The Human Emperor's Legacy Emerges

Sorrow, grievance, and anger twisted together within Li Qingjue's heart until they reached their limit.

Her head felt heavy and muddled. She felt as though she had figured everything out.

Perhaps Master had seen how poorly she performed when opening her Sea of Bitterness earlier and had deliberately let her witness this scene to provoke her?

Or perhaps...

"Do you know..."

"Master! Don't say any more..."

Suddenly, she raised her head. Her tears had not yet dried, and her hazy gaze fixed on Tan Lin's deep eyes. Nothing remained in her own eyes but an indescribable emotion.

"You... really don't need to say any more... Nannan understands. I truly understand...

"The first time I felt this way was the day Brother was taken away. Then again yesterday morning, at the inn entrance, and last night...

"So please, truly don't say any more. Nannan understands. You don't want Nannan to become slack because of your presence...

"The path of cultivation is bloody and cruel... Nannan knows... Nannan will cultivate diligently. I'll grow strong enough to be useful to you... Nannan..."

Tan Lin had long since brought Li Qingjue back to the kiln cave, yet she had never stopped talking.

He still had more to say, but it now seemed unnecessary.

In the end.

Seeing the light in his young disciple's eyes, nearly on the verge of collapse, Tan Lin's remnant-soul consciousness stirred faintly.

He remained silent, waiting until her words gradually became slurred and her gaze unfocused. Then he suddenly pointed a finger.

"Sleep well..."

Rumble...

Above the Southern Region, beyond the high heavens, the stars shone brilliantly.

The dark-purple warship rumbled without pause.

The expressions of the eight people aboard, including the young man and his Dao companion, could not have looked any uglier.

There was no other reason.

The formation they used to return to their Ancestral Star and make stellar-domain jumps had malfunctioned!

"Are you certain it can't be repaired?"

the young man asked in a low voice.

"It can be repaired, but restoring it for use will likely take more than three months..."

A cultivator skilled in such matters said with a cupped-fist salute.

"More than three months..."

Killing intent surged in the young man's eyes. At that moment, the vast blood vitality lurking within his body erupted!

Boom...

Strands of Dao laws churned. Behind him, three Divine Forms emerged: a True Phoenix, a Qilin, and the Chaos Divine Bell. They tore the void apart layer by layer.

"Don't let me find out who did this!"

The young man's chest heaved violently.

"Why not borrow the altar formation of the Feathered Immortal Dynasty? We could make a transfer rather than wait three..."

the seductive woman beside him said softly.

But the young man quickly cut her off.

"Heh, borrow their formation?

"How long were we at that inn before this formation failed?

"How could there be such a coincidence in this world? For all we know, the Feathered Immortal Dynasty did this. At the very least, they leaked the news. Other than them, who else knew we would be staying in the Big Dipper..."

As he spoke, the young man's expression grew increasingly cold. Yet in the end, he still gave the order.

"My father's grand banquet cannot be delayed. Come, we'll go to the Central Plains and borrow the Human Emperor Hall."

The Human Emperor's Legacy Emerges

Crackle, crackle...

The bonfire inside the kiln cave burned brightly.

Li Qingjue had slept for a long time. She had dreamed that she woke up and discovered Master was gone.

From then on, she would be all alone again.

Perhaps she had misunderstood Master...

Without Master, she still would not even recognize all her characters. She might even have gone astray on the path of cultivation before long and paid a price for it...

Without Master, she would not even have been able to see Brother's remains one last time.

In her daze, the final thread of thought in her dream abruptly ended there.

Come to think of it, ever since Brother had been taken away, she had not slept so peacefully in a long time.

Outside the dream, Li Qingjue's lashes trembled before she opened her eyes.

She sat up and looked around. Master's remnant-soul phantom was gone, while the Bronze Ring lay quietly atop the worn bundle.

Everything around her was much the same as before she fell asleep. The only difference was a large wooden barrel beside the bonfire, just large enough for her to sit in. Steam rose from it, accompanied by a faint, exotic fragrance.

At the sight, she bit her lip, clutched the hem of her clothes in her little hand, and softly spoke toward the ring with guilt.

"Master, I... I shouldn't have lost my temper with you. I watched Brother's remains get taken away right before my eyes, and I... I..."

She spoke to herself for a long time, but the ring showed no response whatsoever.

Gradually, panic seized her. She fell silent and held the ring in her palms.

She remembered that dawn had just begun to break before she fell asleep, yet it was now deep night outside again. Clearly, she had slept for quite a while.

Whoosh!

Whoosh... whoosh...

At that moment, faint sounds of something cutting through the air came from outside the kiln cave. Streaks of rainbow light flashed into existence and tore across the night sky.

At the same time, cultivators' voices drifted in on the night wind, breaking apart bit by bit.

"The Human Emperor Hall in the Central Plains has stood since the Archaic Era. It isn't in the Outer Domain... If there truly were some legacy or palace here, would the people of the Human Emperor Hall have allowed it to hang over our Eastern Wasteland for so long?"

"Indeed. Something about this feels off..."

Someone sneered.

"Heh, what do you know? Back then, the Human Emperor met his end in the Dao-Proving Tribulation, and the Human Emperor Hall was in turmoil for a long time. They could barely look after themselves. How could they have had the leisure to manage such things?"

"That's true. After the Archaic Era, the Human Emperor Hall only concerned itself with its own little patch of the Central Plains..."

"What do you mean, met his end in the Dao-Proving Tribulation? The records of our Fuyao Sacred Land clearly state that the Human Emperor passed the Dao-Proving Tribulation, only to be hunted down by Restricted-Area Supremes and meet his end!"

"Hahahaha! Then the books in both your sects were probably written by some worthless rabble. You don't even know that the Dao-Proving Tribulation is divided into the Heavenly Tribulation and the Human Tribulation?"

"..."

"Still, I don't understand something. From the Primordial Era until our present age, upheavals have occurred often. Even many lineages that truly produced Ancient Emperors and Great Emperors, and possessed Extreme-Path Heavy Weapons, have perished and vanished into the river of time. Yet the Human Emperor Hall has endured until now?"

"Hiss... That really does seem to be the case?"

"The Human Emperor Hall may possess a great secret..."

"..."

Rumble, rumble...

The commotion in the skies outside the kiln cave grew louder, making Li Qingjue tighten her grip around the ring in her palm as her heart rose into her throat.

Over this period, her impression of cultivators had worsened to the extreme.

Roar!!!

The high heavens shook as a chariot pulled by ancient beasts crushed the void apart.

A divine maiden from the Spring Autumn Pavilion smiled beautifully. Wherever her carriage passed, flower petals filled the sky.

Since news of unknown origin had appeared a day ago that the Human Emperor's Legacy would emerge north of Ancient Yan Kingdom in the Southern Region of Eastern Wasteland, all the forces in Eastern Wasteland had been thrown into an uproar!

The Heavenly Martial Holy Land, the Taixuan Sect that would later become the Taixuan Gate... numerous top-tier lineages came flocking over.

Besides them, quite a few reckless independent cultivators who were already in the Southern Region had also gathered in pursuit of the excitement.

Whoosh...

Those scattered rainbow streaks in the sky, lacking divine beasts or divine radiance as a backdrop, belonged to that sort of people.

"Huh, there's actually a kiln cave in this desolate wilderness? Why not go down and rest for a while before setting out again tomorrow?"

"Set out tomorrow? By the time we get there, we probably won't even get a sip of the broth..."

Several independent cultivators near the abandoned brick kiln rode rainbow light through the air, nearly descending and coming face-to-face with Li Qingjue.

This made the girl's already panicked heart even more uneasy, since that certain "Human Emperor" had remained silent and unresponsive.

Fortunately, the turbulent experiences of the past two days had matured her mind considerably, and she did not do anything foolish for the moment.

"If you don't get into the barrel and soak soon, the medicinal bath will grow cold..."

Suddenly, a faint voice sounded within the lonely kiln cave.

"Master??"

Hearing that voice, Li Qingjue was so overjoyed that she nearly did not know what to do with her hands and feet. But moments later, she lowered her head and apologized to the ring.

"I... I shouldn't have lost my temper with you. I made you angry. I'm sorry..."

"Angry?"

Tan Lin could not help but smile upon hearing that.

In this world, he had lived three lives as a man. How could he possibly take offense at a child?

Earlier, he had merely been immersed in the All-Cause Vision.

The Causal Line between the two of them had thickened and brightened once more. Causal Points were forming faster, and the second Deep Crimson Light Point was no longer merely an empty shell.

He was already considering whether, before long, he should use up a Deep Crimson Light Point to Reforge the Past-Life Dao Fruit, preparing for future Dao Attainment and even ascension to immortality.

After recent exploration, he had discovered that, after its transformation, the Soul Pearl could accumulate Dao Fruits from all his lives. It was no longer like his previous three lives, where after self-dissolution, nothing remained except Past-Era Past-Life Wisdom. But the cost was enormous: a whole Deep Crimson Light Point.

"Emotions are nourishment for cultivation, not an obstacle. You must gradually learn to control yourself and become the master of your emotions..."

Outside, Tan Lin's voice was as cold and clear as ever.

"Why aren't you in the barrel yet? Your Sea of Bitterness should be stirring."

"Yes..."

Li Qingjue ignored the roaring skies outside the cave and obediently climbed into the barrel.

Boom...

The moment her thin body entered the barrel, immense medicinal power rushed into every pore across her body, like countless steel needles piercing her flesh.

Yet she bit down hard on her lower lip and did not cry out.

Tan Lin was not actually satisfied with the few century-old spirit herbs he had picked in the deep mountains last night. But to obtain higher-quality spirit herbs, he would have to venture into some Grotto-Heaven Blessed Lands or even secret realms beyond the world.

Those places were all fraught with danger, far away, or occupied by cultivation forces and turned into medicinal fields.

Even so, the medicinal power in that barrel was already extremely potent for Li Qingjue's current Mortal Body.

"Your path differs from that of others. The hatred and resentment in your heart may well become the sharpest spear for breaking through the barrier of your Sea of Bitterness..."

Seeing her young disciple bite her lip until blood seeped out, Tan Lin remained unmoved as he slowly guided her.

"Now. Focus your mind, gather your qi beneath your navel, and try once more..."