No one cared about opportunities or inheritances anymore. After witnessing and experiencing that level of terror firsthand, no imperial scriptures or divine materials were more important than their own lives. Even a wisp of aura inadvertently leaked by that mysterious being was enough to annihilate their souls.
"Crack!" "Boom!"
Various lights shone again, but this time not for attack, but for escape. Forbidden artifacts, talismans, secret techniques—every means that could be used to attack the spatial barrier were frantically unleashed. Throughout the ruins, twisted and unstable spatial passages were forcibly opened, and cultivators rushed in, even resulting in trampling and conflicts over priority passages—under the threat of death, their usual restraint and alliances proved incredibly fragile.
The powerful forces such as Yaoguang Holy Land, Jiang Family, Ji Family, Jade Lake Holy Land, and the Demon Clan, with their profound foundations and swift response, coupled with the protection of secret treasures, quickly joined forces to break through a relatively stable passage. The core figures were the first to evacuate under the protection of elite guards. As for the vassal forces and rogue cultivators, they could only fend for themselves and struggle to survive in the more dangerous and chaotic situation.
Inside the Qing Emperor's Tomb, tens of thousands of cultivators who had gathered from the Eastern Wasteland and other regions had survived a series of bloody battles, slaughter by ferocious beasts and evil spirits, and especially the indiscriminate annihilation by the " Demonic Eye of Annihilation." At this moment, less than 30% of them remained alive, and most of them were injured, listless, and their eyes still held an inescapable fear.
About half an hour later, less than one-tenth of the cultivators still alive in the ruins remained. Only a very few were left, either too badly injured to move or trapped by collapsed passages, groaning in despair among the broken walls and rubble. The once bustling and murderous Qing Emperor's Tomb quickly became empty and deathly silent, with only corpses scattered on the ground, broken magical artifacts, dried bloodstains, and the lingering stench of blood and destruction in the air, telling the story of the tragedy that had just occurred here.
The wind whipped up the ashes, making a mournful sound that added to the desolation.
Deep within the imperial palace.
The small world shrouded in chaotic energy and mysterious blue light remained tranquil. The earth-shattering changes and panicked escapes in the outside world seemed to have had no effect on this place whatsoever.
On the stone platform, the man in black robes— Su Mu —slowly withdrew his gaze from the sky above the ruins. The deep, illusory starry river in his eyes gradually faded, returning to its calm and still state, as if he had just done something insignificant.
"Annihilation..." he murmured to himself, his tone flat, revealing neither joy nor anger, "How persistent. A wisp of resentment clinging to the place where he perished, lingering on until now, still hoping to recreate the so-called 'Age of Annihilation'?"
He shook his head slightly, seemingly finding it somewhat uninteresting. To him, who had once reached the pinnacle and looked down upon the ages, the so-called "Emperor-level" resentment was nothing more than a slightly stronger speck of dust. If this wisp of resentment hadn't been stirred up by the aura of the Qing Emperor's Tomb and the blood energy of numerous cultivators, attempting to disrupt the balance of this place, he wouldn't have bothered with it at all.
His gaze fell on the three objects suspended in mid-air in front of the platform.
A blue bamboo scroll, neither gold nor jade, flowing with an aura of chaos—the core inheritance of the " Azure Emperor Longevity Scripture ".
A fist-sized cyan crystal, its interior seemingly containing the primordial chaos and the birth of all things— the Azure Emperor's Source Heart —contains a portion of the Azure Emperor's understanding of the Great Dao and the origin of life.
A lifelike, twelve-petaled cyan lotus platform phantom— the Chaos Green Lotus Seal —is a wisp of the original imprint of the Azure Emperor's Emperor Weapon, the " Chaos Green Lotus." It possesses unfathomable divine power and is also the key to controlling some of the Azure Emperor's remaining contingency plans.
These three are the true inheritances left by the Azure Emperor in the deepest part of the tomb and the core of the imperial palace. They are billions of times more precious than the "scraps" that are fought over by the outside world. If an ordinary person obtains even one of them, it will be enough to build an unparalleled foundation for the Dao and have the hope of glimpsing the path to becoming an emperor.
But in Su Mu's eyes, these things were merely "acceptable." He had lived for too long and had witnessed and possessed too many astonishing Fortune. While the Azure Emperor was indeed amazing, his Dao and laws were more of a reference and verification value to him.
"System," Su Mu murmured to himself.
[Ding! Top-tier inheritances detected: " Azure Emperor Longevity Scripture " (Emperor-level), Azure Emperor's Source Heart (Emperor-level Primordial), Chaos Green Lotus Seal ( Emperor Weapon- level Weapon Primordial Imprint). Perform 'Daoist Canon Collection' and 'Primordial Analysis'?]
"Include the ' Azure Emperor Longevity Scripture,' and analyze the Azure Emperor's Source Heart and the Chaos Green Lotus Seal," Su Mu issued the command. He didn't need to cultivate these directly, but by analyzing the Great Dao rules and the mysteries of the origin of life contained within them through the system, he could accelerate his adaptation to and understanding of the laws of heaven and earth in the current era, and also supplement the system's database and optimize its deduction function.
[Command confirmed. Recording started... Recording complete. Parsing started... Parsing in progress...]
An invisible wave emanated from Su Mu, sweeping over the three items. The bamboo slip containing the " Azure Emperor Longevity Scripture " glowed slightly before returning to calm, as all the information within it had been Perfect World copied by the system. The Azure Emperor's Source Heart and the Chaos Green Lotus Seal rippled, as the profound Dao patterns and origin structures contained within them were extracted, analyzed, and recorded Sisi.
This process lasted about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea.
[Ding! Analysis complete. Obtained ' Azure Emperor's Great Dao of Life' fragment (high-tier), 'Chaos Derivation' rule fragment (mid-tier), and 'Emperor-level Origin Structure' sample data. System deduction module 'Great Dao Adaptability' increased by 0.7%, energy Simulation efficiency increased by 1.2%. Database 'Emperor-level Inheritance' category updated.]
"The efficiency is slightly lower than expected, probably because the Great Dao of this era is obscure and the origin is dormant." Su Mu raised an eyebrow slightly, but didn't care. At his level, every bit of improvement is precious, even if it's only 0.1%, it adds up to a considerable amount. What's more, this is just the beginning.
With a thought, the three floating items flew into his hand. The bamboo slip felt warm and smooth to the touch, as if it were alive and pulsating; the Origin Heart was incredibly heavy, as if it contained the weight of an entire world; the Green Lotus Seal was light and ethereal, its Daoist charm naturally formed.
" The Azure Emperor's Dao emphasizes the Fortune of life and longevity, aligning with chaos, which is quite unique. His concept of the ' Chaos Green Lotus,' based on chaos, evolves into the heavens, endlessly regenerating, demonstrating a lofty ambition." Su Mu briefly commented on the work, casually putting away the bamboo slip and the Origin Heart. The Chaos Green Lotus Seal circled at his fingertips, transforming into a stream of azure light that entered his brow, settling deep within his sea of consciousness, echoing the drop of " Azure Emperor's essence blood" from before. With this seal, he could, to some extent, mobilize some of the arrangements the Azure Emperor had left in the tomb and even in a wider area, making it a useful tool.
After finishing these tasks, Su Mu turned his attention back to the entire Qing Emperor's Tomb.