Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Mount Yujing drifted silently in the void above the Yun Peak Mirror Lake in the Kunlun Mountains. Lin Feng sat on the main seat inside the Grand Heavens Pavilion and his gaze was fixed upon a middle-aged man on the guest seat. “Have you decided?”
This man was handsome, and his demeanor was graceful and poised. There was a certain kind of charm when one reached his age, except his mana aura was extremely normal as if he was just a normal person. He had a disposition like Lin Feng’s current state, as if his entire being was integrated with the void space.
However, Lin Feng could tell that this middle-aged man was a powerful cultivator in the cardinal tribulations beginning stage, and his mantras were unique with outstanding qualities.
This man was the descendant of Emperor Gu, and was the current generation’s Emperor of the Ancients – Gu Jun. With regards to his personal mantras and his abilities, he was the most powerful individual below the Vipralopa Stage across the entire Divine Lands’ human world of cultivation besides the the people from the Celestial Sect of Wonders.
The Longevity Lotus Seat was able to cross its final hurdle and reached the Destiny level. Gu Jun and his tribe were strong enough to sweep over the Great Zhou, the Great Qin and the Northern Tribes even if the latter three parties formed an alliance.
However, the lineage of Emperor Gu, the Great Qin, the Royal House of the Northern Tribes or the Great Zhou Empire after Liang Gan came to power were all friendly with the Celestial Sect of Wonders.
Lin Feng and the Celestial Sect of Wonders wouldn’t interfere with their mutual conflicts and shcemes, but these parties would still take the Celestial Sect of Wonders’ existence into consideration.
Gu Jun had probably thought long and hard about this decision. In the current geopolitical outlook of the world, the era of human emperors reigning supreme over the entire world was already long past its due. However, the chance for the Ancients to finally return to the Divine Lands had matured.
Returning to the Divine Lands and the Greater World, and eventually ruling over many living being and citizens while accumulating the Draconic Energy of all life was extremely meaningful for the Ancients.
For them, and for the other powers like the Great Zhou, the Great Qin Empire and the Royal House of the Northern Tribes, the Energy of All Life and the Energy of Draconic Origins weren’t just insubstantial stories of national interest. They represented real power and influence.
Accumulating and channeling the Draconic Energy catalyzed their cultivation to a certain extent.
Both Shi Yu and Liang Pan were irreplaceable talents in cultivation back in the olden days. But even so, while their speeds of cultivation were much faster than others, they benefited from their royal status and the congregation of Draconic Energy.
Liang Gan was the new emperor of the Great Zhou Empire. This was also part of why he had broken through his shackles in an instant and reached the nascent soul advanced stage from the nascent soul intermediate stage, and his nascent soul quickly rising in power and he was swiftly approaching the immortal soul stage.
Shi Zongtang, the new emperor of the Great Qin Empire, had long been in the second-level immortal soul stage. His level of mastery was relatively higher, so it seemed as if nothing much was changing but there had been objective improvements.
Shi Chongyun would also have been able to receive voluminous benefits within a short period of time when he succeeded the throne, if it weren’t for the urgency and peril of the situation, and it would lower the difficulty of breaking through to the immortal soul.
The Royal House of the Northern Tribes didn’t dabble in this like the others did, and the benefits that they received were also limited while they weren’t adept at collecting the Energy of Draconic Origin either. However, that didn’t mean Draconic Energy didn’t help them at all.
This method of cultivation wasn’t like taking a cheap trick or quick fix and wouldn’t lead to shaky foundations under normal circumstances.
The only thing was that if the emperor eventually gave away the throne, then the speedy improvements brought about by the Energy of all life and the Draconic Energy could become a bad thing in the future. It could mean that their subsequent improvements would become incredibly difficult, and they would have sealed off their future paths when they stepped down.
There had been cases where individuals experienced a decline in mastery when they stepped down from the throne.
Liang Pan had taken many citizens from Tianjing City when he escaped into the Ying Sea. Besides the fact that he wanted a foundation for his comeback in the future, a more important reason was related to the aforementioned. This was also related to his possession of the Imperial Palace, and even he didn’t have Tianjing City and all its geographical advantages, he could still channel the Energy of all life and the Energy of Draconic Energy, and he didn’t need to spend time or resources to arrange everything.
The Southern Wilderness was barely populated, and its territory extended all the way south. The region was considered relatively vast, but because it was in close proximity to the Barren Expanses and the Netherworld Sea cracked open from time to time, its environment was almost intolerable. Many areas were barren and completely uninhabited, so Gu Jun would have limited results if he tried to accumulate the Energy of Draconic Origin in such a place.
Most of the residents inside the Ancient Longevity World would probably follow the Ancients into the Greater World. However, converting the Southern Wilderness into a fertile and habitable place wasn’t something that could be done overnight.
However, with the result of the recent War of the Two Worlds and the human cultivation world’s landslide victory, the Southern Wilderness’ situation had changed a little.
Humans and demons were typically at a standoff at the inter-world passage that connected into the Barren Expanses before the war. However, the crucial areas between the Barren Expanses and the human world were mostly controlled by human cultivators and the demons retreated even further away.
The Southern Wilderness in the Divine Lands wasn’t entirely peaceful or tranquil, but the threat from demons had been reduced to a minimal level.
Even though there were other factors that made the environment of this place atrocious and horrible, it was still an improvement from before the War off the Two Worlds.
The Northern Tribes were too far away, and they wouldn’t be able to do anything even if they wanted to. After Liang Pan and Zhu Hongwu were respectively killed and captured, the Great Qin Empire were starting to take the Southern Wilderness more seriously.
The Great Zhou Empire sustained heavy losses, but they developed a different attitude towards the Southern Wilderness as well.
The Samsara Sect was gradually stabilizing and settling down as well. Even though their strength wasn’t like the olden days, they had the geographical advantage and they had been developing within the Southern Wilderness for a long time. They were also starting to have intentions to expand again.
However, all three parties couldn’t really do anything to stop the Ancients from descending into this land.
The Southern Wilderness was typically uncontrolled by all three parties, and the places that were inhabited were separate cities that governed themselves. They were distant from powers like the Great Qin, the Great Zhou Empire and the Samsara Sect, and they were highly autonomous.
Even though the lineage of Emperor Gu were newcomers, their power and their standards were far superior to that of the Great Qin, the Great Zhou Empire and the Samsara Sect. Stories of the Antiquity Age’s human emperors were still being passed down through the generations, and with Gu Jun and the others’ methods and their ability to show grace and whatnot, assuming governance over the scattered cities wasn’t too difficult.
The Celestial Sect of Wonders, the Great Void Sect and the Mount Shu Sword Sect weren’t going to interfere, so Shi Zongtang, Liang Gan and the others could suck it up.
This was a lot better than the Ancients challenging their territories right from the get go.
This didn’t rule out the possibility of the Ancients making some kind of conquest in the future. The time when they were still not properly settled down and unstable was the best chance for the other parties to form an alliance to resist the Ancients. Still, there was nothing Shi Zongtang, Liang Gan and the others could do as they were just not strong enough and neither were they influential enough.
However, to the best of Lin Feng’s knowledge, Shi Zongtang and the Great Qin Empire’s effort to find the missing Immortal Dragon City was well on its way and they were coming closer.
Gu Jun sat before Lin Feng and smiled as he said, “There will be a ceremony on the day we set up our new city, and I will invite people from all over the world to attend. I hope the leader of the Celestial Sect of Wonders can be present.”
Lin Feng smiled and replied, “I will be there if there aren’t any unforeseen circumstances. Your tribe has lived in seclusion in a middle world for many years, and you have my congratulations for returning to the Greater World after such a long time.”
Gu Jun stood up and said, “I will take my leave if that’s the case. Thank you for your time.”
Once the Celestial Sect of Wonders’ attitude was clear, the Ancients would have much more freedom in executing their subsequent plans.
The Great Void Sect and the Mount Shu Sword Sect sealed themselves within their mountains, and even though the Ancients’ return to the Divine Lands had far-reaching consequences, both sects wouldn’t interfere either.
After Gu Jun and company departed, Lin Feng remained seated inside the Grand Heavens Pavilion. He thought of something and use his mana to create a projection that transformed into a light shadow body that descended into the Celestial Golden Pavilion’s medicine room.
His eldest disciple, Xiao Yan, was working inside the Celestial Golden Pavilion and he couldn’t be distracted. This was the reason why he couldn’t entertain Gu Jun when the latter was here to visit.
However, Xiao Yan wasn’t forging a pill at this moment – instead, he was working on a magic treasure.
This magic treasure had taken its proper form at this point. It was a black-colored pill furnace, and it stood on three feet and was enormous in size as it hovered in midair.
Streak after streak of golden flames that flickered with red and blue radiance encircled this pill furnace. Xiao Yan’s mana directed these multiple circles of flame as he continued to forge the pill furnace.
This unique flame was one of the Seven Legendary Primordial Fires between heaven and earth, the Nanming Primordial Fire. It was extremely powerful, and it was also very beneficial for forging pills and magic treasures and whatnot.
With the help of this fire, Xiao Yan was not only the best at forging pills amongst all of Lin Feng’s direct disciples, he was also better than Zhu Yi, Wang Lin and the others at forging magic items. The only difference was that the gap between them was not as great as that in forging pills, and Xiao Yan was personally more interested in the art of forging pills and it was more to his liking.
The pill furnace magic treasure that he was working on was intended for forging pills.
A high-quality pill furnace made the process a lot easier and faster. Xiao Yan was an expert in the craft after all, and he was forging a pill furnace magic treasure with his stellar understanding of the art and the product would naturally be extraordinary.
This was in addition to the fact that the materials he had infused into the process were all the best and rarest ones.
All the prerequisites were exemplary, and it would be completely against natural law if he still couldn’t forge something good.
Xiao Yan had placed his heart and soul into forging this magic treasure after the conclusion of the War of the Two Worlds. With his current level and ability, this wasn’t a difficult task, but Xiao Yan had always been hardworking and a perfectionist. He consistently refined his methods and attempted to understand the process a little better, so that he could start off as prepared as he could be.
When Tang Jun and his saga with the Lei Family had ended, Xiao Yan returned to the Celestial Golden Pavilion and began to forge this magic treasure.
The Celestial Golden Pavilion’s special effects also had substantial impact on the process of forging this pill furnace magic treasure.
Yan Wuwei, Liu Xiafeng and the other second-generation disciples and even specialized third-generation disciples like Duan Muhong were assisting him from the side.
Li Feng didn’t say anything once he arrived and was just watching Xiao Yan forge the magic treasure from one side. Unless the situation deteriorated in the blink of an eye for some reason, whether or not the magic treasure ended up good or bad, Lin Feng wouldn’t interfere as this magic treasure belonged to Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan continued to channel streaks of flames through the top of the black pill furnace as time passed by, but it was no longer limited to just Nanming Primordial Fire.
Besides the violent Nefarious Spectral Primordial Fire and the all-consuming Heavenly Apocalyptic Blaze as well as the sinister Red Lotus Fire, the Pure Yang Primordial Fire, the golden Grand Sun Primordial Fire and the green True Torch of Ksitigarbha were constantly poured into the pill furnace.
The colorful radiance surrounding the black pill furnace became to glow brighter, and the various colors all over its body orbited around it continuously.
Images of giant golden crows that resembled the sun, and phoenixes that embodied the five wisdoms as well as the various sceneries of mountains and valleys shimmered within the brilliance. The golden light rays that flickered with red and blue colors were like enormous clouds that formed the background of the spectacular scene, and everything was gradually absorbed into the black pill furnace.
Xiao Yan’s eyes suddenly sparkled with fire at the final stages, and he suddenly pointed into the air. A bluish-purple violent demonic fire was added onto the pill furnace.
With the final push provided by the Nefarious Spectral Primordial Fire, the black pill furnace shook and trembled before it stopped moving entirely in midair.
A stream of consciousness seemed to emanate from within the pill furnace, as if a new life had descended upon the world. A consciousness that was completely independent and had a will of its own was born at this moment.
Xiao Yan stood up with a whoosh and laughed heartily. “My name is Inferno Emperor, so I’ll just call you the Inferno Emperor’s Furnace. You shall accompany me in my adventures between heaven and earth to assimilate and cook everything.”
The black pill furnace shuddered before it transformed into a dark ray of light and entered Xiao Yan’s head.
Xiao Yan turned towards Lin Feng and said with a smile on his face, “Master, I have developed a new idea about that pill instruction through the process of forging the pill furnace. I think I have more than eighty-percent confidence of success now.”
