Azure Emperor

"I misjudged the timing. The Azure Emperor is still growing and hasn't taken human form yet!" Luo Yan sat beside the Immortal Pool. Within the pool stood a Green Cauldron, and atop it grew a Green Lotus, radiating astonishing Dao resonance and tremendous life essence. This was an Immortal Medicine, a treasure that made countless cultivators green with envy, something even Ancient Great Emperors would fight over.

Yet Luo Yan had no intention of trying to seize it.

Quite apart from whether interrupting the Azure Emperor's transformation would get him erased by the rules, the Azure Emperor's origins alone, and his profound karmic ties to that supreme being, were enough to keep Luo Yan from daring.

He could not be thought of, remembered, spoken of, or chanted.

He existed throughout all of history. Time and space meant nothing to him; he spanned past, present, and future.

Luo Yan behaved himself this time. Ever since he had used the Time Mirror to project a wisp of the female emperor's elder brother's consciousness, he had no longer dared to meddle recklessly in Kunlun, terrified of provoking Emperor Zun.

In the blink of an eye, three years passed, then another three.

At last, the immortal Green Lotus atop the Green Cauldron in the Immortal Pool began to stir.

Countless gleams rose and fell. The Immortal Medicine's vitality blazed with dazzling brilliance, and innumerable manifestations of the Dao appeared all around it.

Life essence filled all of Kunlun. Even the White Tiger Immortal Medicine came running out. It watched the scene in shock, itching to try the same, but in the end, fear held it back, leaving it unwilling to accept its lot.

To abandon eternal life and take form as a cultivator was far too difficult a choice.

It did not dare get too close, because Luo Yan was still there, and it sensed the aura of its own origin within him. The White Tiger Immortal Medicine was deeply wary of him.

A figure stepped out of that dazzling radiance. Behind him stood the phantom of a Green Lotus, piercing heaven and earth, cutting across past and present.

"I have awakened within the Green Lotus. In this lifetime, I shall attain the Dao as a Great Emperor. My name is Azure Emperor."

He had awakened within the immortal Green Lotus and held a Green Lotus in his hand. That was his previous life; the azure figure before Luo Yan was his present life.

He had severed his past. The immortal Green Lotus medicine no longer had any connection to him.

Luo Yan gave him a slight nod, then took the Immortal Medicine's shed remains from the Immortal Pool. This was a truly complete Immortal Medicine. Luo Yan had always wanted to obtain one so he could live a second lifetime.

Even if Luo Yan did not take it, these shed remains would soon lose their medicinal potency and eventually decay.

"Greetings, senior!" At this point, the Azure Emperor was merely a cultivator who had just entered the sea of bitterness secret realm and opened his bitter sea.

Although he had remained in a state of severing his former self, he knew that this human cultivator of unfathomable strength had been guarding his path all along, despite his being a demon cultivator born from an immortal Green Lotus.

He had no objection to Luo Yan taking his shed remains. He no longer had any connection to the Immortal Medicine.

Luo Yan said softly, "From this day forward, I will be your Dao guardian. If anyone bullies you with superior strength or uses their seniority to oppress you, I will keep you safe!"

The Azure Emperor was the central figure of this ancient history, a being acknowledged by heaven and earth. Even though he had yet to attain the Dao and unite the myriad Daos through his own strength to reign supreme, the unseen will of heaven and earth would still recognize him as such.

In a sense, becoming the Azure Emperor's Dao guardian meant Luo Yan was following heaven's will. The will of heaven and earth in this era would suppress him far less.

The Azure Emperor was startled, but he still asked suspiciously, "Senior, do you have some purpose in doing this?"

Luo Yan smiled. "Naturally! But rest assured, I won't harm you. I'll need your help in the future. I'm investing in your future self, not who you are now."

The Azure Emperor immediately understood and breathed a sigh of relief.

His roots were extraordinary, and his origins momentous. In his previous life, he had been an Immortal Medicine, born with astonishingly keen senses. Naturally, he could tell that this peerless human expert bore him no ill will.

Luo Yan continued, "The conditions of heaven and earth here are unsuitable for your cultivation. I will erase the traces of your birth here and take you to a new world to cultivate."

The Azure Emperor said, "I leave everything to your judgment, senior."

"My surname is Luo. You may call me Uncle Luo."

Luo Yan suddenly thought of Ye Fan ten thousand years in the future. If he emerged into the world someday and those Ancient Great Emperors all called him Uncle Luo, how stunned would everyone be!

A figure who spanned the entire sweep of history...

Luo Yan felt this was his own mischievous whim, but that did not stop him from putting it into practice. After all, who could refuse a "Great Emperor cultivation plan"?

Luo Yan immediately began erasing the traces here. It was utterly simple for him.

However, when he reached the Green Cauldron, he suddenly stopped. An identical Green Cauldron also existed within his body, brought here from ten thousand years in the future. For special reasons, however, it could not manifest in the world. The two cauldrons could not meet.

Objects from different points in time and space could not appear in the same place.

"Forget it. This object carries tremendous karma. I won't erase its traces."

In the end, Luo Yan did not erase the traces on the Green Cauldron, afraid of provoking Emperor Zun. That man was far too terrifying!

The Azure Emperor had no objection. After all, he had been born atop the Green Cauldron and knew that the object was extraordinary, with mysteries hidden within.

Luo Yan took the Azure Emperor through the starry heavens, far from Earth.

After a long journey, the two finally landed on a place called Demon Star. There were no traces of human habitation here, only demon tribes of various sizes.

The strongest beings were merely three Demon Sages, who had divided the planet into three domains and fought over resources year after year.

Because of the conditions of heaven and earth, compounded by the planet's decline, resources grew increasingly scarce. In recent years, the fighting had been incessant and only grew fiercer.

The two landed on a secluded, low mountain.

"You are a demon cultivator, and this planet is ruled by demons. It's an excellent first stop for you! You aren't strong enough yet. Going to human territory would be throwing your life away."

The Azure Emperor nodded slightly, then walked away without hesitation.

"If any old fossils make a move against you, I'll pay them a visit myself."

Watching the Azure Emperor's departing figure, Luo Yan could not help marveling. As expected of someone destined to attain the Dao as a Great Emperor, he possessed such composure in the face of favor and disgrace from the moment he entered the world.

Luo Yan withdrew his gaze, surveyed the low mountain, and fashioned a comfortable house with his bare hands.

It was still in a modern style: a small, three-story villa.

Seeing this, the lesser demons at the foot of the mountain thought some extraordinary great demon had arrived in this place where normally not even a bird would shit. They trembled uncontrollably.

Luo Yan was not a great demon, but he was more terrifying than one.

Entering the villa, Luo Yan took out the Green Lotus Immortal Medicine. First, he sealed it with a spell, then wrapped it in a layer of divine source to ensure that none of its medicinal potency escaped.

This was a complete Green Lotus Immortal Medicine. Several lotus seeds remained within it, and its roots included a lotus rhizome as thick as an arm.

Luo Yan divided it into three parts.

The immortal Green Lotus's seeds, its rhizome, and its body.

Then he replanted the rhizome inside the Green Cauldron within his body, hoping it would someday take root and sprout again. The rhizome's medicinal potency was weaker than that of the seeds and body, but it retained the immortal Green Lotus medicine's most primal, essential medicinal root. Once it took root and sprouted in the future, it would give rise to another immortal Green Lotus medicine.

The rhizome had been preserved intact, and Luo Yan had sealed its medicinal potency in time. Its eventual regrowth was inevitable.

The lotus body held the essence of the Immortal Medicine. Luo Yan kept it for his own use. If his allotted lifespan neared its end and he could find no suitable solution, he would have no choice but to consume the Immortal Medicine.

The lotus seeds' medicinal potency was much diminished. Though they were part of the immortal Green Lotus medicine, their essence had been absorbed completely by the Azure Emperor while nourishing his transformation.