The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  Whether or not I can peacefully leave the capital and fool Genesis Supreme to get the divine embryo will depend on this Qi Blood Darkening ability!

  ……

  Late in the night, to the southeast of the capital, a black-robed figure appeared out of the void and silently observed the distant city.

  A breeze ruffled the black robe, but the man’s body remained fixed in the air.

  The night was quiet as Genesis Supreme’s eyes slowly moved away from the brightly lit Imperial Palace and settled on the King of Foreign Lands Residence to the southeast of the palace.

  Next to Genesis Supreme, the Tianfu Divine Lord, who had been heavily injured in his previous battle with Wang Chong, noiselessly appeared.

  “Milord, is there really nothing that can be done?”

  The capital didn’t seem that different from any other city of the Great Tang, but for the men in black, it had become a death zone.

  The Tianfu Divine Lord scanned the area and was able to detect a barrier of ripples that no ordinary person could see covering the capital.

  These ripples did no harm to ordinary people, but they were fatal to the men in black.

  Around seven days ago, many men in black had infiltrated the capital, originally planning to enter the palace while Li Taiyi was on his deathbed and seize several important objects from him. But to their shock, Li Taiyi had been one step ahead of them, and the Miniature Nine Provinces Domain he had set down beneath the capital turned into a nightmare for the men in black.

  Countless men in black had violently died, and if the Tianfu Divine Lord had not reacted swiftly enough, he would have also died in the capital.

  Just thinking about it had his heart thumping in fear.

  At his level in strength, almost no one in the world could oppose him. How could he have almost died?!

  “It’s pointless!” Genesis Supreme finally said as he observed the Miniature Nine Provinces Domain. “The basis of this formation is the Imperial Palace. To destroy the formation, we would have to start with the Nine Heavens Ten Earths Three Emperors Formation. Trying to dismantle this formation is already an exceedingly difficult task, not even considering that none of us can even enter the capital.

  “Damn Li Taiyi—we all underestimated him! This bastard managed to analyze our foundation energy and wipe out our men even after his death!” Genesis Supreme cursed.

  Formations were normally unable to distinguish between friend and foe. Moreover, the Celestial God Organization had many different kinds of arts, and each of its members had a different kind of energy. But Li Taiyi could target the Miniature Nine Provinces Domain against them, meaning that he had clearly found the commonality between all of them, allowing the formation to accurately exterminate all the men in black in its range.

  The Tianfu Divine Lord also scowled.

  He turned to Genesis Supreme and said, “Milord, what do we do? Do we really have no way of seizing those ants?”

  He had already learned just how powerful the formation was, and knew that he had no ability to break it. But Genesis Supreme was different. He was already at the peak of the Grotto Heaven realm, far above him. With ‘Heaven’ still sealed, he could only place his hopes on Genesis Supreme.

  “No way of getting at them? Hmph, how could that be?”

  Genesis Supreme coldly snorted, his eyes quickly locking onto the King of Foreign Lands Residence.

  “While the formation can run on its own, its core is still being operated by someone. With Li Taiyi dead, someone else must be in charge of the formation’s core. As long as we can find this person and take that mark from him, we can naturally take control of the formation and thus destroy it!

  “Regardless of where Li Taiyi hid it, we have ways of finding it!” Genesis Supreme sternly said.

  His eyes were fixed on Wang Chong’s residence.

  With the Sage Emperor dead, the one most likely to have the formation’s mark was not the newly-enthroned Li Heng, but that Child of Destruction!

  For many years, Li Taiyi had possessed a certain object that the Celestial God Organization had ardently desired, and this item was one of the important reasons the Celestial God Organization wanted to deal with Li Taiyi.

  Alas, Li Taiyi was too cunning and shrewd. Despite wracking their minds, they failed to find that object.

  “But that boy is extremely cunning, perhaps just as cunning as Li Taiyi. He has control over the formation’s key, so if he plays a turtle and never leaves, we have no way of getting at him,” the Tianfu Divine Lord worriedly said.

  The severe wound Wang Chong had inflicted on him in the last battle had also left a deep psychological wound.

  The Tianfu Divine Lord had not taken Wang Chong seriously before, but now, he was extremely wary and fearful.

  “Playing a turtle?”

  Genesis Supreme coldly chuckled.

  “He can play a turtle for now, but forever? Tell An Yaluoshan in Youzhou to start some trouble. When the time comes, he’ll naturally come out!”

  Genesis Supreme sneered.

  “This subordinate will deliver this order!”

  Whoosh!

  In a gust of wind, Genesis Supreme and the Tianfu Divine Lord vanished without a trace.

  ……

  Several days later…

  “Imperial Army drill! Everyone, stand aside!”

  The muscular soldiers of the Imperial Army, their energies blazing, rode out of the eastern, southern, and western gates of the capital, the hooves of their horses thundering.

  Whoosh!

  The common folk of the capital retreated to the sides of the road upon seeing the Imperial Army march out.

  “What’s going on? Why is the Imperial Army causing such a stir?”

  “Didn’t you hear? The new Emperor is planning to reform the Imperial Army and has dispatched the Imperial Army out of the city to train. In the future, the Imperial Army will have to go onto the battlefield!”

  “Ah! I see!”

  As word spread through the crowd, they began to disperse in understanding.

  With the Sage Emperor’s passing, the common people of the capital all held great respect for this new Emperor who had some of the appearance of the Sage Emperor. When they heard that this was Li Heng’s order, all of them stood to the side and were very supportive of this action.

  Tens of thousands of soldiers surged out of the city and quickly began to drill, creating a grandiose scene.

  While everyone’s attention was drawn to the large-scale drills of the Imperial Army, no one noticed a figure several li north of the capital’s northern gate, keeping close to the ground as they swiftly made their way northward.

  “Success!”

  Wang Chong’s eyes flashed, and as he glanced back at the capital, he let out a sigh of relief.

  The energy around him at this time was extremely concentrated, but beyond one thousand feet, there was no way of sensing it.

  This was the effect of Qi Blood Darkening!

  But still, Wang Chong did not dare to be careless.

  Chapter 2055 - The Mountains of Oblivion!

  Chapter 2055: The Mountains of Oblivion!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Qi Blood Darkening can only persist for five days. I have to find that divine embryo in that area as quickly as possible, but no matter what, when my time is up, I have to return. Moreover, if I’m gone from the capital for too long, someone might start getting suspicious! Wang Chong quietly said to himself.

  Even though he had made ample preparations before leaving, such as having Miyasame Ayaka disguise herself as him and show his face from time to time, Wang Chong knew that it would be impossible to deceive Genesis Supreme over the long term.

  Even if this man couldn’t enter the capital, he still had other ways of investigating.

  Wang Chong did not have as much time as it seemed.

  Swoosh!

  Once he was about ten li away, Wang Chong st
opped holding back. His Stellar Energy blazed as he used the Shadow Fiend Art to vanish into void, advancing into the north with astonishing speed.

  At this point, even if one were within one thousand feet of Wang Chong, one would find it very hard to see Wang Chong.

  The Shadow Fiend Art was even faster than the Starlight Step, making him nigh undetectable. But still, something had been perceived, and mental waves slowly scanned the area. However, they did not find Wang Chong.

  Several hundred li away, Wang Chong had already successfully escaped, and he placed all his focus on the divine embryo.

  As time passed, the realm was calm and peaceful.

  In the King of Foreign Lands Residence, Miyasame Ayaka, the new ‘King of Foreign Lands’, made occasional appearances, and Genesis Supreme’s men seemingly noticed nothing strange.

  Around two days later, Wang Chong reached an extremely barren and desolate region between the capital and Beiting.

  Precipitous peaks rose from the earth like blades and swords, vast and magnificent, their slopes covered in lush forests. It all exuded an extremely primitive atmosphere.

  Such heaven-piercing mountains, grandiose and bursting with mystery, were not uncommon in the realm.

  But if one looked carefully, one would discover that near the base of the mountain, concealed under the forest canopy, was a strange forest of black stones.

  The stones were randomly distributed like scattered swords, but they were also like burning flames that were difficult to approach.

  The Mountains of Oblivion!

  This was the name given to these stones by the Beiting Protectorate!

  Though these mountains were lush, the strange and craggy stones at their base made it impossible for warhorses to get close, as they would easily get injured. Not even pasturing was possible, so both the Tang and Hu ignored this region.

  The region was also extremely remote. Whether one was coming from the north, south, east, or west, whether one was engaging in commercial activity or mobilizing soldiers, one would never have to pass through this area.

  …Unless one intentionally came to find it!

  Even the name of the mountains had been chosen very casually.

  In truth, few people knew this name, because nobody really cared.

  But Wang Chong knew the name. In the apocalyptic era, these randomly distributed black rocks that looked like tongues of flame earned the mountains the name of ‘Mountains of Black Flame’!

  In the apocalyptic era, it had served as a gathering place for refugees in the north, though humanity later retreated to the south.

  “This is the place!”

  As Wang Chong looked at those strange stones, his hair tossed around by the chilly winds, a smile crept onto his lips.

  “Finding the Black Flame Mountains is the same as finding the divine embryo!”

  Bang!

  The moment he arrived, he sent a vast amount of Psychic Energy radiating out into his surroundings and then surging into the ground.

  The Black Flame Mountains covered an immense area of seventy to eighty li.

  Wang Chong had not participated in that earthshaking battle, so he only knew that the divine embryo was beneath the Black Flame Mountains, not its exact location.

  In addition, the ground here was too tough to physically search, so he could only use Psychic Energy to search for the divine embryo’s location.

  Buzz!

  Wang Chong’s Psychic Energy searched under the ground, and all he could ‘see’ was darkness. One thousand feet, two thousand feet, three thousand feet… Wang Chong’s Psychic Energy probed deeper and deeper. In a few moments, he had already gone down ten thousand feet.

  But the only thing under the various kinds of soil and loose rock was solid lithosphere.

  After searching the entire area, Wang Chong did not discover anything special.

  “It’s still not enough. I have to go deeper!”

  Wang Chong’s eyes flashed, and he immediately strengthened his Psychic Energy.

  A few moments later, Wang Chong had delved down to a depth of twenty thousand feet.

  Any deeper and I’ll hit the granite layer! Wang Chong said to himself.

  Ordinary warriors rarely paid much attention to the underground world, but Wang Chong knew the composition of the earth like the back of his hand. Farther down, the soil would be replaced entirely by firm rock.

  As expected, a few moments later, Wang Chong sensed hard and tough rock appearing in his senses.

  Wang Chong’s Psychic Energy clearly began to significantly slow as it passed through, but it still moved at an extremely fast pace.

  Thirty thousand feet!

  Forty thousand feet!

  Sixty thousand feet!

  Still, Wang Chong turned up nothing.

  Sixty thousand feet!

  This was nearly twenty thousand meters, already surpassing the depth of the Origin Immortal Cave. Even a Subtle realm expert like Wang Chong would start suffering from oxygen deficiency at this depth.

  Wang Chong creased his brow and called out, “Nightmare Beast, help me search!”

  Bang!

  As Wang Chong called out, the Nightmare Beast Core trembled, and then a torrent of Psychic Energy howled out and surged into the depths of the earth.

  Two hundred thousand feet!

  In a flash, the Nightmare Beast’s Psychic Energy reached a depth of two hundred thousand feet, equivalent to sixty thousand meters.

  This depth was enough to make almost anyone despair.

  The strength displayed by the Nightmare Beast was truly astonishing.

  Even though Wang Chong’s Psychic Energy was far above that of his peers, he was but a minor character compared to the Nightmare Beast.

  This was the strength of the Nightmare Beast!

  “How is it?” Wang Chong asked the Nightmare Beast.

  A few moments later, the Nightmare Beast’s voice rang out in Wang Chong’s mind. “Master, there’s nothing, only darkness! The surroundings are just rocks.”

  At the same time, Wang Chong’s soul linked with the Nightmare Beast, and he was able to see the scene two hundred thousand feet beneath the surface.

  Just as the Nightmare Beast had said, it was nothing but darkness and dense rock.

  Moreover, this rock was as dense as steel, different from the rock Wang Chong was used to. However, even though the Nightmare Beast’s Psychic Energy covered a range of several hundred li, far greater than the area covered by the Black Flame Mountains, there was still no sign of the divine embryo.

  “What’s going on? So deep but still no sign of the divine embryo?”

  Wang Chong’s brow furrowed even tighter.

  Planning was one thing, but actually probing the earth was something else.

  Wang Chong had worried before that the divine embryo might have been discovered early by some supreme expert, making this entire project futile.

  No!

  In his last life, during the apocalyptic era, Wang Chong had been curious as to how the divine embryo’s intense energy ripples had never been noticed. Why had people only noticed during the apocalypse?

  But now, after delving down two hundred thousand feet into the earth in search of the divine embryo, Wang Chong immediately knew that finding the divine embryo would not be as simple as he imagined.

  At the very least, finding its general location would not suddenly make it appear right at his fingertips!

  Though he was somewhat depressed, he remained cool and collected.

  Impossible! There’s no reason for the divine embryo to not be here!

  There are only two possibilities. The first is that my reincarnation changed far too much, even affecting the divine embryo so that it didn’t appear in this region!

  The other possibility is that the divine embryo is here, but it’s buried even deeper. This would also explain why no one has ever realized the existence of something as powerful as the divine embryo!

  One thought after anot
her flitted through Wang Chong’s mind as his hair danced in the wind.

  The divine embryo was his best weapon against Genesis Supreme and the entire Celestial God Organization. He could not lose it, as he no longer had the time to slowly cultivate.

  The worst scenario was that the divine embryo had disappeared due to the changes in history. But if the divine embryo was buried even deeper…

  Wang Chong could already sense the pressure that came from the frightening depth of two hundred thousand feet, sixty thousand meters!

  At this depth, even the Nightmare Beast was beginning to slowly approach its limit. Even the Nightmare Beast would find it hard to go much deeper.

  Wang Chong instantly found himself facing a difficult decision.

  Even if the divine embryo was right below him, it would probably be past a depth of two hundred thousand feet, and not even the Nightmare Beast could search that depth.

  This was a formidable natural barrier!

  “Nightmare Beast, lend me a hand! I’m going to think of a way to find the divine embryo!” Wang Chong said.

  He had gone to great lengths to have the Stone of Destiny unlock this Qi Blood Darkening ability to deceive Genesis Supreme. If he returned empty-handed, he would live forever under the shadow of Genesis Supreme and the men in black.

  That would mean that Wang Chong had failed.

  He could not accept this.

  Buzz!

  A moment later, Wang Chong closed his eyes and used one of the abilities he had learned from the High Priest’s ‘Forbidden Art Sea’.

  “Origin Spirit!”

  Wang Chong’s hands formed a seal, upon which a dark-green and ancient symbol appeared in his mind. Psychic Energy began to congregate and condense onto this symbol as if it was a black hole.

  After some time, a strange chant imbued with the mysterious principles governing the heavens and earth rang out:

  Wang Chong’s mind exploded with light, and a moment later, Wang Chong imagined his soul breaking free of its chains, upon which a golden ball of soul energy emerged from his head.

  This was no longer his imagination!

  This was reality!

  The golden ball of light floated above Wang Chong’s head like a miniature sun.