Chapter 72: Comparable to a Great Emperor's Rebirth

Jiang Xuan seemed not to hear; endless crimson sword light once again rent the Void, while at the same time the Yin-Yang Mirror light and Eight Trigrams Furnace operated together, sword radiance crisscrossing, Yin-Yang power evolving Chaos, the Divine Furnace refining Heaven and transforming Earth—it was as if a god had split open Heaven, terror reaching its peak.

"Alas, not yet... Immortal Platform, no need... in vain." Jiang Taixu spoke again, hoping Jiang Xuan would observe his demonstration of the Dao.

"Demonstrating the Dao is not urgent; I just thought of a final plan. If it still fails, I will withdraw." Jiang Xuan shook his head slightly; the Eight Trigrams Furnace operated again, tens of thousands of jin of Source within his body burned, and the incomparably rich essence qi almost solidified into a five-colored essence qi beacon.

Jiang Xuan made a grabbing motion with his large hand, and this essence qi beacon was directly seized in his hand, controlled by him as it seeped toward the jade wall.

"Effective, quickly refine it!"

Jiang Taixu's expression also brightened; truly, a village appears after the willows darken and flowers brighten. For four thousand years, he had been trapped within this Cave Abode, on the verge of exhausting his provisions, the reason being there was no supply at all—thirsty, no copper juice; hungry, no iron pills. Everything relied on his own divine power to endure, and on drawing faint primal qi from within the jade wall to survive.

As long as he could absorb a large amount of essence qi, he could certainly persist longer, and he would have hope of escaping.

Jiang Taixu operated the Emperor Classic arcane art, greedily absorbing the seeping life essence qi; his body like a furnace, his withered silhouette gradually filling out.

Half an hour later.

Jiang Xuan operated the Eight Trigrams Furnace; the Emperor Pattern originally belonging to the Li Fire Divine Furnace appeared, transforming into a stream of light that boomed into the jade wall.

"Why not act? What are you waiting for!"

At this moment, God King Jiang Taixu sensed a familiar Mysterious Qi, knowing now was the chance to escape; he operated his divine power to jointly activate the Emperor Pattern—one inside, one outside—and the jade wall boomed open a large hole.

A white stream of light arrived from within the hole in an instant; it was Jiang Taixu, his face withered, his form disheveled, yet unable to conceal the unparalleled bearing radiating from his body.

"Jiang Taixu thanks Little Friend for the grace of saving my life; Little Friend is truly unparalleled in the Past Ages." Jiang Taixu looked at Jiang Xuan, his expression full of gratitude and awe.

He simply could not imagine that the one who helped him escape was actually a small boy; judging by his life Mysterious Qi, his age was not even twenty.

Dragon Transformation Layer, peerless Sword Intent, Yin-Yang power, and that mysterious secret art seemingly in harmony with the Hengyu Sutra.

Any single one of these was enough to dominate all the younger generation of the Eastern Wasteland Land, yet so many inconceivable things were gathered in one person—even a Youthful Great Emperor would be no more than this. Jiang Taixu simply could not imagine how this mysterious boy before him had achieved this step.

"God King Jiang Taixu, deeply devoted and righteous, with peerless bearing; I also greatly admire you."

Jiang Xuan laughed. At this moment his mood was not bad; after the Li Fire Divine Furnace initially fused with the Eight Trigrams Furnace, the Emperor Pattern likewise fused within him. Since the Emperor Pattern and the Hengyu Sutra shared the same source, after he released it, Jiang Taixu could also activate and empower it, greatly increasing his attack power.

Then, could he directly activate the Hengyu Furnace?

Jiang Xuan inquired about the whereabouts of the remains of the descendants of the Source Heaven Masters; Jiang Taixu recalled for a moment and informed him, and the two traveled together to that place.

Soon, the two arrived at a great hall; inside lay a skeleton, beside the skeleton a silver book flashing with cold metallic luster, and nearby some broken stone garments.

Obviously this was left by the descendants of the Source Heaven Master Zhang family; a thousand years ago they entered Zi Shan, bringing the Source Heaven Master inheritance with them. Who would have thought they could enter but not leave, perishing in Zi Shan, causing the Source Heaven Master lineage to lose its inheritance.

This was Zhang Jiye. Jiang Xuan struck with a single palm and erected a simple grave mound, then picked up the Source Heaven Book and slowly turned its pages.

"Looking up to observe images in Heaven, looking down to observe laws on Earth, observing the patterns of birds and beasts, and the suitability of the land... inner qi arises, outer qi takes form, inner and outer mutually ride... qi riding the wind scatters, meeting water stops... the ancients gathered it so it would not scatter, practiced it so it would have a stop..."

The Source Heaven Book's opening clarified its meaning; it did not speak of cultivation methods, only of the Dao. The mysteries of Yin-Yang Five Elements and the principle of Heaven-Man Unity it involved coincided with Jiang Xuan's cultivation.

Turning to the back, there were methods for Moving Mountains and Seas and sensing constellations; further back was a scripture—the Wu Shen Technique, the cultivation method of the Dao Palace Secret Realm, bestowed by Yaochi Saintess Yang Yi to Zhang Lin to nourish his life and extend his lifespan.

After consideration, Jiang Xuan did not prepare to cultivate Source Arts; this would be even more time-consuming than his treasure refining. His Yin-Yang Mirror could sense the Yin-Yang qi of all things and also possessed the ability to see through the inner nature of objects.

Even within the Hongmeng Treasure Mirror there was a supreme treasure imprint—the Earth Book. This Magic Treasure was the ultimate in the way of Earth Veins, surpassing Source Arts by many times in this field.

Although not preparing to cultivate the Source Heaven Book, the principles of cultivation were interconnected. Like the Dao Classic, the cultivation concepts and understanding of cultivation contained within were of great help to Jiang Xuan, greatly reducing the time he needed for Tao Enlightenment.

The two continued forward and soon arrived at the center of Zi Shan, where a stone book stood in the center, several zhang long and also one zhang wide.

Wu Shi Sutra!

The jade pendant in Jiang Xuan's hand emitted dazzling light, and that stone book also emitted a gentle light.

Jiang Taixu observed that Jiang Xuan actually possessed the Wushi Emperor Jade, and his heart stirred.

"Try placing the Emperor Jade inside..." Jiang Taixu said. Perhaps this boy who seemed to have great fortune could truly obtain the invincible Wu Shi Sutra under Heaven and Earth.

The two tried to step forward and turn the pages, but the stone book stood motionless, not a sign of opening.

"The Emperor Jade is not complete; there are nine slots on the stone scripture. Presumably, all nine Emperor Jades must be gathered to open the inheritance of the Wushi Great Emperor." Jiang Xuan felt no regret; this result was long expected.

Jiang Taixu nodded; it could only be this possibility.

"The Wushi Great Emperor could not leave a dead end for his descendants. Holding the Emperor Jade allows entry into Zi Shan without being trapped by Emperor Patterns, and surely one can rely on this to exit."

Jiang Xuan looked at the Emperor Jade on the altar slot, with more than half still exposed outside, and reached out to press it down.

In the moment the Emperor Jade sank into the slot, this place burst forth with ten thousand zhang of radiance; the dazzling light enveloped both of them, divine light tore through the Void, and after a patch of darkness, the two appeared within a mine cave. Walking along the mine tunnel, faint light could be seen ahead.

"Out... four thousand years. I do not know if old friends are still here."

At this time Jiang Taixu's face was full of emotion. Over four thousand years, the seas had turned to mulberry fields; did those of his same era still live in the world? Was she still alive?

Famous in youth, for five thousand years the number one attacker in the Eastern Wasteland, sweeping through his contemporaries; even old generation masters dared not test his sharpness. Exploring the Magic Mountain, he did not expect to be trapped alive for thousands of years. The bitterness and loneliness within were not to be spoken of to outsiders.

Now able to free his body, Jiang Taixu was filled with the joy of breaking free from the cage and returning to nature, and held endless gratitude toward Jiang Xuan.

The boy before him was simply comparable to a Great Emperor reborn. He himself asked if his talent was unparalleled, but at the same age, he absolutely had not achieved what Jiang Xuan had.

That peerless Sword Qi that tore through Heaven and Earth and emitted incomparably fierce killing intent—long ago he had encountered a peerless Heaven's Pride from the Central State, wielding an imitation Tai Huang Sword. The two fought until mountains collapsed and earth split, and finally the Central State Heaven's Pride lost in one move.

The Sword Intent of that imitation Tai Huang Sword was absolutely not as terrifying as the Sword Intent the boy emitted with his finger as sword.

Besides this, the boy's eyes could actually emit Yin-Yang Divine Light, seemingly the path of the Yin Yang Sect of the Holy Land. But Jiang Taixu was certain the Yin Yang Sect did not possess such a supreme art; their heirloom Holy Soldier, the Yin-Yang Mirror, did possess such marvelousness.

In ancient legends, in the Immortal Ancient Era, Double Pupils split open Heaven and could perform Yin-Yang. Could this be Double Pupils?

Within his body there seemed to be another power sharing the same source as the Hengyu Sutra. Once completely fused, it would be earth-shattering.

This boy was comparable to a Great Emperor in his youth.

Just as the two walked away, a black shadow flashed by.

"That boy is too terrifying. There is a feeling of a natural enemy. There is a feeling that he could eat this Ben Huang..."

(Chapter End)