Rise of the Invincible Upgrade System

"Uh..."

Ao Mengmeng was momentarily stunned by the question.

"Strength can’t really be measured that way..."

"To put it simply, ordinary steel is definitely stronger than ordinary wood, but steel can still be corroded by many substances."

"In normal combat, everyone mainly relies on their Realm and Cultivation."

"But strange abilities exist outside the normal scope of battle. They don’t confront you directly through Realm or Cultivation."

"For example, the corrupt blood before us is extremely poisonous to weakened beings. Even the slightest trace of it can cause flesh and blood to disintegrate, and there is absolutely no cure!"

Indeed.

The reason Qin Mu had not forcefully charged inside was precisely because the concentration of corrupt blood here was beyond imagination.

And Ao Mengmeng’s explanation was actually very straightforward.

In a direct confrontation, this corrupt blood was not particularly terrifying. Most cultivators possessed armor or protective methods capable of isolating it.

However, the moment that protection was damaged during battle, death would become inevitable.

The enemy might not necessarily be stronger than you, yet with such bizarre methods, they could still kill you.

One could only say—

They walked completely different paths.

This was a method created specifically for killing enemies, one that completely disregarded conventional cultivation systems and breakthroughs in Realm.

Qin Mu was still considering how to deal with the situation when Lilia suddenly cried out in surprise.

"Look! Someone just came out of the palace~!"

Qin Mu immediately turned toward the screen.

"Hiss..."

"Qidala?!?"

"You know him?" Lilia asked in surprise.

Qin Mu shook his head.

"I don’t know him, but his attire belongs to the Qidala Empire."

"Oh right, the Qidala Empire." Lilia looked carefully and quickly noticed the details as well. "And his status seems to be quite high."

Beep beep!

The smart system connected to the database and instantly identified the target.

Emperor of the Qidala Empire, Bei Qi!

...Holy crap!

The Empire’s Emperor?

No wonder he looked somewhat familiar.

Qin Mu had killed quite a few people from Qidala before, including several princes.

The man before them, dressed in luxurious robes and wearing a dazzling crown, was the founding Emperor of the Qidala Empire.

He resembled the prince Qin Mu had killed earlier by at least fifty to sixty percent.

"Qidala Empire... Blood Red Sect?"

Ao Mengmeng placed a finger against her lips as she muttered thoughtfully,

"Hmm... if that’s the case, then this place is very likely the legendary secret Blood Red Divine Palace of the Blood Red Sect~"

That explanation did make sense.

However, Qin Mu was still somewhat puzzled.

"Didn’t Qidala already obtain the Legacy? Why would they go to such great lengths to hold this ceremony?"

"And according to the information I found on the Blood Red Sect, there didn’t seem to be anything particularly strange about them..."

"Tsk. That’s normal."

Ao Mengmeng answered seriously.

"Whether it’s the Human Race, the Yao Race, the Dragon Clan, or even the other Nine Great Clans, all of them completely suppress and eliminate any forces researching these kinds of things."

"Cultivation must follow the path of Law."

"Simply relying on slaughter and enemy kills may seem effective in the short term, but in the long run, it will drag an entire clan into the abyss of destruction."

"The history of the Universe is far too long. There are countless examples and endless lessons proving this."

"The Nine Great Clans would never allow such things to exist within their territories. Once discovered, those forces would immediately be suppressed and eradicated. Every related piece of information would also be deleted to prevent any future resurgence."

So that was the reason.

It was probably similar to suppressing cults.

However, the forces within the Universe were far more ruthless. They erased everything completely, not even leaving behind records that such cults had ever existed.

This was done to eliminate every possible chance of revival from the very root.

"Hiss... it still feels a bit unbelievable."

"Why didn’t the Metaverse Company destroy Qidala after discovering that they possessed the Legacy of the Blood Red Sect?"

Qin Mu felt there was a flaw in the situation.

"Eh, that’s nothing unusual."

Ao Mengmeng lowered her head and pressed a hand against her forehead.

"It’s been far too long. There’s no way anyone could know every detail."

"Perhaps the Human Race’s Transcendent Factions never discovered the issue back then. Or perhaps the Qidala Empire never came into contact with the core Legacy of the Blood Red Sect."

"Think about it carefully. If every force that obtained even a fragment of the Blood Red Sect’s inheritance was immediately destroyed without question, how many factions would they need to wipe out?"

"Besides, looking at the current Qingxuan Realm, the Qidala Empire appears completely normal. The Blood Red Saber Technique, combined with some Spirit Treasures from the Blood Red Sect, possesses considerable power, and they still cultivate through normal Law methods."

That was true.

For something that had happened thousands of world origins ago, blindly guessing would never lead to an answer.

However, Qin Mu could now confirm one thing.

"The Emperor of Qidala has already crossed that line."

Ao Mengmeng did not deny it.

"Yes. If the situation here is reported to the Metaverse Company, the Qidala Empire will immediately be suppressed."

That was indeed a solution.

If they informed the Metaverse Company or the Starry Sky Arena, the problem would likely be resolved at once.

But within the Light Prison, would they arrive in time?

Lilia was nearly losing her mind by now. Her eyes had turned bloodshot.

She wanted to save her captain, but she could not pressure Qin Mu.

What made it even more unbearable was the fact that the Emperor of the Qidala Empire was a Star Realm Expert, someone completely beyond her ability to resist.

How was she supposed to save them?

Even if she dragged Qin Mu into this, it still would not be enough. They would not even qualify to challenge him.

The gap in strength was simply too enormous.

Watching her captain and teammates, these companions who were like family to her, hanging between life and death while she could do absolutely nothing...

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!!!"

"Why?!"

"Why would a Human Race Empire want to capture us as sacrifices? Why our team? Why?!"

"We only wanted to earn enough to survive. We just wanted to live a simple life. What’s wrong with that?!"

Lilia roared in a low voice. Her lips had already been bitten until they bled.

Qin Mu did not say much.

The situation was clearly more complicated than it first appeared. He could not afford to act recklessly.

He had only recently suffered a loss from carelessly accepting a Spirit Treasure. Now, he knew almost nothing about this secret Blood Red Divine Palace or the altar of the Blood Red Sect, so acting rashly would be extremely dangerous.

"By the way, you mentioned earlier that this place might be the secret Blood Red Divine Palace?"

Qin Mu suddenly remembered something.

"Do you know information that Green Peak doesn’t?"

"Hehe."

Ao Mengmeng raised her head proudly and puffed out her chest.

"Of course! I’m still the Guardian of the Heavenly Sword Sect and a genius of the Dragon Clan. Isn’t it normal for me to know some exclusive information?"

Qin Mu rolled his eyes.

"Stop showing off and get to the point."

"Awoo~"

Ao Mengmeng stuck out her tongue before finally beginning her explanation.

"I only heard about the secret Blood Red Divine Palace from my family. Back then, the Blood Red Sect seemed to be extremely famous within the Human Race."

"To be more precise, they were probably not much weaker than the Heavenly Sword Sect."

"According to the rumors, they possessed many unique Cultivation Techniques. They had God Kings and even legendary Divine Venerables."

"A behemoth of that level was almost wiped out overnight."

"No one knows why. No one knows who made the move. The Human Race’s major Transcendent Factions also chose to remain silent about the matter and even destroyed a large amount of related information."

"And because of that, countless rumors began spreading."

"There were many different theories, and most of them were chaotic."

"The most widely believed rumor claimed that the Blood Red Sect was actually a branch of some ancient mysterious Legacy. They supposedly uncovered a terrifying ancient secret, which ultimately led to their destruction overnight."

"And that secret was said to be hidden inside the Blood Red Divine Palace."

Alright.

It really did sound like a pile of ridiculous rumors.

Qin Mu immediately understood.

"Then someone must have also claimed that the Human Race’s Transcendent Factions have spent thousands of world origins searching for the Blood Red Divine Palace."

"But the Blood Red Divine Palace supposedly vanished without a trace, as though it had completely disappeared from the Universe."

This time, Ao Mengmeng was the one left stunned.

"Y-You... how do you know that story too?"

"Impossible!"

"That story should be an absolute secret!"

"This princess hasn’t even told Daylight about it. No one in the entire Heavenly Sword Sect knows. Even many high-ranking figures within the Human Race never had the qualifications to come into contact with such information..."