Eternal God Emperor: Only I Am Emperor One

Chapter 117 Lingjuan Hill

In the Fish-Dragon Realm, cultivators can refine divine blood and condense a divine seal within their bodies.

The enhancement brought about by refining a drop of divine blood is comparable to reaching the ultimate realm of the fourth realm of martial arts.

Of course, the supreme realm at the fourth stage of martial arts is extremely mysterious, and its importance becomes more and more apparent as you progress. It cannot be compared to simply condensing four divine seals.

The divine blood contains fragments of divine rules and divine matter, and its energy is extremely vast. It is extremely difficult for martial artists in the Fish-Dragon Realm to refine the divine blood, and they need to rely on the power of a large-scale sacrifice to slowly refine it.

Emperor Yi reached the Supreme Realm four times in the four realms of martial arts. His Qi Sea contained a large number of divine imprints, so he could refine divine blood without the need for sacrificial power.

After cultivating within the World-Stabilizing Banner for over two months, Di Yi refined two drops of divine blood, reaching the mid-stage of the ninth transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm. He also integrated over one hundred and twenty sacred rules into his martial soul, elevating it to a level comparable to the peak of a third-tier half-saint.

Beneath the corpse of the Dragon God, Di Yi practiced the Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm. In the two months that followed, besides refining the divine blood and integrating the rules of the Holy Path into his martial soul, he also did not neglect the cultivation of his martial skills.

Among the more than 120 sacred rules integrated into the Sacred Soul, there are the Sword Dao and the Palm Dao. These two are both among the seventy-two supreme sacred paths, and Emperor Yi's achievements in these two paths are already extremely high in the Fish-Dragon Realm.

Emperor Yi has mastered the eighth palm of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm, the Thousand Hands Dragon Elephant, to perfection. With the palm power he unleashes, he is qualified to fight against a fourth-tier half-saint.

Di Yi was able to defeat a fourth-tier half-saint by using all his means, but now he has approached his previous combat power level by relying solely on his palm technique.

This is related to the progress in martial arts and physical body, but the most important thing is the two divine seals that condensed in the palm of the hand after refining two drops of the Dragon God's blood.

The Dragon Blood is the blood of a divine dragon. The divine seal formed from it contains the Daoist magic and divine form of the dragon race. The Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm, which is performed with the help of two divine seals, has its power increased several times over.

Besides his palm techniques, Di Yi's swordsmanship has also improved considerably, and he has cultivated Sword Three to the second level.

After achieving the swordsmanship mastery of the unity of heaven and man, he was able to comprehend the wordless sword manual much faster than before, and he was confident that he could cultivate Sword Three to the sixth level of perfection within one or two years.

"It's a pity that I couldn't integrate the holy rules of the Dark Path into my martial soul. The Ancient Path is more than ten times more difficult to cultivate than the Supreme Holy Path."

Once the sacred rules of the ancient path are integrated into one's martial soul, one can be called a cultivator of this path, and thus truly step into the gate.

But this is an extremely difficult thing. Di Yi remembers that Zhang Ruochen only managed to integrate the sacred rules of the two ancient paths of time and space into his martial soul after reaching the supreme realm of the Fish-Dragon Realm and with the help of the power of the Purifying Divine Fire.

"The nine ancient paths—Darkness, Truth, and Origin—are what I can currently access. With the True Origin Demon Eye, my speed of comprehending the ancient paths far surpasses that of others. Furthermore, I possess the Dark Martial Soul, the Returning Void Twin Lotus, the Illuminating Lotus, and the True Word Divine Script. If I still cannot integrate these three rules into my Martial Soul, then apart from martial cultivators who have opened up the divine martial imprint of the ancient paths, no one else can succeed."

"The Purifying Divine Fire when one reaches the Supreme Realm of the Fish-Dragon Realm is a great help, but one cannot rely on it entirely. The Purifying Divine Fire is only an aid, it can add bricks and tiles, but the foundation still comes from one's own understanding of the ancient Dao."

"Zhang Ruochen was able to integrate the sacred rules of time and space into his martial soul, which was based on extensive cultivation of spatial techniques and time sword techniques, as well as the guidance of the [Time and Space Treasure Book], a legacy treasure left by the Venerable Monk Sumeru."

"We can only accumulate slowly. If we can integrate the sacred rules of the ancient path into our martial soul without relying on the Purifying Divine Fire, that would be best. If not, we can only make a final gamble when we break through to the Supreme Realm of the Fish-Dragon Realm."

As Di Yi felt the immense divine power of the Chenlong, filled with awe and emotion, he stopped practicing the Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm.

Having cultivated inside the World-Stabilizing Banner for over two months, and with six or seven days already passed in the outside world, the turmoil surrounding the Battle of Dingxuan Prefecture should have largely subsided. It was time to go out and check on the situation.

The Daming River is one of the largest rivers in the Central Region of Nine Provinces. It flows through several provinces and eventually flows into the wilderness.

A spatial ripple appeared on the water more than ten miles from the riverbank.

The figure of the silver moon appeared on the water's surface and put away the World-Stabilizing Banner.

For safety's sake, Di Yi chose to send Silver Moon out into the sky to scout ahead.

After landing on the riverbank, Silver Moon traveled hundreds of miles through the air, finding no trace of the Undying Blood Clan, nor any experts from the Martial Market or the Imperial Court searching the surrounding area.

Emperor Yi then led Zhong Yao out of the World-Stabilizing Banner.

Zhong Yao looked at Di Yi as he put away the World-Stabilizing Banner, her eyes sparkling with a strange light. She had already learned from Di Yi that it was a time-space treasure.

She was well aware of the value of the time-space treasure, and the fact that Di Yi was willing to tell her about its existence was a rare sign of trust.

"Young master, where should we go now?"

Di Yi surveyed his surroundings and compared them with the map of the Central Region's Nine Provinces in his memory. Their location was still within Dingxuan Prefecture.

The territory of a prefecture is so vast that even with the speed of the Ming River, it wouldn't take several days for it to flow out of the prefecture.

"We need to find a town first and find out what has happened over the past few days."

Along the Daming River, there are numerous ancient cities and towns. Before they had gone far, Di Yi and his companions arrived outside a small town.

It was evening, but not a wisp of smoke rose from the city; it was eerily quiet.

"Master, there is a bloody smell in the air. I cannot sense any life in the city. Everyone in the city must be dead," Silver Moon said from the sky.

Di Yi also came to the same conclusion, and his heart sank. Under the True Source Demon Eye, the city was littered with corpses, all of which had turned into mummies and had their blood drained.

Such a death could only have been committed by the Undying Blood Clan. The Undying Blood Clan's actions in Dingxuan Prefecture were far bolder than he had imagined, seemingly utterly unafraid of the imperial court and various forces in the Kunlun Realm.

Logically, with Empress Chi Yao around, even if the Undying Blood Clan escaped from Manji Island, they shouldn't dare to openly run rampant in the Central Region before rescuing the Underworld King.

Could it be that Empress Chi Yao has encountered a problem?
Emperor Di immediately had a bad feeling. If the Evil Emperor made a move against the Xue Dynasty, then the Illusionary Empress could only go to the Central Imperial City to restrain Empress Chi Yao.

One is one of the three empresses from eight hundred years ago, and the other is the invincible and virtuous Holy Empress of our time. If the two were to clash, it would surely be a battle that shakes the heavens and the earth.

If the Illusion Queen wins, it will naturally be the best outcome for Emperor Yi.

For the Kunlun Realm, regardless of who wins, there will be a top-tier combatant to stabilize the overall situation for the human race.

The worst outcome is that both sides suffer losses.

They passed through several cities, all of which had become dead cities, and the living beings within them had been drained of their life force and turned into dried corpses.

Di Yi's mood grew increasingly heavy.

After traveling more than a thousand miles, a mountain range appeared ahead. At the foot of the mountain, Di Yi finally saw living people.

"This is... Spirit Cuckoo Hill! That's great! With the Azure Feather Sword Saint guarding Spirit Cuckoo Hill, it will definitely be able to contend with the Undying Blood Clan." Zhong Yao recognized the mountains in front of her and was very excited.

Lingju Hill...

By sheer accident, I've ended up at the dojo of the Azure Feather Sword Saint?
Immediately, a worry arose in his heart. The Undying Blood Clan had already been massacring humans in Dingxuan Prefecture, and Qingyu Sword Saint, as the swordsman, was probably the Undying Blood Clan's number one target.

Right now, Lingju Hill is probably the most dangerous place.

Di Yi hesitated, but with Lingjuan Hill right in front of him, he simply couldn't bring himself to turn around and leave.

He wanted to forge a sword that was free and unrestrained, and therefore he had to follow his own heart. With the Azure Feather Sword Saint in a perilous situation, Di Yi couldn't stand idly by. Even just offering a word of advice would be his way of showing concern. ...

Lingjuan Hill, as the Sword Saint's dojo, is one of the most prosperous areas along the Daming River. At the foot of the hill is a market town that gathers sword cultivators and martial arts practitioners from all over the country.

In the past few days, the Undying Blood Clan has been rampaging through Dingxuan Prefecture, slaughtering countless people in the Daming River area. A large number of survivors have gathered in the market town below Lingjuan Hill, seeking the protection of the Azure Feather Sword Saint.

The three of them disguised themselves and entered the market, finding an inn in the heart of the bustling city.

The market was bustling with people, much more lively than usual, with large groups of martial artists arriving from all directions every now and then.

The inn is named 'Huang Sheng', and the innkeeper is an old man. It is no ordinary person that he can open an inn in the most central location in the market below Lingjuan Hill.

The first floor of the inn is a mixed bag, including many martial arts practitioners at the Fish-Dragon Realm, representing both righteous and evil factions.

"It is said that the Martial Venerable and the Evil Emperor Xia Han met outside Dingxuan City and fought their way into the wilderness. They fought for three days and three nights, and then both disappeared without a trace. No one knows how the battle went."

"The battle between the Martial Venerable and the Evil Emperor is secondary. The great battle in the Central Imperial City is what will determine the overall situation of the Kunlun Realm. I heard that in that battle, no fewer than ten Great Saints from the entire Central Imperial City took action, causing the earth to turn upside down and the stars and moon to lose their light."

"Ten Great Sages? How is that possible? There aren't even ten Great Sages in the entire Kunlun Realm!"

"It is said that a savage beast king participated in the battle, and some of the nine emperors and three empresses from eight hundred years ago are still alive and participated in the great battle in the central imperial city."

"The Savage Beast King dares to go to the Central Imperial City? Back then, the Empress single-handedly stormed into the Savage Wilderness with just her sword and killed eight Beast Kings. If the Savage Beast King dares to break into the Central Imperial City, wouldn't he be courting death? Old Zhang, is your information reliable or not?"

Seeing his companion's skepticism, the middle-aged man called Old Zhang said unhappily, "When has my information ever been unreliable? Actually, there's another rumor that the court has deliberately suppressed. I don't know if it's true or not; I've only heard it."

"The one who stormed into the central imperial city was not actually the beast king of the wilderness, but one of the nine emperors and three empresses from eight hundred years ago. Someone saw a righteous aura stretching for 100,000 miles outside the central imperial city, colliding with the empress's five-colored holy image. It is very likely that it was the Emperor Wen from eight hundred years ago."

"Emperor Wen, one of the nine emperors? What was the final outcome of that battle?"

Old Zhang lowered his voice and whispered, "It is said that both sides suffered heavy losses. The Empress killed Emperor Wen, but she herself was also seriously injured and has sealed off the Ziwei Palace to begin a life-or-death retreat."

"The Empress is invincible, how could she possibly get injured? Old Zhang, don't exaggerate."

"If the Empress hadn't been injured, how would the Undying Blood Clan have dared to run rampant in Dingxuan Prefecture?"

……

Di Yi sat in the corner, his five fingers clenched into fists, his thoughts churning and difficult to calm.

Chi Yao could not possibly be fighting against Emperor Wen; her opponent could only be Empress Huan.

Did the Empress Huan die by Chi Yao's sword?
Di Yi couldn't believe it, but after careful consideration, he realized that this possibility did indeed exist, and the probability was not low.

Chi Yao's strength was already infinitely close to that of a god, making her an invincible existence in the current Kunlun Realm.

Emperor Yi was unclear about the exact strength of the Illusion Queen; she might be no weaker than Emperor Wen, but she certainly had not become a god.

Without becoming a god, it would be almost impossible for him to be a match for Chi Yao.

The reason Empress Huan went to the central imperial city was to buy time for the Evil Emperor to kill Xue Wangchao. If Xue Wangchao died, it was not impossible that Chi Yao would kill Empress Huan in a fit of rage.

After all, she was an empress who would stop at nothing, adhering to the principle of killing one person to save the world, and saving the world for one person. The Demon Emperor and the Buddha Emperor both died by her sword. If the Illusionary Empress stood in her way...

"Chi Yao, if Master perishes, I will kill you!"

Suppressing his killing intent, Di Yi calmed down again. Huan Hou dared to go to the Central Imperial City, so she must have enough confidence in her own strength. Rather than believing that she had fallen under Chi Yao's sword, Di Yi was more willing to believe that Huan Hou had been defeated by Chi Yao and was injured, and was currently recuperating somewhere.

Besides the battle for the central imperial city, Di Yi also gleaned some useful information from the conversations of the guests coming and going at the inn.

For example, "The Imperial Court's Ministry of War has dispatched sixteen Heavenly Kings to lead troops into Dingxuan Prefecture, preparing for a major battle against the Undying Blood Clan, including four superior Heavenly Kings: Killing King, Tiger General Heavenly King, Soaring Heavenly King, and Fighting Heavenly King," "The eight Heavenly Kings of the Earth Temple have mobilized all their forces to thoroughly eradicate black market strongholds in the Central Region of Nine Provinces," "Grand Tutor Qi Dai has issued an imperial edict from the Empress, ordering the Eastern Region Holy King's Palace to raise troops to pacify the Eastern Region's Evil Land and conquer the Universe Heaven, with the Two Elements Sect and the Martial Market Money Shop acting as cooperators"...

The Black Market Saints wreaked havoc in Dingxuan Prefecture City, destroying the Dingxuan Royal Palace and causing the fall of more than twenty Saints in the imperial court. Anyone who appeared in the Black Market City that day was listed as a Class A wanted criminal by the imperial court.

The Nine Nether Sword Saint, several big bosses of the Central Region Black Market, the Black Market Saints, and Half-Saints, including Emperor Yi, are all among them.

The bounty on Emperor Yi was exceptionally high, exceeding that of many semi-saints and saints.

If you can capture him alive and send him to the central imperial city, you can be appointed as a mid-level domain king; if you kill him, you can be appointed as a low-level domain king.

The titles of County King, Domain King, and Heavenly King are the three ranks and nine grades of nobility in the imperial court. Lower-ranking Domain Kings are at least half-saint level experts, while middle-ranking Domain Kings are mostly high-level half-saints or even saints.

Those like Wan Zhaoyi, who possess the cultivation of a Saint of the Tongtian Realm and hold the title of a Lower Heavenly King, are ultimately a very small minority.

As more and more martial arts practitioners gathered in the market, the situation became increasingly chaotic. Some deserters from the imperial court and members of the heretical sects encountered each other and a fight broke out.

Enemies with long-standing grudges met and started fighting over a disagreement.

……

The innkeeper was named Mei Huangsheng, an old man in his sixties with white hair and beard. He was not hunched over and had a powerful martial arts aura. He was also a strongman in the eighth transformation of the Fish-Dragon.

Di Yi used a tenth-tier True Martial Treasure to learn a lot of recent news from him, and became one of the most distinguished guests of the inn.

Mei Huangsheng sat down at the table and said in a low voice, "Brother Yi, I have good news for you. The Azure Feather Sword Saint is planning to lift the restrictions on Lingjuan Hill and prepare to let a group of martial artists go up the mountain to take refuge. After all, the market is only near Lingjuan Hill. If something really happens, the Azure Feather Sword Saint may not come to the rescue. But if we go up the mountain, we will be much safer."

"Go up the mountain? Does the shopkeeper have connections to get a spot up the mountain?" Di Yi asked.

Due to the recent turmoil in Dingxuan Prefecture, the protective array on Lingjuan Hill has remained open, preventing anyone from ascending the mountain.

If one takes advantage of the opportunity to seek refuge on the mountain and enters Lingju Hill, there is a chance to meet the Azure Feather Sword Saint.

This wasn't just to remind Qingyu Sword Saint that Di Yi had lost contact with the Black Market Saints. Since Qingyu Sword Saint was on good terms with Huan Sheng, he must have a way to contact the Black Market Saints.

“Mei Xiluo, the second disciple of the Azure Feather Sword Saint, is from the same clan as me. With this relationship, I can still lead a group of people up the mountain to seek refuge,” Mei Huangsheng said.

Di Yi nodded secretly. The surname Mei was a major surname in the Central Region and an ancient family. The sect leader of the Qin Sect, Mr. Mei, the Blood God Sect's Mei Lanzhu, and the second disciple of the Azure Feather Sword Saint, Mei Xiluo, were all descendants of the Mei family, but they did not belong to the same lineage.

"Manager Mei, name your price and we'll exchange our spots for the three of us to go up the mountain," Di Yi said.

Mei Huangsheng laughed and said, "Brother Yi, you're too kind. You're my big customer. Here's what I'll do: I'll take you up the mountain for a tenth-tier True Martial Treasure. This price is more than fair. I only did this because I feel a connection with you, Brother Yi."

Di Yi didn't believe him, but he could still produce a tenth-tier True Martial Treasure.

As long as we can get a spot to go up the mountain, there's no need to get too entangled with these local bullies.

(End of this chapter)