"At least until the Devouring Heaven Demon Lid is exposed, I probably won't clash with Duan De. No need to worry for now!"
Qin Tian inscribed the Supreme Formation he had learned around him, cutting off all contact with the outside world.
Once everything was done, Qin Tian finally had time to take out the Devouring Heaven Demon Lid and examine it closely.
The lid was small and floated in the air on its own, surrounded by dense black radiance that would not disperse.
On the face that seemed neither crying nor smiling were several indelible drops of blood, like tear tracks. They radiated such terrifying killing intent that Qin Tian dared not touch them.
Qin Tian grinned, baring his teeth, unable to stop smiling. He was delighted beyond measure.
He carefully studied this half of an Extreme Dao Emperor Artifact, staring straight at the ghost-face mark upon it, which seemed neither crying nor smiling. Its mood seemed to seep into him, turning his excitement into melancholy. His own face took on the same expression, neither smiling nor crying.
Qin Tian shook his head, shaking off the negative emotions, and said warily, "This weapon is a little uncanny!"
Still, the joy of obtaining half an Extreme Dao Emperor Weapon made Qin Tian overlook this minor flaw.
"Thank you for the Extreme Dao Emperor Weapon, Master!"
There was a little more genuine sincerity in Qin Tian's words.
Of course, Duan De was probably cursing up a storm by now.
The Devouring Heaven Demon Jar was one of the most powerful Heavenly Emperor Weapons in existence.
In terms of its mysteries, it could even be called the greatest, simply because it was so unique. Forged from an Emperor Corpse, it was effectively half of the Ruthless Great Emperor herself.
It even contained fragments of her Primordial Spirit, giving it immeasurable power. Legend had it that driving this artifact to its utmost could awaken Ruthless's Primordial Spirit within the jar.
Once it reunited with the other half of the Devouring Heaven Demon Jar and fully awakened, it could absolutely unleash combat power on the level of alternative Dao attainment.
"I'll leave my imprint first, so it doesn't end up like Duan De's-stolen, with no way to get it back."
Qin Tian cut his hand, letting blood spill onto the lid. His divine sense and divine power were wrapped within the blood as well, falling upon the Devouring Heaven Demon Jar.
"Drip, drip, drip!"
The blood vanished without a trace soon after landing on the lid, but Qin Tian knew this was only how it appeared on the surface. His three treasures of essence, qi, and spirit were gradually permeating the Devouring Heaven Demon Lid, trying to leave his imprint on this Extreme Dao Emperor Weapon.
Thousands upon thousands of strands of black radiance descended from the Devouring Heaven Demon Jar's lid, as dense as a curtain of rain.
Qin Tian inscribed his essence, qi, and spirit within the Demon Jar, using the Blood Sacrifice Method to leave his own imprint.
Little by little, the Devouring Heaven Demon Lid began to rotate, no longer rejecting Qin Tian's blood. Patterns interwove and spread across the lid, gradually becoming imprinted upon this half of an Extreme Dao Emperor Weapon.
The Devouring Heaven Demon Lid shuddered, as though breathing in and out the stars of the universe. It was unfathomably deep, as though it had become a black hole that devoured the sun, moon, and stars in their entirety.
Supreme pressure emanated from the Devouring Heaven Demon Jar, making one feel compelled to kneel in worship.
In the end, a peculiar aura suffused the area, and a hazy female figure faintly appeared. Her divine might overshadowed the world; a single step could collapse everything around her. Qin Tian's body trembled.
"The Ruthless Great Emperor? Or the Emperor Weapon Spirit?!" Qin Tian shook all over, his face drained of color in alarm.
The name "Ruthless Great Emperor" carried far too much weight, enough to crush the azure heavens and strike terror into the world.
It was she who, with a constitution inferior even to an ordinary mortal's, had defied heaven to attain the Dao, created the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Art, and reduced an entire golden age to nothing.
It was she who had shattered the Central Province Ancestral Dragon Vein with a single slap, smashed an Extreme Dao Emperor Weapon, and annihilated a supreme imperial dynasty.
It was she who had leveled the Heaven-Cutting Mountains with a single sword strike, slain the Imperial Dao Fire Spirit, and reduced the Saint Spirit Ancestral Land to ruins.
It was she who had entered the Undying Mountain and sat beneath the Enlightenment Tea tree, while the Ancient Emperor dared not speak and met her only with silence.
It was she who had torn through the Kunlun Emperor Formation alone, grievously wounded the Kunlun Divine Spirit, shattered the Immortal Ascension Cauldron with a single palm strike, and severed the Feathering Holy Land's dream of ascending to immortality. She had slain ten thousand Ancestral Dragon Heads with her finger, stood transcendent above the world, and drifted away, ignoring the Ginseng Fruit Tree's wish to follow her.
It was also she who had attained the Dao through an overwhelming obsession, living lifetime after lifetime in the mortal world-not to become an immortal, but only to wait for his return amid the mortal dust.
"Right, she isn't Ruthless. The real Ruthless is holed up at home in the Desolate Forbidden Zone." Qin Tian breathed a sigh of relief. His back was already soaked with sweat; that aura had been far too terrifying.
Especially since he had wrapped his spirit in his essence blood to refine the Emperor Weapon, it had felt as though he were personally facing that supreme empress's boundless imperial might-glorious, vast, and unrivaled.
After a long while, Qin Tian calmed down. He let out a long breath and wiped away his cold sweat. "The Ruthless Great Emperor's presence really is terrifying. I almost thought I was going to die."
"But I finally succeeded."
Having barely managed to inscribe an imprint upon the Devouring Heaven Demon Lid, Qin Tian was deathly pale and nearly collapsed to the ground.
Qin Tian closed his eyes to sense it. An exceedingly faint connection had formed between him and the Devouring Heaven Demon Jar.
He truly feared that the Devouring Heaven Demon Jar could sever it with the slightest effort.
Fortunately, the Devouring Heaven Demon Lid had not rejected this imprint. It was probably absorbing the Dao laws contained in the heavenly venerable essence blood it had just obtained.
Emperor Weapons could evolve too. If they bathed in enough emperor blood, they could evolve into Immortal Artifacts.
The blood of a Supreme who was likewise walking the path of a Mortal World Immortal was a tremendous tonic even for the Devouring Heaven Demon Jar.
Thus, it had no intention of rejecting Qin Tian's attempt to form a pact.
After all, from the Devouring Heaven Demon Lid's perspective, someone had come to form a pact and leave an imprint just after it received heavenly venerable essence blood.
It instinctively assumed that Duan De and Qin Tian were together. Since they had offered heavenly venerable essence blood, there was nothing wrong with letting him wield it for a while.
"When I think of it that way, I really do have to thank that great teacher of mine." Qin Tian smiled brilliantly.
"I'll make do with it for now and refine it again once my cultivation is higher." Qin Tian sighed.
With his current cultivation, he would need a year or two to leave a deep imprint while refining this ancient Devouring Heaven Demon Jar's lid. The gain would not justify the cost.
He would be better off waiting until his cultivation was sufficiently advanced before refining it again. The process would be much faster then.
As for his current predicament, Qin Tian already had a plan. He had no need for the Devouring Heaven Demon Jar just yet.
"I'll stay in the Fire Domain and leave only after Duan De is gone."
"The darkest place is beneath the lamp. It may be an old trick, but it works!" Qin Tian said with a slight smile.
"I doubt even Duan De would imagine that, after stealing the Devouring Heaven Demon Lid, I'd still dare to refine it in the Fire Domain."
Qin Tian pondered for a moment, then said, "Hmm, I'll spend this time sorting through the knowledge I gained from Ji Haiyue."
A Great Power's discourse explaining the cultivation methods of the Sea of Bitterness Secret Realm was far clearer than his original master's teachings. Qin Tian placed great value on this discourse.
People like Ye Fan, who had only heard Wu Qingfeng explain the mysteries of the Sea of Bitterness before going on to attain the Dao and become a supreme Heavenly Emperor, were ultimately few and far between. It was as outrageous as learning that one plus one equaled two in kindergarten, then immediately cobbling together controlled nuclear fusion.
Qin Tian closed his eyes, and the memories he had previously swallowed whole without digesting surfaced in his mind.
Using his divine sense, Qin Tian constructed an illusion for himself.
The next moment, heaven and earth turned upside down. When Qin Tian opened his eyes again, he had arrived in the ancient hall from his memories. He had become one of the Ji Family disciples, listening to the Great Power expound upon the mysteries of the Void Ancient Scripture.
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