Chapter 54 - 53: The Immortal Treasure Emerges
Chapter 54: Chapter 53: The Immortal Treasure Emerges
"Success."
Su Chen opened his eyes. With his Vitality Circulation complete, he suppressed the Blood Flame, Bone Hum, and Jade Marrow, linking his entire body together. A new layer of jade-colored Qi coated the surface of his skin.
This made Su Chen frown.
’This seems a bit different from the Third Layer of Qi Merging described in the Ancient Book.’
’Vitality Circulation is supposed to be Inner Qi.’
’But not only have I refined my Internal Organs nine times, I’ve also connected my inner and outer self, condensing a form of "Qi" that I can release to kill my foes.’
’Speaking of which, aren’t I walking the Path of the Body?’
’Even a First-grade Leakless Minor Grandmaster isn’t said to possess this kind of projectable "Qi".’
He shook his head.
Su Chen put the matter out of his mind.
BOOM!
The ruined house in the bamboo forest collapsed with a roar, leaving only a lone grave deep within. Su Chen spurred his horse on, riding straight for the Imperial City.
’I hope I can still make it in time...’
「Great Liang.」
「West Suburb City Outskirts.」
「Night.」
The moon was bright, the stars were clear.
Great Liang was being torn asunder.
Even the Imperial City and the Imperial Palace were no longer safe. Countless dignitaries and nobles fled toward the city outskirts under the protection of their cultivator guards.
Countless commoners and wealthy merchants joined the exodus, forming a chaotic, jostling crowd.
Everyone was fleeing—powerful Cultivators, high-ranking Civil and Military Officials, even mighty Second and Third Grade experts. The handful of those with First-Grade Cultivation were no different, all terrified and scrambling to escape as if a wild beast were at their heels.
But at this moment, a young man appeared. He was peerlessly handsome, but otherwise seemed unremarkable, with no cultivation to speak of. He came from a great distance, moving against the tide of people, heading toward the Imperial City.
"Young man, the Imperial City is in chaos! Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
A young noblewoman in a passing carriage couldn’t help but call out a warning when she saw him.
"Hush."
"Have you lost your mind?"
"What ’young man’? For all we know, he’s older than me, your own father!"
"Everyone is packed together trying to escape, yet he walks against the current with ease. He’s clearly a formidable Cultivator, perhaps a reclusive master rushing to join the battle between Grandmasters..."
Inside the carriage, an old earl, himself a cultivator, clamped a hand over his daughter’s mouth in terror. He shot a forced, fearful smile at Su Chen.
"Thank you for the warning."
Su Chen thanked the young woman, but then, deciding this was too slow, he shattered the bricks beneath his feet and shot into the air. As if treading on the wind itself, he bounded forward a dozen times, covering a thousand meters in an instant before vanishing from sight.
The powerful Cultivators in the crowd who witnessed this gasped in unison.
Even the Second Grade experts were no exception.
’A technique like that... only a First Grade expert who has grasped True Intent could possibly do that.’
"I remember now! He’s number one on the Martial Arts List, the Wind Snow Little Grandmaster! He’s here too?"
The young woman exclaimed.
She suddenly realized why his unearthly handsome face was so familiar: she had been fortunate enough to see a portrait of the man ranked first on the Martial Arts List.
But even that portrait had failed to capture a third of his ethereal, handsome charm.
No wonder she hadn’t recognized him at first.
"What?"
"The Wind Snow Little Grandmaster!"
"It seems he’s reached First Grade. He must also want a piece of the Immortal Fate..."
The old earl’s expression was complicated. He sighed inwardly. ’The Wind Snow Little Grandmaster has a limitless future. Why come here to die, just after reaching First Grade?’
This battle was world-shattering; even First Grade experts were suffering grievous casualties.
The true players on this stage were the Peak experts and Grandmasters, not the First Grade.
The Wind Snow Little Grandmaster.
He’ll probably die here too!
The Imperial Palace was deserted.
Su Chen did not enter the battle. He simply sat cross-legged atop the deserted Palace Gate, his Sword Box in his arms, watching the world-shaking conflict just as he had once watched from the Library Pavilion.
’Zhang Gui, my friend, today I offer Great Liang as your funeral offering, to fulfill the dream you couldn’t achieve eight years ago...’
...
The battle in the Great Liang Imperial Palace raged for nearly three days and two nights. The entire Imperial Palace, and even the Inner City Seventy-Eight Districts, were caught in the crossfire. Collapsed buildings, endless ruins, and a sea of corpses stretched as far as the eye could see.
In the Seventh Year of Jianwu, the incident at the Tianwu Tower had brought together more than half of Great Liang’s hidden powerhouses. A dozen or so Junior Grandmasters, and even Zhang Gui—a Peak First Grade with the potential to become a Grandmaster—had been tragically slain, forcing the Grand Ancestor of Great Liang’s Demon Fiends to intervene.
The world had thought that to be the peak of Great Liang’s turmoil.
Now, they knew what a true peak looked like.
The Great Zhou Guardian God had descended with three thousand soldiers in Black Dragon Armor. He also brought three National Guardian First Grade experts. Adding to the fray were the Peak First Grade expert Xu Han, one known only as Purple Robe, and two First-Grade Demon Fiends.
As for the opportunistic First-Grade Experts who had hoped to fish in troubled waters, nearly all of them had died here. Their numbers had long since surpassed what could be counted on two hands.
An ordinary First Grade was nothing but an ant.
A Peak First Grade was merely a larger ant.
As for the Peak...
...they could barely survive.
The true main event here was the Grandmasters!
「Inside the Tianwu Tower.」
Two figures, one black and one white, clashed relentlessly, their blows causing the entire Tianwu Tower to shudder with titanic roars. Below the tower, enormous fissures had opened, large enough to swallow a person whole, never to be seen again, living or dead. This spiderweb of massive cracks spread throughout the entire Imperial Palace, even extending across the hundred-li expanse of the Imperial City!
Whenever a shockwave from the battle within the Tianwu Tower swept out, everyone—without exception, even Peak First Grade experts—fled in a mad panic. Any palatial halls or pavilions caught in the blast were instantly turned to ash.
Without a doubt, these were two Grandmasters.
"They’re too strong."
"Three thousand soldiers in Black Dragon Heavy Armor would be enough to surround and kill a Peak First Grade expert. To think they can’t even lay a scratch on a Grandmaster..."
"So this is a Grandmaster?"
The Celestial Strategy King, bleeding from all seven of his facial orifices, stared in horror at the battle inside the Tianwu Tower as a profound sense of powerlessness washed over him.
Great Zhou had deployed all its hidden reserves.
He had even conspired with the Peak First Grade expert Xu Han.
And yet, they didn’t even have the right to step onto the battlefield within the Tianwu Tower.
The three thousand armored soldiers were annihilated. Of the three National Guardian First Grade experts, one was dead and two were wounded. Even he and Xu Han, both Peak First Grade experts, were grievously injured and on the verge of Despair.