Chapter 658 - 653: An Unexpected Person
Lü Yang performed a Soul Searching on the Crowned Youth.
He had no choice. The other party might have been at Foundation Establishment Perfection, but his entire foundation was built upon Lü Yang’s blood. This basically meant his Spiritual Space was Innately open to him.
It would have been rude not to perform a Soul Searching.
After the Soul Searching, all the secrets of this realm naturally imprinted themselves upon Lü Yang’s mind, including the Crowned Youth’s identity and the entire cultivation system of this Outer Realm.
A moment later, Lü Yang withdrew the large hand he had placed on the Crowned Youth’s head.
The latter felt a wave of dizziness, then quickly forgot what had happened. Feeling nothing was amiss, he turned and left, leaving Lü Yang standing alone.
"This place is called the Taihuang Realm."
"Due to this realm’s unique temporal aspect, what was only a few years ago for me is already one hundred thousand years ago for the Living Creatures of this realm."
"One hundred thousand years ago, a fire fell from Heaven."
"At that time, the Human Race in this realm was still in an era of eating raw meat and drinking blood, bullied by savage beasts. After the Celestial Fire appeared, it was the plants and wild animals that benefited first."
"During that period, the Human Race was nearly wiped out."
"This continued until the first chieftain of a Human Race tribe, a man of heaven-sent talent, comprehended a Dharma Gate to absorb Blood Qi and temper his own body, gradually changing their circumstances."
"That Human Race chieftain was named Tai. He was also the first Emperor Venerable in the past hundred thousand years of recorded history. He dominated his era for ten thousand years, and many Cultivators regard him as the first Emperor Venerable. In the ninety thousand years that followed, an Emperor Venerable would emerge in each generation, ruling the world unopposed for ten thousand years."
"However, the Emperor Venerables are not invincible."
"Because when each Emperor Venerable’s lifespan nears its end, they choose to entomb themselves, transforming into a forbidden area... These forbidden areas are the greatest enemies of the current Emperor Venerable."
"Over the past hundred thousand years, nine such forbidden areas have appeared across Heaven and Earth."
"As for the current Emperor Venerable, that Crowned Youth is named Yi. The world knows him as Emperor Yi Venerable. It has been three thousand years since he achieved the Dao, and he is at his Peak."
After briefly reviewing the history of the Taihuang Realm, Lü Yang quickly locked onto his target. All the past Emperor Venerables had transformed into forbidden areas because of a great change in Heaven and Earth one hundred thousand years ago. It was said the Immortal Realm had opened and the Path to Immortality had appeared. Tai risked his life seeking Immortality and failed, which led to the creation of the Flint Fire Forbidden Area.
’The Immortal Realm opened? What a joke!’
’I’ve already scanned this entire realm. There’s no Immortal Realm here. The Taihuang Realm is the only Outer Realm in the vicinity. Either this record is a grand deception that’s lasted for ages...’
’...or...’
At this thought, Lü Yang’s gaze flickered. He looked toward the shadowed region he had hesitated to approach. Could the so-called "Immortal Realm" be referring to that place?
It was not impossible!
After all, a being at Foundation Establishment Perfection could already shatter the void and roam Beyond the Heavens. And since the Taihuang Realm was so close to the shadowed region, it would be easy to cross over.
The problem was—
’If you go into the shadowed region, how can you possibly come back?’
If the record stated that Tai had risked his life seeking Immortality and simply vanished, Lü Yang could understand it. He would have most likely stumbled into the shadowed region and died instantly.
But Tai had returned!
Not only did he return, but he also established a forbidden area.
Now that was very interesting.
’With the gravitational pull of the shadowed region, a mere half-baked Foundation Establishment Perfection cultivator couldn’t possibly go in and come back out... There must be a secret to this!’
Thinking of this, Lü Yang immediately rode his Flying Light.
.....
Taihuang Realm, Flint Fire Forbidden Area.
From the outside, the Flint Fire Forbidden Area was a giant mountain eternally wreathed in flames. Any Cultivator below the rank of Emperor Venerable would spontaneously combust just by getting close.
But at this moment, the fire went out.
Lü Yang’s spiritual perception descended from the heavens. It was not a deliberate act, but a simple suppression by his sheer Position, which completely extinguished the divine fire of the forbidden area.
After all, he was the true Fruit of Celestial Fire.
What was even more terrifying was that despite such a drastic change in Heaven and Earth, not a single person in the entire Taihuang Realm noticed the strange phenomenon around the Flint Fire Forbidden Area.
Except for the master of the forbidden area himself.
The next second, a voice capable of shaking Heaven and Earth, causing Qian to resonate, and suppressing the wills of all living beings with the will of one, drifted out from the forbidden area:
"After a grand dream of tens of thousands of years, has another Emperor Venerable appeared in the mortal realm?"
RUMBLE!
At that moment, ripples suddenly appeared in the void. In the deepest part of the Flint Fire Forbidden Area, a tyrannical will swiftly awakened, like a blazing sun gradually rising into the sky.
The will was devoid of sorrow or joy, as if all thoughts had been ground away by the ages, leaving only the coldest rationality. An invisible pressure contained within the voice boomed outwards, instantly causing the entire mountain of the Flint Fire Forbidden Area to tremble. An Earth Dragon was Flipping Over, cracks appeared, and the mountain itself was on the verge of shattering.
"However, even an Emperor Venerable cannot trespass here lightly!"
As the voice fell, the void rippled like a clear mirror. Reflected in the mirror was a coffin, and inside it lay a quiet youth.
The youth’s eyes were tightly shut. He was not tall or handsome; in fact, he looked rather Ordinary.
Yet, the moment he appeared, phenomena such as flowers and birds, fish and insects, mountains and rivers, the sun and moon, and all the races of Heaven and Earth swiftly manifested around him.
It was like a host of stars revolving around the moon.
The youth’s Qi trace alone completely surpassed the entirety of the Taihuang Realm. His brilliant Blood Qi filled the void, heavy and vast.
The next second, the youth opened his eyes.
In that instant, lightning flashed through the void. The youth’s gaze was sharp to the Extreme and domineering to the Extreme, as if all things in Heaven and Earth were meant to be trampled beneath his feet.
This was only the second time he had emerged since establishing his forbidden area.
The reason was simple. After tens of thousands of years, a new emperor had appeared in a later generation who dared to provoke him. He felt he should show the upstart some respect.
Then, he saw a large hand.
SMACK!
With just a soft sound, the large hand passed through the void, clamped down on the youth’s head, and dragged him out of the coffin, immediately smashing him onto the ground.
THUD!
The youth still hadn’t processed what was happening until his vision went black, he felt the solid impact of his face against the ground, and the searing pain that followed.
"Huh?"
What just happened?
For a moment, the youth felt as if he were in a dream. It took him a good while to come to his senses, only to find himself lying on the ground with a young man crouching in front of him.
"You’re Tai?" Lü Yang asked nonchalantly.
"This Emperor... I... this humble one is."
In the space of a single breath, the youth changed his form of address three times. He had finally snapped out of it, and a fervent blaze erupted in his dazed eyes.
"May I ask Your Excellency... are you an Immortal!?"
He had to be an Immortal!
The youth was absolutely certain. Even the person he had met on the Path to Immortality all those years ago—the one who had defeated him with three sword strikes and nearly killed him—he could sense that person was in the same Realm as him, just terrifyingly strong. That person wasn’t an Immortal and couldn’t have suppressed him so easily.
Only an Immortal could do this!
"Hmm..."
Facing the youth’s fervent gaze, Lü Yang frowned slightly and began to review the information he had obtained from the Soul Searching he performed while dragging him out of the coffin.
Then, he froze.
The good news was that the so-called Path to Immortality was real.
In the youth’s memories, Lü Yang saw the scene of him attempting to traverse the Path to Immortality. He had almost succeeded but had met someone halfway.
It was a young man in white robes with a sword at his waist.
Upon seeing the youth, that person was first taken aback, then his expression twisted into a furious rage.
"Insolent! Though this place is not the South, it is under this Perfected Person’s protection! No loiterers are allowed! How dare a local Loose Cultivator like you trespass?"
And that was the bad news.
Lü Yang recognized the white-robed young man. His tone and words also perfectly matched Lü Yang’s stereotype of the faction behind him, making his identity almost certain:
"Sword Pavilion, Demon Subduing Zhenren?"