The Award-Winning Actress Su Qingyao, the Descent of the Ancient Stone Tablet

After Su Qingyao left, Lu Yuan fell into deep thought.

"The Nine Heavens Profound Goddess Physique—her talent is quite good. She's smart enough too, able to assess the situation and weigh what matters. She's nothing like those stupid women who think they're the center of the world just because they have some cheat. She can be cultivated."

"However, she has to be raised free-range. Su Qingyao's greatest value to me is spreading hatred and drawing out Children of Destiny. Before that, I need to win her heart. This woman is very ambitious; that can serve as the anchor..."

Inside a side hall of the imperial palace.

Jun Xiaoyao sat in the hall, leisurely drinking tea while more than a dozen eunuchs and palace maids attended him.

At that moment, a palace maid dressed in pink court robes entered. She approached Jun Xiaoyao, bowed, and said, "Divine Son, Her Majesty does not wish to see you."

She doesn't want to see me?

Jun Xiaoyao was stunned for a moment. Setting down his teacup, his expression flickered as he asked, "Why does the Empress refuse to see me? Do you know the reason?"

The palace maid shook her head. Even if she did know, she would not have said anything.

Jun Xiaoyao drew a deep breath and gave a soft laugh. "Heh, then so be it." As he spoke, he rose to leave. He was the Divine Son of the Jun Family, not some bootlicker. Since the other party would not give him face, he would not force himself upon her.

Just then.

Su Qingyao suddenly appeared in the hall.

All the eunuchs and palace maids hurriedly knelt. "Greetings, Your Majesty."

Su Qingyao's face was cold as she waved a hand, signaling for the eunuchs and palace maids to leave. Then she said to Jun Xiaoyao, "Since Divine Son Jun has already come, why not sit for a while before leaving?"

The anger on Jun Xiaoyao's face vanished the instant he saw Su Qingyao, replaced by a gentle expression. "Didn't the Empress say she did not wish to see me?"

At those words, Su Qingyao revealed a sorrowful expression. "I was in a bad mood just now, so I did not want to see anyone."

"In a bad mood because of Lu Yuan?" Jun Xiaoyao sat upright, narrowing his eyes as killing intent flashed deep within them.

Looking as though tears might fall at any moment, Su Qingyao raised a delicate jade hand and wiped at the corner of her eye. "Who else could it be but him?"

Seeing Su Qingyao in such a pitiable state, Jun Xiaoyao's eyes instantly filled with concern, his heart aching unbearably. To outsiders, Su Qingyao had always been domineering, aloof, and the image of a powerful woman. Jun Xiaoyao was no exception. Now that he saw her reveal such a vulnerable, feminine side, one could imagine how greatly she had been wronged.

Jun Xiaoyao's heart ached beyond measure. He immediately flew into a rage. "That damned Lu Yuan! Where is he? Tell me, and I'll go kill him!"

"I don't know where Lu Yuan is right now. But he is very strong. Can you really do it?"

Mist filled Su Qingyao's eyes as she looked at Jun Xiaoyao.

"Heh heh."

A confident smile appeared at the corner of Jun Xiaoyao's lips. "I can!"

Lu Yuan had been made out to be unfathomably powerful by countless people, but Jun Xiaoyao did not believe it at all, nor did he care how strong Lu Yuan was.

I possess the Sign-in System, with countless hidden cards. I was born with a fully developed Primordial Sacred Body—invincible among those of the same realm, and fighting above my level is as easy as eating and drinking. My background is even more profound. My Jun Family is one of the branches of the Jun Family in the Upper Realm. I've heard that my father, Jun Wuhui, is thriving even in the Upper Realm. What is there to fear from a mere Lu Yuan?

Jun Xiaoyao thought smugly to himself.

"That's wonderful. Once I have news of Lu Yuan, I'll definitely tell you at once. Thank you, Xiaoyao." A strange light flickered in Su Qingyao's beautiful eyes.

Hearing the intimate way she addressed him as "Xiaoyao," Jun Xiaoyao's eyes lit up, and excitement surged through his heart.

It seems the day I completely win over Su Qingyao isn't far off.

As expected, saving a beauty in distress is the quickest shortcut to winning her heart. Hahaha.

Su Qingyao saw every change in Jun Xiaoyao's expression. Having lived for more than a thousand years, how could she fail to see what he was thinking?

What a fool. He still wants to contend with Lu Yuan. When the time comes, he probably won't even know how he died. Su Qingyao secretly shook her head.

The two chatted for a while longer.

After bidding Jun Xiaoyao farewell, Su Qingyao summoned other outstanding young geniuses throughout the imperial palace and met with them one by one.

Without exception, every genius who met Su Qingyao afterward developed towering fury toward Lu Yuan. They wished they could immediately chop Lu Yuan into eight pieces, then pull Su Qingyao into their arms and cherish her with utmost care.

For a time, the entire First Imperial City was filled with cries to kill Lu Yuan.

The Chaos Sacred Land, in particular, suffered unprecedented suppression.

The next day.

At noon, the sun shone brightly beneath a cloudless sky stretching ten thousand miles.

Deep within the imperial palace, Lu Yuan was fishing beside a secluded lake while Su Qingyao carefully attended him at his side.

Then, a fish took the bait.

Lu Yuan lightly raised his fishing rod, and a golden carp twelve feet long leaped from the water.

At the very moment its splash rang across the lake.

A thunderclap descended from the heavens.

RUMBLE!

The previously cloudless sky was instantly blanketed by dark clouds. At the center of the firmament, an enormous vortex of clouds slowly took shape.

Lu Yuan looked up, a trace of puzzlement flashing through his eyes.

For some reason, Su Qingyao was struck with utter shock.

Very soon, a vortex of black clouds took shape.

At the same moment, a rift opened in Beyond Heaven.

Across Tianxiao Continent, countless living beings looked up. Under the gaze of the world, a Golden Stone Tablet, roughly ten thousand meters tall and a thousand meters wide, crashed down from the vortex of clouds and plunged straight into the earth.

Upon the ten-thousand-meter stone tablet, four great characters formed from Dao Patterns shone brilliantly.

Ancient Stone Tablet!

"Ancient Stone Tablet—heavens, it's actually the Ancient Stone Tablet!"

"What virtue or ability do I possess to witness the descent of the Ancient Stone Tablet in my brief lifetime?"

"The ancient records say that the last time the Ancient Stone Tablet descended was a million years ago. The only one to make the list was named Yuanyang. Later generations called him Great Emperor Yuanyang, one of the most powerful existences since Tianxiao Continent was born."

In that instant, the world cried out in astonishment.

By the tranquil little lake, Lu Yuan asked Su Qingyao, "What is the Ancient Stone Tablet?"

Su Qingyao came back to her senses, a trace of yearning appearing in her eyes. "The Ancient Stone Tablet is a list of heaven and earth, and besides Break Limit, it is the second path by which people of Tianxiao Continent can ascend to the Upper Realm."

"Since records of Tianxiao Continent began, the Ancient Stone Tablet has appeared fewer than ten times. Each appearance was separated from the previous one by a million years, and every time it emerged, Tianxiao Continent happened to be at the height of its prosperity."

"Yet throughout all of history, only three people have made the list. The difficulty is beyond words."

"Oh? Which three made the list?" Lu Yuan asked curiously.

Without hesitation, Su Qingyao replied, "Martial Ancestor, Primordial Sacred Ancestor, and Great Emperor Yuanyang."

Hearing those three names, Lu Yuan fell into thought.

He knew of Martial Ancestor. He had even heard of Martial Ancestor on the Dark Continent, though there, Martial Ancestor was revered as the Martial Heavenly Lord—a supremely powerful existence on the same level as Elder You and Elder Ming, perhaps slightly stronger in combat power.

As for Great Emperor Yuanyang and the Primordial Sacred Ancestor, Lu Yuan had heard little of them.

With that thought, Lu Yuan could not help asking, "What are the conditions for making the list?"

Since only three people had made the list since Tianxiao Continent's birth, the difficulty was plain to see. As it happened, Lu Yuan liked challenging difficult things.