Within a vast, mysterious underground palace, Qi Miaoxuan sat cross-legged in the air. Beneath him, dark-purple magma surged and churned, thick as blood. Sparks burst from popping bubbles and splashed against the rock walls, only to extinguish the instant they touched the hanging stalactites—frost flowers coated the milky-white stone formations, and cold energy seeped down from the ceiling in strands, colliding with the heat below to form an eerie white mist.
The structure of this underground palace utterly defied common sense. The temperature difference between the dome and the ground warped the air, reflecting flowing dark-blue runes across the rock walls. Even more terrifying were the arrays floating in midair. They were not carved into stone, but formed from countless tiny light patterns in circular designs, slowly rotating at a visible speed. Every light pattern carried ancient pressure, and as they moved, they drew out strands of gleaming white Spiritual Energy Chains as though unraveling silk from a cocoon.
The chains were not illusory. They carried a tangible chill as they wriggled like living creatures, finally stabbing in unison into Qi Miaoxuan's chest and precisely winding around the dagger lodged in his heart. Its blade was pitch-black, tightly bound by the Spiritual Energy Chains. Every time it tried to tremble, the chains constricted even more tightly, sending waves of dull pain through his chest cavity.
"Roar..."
Roars and furious howls from the Dragon Soul rang out from within the dagger. "Slave, you dare dream of devouring your master? Everything you possess was bestowed by me. What means do you have that you think you can control me? Do you not know that I was born of the Laws of the World, neither living nor dying?"
Qi Miaoxuan floated in the air, his upper body bare and revealing solid, muscular flesh. His white hair drifted around him. He slowly opened his eyes and said calmly, "Azure Dragon, the more you behave like this, the more hysterical you appear!"
"Hmph, slave, you seek death..."
With a roaring dragon's cry, the dagger began to shake madly. A cyan phantom suddenly appeared in the void—a dragon's shadow. Its body coiled through the air, its scales and claws spread wide. Though it was merely a few strokes of light and shadow, it radiated the majesty of one gazing down upon all beneath Heaven. As its dragon head rose, a low yet immensely penetrating dragon's roar faintly sounded.
Yet the dragon shadow coiled in the void was wrapped all over in Rune Iron Chains saturated with Mysterious Ice Cold Air. Every chain was carved with flowing Golden Runes, and with each low growl and tremor from the dragon's body, the iron chains constricted and twisted tighter like living things.
But at that very instant—
"Roar..."
Azure Dragon let out a violent roar!
Its blue-green dragon body suddenly arched like a full moon. The scales covered in bronze sheen bulged like raging waves, erupting with power capable of destroying Heaven and Earth. The Mysterious Ice Iron Chains wrapped around its neck first gave a muffled crack under unbearable strain, then shattered inch by inch like a spiderweb. Their links exploded into fragments of flowing fire that screamed through the air in every direction, slicing apart the surrounding floating Spirit Reefs and sending shattered stones flying.
The broken iron chains dissipated into gas. Azure Dragon leapt into the sky, and a storm rose wherever its dragon tail swept, churning the rune-lit curtain that confined the entire space into broken glass. Its gilded pupils burned with fury that could incinerate the heavens. As its dragon head dipped, it exhaled two streams of scorching Dragon Breath, ploughing two charred-black deep ravines into the ground.
"Slave!" A rumbling-thunder sound wave wrapped in pressure crashed downward. Fragments of chains still clinked to the ground beside its jaws. "You think a little Earth Vein Spiritual Energy can imprison my Tidal Wave Body?"
The void trembled as Azure Dragon, carrying a fierce aura capable of destroying Heaven and Earth, smashed toward Qi Miaoxuan. When it opened its jaws, the Gang Feng it spat out sent cloud layers scattering like shredded cotton. Its scales scraped through the air, bursting into strings of red-gold sparks. That Dragon Might, enough to overturn mountains, pressed the space itself until spiderweb-like ripples emerged across it. In an instant, it had arrived before Qi Miaoxuan.
Yet Qi Miaoxuan did not move. Suspended amid the turbulent currents, his frost-white long hair fluttered without wind. He merely lifted his eyelids slightly, then struck out with his palm.
In that instant, a Purple Flame appeared in his palm, like an ink lotus blooming in a cold night. Its edges breathed with an unfathomable rhythm. The moment it left his body, it transformed into an enormous Purple Fire Lotus. As its eerie light surged, it swallowed the charging Azure Dragon whole.
"Even when Fire Kirin was alive, that piece of trash could not withstand a single exchange with me. Yet you, slave, dream of using its Ancestral Fire Origin against me? What wishful thinking!" Contemptuous thunder rolled from Azure Dragon's throat, and scorn blazed in its gilded pupils.
Before its words had faded, its dragon body suddenly shook. The Purple Flame around it exploded like living creatures, turning into endless mist.
Yet before Azure Dragon could react further, the boundless mist had already condensed into thousands upon thousands of Purple Crystal Chains entwined with runes.
At the same time, nine mysterious-black platforms suddenly appeared in the void, floating in the air. Their surfaces were covered in runes. As Eerie Purple Light Bridges lit up between the platforms, all the chains linked head to tail like Spirit Snakes, weaving an airtight Binding Array around Azure Dragon!
Azure Dragon snorted disdainfully and lashed its dragon tail, only to discover in shock that the chain bodies possessed a toughness utterly unlike before—the Purple Crystal Chains seemed able to adhere to its power. Every struggle only tightened them further. It was originally a soul body, yet now it began to evaporate, transforming into strands of purple smoke that fused into the Purple Crystal Chains.
Even more terrifyingly, the Array Runes lit up in unison, continually compressing the entire space inward. The dragon shadow that had once covered the sky and sun was forcibly crushed until it had shrunk several times over. Fine cracks burst across the blue-green Dragon Soul Body amid agonizing pain.
Azure Dragon's face changed greatly. "What is this?"
Qi Miaoxuan slowly rose to his feet and walked barefoot through the void toward Azure Dragon. He said softly, "Azure Dragon, you have been dead for more than two thousand years. You stayed inside the Reverse Scale Blade for over eighteen hundred years, while I served as your blade rack for twelve hundred years!
"During those twelve hundred years, you slept all the time and woke only rarely. So you have no idea how much the world has changed over these thousand years. You do not know Battle Qi. You do not know how far arrays have developed. Nor do you know that capable people have emerged one after another in this world, and all kinds of martial arts have become as miraculous as gods.
"The restrictions you placed on me can no longer even take the stage in this era. You only know that Fire Kirin's Ancestral Fire Origin cannot harm you, but you do not know that the Heaven-Concealing Array, with Ancestral Fire as its array core, cannot be broken free from even if your True Dragon Body still remained."
Azure Dragon began to panic. "Even if you can trap me for a time, you cannot trap me for a lifetime. The Ancestral Fire's energy may be powerful, but it is limited. It is not a living being and possesses no consciousness, only instinct. The energy it absorbs by instinct cannot compare with the energy it consumes. Once the Ancestral Fire's energy is exhausted, I will make you beg for life but be unable to live, beg for death but be unable to die!"
Qi Miaoxuan smiled faintly. "Guess why I was willing to suffer grave injuries just to bring Fire Kirin's Body back?"
Azure Dragon said darkly, "What schemes and tricks do you have now?"
Qi Miaoxuan said, "I have already mastered a method of absorbing Fire Kirin's power. I will fuse Fire Kirin into my body. By then, my entire body will be one great array. I will be Fire Kirin. I will endlessly absorb Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, and the Ancestral Fire will never lack energy.
"As for you, forget about getting out. I will slowly refine you, and your Origin Power will be permanently sealed within the Reverse Scale Blade!"
Azure Dragon roared, "Slave, you dare devour your master..."
"Shut up!" Qi Miaoxuan snapped. "What right do you have to accuse me of devouring my master? You are nothing but a beast. Even after death, you could only drag out a wretched existence by serving as a weapon spirit. The Reverse Scale Blade is my weapon, and you, Azure Dragon's Dragon Soul, are merely the Reverse Scale Blade's weapon spirit. I am the master, and you are the slave. All along, it was you who devoured your master!"
Azure Dragon shouted furiously, "Nonsense! If I had not given you eternal life, you would have become dry bones long ago!"
Qi Miaoxuan sneered. "So what? We each took what we needed. I needed eternal life, while you needed my talent. I am an Innate Sage, with a dragon face and sun-like brow. You needed my fate to help restore your consciousness, so you transferred part of your Origin Power into me in order to survive. We were a Symbiotic Body, yet you used your methods to enslave me for over a thousand years. Now, it is time to change places!"
Qi Miaoxuan reached out and grabbed, pulling down Azure Dragon, which was trapped within the cage.
Qi Miaoxuan looked at Azure Dragon and said, "Do not worry. It will take me a long time to refine you. You can still watch how I master the true Great Dao, how I become the Heavenly Dao!"
Azure Dragon said coldly, "The ravings of a madman. There is no Heavenly Dao in this world. It is merely a concept!"
Qi Miaoxuan said coldly, "When I devour all Origins, then I will be the Heavenly Dao!"
As soon as his words fell—
Qi Miaoxuan formed hand seals and swiftly compressed the cage until it was only the size of a fist, like a purple iron ball. Azure Dragon struggled ceaselessly within it.
Qi Miaoxuan stuffed the iron ball into the wound in his chest.
At that very instant—
The entire underground palace suddenly became incomparably scorching. Streams of Golden Liquid flowed from all directions, binding this patch of Heaven and Earth like densely packed runes. In the blink of an eye, that Golden Liquid poured into his body, while the phantom of a kirin seemed to roar within him.
For Gu Mo, the journey to Mobei had yielded enormous gains. He had obtained a seven-star martial art, the Tathagata Divine Palm, and an eight-star martial art, the God of War Catalog.
The God of War Catalog in particular had directly elevated his realm beyond the Ascension Realm, allowing him to see the Laws of the World.
It was an exceedingly special state of existence.
At the moment of breakthrough, his consciousness entered an ethereal state. He seemed to arrive beyond the world, standing in a unique position. At that moment, every person and object before him existed frame by frame. It was as though with a casual flick of his hand, he could start over—or leap straight ahead.
At that moment, he understood. He had seen the laws.
For instance, once spring passed, summer would arrive. That was a law.
And in Gu Mo's eyes now, all things seemed to be like that. The future was clearly unknown, yet he could see what seemed to be a thread linking it all together. The future was not unknown, but a fixed development beneath the laws.
As these laws operated, they gave birth to a special Law Qi, an existence similar to the purple flame that had floated from Fire Kirin's body after its death.
This qi was extraordinarily special. Its significance did not lie in quantity, but in comprehension and application.
It was then that—
Gu Mo finally understood why he could not kill Qi Miaoxuan.
Because they simply did not exist on the same level.
Yet he had been able to injure Qi Miaoxuan and kill the kirin because, even before he saw the laws, he had already grasped a certain amount of Law Qi.
When Gu Mo had previously obtained the Dragon God Skill and the Dao Heart Seed Demon Great Technique, he had been able to sense the fluctuations of all things between Heaven and Earth. In theory, he had sensed the laws of the world even then.
It was simply that his realm had been insufficient at the time, so he could not see them. Yet imperceptibly, he had already begun to grasp a certain amount of Law Qi.
Still, Qi Miaoxuan could not be blamed for not taking him seriously. After all, Gu Mo had not even been able to see that "qi" before, so naturally he had been unable to wield it to its fullest extent.
Afterward, when Gu Mo thought back on it, it had indeed been quite dangerous.
If the Dragon God Skill's transformation into a dragon had not awakened the Azure Dragon Remnant Soul inside Qi Miaoxuan's body, that battle with Qi Miaoxuan would certainly have been a tremendous problem.
However, Gu Mo was not so frightened in retrospect.
After all, he had not fought with everything he had, ready to risk his life. If he had been utterly incapable of harming Qi Miaoxuan, then he would have been doomed to lose. But at the time, he had merely been unable to see the "qi" of the laws; it did not mean he lacked that qi. If he had gone all out, he would not have been completely powerless to resist.
Aside from the Tathagata Divine Palm and the God of War Catalog—
Gu Mo had also gained greatly from Yu Shier. There were piles of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures worth an immense fortune, along with all kinds of medicines and Yu Shier's lifelong summary of the medical path. In the martial world, it would absolutely rank among the most supreme secret manuals.
Furthermore, Gu Mo had extracted from the Void Array and taken away Yu Shier's Poison Bead, which had gathered all the strange poisons Under Heaven.
Finally—
Gu Mo escorted Ye Jinglan's party all the way into Qing Province before leaving.
He had escorted them because Mobei occupied a special position. It was a border region, separated from Chu Kingdom only by that stretch of desert. There was no guarantee Chu Kingdom would not send people to intercept them after receiving news of the He Xu Ruins.
In the end, however, the facts proved that Gu Mo had worried too much. They encountered no interception all the way to Qing Province.
Gu Mo returned to Linjiang City almost exactly on time, arriving the day before Lunar New Year's Eve.
When Gu Mo arrived at the former site of Unique Villa, he saw that Unique Villa had now been renamed "Gu Manor."
"Brother, you're back!"
Just then, Gu Chundong and Red Clothes returned from outside, both carrying large bags and small parcels.
Gu Chundong hurried over to Gu Mo, raised her little head, and proudly said, "How is it, Brother? The estate has been renovated nicely, right? Let me tell you, I have furnished everything inside. I also bought more than a dozen maids, so when Sister-in-law enters the household later, there will be no shortage of people to serve her..."
Gu Chundong pulled Gu Mo into the manor and took him everywhere to look around.
It had to be said—
Gu Chundong had truly done quite a lot during this time. The original estate had been a cloth workshop, and many of its arrangements had been designed for business rather than residence. But now, no trace of its former appearance remained. It had become a complete residential manor.
The only flaw was that the strength of the guards Gu Chundong had recruited did not quite match Gu Manor's standing. After all, in the home of the Number One Under Heaven, there was not even a single martial artist at the top tier of the martial world.
But on second thought, it was not particularly necessary.
After all, Gu Chundong, with the Devil's Lyre in hand, was qualified to contend with the Great Grandmasters on Gan Country's Heavenly Rankings. Red Clothes and the musician were even more the ceiling of combat power within the Human Realm. Even if the guards were Grandmasters, it seemed meaningless.
Gu Chundong held Gu Mo's hand as they walked around the manor, visibly delighted. She insisted on introducing every stone and every tree to him.
As they walked—
Gu Chundong suddenly said, "Oh, right, Brother. After the New Year, we will probably have to make another trip to the Capital City."
Gu Mo asked doubtfully, "What happened?"
Gu Chundong said, "A few days ago, Emperor Gan sent someone with a letter, inviting us to the Capital City to attend the ceremony. The second day of the second lunar month will be the day the Crown Prince is chosen. A Succession Ceremony will be held in the imperial city!"
Gu Mo nodded slightly.
The last time, after returning from Penglai Island, he had gone to the Imperial Palace to see Emperor Gan. At the time, Emperor Gan had told him that the chosen Crown Prince was the Second Prince, Prince Jin Li Zhongqing. It was only natural for a Succession Ceremony to be held now.
"Arrange the time. We will make the trip."
Gu Mo was not particularly interested in the matter of establishing a Crown Prince, but the timing happened to work out. He had already planned to visit Chang'an City after the New Year.
Because there were two matters in Chang'an City that needed handling.
First, Yu Shier's inheritance still lay beneath the Corpse Cocoon Cave in Ghost City, and Gu Mo needed to retrieve those items. Second was the game Qi Miaoxuan had devised concerning the Poison Bead.
Gu Mo understood the Poison Bead's power very clearly. If it truly exploded in Chang'an City, the terror of its poisonous plague could turn Chang'an City into a Dead City in no more than ten days—perhaps even one to two days.
Although Gu Mo had already informed Ye Jinglan, the Poison Bead was so powerful that Ye Jinglan and the royal family might not be able to suppress it.
It was not that Gan Royal Family was weak, but that the Poison Bead was far too beyond all norms. After all, it had been created by Plague God, one of the Thirteen Taboos, over two hundred years. In theory, it was an existence that stood Above Human Realm.
Chang'an, the imperial city.
Heavy snow drifted down, and the entire city lay vast and gray.
Li Zhongqing, who was about to become Crown Prince, was speaking with Emperor Gan in the Imperial Study. Father and son sat facing each other, while the room was faintly cold.
Emperor Gan handed a memorial to Li Zhongqing and said, "This is news Minister Ye sent back by carrier pigeon. He Xu Ancient City was successfully opened, and they found the wealth left behind by He Xu Kingdom. It will at least support the frontline for another half year of war!"
Li Zhongqing said joyfully, "That is wonderful! Congratulations, Father Emperor. In this war, our Great Gan will surely triumph. You will expand the territory and leave your name in the annals of history!"
Emperor Gan waved his hand. "That is not what I wish to discuss. Minister Ye wrote that there were some twists and turns during the process. The legendary taboos truly appeared—Fire Kirin and Plague God. But the good news is that Great Hero Gu killed both taboos!"
Li Zhongqing's eyes widened, filled with shock.
Emperor Gan continued, "But there is bad news. Plague God left behind a Poison Bead capable of turning Chang'an City into a Dead City, and it is being spread through the martial world by means of Tie Hanshan's inheritance."
Li Zhongqing's heart jolted. "Your son has heard of this matter. About half a year ago, it suddenly stirred up quite a disturbance and conflict in the martial world, all because of the treasure map to the Cold Mountain Treasury. Legend says that the Cold Mountain Treasury possesses martial arts Invincible Under Heaven, wealth whose riches equal a country, and the strongest divine weapon in the world."
Emperor Gan said solemnly, "According to Minister Ye, this is merely Plague God's game to toy with the Human Realm. It wants to drag all of Chang'an City into destruction, creating an unsolved mystery in history. The Poison Bead must be found and the threat eliminated. In addition, the news must be sealed. It absolutely must not leak.
"Now that the Succession Ceremony is imminent, every country has dispatched delegations to attend. Chu Kingdom has come as well, led by Princess Xiao Ziyin. That woman is far from simple. If she learns of the Poison Bead's existence, she will certainly find a way to trigger it. She would do it even if she had to gamble with her life. If the Poison Bead truly erupts in Chang'an City, Gan Country will be finished. Chu Kingdom's unification of the world will be just around the corner!"
Li Zhongqing nodded. "Your son will certainly not let the news leak. But compared with Father Emperor's concern over Xiao Ziyin, your son is more worried about Ye Chen, who came with her."
"Ye Chen? Who is that?" Emperor Gan asked doubtfully.
Li Zhongqing said, "He is a martial artist from Chu Kingdom, with neither office nor title. It is normal that you do not know him. If your son had not been a hostage in Chu Kingdom for ten years, I likely would not have noticed an ordinary martial artist in the Chu Country Delegation either.
"This man is very famous in Chu Kingdom. He can be said to be the most renowned young prodigy in Chu Kingdom's martial world today, unquestionably its foremost prodigy. He was originally utterly ordinary and had no reputation in the martial world. But five years ago, he suddenly emerged out of nowhere and in a short time became Chu Kingdom's most prominent young prodigy."
Emperor Gan asked, "What is so extraordinary about him?"
Li Zhongqing thought for a moment and said, "Simply put, he is bizarre. How bizarre? Put it this way: if others fall from a cliff, they are smashed to pieces, but he encounters a reclusive expert who passes down an ultimate skill—perhaps even pours an entire lifetime of cultivation into him.
"Whenever he encounters a certain-death situation, a way to live inexplicably appears at the final moment. Either an expert comes to his aid, or he breaks through in battle, or he survives a great calamity and gains an opportunity.
"Most importantly, he has always had a personality that does not fight or contend, yet all sorts of good fortune always falls into his lap. It is said that he has never cultivated martial arts for even a single day, yet by the time I returned home, he was already third on Chu Kingdom's Heavenly Rankings. Most bizarre of all, anyone who offends him seems to suffer terrible misfortune in the end, yet when investigated, it never appears to have been his doing."
Emperor Gan was greatly shocked. "He is truly that bizarre?"
Li Zhongqing's expression turned grave. "It is said that he is an Innate Sage born with heavenly phenomena, blessed with boundless fortune!"
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