Chapter 397: Ten-Rank Green Lotus

Chapter 397: Ten-Rank Green Lotus

The slash from Wilted Mountain Immortal City silenced the vast Demonic Realm.

The Myriad Demons Ancestral Court, split in two, still lingered with remnants of blade qi. Any great demon who accidentally stepped into it met a bloody end instantly.

The residual blade qi here made countless demons hesitant to take even a single step.

Of course, this was not just limited to the Demon Clan.

The numerous human cultivators of Wilted Mountain Immortal City were also filled with shock, their hearts brimming with awe and reverence for the strength of the Gu family’s ancient ancestor.

Emperor Qingfeng!

Unconsciously, this title had become increasingly prevalent in Wilted Mountain Immortal City.

Although he had not yet truly ascended to Emperor, his power was on par with an Emperor, and thus calling him an Emperor was entirely justified.

Some cultivators even speculated that he had already reached the pinnacle of Emperor.

However, Gu Qingfeng paid little attention to the rumors outside.

His attack on the Myriad Demons Ancestral Court was both to intimidate the enemy and to gauge their true strength.

In the past, Gu Qingfeng would not have acted so impulsively.

After all, the Myriad Demons Ancestral Court had many powerful figures, and even an Empire Aspirant could not stand against the entire court.

But things were different now.

The battle in the Primordial Ancient Land had given Gu Qingfeng a clear understanding of his own strength.

Even an ancient Emperor like the Black Abyss Emperor was no match for him.

Thus, Gu Qingfeng no longer needed to be as cautious as before. The recent invasion of Wilted Mountain Immortal City by a demon emperor gave him the perfect opportunity to test the waters.

Knowing oneself and the enemy ensures victory in a hundred battles.

Moreover—

Gu Qingfeng wanted to send a message to the Demonic Realm that Wilted Mountain Immortal City was not to be trifled with. Any demon emperor who dared to invade again would face the same fate.

After all, Gu Qingfeng could not always remain in Wilted Mountain Immortal City.

Especially with the Black Abyss Emperor now active, he needed to prevent an attack on the Divine Martial Empire.

An ancient Emperor was a formidable opponent, and Gu Qingfeng could not afford to be complacent.

If possible, he hoped to slay the Black Abyss Emperor, thus eliminating a future threat.

However, slaying an Emperor was no easy feat.

Despite Gu Qingfeng’s ability to severely wound the Black Abyss Emperor, it was only because of the element of surprise. Otherwise, truly injuring an Emperor would not be so simple.

Therefore, Gu Qingfeng had Gu Yang gather all available information on the Black Abyss Emperor.

If he could find the Black Abyss Emperor, he would strike to end the threat.

Afterward, Gu Qingfeng continued his seclusion for cultivation.

—

“Boom!”

A terrifying force covered a vast expanse, and all cultivators instinctively looked up at the figure in the sky, their faces filled with despair.

Some cultivators took to the air, shouting angrily, “Who are you, and what do you intend—”

“Silence!”

The Black Abyss Emperor’s face was expressionless. With a casual flick of his right finger, the Palace of Dao Realm cultivator who spoke exploded, his life force drawn towards the Black Abyss Emperor.

Then, the Black Abyss Emperor unleashed a Great Dao Art. Instantly, all cultivators felt their life force being uncontrollably drawn from their bodies, flowing towards him.

In a short time, the life force of millions of cultivators within a thousand-mile radius was completely drained, leaving them as dried corpses on the ground, silent and lifeless.

The Black Abyss Emperor inhaled deeply, and all the life force of the living beings entered his body, slightly reducing the aged and decaying aura that had surrounded him.

“Not enough!”

“The life essence of a million cultivators is not enough for this Emperor to fully recover. I need more life essence!”

“Gu Qingfeng… the grudge of the severed arm will be settled once I am fully restored!”

The Black Abyss Emperor’s eyes were blood-red, and a cold, murderous intent spread from his body. The battle in the Primordial Ancient Land had become a demonic obsession in his mind.

If the heart demon cannot be removed, the subsequent effects will be significant.

Although Gu Qingfeng's displayed strength is terrifying, in the eyes of the Black Abyss Emperor, if he were in his prime, the opponent would never be a match for him.

The reason for his defeat back then was due to his prolonged slumber in the Life Ancient City, causing his strength to decline. Compared to a fully intact Emperor, he had a slight disadvantage.

Now.

The Black Abyss Emperor intends to use the life essence of the numerous beings in the Ancient Realm as nourishment to truly restore himself to his peak.

This method of slaughtering beings and plundering their life essence is a kind of secret and evil technique, which the Black Abyss Emperor of old would naturally disdain.

But now.

The Black Abyss Emperor can no longer afford to be so particular.

He is well aware.

If he wants to kill Gu Qingfeng, the latter will not let him off either.

Only by quickly restoring his strength can he truly deal with the upcoming challenges.

Additionally—

The Black Abyss Emperor suspects that Gu Qingfeng possesses a Heaven-Defying Opportunity.

Otherwise.

How could the other have reached such a shocking realm in such a short time?

Even if it were an Emperor reborn.

It would be impossible to achieve this.

It's simple.

The Black Abyss Emperor himself is an ancient Emperor. If he were to live again and wanted to re-cultivate to that level, the time required would not be short.

He cannot do it, and neither can any other Emperor.

But if it's not an Emperor, then there is only one possibility.

"The Immortal Realm!"

"Back then, this Emperor paid a great price to divine the heavenly fate. The opportunity to become an Immortal lies in this world, and it might be related to Gu Qingfeng!"

The Black Abyss Emperor's eyes turned cold, and in the next moment, he stepped through the void, appearing elsewhere in an instant.

Boom!

The Emperor's pressure covered a million miles, causing mountains to collapse and rivers to dry up, making the entire world seem like it was entering the end times. Numerous cultivators were filled with fear, not knowing what was happening.

In the next breath.

The Black Abyss Emperor refined all the beings, and a terrifying life essence flowed towards him like a flood.

Massacre!

Complete massacre!

As the Black Abyss Emperor walked through the Ancient Realm, all life was extinguished in his path. Whether they were Palace of Dao Realm cultivators or Grand Sages of the Saint Realm, they were all blood sacrifices in his eyes, with no distinction.

The life essence of countless beings was refined, and the terrifying resentment surged into the sky, causing a vast domain to tremble.

This sudden change.

Caused many forces to be alarmed.

"An ancient Emperor has emerged, sacrificing all life!"

"This is a great calamity—"

An ancient Grand Sage looked sorrowful, as if seeing a scene of blood raining down and the heavens weeping.

In the Ancient Xia Clan.

Summer Ruler, upon hearing the report from the clan elder, had a serious expression.

"An ancient Emperor has emerged, now wantonly slaughtering to plunder the life essence of all beings to restore his own strength. However, for a Da Di Realm existence, the life essence of ordinary cultivators is ineffective; only a sufficient quantity will work!"

"To restore himself, the Black Abyss Emperor will need at least tens of millions of human lives!"

Summer Ruler sneered at the Black Abyss Emperor's actions, but he would not deliberately obstruct him.

An ancient Emperor.

Even if he is not afraid, he cannot easily offend such a being.

Moreover.

The Ancient Realm is vast.

There are more than tens of millions of humans.

Even if tens of millions of humans die, it would not cause much damage to the entire Ancient Realm.

In Summer Ruler's eyes, ordinary humans are like ants; if they die, they die. In the past, when great calamities erupted, the most casualties were among these cultivators.

As long as the Black Abyss Emperor does not oppose the Ancient Xia Clan, Summer Ruler will not bother with him.

Xia Chunqiu looked hesitant. "If that ancient Emperor confronts the Divine Martial Empire, what should we do?"

"..."

Summer Ruler was silent for a moment, then slowly spoke.

"Let's just watch for now!"

If possible, Summer Ruler would prefer not to get involved in the affairs of these two.

But now, the Ancient Xia Clan is nominally subject to the Divine Martial Empire. If an ancient Emperor were to attack, the Divine Martial Empire's edict would not allow the Xia Clan to refuse.

Unless.

The Xia Clan wants to break ties with the Divine Martial Empire.

But doing so.

The Xia Clan would have to bear the consequences.

If the ancient Emperor could destroy the Divine Martial Empire, that would be fine.

But the problem is, in Summer Ruler's view, although the ancient Emperor is powerful, destroying the Divine Martial Empire is impossible.

As long as that old ancestor of the Gu Clan is alive, no one can threaten the Divine Martial Empire.

Similarly.

If the Xia Clan disobeys the edict and the Divine Martial Empire holds them accountable, that old ancestor of the Gu Clan coming to the Xia Clan would be a significant problem.

The battle in the Primordial Ancient Land made Summer Ruler truly realize the gap between himself and Gu Qingfeng.

From start to finish, the other did not truly use all his resources, while he had to rely on an Imperial Weapon to compete with him. Without the Imperial Weapon, he would not be his match.

With Gu Qingfeng's strength, it is inevitable that he will become an Emperor.

A powerhouse like that, once they break through to the Earthly Emperor Realm, would only become even more terrifying.

In this situation.

Summer Ruler naturally didn’t want to openly clash with the Divine Martial Empire.

...

Divine Martial Empire.

In the imperial court.

A minister clasped his hands and reported, "Your Majesty, news comes from all regions that an ancient Emperor from the Primordial Ancient Land has been wantonly slaughtering, sacrificing billions of lives. This matter cannot be ignored!"

"Ancient Emperor!"

Gu Yang’s eyes narrowed, and his fingers lightly tapped the armrest. After a moment, he turned his gaze to Gu Yi.

"Has the Imperial Guard identified this ancient Emperor?"

"Your Majesty, this Emperor is named Black Abyss. He was a human Emperor from the Primeval Era. Later, he disappeared without a trace, and it was rumored that he had long since perished. However, in fact, he sealed himself within the Primordial Ancient Land.

As for the imperial clan left behind by Emperor Black Abyss, they were obliterated in the great catastrophe of the Ancient Realm.

At present, the Imperial Guard has yet to gather more detailed information!"

Gu Yi reported truthfully.

Ancient Emperor!

These four words cast a heavy shadow over the court, making all the ministers feel immense pressure.

Gu Yang frowned and then continued, "Closely monitor the movements of Emperor Black Abyss. If he doesn’t enter the Divine Martial territory, so be it. But if he dares to intrude, report to me immediately. At that time, I will request the intervention of the Supreme Emperor to subdue him!"

An ancient Emperor was like a walking disaster, and Gu Yang was not about to take any chances.

However, the Ancient Realm was vast, and Gu Yang couldn’t simply chase after him and besiege him.

In the end,

An Emperor, if they decided to leave, would be hard to stop even by another Emperor.

Therefore,

The Ancient Realm was not solely dominated by the Divine Martial Empire. Before other forces intervened, Gu Yang could not rashly make a move.

If the Divine Martial Empire and the ancient Emperor were to mutually weaken each other, others would surely seize the opportunity.

Therefore,

As long as Emperor Black Abyss didn’t provoke the Divine Martial Empire, Gu Yang saw no need to confront him.

Of course,

Gu Yang understood that the Divine Martial Empire and Emperor Black Abyss had already formed a grudge. If there was a chance, the latter would not ignore the Divine Martial Empire.

If there was an opportunity,

Gu Yang hoped to eliminate this threat completely.

But before that, Gu Yang’s priority was to unify the entire Eastern Domain and elevate the Divine Martial Empire to a Divine Dynasty.

Just then,

Suddenly,

The imperial fortune of the Divine Martial Empire trembled. When Gu Yang looked into the void, he saw the imperial fortune manifest again, with a new lotus leaf slowly growing, transforming the original nine-petal green lotus into a ten-petal one.

The moment the ten-petal lotus appeared, a powerful fortune descended, causing Gu Yang’s body to tremble slightly. His cultivation immediately advanced from the Second Heaven of the Saint Realm to the Third Heaven.

"Third Heaven of the Saint Realm, achieved!"

Gu Yang hadn’t expected his cultivation to advance so quickly. What’s more, he hadn’t anticipated that the transformation of the Fortune Lotus to the tenth petal, even without the elevation to a Divine Dynasty, could bring such a significant change.

However,

This time, only Gu Yang’s cultivation advanced, while none of the ministers received any fortune enhancement.

Seeing this,

Gu Yang understood.

As the ruler of the empire, he was closely linked to the imperial fortune. Therefore, any change in the Fortune Lotus would directly affect him.

In contrast,

Although the other ministers also received the fortune’s blessing, only the moment of the empire’s elevation could truly bring a breakthrough in cultivation.

On a daily basis, the fortune’s blessing would significantly speed up their cultivation.

This is why many cultivators sought to serve in the imperial court.

Protected by the imperial fortune, their cultivation would be greatly enhanced, allowing even cultivators of average talent to rival true prodigies.

Of course,

This applies to empires.

For ordinary imperial or royal courts, the enhancement was not as significant.

Especially for royal courts.

Limited by their fortune, the changes they could bring were also limited.

Most cultivators, if they had some cultivation, would not look favorably upon mere royal courts. Only the fortune of imperial courts and above would be their targets.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! The Fortune Lotus has transformed to the tenth petal. The elevation to a Divine Dynasty is just around the corner!"

Seeing this, the ministers hurriedly offered their congratulations. Gu Yang’s face broke into a smile.

Ten petals!

Then eleven and twelve petals wouldn’t be far behind!

After all,

The Divine Martial Empire had only just begun conquering the Eastern Domain. It had not yet fully brought all 108 provinces under control.

Once that step was achieved, the elevation to a Divine Dynasty would be inevitable.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end