“Finally, it’s time to collect the ‘innate immortal liquid sea’ beneath the stone pond.”
Jiang Ye stood at the peak of the mountain wall, gazing at the bottomless stone pond below.
A milky white liquid rippled, like jade nectar and divine milk that had existed for ten thousand years, emitting a clear and ethereal immortal aura, hazy like a rosy mist.
As a gentle breeze blew, the liquid sea shimmered faintly, as if it could reflect the phantom images at the end of the immortal path, causing one’s Divine Soul to tremble and Dao Heart to waver.
Originally, when he entered this Dragon Vein Secret Realm, he had no intention of seeking any innate immortal liquid.
Because at first, he thought that innate immortal liquid was something that had been “contracted” by the Various Great Dao Lineages of the Heavens, and as a junior, he wouldn't be able to get involved.
But what Jiang Ye hadn't expected was this.
Because of the “Netherworld” set up by Zhong Tianyi, this blessed land deep within the Dragon Vein Secret Realm was polluted and turned into a Forbidden Land.
At this point, the innate immortal liquid was his for the taking.
His sleeve robes shook, and the spiritual power within him surged. He leaped, his figure like a falling star plummeting to the ground, breaking through the air and descending into the stone pond.
During the descent,
He flipped his hand, taking out a large spatial artifact personally bestowed by Su Hongye. It was entirely forged from ten-thousand-year-old white jade, engraved with World-Suppressing Lock patterns and Sky-Devouring Formation patterns, making it the top-tier storage treasure of this era.
With the bottle mouth facing downwards, an invisible suction force swept out, like a whale devouring a tide, gradually drawing the milky white liquid sea into it.
The jade bottle trembled slightly, auspicious light flowed, accompanied by a low Dao sound, as if the entire world was responding to this harvest.
Jiang Ye sat cross-legged in mid-air, his Divine Sense restrained, maintaining his spiritual power steadily.
Because this Innate liquid sea was simply too vast,
Collecting it by himself required a meticulous and slow process.
“All the innate immortal liquid belongs to my Jiang Clan!”
...Outside the Dragon Vein Secret Realm.
Central Province of the Ancient Immortal Domain.
A secluded mountain wilderness.
An ancient temple was hidden among layers of mountains and forests.
On the crumbling walls of the dilapidated temple, a row of mottled Buddha statues stood, their faces blurred, yet still retaining a solemn and majestic charm.
And behind the Buddha statues, an old man in a green robe sat quietly on a meditation cushion.
With lowered eyes and closed lids, the prayer beads in his hand slowly rotated, as if he was chanting scriptures or meditating.
Suddenly.
A faint ray of Dao light fell from outside the temple, condensing in the Void Realm, transforming into a slender spiritual pattern.
Within the spiritual pattern, a wave of Divine Thought, seemingly spanning countless Universes, subtly emerged, carrying mottled Karma and Luck, and entered his Sea of Consciousness.
The green-robed old man slightly opened his eyes, and within his pupils, the rotation of stars and the flow of time were reflected.
He quietly looked at the Void Realm, and after a long time, he sighed softly.
“As expected...”
His voice was low, carrying a sense of weariness that he had long anticipated but still did not wish to face.
“Ye Qingyun is also dead...”
At this moment, his tone was no longer indifferent, but rather somewhat melancholic and wistful, as if what he had lost was more than just a chess piece.
In all fairness, when Emperor Tianji first created the Karma Reversal Secret Art, it was indeed for his own Dao path, attempting to reverse his decaying body with the power of Luck.
But from that day on, he secretly guided Ye Qingyun, discussed the Dao with him, and imparted knowledge and techniques. Though they had only known each other for a little over a month, he had developed some genuine feelings.
This young man possessed extraordinary Aptitude and a resilient Heart-Nature, with a quiet magnanimity.
He originally thought that this child might truly be able to walk a complete Great Dao with his help, and also gain a sliver of Luck for himself.
One can only say that events are unpredictable.
Ye Qingyun died too quickly.
Such a talent, it was truly regrettable.
With the successive deaths of the three individuals with great Luck, the three Origins of the Qiankun Sky Plate, which he had painstakingly arranged, were also taken, and the key Link in the Karma Reversal Secret Art disintegrated.
Emperor Tianji had almost no means to rely on.
Now his physical condition was deteriorating, and without suitable resources, he might not last much longer.
He sat back on the meditation cushion, closed his eyes, and concentrated, as wisps of decaying Qi rose around him.
Individuals with great Luck were not so easy to find.
Although he controlled the Secret Art of Heavenly Secrets, the Universe was boundless, with billions of living beings, and the Karma of Heavenly Secrets was chaotic like a sea. Even if he could deduce to the Dao Realm, it would be impossible for him to search for them one by one.
Moreover, his Lifespan and Divine Soul had already been severely depleted, and he could not withstand another forceful reverse deduction.
Thinking of this, Emperor Tianji frowned.
During this time, he was secretly helping Ye Qingyun while hiding himself, guarding against Su Hongye’s Divine Sense search.
At the same time, he also investigated many past deeds of Jiang Ye.
“This Jiang Ye seems to be specifically hunting down individuals with great Luck?”
“Ye Bufan, Lin Hongyan, Shen Lian, and Ye Qingyun...”
“Why can Jiang Ye find them so accurately? In less than a year since his unsealing and emergence, he has found so many?”
“This old man has traveled for tens of thousands of years and only found three...”
“Why is this?”
“And why is he not afraid of Heavenly Dao backlash after killing so many individuals with great Luck?”
“There’s a big problem here!”
At this thought, Emperor Tianji’s expression grew even more solemn.
After his words fell, the temple was silent.
Only a withered white lotus swayed with the wind, its petals falling into the dry well in front of the temple, creating ripples.
Emperor Tianji’s expression froze, and he suddenly looked towards the ancient well.
At his Realm, he could already sense subtle changes in the world.
The art of Heavenly Secret deduction had reached the Dao.
Even a falling petal or a bird breaking its wing could become a manifestation of Heavenly Secrets.
“The dry well ripples, the white lotus enters the water.”
“The meaning of withering symbolizes the end of fate...”
His body trembled slightly, and an unprecedented chill rose from the depths of his bones.
“Is this... a sign of this old man’s great tribulation?”
Emperor Tianji’s emaciated body slowly stood up, a bitter smile on his lips.
“I didn’t expect that she would find me after all.”
He looked up at the sky, his gaze piercing through the broken roof of the temple, towards the distant horizon.
An imperial might, capable of overturning the world, was crushing down from ten thousand miles away, like an ancient god of slaughter slowly awakening, sweeping across the heavens and earth with billions of blood-colored auspicious light, locking onto his position.
A terrifying aura of pressure was rushing towards him.
On the other side, the wind and clouds changed instantly, and crimson auspicious light, like spilled imperial blood, swept down from the Nine Heavens.
An imperial might, capable of overturning the ancient and modern, descended with a roar.
A red-clothed Empress, stepping on the vast expanse, dominating the Universe, descended upon this place with billions of murderous intentions.
The sea of clouds at the horizon rolled, and all mountains bowed!
The entire ancient mountain forest instantly drooped, birds cried mournfully and fell from the sky, Yao Beasts prostrated themselves, trembling, daring not to move.
She did not reveal her full appearance; merely an imperial shadow cast down was enough to cause the Dao rhyme of the entire mountain region to become chaotic, the Heavenly Dao Laws to become silent, and countless spiritual energies to turn into wisps, scattering and fleeing.
Emperor Tianji’s expression was solemn, his gaze fixed on the approaching figure.
“How did you... find this venerable one?”
His voice was slightly hoarse, with disbelief.
He had severed his Karma, sealed all traces, and his Incarnation had escaped into this uninhabited wilderness of the Central Province; even the art of Heavenly Secrets could hardly determine his own trajectory.
Su Hongye should not have been able to pursue him here.
“Could it be...”
His mind suddenly shook, and a thought flashed like lightning.
Ye Qingyun.
The last wisp of his soul that remained before his death was intercepted by him using a secret method.
Unexpectedly, a very concealed Qi mechanism was hidden within that soul light, and along that wisp of residual soul, Su Hongye was able to discern it!
“So, from the very beginning, you had left a mark on him.”
Emperor Tianji finally realized.
He prided himself on having lived for ten thousand years in obscurity, moving between the Netherworld, avoiding the world.
But he had ultimately underestimated the schemes and methods of Empress Hongye.
Su Hongye finally stepped into the dilapidated temple.
There were no pleasantries, and her expression was utterly cold.
“Old dog, hand over the Origin of the Qiankun Sky Plate, and this Empress might spare your life.”