Eternal Life as False Emperor

"Destined person under the mandate of heaven? How is that possible."

Xuan Jizi laughed outright, recalling the Emperor Zhengyong she had met years ago, shaking her head, "That Emperor Zhengyong may be capable, but he absolutely doesn't reach the level you describe as a destined person."

"Ruler of the Nine-Five... Senior, could you have miscalculated?"

Tianxingzi shook his head, then formed a hand seal, his middle and index fingers forming a sword as he passed them over his eyes.

In the dark night, a ghostly blue light flashed by, and his pupils bore a hint of bluish light, radiant and sparkling.

"Celestial Star Eye, open!"

He waved his hand once more, summoning forth a spinning, ancient Eight Trigrams magical artifact which halted midair.

Tianxingzi stepped on it, his entire figure soaring into the sky, reaching hundreds of meters in an instant.

"Senior?"

Xuan Jizi watched Tianxingzi oddly, now high in the air, puzzled at what this senior was up to.

In mid-air, Tianxingzi's gaze flashed, looking in the direction of Wannian County.

Wisps of azure clouds rose into the sky, enveloping the entire Wannian County.

No.

It shouldn't be the entire Wannian County but the vast expanse of the entire Capital Region behind Wannian County, spanning thousands of miles.

"Spiritual Qi, such a dense Spiritual Qi concentration!"

"This concentration, at the very least, matches having a first-grade Spirit Vein. What in the world is happening here?"

Tianxingzi instinctively turned back, his expression further astounded.

South of Wannian County, the direction they had just come from, held no azure light.

Thinking rapidly, the Eight Trigrams magical artifact swiftly carried him backward, soon surpassing Wannian County's perimeter.

Upon exiting Wannian County, Tianxingzi's expression changed once more.

He took out an ancient jade to inspect carefully.

The jade, which was originally glowing with golden light, now had that light dissipating slowly, turning into a plain, ancient cyan stone.

Spiritual Qi... dissipated?

His eyes flashed with the bluish light, finding that where he was standing held not a hint of Spiritual Qi.

Turning again, he looked towards Wannian County behind him, seeing strands of azure aura fall from the sky like a waterfall covering the landscape.

In Tianxingzi's view, a massive Spiritual Qi waterfall appeared before him, seemingly blocked by a thin curtain of light in between, distinctly separated.

The Spiritual Qi from Wannian County would not flow at all towards the north.

While northwards, there was still an extreme scarcity of Spiritual Qi, nearly imperceptible.

"What... what is going on here?"

"What has happened to the Capital Region?"

"Spiritual Qi... locked within Wannian County or rather the entire Capital Region?"

Tianxingzi's heart pounded wildly, the Eight Trigrams magical artifact underfoot spinning upwards, rapidly advancing north of Wannian County.

In an instant, he flew a thousand meters away.

Standing here, he gazed once more towards Wannian County.

It was unmistakable, the entire Wannian County, along with several southern counties, villages, and beyond to the Capital City, were all enshrouded under a massive Spiritual Qi waterfall.

It was as if... a huge hole had opened in the azure sky over the Capital Region, with endless Spiritual Qi pouring out, nourishing the entire region!

These Spiritual Qi waterfalls contrasted sharply with normal areas, as if an invisible, enormous hand was tightly holding the boundless Spiritual Qi within the Capital Region.

"This... an array?"

"No, no... I don't perceive the aura of an array, could it be natural?"

"But... how is that possible!"

Tianxingzi couldn't believe his eyes. This situation was simply unheard of!

In the sect's ancient texts, it's recorded that over three thousand years ago, powerful sects had Sect Protection Arrays.

Aside from safeguarding the sect and disciples, their primary function was to lock the Spiritual Qi within the mountain gates, preventing outflow, ensuring cultivation resources for the disciples.

However, those Sect Protection Arrays could only span the size of a single mountain peak, covering no more than around ten thousand acres, roughly the size of a mountain.

Now, this Spiritual Qi waterfall descending from the sky covered an area spanning thousands of square kilometers!

Over a dozen counties, several mountain ranges, hundreds of thousands of people, and the largest city of Great Yu, the Capital City!

Tianxingzi formed another hand seal, calculating something, yet unable to derive anything.

Gazing at this enormous waterfall, his complexion shifted between green and white, lost in thought.

At that moment, Xuan Jizi's figure ascended from the ground, curiously asking, "Senior, have you discovered something?"

"The Spiritual Qi here... feels off. Follow me!"

The two proceeded, entering Wannian County again, looking for Su Xi.

"Xi'er, try cultivating here."

"Here?"

Su Xi looked around at the surrounding wilderness, her gaze turning odd.

This was the outskirts of Wannian County, with unknown grasses and flowers growing along the road, and a sparse forest nearby.

A bit further away was Wannian County's township, where soldiers could vaguely be seen guarding the city walls.

"Alright, grandfather."

Obediently, Su Xi sat cross-legged and began to circulate the sect's heart method.

Soon, she entered a meditative state.

As she drowsily absorbed Spiritual Qi, Tianxingzi steadied his middle and index fingers, pressing them onto Su Xi's forehead.

Su Xi's body jolted fiercely, awakening from her meditative state.

"Grandfather?"

"Did you feel anything different from your usual cultivation?"

Su Xi thought for a moment, her eyes lighting up, "Spiritual Qi! Grandfather, I feel an abundance of Spiritual Qi here."

"When cultivating in our secluded place before, it would take me more than half a day of meditation to sense a trace of spiritual energy."

"But here..."

She instinctively spread her arms and said, "I, I seem to feel that there is spiritual energy everywhere here, it's like being soaked in a hot spring."

Xuan Jizi's expression changed dramatically, and he quickly tried to sense it. A few breaths later, his eyes were full of shock.

"It's indeed the case!"

Tianxingzi muttered, "This place... is experiencing a Spiritual Qi Revival!"

"Could it be that the revival of the spiritual energy in our Profound Cyan Realm will begin here?!"

"Senior!"

Xuan Jizi suddenly looked towards the southwest, which was empty, but faintly there were ghostly blue flames flickering in the distance.

"What is that?"

"Such a strong ghostly aura..."

"Let's go, take a look!"

Tianxingzi said, "With such dense spiritual energy here, something significant must be happening. I will stay in this Capital Region for a few days to see if I can discover any clues."

The three of them quickly moved towards the southwest, even deploying magical artifacts, traveling swiftly through the night.

Soon, three escape lights circled the sky here a few times before landing on the ground.

In front of them appeared a massive... Chaotic Burial Mound!

"Chaotic Burial Mound!"

Xuan Jizi looked at the dilapidated and chaotic graves here, frowning even more.

"There's a wooden sign here! It has writing on it!"

The three approached to take a look, their expressions even more peculiar.

"Military zone, intruders will be executed!"

"Wait a moment..."

Tianxingzi raised his hand to signal the two to stop and then, with one hand forming incantations, he carefully sensed, as a gentle breeze blew past, he suddenly raised his head and said, "There are martial artists guarding this place!"

"One, two, three... twenty-three people!"

"Among them, there is one Innate Realm Martial Artist, three Grandmaster Realm Martial Artists, and the rest are all martial artists above third-grade!"

"This place..."

Tianxingzi was shocked and said, "Could it be that there are Heavenly and Earthly Treasures here that the Great Yu Court has discovered, which is why they sent heavy troops to guard it?"

"Why not go in and have a look?!"

Xuan Jizi said coldly, stepping quickly into the Chaotic Burial Mound.

"The treasures of the world belong to the virtuous."

"As cultivators, we should naturally enjoy these Heavenly and Earthly Treasures."

"What qualifications does a mere Mortal Dynasty have to enjoy them?"

Tianxingzi frowned and said, "Fellow Daoist, the spiritual energy here is dense, there must be some Heavenly and Earthly Treasures emerging, and it is heavily guarded, with a high probability it is due to the actions of the Emperor of Great Yu."

"Aren't you afraid of offending the Emperor of Great Yu by being so rash?"

"Emperor of Great Yu?"

Xuan Jizi turned back and laughed, "Senior, there is no need to be nervous. The Emperor of Great Yu is but a mortal. Even if this place is heavily guarded, I am not afraid at all."

"Oh?"

Tianxingzi asked curiously, "How do you know the Emperor of Great Yu is a mere mortal?"

"It's simple; I once accepted a disciple within the Imperial Palace, who is the consort of that Emperor of Great Yu, and I have tested him as well. He has no Spirit Root."

"Without a Spirit Root, how can he be a cultivator?"

Xuan Jizi confidently said, "Moreover, this place only has mortal means of defense, no array protection, and cannot defend against us cultivators."

"Not appropriate."

Tianxingzi thought for a moment, still shaking his head and said, "I inherit the Celestial Secret Dao, and we of the Celestial Secret Dao believe in going with the flow, following the destiny."

"This place is in the Capital Region, and the Spiritual Qi Revival must be related to the Emperor of Great Yu; I will not get involved in this matter."

"Farewell!"

With that, he took Su Xi's small hand and turned to leave.

Xuan Jizi was also somewhat hesitant but still said, "Senior, senior!"

"Spiritual energy is scarce, and Heavenly and Earthly Treasures are extremely rare. Having finally encountered one, how can I give it up so easily?"

Watching Tianxingzi and Su Xi walk further and further away, Xuan Jizi gritted her teeth and stopped.

"Regardless, there are only mortal means here and no array protection."

"As long as I'm fast enough, I can see what this treasure is. If it's ordinary, then so be it, but if it's..."

She reached her hand out to pat a storage bag, and a gray-white handkerchief-like magical artifact appeared in her hand. Forming incantations with both hands, the handkerchief glowed faintly, instantly transforming into a cloud of gray mist that enveloped her entirely.

Then, shrouded in this mist, she slowly moved toward the center of the Chaotic Burial Mound.

Soon, her figure appeared in front of a small campsite.

This was where the martial artists guarding the Chaotic Burial Mound were stationed.

Most of the people were already asleep, but there were still a few patrolling.

Xuan Jizi quickly discovered what they were guarding.

It was a withered locust tree less than five hundred meters from the camp, or more precisely, the strange plant entwined around the tree.

Shaped like an octopus, it was entirely pale blue, tightly wrapped around the withered locust tree, with roots deeply embedded in the soil. Its tendrils intertwined at the top, vaguely forming a shape resembling a skull.

"This is..."

Xuan Jizi quickly realized and murmured, "Ghost Spirit Grass, a Tier Two Spirit Grass! It's a supreme spiritual medicine for healing the Divine Soul damage of Foundation Establishment Cultivators and can be refined into a Soul Condensing Pill."

"Moreover... this is one of the main Spirit Grasses for refining a 'Tier-breaking Pill,' which can fetch at least hundreds of Spirit Stones on the Overseas Star Island!"

"This thing... is destined for me!!!"