A colossal ship, thousands of feet long, sailed through the sky.
Jiang Youlong stood on the deck, his face shadowed and gloomy as he stared into the distance in silence.
Beside him, Hua Hongyi and Zuo Qingtian wore equally grim expressions.
Zuo Qingtian was tall and powerfully built, with a fierce, menacing air about him. He barked, "How did an Emperor just appear out of nowhere?"
No one had expected an Emperor to show up. It had completely thrown their plans into disarray.
Hua Hongyi lifted her pretty face, revealing a seductive yet somewhat pale complexion. The deep cleavage at her chest was hard to miss.
Her willow brows knit slightly as she said softly, "Now that this has happened, our lead to the Immortal Great Emperor's whereabouts—through the Xuanqing Sect—is gone!"
After all, Yan Changkong was the current sect master of the Xuanqing Sect.
Who knew if he was hiding some secret? They felt that soul-searching was the only reliable way to find out.
Jiang Youlong looked away and sighed. "With an Emperor stepping in, we can't touch the Xuanqing Sect anymore."
He pondered for a moment before continuing, "Just wait. As the Diary continues to come to light, the Immortal Great Emperor won't be able to stay hidden forever!"
As Jiang Youlong spoke, his gaze turned icy. Killing intent spread around him as he said in a low voice, "No matter what, this is a golden opportunity!"
"This time, the Immortal Great Emperor has to die!"
Hua Hongyi's eyes flickered, but she said nothing. They were nowhere near qualified to take on the Immortal Great Emperor themselves.
But what if those people made their move in person?
It had been several days since the battle at the Xuanqing Sect.
These past few days,
Yan Changkong had been grinning from ear to ear, thoroughly pleased with himself. Even his stride seemed to have a spring in it.
They had finally made it through this calamity.
Now that the Xuanqing Sect had weathered the crisis, it was sure to have an opportunity to grow.
Yan Changkong glanced at the Great Elder beside him and asked, "How are things coming along with what I told you to prepare?"
Great Elder Chen Xiu nodded. "The entire sect is copying information about the Great Emperor day and night."
"But..."
" Sect Master, are you sure you want to charge one hundred spirit stones per copy?"
A hundred low-grade spirit stones wasn't a fortune, but it wasn't cheap, either.
Yan Changkong thought it over, then shook his head. "The medicine hadn't worn off two days ago, and my head was all foggy. I didn't think it through!"
He paused, then added,
"Here's what we'll do: prepare several versions of the Great Emperor's biography!"
"One hundred spirit stones will only get you the simplest version, with just the Great Emperor's basic information."
"Then there'll be versions for five hundred and a thousand spirit stones. The more expensive they are, the more complete the information."
At this point, Yan Changkong glanced at the Great Elder and said, "Aren't you good at writing biographies? If a few tens of thousands of words aren't enough, make them longer!"
Chen Xiu pulled a long face.
But Yan Changkong went on,
"And anyone who wants to visit the Former Residence of the Great Emperor will have to pay spirit stones, too. Let's set it at three hundred per visit for now!"
"As for putting out magic treasures, cultivation methods, and spells the Great Emperor used, you can handle that yourself."
At this, Chen Xiu's face lit up. This was a lucrative assignment.
But then he thought of something and asked worriedly, "Sect Master, won't this make the other sects jealous? Our strength isn't among the best in Qing Province..."
What if the other sects got envious, joined forces, and struck from the shadows?
"Heh..."
Yan Changkong gave a cold laugh, his eyes unconsciously straying to the sword hanging above the Former Residence of the Great Emperor.
"Great Elder, you're good at everything, except you're a little too timid."
"Just think about it!"
"Even the Holy Lands, Ancient Clans, and super sects can't do anything to us. Would the other forces dare to attack us again?"
Yan Changkong was in a good mood, and patiently explained, "In everyone's eyes, the reason we came through this unscathed is that the Immortal Great Emperor is still protecting us!"
"And that's exactly right."
"Under those circumstances, who would dare to attack us head-on?"
There was one thing Yan Changkong hadn't mentioned: they didn't have just one Emperor backing them now!
They had two!
The Southern Region of Qing Province? His sights were already set beyond it.
This was only the beginning. In his hands, the Xuanqing Sect would rise once more, break out of Qing Province, and make its way across the continent!
The Great Elder was no fool. Once he grasped the point, he hurried off, full of enthusiasm.
"Sect Master, I'll get to work!"
Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.
It was time again for the Heavenly Secret Pavilion to publish the Great Emperor's Diary, an event that cultivators all over the world eagerly awaited.
Under countless watchful eyes, the Heavenly Secret Pavilion's Communication Array lit up once again, casting a glowing screen into the air.
"It's finally updated! I can't wait!"
"Yeah! I've never felt ten days drag on so long."
"The last entry ended with the Immortal Great Emperor and Ruoyu treating their injuries in a cave. Heh heh, what's going to happen next?"
"Let's wait and see!"
"Haha, ever since the Great Emperor's Diary came out, even the dull routine of cultivation has become interesting."
"Right? It's more exciting than a book!"
As the screen from the Communication Array lit up, the entire Cultivation World erupted into a frenzy once more.
And the person feeling the most nervous right now was undoubtedly Yuan Ruoyu, the current Holy Venerable of the Jade Pool Holy Land.
Because the Ruoyu in the last entry was her!
And the Diary had recorded those heart-fluttering moments the two had shared in the cave...
Jade Pool Holy Land.
At the center of a lake whose waters shimmered with gentle waves, Yuan Ruoyu stood atop a snow-white lotus, her face flushed.
She bit her red lip lightly as she stared at the screen in the distance.
It was a projection of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion's Communication Array, created through the Jade Pool Holy Land's secret arts.
Yuan Ruoyu's heart raced. She nervously squeezed her little hands, unable to remember the last time she'd felt this way.
"You rascal!"
"He wouldn't be foolish enough to write absolutely everything in his Diary, would he?"
Yuan Ruoyu's thoughts were in a tangle. What would she do if the Diary really revealed something spicy?
The worst part was, before they parted back then,
she had told Lin Feng her real identity and name!
"If cultivators across the world found out..."
Yuan Ruoyu's face turned bright red. She didn't dare think about it any further.
A moment later,
"Phew!"
Yuan Ruoyu took a deep breath to calm herself. She gave a coquettish huff, then gritted her teeth.
"Fine! I just won't be the Holy Venerable anymore!"
"But this time, don't even think about disappearing again. You're going to take responsibility for this!"
Just then, the screen rippled faintly.
Then, one by one, lines of text slowly appeared...
Diary of the Immortal Great Emperor, Page Five:
[Ruoyu's actually a woman? I'm completely stunned!]
[Give me a second to process this!]
[Well, if I don't look, I'll never know. That figure is absolutely perfect, with skin smooth as cream and bones like ice and jade!]
[Ahem. Those two big, white buns are staring right at me! I feel a little guilty.]
[I thought to myself, let's see if I grab you...]
[I quickly ate several Calm Spirit Pills.]
[Ruoyu's injuries were worse than I'd imagined. The cave beast had clawed her back, and the wound had become infected with poisonous qi.]
[Fortunately, I'd brought plenty of supplies, including spirit herbs that could neutralize poison.]
[I was busy until midnight, but I finally finished applying the medicine. Now, though, there's a major problem.]
[She's unconscious and can't eat.]
[If she weren't injured, with her Golden Core cultivation, it wouldn't matter if she ate or not.]
[But right now, if she doesn't eat some beast meat, she might not make it!]
[Whatever. After hesitating for a moment, I had no choice but to make another sacrifice. I chewed it up first, then fed it to her.]
[Heh heh heh...]
After reading it, Yuan Ruoyu blushed furiously. "You scoundrel! You call that a sacrifice? What's that supposed to mean?!"
Before you continue