Chapter 50: The Female Emperor's Heartblood
"This Human Emperor really doesn't act according to common sense!"
"It's impossible to figure out his methods..."
In a single day, the Human Emperor had returned and reignited the war.
At that very instant, ancient gazes from several other Life Forbidden Zones, such as the Divine Ruins and Immortal Mausoleum, pierced through the void and turned one after another toward Undying Mountain.
They covertly watched the figure cutting away the black mountain from afar, their divine senses carrying a trace of barely perceptible apprehension.
The Human Emperor's actions, along with his peculiar state, were an extremely unstable Variable to any self-severed Supreme Being.
The barefoot feared no one wearing shoes.
No one wanted to provoke such an existence at a time like this.
Several breaths passed. Although the commotion of cutting away Undying Mountain's peak had subsided, they could tell that the Human Emperor had merely left Undying Mountain; he had not truly vanished.
Perhaps in the very next moment, he would arrive at the Restricted Area where they resided?
If they truly emerged and fought this man, even victory would cost them dearly.
And if they lost, the cost would be even greater...
Central Region of Eastern Wasteland, Fire Demon Ridge.
This was a terrifying mountain secret realm perpetually ablaze with undying Southern Bright Fire.
Within the secret realm, lava stretched like a sea, yet it could not submerge the strange mountain range formed from flames.
At this moment, deep within the mountain range's core, a Great Accomplished Fire-element Saint Spirit with blood-red scales and crystalline jade horns awoke from his long slumber.
His dwelling was only a little over a hundred thousand li from the Undying Mountain Restricted Area. To experts of the Saint Realm and above, such a distance was merely a few steps away.
"Is this Human Emperor really going to keep this up? He actually dares to pluck the Stone Emperor's tiger whiskers..."
The Fire Demon Saint Spirit, shaped like a fire qilin, suddenly spoke. His deep, booming voice reverberated through the secret realm.
The instant his voice rang out, the Southern Bright Fire swirling around him surged. Lava throughout the mountain range erupted tens of thousands of feet into the air, scorching even the void connecting the secret realm to the outside world until it warped.
This place was so close to Undying Mountain. Just as the Supreme Beings within the Restricted Area had repeatedly been shaken awake, he too had been indirectly and frequently disturbed.
Recently, he had been nourishing the artifact born alongside him with his own Dao resonance. He had been on the verge of success, only to be interrupted time and again, so naturally he was displeased.
Yet constrained by the Human Emperor's might, no matter how unhappy he was, he could only swallow it and endure meekly.
But times would change. Once that man passed away, he might well strike with full force!
"Zhen Yan..."
As his thoughts turned, he suddenly called out a name.
Whoosh!
The next instant, a mass of humanoid divine flame burst from the surrounding lava and respectfully knelt before him.
"Your subordinate is here!"
He too was a Fire-element Saint Spirit, though his cultivation was far inferior to that of his master, Fire Demon. Still, while he was only a Saint King, the Saint Spirit Race had always been invincible among those of the same realm. In the outside world, he would still be an existence capable of founding a sect and becoming an ancestor.
"This artifact is bound to me as though born from the same womb. Yet the resentment in my heart cannot be cleared this time, leaving my Dao Artifact unable to be nourished and instead tainted..."
Fire Demon's molten-gold eyes seemed to pierce through the secret realm and gaze directly upon the outside world, filled with deep gloom.
"The Dao Artifact still requires nourishment, and I cannot spare the time. After today, go out and seize some Human Race blood food for me. Once the Dao Artifact is washed with Human Race heartblood, it should be refined in one stroke!"
"Yes!"
The Saint Spirit Zhen Yan accepted the order.
However, at that very moment.
As his master Fire Demon swept his gaze across the outside world, he inadvertently noticed a woman of extraordinarily rich Soul Resonance. She had passed through the boundary wall into the Central Region and arrived not far from Fire Demon Ridge.
Her black hair flowed like a waterfall, held by a wooden hairpin. Her black dress fluttered around her graceful, ethereal form. Even with her face concealed behind a Bronze Mask, she still possessed peerless elegance.
Though she had only just entered the Immortal Platform Secret Realm, an intangible divine bearing capable of stirring the Myriad Daos faintly surrounded her!
"With the great age about to begin, why does the Human Race have so many stunning figures..."
Fire Demon narrowed his eyes.
"This woman is no ordinary person. If I can obtain her heartblood, or even her Origin, to nourish this artifact of mine, it would be the icing on the cake. Lock onto her aura. Tomorrow, seize her and bring her here. It will also count as eliminating a future danger to our Saint Spirit Race ahead of time..."
Only subordinates and lackeys could handle such matters. An existence like him found it inconvenient and could not act as he pleased.
This was essentially an unspoken understanding among the races. It was easy for the strong to crush the weak and snuff out the geniuses of other races, but once that precedent was set, other existences could do the same. Thus, no one chose to do so.
Whoosh...
At the same time.
Northern Region of Eastern Wasteland, crimson mist filled the air as Tan Lin walked through the void, as though leisurely touring Big Dipper's magnificent rivers and mountains without end.
He had traveled from Undying Mountain in the Central Region at an unhurried pace. At times, he stood still atop the clouds, taking in the changes to Big Dipper's landscapes and customs over the past million years, as well as the countless facets of life in the present age.
Then, he silently calculated how much longer he could remain in this world.
After cutting away three peaks of Undying Mountain, he had not chosen to return directly to that hidden place, because it too was located in the Central Region.
Though he was confident that without the standing of a Red Dust Immortal, let alone an Immortal King giant, no one could see through the heavenly secrets hidden by his crimson state.
Still, that hidden place was where he would activate the All-Causes Soul Pearl to begin his next Lifetime, as well as where he stored his treasures. Being more cautious was never a bad thing.
Thus, he stopped in many places, using a more tangible and concrete method to muddle the heavenly secrets.
Besides, he truly wanted to empty his mind. He had slept for a million years, then upon awakening exhausted himself retrieving fragments of his true soul, plotting against Restricted-Area Supremes, and placing pieces everywhere in preparation.
Now that his time had entered its countdown and he could begin his next Lifetime at any time, ushering in a new life, he wanted to use this opportunity to clear his thoughts.
"Ride the righteousness of Heaven and Earth... command the changes of the six breaths... and roam the boundless..."
Tan Lin stood atop the clouds with his hands behind his back. For no reason at all, he suddenly recited this ancient passage.
He slowly savored the passage's artistic conception, feeling a little regretful.
In his current state, even if he gained enlightenment, he could not further improve his cultivation. He could only preserve those insights within the Soul Pearl's memories and the Soul Resonance of his reincarnated Past-Life Wisdom, leaving their legacy to his next Lifetime.
In truth, he had not expected that, with this life as the Human Emperor nearing its complete end, he could still gain enlightenment.
In fact, he knew his own talent very well.
Without a supreme treasure like the All-Causes Soul Pearl, which allowed his Soul Resonance and Past-Life Wisdom to accumulate with every reincarnation, did he think he could attain the Dao?
There were so many gifted talents in this world. Would it ever have been his turn?
After arriving in this world, even with the Past-Life Wisdom and Soul Resonance accumulated in his first life, he had only cultivated to the Immortal Third Realm before he could progress no further.
From this, one could see how rare someone like the Female Emperor was—someone of such unrivaled talent, peerless throughout all ages.
One in hundreds of millions. How many eras, perhaps even how many epochs, would it take for such a woman to appear?
"Why has that little girl gone to the Central Region?"
Emerging from his state of enlightenment, Tan Lin checked the Anchor Points at the ends of several conspicuous Causal Lines and slightly raised his brow.
Chapter 51: One Must Respect One's Master
"Fire Demon Ridge? So that's what it is..."
Tan Lin smiled faintly.
Under the [Inverted All-Causes Vision], the karmic bond between the future Female Emperor and him was exceptionally deep due to their relationship as master and disciple.
Her experiences outside and interactions with others would create some indirect karmic feedback to him.
For this reason, he could adjust his view and observe certain Causal Branch Lines extending outward with Li Qingjue as their center along her Main Line.
Naturally, some of these Branch Lines were mixed, some tinged with black, while only a very few were pure crimson.
For instance, he now noticed a mixed, black-tinged fine line slowly sprouting from the Causal Main Line where she was.
The fine line was on the verge of breaking and had not fully formed. It could vanish or snap at any moment. This meant that the Anchor Point at the other end of the line had yet to form a fully established karmic connection with Li Qingjue; there was still room to change matters.
He had only a shallow impression of the Great Accomplished Saint Spirit of Fire Demon Ridge, whom he had never met in the future.
Even in the original course of events, he had only been mentioned in a few brief sentences.
Whoosh!
After pondering briefly, Tan Lin casually flicked his hand, sending three streams of Clear Radiance flying toward the Central Region. From afar, they merged into the void around Li Qingjue's aura.
The woman in black noticed nothing at all.
At this moment, she stood gracefully atop a hill outside Fire Demon Ridge, staring toward Undying Mountain. A sense of loss filled the heart of the vicious dragon.
When news came that her master had "charged into" Undying Mountain, she had only just entered the Immortal Platform Secret Realm. Before she could stabilize her cultivation, she transformed into a rainbow and flew from the Southern Region to the Central Region, hoping she might see her master one last time from afar.
Yet she had never expected that in the span of merely a dozen breaths, before she had even crossed the Central Region's boundary wall, her master had disappeared once more.
"If only I had a formation platform like the Profound Jade Platform, capable of traversing the void..."
As the cold wind howled across the hill, Li Qingjue murmured softly.
She was somewhat despondent.
Another person most important to her was about to pass away!
Today, in the Southern Region, she had heard other cultivators say more than once that the Human Emperor had returned in this state only after sacrificing every trace of the Dao he had once left behind in this world.
Like an epiphyllum blooming for a single moment, he could not last.
So after her master passed away this time, could he return again?
This question circled endlessly in her heart, leaving her restless all day.
Yet before leaving, her master had never given her a direct answer.
"Master, you..."
Beneath the Bronze Mask, her peerlessly beautiful face, capable of anger or joy with equal grace, was filled with melancholy.
As she spoke to herself, she lightly bit her lower lip. In the end, she uttered only those three words, for she felt that anything further would carry a hint of resentment.
She had to respect her master and honor the Dao.
Resentment toward one's master was disrespectful. That was unacceptable.
She could not control others, but at the very least, she could not permit herself to be like that, not even a little...
More than ten years had passed. The disciple who had once been a little girl had grown into a graceful young maiden. Naturally, Tan Lin had no way of knowing the journey of her heart at this moment.
He lingered in the clouds where he was for a moment.
The three streams of Clear Radiance he had sent forth could help her break through three deadly tribulations.
Beyond that, he took no further action.
Everyone had their own path to walk. Too much interference would only be counterproductive.
"Let us watch and see..."
He sighed softly.
At its root, it was because he, this Variable, had caused Li Qingjue to inadvertently enter the sight of the Great Accomplished Saint Spirit of Fire Demon Ridge too early, thereby creating an intangible connection.
The cause of this killing tribulation had arisen because of him. There was no reason for the consequences to be borne entirely by his disciple, which was why he had given her those three streams of Clear Radiance.
Whoosh...
Soon, Tan Lin stopped paying attention to the Central Region.
His thoughts returned to himself as he continued to ride the six breaths of Heaven and Earth, roaming the vast skies and lands.
Above the clouds, he moved with the wind. Wherever the wind blew, his figure followed.
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