Harvest

Xu Changqing's white hair clung to his back, his body covered in large patches of blood, with countless cracks interwoven across his skin.

Blood continuously seeped from those cracks, and within the wounds, a blue light flickered, hindering his recovery.

He sat down cross-legged, and in his mind appeared the healing method Emperor Daoyan had given him.

Condensing the essence of life from the outer world, combined with Life Stone and Life-Extending Grass, could save a person on the verge of death.

"Forget it, too lazy to waste time healing. I'll just jump straight in." Xu Changqing stood up, looked at the pool radiating a five-colored halo ahead, and walked directly into it.

"Chi!"

The moment his right foot stepped in, the sound of sizzling flesh rang out. Xu Changqing was drenched in blood, cracks everywhere.

When the sole of his foot touched the five-colored pool, white steam erupted instantly from beneath.

A piercing pain drilled into his marrow, but his face remained expressionless, as if the pain didn't exist.

The Laws of Five Elements began to invade his body. At first, there was no pain, but whenever the Five Elements Liquid touched his wounds, the sound of searing flesh would ring out.

At this moment, Xu Changqing felt as if he were walking on boiling oil, on red-hot charcoal, yet his face still showed nothing as he went straight to the center.

The Five Elements Liquid had already risen to his bladder. Then, Xu Changqing sat down cross-legged, the pool reaching just under his chin.

While soaking in the treasure liquid, he closed his eyes and examined the Emperor's Scripture Emperor Daoyan had given him in his mind. Overall, Emperor Daoyan's scripture changed Xu Changqing's perception of him.

How was Emperor Daoyan able to conceive of the path of technology, while the other emperors could not?

It could be said that Emperor Daoyan was also unmatched in talent.

Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to Prove Dao with External Objects. He was the first emperor in Covering the Heavens to do so.

If a fight broke out, others would engage in hand-to-hand combat, while he would drive countless Quasi-Emperor Warships to bombard people—that scene...

Xu Changqing hadn't thought of this before. If Emperor Daoyan had just now pulled out those tens of thousands of warships and mechas, all kinds of high-tech guns and cannons to blast him, directly covering him with firepower...

Thinking of this, Xu Changqing couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed. This incident taught him that everyone who ascends to the position of emperor is different.

Although there are distinctions between strong and weak among emperors, that is only relative to other emperors, not to himself.

He had been too confident.

Xu Changqing knew that Emperor Daoyan had held back. After all, he possessed the memories and methods of an emperor, abilities and an understanding of realms that Xu Changqing could not comprehend.

Otherwise, an emperor suppressing his cultivation could easily defeat him with one hand.

"I can't have this mindset anymore," Xu Changqing murmured. This time, he recognized his mistake: he had underestimated many people.

From now on, every time he acts, he must go all out and no longer harbor a dismissive attitude.

Xu Changqing stopped overthinking and began to cultivate some of the techniques Emperor Daoyan had given him, which included methods for absorbing the Strongest Treasure Liquid and concepts for crafting various treasure liquids.

"Treasure liquid, in the end, is the same kind of thing as the world's essence energy—both are rare stones nurtured by heaven and earth, processed, fused, and refined by me, finally forming a treasure liquid beneficial to my own improvement."

"The world has crystals, Divine Substance, and Ore Iron. These things contain substances beneficial or harmful to living beings..."

"By refining out the harmful substances and retaining the beneficial ones, self-improvement can be achieved. Refining those substances also trains one's control ability."

Xu Changqing couldn't help but marvel at Emperor Daoyan's concepts. Indeed, among those who become emperors, who is a simple figure?

As he himself had said, no one can judge his own path, not even an emperor.

Then he had no right to judge others' paths either, no right to look down on them.

Xu Changqing continued to examine what Emperor Daoyan had left behind while ignoring the piercing pain. His sense of pain had almost vanished.

He had become numb to it.

He sat cross-legged, his white hair drifting with the ripples, five-colored light spilling from his body surface. Every crack on his body was like a small stream, constantly expelling dirt and blood.

Finally, his skin split and began to peel off, and the wounds started to heal.

Xu Changqing could clearly feel changes in his physical body. His Sea of Bitterness seemed to have been expanded, becoming a bit wider.

Warm currents began to flow through his limbs and bones, as if, after being frozen stiff in winter, he had suddenly soaked in a hot spring, so comfortable he wanted to moan.

But while his bones were comfortable, the pain grew even more intense.

"Dang... dang... clang..."

Every bone in Xu Changqing's body emitted harsh sounds, as if each one had been broken, then crushed into bone fragments under a hydraulic press, only to be baptized again by the treasure liquid.

This transformation lasted a long time.

Unknowingly, he broke through to the Saint Realm.

But this place possessed an incredible ability, preventing the Heavenly Tribulation from sensing it.

Xu Changqing didn't even know he had already broken through.

The first transformation took two days. By the second transformation, the five-colored pool had turned purple-gold.

This time, it targeted the Primordial Spirit.

A pain even more intense than the physical one struck, making Xu Changqing frown involuntarily, but he still remained silent. Gradually, he adapted to the pain, his brow relaxed, and he calmed down again.

In the pool, pieces of shed old skin had appeared.

He focused entirely on cultivating and evolving himself, not noticing the changes in the pool.

Xu Changqing was already immersed in the scriptures left by Emperor Daoyan. Daoyan's philosophy was even loftier than his own.

After all, he had once lived in a civilization that hadn't even reached Level One.

But Emperor Daoyan was the man who created a technological civilization, who conquered the stars with technology—how could he compare?

Back then, when he saw someone on the forums say that Emperor Daoyan fought by wearing a suit, smoking a cigarette, and ramming people with his spaceship, he had laughed.

The transformation continued, but outside, chaos had erupted.

Because that white-haired man had been gone for a full month, and there was still no sign of him. The massive crowd that had mobilized was left utterly speechless.

Gan Long, with his jet-black hair and blue robes, stood quietly beside Lin Qianyu, silently staring at the enormous pillar standing in the Star Sea, lost in thought.

Those two words were so dazzling that they didn't even stir a shred of resistance in his heart. It was the first time he had seen someone stand above the title of an Emperor.

"If that Female Demon comes too, how spectacular would that be..." Gan Long thought of that woman. Back then, he had nearly fought her, but thankfully he hadn't.

Otherwise, he might have died.

The Female Demon's fierce reputation spread far and wide. She had no name, rarely spoke, was ice-cold to the core, and possessed great fortune.

Even the divine diviners of the Feathered Dynasty couldn't deduce her origin or background.

"Who is the Female Demon?" Lin Qianyu frowned and asked. It sounded like another terrifying figure?

"Didn't I already tell you?" Gan Long looked at Lin Qianyu with some exasperation.

"Oh, you mean the other Mortal Body you mentioned? The other demon from your side, known as the Twin Demons of the Era?"

Lin Qianyu suddenly understood. She had been so focused on Xu Changqing's slash that she hadn't paid much attention to other matters.

Gan Long nodded. "She's been targeting the Feathered Dynasty. Many of their Heavenly Prides have died by her hand."

"Her strength should be on par with Wuqing's, and her talent is unmatched."

"Can you imagine the shock of having two Mortal Bodies rise to power in this era?"

Lin Qianyu naturally shook her head. In the starry sky, Mortal Bodies couldn't even make it onto the stage. Cultivating to the Dragon Transformation or Immortal Platform realms was already extremely difficult, let alone entering the Forbidden Domain as a Mortal Body.

"Maybe when we head to the Starry Sky Ancient Road, we'll hear of the Female Demon's fame..." Gan Long clasped his hands behind his back and said simply.

He just loved seeing the Heavenly Prides of the Eternal Star Domain stunned. Honestly, the people of the Eternal Star Domain either called him a savage or a backward monkey.

It pissed him off.

"Even if Wuqing comes out, he won't escape..." Lin Qianyu looked at the dense fleet of warships and the crowd around them and sighed.

She suddenly felt a little sorry for that man.

Gan Long shot Lin Qianyu a look. "Impossible. How do you know he doesn't have a trump card?"

"Maybe the moment he comes out, he'll shake your entire star domain."

He knew Xu Changqing well. Without at least a fifty percent chance of success, he wouldn't show his face.

And so, two months passed.

The massive pillar erupted with brilliant light, as if announcing to the world that the trial had been passed.

"He's coming out! He's coming out!!"

The crowd erupted into frenzy.

Under the night sky, countless spaceships and colossal warships began to emit dazzling light. The radiance exploded, illuminating the darkness.

In the sky, on the ground, within the Star Sea—everywhere was filled with high-tech weaponry. The cold, white light sent chills down anyone's spine just by looking at it.

Countless mechas stood in the void, stretching as far as the eye could see, all gleaming with metallic luster.

"If he refuses to join our family and bear us offspring, then capture him and imprison him for research," some powerful figures coldly commanded.

Xu Changqing began collecting items in that place—bloodstained Saint's Spaceships, bloodstained Saint's Mechas, various High-tech Firearms, and the cultivation scriptures left behind by Emperor Daoyan.

Those Cultivation Techniques and Divine Abilities and scriptures were all spoils of war from Emperor Daoyan's conquests, so now they fell into Xu Changqing's hands.

He had undergone three transformations in total. The first breakthrough brought him to the Saint Realm, and within that realm, he transformed twice more.

His Physical Body had grown absurdly powerful. Paired with his constitution, it was practically heaven-defying.

"Time to go out," Xu Changqing muttered to himself. There were still many things here, but he didn't take everything. Following Emperor Daoyan's words, he only took a portion.

After collecting the bloodstained warship, he found a silver altar covered in countless runes. Purple light spread along the patterns like tiny streams.

When he activated the altar, a silver passage appeared, its edges lined with various metallic structures.

Suddenly, Xu Changqing's brow furrowed slightly. He saw mist of interwoven colors spreading outside the passage—a sign that many people outside were radiating intense emotions.

"Looks like I'll have to leave a legend in the Eternal Star Domain."

The people of the Eternal Star Domain were greedy. There was no way they would let him leave. The only option was a bloodbath.

PS: Thanks to the many big shots for the tips.

It rained today, so I got to the internet café late. That's why the update is later than usual.