Chapter 128

Before and after Wu Shi proved the Dao, he had also perused ancient and modern scriptures, reviewing the actions taken by successive Emperors and Sovereigns in their pursuit of immortality.

A generation's Emperor Sovereign, commanding the Ancient Heavenly Court, sought to ascend with his entire teaching and all Emperors together, yet ultimately fell short at the final moment.

Yao Huang Xue Yue Qing, a man of startling talent and peerless brilliance who surpassed even gods, warred on the Immortal Path in his old age, yet never witnessed the Immortal Gate open, leaving only a ten-thousand-ages-deep regret.

The Dou Zhan Holy Emperor, fierce and tyrannical, undefeated his entire life, his combat power proclaimed supreme, wished to transform into a War Immortal in the mortal world; alas, he never succeeded, and passed away in meditation.

Gazing back into the past, generation after generation of stunningly powerful figures fell upon this road.

The universe is vast and boundless, yet cannot bury the ten-thousand-ages tragic ballad of the Immortal Path.

Including Wu Shi, generation after generation of outstanding heroes have all pondered: does the Immortal not fundamentally exist, and is the ten-thousand-ages Immortal Path merely a deception?

Or perhaps, not through fault of their own, the Immortal Path has been blocked off, and this heaven and earth will not tolerate it?

……

Now with the Holy Emperor before him, a single word "exists" was tantamount to piercing through falsehood, pointing out a true path for Wu Shi.

If one asked anyone else, they would lack such persuasive power; it would only count as a kind of speculation, difficult to convince him.

Only the Holy Emperor speaking thus could wield such tremendous influence!

Moreover, the Dao discussion between the two did not end there.

For after a long while, Wu Shi spoke again.

"May I ask the Holy Emperor, is the Void Great Emperor still alive in this world, or has he already entered the Immortal Domain? And what of the Luan Gu Great Emperor?"

Him asking this was also only natural given the circumstances.

All the world knows the Holy Emperor and the Void Great Emperor were on intimate terms; to say they were like master and friend is not an overstatement at all.

Now, having personally witnessed the Holy Emperor who has reincarnated into the world, the Void Great Emperor surely has not passed away in meditation either.

This is a very reasonable deduction.

"The Void lived out a Third Life, and in his old age, together with Luan Gu, was cast into the Strange World."

Gu Xuan spoke calmly, as if recounting an ordinary past event.

And the next moment, from the Chaos Light Cocoon in which he sat cross-legged, a stream of light and shadow crossed over — precisely the scene of the Void and Luan Gu entering the Strange World back then.

Naturally, Gu Xuan's figure was also within it.

For on that day, without his intervention, the Void duo alone would have been insufficient to break open that passage.

One saw within that light and shadow: a vast, variegated Strange Great World, surging Chaos Immortal Dao brilliance, three experts at the Great Emperor level and above jointly charging into the Immortal Path…

This is a wondrous spectacle rarely seen in ten thousand ages, shocking to the utmost!

Wu Shi learned the news of the Void and Luan Gu duo, then raised his eyes upward, and could not help but be violently shaken in his heart, unable to speak for a time!

He never in his wildest dreams expected that this visit to audience the Holy Emperor would yield knowledge far, far exceeding his expectations!

For having reached his current height, he could naturally distinguish the authenticity of what this light and shadow displayed.

Red Dust Asking Immortal, Strange World, Immortal Domain…

The Void Great Emperor and Luan Gu Great Emperor have not perished; rather, they have warred all the way, breaking into a Strange World with a small amount of immortal substance…

The grandeur and splendor of this scene defy the imagination of the world.

Even Wu Shi, as a Current Era Great Emperor, could not help but fall into a trance, as if a brand new world had unfolded before him.

He rose from the futon, intending to prostrate himself in a grand salute.

The Immortal Path of ten thousand ages now has an answer; this is like a lighthouse in a boundless dark night, its shining radiance illuminating past and present, its significance incomparably profound and weighty!

And for Wu Shi, Gu Xuan, as a senior Human Race Great Emperor, has protected the universe's all living beings for tens of thousands of years, his achievements crowning past and present; he is a fellow Daoist, and even more a worthy predecessor, fully deserving of this bow.

Yet Gu Xuan did not allow him to do so; from the light cocoon, a powerful yet gentle fluctuation crossed over, halting Wu Shi's salute.

"A trifling matter only, Dao Friend need not stand on excessive ceremony; and I observe that you too will inevitably be able to reach this step in the future."

Gu Xuan spoke calmly, his expression composed, merely remaining all the while within that resplendent Chaos Light Cocoon.

Upon the magnificent Dao Platform, silence fell for a time; the two great powerhouses both said nothing.

In Wu Shi's eyes, a marvelous light flashed, digesting this information, pondering it carefully.

Unknown how much time passed.

"This junior has one more impertinent request: may the Holy Emperor lend a hand, and together deduce the whereabouts of Di Fu?"

This was another sentence Wu Shi asked, carrying a hint of probing, and also a rare trace of trepidation since he achieved the Great Emperor Dao Fruit.

And then.

Seemingly thinking of something, he added a line: "Di Fu once ambushed my father, causing his demise; I bear an irreconcilable blood feud with them."

Naturally.

Wu Shi could guess that Holy Emperor Gu Xuan most likely knew this old grievance.

Nevertheless, he still added this sentence — partly to make things clearer, and partly with a hint of hope.

"No need to deduce; I once planted a strand of a mark within Di Fu."

Gu Xuan spoke slowly.

And as his words finished, from the Chaos Square Vessel atop his head, a mysterious rune flew out.

This rune was clearly that kind of spiritual mark, very faint, like light yet like shadow, like dream yet like illusion, yet also very real, absolutely not false.

"What…"

Wu Shi could not help but rejoice greatly in his heart; for a moment, even his eyes blazed with golden light.

With his current cultivation, he naturally perceived the extraordinary nature of this strand of a mark.

With this mark, tracking Di Fu's hidden location would no longer be a flower in a mirror, a moon in water.

This time, he rose once more, and solemnly prostrated in a grand bow of thanks.

For the gratitude in his heart was truly beyond measure, utterly from the bottom of his lungs.

The grudge of plotting to murder one's father — irreconcilable under heaven.

After Wushi proved the Dao and became Emperor, once he had stabilized his realm slightly, he sought out the Di Fu organization, for he guessed they would inevitably choose to evade.

Yet unexpectedly, their reaction was so decisive, their action so swift.

In fact.

Before this, Wushi already harbored a faint ominous premonition in his heart: if Di Fu were allowed to successfully escape from the world, perhaps even his two lifetimes as Emperor would find it difficult to avenge this great enmity.

Unless he became an Immortal in this Great Universe, then he might be able to break through the concealment of that legendary Immortal Artifact, the Tongtian Ming Bao, but this possibility was too low.

And now.

The Holy Emperor seemed to have foreknowledge, or rather to have prepared in advance, long anticipating that Wushi would come to settle karma with Di Fu, and had planted a thread of hope for him ahead of time.

This made even Wushi unable to restrain a sigh in his heart; this visit to pay respects to the Holy Emperor yielded too great a harvest, far surpassing expectations!

He spoke earnestly: "Holy Emperor's great grace, this junior will never forget it all his life; hereafter, whatever dispatch you may have, I shall surely face ten thousand deaths without refusal."

And this time.

Gu Xuan did not stop the other's grand bow of thanks again, but accepted his bow; otherwise it would have become utter disdain.

…

Long afterwards.

Wushi withdrew from this magnificent Dao Platform, about to depart.

Passing by a certain Da Yue, he saw those three Undying Divine Medicines again.

Among them, the Fusang Undying Tree and the Chaos Green Lotus Seed were both unperturbed, standing unmoved.

Only that little White Tiger, about a foot long, appeared somewhat curious; it leapt onto the dragon head of the divine vein, raised its head slightly to look this way, as if bidding farewell, yet also as if merely curious.

Arriving at that mountain cliff at the outermost edge, Wushi nodded slightly, inclining his head in salute.

And from the deepest part of the Shen Gu on the mountain cliff, a strand of Qi mechanism also surged up; that was Dacheng Holy Body Xu Lie's farewell, likewise a form of salute.

Finally.

Wushi left the Holy Cliff Dao Chang; the world also had no one who knew of his arrival and departure.

Compared to before he came, on his person there was an additional Nine Heavens Divine Jade bottle, inside which was a White Tiger Undying Medicine Fruit that Gu Xuan had gifted him.

Of course, with Wushi's strength, vast as the world is, there are not many who dare say they could heavily injure or even kill him.

This is merely a preparation in advance, just in case.

Fifty years later.

He arrived as promised, in the Dao Chang above the Beidou Ancient Star, accepted the worship of the Universe's Ten Thousand Races, and expounded the Dao for a year to the gathered cultivators.

That was a marvelous strange spectacle.

Since the disappearance of the Chaos Ancient Emperors over ten thousand years ago, the countless powerhouses in the Universe gathered together once more, to listen to the Wushi Great Emperor's Great Dao true meaning.

Quite a few people obviously still harbored wariness, looking extremely cautiously toward the direction of the Beidou's several great Life Forbidden Zones.

But as the expounding continued, the entire Beidou Ancient Star underwent strange changes, and even the entire Star Domain was the same; holy radiance permeated, purple qi came from the east, presenting a scene of Heaven and Earth's auspicious qi.

This is the Wushi Great Emperor's Dao Xing; merely expounding the Dao, he influenced the entire Star Domain, a rarity among the many Emperors and Sovereigns of ancient times.

Unknown how many cultivators were as if bathed in elixir poured over their crowns, listening as if intoxicated and entranced, temporarily forgetting the terrifying threat brought by the Life Forbidden Zones.

All who came to listen to the sutras gained something; those who benefited greatly had clear and empty hearts, directly attained enlightenment, and broke through to another realm.

Those with smaller gains also comprehended secret techniques, scriptures and laws, deepened their understanding; this kind of accumulation is of great benefit to future cultivation.

Thereafter, another four hundred-plus years passed.

The Wushi Great Emperor searched throughout the Universe's Heavens, and finally in a certain secret realm found the top-grade divine material "Chaos Stone" that can refine Extreme Dao Emperor Weapons.

He extracted the divine essence from the Chaos Stone, using "Bell" as the prototype, refined an Extreme Dao Emperor Bell, also called the Wushi Bell.

Time flows gently, time leaps once more.

Since the Wushi Great Emperor's successful proof of the Dao, a thousand years have already passed.

During this period, the Human Race once again developed and grew strong, all things in Heaven and Earth flourished, Ten Thousand Races coexisted; all this, because he guards the world!

And his cultivation also advanced daily; he created and perfected his own Forbidden Chapter Secret Technique, reaching another small peak of this life's Qi and Blood and Combat Power.

Finally.

This day, his figure moved, and he once again arrived at the Holy Cliff Dao Chang in the depths of the Star Sea.

This is the second visit in a thousand years.

Because these years, the Holy Emperor has always been in a certain metamorphosis, state unstable.

And this time, it is the approximate date the two agreed upon, and Wushi also received a Divine Sense transmitted by Gu Xuan from the depths of the Starry Sky.

In the Dao Platform where the Chaos Waterfall hangs down, the two great powerhouses sit facing each other.

"Have you decided?"

From that brilliant crystalline Chaos Light Cocoon came Gu Xuan's soft words.

"Senior, I have made up my mind; I will level this Forbidden Zone of Di Fu, remove a great harm for the Universe's All Living Beings, and at the same time avenge my parents."

Wushi sat cross-legged on the futon opposite, eyes bright and piercing; clearly his resolve was set.

It can be said, this matter has always been a cherished wish of his, and can also be said to be a lingering concern.

In former years, Di Fu used a secret art to sneak-attack his father, the Dacheng Holy Body.

Even dispatched several Supremes, with a Peerless Great Array besieging the Queen Mother of the West, wanting to seize the Dacheng Holy Body's corpse to bring back to the Forbidden Zone to extract true blood; although in the end they did not succeed.

As a son of man, how could he sit by and watch this conspiracy organization always hiding concealed in a secret realm?

And in fact.

Back then, when he first visited Gu Xuan and obtained from his hand the Spiritual Mark planted in Di Fu, he could have acted to attack.

As the Current Era Great Emperor, and an Innate Holy Body Dao Embryo who achieved the Dao, he did not lack such Combat Power and resolve.

It is just that Di Fu is ultimately a great Forbidden Zone with at least three Supremes existing, and it cannot be ruled out that there may be other variables.

Relying on his own strength alone, wanting to level a Life Forbidden Zone of this cultivation level — since ancient times, it has never happened.

Finally, through his discussion with Gu Xuan, the current deadline was roughly determined.

"Since that is the case, I shall also give my full support. Although my metamorphosis has flaws, I can still separate out a Dao Body, plus the Chaos Square Vessel."

Light blossomed in Gu Xuan's eyes, and even the area around the light cocoon faintly shone with great brilliance, emitting a terrifying Qi mechanism that made even Wu Shi somewhat startled.

And obviously, this was still not a manifestation of Gu Xuan's true strength.

Who knows, if the metamorphosis were thoroughly completed successfully, what astonishing height it would reach!

And Wu Shi did not stand on ceremony either.

Even one as powerful as him, whose combat power could be called Heavenly Emperor, could not say that this expedition to Di Fu was completely worry-free, easily seized.

A lion fighting a rabbit also uses full strength.

Even more so, the opponents are not weak rabbits, but Provers of the Dao from ancient history, each once invincible in an era, and there are at least three or more.

Therefore, Wu Shi accepted Gu Xuan's assistance; this was also one of the rough results of their discussion back then.

He bowed with clasped hands in thanks, "To receive Senior's full support, this junior is overwhelmed with gratitude!"

The next moment.

With a "Boom", a Holy Land Daoyin took shape and emerged from the Chaos Light Cocoon.

From Wu Shi's perception, this Dao Body of the Holy Land was almost an Emperor-level Expert.

Although he had long anticipated this, when truly facing it all, it still made Wu Shi feel a wave of shock in his heart.

Merely a Dao Body, yet terrifying to this degree; if the True Body thoroughly appears in the world, to what height would it be powerful? The probability is extremely high it would be even stronger than him, a Great Emperor who achieved Dao through an Innate Holy Body Dao Embryo.

"Senior truly has Merit Participating in Creation!"

Wu Shi praised sincerely.

He was completely moved by the moment.

And on the other side, Gu Xuan's face inside the light cocoon twitched slightly, even turning a bit red.

How could he have ever thought that he would actually be flattered by the Wushi Great Emperor? Such an experience could be called rare in all history.

Even though Gu Xuan had already come to this world for tens of thousands of years, and lived to his Fourth Life, having long cultivated a thick skin known as Jin Xiang Bu Huai, at this moment he couldn't help feeling his ears burn.

"Unexpectedly, Dao Friend Wu Shi, you would also put gold on my face..."

This Dao Body of Gu Xuan, or rather Gu Xuan himself, showed a somewhat helpless expression on his face.

Obviously, this was a joke, making the atmosphere on the Dao Platform momentarily joyful.

All along, during the process of the two discussing the Dao, it was always relatively solemn and serious.

Because what they discussed was either the ultimate truths of heaven and earth, or the great secrets of the universe, or matters concerning the Life Forbidden Zones, etc.

Now, Wu Shi also saw another side of Gu Xuan, carrying a trace of the breath of life, not so distant from people.

In a trance, he seemed to see the scene of the Holy Land and the Void Great Emperor interacting; perhaps it was much the same.

In fact.

Whether Gu Xuan, Void, or Wu Shi, in essence they are all hot-blooded men.

It's just that in certain trajectories, because of that terrifying and cruel grand situation, some are deep and solemn, or turn their backs on All Living Beings...

"Hum!"

The Chaos Square Vessel also arrived beside the two; it had long since become an extraordinary Ji Zhi Imperial Weapon; not to say it connects to immortals, but it's close enough.

The next moment.

Gu Xuan's this Dao Body merged into the Chaos Square Vessel, and together they arrived on Wu Shi's shoulder.

This is to hide within, and together expedition to Di Fu.

(Chapter End)