacle of heaven and earth, looking down upon all living beings and trampling the masses beneath their feet.
Throughout the vast river of history, countless geniuses and heroes had emerged across the Five Regions and Two Heavens. If those people were stars scattered across the sky, shining upon one another, then these ten Gu Cultivators were like suns—dazzling, brilliant, blazing across the firmament.
Their radiance endured through the ages. Their legends were passed down endlessly.
They were the Ten Venerables!
Counting from ancient times to the present:
Three million years ago, the Ancient Era: Primordial Origin Immortal Venerable, Star Constellation Immortal Venerable.
One million years ago, the Antiquity Era: Limitless Demon Venerable, Berserk Barbarian Demon Venerable, Red Lotus Demon Venerable.
Three hundred thousand years ago, the Middle Era: Primordial Lotus Immortal Venerable, Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable, Giant Sun Immortal Venerable.
One hundred thousand years ago, the Recent Ancient Era: Spectral Soul Demon Venerable, Blessed Land Immortal Venerable.
All ten of them had reached the Peak Stage. They swept across the world, carving through all opposition, dominating the eight directions—unrivaled by any!
Their methods and power were terrifying, ever-fresh, and practically eternal.
Their wisdom and strategies spanned the ages, threaded through heaven and earth, using all living beings as chess pieces. Even after death, their influence echoed through countless generations.
Among these people, Fang Yuan held the deepest understanding in all the world.
Fang Yuan was acutely aware of the gap between himself and these Venerables. Even now, as the world's foremost demon and a powerhouse with quasi-Venerable combat strength, he had no confidence in fighting a Venerable.
Venerables swept across heaven and earth. Apart from them, all others were mere ants.
The Battle of Fate had taught everyone a vivid lesson: even a single method left behind by a Venerable could overturn the entire situation.
Only a Venerable could contend with a Venerable.
To put it harshly, the only reason Fang Yuan had succeeded in the Battle of Fate was that he had struggled to survive in the gaps between the clashes of the Ten Venerables and Heavenly Will.
For these Venerables who had invested in him, who used him as their chess piece, every fraction of admiration Fang Yuan felt was matched by an equal fraction of resolve to challenge them. Every fraction of wariness was matched by an equal fraction of ambition to stand alongside them.
If they could become Venerables, why couldn't Fang Yuan?
Moreover, the so-called Ninth Transformation Venerable cultivation was nothing more than a stepping stone for his true goal—eternal life.
The plan to become a Venerable had been set the moment he was reborn!
Years ago, in those nights when Fang Yuan had just returned to life, he gazed up at the moon in the night sky, humble as an ant. Now, he had already ascended into the heavens. The seat of a Venerable was merely his next rung on the ladder.
But how could one actually become a Venerable?
Fang Yuan did not know. He was unclear. He did not understand.
There was a great secret to becoming a Venerable!
This secret had never been leaked.
The Ten Venerables seemed to share a tacit understanding, all keeping this secret together.
The common folk had no way of knowing. They could only force an analysis based on certain shared characteristics.
Among the Ten Venerables, there were nine men and one woman—proving that Venerablehood imposed no restriction on gender; both men and women could become Venerables.
Venerables possessed invincible combat strength, but they were not omnipotent. Giant Sun Immortal Venerable and Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable had once invited Ancestor Long Hair to co-refine an Immortal Gu.
No two kings meet. Each great era produced only one Venerable; there had never been two Venerables existing in the same age. The clash between Venerables was limited to what happened during the Battle of Fate—using the methods they had left behind to fight each other.
Every Venerable possessed great fortune. Some displayed signs from the moment of birth, flowing smoothly through life—such as Red Lotus Demon Venerable. Others showed no promise at first, only bursting forth with overwhelming power at some critical juncture.
It seemed that every Venerable, at some point during their growth, had a Guardian. Each Guardian had played a vital role in the Venerable's development—whether as friend or foe.
It was universally acknowledged that every Ninth Transformation Gu Venerable had attained the realm of Supreme Grandmaster in the path they cultivated.
Venerables were still bound by the constraints of lifespan. Throughout history, there were numerous records of Venerables desperately searching for Life-extension Gu to prolong their lives.
All Ten Venerables were of the Human Race. There had never been an example of a non-human becoming a Venerable.
However, these observations alone were insufficient to truly deduce the secret of becoming a Venerable. The greatest computational achievement in history was the Three Venerables Theory—a prophecy by Immortal Yi that the future would bring forth Spectral Soul Demon Venerable, Blessed Land Immortal Venerable, and Great Dream Immortal Venerable.
Even this calculation did not touch upon the true content of the secret. And now that Fang Yuan had destroyed the Fate Gu, this prediction no longer held.
So what exactly was the secret of becoming a Venerable?
Fang Yuan was desperate to know.
The successful example of Qi Jue Demon Immortal was right before his eyes. The possibility of a Venerable's rebirth had become very real.
Therefore, the most direct way for Fang Yuan to prepare for this future was to become a Venerable himself!
Fang Yuan understood one thing clearly: no matter how many Grotto-heavens he devoured, or how many immortal materials and Dao Marks he gathered, none of that would make him a Venerable. This was why his primary goal in coming to Lu Weiyin was the secret of becoming a Venerable. Everything else—the Blessed Land's true inheritance, the Blessed Land's true meaning, and so on—was secondary to him now.
Across the tea table, Lu Weiyin took a sip of cold tea and smiled.
He was not at all surprised by Fang Yuan's question.
He then raised his head, set down his teacup, held up three fingers, and said frankly: "To become a Venerable, four conditions must be met."
"First, the Immortal Aperture's origin must produce White Lychee Immortal Essence."