"Forget it! At my current realm, I still lack the strength to glimpse this mirror's mysteries. Perhaps only when I reach a higher realm will I uncover a thing or two." Wan Qing finally abandoned his investigation.
He also suspected something: was there truly a half-dead powerhouse hidden inside this mirror? Could it be Uncle Luo?
After tending to his injuries, Wan Qing went to see the Demon Race's two Saint Kings again and expressed his gratitude.
The two Demon Race Saint Kings smiled at him. "Boy, you must bring glory to our Demon Race! Restore the splendor of the Demon Emperor's era!"
"But you must be careful. The beings in the Forbidden Zone have noticed you! Though that mirror protects you, there's no telling whether it might turn against you someday." The two Saint Kings could not help warning him again.
Wan Qing shook his head and told them where the damaged mirror had come from. An elder had entrusted it to him before dying, saying it could save his life when necessary, so they need not worry.
Upon hearing the damaged mirror's origins, the two Saint Kings sighed. "If that elder were still alive, you wouldn't have endured so much suffering when you first arrived!"
They had heard how this child had fought his way forward step by step, facing one powerhouse after another, experts far stronger than himself, escaping certain death several times and repeatedly hovering on death's doorstep.
Unfortunately, they had been in secluded cultivation then, unaware that such an unparalleled Heavenly Prodigy of the Demon Race was being targeted by his own people.
At the thought, they wanted to drag those Demon Race traitors' corpses out again and hack them into ten thousand pieces!
In all honesty, however, greed had stirred in them too when they first learned of the Azure Emperor's origins. After all, he was an Immortal Medicine that had taken human form. But once they learned of Wan Qing's talent, they extinguished that thought. The Demon Race produced such an unrivaled Heavenly Prodigy only once in tens of thousands of years. How could they let him perish at their hands?
As Saints of the Demon Race, they looked further ahead!
"We heard you intend to take the Human Race Ancient Road? Our Demon Race Ancient Road is also a worthy choice..." At this point, one of the Saint Kings spoke again.
Wan Qing nodded slightly. "I know what you two elders are worried about, but I want to fight my way through the Human Race Ancient Road first! I've heard there are many powerhouses on the Human Race Ancient Road in this era!"
"Child, your ambitions are great, but remember: once you step onto the Human Race Ancient Road, the powerhouses on our Demon Race Ancient Road will no longer be able to protect you. Your identity is too extraordinary! You are the first Immortal Medicine in the world to take human form and become a member of the Demon Race. Once the human powerhouses discover your identity, it will spell utter disaster for you!"
The Demon Race's sole Great Saint arrived and earnestly cautioned him.
Wan Qing was slightly surprised. This Demon Race Great Saint almost never appeared. Had he not emerged this time after hearing of Wan Qing's peril, the Demon Race's powerhouses would have thought him long dead.
"I know your ambitions are lofty and your talent is monstrous. You must want to travel the Human Race Ancient Road to explore that elder's past. But have you considered whether that elder would want to see you put yourself in danger for this?" The Great Saint's words struck his heart like a thunderclap.
That was indeed what he had intended: to retrace the Human Race Ancient Road and inquire into Uncle Luo's past.
Everything about Uncle Luo was far too mysterious to him. Despite his repeated inquiries, he had never uncovered any relevant information.
Uncle Luo must have been immensely powerful. He could roam the stars and easily suppress three Saints, so he was surely formidable. Perhaps he had left glorious legends on the Human Race Ancient Road.
"I understand. Thank you for your guidance, elder!"
In the end, Wan Qing still decided to take the Demon Race Ancient Road.
Another year passed. Wan Qing roamed far and wide, exploring secret realms in every direction, gaining insight into himself amid the mortal world and sensing his own Dao and arts, drawing another step closer to the Saint realm.
In truth, Wan Qing could already have entered the Saint realm long ago, but he continued to temper himself and perfect his cultivation art.
That year, he comprehended the mortal world and created his own cultivation art. Using his companion divine weapon as its model, he developed the "Azure Emperor Art." Cultivated to its ultimate limit, it could shatter all arts beneath heaven!
This cultivation art was intimately linked to the Green Lotus Divine Weapon and could unleash its greatest power, breaking a Saint King's laws from the Half-Saint realm! It was truly terrifying!
During Wan Qing's travels through the mortal world, death loomed around him several times, and he repeatedly fell into danger. Luo Yan intervened in secret, but the Azure Emperor still noticed, suspecting more than once that Uncle Luo was hidden inside the Time Mirror.
Unfortunately, he lacked the strength to probe its depths.
In the blink of an eye, Green Lotus underwent his tribulation, severed his Dao, and became a Saint. Standing in the Saint realm, he could slay Saint Kings above his own level!
His bearing as a Young Great Emperor was once again unmistakable, sending tremors in every direction!
In the fifth year after Wan Qing severed his Dao and became a Saint, the Starry Sky Ancient Road opened, and he set out on the Demon Race Ancient Road!
Several former Heavenly Prodigies of the Demon Race accompanied him, now followers of the Azure Emperor. They would travel with him to the Starry Sky Ancient Road and witness the rise of a Great Emperor.
That year, Wan Qing arrived at Immortal Feather Star in the Eternal Star Domain.
This planet was remarkably different. Rather than ancient methods of cultivation, its inhabitants employed an extremely advanced technological civilization. They possessed mechanized weapons called "battle armor," capable of unleashing the power of Ancient Saints.
Immortal Feather Star's technology could produce a kind of Divine Liquid that purified cultivators' bodies and strengthened their physiques.
Intrigued, Wan Qing stayed for a short while rather than heading straight to the Starry Sky Ancient Road.
He learned that the legendary Great Emperor Wushi had also stayed here briefly, making him even more curious about just how astonishing this body-enhancing Divine Liquid was.
Yet he had never expected to be taught a lesson on his very first venture into the stars, before he even reached the Starry Sky Ancient Road.
Under the pretense of tailoring Divine Liquid specifically for him, Immortal Feather Star's cultivators collected samples of his blood. They had intended to use the bloodline of a powerful Saint to grow a duplicate, only to unexpectedly discover a shocking secret!
Wan Qing's blood rivaled that of a god and could cure every illness!
This discovery drove the entire star domain into a frenzy. Even some old monsters at the Great Saint level could not resist emerging to capture Wan Qing.
Who could have expected Wan Qing to be so powerful that he could escape pursuit by Great Saint-level powerhouses? But the Demon Race Heavenly Prodigies following him were captured; they were not strong enough.
Immortal Feather Star's cultivators did not immediately kill these Demon Race Heavenly Prodigies. Instead, they used them as bait, casting a net across heaven and earth and spreading word through the stars to force Wan Qing to show himself.
Wan Qing had no choice but to appear. Three Great Saints joined forces to suppress him and imprison him in a laboratory on Immortal Feather Star.
That day, after collecting a certain quantity of samples, Immortal Feather Star's cultivators began preparing to draw his blood in large quantities.
[Beginning blood sample collection] [Disabling experimental subject's consciousness. Deep sleep imminent]
A mechanical voice sounded. Wan Qing lay on an experimental bed made of titanium alloy, tubes inserted all over his body, his gaze icy.
[Failed to disable subject's consciousness. Energy is gathering] [Warning! Warning! Warning!] [Experimental subject is about to break free of restraints...]
The people collecting his blood turned pale with fright. Before their very eyes, the figure in green forcibly snapped the chains made of divine iron. Those chains could imprison even Saints!
"Oh no! Notify the ancestor!" The researchers in white coats died on the spot before they could send word.
Wan Qing acted swiftly, smashing through one barrier after another. Those Demon Race Heavenly Prodigies were imprisoned next door. He had deliberately allowed himself to be captured to rescue them.
Before leaving, Wan Qing used Dao Fire to burn the entire experimental base to the ground, leaving no trace.
All the data and samples still in the experimental stage vanished completely.
Luo Yan watched silently, marveling inwardly at how powerful Wan Qing had become. He had already decided that if Wan Qing truly ran into trouble, he would emerge from the Time Mirror and destroy this place!
Now it truly is time for me to leave!
The Azure Emperor, now in the Saint realm, no longer needed his protection.
Luo Yan was filled with emotion. He had watched the Azure Emperor grow up, and in the blink of an eye, the boy was about to catch up to him. How could he not feel moved?
Becoming a Saint in just over two hundred years-what a terrifying cultivation speed. His original self had progressed quickly too, but that had been with the help of the Immortal Artifact, the Time Mirror, and it had ultimately caused problems.
Still, remembering that the Azure Emperor was a reincarnated Immortal King made Luo Yan feel much better.
Whoosh!
Without warning, the Time Mirror broke free from the Azure Emperor's waist, flew into the stars, and disappeared into the center of the universe.
"Young master, your divine mirror has run away!" one demon exclaimed in alarm.
"Do you need us to stop it for you?"
With a complicated look in his eyes, Wan Qing waved his hand. "No. One day, I'll find it again myself."
He was now certain that Uncle Luo truly was not dead.
In the laboratory, he had sensed an aura leaking from the mirror more than once. Several times, its occupant had been about to intervene, only to hold back in the end.
He had fooled Uncle Luo after all!
"Let's go. It's time to enter the Starry Sky Ancient Road."
Before you continue