In the depths of the floating mountain on which the Qi Clan resided, Old Ancestor Qi Meng was sitting atop of a boulder with a fishing pole in his hands.
In front of him was a small lake, and from time to time, one could see fish swimming by.
Qi Meng sat there quietly without moving at all, as if a statue. However, at some point in time, a slight smile crept onto his lips, and he started speaking. “You can ask me directly if you have any doubts in mind. There’s no need to try sounding me out.”
There was no one in front of him when he said those words.
Hu!
But shortly after he spoke, a figure suddenly appeared on the surface of the water. He appeared so abruptly that it seemed like he had teleported over. On top of that, his movements had not caused any disturbance in the wind, and there was not the slightest ripple to be seen atop the water. It was almost as if his presence was just a figment of one’s imagination.
The old ancestor of the Beitang Clan, Beitang Xue.
“Old Qi, what’s with the Beauty Pill and that Zhang Xuan fellow?”
Having expected to hear such questions, Qi Meng raised his hand and said, “Wait a moment. Shentu Liuxiang is coming. I’ll explain once he’s here too.”
Shortly later, another figure appeared above the surface of the lake.
He was the last Conferred God King of Drifting Specter Royal City, Shentu Liuxiang.
“Follow me.”
Seeing that everyone was present, Qi Meng stood up. With a slight wave of his robe, a few ripples appeared in the air, and the next moment, he was already standing before the Lucid Lunar Lake.
Qi Meng turned to them and asked, “Are the two of you able to see the changes in the lake?”
The changes in the lake?” The two Conferred God Kings took a closer look at the lake, and their faces immediately paled in astonishment. “Is that… the blood of a God Monarch?”
The aura in the Lucid Lunar Lake was extremely chaotic. There were all sorts of blood essences and medicinal herbs mixed in, making it difficult to accurately discern what was inside with just a glimpse. Nevertheless, the two of them were still able to tell the difference with a glance.
The Lucid Lunar Lake had just been an ordinary body tempering location in the past. Even though it was indeed one of the better ones in the Sky of Drifting Specter, it was still possible to find better ones in the world.
However, after it had been mixed together with the blood of a God Monarch, it had become a blessed land for cultivation, probably second only to the Deathless Lava Reservoir.
“That’s right.” Qi Meng nodded. “Are you able to tell which God Monarch it belongs to?”
“This…” Beitang Xue extended his Spiritual Perception across the entire lake, and a moment later, he quickly turned to look at Shentu Liuxiang, as if seeking confirmation from him.
The two of them nodded before Beitang Xue hesitantly asked, “Is it… the God Monarch of the Sky of Deathlessness?”
“That’s what I thought!” Qi Meng nodded in agreement. “The lake became like that after Zhang Xuan cultivated here. That being said, even though the energies within have become much more potent than before, it can’t be used anymore.”
The ability of the Lucid Lunar Lake to temper a cultivator’s body did become more effective after being mixed with the blood of a God Monarch, but at the same time, the energies had gotten even more violent, making it infeasible for any cultivator to enter it.
God Monarchs were lofty existences. Their blood essence was not something that just any cultivator could easily absorb.
In its current state, even a genius of Qi Yue’s caliber would not dare approach it carelessly.
Thinking about how the Lucid Lunar Lake, which he had spent a heavy price to create, had been crippled just like that, he could not help but feel a little stifled inside.
The other two Conferred God Monarchs were rendered speechless by that news. It took a while before Beitang Xue asked uncertainly, “What you mean to say is that there’s a good chance that Zhang Xuan is…”
He finally understood why the Qi Clan would go all out to support Zhang Xuan, even at the risk of offending other powers. In the end, it was because an even higher power had gotten involved!
All in all, including the Heaven Subjugation Monarch, there were only ten God Monarchs in the Firmament. There were two of them who never appeared before others, namely the God Monarchs of the Sky of Freedom and the Sky of Heavenly Sword.
In other words, there were only eight active God Monarchs in the world.
It was viewed as the greatest honor in the Firmament to be related with a God Monarch in one way or another, no matter how shallow it might be. The act of a God Monarch dropping by the Qi Clan to cultivate and altering the nature of the Lucid Lunar Lake was proof of such a relationship!
As Conferred God Kings, they wielded strength that was envied by the entire world. However, they knew full well that the strength they possessed was nothing before the God Monarchs.
“Wait a moment, that’s not right…” Shentu Liuxiang suddenly spoke up at this moment. “If it’s that person’s blood, even if this place didn’t become on par with the Deathless Lava Reservoir, it still shouldn’t pale too far in comparison to it.
“Do you remember just how terrifying the Deathless Lava Reservoir was? Except for the people whom he has explicitly acknowledged, no one will be able to enter it without paying a heavy price, and that includes Conferred God Kings like us! However, it’s clear that the Lucid Lunar Lake hasn’t reached such a level. We are still able to absorb spiritual energy from it, which shows that the blood in the lake is still far from reaching the level of a God Monarch, no matter how similar they might be!”
The blood of a God Monarch should harness enough power to easily destroy the entire floating mountain that they were on. It was true that the Lucid Lunar Lake had changed under the effects of the blood, but in terms of power, it was severely lacking.
This disproved what they had said so far.
“This is also what’s left me baffled. However, you should have also heard of the situation of that person from the Sky of Deathlessness,” Qi Meng said carefully.
Recalling the rumors that they had heard a while back, the two Conferred God Kings fell deep into contemplation.
A long time later, Beitang Xue raised his head and said, “If that’s really the case, we’ll have to report this matter to His Sovereignty.”
Qi Meng shook his head. “His Sovereignty has gone to the Acheron Ocean, so we won’t be able to get in contact with him anytime soon.”
“Acheron Ocean?” the other two asked in bewilderment.
They had not heard of this matter.
“His Sovereignty intends to forge a body for that person who appeared in the Netherworld Pool a month ago,” Qi Meng replied.
“I see…”
The two of them nodded in agreement.
Just a month earlier, a soul had appeared in the Netherworld Pool. The soul was exceptionally powerful, and it swiftly caught the attention of Qiankun Demon Monarch. In order to groom the soul, the latter went to the extent of using his spacetime abilities just so that it could improve swiftly.
Even though the powers of the soul had not reached Conferred God King yet, it was already strong enough to subdue most God Kings.
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The Qiankun Demon Monarch was even going to the Acheron Ocean to forge a body for it. It was no exaggeration to say that he was sparing no efforts in this.
“This is the first time that His Sovereignty has been so concerned about another person,” Shentu Liuxiang remarked curiously. “I really wonder what’s so special about that soul. Is that soul a lady?”
Putting aside God Kings, even Conferred God Kings would be nothing special in the eyes of a God Monarch.
After all, it was the God Monarch who conferred their powers in the very first place.
Such a powerful expert was actually forging a body for a mere soul. It would be a lie if they said that they were not intrigued.
They had known Demon Monarch Qiankun for many years, but they had never seen such a side to him before.
Could it be that the soul had caught Demon Monarch Qiankun’s affection?
Qi Meng’s eyebrows shot up, and he swiftly warned the other two, “Watch your words!”
Shentu Liuxiang laughed awkwardly and said, “Hahaha, it was just a passing remark…”
He had no intention of probing into Demon Monarch Qiankun’s secrets. It was just that he was curious, and those two in front of him were old friends as well. That was why he could not help but be a little more chatty than usual.
“I have heard some things about this matter. It’s said that the soul came from the lower worlds, but the soul isn’t a lady. It seems like after the soul was infused with the Anima of Yearning, the constitution it displayed became bizarrely similar to that of His Sovereignty’s. It was out of curiosity that His Sovereignty decided to lend the soul a hand.”
Beitang Xue revealed what he had heard.
The Qiankun Demon Monarch had washed his hands of the affairs of Drifting Specter Royal City, so they were in charge of most matters. Due to this, they were able to learn of many secrets that others did not know about.
Upon hearing that it was not a lady, the other two nodded quietly in relief.
“Regardless of whether Zhang Xuan is related to that person from the Sky of Deathlessness or not, this matter is already beyond our jurisdiction. I don’t think that it’s wise for us to make a reckless move,” Qi Meng said. “Now that you have learned the truth from me, I trust that you would know what you should and should not do. Let’s part here and do what we should do then.”
Shentu Liuxiang and Beitang Xue nodded in agreement before disappearing.
Conferred God Kings did not have the ability to teleport, but the sheer speed that they were able to move at had already surpassed what the eye could see, thus creating an effect similar to that.
Drifting Specter Royal City, Netherworld Pool.
The guard who had received Zhang Xuan back then entered the Netherworld Pool once more to examine the situation there.
Over the past seven days, Zhang Xuan’s apparition had become bigger than that of an ordinary human. Furthermore, his figure was gradually getting more and more corporeal, and the aura that he emanated felt heavier than ever.
“There are even more people providing him with Anima of Yearning now. There is such a huge increase in the number of Gods and Celestial Gods…”
The guard gulped down a mouthful of saliva.
Previously, when the Anima of Yearning generated by a Conferred God King and three God Kings allowed the apparition to grow to the size of a real human, they had thought that it would be hard for the young man to do anything more than that. They did not think that it would continue to grow further at such a swift pace.
But this time, as the Anima of Yearning came mostly from Gods and Celestial Gods, the effects were not as pronounced.
“It’s just that the Anima of Yearning coming from Gods and Celestial Gods is still a little lacking. If he could receive the acknowledgement of a few other God Kings, he might just become the second largest apparition in here!” the second guard remarked with a nod.
You’re right, but it isn’t that easy to gain the support of a God King. It’s already amazing that he has been acknowledged by three God Kings! It’s hard to imagine him going any further than that…” The first guard shook his head.
But before he could finish his words, the apparition suddenly jolted once again.
Boom!
It began expanding swiftly, reaching two times its previous size in an instant.
Just like that, its height surpassed a zhang[l], making it the largest apparition in the Netherworld Pool!
“This is… the Anima of Yearning from two Conferred God Kings?”
The knees of the two guards caved in, and they immediately fell to the ground. The excessive shock had left them speechless, and they felt like they would lose their minds
Just a moment ago, they had said that it was no easy feat to receive the acknowledgement of God Kings, and then the apparition suddenly received the Anima of Yearning from two more Conferred God Kings…
In the entire Firmament, there were only around thirty Conferred God Kings in total. On average, a God Monarch would only receive Anima of Yearning from three Conferred God Kings…
But this young man had actually managed to do that!
Just what in the world was his background?
For a long while, the two of them could only look at each other in astonishment.
In the end, it seemed like they had still underestimated that young man’s limits.
Upon reaching the vicinity of the square, Zhang Xuan was shocked by how packed the entire area was.
The crowd that was present far exceeded his wildest imagination.
Taking a deep breath, he maneuvered the aerial celestial beast to bring him to the stage so that he could begin his performance. But at that instant, he suddenly felt a surge of warmth in his soul, and his soul cultivation suddenly began growing once more.
It did not take long for his soul cultivation to reach middle-tier Celestial God pinnacle, putting him a step away from reaching high-tier Celestial God.
“What’s going on?” Zhang Xuan was stunned.
He had not even started his performance.
Did someone transfer their Anima of Yearning to him by accident?
[1] A zhang = 3.33m