"Elder Li, please go back. Neither of the two things you seek is something I can divine."
The man in azure rose from his meditation cushion and walked out of the thatched hut. With a single step, heaven and earth changed in an instant. The land ahead opened up, and even the mist thinned, revealing a stone forest.
The once-secluded bamboo grove had also become a desolate pile of broken stones.
Li Ming looked around. He had never actually reached the man's door. His gaze grew grave.
Cao Yusheng, the Immortal Divine Medicine...
Even this accomplished disciple of the Divine Calculator was desperate to steer clear of them. No, perhaps the Divine Calculator's disciple had already divined them. Li Ming frowned, as though he had thought of something. A strange light flashed in his eyes, and the surging blood Qi within him trembled slightly.
In the end, he did not act. This Eight Trigrams stone formation was beyond his ability to contend with. According to his information, it even contained the remains of a King at full mastery.
Li Ming took two jade boxes from his wide sleeves and set them at his feet. Facing the stone wall, he said, "I came uninvited today. Please forgive me, Master. These two bottles of Dragon Marrow are a token of my regard."
Then he followed his original path out of the stone formation and boarded his silver carriage.
After the nine exotic beasts drew the silver carriage away, racing along a Divine Rainbow, a figure appeared beside a pile of stones. The man in azure reappeared where he had been; he had never left the place at all.
The azure-robed Daoist picked up the two bottles of Dragon Marrow from the ground, his expression deeply complicated. There was sorrow, pain, regret, and helplessness, until it all ended in a long sigh.
"Alas."
A pained sob escaped him. His once-straight back collapsed in an instant, and he fell among the broken stones.
Streaks of black light coiled around his forehead, and his Immortal Platform was densely covered in dark light. This was the most terrifying kind of curse technique. There was even a trace of death Qi between his brows.
Finger-length green hairs had reappeared on the parts of his body hidden beneath his sleeves. Streaks of green Qi on his palms turned into green hairs as well. It was horrifying, clinging like an abscess to the bone, impossible to remove. Even the divine patterns of an ancient sage on his Daoist robes could not stop the green hair from spreading.
Maintaining his condition with a rare treasure had already exhausted too much of his divine power. Now he could no longer hold on, and the terrifying curse had spread across his body.
"To think it was the name of an ancient taboo. After so many long years... what on earth is going on? A descendant, or...?"
The man in azure smiled bitterly. He had prided himself on reaching the pinnacle of divination, earning even his patriarch's highest praise, yet he had suffered this great calamity. It was truly a matter of time and fate, but he still had a chance.
Half a year ago, news that two Immortal Divine Medicines had appeared in the Northern Region had reached his ears. He had thought that, with his sect's Saint Weapon to aid his divination, success would be as easy as reaching out and grabbing it.
A damaged Saint Weapon could not block the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion's divination. Yet the result had been so terrifying: it had involved someone from ancient times...
The man in azure struggled to his feet. This was not the true horror. He had heard of the later years of Source Heavenly Masters, and he still had a chance to live.
"I wonder if an Extreme Dao Emperor Weapon can erase these curses..."
Not even an Extreme Dao Emperor Weapon could prevent what befell a Source Heavenly Master in his later years, but his own symptoms were not severe. Besides, even if an Extreme Dao Emperor Weapon proved useless, his master had divined a path to survival for him.
"An extraordinary person who wishes to dig certain things out of the earth, receiving the aid of a benefactor."
As the Daoist murmured these words, his expression gradually grew resolute. He concealed himself, and mist filled the region once more. It wound among the countless mountains, hazy and uncanny.
By now, events at the Demon Emperor's Yin Tomb were drawing to a close. After the Netherworld Cold Pool had buried countless cultivators, including a Great Power elder of Wanchu Holy Land, the major powers finally called a halt. After all, the Demon Emperor's Emperor Weapon had most likely been taken.
News also came from the Ji Family, confirming that a cultivator of the Immortal Platform Secret Realm had indeed been present that day. The Qing Emperor's Heart and the Green Lotus Emperor Weapon had most likely been taken by that person.
The great Extreme Dao powers had originally wanted to repeat what had happened at the Bronze Immortal Palace. If they could retrieve the Azure Emperor's corpse and divide it up, it would be an astonishing divine treasure. The flesh of an Extreme Dao Great Emperor could serve as material for an Extreme Dao Emperor Weapon and was even more precious than Immortal Gold.
The Demon Emperor's Yin Tomb had also vanished into the cold pool without a trace.
This left Duan De, who had been active in the vicinity all along, stamping his feet in frustration. He had never dug up an emperor's tomb before, and had thought this would be the first of his life. He had misjudged it, however: he could not break through the killing formation outside at all. As numerous cultivators left their bones within, the secrets of the Yin Tomb gradually came to light.
That day, the second group of cultivators to enter had reached the bottom of the pool safely and discovered spatial formation patterns. The Jade Lake Sacred Land had therefore invited a Half-Step Great Power versed in the Space Great Dao to break the restriction, and they had entered a small world.
The forces of the great Extreme Dao powers had begun fighting and slaughtering one another. This time, every leader was an Immortal Platform cultivator. Yaoguang Holy Land had suffered the heaviest losses, besieged by several powers working together. In the end, they had paid a terrible price to enter the heavenly palace, only to find nothing inside.
Apart from the jade palace itself, there were no divine treasures, no immortal materials, and certainly no corpse of the Azure Emperor!
Chapter 81: Void Great Hand Seal [Third update!]
Time passed slowly. Even Great Powers came racing over like lightning, and most of the Eastern Wasteland's holy lands and great families sent people to occupy the small world.
In the end, they truly did uncover a secret: the small world contained damaged emperor Dao formation patterns.
Once triggered, the damaged Emperor Formation used heaven and earth as its array, burying all living beings. Though the Extreme Dao formation patterns were badly damaged, they were not something cultivators below Severing the Dao could ignore.
Aside from key figures carrying replicas of Emperor Weapons, everyone died miserably in that small world. Even a supreme elder of Wanchu Holy Land perished there. This time, every power in the Eastern Wasteland came away from the Demon Emperor's Mausoleum empty-handed.
Meanwhile, the Azure Emperor's nineteenth-generation descendant in the Northern Region learned of the matter. After weighing the benefits and drawbacks, he opened a Domain Gate and crossed from the Northern Region to the Southern Region.
Su Yu knew nothing of any of this.
He was in a wilderness, contemplating the Battle Saint Method. It was his main means of fighting enemies now. The Devouring Heaven Demon Art and the Indestructible Heavenly Art were too conspicuous, and their associated offensive secret arts, the Myriad Transformations Sacred Art and the Flying Immortal Art, gave off a distinctive Dao resonance when used. Many cultivators could recognize them.
"Hum!"
The mountain range trembled slightly as Su Yu used the Battle Saint Method to manifest the Three Lifetimes Bronze Coffin. The void shook at once, and his "Clouds in the Azure Sky, Water in the Vase" phenomenon spread open, raising his combat power to its limit. Chaos Qi poured from his body, and his nearly perfected divine blood was immensely vigorous. Surging blood Qi shot into the heavens, scattering the clouds. Droplets of Chaos True Blood churned, and the Chaos Dragon Qi in his spine let out a roar, dancing with the phenomenon and howling toward the sky.
"Roar!"
The divine body's magic power poured out completely, like strands of auspicious light, utterly sacred. Su Yu turned it into divine patterns, using them to enact the true Battle Saint Method in the void. The Chaos True Blood in his body seemed to become flames, burning and rising within him. Fighting spirit surged, and he seemed to become a true Battle Immortal.
"Boom!"
Heaven and earth shook, and the void shattered. As his hands moved, an ancient, boundless presence emerged, like the everlasting firmament, flowing with an eternal force!
Green radiance surged as Su Yu brought forth an ancient bronze coffin covered in verdigris. The moment the Three Lifetimes Bronze Coffin appeared, the entire space fell still. It was impossible to cross the void or shrink the earth into inches.
"Crack!"
In only a few breaths, the bronze coffin, which glowed with a pale white light, shattered in the void. With Su Yu's present cultivation, reproducing even a trace of its essence was already no easy feat.
"Just as I thought. The Three Lifetimes Bronze Coffin can pierce the void, and spatial Dao laws are useless against it. No wonder Ye Fan carried the coffin to someone's door to propose marriage."
Su Yu's dark eyes were as deep as a secluded pool, betraying not the slightest ripple. He pondered silently. If he could truly use the Battle Saint Method to manifest a trace of the Three Lifetimes Bronze Coffin's essence...
Unfortunately, after several more attempts, he could maintain it for only a few breaths each time. The ancient artifact was far too extraordinary, and when he had studied the bronze coffin, he had only been in the Four Extremes Secret Realm and could not fully manifest its Divine Form. Moreover, he was not familiar with the coffin. He had ridden in the coffin convoy only once.
"That will have to wait for the future..."
Shaking his head, Su Yu took out a jade slip and silently began studying the Void Secret Technique.
The Void Ancient Scripture was an emperor scripture created by the Void Emperor after observing all things and grasping the eternally unchanging laws. Su Yu was not unfamiliar with its guiding principle: reaching the utmost void and holding fast to profound stillness. This was the foundation of the Void Ancient Scripture, and he already knew something of it.
The Void Great Hand Seal applied the Dao of the void to its utmost, gathering void Dao laws to destroy enemies. This was also a subtle application of the Dao of space, with which Su Yu was very familiar. After studying the Void Scripture for a short while, he grasped the technique's specific Dao patterns.
Three hours later, Su Yu emerged from his cave dwelling and stood among the vast mountains. He looked around and murmured, "Reach the utmost void, hold fast to profound stillness..."
His fingers flickered as he made an opening gesture and thrust out his right palm. Strands of black, glittering void power wrapped around his five fingers. A weightless handprint flew out, then suddenly covered heaven and earth, vast enough to encompass the entire sky.
"Boom!"
The ink-black Void Great Hand Seal struck with the force to shatter the heavens. It contained the incomparable might of heaven and earth. This was an emperor Dao technique.
A mountain range was promptly reduced to dust beneath the Void Great Hand Seal.
Su Yu was quite satisfied. He returned to the cave dwelling he had carved out and continued studying the chains of order in the Void Great Hand Seal. He cultivated for a full day and night before reaching minor mastery of the secret technique.
Su Yu opened his eyes. His forehead glowed faintly, and his primordial spirit concentrated. A stream of yin-yang Qi flowed from between his brows, opening the "Clouds in the Azure Sky, Water in the Vase" phenomenon. Chaos clouds and a Chaos Sea reflected one another, while an ancient dragon bathed in Divine Radiance moved with a treasured vase in its jaws.
With a roar from the Heavenly Dragon that shook the heavens, Dao mist swirled and gathered, hazy and indistinct, becoming a Yin-Yang Dao Diagram.
The next moment, the Yin-Yang Life-and-Death Diagram transformed into streams of Chaos Qi, shrouding its master in chaos.
"Hum..."
Wisps of Chaos Qi curled around Su Yu. Endless life essence Qi poured out, and blazing divine Chaos radiance swirled around him. His flesh was flawless, like seven-colored glass, and a powerful breath of life emanated from it.
A dragon's cry shook heaven and earth, silencing all ten directions. Su Yu stood atop a Chaos True Dragon twenty zhang long. Its scales glittered, bearing intricate, wondrous Dao patterns of heaven and earth, divine immortal Dao patterns with an ancient, boundless presence, and emperor characters flowing with the presence of the emperor Dao.
The Dragon Qi was immensely powerful, its divine power comparable to that of a cultivator at the first minor stage of the Immortal Platform Second Heaven.
This was the sign of a phenomenon reaching full mastery.
With this cloud dragon, Su Yu could contend against Great Powers and sect masters. Even the Peacock King's Stars Illuminate the Azure Heavens was no better than this.
His combat power was not the only thing that had improved. Because of the special nature of his Chaotic Blood, Su Yu could merge with his phenomenon at a critical moment, allowing the cloud dragon to join with the Dao and become his dragon spine. This would unleash a tide of magic power and bring him to Ultimate Sublimation...
"That heavenly tribulation..."
Su Yu's eyes flickered as he recalled the secret technique used by the Chaos imprint during his Immortal Platform tribulation. Its phenomenal power had clearly been stronger. Taken to its utmost, perhaps it could ultimately send a Chaos universe against an enemy with a mere raise of the hand. Not even an Immortal King could withstand such an attack.
But that possibility was exceedingly remote. In the Perfect Era, not even the name of the Chaos Body had been celebrated.
Moreover, an Immortal King's might was beyond imagination. In the present Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, although a Mortal World Immortal existed, the realm was exceedingly fragile before an Immortal King. Even the lord of the Hou clan under the Desolate Heaven Emperor, an Immortal King with a flawed Dao Fruit, could slaughter all the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.
At present, the transformations of the Undying Heavenly Emperor, Great Emperor Wushi, and the Empress were not yet complete. They had not become Mortal World Immortals.
In Su Yu's estimation, if some physiques from the Shrouding the Heavens era were placed in the Perfect Era, the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body and Heavenly Tyrant Blood would be Supreme-level bloodlines, while the Chaos Body and Innate Sacred Body Dao Embryo would be True Immortal-level bloodlines, on par with the Immortal Phoenix.
Of the Ten Fiends of the Perfect Era, none except the True Dragon Clan had an Immortal King-level bloodline.
Su Yu ended his flight of fancy. The Immortal King realm-how he longed for it. A trace of yearning appeared in his eyes. At the thought of the Dark Turmoil and the war with the Foreign Realm, the Chaos True Blood in his body began to boil...
After calming his thoughts a little, Su Yu retrieved the jade slip from the void and put it back into the Devouring Heaven Demon Jar. He stepped forward, shrinking the earth into inches, and in the next instant was at the other end of the sky...
Chapter 82: Reverse Transformation into an Undying Immortal Phoenix
Having planned his next move, Su Yu had no intention of remaining in the Southern Region any longer.
Over the past few days, he had accompanied Yan Ruyu on visits to the major demon clans, one by one.
Quite a few fights had broken out, but most of those demons had not cultivated to a high realm. The strongest were only in the Dragon Transformation Realm, and there were no Half-Step Great Powers among them. Su Yu could suppress opponents of that level with a turn of his hand.
He could not help sighing. No wonder the demons of the Southern Region had been oppressed to such an extent. The weak were scattered, and so were the strong. How could they stand against Yaoguang Holy Land and the Ji Family...?
Within ten days, the demon lords of seventy-two caves had been "persuaded." They sealed an alliance by drinking blood, swore loyalty to the demon princess until death, and agreed to follow Yan Ruyu to the Northern Region.
However, matters encountered a few complications.
Within the Wei Kingdom, nine silver heavenly horses pulled a glittering jade carriage. Its interior was so spacious that it scarcely resembled a carriage, looking more like an enormous cave dwelling.
Inside, everything was warm and lustrous, with flowing, brilliant colors that gave it a dreamlike feel. It was a cave dwelling carved from jade and refined into a carriage, an extraordinary creation.
A handsome young nobleman sat within, dressed in splendid golden robes. He lay languidly on a jade bed, enjoying the attention of his maids with a frivolous expression. A company of burly guards followed the jade carriage. The whole party carried themselves with exceptional bearing, plainly no ordinary people. The crowds in the street moved aside of their own accord, not daring to obstruct the nobleman's carriage.
An elderly man in an azure robe also sat in the jade carriage. He was withered and aged, with white hair and a white beard. Looking at the young man, he lightly tapped the jade table with the fingers of his withered right hand. At last, he said, "Young master, I heard that Princess Green Lotus has already found a husband in the Northern Region, and that he is an important figure from the Chaos Palace. We..."
The young man, whose expression had been casual, paused at those words. Then he narrowed his eyes and glanced at the old man, his tone hostile. "I came because my father heard that the princess had returned to the Southern Region and ordered me to invite her. As for what you said, what does it have to do with me? Do you think I don't understand?"
The old man in azure said softly, "As long as you understand, young master. We must not offend that important figure from the Chaos Palace this time."