If not for the bronze coffin, Tang Jie would probably have already fallen victim to it—either becoming a puppet of the God Demon Heart or a new body for its revival.
This was also thanks to Tang Jie's good luck. He did not possess any large storage treasures, and a heart over a hundred meters in diameter could not fit inside a Cosmos Bag. That was why he had used the bronze coffin, accidentally resolving the crisis.
Sometimes, luck was more important than strength!
Still shaken, Tang Jie decided to wait.
The bronze coffin possessed the ability to refine Innate Qi. Now that it had reacted to the God Demon Heart, Tang Jie felt that some change would occur if he waited. Before then, he only needed to avoid approaching the bronze coffin.
"Recondense the Pure Yang Golden Core."
Tang Jie waited for the bronze coffin to change while recondensing his freshly damaged Pure Yang Golden Core.
In this barren desert, rarely visited by man, Tang Jie used strands of Innate Qi to repair his body. He condensed his Pure Yang Golden Core once more and recovered to his peak condition!
As for the bronze coffin, it continued to shine with blood-colored light.
Half a month later, Tang Jie opened his eyes and looked toward the bronze coffin. The blood-colored light on it had disappeared, and after listening carefully, he found that the sound of the heart beating within the coffin had also vanished.
"Is it over? I'd better go take a look. If there's a problem, I'll detonate the Pure Yang Golden Core again!"
Tang Jie pondered for a long while. He would have to inspect it sooner or later, and dragging things out was no solution.
Thus, Tang Jie carefully approached the bronze coffin and examined it closely. He discovered a subtle change: a tiny pattern had appeared on the bronze coffin!
The pattern depicted a humanoid creature whose entire body seemed to be made of dark-red rock. It was extremely burly and howled toward the sky.
"Isn't this the headless God Demon?"
Tang Jie was astonished. The little dark-red figure was identical to the Corpse of the God Demon he had seen earlier. The only difference was that the God Demon in the pattern had a head!
The bronze coffin seemed to have absorbed some kind of power from the God Demon Heart, which was why this pattern had appeared on it.
"The bronze coffin is very strange. I'll have to be twice as careful when using it in the future!"
Tang Jie thought to himself that the bronze coffin could even suppress a God Demon. Its origin was probably far greater than he had imagined. Moreover, it might undergo some unknown change one day, so he had to stay on guard.
Tang Jie then slowly lifted the lid of the bronze coffin a crack and peered inside. He immediately froze.
The God Demon Heart had vanished without a trace. Inside the coffin was blood as gorgeous as gemstones. Every drop shimmered faintly, carrying a sense of holiness and majesty!
"Was the God Demon Heart absorbed by the bronze coffin? Was it refined into pure God Demon blood essence?"
The strange sight shocked Tang Jie as well.
"Rather than calling it the Innate Coffin, I think the God Burying Coffin suits it better..." Tang Jie thought to himself. It could devour and decompose the body of a God Demon, leaving behind only the purest God Demon blood essence.
Although Tang Jie did not understand many of the things that had happened recently, seeing the shallow layer of Blood of Gods and Demons inside the coffin filled him with excitement. He understood that his strength was about to undergo a qualitative leap!
Back then, refining a single drop of God Demon blood essence had made Tang Jie's own blood and qi one or two times stronger. Yet there were two or three hundred drops of God Demon blood essence inside this bronze coffin.
This was God Demon blood essence refined from the God Demon Heart by the bronze coffin. There was less of it, but its quality was far higher. It had no impurities and could be refined directly!
If he refined all of it, the benefits would be unimaginable!
Tang Jie took a deep breath, removed a drop of Blood of Gods and Demons from the bronze coffin, and began refining it to strengthen his blood and qi.
Tang Jie refined the power of a drop of God Demon blood essence. It was like he had eaten a tonic, and his blood and qi rapidly grew stronger!
After completely refining one drop, Tang Jie felt his blood and qi had increased by as much as twenty or thirty percent. He then refined a second drop, a third...
Tang Jie discovered that the more immense his blood and qi became, the harder it was to increase even slightly. It was like eating meat: it was impossible to gain as much flesh as the amount of meat one ate. The stronger one became and the closer one got to the limit, the harder it was to grow.
Even so, the rate at which Tang Jie's blood and qi expanded was still astonishing.
"Rumble!"
Blood-colored light shone around Tang Jie. The quality of the blood within his body rose, and his blood flowed like lead and mercury. As it surged like the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, it made thunderous sounds and glimmered faintly.
Throughout the history of martial artists, there had been cultivation methods for refining strength and cultivation methods for refining the spirit, but no cultivation method for refining blood and qi had ever appeared. Tang Jie's cultivation method, the God Demon Blood Realm, had blazed an entirely new trail and possessed limitless potential!
Time passed. In the blink of an eye, more than two months went by. Tang Jie completely refined all two or three hundred drops of God Demon blood essence extracted by the bronze coffin. He felt as though his essence, energy, and spirit were full and abundant. His vigor was even more exuberant, his mind more nimble, and his entire body seemed to possess inexhaustible strength.
After refining nearly three hundred drops of God Demon blood essence, Tang Jie's blood and qi had grown at least a hundredfold compared to before. A single drop of Tang Jie's blood could fill a small pool half a meter in diameter! This was a qualitative leap!
"How powerful is my God Demon Blood Realm now?"
Tang Jie was excited and could not wait to test the might of his God Demon Blood Realm!
God Demon Blood Realm!
Tang Jie circulated his blood and qi. A roaring torrent sounded within his body as a burst of blood-colored light blossomed and spread in all directions!
Rumble!
The area covered by the blood-colored light easily broke through its original hundred-meter range.
Three hundred meters, five hundred meters, one thousand meters...
"Crack, crack, crack!"
Wherever the blood-colored light passed, it was as though a heavy world had rolled over it. Cacti were crushed to pieces, while the ground was pressed down, caving in and splitting apart. Its might was truly like the collapse of heaven and earth!
Two thousand meters!
This was the range Tang Jie's God Demon Blood Realm could cover—a radius of two thousand meters!
Within this range, Tang Jie seemed capable of creating a world of his own, suppressing any enemy inside it. He could even easily crush ordinary Golden Core Realm cultivators to pieces!
If he had possessed such a powerful God Demon Blood Realm before, Tang Jie would never have needed to expend so much effort to defeat the Evil Martial Emperor. Merely releasing the God Demon Blood Realm would have easily suppressed him.
"I wonder how I compare to the Nascent Soul Realm now?"
Tang Jie clenched his fist and felt the surging blood and qi within his body as he thought to himself.
After creating the God Demon Blood Realm and refining three hundred drops of God Demon blood essence, Tang Jie had increased its might to an astonishing level. But did this also mean he now possessed the ability to contend with a Nascent Soul Ancestor?
Tang Jie did not know, because he had never seen a Nascent Soul Realm expert fight with all his strength. He had briefly clashed with Fire Dragon Old Demon, a Nascent Soul expert of the Sacred Fire Sect, but that proved nothing. Neither he nor Fire Dragon Old Demon had gone all out.
But with such a powerful God Demon Blood Realm, Tang Jie was confident that he was not without the power to fight a Nascent Soul Realm expert!
"I can leave now!"
Tang Jie thought.
The God Demon blood essence extracted from the God Demon Heart had now been completely refined. His strength had greatly increased, and he could leave!
Three months had passed since the incident in the Savage Mountain Range. The turmoil should have calmed down somewhat.
"I'll return to Peerless City first and see how Father and the others are doing."
Tang Jie decided to return to Peerless City first and gather some information. Although Yun Ying had promised to look after Tang Tianhao and the others, he still had to confirm that they were truly safe before he could rest easy.
Tang Jie returned from the desert to the Great Xia Dynasty and rushed back to Peerless City. By then, several days had passed.
Inside Wuhua Gate in Peerless City, a burly man was practicing his fists and kicks in a training room. This man was none other than Tieshan, one of Wuhua Gate's top experts.
Tieshan was practicing his martial arts when he suddenly sensed something. He hurriedly turned his head and saw a black-clothed man who had appeared there at some unknown point—it was Tang Jie!
"Brother Tang!"
Tieshan was both surprised and delighted to see Tang Jie.
Tang Jie now carried the title of the strongest martial artist. He had even turned Peerless City into a true holy land of martial artists, and his reputation among martial artists was extremely high!
Tang Jie had already disappeared for nearly three months, so Tieshan naturally did not know what had happened in the Savage Mountain Range three months ago.
"How are the city lord, my father, and the others?"
Tang Jie got straight to the point.
Tang Jie had come to find Tieshan precisely to ask him about Tang Tianhao and the others.
Although three months had passed, Tang Jie still felt it was best to keep a low profile. There were probably quite a few people still coveting him.
Tieshan hurriedly said, "A little over three months ago, the sect master and the young lady went to the Great Xia Imperial Capital for a tour. They also told us to inform you not to worry."
"So that's how it is."
Tang Jie relaxed upon hearing this. It seemed Yun Ying had taken Tang Tianhao and the others to the Yun family in the Great Xia Imperial Capital.
The Yun family was located within the Great Xia Imperial Capital. Even if some people wanted to use Tang Tianhao to threaten Tang Jie, they would not dare act within the Great Xia Imperial Capital.
Tang Tianhao and the others were all safe, so Tang Jie let go of his worries. Obtaining the God Demon Heart had made him the target of everyone, but as long as he was strong enough and displayed his power, making those cultivators understand that he was not someone they could knead at will, naturally none of them would dare covet him anymore!
"I'll go to Sunset Peak and cultivate for a while."
Tang Jie then left Peerless City, preparing to cultivate in the quiet Sunset Peak.
On Sunset Peak, Tang Jie watched the sun gradually sinking beyond the distant horizon. For a moment, he was somewhat dazed. Tang Jie could feel that he was drawing ever closer to the higher realms of the Martial Dao!
"Who?"
But suddenly, Tang Jie's expression turned cold. He spun around and shouted angrily.
Tang Jie sensed that there was actually a second person on Sunset Peak!
"As expected of the strongest martial cultivator of this era. You noticed my presence so quickly."
From behind a huge boulder on Sunset Peak, a golden-robed man slowly emerged. He was neither tall nor short, neither fat nor thin.
The golden-robed man wore a golden mask over his face. He looked extremely dignified, giving off a sense of oppression.
"Who are you?"
Tang Jie narrowed his eyes. Dangerous light flickered deep within them. This golden-robed man clearly understood him very well. Otherwise, he would not have guessed that Tang Jie would come to Sunset Peak, much less waited here in advance.
Toward someone of unknown identity who understood him so thoroughly, Tang Jie harbored immense hostility!
A smile appeared beneath the golden-robed man's mask. He said lightly, "Tang Jie, you need not be nervous. I am not your enemy. You may call me... the Golden Robe Imperial Envoy!"
"Imperial Envoy? Golden Robe Imperial Envoy?"
Tang Jie furrowed his brows. The title was strange. Imperial Envoy—could he be the envoy of the current Xia Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty, or of some other emperor?
"What do you want with me?"
Tang Jie did not lower his guard. He pressed on. This Golden Robe Imperial Envoy gave him a dangerous feeling. He was definitely no ordinary person, and his aura was extremely strange!
This made Tang Jie curious. Could the Golden Robe Imperial Envoy have come looking for him because of the God Demon Heart?
But the Golden Robe Imperial Envoy's next words left him stunned.
"Tang Jie, the reason I came to find you is very simple. Earlier, I already found other martial cultivators and invited them to witness the birth of a golden age for martial artists, to reach that supreme Martial Dao Realm together. You are the last person I invited!"
The Golden Robe Imperial Envoy clasped his hands behind his back and smiled.
"You are... the person who gathered all the martial cultivators throughout the ages into one era?" These words left Tang Jie unable to restrain his shock.
The reason martial artists such as Mad Beast and the Evil Martial Emperor had slept for a thousand or ten thousand years before awakening in the same era was that they had all received a letter.
The letter recorded a secret technique similar to Tortoise Breath, which could make a person fall into deep slumber while slowing the flow of their lifespan.
Furthermore, the letter said that after a number of years, a golden age for martial artists would arrive. At that time, there would be a chance to break through the ultimate realm and reach an even higher Martial Dao Realm!
For those martial cultivators who had struggled fruitlessly to break through, this was undoubtedly like seeing a lamp shining in the darkness. They had chosen to believe the words in the letter and fallen into slumber, waiting for the arrival of the golden age of martial arts.
At last, in this present era, the time seemed to have arrived. Following Tang Jie's breakthrough, the sleeping martial cultivators had all triggered a chain reaction and awakened in this era.
And the person who had made them wait through all those long years and told them that the golden age of martial arts would arrive was this man before him, who called himself the Golden Robe Imperial Envoy?
How long had the Golden Robe Imperial Envoy been alive? What was his purpose in doing all this?
The Golden Robe Imperial Envoy sighed with emotion. "After waiting through so many years, the Martial Dao is finally about to welcome its golden age!"
Then the Golden Robe Imperial Envoy changed the subject. "Tang Jie, come to the Endless Sand Sea one month from now. I have already notified the other martial cultivators one by one. At that time, the strongest martial cultivators from every era will gather together. Then, a truly invincible martial artist throughout the ages will be born!"
The Golden Robe Imperial Envoy's voice carried a trace of excitement. This was also the era he had waited countless years for.
"What is your purpose in doing this? After expending so much effort, is it merely to give birth to a martial cultivator among us who can break through the Innate Martial Dao and reach the next realm?"
Tang Jie stared intently at the Golden Robe Imperial Envoy.
Tang Jie could not understand the Golden Robe Imperial Envoy's motives.
After expending so much effort to gather the strongest martial cultivators of every era, was it truly only to help one of them break through the Innate Martial Dao Realm?
"All these matters will be explained when you come to the Endless Sand Sea in a month. My identity and my purpose—I will tell you everything then."
The Golden Robe Imperial Envoy did not answer. Instead, he turned and took a single step forward. He crossed the air as though shrinking the ground beneath his feet, disappearing from Tang Jie's sight in the blink of an eye.
"The Endless Sand Sea... All the martial cultivators throughout history gathering together..."
Tang Jie watched the Golden Robe Imperial Envoy disappear over the horizon and fell silent.
Tang Jie found the Golden Robe Imperial Envoy extremely suspicious. He could be certain that this was an exceedingly dangerous figure. After going to such lengths to gather all the martial cultivators into one era, was he truly doing it only to make the Martial Dao flourish?
Only the Golden Robe Imperial Envoy himself knew the truth.
Before you continue