Chapter 265: Chapter 137: Fourth Year of Tianqi

Mr. Shu was narrating.

A figure had appeared here at some unknown time.

It was Jue!

His eyes held a profound gaze that belied his youth. He watched the direction Su Chen had gone, his hands clasped behind his back and a smile playing on his lips.

"Sometimes, talent that is too astonishing is not necessarily a good thing."

"The Mountain Sea has Five Domains."

"Divinity Transformation is the peak."

"But the path he wishes to walk may lie beyond Divinity Transformation. The resources of the Five Domains Heaven and Earth are finite. For one to ascend to the Upper Rank of Divinity Transformation, another must fall. And that doesn’t even begin to cover what lies beyond that realm..."

"At that time, the whole world will be his enemy—even me!"

"But I don’t think he’s one to be content with a mediocre life. To see all the wonders the world has to offer, even if it means dying on the path—that is his heart’s true desire!"

Jue spoke.

"In that case."

"I shall become part of the scenery along his path."

Jue was smiling.

No matter how the world saw Su Chen.

He firmly believed that if anyone in the Five Domains of Mountains and Seas could ultimately reach the peak beyond Divinity Transformation, it could only be this Immortal.

BOOM!

On this day, the World in the Palm trembled violently. The Severed Communication that shrouded it shattered with a deafening blast.

In the distant Central Capital, a terrifying Great Cultivator unleashed a dreadful Divine Technique, completely severing the World in the Palm from the Eastern Domain World and pulling it into the domain of the Central Capital.

"What?!"

"A Divinity Transformation from the Central Capital has made a move..."

「Extreme Dao Heaven.」

As the masters of the Severed Communication, the five Nascent Soul Giants’ expressions turned ugly. They had clearly sensed the change in the World in the Palm.

The fact that the Severed Communication was broken was a small matter!

The real issue was that the Extreme Realm True Dragon had been uncaged.

"Damn it!"

"But fortunately, I heard that while we were away, the Eastern Domain produced a Nine-Life Celestial Pride who stepped onto the Immortal Dao through Mortal Cultivation. If we nurture him well, it might just be possible for him to slay the dragon and revive the Immortal Dao..."

"We must fight our way out of this Lost Demonic Realm in the Extreme Dao Heaven at once!"

The five Giants struck in unison, their speed increasing drastically.

At this moment, no one in the Eastern Domain’s Immortal Dao knew that this Nine-Life Celestial Pride was, in fact, the very same Extreme Realm True Dragon they believed was sealed within the Severed Communication.

...

...

「Third Year of Tianqi.」

The Daqi National Master, Zhuge, entered secluded cultivation to break through to Golden Core Perfection.

In the same year.

The Daqi Dynasty, taking advantage of the internal strife within the Five Great Sects, went to war. They attacked their neighboring countries, conquering the Four Dynasties of Yan, Zhao, Han, and Wei in one fell swoop. Other smaller, unruly nations surrendered at the news, expanding Daqi’s territory tenfold.

For a time, Daqi’s Qi Fortune skyrocketed. The imperial court produced over a dozen False Core cultivators and three at the Core Formation realm. This alarmed the Five Great Sects, causing them to set aside their struggles and once again brazenly join forces against the Daqi Tianqi Emperor.

Eight True Core Giants joined forces and assaulted the Daqi Imperial Capital. Zhuge Mo was defeated, forcing Emperor Tianqi to personally intervene and repel the enemy with the Dynasty’s True Dragon of Qi Fortune.

The world was stunned! Zhuge Mo’s cultivation had actually fallen from the Golden Core realm!

In that instant, the situation became turbulent. The Daqi Dynasty was in grave peril. Its subordinate Core Formation Giants and False Core Great Cultivators all had their own agendas. Rumors flew that Daqi would collapse from within!

’Has it been the Fourth Year of Tianqi already?’

「At the foot of Cyan Mountain.」

A man with hair as black as ink, a twelve-petaled lotus blooming between his brows, sat atop a Cyan Ox, gazing into the distance at the Daqi Imperial Capital.

He was Su Chen.

No.

Now, he was called Black Lotus.

This year, he had stayed on Cyan Mountain, watching as Daqi’s blades proved their sharpness and its momentum became unstoppable. He watched as the high-spirited Emperor Tianqi annexed the Four Dynasties, monopolizing the mortal world’s Qi Fortune and becoming a target for all.

This year, he saw seven terrifying Demon Children hiding their identities. Some pledged allegiance to Daqi, accepting official posts to enjoy its Qi Fortune, while others concealed their tracks and hid among the common folk.

This year, he quietly observed the world’s shifting tides, watching Zhuge Mo emerge from seclusion and attempt to suppress eight True Core Masters with a tainted Golden Core, only to flee in disgrace.

He also saw how, after the great defeat, the nation’s Qi Fortune waned and the people’s hearts wavered. Ambitious warlords rose up, eager to take the Emperor’s place and become the master of the Daqi Celestial Dynasty.

’He’s just a boy, after all,’ Su Chen thought. ’He has his schemes, but he’s too impatient. He lacks so much of the maturity your father, Void, possessed.’

Su Chen had built a hut on Cyan Mountain and was living there. He had cultivated a field of medicinal herbs, and the Spirit Medicines within were growing splendidly. It seemed it wouldn’t be long now.

The second round of his terrifying Great Medicine would soon be ready.

This time, he wanted to test the effects of a thousand-year-old Poison Dao Spirit Medicine. Perhaps, he could even try to taint a Nascent Soul. It wasn’t entirely out of the question.

’My unresolved obsession is likely my friends from the World in the Palm who have long since departed—those who died because of me, those who went missing, and those who became puppets of the Immortal Sects.’

’Annihilating the Five Sects. That is my path.’

Su Chen was drinking wine.

He was completely at ease.

Even though he had changed his appearance, he still exuded a familiar languor from his very bones. Unfortunately, none of his old acquaintances were here, so no one would recognize him.

On this day, a young boy riding a yellow ox came from the Imperial Capital to deliver wine to Su Chen.

"Hey, old-timer."

"Here."

"Give me the money for the wine."

The boy lifted down the wine jar, extended a fair hand, and demanded payment from Su Chen.

In his Black Lotus guise, he was still a handsome man who looked to be in his thirties.

That address, "old-timer," referred to the languid, world-weary air that emanated from Su Chen’s very bones.

"Put it on my tab for now."

"Once I’ve run up a big enough tab, I’ll teach you a Swordsmanship technique that will let you fly through the heavens and tunnel through the earth, becoming a terrifying Sword Immortal who dominates the Human World. How about it?"

Su Chen teased the boy with a grin.

In response, the boy, who was riding his yellow ox, yelled in frustration, flailing his arms and legs.

"You old coot! You’re really keeping a tab, huh?"

"I’d be a fool to believe you! I don’t know why Father always lets you run a tab."

"Of all the Sword Immortals in the world, the strongest one in the legends is one of the Ten Great Masters—the former Confucian Sword Immortal, who is now the Little Li Sword Monarch."

"Could your Sword Dao possibly be better than his?"

’Little Li Sword Monarch?’

Su Chen was momentarily dazed.

It was as if he had returned to the day the eight Masters besieged the Daqi Imperial Palace, to the Sword Immortal who arrived riding a colossal flood dragon-horse, his eyes bound with a white cloth.

Back then, he was called the Little Sword Master.

He’d heard the Great Li Sword Sect found that title uncouth and had forcefully changed it to Little Li Sword Monarch, also known as the Little Li Master.

In reality, he was the Great Yu Sword Immortal.

However, there was a Void Sword Lock on him—a form of enslavement that bound him to the control of the Great Li Sword Sect for all eternity.

"The Little Li Sword Monarch... he is not my equal."

"At least, that used to be the case."

"As for now, we would have to cross swords to know for sure."

Su Chen said with a gentle smile.

It was the truth.

In terms of the Sword Dao alone, anyone in the world who possessed even a fraction of his mastery could be considered a Human Giant, an outstanding figure among Sword Immortals.

The Little Li Sword Monarch, the Great Yu Sword Immortal, was one such person.

"Heh!"

"Keep on bragging."

The boy, riding his yellow ox, didn’t believe a word. He leisurely descended Cyan Mountain and headed back toward the Imperial City.

"See? Even he doesn’t believe me."

"How could I possibly be an old acquaintance of yours?"

Su Chen still had that same gentle smile.

In the distance, a swordsman in white emerged from the forests of Cyan Mountain. His eyes were covered by a white cloth, a sword was slung at his waist, and he walked with a lazy gait.

He called himself the Little Li Sword Monarch.

He was ranked third among the Eight Great Masters.

His fame was known throughout the world!

"Legend has it, there was One Sword that shook the Eastern Domain, terrified the Five Sects, and made Daqi’s National Fortune tremble. With a single leap, it made its presence known to heaven and earth, becoming the number one Killing Skill."

"At that moment, I knew that such a sword could only be comprehended by one person."

"I await your fourth sword!"

A white horse left the forest and, in an instant, met the wind and transformed into a colossal flood dragon-horse, hundreds of feet tall. It slammed violently into the National Fortune above the Daqi Imperial City.

And the swordsman, too, transformed into the White-clothed Sword Immortal!

The mountains and rivers of the world, in all their myriad forms, coalesced in his hand into a single sword strike that swept down upon the city.

"Zhuge Mo, get over here and die!"

The roar echoed from all corners of the Daqi Imperial City.

Figure after figure stood tall.

Today, Daqi’s National Fortune was weak, no longer able to coalesce the Dynasty’s True Dragon of Qi Fortune. The eight Masters of the Five Great Sects had once again emerged in full force to hunt down and kill Zhuge Mo, the man with the tainted Golden Core!

And what did Su Chen think of this? He just sat on Cyan Mountain, sipping his wine and watching.

At this moment, he was not some Tributor from Daqi’s Book Collection Martial Pavilion.

He was merely Black Lotus, the hut-dweller on Cyan Mountain.

’A hundred years from now, today’s events will seem like nothing more than a passing squall.’

’Daqi might be able to survive this.’

’But, Zhuge Mo, you will not!’

Su Chen was smiling.

The others couldn’t find Zhuge Mo.

But he could!

He watched Zhuge Mo’s Longevity Fire as it mingled with the chaotic crowd, trying to flee outside the Imperial City. Without a moment’s hesitation, a Puppet Armor appeared in his palm, and then...

Armors Like Mountains!

In an instant, a giant armored Warrior plummeted toward the Imperial City’s wall.

BOOM!

Zhuge Mo’s location was exposed.

"Who dares to plot against me?!"

He roared in fury.

The eight Masters converged on him, their Killing Intent laid bare.

"Plot against you?"

"I just want you to die."

Su Chen took a sip of wine with a placid smile.

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