Entering the World
That battle between emperors had shown the world once more the terrifying might of the Indestructible Heavenly Venerable. How could an emperor be so powerful? He had casually unleashed all manner of ancient heavenly scriptures and imperial arts, displaying them to their fullest.
He had even brought forth arts from the Immortal Dao Era. It was far too terrifying, shocking all the emperors.
The Carefree Immortal Lord's Carefree Wandering, the Primordial Immortal Venerable's One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones, and the Myriad Extinctions Immortal Lord's Myriad Extinctions Immortal Scripture-these arts, said to encompass the secrets of the Great Dao in the Immortal Dao Era, had been recreated in the Blood Ancient Era.
Each was a supreme, invincible art that surpassed imperial arts and techniques, complete and flawless. The Indestructible Heavenly Venerable had brought them forth with terrifying power: a glance shattered stars, and a wave of his hand darkened heaven and earth.
Which of the emperors who had reawakened had not been a supreme powerhouse, invincible in their own era? Yet their limited lifespans held them back, and they were unwilling to undergo ultimate sublimation and burn their remaining years to fight him.
With his own strength, he had stood against more than ten emperors. Even if those emperors had not undergone ultimate sublimation, what a feat it was! The whole world was astonished, and the heavens trembled.
That lasted until a supreme powerhouse emerged from Dao Venerable Mountain, purple qi filling the Three Thousand Worlds, a single breath pressing down upon all eighteen heavens.
It was the Dao Venerable, a supreme being of the Mythic Era whose name stood alongside the Indestructible Heavenly Venerable's.
He intervened to mediate, urging both sides to stop fighting. They could not allow the calamity of the Imperial Ancient Blood Chaos to happen again and give the foreign realm an opening.
While the two sides negotiated, Fu Xu used half his consciousness to maintain one-ninth of the Heavenly Dao, while the other half returned to reality.
After ten years of battle between minds and consciousnesses, when Fu Xu, the emperor of the current age, was at his weakest, Ji Yang launched a sneak attack with his fully cultivated Heavenly Tyrant Body, causing Second Brother's efforts to fail on the verge of success.
Had Liuyun not sacrificed his life to forcibly activate the Great Emperor Weapon and hold Ji Yang back for a moment, Second Brother's soul would most likely have been scattered.
There were too many suspicious points about that battle. Ji Yang had silently brought his holy body to full mastery, with no phenomenon across the heavens, no celebration from the Three Thousand Worlds, and no jubilant cry from the Great Dao.
Not even the emperors had noticed; even the Indestructible Heavenly Venerable had been kept in the dark.
The Dao Venerable was universally known as a good-natured man who had refrained from contention for countless ages, yet in the Blood Ancient Era, he had left Dao Venerable Mountain and stepped in to urge an end to the fighting.
In that battle, nine out of ten of Fu Xu's followers had died, and eight out of ten had been wounded. The survivors, led by the second-ranked Holy Emperor Luo Yu, had founded the Great Luo Dynasty.
The Desolate Ancient Era, year 980,000.
Great Luo Dynasty, Heavenly Luo Star.
The Spirit-Suppressing Marquis's residence.
Several of the Great Luo Dynasty's most outstanding geniuses of the current age had gathered here to discuss the decree that had descended from the Heavenly Luo Forbidden Land. The Great Luo Holy Son from the end of the Blood Ancient Era had awakened and would enter the world once more to contend for the Mandate of Heaven.
"That ancient freak from the end of the Blood Ancient Era stands above the king." Faint golden light flickered in the eyes of Luo Jie, the current Holy Son, who wore blue robes.
"Rumor has it he's the son of an ancient ancestor, with a background that reaches the heavens," said Holy Maiden Luo Qingyi in a delicate voice. She wore white robes and had an ethereal bearing, like an orchid.
"What a figure this Fu Yuan is. I wonder which ancient ancestor he descended from. We'll even have to address him as 'old ancestor.'" The young marquis Luo Feng tapped his folding fan lightly, an inscrutable smile on his face. "Perhaps even the king will have to call him 'old ancestor.'"
The surname Fu was a sacred symbol in the Great Luo Dynasty, bestowed only upon saints and peerless monstrous talents. Since the dynasty's founding, only a little over a hundred people had borne it.
"He entered the world once at the end of the Blood Ancient Era, then again eighty thousand years ago, yet he never made a resounding name for himself. He's nothing but trash relying on his bloodline," Holy Son Luo Jie said mockingly, his eyes full of disdain.
"Without taking that step, no matter how slowly time flows, even a saint's body can't withstand the ravages of the years." The young marquis Luo Feng's smile deepened, his tone inscrutable. "I wonder if any ancient ancestors are still alive today?"
They talked for a while longer. How could the Great Luo Dynasty's foremost geniuses submit to an ancient genius who had appeared out of nowhere? A struggle was inevitable.
"He is an elder, after all. We should at least leave him some face," said Luo Qi, the fifth son of the King of Great Luo, who had remained silent until then. He was even-tempered and in harmony with the Great Dao.
"As fellow geniuses, we ought to determine who's better," the young marquis Luo Qing replied.
"Suppressing him at the same realm would be as easy as turning over my hand!" Holy Son Luo Jie was domineering beyond compare and did not regard Fu Yuan as an opponent of his level in the slightest.
The Great Luo Dynasty.
The holy land, Void Heaven Hall.
The current King of Great Luo sat upright on a golden dragon throne, with four grand elders of the Venerable Realm positioned around him. Nearly all the star lords and elders of the Divine Fire Realm had arrived.
The Great Luo Dynasty's geniuses had gathered together, sitting cross-legged at the lowest level, with a full selection of fine Spiritual Qi wines before them.
Dao bells rang long and loud, drums sounded in waves, and immortal music drifted through the air...
"This ceremony far surpasses Brother Luo Jie's Holy Son banquet. I doubt even the king's succession ceremony three hundred years ago was any grander." The young marquis Luo Feng waved his folding fan. The character for Dao on it revealed its Dao charm, making it plainly a spiritual treasure of no low grade.
"Could one of the elders have broken through to the Venerable Realm?" Luo Qi murmured, looking toward the four sides of the throne.
In the Dao Desolate Era, a Venerable Realm cultivator was already a pillar of a great clan or holy land. A saint of the current age could dominate a region, and for a million years there had been no such grand spectacle as ten thousand saints vying for supremacy.
"Not necessarily. Don't forget Holy Son Fu Yuan."
"The son of an ancient ancestor-such a grand reception would be fitting."
As his folding fan waved, Dao laws spread through the air, refreshing the mind and lifting the spirits. The young marquis Luo Feng smiled faintly.
"Birth determines everything. A monster who inherited an emperor's bloodline needs no glorious record of battle. The moment he emerges, he is the strongest monstrous talent."
As Luo Feng spoke, he glanced to the side and saw Holy Son Luo Jie's eyes burning, his fighting spirit rising.
A fellow who was gifted yet foolish-nothing could be more entertaining.
The center of the Great Luo Small World.
The Spirit Gathering Grand Formation!
The formation gathered the Spiritual Qi of an entire small world in one place. Mist filled the space, and dragons of various colors could faintly be seen roaming about, blooming in the void.
Fu Yuan, clad in ink-black robes, sat cross-legged at the center of the formation. A five-clawed blood dragon appeared before him, and a blue-and-gold qilin upon his back. The sounds of a dragon's roar and a qilin's cry could faintly be heard; he was truly extraordinary.
Compared with five years ago, Fu Yuan's presence had grown who knew how many times stronger. He had crossed the Qi Sea and Spirit Nurturing stages and reached the realm of Bloodline Profound Connection, his blood Qi surging like a blazing sun.
There was a peculiar rhythm to his breathing, one that subtly matched the Great Dao. When the breathing method from the Dao Scripture was cultivated to its peak, each breath would sound like the thunderous rumble of a tiger or leopard, each inhalation and exhalation like rolling thunder.
A single breath could shatter stars and extinguish suns; a single cry could shake the heavenly firmament to pieces.
[Ding! The check-in location has refreshed. Please proceed to Void Heaven Hall to check in!!]
Fu Yuan opened his eyes, red light flashing as blood Qi poured out. The system's ethereal notification sounded in his mind.
"It's time I met the geniuses of this world!"
"In this life, I shall rule the rise and fall of all things and sweep aside every enemy!"
"I only hope they won't leave me too lonely!"
The youth's heroic spirit reached the clouds, his resolve vast enough to swallow rivers and mountains.
He walked out of the Spirit Gathering Grand Formation and stepped into the teleportation formation, bound for Void Heaven Hall.