Heaven-Surpassing Divine Emperor

Jiang Chen left the courtyard and saw Wei Lihuang outside.

Wei Lihuang approached with a smile. "Jiang Chen," he said warmly, "the Old Ancestor has instructed me to take you to the meditation chamber to cultivate!"

"Thank you for your trouble, Master Wei!" Jiang Chen replied with a smile.

"What’s with the formalities between us?"

Wei Lihuang waved his hand dismissively and handed a Storage Ring to Jiang Chen. "Here are the Upper-Grade Spirit Crystals from the auction of your Profound Weapons. After deducting our fee and the cost of the True Dragon Bone you purchased, there’s a remainder of two billion, seven hundred forty million Upper-Grade Spirit Crystals."

Jiang Chen grinned and put the Storage Ring away.

’With these Spirit Crystals, I can definitely push my Divine Demon Tyrant Body to the Late Stage of the Fifth Stage.’

’By then, my body alone will be comparable to a Saint Tier Advanced Profound Weapon.’

’I’ll even be able to tank a direct hit from a Human Emperor Realm Ninth Stage master with just my body.’

Before long, they arrived at the meditation chambers.

It appeared to be a pagoda, but it was tilted, with more than half of its structure buried underground.

Jiang Chen asked curiously, "Master Wei, what’s the story here?"

"This is the Exquisite Tower, where the experts of our Celestial Secret Pavilion enter seclusion. You find it strange that it’s buried in the ground, don’t you?" Wei Lihuang asked with a laugh.

Jiang Chen nodded.

With a wave of Wei Lihuang’s arm, a small door on the tower opened. He then led Jiang Chen inside.

Inside was a spiral, suspended corridor. As Wei Lihuang led Jiang Chen downward, he explained, "The Exquisite Tower has eighty-one floors. Aside from the top five, which are above ground, the rest are all subterranean. You should know that Celestial Secret Mountain was forged by the Old Ancestor, who used his immense Divine Techniques to fuse numerous mountain peaks together. This Exquisite Tower is buried within one of them."

"That particular mountain is rich in an ore called Clear Heart Rock. Cultivating near it helps maintain a state of spiritual tranquility, allowing one to quickly calm their mind and focus. The deeper you go, the more potent the effect. I’m taking you to the very bottom of the Exquisite Tower!"

As Wei Lihuang spoke, they reached the bottom floor of the Exquisite Tower. The moment Jiang Chen stepped inside, he felt all the distracting thoughts in his mind vanish.

He felt exceptionally clear-headed and calm.

"I have some other matters to attend to, so you can begin your seclusion here," Wei Lihuang said.

Jiang Chen nodded. "Thank you, Master Wei!"

Wei Lihuang waved his hand and strode away.

Jiang Chen closed the door to the chamber and sat cross-legged on the stone bed, taking a deep breath. ’Two months left... I’ll spend the first month absorbing these Spirit Crystals to upgrade my Divine Demon Tyrant Body. Then I’ll use the remaining month to study the Ten Directions Sword Manual. Hopefully, I can master the Fourth Technique, and maybe even the fifth, before the Mystic Sect opens!’

CLATTER!

A mountain of Spirit Crystals fell to the floor. Jiang Chen took a deep breath and immersed himself in the crystalline sea.

He began to devour and refine them.

「Meanwhile...」

「Dragon Emperor Ancient Country.」

Within the magnificent Imperial Palace, the Dragon Emperor sat ramrod straight on his dragon throne. He looked down at the anxious Long Chan and said coolly, "Enough. I am already aware of Jingtian’s death. If that old Asura hadn’t interfered, I would have already personally eliminated that brat, Jiang Chen. There’s no need for you to blame yourself. Go and prepare. Select the candidates. In one month, we set out for the Mystic Sect!"

"One month?" Long Chan asked, startled. "But I thought we agreed on two?"

The Dragon Emperor sneered. "That was the agreement between Celestial Secret and Asura. What does that have to do with us?"

Long Chan immediately understood the Dragon Emperor’s meaning.

’The promise to the Asura Blood Emperor and the Celestial Secret Elder to leave in two months was just a stalling tactic. The Dragon Emperor and the others had already planned to leave for the North Nether Sea early.’

’By the time the Celestial Secret Elder and the Asura Blood Emperor realized something was amiss in two months’ time...’

’...they would have already entered the Mystic Sect!’

Long Chan immediately said, "Ancestor, you are truly wise and far-sighted! The Celestial Secret Elder claims to know all worldly affairs, yet you’ve played him like a fiddle!"

"Enough with the flattery. Go and prepare!" the Dragon Emperor ordered. "And remember, not a word of this gets out!"

"This disciple understands what must be done!"

Long Chan immediately withdrew.

The Dragon Emperor narrowed his eyes and glanced to the side. "The rest of you can come out now," he said coolly.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

Several figures appeared out of thin air.

It was none other than the Ice Emperor, Fire Emperor, Demon Emperor, Witch Emperor, Sword Emperor, and Emperor Ping Shan. They stood shoulder to shoulder before the Dragon Emperor.

Emperor Ping Shan spoke in a grave tone, "Dragon Emperor, are you certain about this? We’re effectively duping Asura and Celestial Secret. If Asura goes on a rampage when he finds out, how are we supposed to stop him?"

The Ice Emperor sneered. "What’s there to fear? By the time they find out, we’ll already be inside the Mystic Sect. Once we obtain the treasures within, why would we need to fear Asura?"

"The Ice Emperor is right!"

"When the time comes, our power will have soared. If that old Asura doesn’t come looking for us, we’ll go looking for him and eliminate them!"

The others all chimed in.

The Dragon Emperor held up a hand, silencing them. "Since no one has any objections, go back and make the necessary arrangements. In one month, we will rendezvous at the Profound Celestial Ice Field and depart!"

"Agreed!"

"Farewell!"

"See you at the Profound Celestial Ice Field in one month!"

The Emperor Realm experts vanished one after another.

The Dragon Emperor gently tapped his fingers on the armrest, a triumphant smile playing on his lips as he murmured to himself, "Old Asura... and Celestial Secret... in the end, you’re no match for me."

...

As the old saying goes: in the mountains, one loses all track of time.

Jiang Chen had lost track of how long he had been cultivating in the Exquisite Tower. Before him lay heaps of white powder—the residue of consumed Spirit Crystals.

Of the more than 2.7 billion Upper-Grade Spirit Crystals, only a few hundred thousand remained.

Just as he had hoped, Jiang Chen had successfully elevated his Divine Demon Tyrant Body to the Late Stage of the Fifth Stage, his physical body now on par with a Saint Tier Advanced Profound Weapon.

Jiang Chen let out a long breath. He took out his Spirit-Slaying Sword, and just as he was about to begin practicing the Fourth Technique, the Four Symbols Sword...

...an anxious voice suddenly called out from outside the chamber. "Jiang Chen, come out, quickly! Something’s happened!"

’Hm?’

Jiang Chen froze. ’That’s Wei Lihuang’s voice.’

He shot to his feet and opened the door to the chamber.

Jiang Chen saw Wei Lihuang looking at him with a worried expression and couldn’t help but frown. "What’s wrong?" he asked.

"No time to explain! The Asura Blood Emperor is furious, and the Old Ancestor told me to bring you there at once!" Wei Lihuang said urgently, grabbing Jiang Chen and hurrying toward the courtyard.

Moments later, the two of them arrived in the main hall of the Void Realm.

Inside, the Celestial Secret Elder, the Asura Blood Emperor, and Emperor Feixue were gathered. Both Emperor Feixue and the Asura Emperor looked utterly furious.

The Asura Blood Emperor was complaining, "I said from the start we should have just taken their Mystic Sect Sword Orders by force, but you wouldn’t hear of it. And now look! They’ve been gone for over half a month, and we’ve been sitting here waiting like a bunch of fools..."

Emperor Feixue added with a sigh of resignation, "This was most likely the Dragon Emperor’s idea. None of the others would have the nerve to cross you, Asura."

"I don’t care whose idea it was! The question is, what do we do now?" the Asura Blood Emperor roared. "Even if we go after them, they’ve probably already entered the Mystic Sect. We won’t even get the scraps, let alone the main prize!"

’So, the Dragon Emperor and his group left early,’ Jiang Chen realized. ’No wonder the Asura Blood Emperor is so furious!’

Seeing the Celestial Secret Elder still smiling silently, the Asura Blood Emperor grew even more incensed. "Celestial Secret, how can you still be smiling at a time like this?"

The Celestial Secret Elder just chuckled and patted the Asura Blood Emperor on the shoulder. "Don’t panic, don’t panic... With Jiang Chen here, we have nothing to worry about!"