Even taking ten thousand steps back, if the rumors were true, then Tu Tian, who had wielded half an Emperor Weapon, had been defeated and killed. The mastermind had surely entered the King realm or possessed a complete Extreme Dao Emperor Weapon.
The various sects now had neither Great Saints nor sages, and could not reenact the divine battle that had once slain the demon...
The outside world was in an uproar, but the small world was peaceful.
On the highest floor of the Ageless Hall, Su Yu sat in silent meditation, with the Azure Flood Dragon King attending him from behind in a suit of golden battle armor. Wisps of Chaos Qi emanated from the tall, imposing figure of the demon king. His presence was exceedingly sharp, carrying the air of the sword Dao, all because of the chaos longsword.
For reasons of his own, Su Yu had given the chaos jade sword to the Azure Flood Dragon King. The latter had not fully mastered the Saint Weapon, and its presence was unstable, leaking wisps of Chaos Qi...
Listening to the Azure Flood Dragon King's report, Su Yu remained impassive, with little change in his emotions.
With the body of the jar gone, the other Great Bandits were in a difficult position. Though the Old Undying could overawe the world, he could keep things in check for a time, but not for a lifetime. These Great Bandits had offended more than one major sect.
But none of this affected the place. The Azure Flood Dragon King had formed a world of his own, and few dared attack his mountain stronghold...
"The princess declined the invitation. The Demon Emperor's nineteenth-generation descendant is probably behind it."
Su Yu's eyes suddenly opened, and two beams of red light shot from them, piercing and sharp. The Azure Flood Dragon King was shaken and hurriedly lowered his head. He had not expected this news to matter so much to his master.
"The Demon Emperor's... nineteenth-generation descendant. A stray dog who has lost his home, and he still wants to wait for the highest bidder?"
Su Yu spoke to himself, his swordlike brows rising as a hint of cold indifference appeared on his face.
Inviting the Demon Emperor Lineage to the Northern Region had been his idea, the Big Dipper version of "holding the emperor hostage to command the feudal lords." He had not expected the first step of the plan to fail.
"It's because of the Yaoguang Holy Land. That lineage is worried something will go wrong and thinks our strength is insufficient," the Azure Flood Dragon King explained, somewhat helpless himself. The envoy he had sent had been received first warmly, then coldly.
Before Yaoguang made a move, the Demon Emperor's descendants had been extraordinarily welcoming. The Demon Emperor's nineteenth-generation descendant had said he had long admired the Azure Flood Dragon King in spirit and heard of his illustrious reputation, and regretted that he could not meet him.
He had intended to pack that very day and travel far to the Northern Region to answer the call to serve the emperor and rebuild the Demon Clan Emperor Court. The demons of the other cave abodes had also risen to answer the call.
Then Yaoguang made its move. A hawkish supreme elder emerged and issued a proclamation, directing its spearpoint squarely at the Azure Flood Dragon King. They would yield for the moment in the Northern Region, but in the Southern Region, the Yaoguang Holy Land feared nothing. The Demon Clan of the Southern Region trembled, and no one dared speak.
Though that nineteenth-generation descendant of the Azure Emperor was known as a great demon, he was remarkably flexible. He quickly cast aside his pride and refused to seek refuge with the Azure Flood Dragon King. His lineage had wandered from place to place over the years, living a hard life, and so was very sensitive to such matters.
"The First Great Bandit is already negotiating with the Yaoguang Holy Land. Perhaps good news will come..." the Azure Flood Dragon King said quietly, revealing a secret.
Su Yu's gaze was vacant as he pondered in silence. He had his own understanding of the Demon Emperor's descendants.
The Green Lotus was tranquil by nature and disliked action. That was simply how it was.
In another timeline, the Azure Emperor Weapon had returned, and Yan Ruyu had possessed an Emperor Weapon and the support of several great demons. Under those circumstances, would you think she would restore the Imperial Clan's glory? Make the Azure Emperor Lineage great again?
No, she only wanted to live her life in peace... She even stayed in seclusion until the very end...
"Azure Flood Dragon, go there yourself during this time. You must bring Yan Ruyu back. As for that nineteenth-generation descendant of the Demon Emperor, if necessary, you can make him disappear..." Su Yu instructed.
The Azure Flood Dragon King nodded, confident he could do it, and promptly prepared to leave for the Southern Region...
Three days later, word spread that Jade Lake had intervened, inviting the Old Undying, the Old Blind Man, and the Yaoguang Holy Land to negotiate once more, divide their interests, and settle the dispute.
This was the most fundamental struggle!
Although Yaoguang had retreated before, the hawks in the Holy Land had refused to yield and wanted to awaken its hidden strength. It still came down to the division of the Source mines. The Great Bandits had lost half an Emperor Weapon and were no longer qualified to possess so many resources...
"It seems Jade Lake was badly frightened, to actually undertake something like this..."
In the Ageless Hall, Su Yu spoke to himself, seeing through the illusion and knowing the underlying reasons for several major events.
During this period, the Jade Lake Sacred Land had been frequently contacting the major sects and holy lands of the Eastern Wasteland, in stark contrast to its formerly detached way of handling affairs.
Su Yu had even obtained some of the Jade Lake elders' exact words from Xu Tianxiong. They had said that the Primordial Myriad Races would emerge in a little over a decade, and that the various sects should now unite and preserve their strength to face the Primordial Ancestral Kings of the future...
By doing this, Jade Lake had resolved the long-standing feud between the Great Bandits and Yaoguang, making the Azure Flood Dragon King's journey to the Southern Region exceptionally smooth.
The Demon Emperor's nineteenth-generation descendant, the demon who was about to possess Pang Bo, immediately changed his attitude upon learning that the Azure Flood Dragon King possessed a complete Saint Weapon. He quickly agreed to the envoy's request, and when he later met the Azure Flood Dragon King, he was very humble, presenting himself as a junior.
He was in a very poor state and could fall into a deathly predicament at any moment. The Ageless Hall's ability to slow time was immensely important to him.
Having gained control of the Demon Emperor Lineage, the Azure Flood Dragon King announced to the Demon Clan that he possessed an ancient Saint Weapon left behind by His Majesty the Demon Emperor, and would use it as a foundation to rebuild the Demon Clan Emperor Court.
In an instant, winds and clouds surged across the Northern Region. Many followers of the Thirteen Great Bandits flocked to the Azure Flood Dragon King, including Li Heishui, Jiang Huairen, and other young bandits from the original story. Faced with the Great Bandit alliance, whose sun was sinking beyond the western hills, the Ninth Great Bandit Jiang Yi did not choose to return to the Jiang Family. Instead, he faced matters on his own, and eventually joined the Demon Clan Emperor Court, which had only just put together its makeshift operation.
Good news followed one piece after another, leaving Su Yu quite pleased. He used a divine sense jade pendant to tell the Divine Silkworm Princess to come back, as there would be something important to do, while taking stock of the Heavenly Emperor's Son's inheritance.
Most of the property the Undying Heavenly Emperor had left the Heavenly Emperor's Son was in a small chaos world, located deep within Purple Mountain, the Ancient Emperor Mountain of the Ancient Clans.
The Heavenly Emperor's Son had carried only an ancient divine scripture: the original Undying Heavenly Emperor Scripture, cast from phoenix blood red gold; a Five-Colored Heavenly Blade: a rough immortal treasure blank forged from five different kinds of immortal gold; and the heart of an Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree: a divine object that could help cultivators comprehend the Dao, and one of the few that could compare with a Bodhi Seed.
The third of these had now fallen into Su Yu's hands. It was a crystal-clear pendant that shone with no brilliant light, yet stirred the heart.
The crystalline tree heart was no bigger than his palm, lustrous and translucent. It gave off wave after wave of the Dao, weaving a mysterious and profound pattern around it. It could naturally resonate with the Dao.
Su Yu gently stroked the divine object in his hand, drawing ever closer to the Dao...
Chapter 49: Origin of the Undying Immortal Phoenix, Demons Gather
"An immortal object as renowned as the Bodhi Seed. It truly is beautiful..."
Su Yu held the dreamlike immortal treasure in his palm and played with it for a long time before reluctantly setting it down. Then he began leafing through the immortal treasure book.
His fair fingers looked like jade in the luster of the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree. He gently turned a page of immortal gold. Very little of the heavenly book's Extreme Dao charm remained; only its final forbidden chapter still retained a few traces of imperial Dao presence.
Su Yu carefully studied the Wheel Sea Scroll of the ancient scripture. Tiny, intricate divine runes on the heavenly book cast from phoenix blood red gold transformed into streaks of light that shot straight toward the top of the hall.
The mysterious patterns peeled away from the heavenly book. Hundreds of divine characters slowly danced around Su Yu, then transformed into beautiful stars, shining with dazzling light. They were incomparably sacred, with a touch of ancient vastness-the marks of time.
After he began circulating this wondrous scripture, a change occurred beneath the clear, crystalline Wheel of Life below his navel.
The Bitter Sea also began to shift unpredictably. The chaos ocean, which had swallowed the origin of an Immortal Phoenix, now underwent a drastic change. Wisps of five-colored divine light shot from the Chaos Bitter Sea, whipping up waves. Chaos Qi surged with tremendous force, mixed with an immensely terrifying presence that drew the eye.
Rumble...
Suddenly, countless strands of five-colored immortal light gathered into a mass. Chaos-colored waves surged, and the deepest reaches of the Bitter Sea churned over. The pale-white chaos ocean underwent a drastic change as streaks of divine light crisscrossed its surface. A mass of five-colored immortal light appeared at the center of the Bitter Sea, then rapidly expanded in every direction.
Time slowly passed. After a full hour, Su Yu's Bitter Sea returned to calm, sea and sky meeting in a single line. His Bitter Sea had turned five-colored, sacred and ethereal beyond compare, with an immortal, spiritual air. A thin mist spread across the surface, taking the forms of immortal spirits: an Immortal Phoenix soared through the sky, stars shone, chaos lay hazy, and a qilin breathed auspicious signs. Divine patterns grew and changed in countless ways, without a fixed form, making it seem like a sacred land in an Immortal Domain.
His body also became exceedingly crystalline, giving off a starlike luster. Rosy light flickered, and five-colored divine light shone through, brilliant and dazzling, shimmering with color as it formed a five-colored halo behind him of its own accord.
An immensely profound sensation enveloped Su Yu's Immortal Platform. It was as though he had pushed open a heavenly gate, allowing him to commune with the Great Dao of heaven and earth. The true blood in his body was also slowly changing. Vast divine power surged from the Bitter Sea and flowed through his limbs and bones, nourishing his flesh, internal organs, and skeleton.
Hum...
At some unknown point, a layer of incomparably gorgeous five-colored divine flames suddenly sprang up around Su Yu. An immensely majestic sound of the Dao rang out from his Sea of Bitterness, as though the myriad races of the universe were chanting scriptures, shaking the Five Great Secret Realms.
Ancient Dao patterns of heaven and earth appeared across the surface of his body, like stars in the heavens, brilliantly radiant, their divine light shimmering with color.
Behind him, the five-colored divine light formed a divine sun, searing hot and brilliant as divine radiance, exceptionally vigorous. A phoenix cry could faintly be heard from within it.
Su Yu was activating his Immortal Phoenix origin. It was as though he would become a Divine Phoenix, transforming into the pure-blooded member of the Ten Fiends that had once roamed the Immortal Domain unchallenged, seeking to tear apart this broken world, enter the Immortal Domain, and achieve eternity...
Outside the Ageless Hall, vegetation flourished throughout the world, wreathed in green light. The whole place shimmered with color, as though carved from emerald, with mist billowing and an ethereal immortal charm.
At the center of the sprawling palace complex in the small world stood a magnificent palace with carved beams and painted pillars, resplendent in gold and jade. Clouds and mist billowed across the floor, and beautiful women of the Demon Clan stood on either side, as though one had entered the legendary Ancient Heavenly Court of the Demon Clan.
In the central hall, the Azure Flood Dragon King and the Peacock King sat at the highest places, with Jiang Yi and an aged demon shrouded in the air of approaching death beside them. Their ranks were clearly distinguished, and they plainly knew their own places.
The Peacock King's eyes were clear as water, and his soft hair was light and supple, every strand distinct. Like a snow lotus on an icy mountain, he was handsome and refined. He looked young, but was in fact over two thousand years old. This demon was extraordinary: he had cultivated his own phenomenon, Stars Illuminate the Azure Heavens, and could fight the current Yaoguang Holy Lord.
Eight hundred years ago, this ancient demon had already been a great power of the Demon Clan in his generation, sweeping aside all opposition as he roamed the Southern Region without a single defeat.
To break through the path of Immortal Three and become a King, the Peacock King had secluded himself for eight hundred years, never taking a single step out of his retreat. This time, hearing of unusual developments in the Northern Region, he had come straight out of seclusion and rushed there, hoping to stand with the Azure Flood Dragon King and face the Yaoguang Holy Land together. He and the current Yaoguang Holy Lord had long been enemies.
Unexpectedly, he heard halfway there that hostilities had ceased, and afterward came the proclamation of the Demon Clan Emperor Court. This greatly heartened the Peacock King. Both of the Demon Clan's Extreme Dao powers had now lost their Emperor Weapons. The Demon Emperor Hall and the Green Lotus lineage possessed only the Demon Emperor Scripture, leaving them in a very passive position against the Extreme Dao powers of the Eastern Wasteland.
This time, the Azure Flood Dragon King had recovered an Inherited Saint Weapon left by the Azure Emperor. It was truly cause for joy, and the Peacock King had immediately flown here...
Many juniors stood below, attending them. Among them was a woman with a face like a flower and the moon, beautiful beyond compare. She wore unadorned white robes, pure as snow, fluttering in the wind like a fairy about to ride the breeze away.
She was an exceptionally beautiful woman, like a secluded orchid in an empty valley, utterly removed from the mundane world. She possessed a tranquil beauty and blended perfectly with the lovely natural scenery around her, as though she were part of the world's own grace.
She looked no more than eighteen or nineteen. Her black hair drifted lightly, her long eyelashes trembled, and her eyes seemed veiled in a watery mist. Her red lips and pearly teeth gleamed, her neck was slender and graceful, and she had skin like ice, bones like jade, delicate features, a peerlessly beautiful face, and a jade body with hazy curves. She seemed flawless and immaculate, so very perfect.
The younger generation present all gathered around this fairy, though their words and behavior were very restrained, and they dared not offend the beauty.
A golden-haired youth stood beside the Azure-Clad Little Flood Dragon King. Gazing at the beautiful woman with burning eyes, he said in a loud voice, "Princess, you've only just arrived in the Northern Region. Let me show you its scenery this time."
The youth who spoke had a fair complexion and exceptionally sharp eyes. His golden hair fell over his shoulders, brilliant as sunlight, and he was strikingly heroic.
"There's no need. The Little Flood Dragon King has already arranged everything for this journey to the Northern Region. I needn't trouble the Little Peng King." A voice like heavenly music echoed through the hall, exceedingly pleasant, yet carrying a trace of distance. Yan Ruyu's beautiful eyes shifted slightly as she looked up at the high seats, her expression somewhat weary.
Upon hearing the woman's answer, two dazzling beams of divine light immediately shot from the Golden-Winged Little Peng King's eyes, piercing to the soul.
The Great Powers above also smiled as they watched the group of juniors, thinking highly of them.
Suddenly, a phoenix cry rang through the small world. Intense five-colored divine light shone out of the Ageless Hall, illuminating the entire world.
Everyone in the hall was startled by the phoenix cry. The Peacock King's gaze sharpened, and he opened his divine eyes to look at the Ageless Hall high above, but a mass of dark light blocked his divine sight, preventing him from seeing through it.
He withdrew his divine ability and said thoughtfully to the Azure Flood Dragon King, "This must be the honored guest Fourth Brother spoke of. You even brought out the Ageless Hall. That really makes one curious. From the sound of it, is the guest a divine bird?"
The Azure Flood Dragon King smiled faintly and looked around. Chaos Qi spilled out, and a faint trace of saintly might appeared around him, immensely imposing. Neither Jiang Yi, the Ninth Great Bandit, nor the Peacock King changed expression; they merely looked at the chaos mist around the Azure Flood Dragon King with some curiosity.
The aged demon with the air of approaching death, however, grew slightly grim, somewhat unable to bear the pressure of the saintly might...
Chapter 50: The Curtain Rises
In the light of the saintly might, the Azure Flood Dragon King looked vigorous and heroic, like an immortal Demon Mountain. He drew back the presence he had leaked and signaled the Azure-Clad Little Flood Dragon King, telling his own son to lead the juniors away.
"We juniors will take our leave!"
Yan Ruyu was tall and slender, her face flawless. Her eyes shifted slightly as she nodded to Yan Li. Her movements revealed a transcendent bearing, like a goddess in a pure land, utterly sacred.
She bowed respectfully to the Azure Flood Dragon King, then departed gracefully. The other young members of the Demon Clan also bowed and took their leave.
Only after the younger generation had all left the hall did the Azure Flood Dragon King show an apologetic expression. He spoke gently to the aged demon. "My apologies. I have not yet fully mastered this Saint Weapon."
The Azure Emperor's nineteenth-generation descendant wore a black robe. His face was aged, his body withered, and his presence feeble. One glance was enough to tell that he was gravely injured.
In truth, his bone age was not particularly great, at least among this group of Great Powers. It was only that his vitality had withered, making him look fifty or sixty years old, without the vigor of life.
He waved a hand, indicating that he did not mind.
"It's a small matter. Why should the Azure Flood Dragon King concern himself with it?"
The old man's manner was very mild. He still needed to rely on the Ageless Hall to slow the passage of time, and treated the Azure Flood Dragon King with great respect.
He somewhat envied the Azure Flood Dragon King's circumstances. Before, he had been on good terms with Tu Tian, who possessed half an Extreme Dao Emperor Weapon. Now Tu Tian was dead, yet he had gained another powerful source of support, one who had even brought out a complete Inherited Saint Weapon. It truly was enviable.
Five hundred years ago, he too had pressed boldly against the rushing current, charging into the Immortal Platform realm in an extremely short time and nearly stepping into the domain of a Great Power. His name had spread throughout the Southern Ridge, and he had been hailed as a demon king of his generation who would restore the Demon Emperor Lineage, his illustrious reputation close behind that of the older generation's Azure Flood Dragon King and others.