Starting with being handed over to the Imperial Concubine, building a family with a thousand-year hi

"A level nine demon beast expert?"

Duan Jin's eyes narrowed, and he instantly grasped the key point, "I remember ancient records that when the world underwent a drastic change ten thousand years ago and all races fled, the top demon beast powerhouses of Tianyuan Continent did not follow the human race in their migration; they all chose to stay and guard their homeland!"

"That's right."

Elder Songhe nodded slightly: "The combination of favorable timing, geographical advantages, and the inheritance of the clan has forced all high-level demon beast powerhouses to remain on the Tianyuan Continent."

"As ten thousand years have passed, the remaining powerful demon beasts should have all perished."

Duan Jin carefully deduced and analyzed the situation clearly: "The Heaven-Sealing and Earth-Locking Array supports the territorial barrier, isolating the Black Mist Monster Clan, but it also continuously draws on the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to nourish the array."

"Over the past ten thousand years, the spiritual energy of this place has been gradually depleted, and high-grade natural treasures have been completely cut off, with no chance of rebirth."

"Demonic beasts rely on the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and rare treasures for cultivation. Without the nourishment of resources, their cultivation cannot improve and their lifespan is destined to run out. It is impossible for them to have survived to this day."

"That's certainly true in theory."

Elder Songhe stroked his beard, leaving room for interpretation in his words, "The lifespan limit of a level nine demon beast is already less than ten thousand years. Coupled with the stagnation of its cultivation, there is absolutely no possibility of it surviving."

"Theory is doomed to perish. Elder, is there perhaps another reason behind your words?" Duan Jin sensed the hidden meaning and quickly pressed for an answer.

"Humans can seal away geniuses and put them to sleep for ten thousand years. Barbarians and witches also have similar secret techniques. The demon beast race has a long history and unfathomable foundation. They may not lack similar methods of sealing and putting people to sleep."

Elder Songhe's gaze was profound as he slowly uttered his conjecture, "Those top-tier demon beast powerhouses from ten thousand years ago may not all have perished. It's highly likely that some of them sealed themselves away and remained dormant until now!"

"If it is just a young demon beast that has been sealed and dormant until now, it does not pose the slightest threat to us, and we will have a great chance to seize the talisman."

Elder Songhe's expression was cautious, and his tone was solemn: "What I fear most is that a level nine demon beast that survived ten thousand years ago has sealed itself away and gone into hiding. If that is true, it will be a catastrophic disaster for both of us."

"It shouldn't be that bad, right?"

Duan Jin frowned, a sense of apprehension and hesitation rising in his heart.

"There are no absolutes in the path of martial arts."

Elder Songhe replied in a deep voice, "Top-tier demonic beasts, especially those of noble bloodlines and divine beast species, possess many heaven-defying secret techniques and innate supernatural abilities that are difficult for ordinary people to fathom. Of course, the probability of a level nine demonic beast sealing itself for ten thousand years is indeed extremely low."

"So, what are our plans for the future?" Duan Jin asked again.

"Take it one step at a time, and first retrieve the talisman that the Xuan Gang Sect lost."

Elder Songhe had already made up his mind and calmly replied, "This matter requires contacting the experts of Xichuan Sword Pavilion and inviting them to join forces. Once the three families form an alliance, we can then venture into the territory of the demon beasts together to search for the last mysterious talisman."

"feasible."

Duan Jin readily agreed, "I am seriously injured and need to go into seclusion to recuperate. I will trouble Elder Songhe to handle the matter of contacting Xichuan Sword Pavilion."

He had a clear plan in mind: not only to reclaim the sect's most precious treasure, but also to avenge the loss of his arm and the death of his junior brother.

The combined might of the three top powers—Tianwu Sect, Xuangang Sect, and Xichuan Sword Pavilion—would be enough to raze the imperial palace and kill Su Mu.

He also saw through Elder Songhe's unspoken thoughts.

Both were convinced that Su Mu possessed a heaven-defying opportunity left behind by an ancient martial god. Compared to retrieving a talisman with limited uses, plundering the martial god's essence from Su Mu was of paramount importance.

All four talismans are indispensable; a single talisman is simply insufficient to open the Martial Mystic Realm and has no core value whatsoever.

They no longer cared whether Su Mu could grow to a level that could rival the Gui Clan.

As long as they seize Su Mu's Martial God opportunity, they themselves can break through the shackles, reach the pinnacle, and possess the strength to wipe out the Tianyuan Ghost Clan.

This is their true ambition and calculation.

More importantly, once they break through with the help of the Martial God's opportunity, they will have no fear even if there are still level nine demon beasts alive today.

The two late-stage Martial Emperors are both deeply accomplished, and reaching the Martial Emperor realm is no longer a distant prospect.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

Inside the library, Su Mu, who had been in seclusion for cultivation, ended his cultivation session on time.

After two days of refining and nourishing, he fused with Liang Yanqing's pure fire-type Xuan Fire, and the power of his own purple-gold Xuan Fire surged, making his foundation even more profound.

The Imperial True Spirit absorbed and transformed Liang Yanqing's Xuanling's vast fire elemental essence, undergoing a qualitative change and growing several times stronger.

The injuries sustained from being struck by Duan Jin's Heavenly Rank magic weapon have been completely healed.

The Imperial Body already possesses an extreme self-healing ability, and with the addition of high-level healing pills, all physical damage is completely repaired, leaving it as good as new.

At the same time, the imperial aura around him became increasingly rich and profound.

Su Mu's strength increased dramatically, and his adopted sons and daughters became increasingly talented and powerful, further consolidating the foundation of the Great Qian Empire's rule and making his position as the Supreme Emperor unshakeable.

The vast imperial aura flowed endlessly into the body, nourishing the physical body and tempering the true spirit.

Su Mu pushed open the door and walked out of the room. He first took out a huge amount of demon beast cores and essence blood, fed Jin Zi to his heart's content, and then slowly walked down the library.

A large number of cultivators gathered in the courtyard once again.

They all came because of his reputation, wanting to become Su Mu's disciples and recognize him as their godfather.

Among them were those who had previously left because they resisted the Blood Soul Curse Seal and were unwilling to be controlled by others.

After this battle, Su Mu's unparalleled combat prowess—able to withstand a late-stage Martial Emperor and crush a cross-realm expert—spread throughout the imperial city, completely shocking cultivators from all sides.

People set aside their pride and obsessions, and came to the door again, hoping to find a powerful backer and an opportunity to cultivate.

Su Mu never turned away anyone who came.

System notifications kept ringing in my mind.

While adopting sons and daughters won't immediately yield super-grade, heaven-defying rewards, it can continuously accumulate massive amounts of cultivation resources, allowing one's foundation to steadily rise.

Xiao Yunshang is still out there clearing out the Gui Clan in the Black Mist Territory. After many days of fighting, she has not yet returned.

The cultivators in the courtyard knelt down one after another to acknowledge Su Mu as their relative. Each of them received a generous reward from Su Mu, which varied in quality but was precisely tailored to their own cultivation needs, providing great assistance.

Among the crowd, a familiar figure caught Su Mu's slight surprise.

Chai Min, the second elder of Yunxiang Valley, finally put aside her status as a sect elder, cast aside all her concerns and reservations, and bowed and knelt before Su Mu.

From then on, Chai Min officially became Su Mu's adopted daughter.

Su Mu was well aware of his cultivation bottlenecks and what he sought, and bestowed upon him extremely generous rewards.

She was bestowed with the Dao Soul Foundation Building Pill, the Profound Spirit Creation Pill, and the Sixth Grade Nirvana Pill, which helped her gain complete recognition from the heavens and earth of the Tianyuan Continent and solidify her martial arts foundation.

In addition, there are a large quantity of Xuanlu Nourishing Spirit Pills, as well as an extremely precious Enlightenment Pill.

The Mysterious Dew Nourishing Spirit Pill can rapidly improve one's cultivation level and power, shortening the time required for cultivation accumulation.

The Enlightenment Pill is a top-grade Heavenly Treasure for the soul, which can help people achieve perfect enlightenment, transform their soul realm, and deepen their understanding of the Great Dao. It is a heaven-defying opportunity that countless veteran powerhouses have sought but could not obtain.

"Your daughter kowtows to thank her godfather for his generous gift!"

Chai Min was deeply moved, her eyes filled with tears, her heart overflowing with surprise and gratitude.

She had long been prepared to break through her limitations, but she never expected to obtain an Enlightenment Pill. This unexpected joy far exceeded all her expectations.

"Get up."

Su Mu raised his hand in a gesture of support, his expression indifferent.

His purpose in bestowing the Enlightenment Pill upon Chai Min was extremely clear.

Chai Min is now in the mid-stage of the Martial Emperor realm. Once she enters the Dao through the Enlightenment Pill and breaks through to the late-stage of the Martial Emperor realm, she will definitely trigger the system's top-level reward.

Previously, when Chang Wei broke through from the late stage of Martial King to the early stage of Martial Emperor, the system revealed a top-grade Heaven-rank secret technique and a large number of high-level rewards.

With Chai Min's breakthrough to the later stages, the reward grade is very likely to surpass the Heavenly Rank Supreme Grade, making its value immeasurable and extremely worth looking forward to.

Of course, a single Enlightenment Pill and a massive amount of Profound Dew Nourishing Spirit Pills are not enough for her to break through smoothly in a short period of time.

To advance quickly, more high-level resources are needed as a foundation.

After all the newly adopted sons and daughters had left, Su Mu returned to his room on the second floor and took out the jade box covered with ancient seals once again.

Chapter 188 Strange Fire Spirit Silkworm, Qian Yuan Divine Glow Pill

"The power of this seal is ordinary and not considered top-tier."

Su Mu stared at the jade box, secretly pondering and deducing.

"If the box contained a deadly weapon or a deadly trap, it would not have been sealed with such a simple seal, which would arouse suspicion."

"It is highly unlikely to be a dangerous thing."

After careful consideration, Su Mu no longer hesitated. His body was engulfed in purple-gold flames, and his Imperial True Spirit fully possessed him, with a double-layered protective shield firmly enveloping his body.

At the same time, wisps of lightning arcs wrapped around the body, and the energy of lightning flowed endlessly, layer upon layer building up a solid defense.

With all precautions in place, Su Mu reached out towards the jade box, unleashing his fingertip power to precisely break through the surface seal.

The combined power of Xuanhuo, Zhenling, and Leigang made the process extremely fast, instantly eradicating all the sealing energy from the jade box.

Su Mu slowly lifted the lid of the box.

There were no assassination traps or dangerous restrictions inside the box; instead, a strange, long-dead spirit insect lay quietly inside.

The spirit insect resembles a silkworm, is half a foot long, has clearly segmented body, and is covered with fine scales. Naturally formed mysterious Dao patterns are engraved on the scales.

The insect's head stood upright with two sharp horns, and its entire body was surrounded by a dense and domineering purple flame, the flames pure and terrifying.

Su Mu's eyes narrowed, and he instantly understood.

The domineering power of this wisp of purple fire actually surpassed that of the purple-gold mystic fire he had created after fusing with Liang Yanqing's mystic fire!