Chapter 425: Heavenly Sovereign's Essence Blood

Chapter 425: Heavenly Sovereign's Essence Blood

Shortly after.

Gu Qingfeng took out the final reward from the information panel.

The essence blood of a Sixth Tribulation Heavenly Sovereign!

...

When this essence blood appeared, a terrifying aura immediately permeated the void. It seemed as if all the cultivators in the Ancient Realm felt an inexplicable unease, and even their meridians and bloodlines trembled subtly.

This feeling was akin to encountering an existence of the highest and most supreme kind.

The newly enlightened Emperor, Lord Xia Tian, and many other powerful figures from other realms were all momentarily stunned, unsure of what had just happened.

Fortunately,

This aura dissipated as quickly as it appeared.

Most cultivators simply assumed it was an illusion.

However, only a few ancient Emperors truly understood that this was no illusion.

In that instant,

These Emperors from other realms became even more wary of the Divine Martial Empire.

They believed that the aura they just felt was likely intentionally released by Gu Qingfeng, serving as a warning.

After all, the profound Daoic resonance that shook the nine heavens had only just dissipated, and now this aura emerged. It was hard to believe there was no connection between the two.

Gu Qingfeng paid no attention to the outside world. His entire focus was on the Heavenly Sovereign's Essence Blood before him.

This essence blood, about the size of an adult's fist, was brimming with a terrifying and profound Daoic resonance. If Gu Qingfeng did not suppress it, the entire Ancient Realm would be shaken.

"Sixth Tribulation Heavenly Sovereign!"

"Such a level of power is indeed unfathomable—"

Looking at the essence blood, even a mere trace of its aura made Gu Qingfeng feel like a speck of dust glimpsing the vast sky.

This was not because the aura was particularly powerful, but because it transcended his own life's level, causing him to feel a deep sense of awe.

Of course,

The aura contained within this essence blood was equally terrifying.

From this, Gu Qingfeng could understand just how formidable a Sixth Tribulation Heavenly Sovereign was.

However,

Compared to this essence blood, the Heavenly Sovereign's blood he had gathered from the Ancient Realm was far inferior.

It was evident that the Heavenly Sovereign who fell in the Ancient Realm was not as powerful as a Sixth Tribulation Heavenly Sovereign.

"Even a Sixth Tribulation Heavenly Sovereign is this formidable, so how terrifying must an Eternal Heavenly Sovereign be... Could that figure in the Netherworld be the rumored Eternal Heavenly Sovereign!?"

Gu Qingfeng pondered, then began the process of refining the Heavenly Sovereign's Essence Blood.

As a reward from the information panel, the Heavenly Sovereign's Essence Blood was sealed with a powerful restriction, ensuring that Gu Qingfeng could refine and absorb it normally.

Otherwise,

With his Imperial Realm cultivation, he would have no means to refine such a powerful entity's essence blood.

But as soon as a strand of Heavenly Sovereign's Essence Blood entered his body, Gu Qingfeng felt his blood surge. An immense power erupted from his flesh, causing his body to tremble uncontrollably.

"Rumble!!"

The surging blood was like a galactic river, fully activating the power of his Ancient Immortal Body. His blood and qi continuously transformed, causing his aura to rise steadily.

One year!

Five years!

Ten years!

...

Time slowly passed.

Gu Qingfeng sat motionless in the Hall of Enlightenment, like an ancient stone that never wavered. The Daoic resonance emanating from his body grew increasingly profound, exuding a daunting aura.

Fortunately, the Hall of Enlightenment was surrounded by powerful restrictions set by Gu Qingfeng, which greatly isolated the aura.

Otherwise,

A ten-thousand-mile radius around the Hall of Enlightenment would be uninhabitable by any cultivator.

In the one hundredth year of his seclusion, his long-still body finally showed some movement.

As Gu Qingfeng's eyes opened, a beam of Daoic light pierced the void, as if the imagery of the Primordial Chaos and the creation and destruction of the universe were being born. Numerous Grand Dao Principles surged forth.

However, this phenomenon lasted only a moment before disappearing.

"My physical defense has reached the half-step Heavenly Sovereign level. To go further, I must step into the Heavenly Sovereign realm, where my body will be on par with a creation-level artifact!"

Gu Qingfeng introspected, gaining a comprehensive understanding of his changes over the past century.

If he had previously been some distance from the peak of the Imperial Realm, now he had truly reached the limit of an Emperor, with no further room for improvement.

To continue enhancing his strength, there was only one way: to break through the Emperor's shackles and enter the Heavenly Sovereign realm.

Otherwise,

Gu Qingfeng's strength would be difficult to improve further.

After all, whether in cultivation or physical strength, Gu Qingfeng had already reached the half-step Heavenly Sovereign level, the pinnacle of the lower realms.

Under normal circumstances, a fully developed Ancient Immortal Body could gradually refine the body to the half-step Heavenly Sovereign level.

But to truly achieve that, Gu Qingfeng estimated it would take at least several thousand years.

However,

Gu Qingfeng had accomplished in a century what would normally take millennia.

It was undeniable that the Heavenly Sovereign's Essence Blood was even more potent than he had imagined.

Moreover,

He had not yet fully refined the Heavenly Sovereign's Essence Blood.

In a century,

He had only refined one-tenth of it.

The remaining majority of the Heavenly Sovereign's Essence Blood was sealed within his body, to be slowly refined once he broke through to the Heavenly Sovereign realm.

After all, he had already reached the limit of the lower realms, and further refinement would be futile. He could not break through the half-step Heavenly Sovereign's shackles and truly enter the Heavenly Sovereign realm.

At this stage,

Gu Qingfeng could already see the shackles of the Heavens, and the faint Immortal Ascension Gate before him. With a single thought, he could easily summon the Immortal Ascension Gate.

One could say,

Gu Qingfeng's decision to ascend or not was entirely up to him.

But Gu Qingfeng did not choose to ascend.

After all, this was not the stage he desired.

A century of seclusion.

Gu Qingfeng was now only seven hundred years old.

However, a century of accumulation had significantly increased his Advancement Points, from hundreds of thousands to two million.

"Two million Advancement Points are still not enough. To break through the Emperor's shackles and directly achieve the Heavenly Sovereign realm, I need at least one billion Advancement Points!"

There was no other way.

The inheritance of a Heavenly Sovereign involved the Great Dao. Unless the information panel rewarded him with a higher-level Great Dao, Gu Qingfeng could only gradually break through his limits.

Moreover,

Gu Qingfeng discovered that one billion Advancement Points were merely the threshold to enter the Heavenly Sovereign realm.

To break through to higher levels, the required Advancement Points would increase accordingly.

For example, to advance his Annihilation Dao from the second level to the third, he would need thirty billion Advancement Points.

Every advancement in the Great Dao requires the accumulation of one billion Advancement Points.

Given this, two million Advancement Points are woefully insufficient.

"Under normal circumstances, a Second Tribulation Heavenly Sovereign possesses the mastery of the Second Level of the Great Dao. Since I now command the Second Level of the Annihilation Dao, I have the qualifications to ascend to the Second Tribulation Heavenly Sovereign.

By gradually refining myself with the power of the Great Dao, breaking through to the Second Tribulation Heavenly Sovereign should not be a problem.

However, no one knows just how powerful the Immortal Realms truly are. Being merely a Second Tribulation Heavenly Sovereign might not be enough!"

"If I have the opportunity, it would be best to accumulate enough Advancement Points to directly break through to the Ninth Tribulation Heavenly Sovereign, or even to the Eternal Heavenly Sovereign, when the Immortal Ascension Gate opens.

That way, even if there are issues in the higher realms, I will have the strength to handle them!"

Gu Qingfeng had long considered this. He understood that achieving this would be extremely difficult, but no matter how hard it was, he had to do his best.

Then, Gu Qingfeng turned his gaze to the outside of the Hall of Enlightenment. The divine aura of the empire was vast, and the former Eighteen-Petaled Azure Lotus had now transformed into a Twenty-One-Petaled Azure Lotus.

It would not be long before it reached the limit of the Twenty-Three-Petaled Azure Lotus.

"Twenty-One-Petaled Azure Lotus. Such a divine aura is enough to suppress many Emperors. The empire's divine aura has been on the rise since the pacification of the foreign lands a century ago. If this continues, in another three to five hundred years, it will transform into a Twenty-Three-Petaled Azure Lotus.

That will be the true peak of the Divine Martial Empire!"

Gu Qingfeng was well aware of this.

The Twenty-Three-Petaled Azure Lotus is the limit that the lower realms can accommodate, just as the lower realms can only support Emperors.

To break this limit, one must transcend the boundaries and enter the Immortal Realms.

Then, Gu Qingfeng expanded his divine consciousness, and the entire Gu family and Zuzhou came into his perception.

Through the source of Mai Xue within him, Gu Qingfeng could even sense the conditions of all the younger generations of the Gu family.

"Excellent!"

"In such a short time, the number of Mai Xue in the Gu family has surpassed a thousand, and there are now thirteen Sage Realm cultivators and six who have broken through to the Great Sage Realm. It seems these younger generations have not been idle!"

A faint smile curved at the corners of Gu Qingfeng's mouth. The improvement in the strength of his younger generations was precisely what he wanted to see.

It was also because of the growth in the number of Mai Xue and the continuous breakthroughs of the younger generations that Gu Qingfeng had been able to gather over two million Advancement Points in a century.

At this rate, in ten thousand years, the number of Mai Xue in the Gu family would reach an astonishing level.

In that case, even if the Advancement Points Gu Qingfeng gathered were not enough to break through to the Eternal Heavenly Sovereign level in one go, they would at least allow him to advance several steps.

Suddenly, Gu Qingfeng's expression changed, and a streak of light flashed by with a snap of his fingers.

...

On the other side, in the Primordial Chaos.

A young man was slashing through the void with a long sword, battling a demon that rivaled a Great Sage.

Under the attacks of this powerful demon, the young man was gradually being pushed back, his injuries growing more severe. Around him, the bodies of Divine Martial Empire cultivators lay scattered.

"Hehe, why struggle? You might as well surrender and die. Perhaps I will give you a quick death!"

The Bloodfiend Sage King, with his crimson eyes, looked at the young man with unhidden greed.

"To be honest, I have never tasted the flesh of an Emperor's descendant. I wonder if the blood and flesh of an Emperor's descendant are more delicious than other humans—"

"Kill!"

Gu Fengyuan remained silent, his expression resolute. The terrifying and brutal Blade Intent shattered the universe, and numerous blade auras erupted, determined to slay the demon before him.

However, even with all his might, he could not harm the Bloodfiend Sage King.

There was no way around it; the gap in cultivation was too great.

Gu Fengyuan was only at the Eighth Level of the Saint Realm, far from breaking through to the peak. The only reason he could fight to this extent was due to the thickness of his Emperor's Mai Xue.

Otherwise, he would have already been defeated.

Now, after a long battle, Gu Fengyuan's vital energy was gradually depleting, and his defeat and death were inevitable.

Despite this, Gu Fengyuan harbored no fear, only a deep sense of injustice.

"The Gu family will not be disgraced by your kind. Today, even if I die, I will make you pay the price!"

Gu Fengyuan let out a long cry, and the previously waning energy within him surged, the power of his blade auras increasing to a new level. The Bloodfiend Sage King's face turned pale.

"Burning your essence and blood... Boy, do you really think that makes you my match!?"

Caught off guard, the Bloodfiend Sage King received a deep gash, causing the great demon of the Demon Clan to erupt in rage. He manifested a demonic avatar, and a terrifying aura shook the heavens for miles.

Under the full force of the Bloodfiend Sage King's attack, even Gu Fengyuan's essence and blood were no match. In just a few breaths, he coughed up blood and staggered back, his body riddled with wounds, blood streaming down.

"Die!"

The Bloodfiend Sage King grinned savagely, his fingers reaching for Gu Fengyuan's head. If he caught him, Gu Fengyuan's skull would be shattered.

Gu Fengyuan's face was filled with a look of defiance.

He wanted to resist, but it was too late.

However, just as Gu Fengyuan thought he was doomed, a terrifying and profound aura surged from the Primordial Chaos. A beam of world-destroying divine light tore through the starry river, a force like the will of heaven, causing the Bloodfiend Sage King's crimson eyes to widen in terror.

"No—"

The Bloodfiend Sage King only managed to utter one word before his flesh disintegrated, and he was utterly annihilated in the void.

The sudden turn of events left Gu Fengyuan stunned, unable to react for a moment.

But then, a gentle divine light suddenly enveloped him, and the numerous wounds on his body began to heal at an incredible speed.

In just a few breaths, all his injuries disappeared.

Gu Fengyuan felt his strength return to its peak, as if the desperate battle had been nothing more than a delusion.

But the gruesome scene in the void made it clear that what had happened was real.

Then, Gu Fengyuan took a deep breath and bowed in the direction of the Ancient Realm.

"Thank you, Ancestor, for your intervention. Your grandson is deeply grateful!"

At that moment, the resonance from the Mai Xue made it clear to Gu Fengyuan what had happened.

In the entire Ancient Realm, only his ancestor possessed the power to directly cross the Primordial Chaos and slay a great demon, saving him from certain death. (End of Chapter)

Chapter end