AGM 434 – The man named Qin Yuanfeng
Atop the mountain peak, the great roc stood upright, peering at the heavens, projecting an aura that made people want to fall on their knees.
There would be many demonic beasts that would frequent this place to pay their respects to the demon emperor great roc. The great roc who was standing at the peak of the mountains, could clearly feel the sense of loneliness of one that stood at the pinnacle.
He was supreme and unrivalled, staring down at the masses. Staring up at the heavens, he too felt a drive to break through this piece of sky to see what lies beyond it.
The sky sovereign roc resented the fact that the heavens were too low, and died due to repeated collisions against the ceiling of heavens. If the great roc could break through that barrier, how good would that be?
Today, a raging wind gusted as a fearsome demonic might gushed over. The great roc continued staring at the skies, not even bothering to glance at the oncoming threat. He was like the overlord of demons, in his eyes only the sky exists. He would no longer place any of the other primordial demons in his sight.
“ROAR!”
A roar of rage echoed out, only to see that in front of the mountain, an immense figure roughly the size of the great roc appeared.
Scarlet wings, a malevolent countenance, a horn that radiated sharpness as well as eyes that outlined the brutality and coldness of its temperament. This was none other than the demon emperor of the other region, Scarlet-Winged Earth Dragon.
As a demon descended from one of the ancient demonic divinities, it was also the first time it saw a primordial great roc.
“Do you think you are powerful enough to proclaim yourself the Emperor of this region?” A glacial voice spat out. It’s body was akin to a small mountain, it was unknown how heavy it was.
Only now did the great roc shift its eyes onto the Earth Dragon. Coldness erupted in those large eyes, causing the other demonic beasts to tremble. Even the followers of the Earth Dragon bowed in submission when they felt the aura generated by the great roc.
“Before he arrived here, did he slay any of my demonic subjects?” Qin Wentian questioned.
“He did not.” A underling of Qin Wentian replied. Upon hearing this, the Earth Dragon roared, “This emperor couldn’t be bothered with them.”
The eyes of the great roc bored down onto the Earth Dragon, as it spoke in a soft voice, “Submit, or die.”
The Scarlet-Winged Earth Dragon trembled with fury, an instant later, the pressure was punctuated by a thunderous roar as the earth shuddered violently. A power channeled from the geomagnetic core of the world generated an earthquake that rocked the area. The mountain peak Qin Wentian was standing on shook violently as well, appearing as though it would crumble any moment.
Astral Warbeasts were different to humans, they were born with certain abilities in certain spheres of domains. For this Scarlet-Winged Earth Dragon, it was gifted with the talent to control both fire and earth, and could absorb astral energy from constellations of these two attributes up in the nine heavenly layers without a need to condense astral souls from those constellations. This was a talent that solely belonged to Astral Warbeasts.
In addition, the speed and strength of this earth dragon was extremely powerful. Especially in terms of strength, it overshadowed demonic beasts of the same rank as it.
For those more powerful Astral Warbeasts, as they grew stronger, inherited memories of their ancestors would be awakened, allowing them access to certain innate techniques that only those of their bloodline could employ.
The dependence on bloodlines for demonic beasts was much heavier compared to humans. For example, powerful demonic beasts, especially those that were the descendents of the ancient demonic divinities, all of them would be able to cultivate to above a certain realm. For the weaker demonic beasts, they were doomed from birth to stagnate at a certain level, never breaking through it unless they encountered extreme good fortune and obtain a heaven-defying opportunity to change their destiny.
The great roc stared at the earth dragon as a force of absolute obedience, an aura belonging to emperors, blasted out of it. The bloodline of the great roc was burning, manifesting an almost palpable halo shining around him. That was the power of his blood.
The pupils of the Earth Dragon narrowed as its countenance turned incredibly unsightly. Why would this great roc have such a powerful bloodline, even suppressing his? Was its ancestor one of the demonic divinities, the Sky Sovereign Roc?
The aura of the great roc climbed without reserve, before stabilizing at the peak of Heavenly Dipper. Spreading its wings, the great roc soared into the air, staring down at the Scarlet-Winged Earth Dragon as a formidable pressure gushed out of it.
That forcefield, was something a lower-tier demon would face when facing a higher-tier demon. A kind of absolute suppression. That aura caused the Earth Dragon to convulse violently, not only did the strength of the great roc exceed its own strength, the senses of demonic beasts warned it that the bloodline of the great roc was superior to it’s own bloodline, a higher-tiered being. A natural-born king.
“I shall say it once again. Submit, or die.”
The ice-like words of the great roc were akin to a tyrannical bolt of thunder booming out in the mind of the Earth Dragon. Although its cultivation base was at the same level of the great roc, the pressure it felt from it was too overwhelming, due to a superior bloodline.
Looking into the eyes of the roc, it was as though it could see the shadow of the sky sovereign roc within it. The head of the Earth Dragon gradually lowered in submission, it didn’t dare to match the gaze of the great roc.
The other demons upon seeing their emperor in surrender, all felt great shock blooming in their hearts.
“I’m willing to serve under you.” The Earth Dragon spoke, its voice coming out like a rumble. As it spoke the words, the glimmer of emperor’s might faded around him.
The hearts of the various demonic beasts were filled with disbelief, but soon after, reverence filled their gazes when they stared at the great roc hovering in the skies. The sharpness in it’s eyes was something no other demonic beasts would dare to match.
As for the subjects that originally submitted to the great roc, they all felt incredibly moved in their hearts. This was their emperor, a true emperor. Even before they battled, the Earth Dragon had already conceded. How awe-inspiring was that?
“Since you are the emperor of a region, and considering the fact that you never killed a single one of my subjects when you entered my territory, I shall bestow upon you the position of a demon general. The nine demon leaders shall serve under you, and in the future when I’m not here, you will govern the territory on my behalf. However, you will still need to abide by my rules. From now onwards, the demonic beasts of the two regions shall be united under one banner, none among them can fight against each other. For those who break this rule, death awaits them. Do you accept?”
The voice of the great roc was detached, the Scarlet-Winged Dragon knelt on a knee as it roared, “I, the Demon General accept the command of my Emperor.”
“My ambition does not rest here. The ownership of these regions will belong to you guys sooner or later. Now, leave me.” The great roc emotionlessly spoke, the other demonic beasts exchanged glances before retreating from the area. They understood that the great roc had even higher aspirations, so high that they might not even be qualified to follow even if they are willing to.
His aim, was beyond this piece of sky.
The earth dragon returned to its former territory, informing them of a new world order. The great roc returned to that ancient peak and stood there, gazing up at the skies. It was as though it had been there since all eternity.
The demonic beasts below watched on impassively, they would never understand the loneliness of their emperor, of one standing at the pinnacle.
He, originally a human, had now became an emperor in the world of demons.
Time flowed by, the leaves of the forest all turned into beautiful shades of red and yellow. Deep in the mountains, falling leaves and snow drifted about, painting a feeling of desolation over the landscape. The demonic beasts of the two great regions all hailed the great roc as their Emperor.
However, their emperor seemed to be perpetually standing there. Every night, they could see resplendent astral light cascading downwards as the great roc absorbed the astral energy. The glow it radiated further contrasted and showed even clearer how lonely the great roc was, standing there alone on that mountain peak in the middle of the night.
Fairy Qingmei hadn’t appeared again, Qing`er’s whereabouts were also known. Qin Wentian’s only thought now was how to get stronger and stronger.
In the external world, news regarding Qin Wentian had almost died off. The vast majority believed that he had already died, however, the Pill Emperor Hall didn’t step out to publicly make a statement, which further reinforced the belief that Qin Wentian hadn’t died yet to his friends.
In the Mystic Moon Sect of the Spirit Continent, a black-colored robe covered a coquettish frame. The soft velvet of that black robe outlined the contours of that alluring body perfectly. Bai Qing just returned from external training and the first new she heard was that Qin Wentian had fallen during his battle at the Pill Emperor Hall. Upon hearing this news, she didn’t cry, not even a single teardrop fell. She only stood there unmoving like a statue for a total of seven days and nights, stunned by the revelation.
“Little Qing…” Behind Bai Qing, Autumn Snow’s eyes glimmered with tears as she called out. Yet Bai Qing stood there unmoving, her eyes still staring out at the horizon.
A wind gusted by, causing the robes of both of these maidens to flutter.
Black clouds gathered up ahead, Bai Qing’s lips trembled. Finally, a teardrop trickled down her face, just a single tear.
“Wentian gege, if you died… What did I practice the devil arts for?”
Bai Qing’s heart was seized by extreme agony. This kind of pain was as though her heartstrings were snapping one by one. Why did she ignore the price and go ahead to cultivate the path of the devil despite the risks it brought?
“If you died, what use would it be even if the entire Pill Emperor Hall was buried along with you?” Bai Qing mumbled. Inclining her head, she stared up at the heavens as her countenance warped. No longer beautiful, but rather, she now resembled an embodiment of darkness. Her eyes turned cold and pitch black as though they were the eyes of a true devil.
Terrifying devilish might wrapped around her, Autumn Snow by the side felt her entire body going cold, shivering uncontrollably. She retreated rapidly, there was no way for her to stand close to Bai Qing.
That devil might manifested a devilish intent, infusing into Bai Qing. Soon after, her silhouette flickered as she soared up the air and flew off into the distance in a certain direction.
“Qing`er!” Autumn Snow shouted, only to hear a voice drifting over from behind her. “Let her go, since she decided to tread the path of a devil, we have no more control over her fate. Now that her devilish intent is soaring, whether this is a blessing or a curse, would ultimately depend on her own destiny.”
…………
Outside the Demon Mountain City, in that location perpetually cloaked in mist, a group of silhouettes appeared within there and walked out.
Qing`er, that old man as well as the other white-robes maiden walked out of there today.
Within the misty area, all was calm. Yet nobody would knew of the tsunami of commotion that lashed out in a place where experts were as common as the clouds, far far away from here.
The Great Nirvana Immortal Art was stolen by someone! An intense war erupted, ten thousands upon ten of thousands of experts were slain. Various faction of powers many times stronger than the transcendent powers of Grand Xia had fallen and disappeared from the face of this world by due to this war.
Nobody knew of the origin of this tempest. Nobody would have guessed that the actual cause would be because someone in a place called Grand Xia that was located a great distance away, orchestrated this entire war on behalf of another.
Qing`er advanced ahead, the old man stopped his steps as he called out, “Princess.”
Qing`er steps slowly came to a halt.
“Princess, don’t forget your promise to us. This old slave will lead our men away.” That old figure bowed deeply in response to Qing`er’s light nod. After which she continued on her way, as cold as ever, ignoring the existence of others.
Just moments later, Qing`er’s silhouette totally vanished, while a white-robed maiden appeared beside the old man.
“How did the investigation go?” That old man inquired.
“The reason the princess wants this art was because of a young man named Qin Wentian. Qin Wentian should have fallen in the Pill Emperor Hall by right, but a mysterious figure showed up to let him be rescued by Princess Qing`er.” The words of the white-robed maiden caused the old man to furrow his brows. Momentarily, a sharp glint of light flashed in his eyes, “Surnamed Qin…? Could he be related to that man, Qin Yuanfeng? There shouldn’t be any connection between them right?!”
