Clear Void Peak was truly too mysterious

At the foot of Clear Void Peak.

The Purple Empyrean Holy Lord appeared out of thin air, his figure imposing, his long hair draped over his shoulders. Faint visions of galaxies forming and perishing flashed in his eyes, his presence as deep as an abyss and as vast as the sea, carrying the natural authority of one who stood above others.

With his hands clasped behind his back, the Purple Empyrean Holy Lord quietly surveyed Clear Void Peak.

The whole of Clear Void Peak looked no different from before. Clouds and mist wreathed its lush greenery, its pavilions and towers appeared and disappeared from view, and the sound of flowing springs and cascading waterfalls seemed to ring beside his ears. On the surface, it looked no different from the other peaks.

Yet the Purple Empyrean Holy Lord understood that Clear Void Peak was by no means as simple as it appeared.

Back then, even Ancestor Lingtian, who was in the Divine Spirit realm, had been unable to see through Clear Void Peak's mountain-protecting formation with the aid of the Sea of Clouds Myriad Phenomena Grand Formation. The Purple Empyrean Holy Lord made no attempt to probe it with his divine sense, instead transmitting his voice up Clear Void Peak from afar. "Mu Lingzhao has come to pay a visit. Junior Brother Jiang, might you come out to meet me?"

Jiang Chen was sipping tea and comprehending the Dao beneath the Ancient Dao Comprehension Tea Tree outside his cave abode. Hearing the Purple Empyrean Holy Lord's voice transmission, he was somewhat surprised, and his figure abruptly vanished from where he stood.

A quarter of an hour later, Jiang Chen appeared before the Purple Empyrean Holy Lord. He cupped his hands slightly and smiled. "Holy Lord, you actually came in person! I failed to come out to welcome you. Please forgive me!"

The Purple Firmament Holy Land had many affairs to attend to. The Purple Empyrean Holy Lord generally used divine sense avatars to handle matters great and small, while his true body spent most of its time cultivating in seclusion deep within a secret realm.

Jiang Chen had initially assumed that the visitor was merely one of the Purple Empyrean Holy Lord's divine sense avatars. He had not expected his true body to have come.

The corner of the Purple Empyrean Holy Lord's eye twitched involuntarily. He had not detected how Jiang Chen had appeared here at all!

Jiang Chen's arrival had not produced even a trace of spatial fluctuation, as though he had been standing here all along!

The Purple Empyrean Holy Lord's heart grew solemn. Junior Brother Jiang's true strength was far above his own!

If Junior Brother Jiang Chen intended him harm, he would probably find it very difficult to resist!

Suppressing his shock, the Purple Empyrean Holy Lord smiled. "I was the one who came abruptly without notifying you, Junior Brother Jiang. As long as you don't find me a nuisance."

"Your presence brings luster to my humble Clear Void Peak, Holy Lord. How could I possibly find you a nuisance?"

Jiang Chen replied with a smile, gesturing toward the mountain path up Clear Void Peak as he said cheerfully, "Holy Lord, please!"

The Purple Empyrean Holy Lord stepped forward, walking slowly along Clear Void Peak's mountain path at an unhurried pace.

The mountain path wound like a dragon, surrounded by luxuriant trees and drifting wisps of mist. Ancient pines stood beside gray stones, flowing water burbled, and pavilions and towers appeared and disappeared from view, all possessing a tranquil Dao charm.

Yet as he walked amid it all, the Purple Empyrean Holy Lord felt something very strange.

The Purple Firmament Blue Firmament Sacred Canon that the Purple Empyrean Holy Lord cultivated contained an extremely powerful ocular technique: the Purple Ultimate Demon Pupils.

He had cultivated it for several hundred years, and his eyes had developed divine abilities of their own. Without deliberately activating the technique, he could see through all manner of illusions and peer into their essence.

Outside Clear Void Peak, his Purple Ultimate Demon Pupils had detected nothing unusual. He knew this was due to Clear Void Peak's mountain-protecting formation and had thought little of it.

Now that he had entered Clear Void Peak, he could still only see the scenery near him. He could not see any of the scenery behind the rocks and trees at all. His field of vision was exactly like an ordinary person's, as though the Purple Ultimate Demon Pupils he had cultivated for several hundred years had completely stopped working.

"Hiss! I've cultivated the Purple Ultimate Demon Pupils for several hundred years, and my eyes developed divine abilities of their own long ago, yet here I can only see like an ordinary person. Junior Brother Jiang, your mountain-protecting formation is truly formidable!"

The Purple Empyrean Holy Lord could not help voicing his admiration.

Jiang Chen climbed the steps alongside the Purple Empyrean Holy Lord and smiled unconcernedly. "It can't be helped. Clear Void Peak is the foundation upon which I make my home and establish myself, so naturally I have to put a little more thought into it! May I ask what brings you here in person, Holy Lord?"

Walking at an easy pace, the Purple Empyrean Holy Lord nodded slightly toward Jiang Chen and said with feeling, "Junior Brother Jiang, you really have hidden yourself deeply!"

"If not for that punch you threw in Green Yang City, I would still have thought you were merely an ordinary Emperor. I've neglected you all these years!"

"I came here this time to offer you an apology!"

Jiang Chen could not help laughing. "There's no need for that, Holy Lord. I've lived quite comfortably on Clear Void Peak all these years."

The Purple Empyrean Holy Lord nodded slightly and smiled. "Since you became a Venerable Lord long ago, Junior Brother Jiang, you naturally ought to receive a Venerable Lord's treatment."

"I've personally brought you this year's cultivation resources."

"From now on, I'll have someone deliver your cultivation resources every year."

As he spoke, the Purple Empyrean Holy Lord handed Jiang Chen a spatial ring containing a large quantity of cultivation resources.

Jiang Chen did not decline and readily accepted it.

This was the stipend he was entitled to as a peak lord. If he refused it, the Purple Empyrean Holy Lord would not be able to rest easy either.

Jiang Chen extended his divine sense inside and said in surprise, "These natural treasures probably exceed even a supreme elder's stipend! There's also a Nirvana Pill that can improve the chances of breaking through to the Demigod realm, along with a Demigod's cultivation insights. You really are generous, Holy Lord!"

The Purple Empyrean Holy Lord smiled. "The holy land has owed you far too much over the years, so naturally we must offer some compensation! If you can break through to become a Demigod, Junior Brother Jiang, it will benefit our Purple Firmament Holy Land even more. Please don't decline!"

"I never had any intention of declining," Jiang Chen replied with a smile.

The Purple Empyrean Holy Lord was momentarily at a loss for words before laughing heartily. "You really are quite a character, Junior Brother Jiang! Right, there's another matter I need to confirm with you on this visit."

"Please go ahead, Holy Lord." Jiang Chen was somewhat curious.

The Purple Empyrean Holy Lord got straight to the point. "I wanted to ask whether Han Yuyao, who overwhelmed the many sword Dao prodigies in the Sword Ruins of Creation-the seventh princess of the Cold Moon Holy Dynasty whose Supreme Sword Bone was dug out-is your eldest disciple?"

At this point, the Purple Empyrean Holy Lord stared unblinkingly at Jiang Chen, a faint trace of anticipation in his eyes.

Jiang Chen paused slightly, then said with some surprise, "Yuyao's original name is indeed Han Yuyao. And what you said about her Supreme Sword Bone being dug out is also true. But when did she overwhelm the sword Dao prodigies in the Sword Ruins of Creation?"

Jiang Chen only knew that Han Yuyao's attainments in the sword Dao had advanced by leaps and bounds. He really did not know much about her experiences in the Sword Ruins of Creation, as no one had told him.

Hearing Jiang Chen's admission, the Purple Empyrean Holy Lord was immensely excited.

Sure enough, Han Yuyao was Jiang Chen's eldest disciple!

Hearing the rest of Jiang Chen's words, the Purple Empyrean Holy Lord was somewhat speechless. He briefly recounted Han Yuyao's deeds in the Sword Ruins of Creation, giving Jiang Chen some understanding of what had happened.

Jiang Chen inwardly marveled. As expected of a child of destiny. She really has caused quite a stir!

The Purple Empyrean Holy Lord clicked his tongue. "You really do let your disciples roam free!"

"The master leads you through the door, but cultivation depends on the individual. Disciples still have to walk their own paths!" Jiang Chen smiled unconcernedly.

The Purple Empyrean Holy Lord was just about to say something when his gaze suddenly sharpened. He exclaimed in surprise, "Oh! Such powerful blood and Qi! What stage has Ye Hao reached in cultivating his Ancient Desolate Sacred Body?"

As he and Jiang Chen rounded a bend in the mountain path, they saw a vast area ahead bathed in glittering golden light.

Towering blood and Qi surged from ahead, accompanied by peals of thunder, as though thousands of troops and horses were galloping.