Immortal Martial Emperor

Before him lay a great pool, a fusion of red and blue.

Like yin and yang, the two colors each occupied half of the pool, distinct and separate, never encroaching upon the other.

The towering red and blue light radiated from the pool.

It shot straight into the sky, a pillar of interwoven red and blue light.

It connected the heavens and the earth.

"Hm?"

Hong Yu noticed streams of energy surging down within the icy blue pillar of light, converging into the blue half of the pool.

It was the vibrant morning energy, the purple qi from the east.

'This pool is so strange. It can actually absorb the purple qi of the sun. Is it cultivating?' Hong Yu was amazed.

Just as he was about to descend and investigate, Hong Yu's eyes suddenly narrowed.

He saw a stone platform, about one square meter in size, in the center of the red and blue pool, rising about half a meter above the water's surface.

In the center of the platform was a purple, Lingzhi-shaped Spirit Medicine, emitting a rich medicinal fragrance and a faint, misty purple glow.

The vibrant purple qi from the morning sun was gathering upon that purple Lingzhi in the middle of the platform.

'It's a Jade Sun Purple Light Lingzhi? From the looks of it, it's at the level of a Seventh-Grade Divine Medicine!' Hong Yu gulped, his eyes burning with fervor.

The Jade Sun Purple Light Lingzhi.

Legend said it absorbed the purple qi of the morning sun as nourishment. It would blossom and wither once every three hundred years, and with each blossoming, it would grow another Lingzhi leaf.

A Jade Sun Purple Light Lingzhi with one leaf was a First-Grade Spirit Medicine.

One with two leaves was a Second-Grade Spirit Medicine.

And so on...

The Jade Sun Purple Light Lingzhi before him already had seven leaves. Although the seventh leaf was still small and tender, it was a genuine Seventh-Grade Divine Medicine!

Once Spirit Medicines and Spirit Pills reached the Seventh Grade, they could be given the title of "Divine Level."

This distinguished them from ordinary, mortal items.

One could only imagine how rare and precious a Seventh-Grade Spirit Medicine was!

'The Divine Medicine Scripture records that the Jade Sun Purple Light Lingzhi is the main ingredient for refining the Nine Orifice Breaking God Pill. If I can find the other main ingredients, I can refine the pill! Then my chance of successfully advancing to the Primordial Spirit Realm will be over seventy percent!'

Hong Yu waved his fists in extreme excitement.

The Nine Orifice Breaking God Pill!

A Seventh Grade Level Divine Pill, rarely seen in the world.

According to the Divine Medicine Scripture, the Nine Orifice Breaking God Pill could increase a Martial Artist's success rate of breaking through to the Primordial Spirit Realm to seventy percent.

And that seventy percent was not to be underestimated!

The Primordial Spirit Realm was a fundamental leap. It required not only a powerful physical body and a strong Primordial Embryo but also immense Spiritual Power.

By shattering the Primordial Embryo and replacing its core with the Soul, one could forge a Primordial Spirit.

The Primordial Embryo was the very foundation of a Martial Artist.

If it was damaged, the best-case scenario was a complete loss of power. The worst was instant death.

Therefore...

When a Martial Artist tried to break through to the Primordial Spirit Realm, they were constantly facing death, gambling with the Death God himself.

Moreover, the stronger the Mystical Power one comprehended, the stronger their Primordial Embryo became, making it harder to shatter. The backlash after shattering it would also be greater.

For example, a Martial Artist who had comprehended ordinary Flame Mysteries had a thirty percent chance of successfully breaking their Primordial Embryo to advance to the Primordial Spirit Realm.

For a celestial prodigy like Xiahuang Shang, who was at the Fifth Heaven Realm and had comprehended ten Mysteries of Martial Arts, the success rate was only twenty percent.

As for Hong Yu...

Although he only possessed a single Mystical Technique, the Chaos Mysteries, Chaos itself was boundless and could be considered one of the most powerful Mystical Techniques.

When it was his turn to break through to the Primordial Spirit Realm, his success rate would be less than ten percent.

Because of this, even though Hong Yu had already reached the Peak of the Primordial Embryo Realm, he had not yet put breaking through to the Primordial Spirit Realm on his agenda.

The reason was simple: he lacked sufficient confidence and certainty.

Failure meant losing everything.

The ingredients for the Nine Orifice Breaking God Pill were too numerous and exceedingly rare. Even though Hong Yu had spent a fortune asking Xiahuang Shang to help search for them, he had only found the supplementary ingredients. As for the three main ingredients—the Jade Sun Purple Light Lingzhi, the Ten Thousand Year-old Polygonum multiflorum, and the Cyan Lotus Earth Heart Fruit—he hadn't found a trace of them.

But now, he had actually encountered the Jade Sun Purple Light Lingzhi!

What incredible fortune and luck was this?

'That old tortoise's guidance was truly accurate. This is a grand opportunity tailor-made for me!' Hong Yu gulped, his excitement overwhelming.

He prepared to move and pluck it.

But just as he neared the large red and blue pool, a terrifying aura erupted from beneath the calm surface. Water splashed everywhere as a massive dark shadow shot out at him.

"Get lost!"

Hong Yu threw a palm strike without hesitation.

The strike contained infinite power, infused with his Chaos Mysteries, and glowed with a faint gray light as it viciously smashed toward the sudden dark shadow.

BOOM!

The collision of the two powerful energies created a terrifying explosion.

Rays of light burst forth, and energy overflowed in every direction.

The blast sent the red and blue water from the pool below surging up, forming a curtain of water that separated Hong Yu and the dark shadow.

Hong Yu shot backward, his eyes fixed on the water curtain.

The water curtain cascaded down with a SPLASH, finally revealing the true form of the attacker.

It was a strange Exotic Beast, treading on air with its four hooves, which were wreathed in the light of Ice and Fire.

Its body was a full twenty meters long and about ten meters tall.

Its entire body was covered in alternating red and blue scales that shimmered with a menacing, cold light, intimidating all who looked upon it.

Its ferocious head resembled that of a dragon, but it had a single, sharp, spiraling horn. Fangs filled its mouth, like a row of sickles growing from its jaw.

A short, thick, and powerful tail swayed back and forth behind it.

It was this tail that had just launched the sneak attack on Hong Yu. It possessed immense strength and glowed with a faint blue light, within which flames seemed to burn and dance.

"An Ice and Fire Qilin Beast?"

Little One's cry of surprise came from the Profound Celestial Tower.

Hong Yu was taken aback. "An Ice and Fire Qilin Beast? Little One, you recognize this thing?"

"According to legend, it's the hybrid offspring of an Ice Dragon and a Fire Qilin. It possesses the powerful body of the Dragon Race and the Fire Qilin's ability to control the Flame Element."

Little One was a veritable encyclopedia, speaking with confidence, clearly very knowledgeable about the Ice and Fire Qilin Beast. "The pool below should be the legendary Ice and Fire Origin Pool, which contains the origin elements of both Ice and Fire. However, because the Ice and Fire Fusion is too volatile, human Martial Artists and ordinary Desolate Beasts dare not stay in contact with it for long, or their foundations will be damaged by the Ice and Fire Power. Only the Ice and Fire Qilin Beast is extremely fond of such a place."

"So, this Ice and Fire Origin Pool is this big guy's home," Hong Yu muttered.

"Not just its home, but its treasure vault, too!"

Little One chuckled. "That Jade Sun Purple Light Lingzhi is so precious, you're definitely not the first person to discover this place. But no one else has managed to pick it, obviously because of this Ice and Fire Qilin Beast. When fighting within the range of the Ice and Fire Origin Pool, it's like a fish in water, as if divinely aided. Ordinary experts can forget about getting their hands on the Jade Sun Purple Light Lingzhi."

The Jade Sun Purple Light Lingzhi had indeed been discovered by previous generations of experts.

However...

First, it was guarded by the Ice and Fire Qilin Beast. Second, the Jade Sun Purple Light Lingzhi only appeared once a month, and only for a brief period of one hour.

After absorbing the morning's purple qi for an hour in the middle of each month, it would sink back into the Ice and Fire Origin Pool.

In addition, the experts from past events could only move about in the central and core regions and couldn't return to the outer areas. Thus, the Jade Sun Purple Light Lingzhi had continued to grow here, unpicked.

Little One said, "Kiddo, the Jade Sun Purple Light Lingzhi only appears for an hour each month before sinking back into the Ice and Fire Origin Pool. Also, according to my previous calculations, this True Dragon Battlefield is very strange. This entire large area should be part of the outer region. If you leave the outer region, you most likely won't be able to come back."

'So if I miss this chance, I'm afraid I'll lose the Jade Sun Purple Light Lingzhi for good?' Hong Yu felt a pang of frustration.

The True Dragon War had to continue.

He couldn't just wait here forever.

'No, I must get the Jade Sun Purple Light Lingzhi. Otherwise, I don't know when I'll ever encounter another one.'

Hong Yu clenched his fists, his eyes glinting with determination. 'The Nine Orifice Breaking God Pill must be refined as soon as possible. I have a hunch that if I want to achieve anything in the final True Dragon Ancient Hall, my only chance is to break through to the Primordial Spirit Realm.'

Hong Yu had great confidence in his Sixth Sense.

Besides, both Venerable Xiahuang and Xiahuang Shang had already taken that step. Their combat power was unfathomable. Even though Hong Yu's strength had greatly increased, he was only confident he could fight them, not that he could win.

Then there was the mysterious War Race Tribe and the previous True Dragon War victors, all watching like tigers stalking their prey.

These were all potential threats.

Only by breaking through to the Primordial Spirit Realm would Hong Yu have the confidence to vie for supremacy in the final True Dragon Ancient Hall.

At this thought, a resolute red light flared in Hong Yu's eyes. "Xingtian, come out!"

"Big Brother!"

Xingtian appeared and stood by his side.

The two of them stood shoulder to shoulder, staring at the Ice and Fire Qilin Beast before them.

The Ice and Fire Qilin Beast was also cautious. It remained right by the Jade Sun Purple Light Lingzhi, not moving an inch away, its wary gaze sizing up Hong Yu and Xingtian.

This was a Tier Six Advanced Desolate Beast, just one step away from reaching Tier Seven.

Its strength was immense, comparable to the Purple Thunder Winged Flood Dragon that had undergone its tribulation the other day.

ROAR!

The Ice and Fire Qilin Beast seemed to sense Hong Yu's determination to seize the Jade Sun Purple Light Lingzhi and let out a series of low roars, threatening him.

But Hong Yu only smiled coldly. "Xingtian, in a moment, summon the Execution Corpse Warriors to tie up the Ice and Fire Qilin Beast. I'll go snatch the Jade Sun Purple Light Lingzhi!"

"Understood, Big Brother!"

Xingtian nodded earnestly.

He wouldn't ask for a reason; he followed Hong Yu's orders without question.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

In an instant, several thousand Execution Corpse Warriors appeared, blotting out the sky as they swarmed toward the Ice and Fire Qilin Beast.

ROAR!

The Ice and Fire Qilin Beast was enraged.

With a roar, it spewed out streams of energy where ice and fire converged. Flames soared to the sky and frost chilled the air. Wherever the energy passed, snowflakes and fire existed simultaneously.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A pillar of Ice and Fire light swept past, instantly turning over a hundred Execution Corpse Warriors to dust.

After all, Xingtian was only a Fourth-Tribulation Execution Corpse, and the Execution Corpse Warriors he summoned were merely at the Primordial Core Realm Level. Before the Ice and Fire Qilin Beast, they were as fragile as ants.

"Form up! Executioner's World Destruction Array!"

Xingtian roared.

The thousands of Execution Corpse Warriors instantly formed an array. An immense phantom of Xingtian appeared, swinging down a giant War Axe.

In the past, this Executioner's World Destruction Array had nearly killed Bai Luoxue.

This strike made even the Ice and Fire Qilin Beast feel threatened. Flames erupted from its body, and walls of ice materialized out of thin air to block the attack.

At this exact opportunity, the eyes of Hong Yu, who had been watching quietly, lit up. 'Now!'

SWOOSH!

With an Electric Flash, Hong Yu's figure vanished into thin air.

When he reappeared, he was right next to the Jade Sun Purple Light Lingzhi. With a wave of his hand, the Profound Celestial Tower shot out a dim ray of light. "Take it!" The Jade Sun Purple Light Lingzhi instantly disappeared from the stone platform, and the red and blue pillar of light enveloping the Ice and Fire Origin Pool collapsed in an instant.

ROAR!

The Ice and Fire Qilin Beast sensed it immediately. It whipped its head around, its eyes crimson and filled with bloodthirsty killing intent, and lunged at Hong Yu.

Hong Yu's expression changed drastically. He used Electric Flash again to return to Xingtian's side.

He recalled Xingtian into the Profound Celestial Tower, then shot through the air with a flap of his Divine Demon Wings, rapidly flying away.

The Ice and Fire Qilin Beast roared furiously in place, but blocked by the Executioner's World Destruction Array, it couldn't break through to pursue Hong Yu right away. It was only a matter of time, though.

Hong Yu fled at top speed.

In the blink of an eye, he had traveled a hundred li and was about to escape the range of the Ice and Fire Qilin Beast's aura lock.

But at that moment, two figures suddenly appeared in front of him. Both stared at him with greed and fervor, their chilling voices filled with indifference and confidence...

"Drop the treasure if you don't want to die!"