The Adamantine Staff

The firmament split open, and chaos surged forth.

In this territory, the earth crumbled and magma surged. Terrifying power saturated the air, creating a shocking scene as if the world had reached its end and was about to be buried.

Su Ye stood there as if upon a lone skiff, braving a horrific storm, at any moment liable to be swallowed by the surrounding terrifying forces and left without a trace of bone or ash.

Yet, he felt no panic. Instead, his expression remained calm, his eyes bright and piercing as he watched the terrible catastrophe unfolding around him.

Everything before his eyes was not an illusion; he had already realized this not long ago when he fought the man in the black robe.

This was a very bizarre type of power.

However, it was ineffective against him.

Hum.

The Samsara Eye was activated. Arcane runes emerged, blooming with brilliant radiance, and two great suns appeared behind him.

These were not true suns, but a pair of eyes. Within those pupils, runes manifested and merged with the world, descending with auspicious light to shroud Su Ye's form, shielding him from the surrounding bizarre power, rendering him immune to all laws.

Su Ye's gaze turned to the copper pillar before him. The pillar bloomed with light, and within that radiance, a world emerged. It was a world permeated with dense divine essence, so thick it had transformed into a golden ocean, with auspicious vapors rising and divine brilliance shining brightly.

Above this golden ocean stood a divine temple. Before the temple stood a Taoist Robe Elder, his face like fine jade, his hair snow-white, looking every bit the transcendent immortal.

The Taoist Robe Elder stood with his hands behind his back. Merely standing there, he exuded a supreme divine might that made one want to prostrate in worship. There was a terrifying radiance in his eyes that made it impossible to look directly at him.

He was the master of this world—not just of this world, but seemingly the master of the ages, looking down upon all living beings from above.

Su Ye watched the Taoist Robe Elder within the world with a calm gaze. There was not a shred of awe in his expression; rather, he scrutinized the other party unscrupulously, a smile appearing on his face as he laughed: "Your aura is quite imposing, but you are not of this world... No, to be precise, you are not of this era. You belong to an era of the past, and thus your power cannot descend into this age."

Although he wore a smile and appeared quite dismissive of the other party, he was actually deeply shocked inside, never expecting that the person before him had come from the past.

To cross the river of time and descend from the past to the present—this fellow must be a terrifying existence, and he might even have some powerful trump cards.

"Your pair of eyes is truly singular to be able to see through the true form of this Emperor. However, you are wrong about one thing: I do not belong entirely to the past. Rather, I have established a gateway between the past and the present, allowing the two eras to connect."

The Taoist Robe Elder looked at Su Ye. The youth before him was extraordinary, showing no fear of him, and he continued: "Youth, you are quite good. This Emperor will not kill you; I can even lend you power, but you must pay a certain price."

"Heh..."

Su Ye let out a cold laugh. Even at this point, he dared to threaten him? Did he really think he couldn't see through his bottom line? He laughed: "Tell me, what price do you want me to pay?"

The Taoist Robe Elder naturally saw that Su Ye did not believe his words at all, but he did not mind, saying: "First, let me state that this Emperor does not require blood sacrifices or offerings. As for the previous matters, that was not my doing. Just as you said, I am located within a special world and cannot interfere with the reality of this world."

"Cannot interfere, then these surroundings..."

Su Ye looked around, only to see that the world which had just been destroyed was perfectly fine; everything had been nothing but his own hallucination.

He had actually fallen for it.

This realization immediately filled Su Ye with horror; this person was even more terrifying than he had imagined.

"A medium. For this Emperor to interfere with the reality of this world, I require a medium. The previous medium was the person you killed. Through the power of faith, he channeled this Emperor's power to descend into the reality of this world."

The Taoist Robe Elder explained: "Now, this Emperor has merged with the Totem Pillar. In essence, it is equivalent to a special magic treasure. As for whether this treasure kills or saves, it depends on the holder, not on this Emperor."

Su Ye understood, though he did not fully trust the other party; after all, these old monsters were experts at swindling people.

Should he just suppress and seal him?

Come to think of it, did this count as finding a "portable grandpa"?

Others kept theirs in rings, while this one was hidden in a big stick.

It was just a pity that the one he found was an old man, not an ancient fairy or goddess. If there were no fairies or goddesses, a witch would have sufficed.

"The power of faith. This Emperor requires the power of faith."

If the Taoist Robe Elder knew he was being looked down upon, one wonders what his reaction would be. He continued to explain: "The power of faith is extremely profound. If there is sufficient power of faith, this Emperor can fully channel myself from the past into this era and be resurrected. You only need to provide this Emperor with the power of faith, and this Emperor can grant you a certain amount of help. This is an equivalent exchange."

"Resurrected?"

Su Ye was shocked. On one hand, he was shocked by such a method, and on the other, he was shocked that the other party would so easily reveal his goal.

He was indeed difficult to deal with.

Su Ye calmed down; the more sincere the other party appeared, the greater the scheme. He said: "I will not deceive ordinary people to collect the power of faith."

"Obtaining the power of faith through believers is too slow. This Emperor has a simple method: hunt down Sacrificial Spirits and seize their power of faith."

The Taoist Robe Elder said.

"You can absorb other people's power of faith as well?"

Su Ye was shocked. He knew a little about the power of faith; simply put, it was a special type of energy, much like a cultivator's mana. The power of faith possessed by different Sacrificial Spirits was different and could not be fused together, just as a cultivator could not fuse the mana of another cultivator, or it would lead to chaotic energy and cause one to go into qi deviation.

"It is not I who absorbs it, but this Totem Pillar. Furthermore, the power of faith is not impossible to fuse. Powerful power of faith can fuse with weaker power of faith, purify it, and then devour it."

"The origin of this Totem Pillar is extremely ancient, stemming from a very powerful Sacrificial Spirit. Ordinary power of faith can be easily purified."

"Just as for a god, the mana of an ordinary cultivator is not an impurity, but a pure energy. Devouring and refining it is equivalent to many days of hard cultivation."

The Taoist Robe Elder explained in detail. Since he had chosen this person, he would not hide anything, or it would only cause the other party to harbor resentment. He intended to trade sincerity for sincerity.

"Ancient origin, a powerful Sacrificial Spirit?"

Su Ye frowned slightly, carefully observing the Totem Pillar before him. There were many arcane patterns on the pillar, each one extremely complex—some even many times more complex than runes. Just looking at them made him feel dizzy.

"I happen to be lacking a magic treasure. From now on, you belong to me."

Su Ye spoke; although he sensed the other party was dangerous and likely plotting against him, discarding it just like that would be too much of a pity. Moreover, with his own talent, he would have plenty of ways to deal with the other party in the future. "Can you shrink? You're too big; it's hard to carry."

Hum.

The Totem Pillar erupted with radiance, then continuously shrank until it was no different from an ordinary copper rod, two meters tall and ten centimeters in diameter.

"You can actually shrink; you look a lot like the Adamantine Staff."

Su Ye's eyes gleamed as he gripped the Totem Pillar. It felt heavy in his hand, weighing a full hundred thousand catties. For an ordinary cultivator, it would be difficult to lift, but for him, it was not a problem. He swung it directly, and for a moment, the heavens and earth trembled.

Boom.

The copper rod landed on the ground, smashing a massive, deep pit into the earth. This was pure physical force; if he were to trigger the power of the rod itself, it wouldn't just create a pit—it would reduce everything to nothingness.

"Not bad. From now on, you shall be called the Adamantine Staff."

Su Ye said with a loud laugh.

"..."

The Taoist Robe Elder was speechless. The word "Adamantine" was easy enough to understand, but what was the meaning of "Gold-Hooped"? The Totem Pillar was covered in green copper rust; what did it have to do with gold?

Su Ye looked at the copper rod in his hand, feeling that it was incredibly handy, though the color of the rod was far from satisfactory.

He took some gold from his robes, melted it down, and coated the rod. Soon, the copper-green rod transformed into a brilliant, golden staff.

Su Ye looked at the gleaming golden staff in his hand, feeling very satisfied. "It looks much more pleasing to the eye this way. Once I find some divine golden metal in the future, I shall have to refine it properly."