Chapter 405: The Twelve-Petal Azure Lotus Appears, Shaking the Ancient Realm!

Chapter 405: The Twelve-Petal Azure Lotus Appears, Shaking the Ancient Realm!

To be honest, Gu Qingfeng looked forward to the arrival of the great era of contention. This meant he could enhance his strength without any reservations. At present, due to the constraints of the Heavenly Dao, Gu Qingfeng could only use his enhancement points to break through, while other cultivation techniques remained stagnant once they reached the Sage level. However, once the Heavenly Dao's suppression vanished, Gu Qingfeng could simultaneously enhance his other techniques. This would save him a significant amount of enhancement points.

Of course, the most important point was the Gu family. If the Heavenly Dao's suppression disappeared, the Gu family would be able to produce Sages, and the enhancement points they provided would only increase.

In the years that followed, Gu Qingfeng's routine remained largely the same. He would seclude himself to deduce the Dao Scriptures and occasionally emerge to guide the younger generation of the Gu family in their cultivation. Notably, the number of Mai Xue within the Gu family had increased significantly. The family now numbered 156, a considerable leap from the past.

Gu Qingfeng was naturally pleased with this growth. However, this was not the total number of family members. Due to the chaos caused by the Evil Spirits and the nine-tier demons, many of the younger generation had rushed to the battlefields, and a few had tragically fallen. Despite this, the Gu family's losses over the years were relatively minimal, totaling only about one or two dozen.

Nevertheless, the Gu family now numbered 156, a significant increase from the past. This change brought a direct benefit: Gu Qingfeng received far more enhancement points annually than before. Over the past decade, Gu Qingfeng not only reached the peak of the Semi-Emperor realm but also had over 50,000 enhancement points left over.

However, when he tried to break through to the Emperor realm, the required enhancement points were indeed shocking. To reach the Emperor realm, one needed a million enhancement points. Previously, Gu Qingfeng had assumed that the points required to break through to the Emperor realm would not be too high, perhaps only 100,000 to 200,000. Now, he discovered that the leap from the peak of the Semi-Emperor realm to the Emperor realm required a million enhancement points.

Upon closer reflection, Gu Qingfeng quickly understood. A Sage King needed only 10,000 enhancement points to break through, while a Semi-Emperor required 50,000, a fivefold increase. If the gap from Sage King to Semi-Emperor was five times, then a twenty-fold increase from Semi-Emperor to Emperor seemed reasonable.

After all, the existence of an Emperor was already at the pinnacle of the chaos, a true powerhouse. Even the most elite Semi-Emperors were merely larger ants in the eyes of an Emperor. Throughout the ages, the number of Semi-Emperors who could rival Emperors was exceedingly rare. Xia Tianjun, the thirteenth ancestor of the Xia family, was one of them.

However, Xia Tianjun could only rival an Emperor because he had reached the peak of the Semi-Emperor realm, possessed a perfected Heavenly Dao Body, and cultivated the Imperial Scripture of the ancient Xia family. Even so, he could only barely match an Emperor. In a true battle, he would inevitably fall.

This clearly demonstrated the vast gap between Semi-Emperors and Emperors. Thus, requiring a million enhancement points to break through to the Emperor realm was not surprising.

"Currently, the Gu family has over a hundred members, and gathering a million enhancement points is no easy task. But as long as the Gu family's Mai Xue continues to thrive, a million enhancement points is not an unattainable goal!"

With this thought, Gu Qingfeng's mind regained its calm. For him, the most important thing now was to wait. As long as he waited, the advantage would always be on his side.

—

Time passed slowly. The resurgence of the ancient Evil Spirits made the situation in the Ancient Realm extremely dire. Many veteran powerhouses fell, but many new talents emerged. In various major domains, the situation became chaotic. Only the Eastern Domain, under the rule of the Divine Martial Imperial Dynasty, remained orderly, even as the ancient Evil Spirits resurfaced.

Under these circumstances, the strength of the Divine Martial Imperial Dynasty steadily increased. In the blink of an eye, another decade passed. This year, Gu Qingfeng turned 160.

—

Emperor Yang led his officials to Mount Deyang to perform the heavenly sacrifice.

On the same day.

The entire Eastern Domain was shaken.

A twelve-petal Azure Lotus overshadowed the sky, and nine ancient cauldrons rose from the Ancestral State, suppressing the eight wilderness regions of the Eastern Domain and the Ancestral State itself, exerting the might of the imperial dynasty to subdue the land.

Various weaker Evil Spirits were instantly annihilated under this overwhelming aura of fortune.

Even those Evil Spirits that had reached the level of natural disasters suffered varying degrees of severe injuries, retreating into hiding and no longer daring to show themselves.

The commotion in the Eastern Domain naturally caught the attention of the powerful figures in other major domains.

When they cast their gazes toward the Eastern Domain, they saw the twelve-petal Azure Lotus that overshadowed the sky, its majestic heavenly might sweeping through the nine heavens, with the various great principles resonating as if the heavens and earth were celebrating its emergence.

"Twelve-petal Azure Lotus!"

"This is the symbol of a divine dynasty!"

"Who would have thought that the Divine Martial Imperial Dynasty has truly reached this stage—"

In the four major domains, many ancient imperial dynasty rulers and ancient Empire Aspirants, among others, were now visibly shocked, as if the twelve-petal Azure Lotus had brought them an indescribable sense of awe.

And indeed, this was the case.

The Divine Martial Imperial Dynasty had only been established for 109 years.

In just 109 years.

It had progressed from a fortune dynasty to a divine dynasty, which was more than enough to shock them.

Especially the rulers of ancient imperial dynasties, who were now even more internally shaken.

"Our imperial dynasties have undergone hundreds of millions of years of accumulation, yet we have never taken that step. Who would have thought that the Divine Martial Imperial Dynasty would reach the divine dynasty stage in just over a hundred years? Truly incomprehensible!"

One of the imperial dynasty rulers couldn't help but exclaim.

To be precise.

The transformation of the Divine Martial Imperial Dynasty from an imperial dynasty to a divine dynasty didn't take 109 years, but only a few decades.

The 109 years referred to the total time from its establishment as a dynasty to its elevation to a divine dynasty.

However.

Even if the transformation from an imperial dynasty to a divine dynasty took 109 years, it was still a shocking feat.

Many imperial dynasties, even after accumulating for ten thousand times or even a hundred thousand times longer, had failed to ascend to the divine dynasty stage. Now, the Divine Martial Imperial Dynasty had achieved it in a single generation, leaving them far behind.

It was impossible not to feel envy and jealousy.

However.

Everyone understood.

The reason the Divine Martial Imperial Dynasty could ascend so quickly was due to the presence of a powerhouse on par with an Emperor.

An Emperor could easily foster the birth of a divine dynasty, which was not a surprising occurrence.

In the past, every divine dynasty that emerged had the shadow of an Emperor behind it.

Such a powerhouse not only stood at the peak of the Ancient Realm but also at the peak of the entire cosmos.

In such a situation.

When an Emperor took action, no one could resist.

Ultimately.

The greatest difference between these ancient imperial dynasties and the Divine Martial Imperial Dynasty was the lack of an Emperor.

If their own imperial dynasty could produce an Emperor, they would have already ascended to a divine dynasty and wouldn't have to wait until now.

But—

Producing an Emperor was no easy task.

At this level of strength, even among billions and trillions of beings, it was uncertain if one could emerge.

How many heaven-defying prodigies ultimately fell on the path to becoming an Emperor? The ones who truly reached the pinnacle could be counted on one hand.

In many eras of great contention, no Emperor emerged, and even the top prodigies of the current era often stopped at the Great Sage Realm or the Sage King Realm.

Let alone an Emperor.

Even breaking through to the Empire Aspirant Realm was rare.

This shows.

How difficult it is to break through to the Emperor Realm.

Similarly.

The influence that an Emperor can exert is unimaginable.

...

In the Desolate Ancient Era, the Qin family.

A middle-aged cultivator in purple robes looked toward the Eastern Domain, his eyes flowing with the essence of the Dao, and his usually calm face showing a trace of shock.

"Twelve-petal Azure Lotus, a divine dynasty has emerged!"

His words sent ripples of shock through the other high-ranking members of the Qin family.

After all, not everyone in the Central Domain could glimpse the situation in the Eastern Domain.

The Dao essence of a divine dynasty's ascension was difficult to truly perceive without reaching a certain level of cultivation.

Qin Xiongdao’s face was bitter. "The Divine Martial Imperial Dynasty has indeed reached this stage. It's a pity that I underestimated it!"

If he had known that the Divine Martial Imperial Dynasty could suppress three Emperor Clans and then ascend to a divine dynasty, he would have spared no effort to support it when it faced difficulties.

But it was too late now.

The Divine Martial Imperial Dynasty was now at its peak, about to ascend to a divine dynasty. For a declining Desolate Ancient Era Qin family, it was impossible to re-establish an alliance with the Divine Martial Imperial Dynasty.

"You did indeed make a mistake!"

The purple-robed cultivator glanced at him and shook his head.

"The Divine Martial Imperial Dynasty has such a profound foundation, yet you focused only on short-term gains, causing the Qin family to lose a powerful ally.

This era is destined to belong to the Divine Martial Gu family!"

"Ancestor, you are right!"

Qin Xiongdao hurriedly bowed his head in acknowledgment, a Sage King Realm powerhouse showing no arrogance before the purple-robed cultivator.

The robed cultivator before them was none other than an ancient forefather of the Qin family from the Desolate Ancient Era, a supreme powerhouse who had reached the pinnacle of the Empire Aspirant realm, known as Qin Wuxiang.

As an imperial clan from the Desolate Ancient Era, the Qin family naturally possessed a profound heritage.

Like the three imperial clans of the Eastern Domain, each had produced an Empire Aspirant, and the Primordial Xia Clan even had a powerhouse like Xia Tianjun, capable of challenging Emperors.

The Qin family from the Desolate Ancient Era, of course, was no exception.

However, such mighty figures usually remained in the family's forbidden grounds, rarely awakening unless absolutely necessary.

Unfortunately, the arrival of the Demon Clan from the Nine Heavens and the resurgence of the Primordial Evil Spirits had completely shattered the fragile stability of the Central Domain.

In this dire situation, the Qin family suffered the loss of many strong cultivators, including a few ancient Sages and Great Sages.

In response to this crisis, the Qin family had no choice but to awaken Qin Wuxiang, a top-tier powerhouse from the Desolate Ancient Era, to stabilize the situation.

Seeing Qin Xiongdao bow his head, the other high-ranking members of the Qin family dared not even breathe loudly, fearing they might anger Qin Wuxiang.

Though this ancient forefather from the Desolate Ancient Era was usually calm and composed, his methods were notoriously ruthless.

If anyone dared to provoke him, they would be dead without a second thought, and no one would dare to complain.

"If you were not a Sage King of the Qin family, you would have no reason to live at this moment!"

Qin Wuxiang stared at Qin Xiongdao coldly for a moment before turning his gaze away.

Upon hearing these words, Qin Xiongdao let out a deep breath of relief. Only then did he realize that his back was drenched in sweat.

For a moment, he felt as if he had walked through the gates of death.

He did not doubt that Qin Wuxiang's words were anything but a joke.

Qin Xiongdao had heard rumors about this ancient forefather. In the Desolate Ancient Era, Qin Wuxiang was known as the God of Slaughter.

This gave a clear indication of just how much blood he had shed.

If he were not a Sage King, Qin Xiongdao was certain he would not have survived.

His pride in his cultivation, formidable as it was, was insignificant before such a peak Empire Aspirant.

"However, you did one thing well. You managed to have the direct lineage of the Qin family join the sect of that ancient forefather of the Gu family, maintaining a cordial relationship between the two sides.

Even if the mighty Gu family cannot become an ally of the Qin family, they will not actively become enemies.

To offend such a being would mean the countless generations of the Qin family's legacy could be utterly destroyed."

Qin Wuxiang shook his head slightly, his expression returning to its usual calm.

To others, imperial clans seemed unshakable.

But Qin Wuxiang knew that an imperial clan was truly unshakable only as long as an Emperor was alive.

Without an Emperor to preside over it, the clan's eternal existence was almost impossible.

Throughout history, whenever an Emperor emerged, it was always accompanied by blood and carnage.

Even in the Desolate Ancient Era, every time an Emperor appeared, numerous ancient imperial clans would fall, becoming stepping stones for the Emperor.

This was inevitable.

Most Emperors, before achieving their realm, had to fight their way up, accumulating countless enemies along the way. Some imperial clans, hoping to produce another Emperor, would intervene and attempt to kill these unproven Emperors.

Thus, the two sides naturally became mortal enemies.

Once an Emperor achieved their realm, they would inevitably settle scores.

However, from what Qin Wuxiang understood, the ancient forefather of the Gu family did not seem to have trodden the same path as other Emperors, stepping on the corpses of countless geniuses to reach the imperial realm.

His rise seemed to have been smooth and natural, with little conflict.

Qin Wuxiang speculated that this ancient forefather must have had a Heaven-defying opportunity, allowing him to reach the imperial realm without having to fight other geniuses as other Emperors did.

Nevertheless, despite this knowledge, Qin Wuxiang had no intention of coveting such an opportunity.

Before the battle in the Primordial Ancient Land, Qin Wuxiang might have attempted to seize it. But after the events there, he had given up on the idea.

Qin Wuxiang knew all too well the strength of Xia Tianjun.

The fact that Gu Qingfeng could suppress Xia Tianjun meant that his power was beyond Qin Wuxiang's reach.

After learning that Gu Qingfeng had slain the Supreme You Di, Qin Wuxiang had no desire to become his enemy. (End of Chapter)

Chapter end