Chapter 365: The Origin of the Dragon Qi Returning to Origin Technique

The old emperor was startled, a trace of extreme bewilderment flashing in his eyes filled with endless majesty and fervor.

He quickly suppressed that trace of bewilderment, replacing it with a near‑mad burst of laughter.

"Hahaha, pure? You little brat, dare talk to me about purity?!"

The old emperor's laughter rolled like thunder, booming across the sky of the entire capital.

With his wild laughter, the nine purple‑gold aura divine dragons coiling around him let out earth‑shaking roars, their massive bodies thrashing and crushing in the void, rending the surrounding space with black fissures.

Looking down on Gu Yuan from above, his eyes brimmed with overbearing arrogance and contempt.

"My power has surpassed that of all past emperors, exceeded the limits this world can contain—do you think I don't know the strangeness on that bastard Yin Zhen's body? Do you think I don't know he harbors an extremely evil, even otherworldly demonic qi within him?"

The old emperor swept his wide dragon sleeve, a howling gale shaking Tranquil Splendor Palace to the brink of collapse.

"I've long seen it clearly—from the moment that mysterious person slipped into the harem, from the day Consort Shu gave birth to that bastard, I've known all along, but this is also my opportunity."

The old emperor pointed at the Second Prince below.

"As long as I am strong enough, as long as I can devour the imperial fate of the myriad beings of Great Yin and achieve the unique supreme sage, even the evil ghosts of the Nine Nether Hell, even the extraterrestrial heavenly demons, will crawl and tremble at my feet!"

"Before absolute power, any impurity will be refined to nothing by my Imperial True Fire! Do you think your paltry tricks, meddling in my imperial fate, can halt my march to sainthood? It's nothing but an ant trying to shake a tree—utterly ridiculous!"

The old emperor's words exuded absolute confidence—the supreme aura accumulated from ruling Great Yin Divine Dynasty for centuries, toying with the world's peoples in his palm.

Crown Prince Yin E collapsed to the ground, hearing his father's insane words, his whole body feeling as if plunged into an icy cavern.

He gazed at the god‑like man in the sky, and an unprecedented despair rose in his heart.

Is this still the father who taught him benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faith, who taught him to love the people as his own children?

This is clearly a madman who would sacrifice the whole world without hesitation in pursuit of power!

Consort Shu's face turned ashen as she bit her lips hard, blood trickling from the corners of her mouth without her noticing.

She had thought she had seen through the ruthlessness of the imperial family, but she never imagined the old emperor's cold‑blooded madness could exceed her expectations.

Faced with the old emperor's earth‑shaking howl and oppressive pressure, Gu Yuan simply stood still in place.

He did not mobilize any power to resist that terrifying imperial dragon aura, not even letting the dark‑gold‑glimmering Inspector's Silver Seal at his waist retain its energy.

He just stared at the old emperor hovering in mid‑air, his eyes holding no fear, only a kind of pity—as if watching a insect desperately struggling in a spider's web, yet thinking it could escape the net of heaven and earth.

Gu Yuan lightly shook his head and let out an extremely contemptuous sigh.

"Foolish."

Those two words, though soft, sounded especially shrill amid the old emperor's violent laughter, clearly reaching everyone present.

The old emperor's laughter cut off abruptly, his majestic eyes instantly blazing with terrifying killing intent as he locked onto Gu Yuan.

"What did you say?"

"I said you are utterly foolish."

Gu Yuan lifted his head, his deep‑as‑the‑abyss eyes staring straight at the old emperor, his voice laced with undisguised mockery,

"Do you think you control everything? Do you think you are the player of this board? For your own selfish desire, for your laughable dream of sainthood, you actually dare to swallow the imperial fate of all of Great Yin Divine Dynasty and of this world's myriad beings."

"Do you realize that if you follow your plan, if that tainted bastard Yin Zhen ascends the throne, or if you, this self‑important fool, forcibly fuse the origin of this world… this world will surely face true destruction."

Gu Yuan extended a finger, pointing at the old emperor's dantian from afar.

"The Dragon Qi Returning to Origin Technique you cultivate, which can bypass heavenly oversight and directly seize the source of the nation's fate…"

"Where exactly does it come from?"

Those words, like a cold wind blown from the Nine Nether Hell, instantly caused the old emperor's overbearing aura to falter for a brief moment.

The old emperor was startled.

His pupils contracted sharply at that moment.

"Dragon Qi Returning to Origin Technique."

This supreme secret manual, which he regarded as the highest secret of the Great Yin Imperial Household, the sole path to defy heaven, change fate, and achieve supreme sagehood…

In the old emperor's mind, unbidden, arose the memory of a storm‑ridden night twenty‑odd years ago.

That was precisely the night the mysterious black‑clad person slipped into the harem and violated Consort Shu.

When he sensed the harem's disturbance and rushed to the scene with the elite Dragon Shadow Guard, that mysterious person had already vanished without a trace, leaving only the disheveled, heart‑rendingly weeping Consort Shu, and…

…and a tattered ancient scroll lying quietly on the dragon desk in the Imperial Study, emanating an eerie purple‑gold glow!

That scroll bore no author's name, only a profound and domineering method that completely overturned the traditional cultivation system of Great Yin Divine Dynasty.

What it recorded was precisely how to forcibly extract the people's faith and the dynasty's imperial fate and transmute them into one's own cultivation—a heaven‑defying art!

For over twenty years, the old emperor had believed it was a heavenly gift, a sign that the Dao approved of his governance and had specially bestowed upon him an opportunity to become a sage.

He treasured it like a priceless jewel, studying it day and night, even carving out a secret Mysterious Ice Chamber beneath his bedchamber to cultivate in secret.

But now, Gu Yuan's question, striking like a thunderclap, awakened him.

Suddenly, a bone‑deep chill, unprecedented and like falling into a bottomless abyss, surged through the old emperor's heart.

That mysterious person, able to bypass all formations and imperial guards of the Great Yin Imperial Palace with ease, must possess unfathomable strength.

Since he left behind the demon‑qi‑tainted bastard Yin Zhen, how could he possibly have carelessly left such a peerless cultivation manual in the Imperial Study out of kindness?

Unless…

Unless this cultivation method, from the very start, was a trap tailor‑made for him!

Watching the old emperor's expression shift rapidly, Gu Yuan shook his head helplessly.

He could see that the old emperor had been deeply influenced by that black‑robed person, his judgment clouded, causing him to unconsciously overlook many things he should have noticed.

Thus came the farce of the old emperor believing he had received the Dao's blessing, when in fact he had willingly cultivated a flawed method, actively driving the entire dynasty toward its grave.