The Emperor Finger's Inscription Shook the Ages
Beneath the black velvet cushion, the ancient divine script carved with purple-gold imperial blood radiated a dazzling light from the bottom of the box.
Each word contained an overbearing will that could cleave the chaos of heaven and earth, and even across the vast expanse of time, it still caused the array light screen in the entire private room to distort violently.
Chen Changqing was circulating the "Invincible Immortal Ascension Technique" within his body. The aura of the same origin resonated with that line of ancient divine script, and the information between the lines was directly reflected into his Sea of Consciousness.
"Beneath the Senluo Deathland not the corpse of Ghost King, but a fragment of an immortal Foreign Races's body that I severed from the Upper Realm years ago!"
"I used the nine Heaven-Stepping Tokens as the array's core, and with the help of the Dark Moon Imperial Mausoleum's dragon vein, I firmly suppressed it in the deepest part of the Nine Netherworlds."
"Future inheritors must remember: never allow any villain to initiate the blood sacrifice to remove the Token. Once the demonic body is revived, the Nine Netherworlds will be overthrown, and the mortal realm will become a living hell!"
Chen Changqing looked at the words and tapped the edge of the peach wood box twice with his fingers.
The Nangong Aristocratic Clan and those fools from the Netherworld Palace still thought that there was some Ghost King's remains buried under the Senluo Deathland that would allow them to dominate the Nine Netherworlds, so they rushed to collect Tokens to prepare for the Ten Thousand Ghosts Worshipping Heaven Grand Sacrifice.
If they were to actually push Xiaoqian into the Blood Pool Altar and drain her life force, what would be released wouldn't be a fortuitous opportunity at all, but rather a Foreign Races Old Devil from the Upper Realm capable of devouring all living beings in the Nine Netherworlds, leaving not even bones behind.
Just then, the system notification sounded in my mind again.
[Ding! Detected the severed finger and fresh blood of the Heaven-Stepping Immortal Emperor, which are highly compatible with the host's main cultivation Cultivation Method, "Primordial Nine-Turn Body Refining Art" and "Invincible Immortal Ascension Technique"!]
[Consume 100,000,000 AFK Points to activate 100x acceleration for forced fusion and refining?]
Chen Changqing glanced at the 140 million AFK AFK Points balance on the system panel and didn't hesitate for a moment.
"Merge!"
Boom!
One hundred million AFK Points were deducted instantly, and the account balance dropped to forty million.
At the same time, the ancient seal script of the "Violence Formula" deep within Chen Changqing's Sea of Consciousness and the seventh transformation of the "Primordial Nine-Turn Body Refining Art" were simultaneously operating to their maximum potential.
He stretched out his right hand and pressed his index finger directly onto the withered and blackened severed finger inside the peach wood box!
Buzz--!
The purple-gold Immortal Emperor's Essence Blood, which had been pulsating for countless millennia, boiled and exploded the moment it touched Chen Changqing's fingertips!
Transforming into a roaring purple-gold dragon, it forcefully burrowed into the depths of Chen Changqing's meridians and bones, following the tip of his right index finger!
Click! Click!
Chen Changqing felt as if the bones in his entire right arm shattered inch by inch at that moment, and then, under the almost unreasonable power of creation of the AFK System, they were frantically reassembled at a hundred times the speed!
The physical barrier that was originally at the peak of the Sixth Turn of the "Nine Revolutions of Quasi-Immortal Artifact Primordial Nine-Turn Body Refining Art" and comparable to a quasi-immortal artifact was blasted to pieces on the spot under the impact of this true Great Emperor's essence Essence Blood!
Endless purple-gold Blood Qi burst forth from every pore of Chen Changqing, weaving into a blazing furnace inside the private room.
His internal organs, limbs, and even every inch of his fascia are undergoing a dramatic transformation, akin to being reborn!
The severed finger of the Immortal Emperor inside the wooden box, under the catalysis of the system's fusion power, transformed into the purest primordial divine bone, gradually merging into the joint of Chen Changqing's right index finger!
Zhong Cheng, who was guarding the door of the private room, heard the sound of bones popping inside and turned around to look.
Chen Changqing was enveloped in a dense purple-gold divine light, and the pressure emanating from his physical body Qi and Blood made this Heavenly Monarch, who possessed the Zhong Kui Divine Physique, churn with Qi and Blood and qi, his heart pounding wildly. He was so frightened that he quickly turned away and dared not look any longer.
Ten breaths later.
The purple-gold glow that filled the private room completely subsided and shrank back into Chen Changqing's body.
Chen Changqing slowly opened his eyes and raised his right hand.
At this moment, his entire physical body had completely crossed the threshold of the Sixth Turn and officially entered the seventh revolution of the "Primordial Nine-Turn Body Refining Art"!
The strength of this indestructible body alone is comparable to that of a true Low-grade Immortal Artifact!
The most striking change was in his right index finger.
The entire surface of the index finger was covered with a warm and restrained purple jade luster, and a complex and obscure Primordial Emperor Patterns was imprinted deep in the bone. With every move, the Principle the Great Emperor resonated.
The Heaven-Stepping Emperor Finger!
Chen Changqing gently bent his right index finger.
Laugh!
Without warning, the space in front of my fingertips collapsed, creating a dark hole the size of a fist that took a long time to heal.
At the very moment Chen Changqing finished refining the Emperor Finger and stood up.
Rumble--!
Above the outer Firmament of Tianyuan Giant City, the once clear night sky was suddenly completely obscured by rolling, churning Nine Netherworlds Clouds!
A terrifying pressure, far surpassing that of Three-Tribulation Ghost Immortal and so heavy that it made the entire Obsidian megacity creak, crashed down from the heavens!
The City-Protecting Formation above the city couldn't even withstand half a breath under the impact of this pressure. Thousands of cracks appeared on the surface of the light barrier, and then it shattered into a rain of light with a loud bang!
"The City-Protecting Formation of Tianyuan City has shattered?!"
"Look at the sky! Those are four halos of life-and-death Heavenly Tribulations! They belong to the Four-Tribulation Ghost Immortal Ancestor of the Nangong Aristocratic Clan!"
Thousands of Ghost Cultivators on the street looked up in terror. Many Cultivators with low cultivation levels were forced to prostrate on the ground by the vast pressure of the Tribulation Immortal, unable to even lift their heads.
A thousand feet above the city gate, an old man dressed in a purple-gold Bagua robe, with white hair and beard, and surrounded by four solid black-gold Tribulation Rings, stood with his hands behind his back, stepping into the air.
Nangong Lie, the Supreme Elder of the Nangong Aristocratic Clan, Four-Tribulation Ghost Immortal Nangong Lie!
On either side of Nangong Lie stood three old monsters dressed in black skull robes.
The aura emanating from those three individuals was equally profound, and behind each of them floated three Life-and-Death Tribulation rings. They were none other than the Three-Tribulation Ghost Immortal elders stationed in the southern part of the Central Domain by the Netherworld Palace!
One Four-Tribulation Ghost Immortal, and Three-Tribulation Ghost Immortals!
In addition, on the city gate square below, thousands of elite experts from the Nangong Aristocratic Clan and the Netherworld Palace formed a sealing formation, completely surrounding the entire Tianyuan Giant City.
"Listen up, manager of Great Thousand Auction House!"
High in the sky, Nangong Lie spoke, his aged voice mixed with rolling Heavenly Thunder Sword, causing the entire city's buildings to tremble and tiles to fall down with a crash.
"I, Nangong Lie, have come here today with three fellow Daoists from the Netherworld Palace, not for any other reason than to capture Chen Changqing, the wicked Yang Realm who killed my Nangong Family's Grand Elder and Third Elder!"
"You have ten breaths. Immediately open the auction house's restrictions, tie that little beast up, and bring him out of the city gate to be dealt with by me!"
"If no one appears in ten breaths, I will join forces with the Netherworld Palace to raze your Tianyuan branch to the ground, leaving no one alive!"
The domineering shout echoed endlessly above the Tianyuan Giant City.
Inside the auction house hall, thousands of Cultivators from various races who hadn't yet left were in chaos, screaming and rushing towards the door, fearing they would be caught in the wrath of the Four-Tribulation Ghost Immortal.
"It's all over! Nangong Lie has personally come out of seclusion!"
"That's Four-Tribulation Ghost Immortal's lived for forty thousand years, and he brought three Three Tribulations Elders from the Netherworld Palace with him. This lineup would be more than enough to wipe out a first-rate sect!"
"That Yang Realm brat in Box Number One was so cocky when he threw two hundred million Ghost Coins at people. Now look what happened, he's attracted the real old monster. Even if he grew ten pairs of wings, he won't be able to escape Tianyuan City now!"
Hearing the rumbling thunder outside, Zhong Cheng's face instantly turned deathly pale, and the nicked Heavy Sword in his hand trembled uncontrollably.
Those were Four-Tribulation Ghost Immortals plus three Three-Tribulation Ghost Immortals!
Such extraordinary figures are usually enshrined in the deepest part of the ancestral hall in the Zhong family's ancestral home, living ancestors who are detached from worldly affairs.
Now, four of them have arrived at once, blocking the door and trying to kill Chen Changqing!
Just as Zhong Cheng was sweating profusely with anxiety, a series of urgent knocks suddenly came from outside the isolation barrier of VIP room number one.
Chen Changqing waved his hand and removed the restriction.
The Great Thousand Auction House, Three-Tribulation Ghost Immortal, rushed in, his forehead covered in cold sweat, and slammed the door of the private room shut.
The head manager had long lost his previous composure. He glanced at the sky outside, lowered his voice, and spoke urgently to Chen Changqing.
"Distinguished guest, the situation is urgent, so I will get straight to the point!"
"That old madman Nangong Lie personally led Three Tribulations Elders from the Nangong Lie Netherworld Palace to block the city gate. Although I am also a Three Tribulations cultivator, I can't fight against so many opponents. The Great Thousand Auction House Tianyuan City simply can't stop them!"
At this point, the head manager gritted his teeth and slammed his hand against the wall on the left side of the private room.
With a soft click, the entire purple-gold wall slid open to both sides, revealing a dark underground passageway behind it, emanating ancient spatial fluctuations.
"Your esteemed guest holds the Supreme Token of our Nine Provinces Headquarters. I would never dare to betray the Headquarters and hand you over!"
The head manager pointed to the dark passageway, forcing a fawning smile onto his face.
"This top-secret passage was a backup plan left over when the auction house was built. It leads directly to an abandoned Ancient Teleportation Array thousands of miles outside the city. Even the Nangong Family doesn't know it exists!"
"I will hold off Nangong Lie for ten breaths. Distinguished guest, please take this Zhong Family and evacuate through the secret passage. If you return to the Nine Provinces Headquarters in the Yang Realm, I hope you will put in a good word for me with the Headmaster!"
The head manager was very shrewd.
On the one hand, they could avoid offending the Nangong Family and the Netherworld Palace, and on the other hand, they could take the opportunity to do a huge favor for this mysterious young man who possessed the Supreme Token, which would be a great achievement if he were transferred back to the Yang Realm headquarters in the future.
Zhong Cheng, who was standing nearby, saw this secret passage that could save lives and his eyes lit up. He grabbed Chen Changqing's arm.
"Brother Chen, the head manager is right! A wise man doesn't fight a losing battle. There's a fourth-level ancestor and three third-level monsters outside. Let's hurry and take the secret passage. Once we're in our Zhong family's ancestral land, Nangong Lie will never dare to force his way in!"
However, Chen Changqing stood still, without moving an inch.
He glanced at the dark underground passage, raised his right foot, and gently stomped it down on the teleportation array base at the entrance of the passage.
Boom!
The terrifying physical power of the seventh stage of the "Primordial Nine-Turn Body Refining Art" erupted from the sole of his foot, causing the entire hidden passage built of ten-thousand-year-old Obsidian to collapse completely from the inside under this one stomp. Countless boulders rolled down, completely blocking the secret passage!
The head manager and Zhong Cheng were both stunned, their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.
"Honored guest, what are you doing?!"
The head manager's voice cracked as he pointed at the collapsed secret passage, his face filled with disbelief.
"Chen always acts through the main entrance; he has no habit of resorting to underhanded tactics."
Chen Changqing dusted off his shoes, strode past the pale-faced manager, and pushed open the main door to the private room.
"As for those four old dogs outside, since they've willingly offered themselves up to give Chen some AFK Points, there's no reason to turn them away."
As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Changqing stepped over the railing of the private box and gracefully descended from the dozens of feet high stands.
As he passed by the destroyed No. 2 private room, Chen Changqing grabbed the broken blood Jade Slip containing Xiaoqian's original aura from the ground with his five fingers, stuffed it into his pocket, and then strode towards the auction house's door.
"He's insane! He's a complete madman!"
The head manager stood in front of the collapsed secret passage, wiped the cold sweat from his face, gritted his teeth, and followed them out.
Zhong Cheng gave a wry smile, touched the bottle of pills Chen Changqing had given him earlier, steeled his resolve, picked up his Heavy Sword, and jogged after him.
At this moment, outside the main entrance of the Great Thousand Auction House, the rooftops on both sides of the long street were filled with Cultivators from various races watching the spectacle.
Everyone held their breath, staring at the tightly closed purple-gold gate, waiting to see Great Thousand Auction House bow its head and hand over the person.
Just as the ten-breath time limit was about to expire.
Squeak--!
The towering, ten-zhang-high purple-gold gate slowly opened from the inside.
Instead of the expected prisoners bound hand and foot, there was only a tall, slender figure in a white robe, hands behind his back, who swaggered across the threshold with unhurried steps and walked alone to the center of the empty Obsidian street!
Thousands of eyes instantly focused on the white-robed figure, and a collective gasp rippled through the crowd.
"He's out! He didn't run away, he just walked out himself?!"
"He hasn't even summoned a protective Immortal Artifact, yet he dares to be so arrogant in front of a fourth-tribulation ancestor. Does this kid want to die even faster?!"
High above the city gate, the Four-Tribulation Ghost Immortal Nangong Lie saw that Chen Changqing actually dared to show himself, and his aged face was filled with murderous intent.
"How dare you! You killed my eldest brother and third brother! Today I will tear your souls apart and burn them like a sky lantern for ten thousand years!"
Just as Nangong Lie Netherworld Palace Three-Tribulation Ghost Immortal elder standing to his left stepped forward first, letting out a sinister laugh.
"Fellow Daoist Nangong, why dirty your hands? This brat just injured my young master's soul at the auction house. I'll just rip his head off and use it as a chamber pot for our young master!"
This Three Tribulations Netherworld Palace Elder, known as the Ghost-Weeping Elder, wanted to curry favor with Nangong Lie and, more importantly, to monopolize the treasures on Chen Changqing's body. Before he finished speaking, he transformed into a hundred-foot-long black rainbow and swooped down!
"You little beast, die!"
With a flick of his sleeve, the Ghost-Weeping Elder unleashed the Nine Netherworlds Soul-Destroying Bell, a supreme Ghost Artifact forged entirely from the bones of ten thousand years of vengeful spirits and imbued with the Principle of the Three Tribulations. It swelled to a hundred feet in size amidst the wind, carrying terrifying sonic waves that could shatter mountains and the pressure of the Principle, and descended upon Chen Changqing in the center of the long street!