Eternal God Emperor: Only I Am Emperor One

Chapter 48 Newcomers Replace Old Ones

The commotion caused by the four Zhao brothers was much greater; their martial arts true energy soared into the night sky, illuminating half of the Crimson Cloud Sect's mountain gate.

Down the mountain, Lei Kaishan and Zi Qian, who had been waiting for a long time, led thousands of elite disciples of the Qianlong Hall to attack. Firelight and swords clashed, and in an instant, it turned into a grand revenge and slaughter.

Two elders of the Crimson Cloud Sect led a group of disciples to fight back, but they were torn to pieces by the domineering true energy of the Four Symbols Heaven-Reaching Technique. Their bodies intertwined with the corpses of their disciples, and they sacrificed themselves for the sect.

With the sect leader and elders dying one after another, the disciples of the Crimson Cloud Sect quickly lost their ability to resist and scattered, fleeing towards the outside of the mountain gate.

Zi Qian, wielding the Fish Intestine Sword, lurked beneath the night sky, appearing and disappearing like a ghost, each strike taking the life of a Chi Yun Sect disciple.

This one-sided massacre lasted for nearly two hours. By the time the first light of dawn appeared on the eastern horizon, the once vast Crimson Cloud Sect had been transformed into a battlefield strewn with corpses.

Ziqian's light purple clothes were stained with blood, and now that the blood had dried, they had turned black.

He walked to Shan Baihu's corpse, put his head in a bag, and planned to take it back to the White Horse Gang's former mountain gate to pay tribute to Song Jingang and the other leaders of the White Horse Gang.

She looked up at the tallest building in the entire Crimson Cloud Sect, where a figure in black robes sat cross-legged on the roof of a green-tiled house, with a long zither placed in front of him, its music flowing continuously, as if washing away the carnage of the previous night.

A radiant red sun shone from behind him, its pale golden light illuminating the green tiles. The autumn breeze carried a damp mist, along with the stench of blood from the mountain gate, to the outside of the Crimson Cloud Sect.

A group of Yunwu County border scouts riding on savage bulls gazed at the rows of black banners with red patterns fluttering in the wind on the mountain. The three large characters "Qianlong Hall" on them were written in a bold and imposing style.

After observing carefully, the scout captain recorded everything he saw, then summoned his men to retreat towards Guanchao City.

Less than twenty miles from the Crimson Cloud Sect, twenty thousand border troops from the Cloud Martial Kingdom were lined up in anticipation. Princess Qingxuan wore the Ice and Fire Qilin Armor, held a Mountain-Splitting Axe, and rode a six-tusked barbarian elephant.

The savage elephant is an extremely powerful type of beast, born with astonishing divine strength. Even the weakest adult can rival a martial artist at the Heavenly Realm.

This six-tusked savage elephant was tamed by Princess Qingxuan and the Tianmo Ridge mountains. It is a low-grade fourth-tier savage beast, comparable to a martial artist in the mid-stage of the Heavenly Realm.

As scout teams returned, the situation on Crimson Cloud gradually became clear.

"Hidden Dragon Hall, the Hidden Dragon Hall in Qinghe Town, it could actually be them? When did they become enemies with the Crimson Cloud Sect?"

Princess Qingxuan frowned slightly. The predecessor of Qianlong Hall, Heroes' Association, was an extremely powerful force on the western border of Yunwu Kingdom. Even the Yunwu royal family had little control over it and could only let it occupy territory and rule over a region.

Not long ago, it was rumored that a great master had come to Qinghe Town, subdued the four leaders of the Heroes' Association, and renamed the Heroes' Association the Hidden Dragon Hall.

Princess Qingxuan had already sent people to investigate, but the Master of the Hidden Dragon Hall was a mysterious person, appearing and disappearing like a dragon, and no accurate information had been sent back.

"I've heard that the Hidden Dragon Hall has recently recruited quite a few disciples from the White Horse Gang. Their attack on the Crimson Cloud Sect might be related to that," the lieutenant beside him speculated.

"The White Horse Gang? According to the information sent back by our spies, Lei Kaishan did indeed appear in Qinghe Town." Princess Qingxuan made her judgment.

"You lead the army and wait here. I'm going to meet the people from the Hidden Dragon Hall."

The lieutenant was surprised to hear this and asked, "General, should the main army accompany us?"

"No need, this general alone is enough."

Princess Qingxuan spoke calmly as she rode her six-tusked elephant toward Crimson Cloud Mountain.

The fourth-tier savage beast ran at full speed, making a huge commotion, like a thunderclap, which naturally alerted the members of the Hidden Dragon Hall on the mountain.

Upon reaching the mountain gate, the Six-Toothed Elephant stopped. Ahead, a banner with a hidden dragon fluttered in the wind, under which the four hall masters of Loyalty, Filial Piety, Benevolence and Righteousness held four distinct swords, guarding the figure in black robes holding a sword in the center of the mountain gate.

"Who do we have here? It's Princess Qingxuan in person. What, is Your Highness here to congratulate my Qianlong Hall on destroying the Chiyun Sect?" This wasn't the first time Zhao Quanzhong had met Princess Qingxuan. Ten years ago, the four of them had already fought each other. Back then, Princess Qingxuan's martial arts cultivation was not as good as it is today, and the two sides fought to a standstill.

After obtaining the perfected Four Symbols Heavenly Technique, the four of them had made progress in their martial arts cultivation and were only half a step away from entering the Heavenly Realm. At this moment, they were not afraid at all when facing Princess Qingxuan.

Princess Qingxuan ignored Zhao Quanzhong and focused her gaze on the figure in black robes who was surrounded by the crowd.

"Are you the head of the Hidden Dragon Hall? May I ask your name?"

“Yi Qianlong.” Di Yi raised his eyes to look at the woman sitting on the back of the six-tusked elephant. Although this Princess Qingxuan was a woman, she was tall and strong. The mountain-splitting axe hanging on the elephant was nine feet long and was one of the most domineering weapons in the world.

Di Yi sensed a faint threat from her. Her strength was far beyond that of Shan Baihu, who was at the early stage of the Heavenly Realm. She had most likely already reached the late stage of the Heavenly Realm, or even the minor stage of the Heavenly Realm.

"To be able to subdue the Heroes' Guild and the White Horse Gang for his own use, the Hidden Dragon Hall Master looks quite young, which makes me look at him with new eyes." Princess Qingxuan looked at everyone and couldn't help but sigh inwardly. The Hidden Dragon Hall's strength is several times greater than that of the Crimson Cloud Sect, which was wiped out in one night. It is not easy to control them.

"Your Highness, did you come here just to flatter me?" the man in black chuckled.

Princess Qingxuan leaped down from the back of the six-tusked elephant and landed on the ground. She was six feet tall, taller and more robust than most men.

"With the destruction of the Crimson Cloud Sect, the Hidden Dragon Hall has become the largest gang in the western border of Yunwu County. I have come here to discuss important matters with the leader of the Hidden Dragon Hall."

In Guanlan City, Xiao Yunbao waited all night with Shan Xiangling, only to receive the devastating news of the destruction of the Chiyun Sect.

"How could that be? Father is a martial arts legend in the Heavenly Realm. How could the Crimson Cloud Sect be destroyed? And there's Princess Qingxuan. With Princess Qingxuan around, who can destroy the Crimson Cloud Sect?"

"It's fake, this must be fake news."

Shan Xiangling was only a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl, and she found it hard to accept the bad news.

Xiao Yunbao, who had only one arm, leaned against the window, looking in the direction of the Crimson Cloud Sect, his face desolate.

Will Princess Qingxuan take action for the sake of the Chiyun Sect?
His answer was no.

The White Horse Gang secretly maintained close ties with the Yunwu royal family, selling large quantities of warhorses and wild beasts to the Yunwu army every year.

However, after Shan Baihu broke through to the Heavenly Realm, Princess Qingxuan immediately chose to abandon the White Horse Gang and fully support the Crimson Cloud Sect.

Now that a force even more powerful than the Crimson Cloud Sect has arrived, Princess Qingxuan will likely continue to follow her usual ways.

As expected, half a day later, the disciples of the Crimson Cloud Sect who remained in Guanchao City came to report back with grief and indignation.

Effective immediately, the Hidden Dragon Hall will take over Chiyun Mountain, replacing the Chiyun Sect in the western border region of Yunwu County.

The Red Cloud Sect's Library is the tallest building within the entire sect.

Located in the heart of the Crimson Cloud Sect, it holds the sect's rich heritage spanning over two hundred years.

As soon as the emperor entered the pavilion, he saw about seven or eight rows of bookshelves on one floor, filled with a dazzling array of one or two thousand books.

Most of them are miscellaneous books on human geography, unofficial history, anecdotes, and herbs and elixirs.

Di Yi casually flipped through a few books before losing interest; the collection of a seventh-rate sect was hardly anything that caught his eye. The top floor of the library was spacious and empty, with only a table and a wooden chair. Usually, only Shan Baihu could come here.

The entire north wall was hollowed out and turned into a bookcase, divided into three layers, displaying the martial arts techniques and skills of the Crimson Cloud Sect.

The lower level contains basic martial arts techniques and skills, numbering fifty or sixty books. They cover a wide range of topics and could fetch a good price if sold elsewhere.

The emperor looked through them one by one and selected two sword techniques that were somewhat decent.

【Cloak Sword Technique】

【Fiery Sword Technique】

The former is a high-grade mortal-level martial art, while the latter only has three incomplete forms, yet its grade has reached the low-grade spirit level.

The Heavenly Heart Sword Technique originated from the Two Elements Sect, while the Underworld King Sword Technique is renowned throughout the Eastern Region. Both can bring unnecessary trouble. The Fish Intestine Sword Technique is the signature martial art of the Underworld Sect, and if it is performed in public, it will most likely be recognized.

Emperor Yi needs to find two sword techniques that he can show off to impress others, since he has already agreed to cooperate with Princess Qingxuan and the royal family of Yunwu County to help Princess Qingxuan stabilize the Western Frontier.

In return, Qianlong Hall was allowed to open a branch in Yunwu Royal City and extend its business to the entire Yunwu County.

If the leader of the Hidden Dragon Hall were to use the Fish Intestine Sword Technique in battle, wouldn't that clearly indicate that the Hidden Dragon Hall is colluding with the black market?

On the top shelf of the bookshelf, there were only three manuals: the Crimson Cloud Technique, a low-grade Spirit-level cultivation method, and two spear techniques that had reached the Spirit-level, which were the ultimate skills of the Crimson Cloud Sect.

Di Yi quickly glanced through it, then casually tossed it on the table, intending to leave it for Lei Kaishan to handle.

These ancient texts were useless to him, but they could be used to enrich the treasure trove of the Hidden Dragon Hall. For the lower-level martial artists of the Cloud Martial Kingdom, the allure of these techniques and skills was fatal.

Zi Qian and Lei Kaishan took the heads of Shan Baihu and several elders of the Chiyun Sect back to the White Horse Gang's mountain gate to pay tribute to the dead.

They also left several hundred disciples of the Hidden Dragon Hall in the mountains to rebuild the mountain gate and make it one of the Hidden Dragon Hall's strongholds.

The destruction of the Crimson Cloud Sect and the rise of the Hidden Dragon Hall were major events that shook the entire Yunwu Kingdom and had a huge impact on the western border of the entire Yunwu Kingdom.

Various forces came to visit one after another. The purpose of Qianlong Hall was to build a huge intelligence network to serve Di Yi. Naturally, it would not turn away these forces. Di Yi did not get involved in the trivial matters that arose from this, and left them all to Lei Kaishan and several elders of the Earthly Realm.

Di Yi himself was engrossed in cultivation.

After more than two months, Qianlong Hall firmly established itself as the number one sect in the western border of Yunwu County. It integrated the intelligence networks that originally belonged to Baima Gang and Heroes' Association and began to radiate outwards to the entire Yunwu County and the other eight counties of Lingxi.

That night, heavy snow fell on Mount Chiyun.

The next day, the entire mountain was covered with thick snow, and all the pavilions and towers were wrapped in ice sculptures and snow, washing away the bloody smell left by the killing not long ago.

Di Yi stood under the eaves, gazing at the snow falling all around, but his consciousness had already sunk into his Purple Mansion Sea of ​​Consciousness.

Within the sea of ​​consciousness, the blue lotus seed had grown into a seedling, swaying in the misty purple aura.

A moment later, his consciousness withdrew from his sea of ​​consciousness.

"My mental strength has finally reached level thirty-five."

Before a cultivator's mental power reaches level forty, they cannot project their mental power to cast spells, and their combat strength is not formidable.

However, there is great potential in alchemy, artifact crafting, talisman arrays, and beast taming.

Once your mental strength reaches level 20, you can attempt to refine first-grade pills, first-grade formations, first-grade talismans, and so on.

Reaching the 35th level is equivalent to a martial arts cultivator entering the Heavenly Realm, and has the opportunity to become a fourth-grade array master, a fourth-grade talisman master, etc.

With the improvement of his spiritual power, Emperor Yi's comprehension of the Mind Realm also increased significantly. Roughly estimated, he would be able to completely learn all 3,600 books in another ten years.

As the heavy snow gradually subsided, Di Yi stepped out from under the eaves, releasing the intense energy of the Flame Demon Heart within his body, which instantly melted the snow in the courtyard.

He circulated his inner energy and began practicing the Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm in the courtyard.

Over the past six months, Di Yi has devoted the only energy he has to the swordsmanship to mastering the Ten Thousand Buddhas Dao technique he learned from Xia Xiongtu.

Now, it's harvest time.

As Emperor Yi unleashed his palm strike, a phantom divine furnace materialized between heaven and earth, with a dragon and an elephant faintly visible coiled on its surface.

He has mastered the seventh move of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm, the Dragon Elephant Divine Furnace.

As the Dragon Elephant Divine Furnace was fully completed, the blazing sun power generated by the Fiery Demon Heart within Emperor Yi's body was also absorbed into the Dragon Elephant Divine Furnace and transformed into pure yang energy.

Having mastered the seventh palm of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm, the yang energy within his body reached ten times that of other cultivators at the same level, making it incomparably domineering and beginning to reveal the power of this ultimate technique of the Ten Thousand Buddhas Path.

If one cultivates the tenth palm technique, the yang energy in one's body will be ten thousand times that of an ordinary person. With a single palm strike, even burning the heavens and boiling the seas would be no more than that.

With the blazing sun energy under control, Di Yi was able to temporarily relax his suppression of the Holy Body and Demon Heart within his body, and his martial arts cultivation naturally broke through to the late stage of the Earthly Realm.

"Having mastered the seventh palm of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm, and with my spiritual power reaching the thirty-fifth level, coupled with Sword Heart Clarity and Dark Martial Soul, I wonder if I can now transcend the Nine Absolutes and defeat a martial artist in the late stage of the Heavenly Extreme Realm."

Di Yi felt a sense of confidence. In the six months since he came to Yunwu County, he had undergone a significant transformation and was no longer without a doubt that he could pass the Nine Absolute Tower and become a Nine Absolute Genius.

As he pondered, four powerful fluctuations of true energy suddenly emanated from another part of Crimson Cloud Mountain, stirring up the surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

"Oh? The four of them have finally broken through to the Heavenly Realm."

The four Zhao brothers have been focusing on their seclusion to break through to the Heavenly Realm. Their minds are in sync and their martial arts talents are almost identical, making it a rare spectacle in the world.

Emperor Yi also developed a desire to nurture them, not only passing on the perfected Four Symbols Heavenly Technique, but also bestowing upon each of the four a Dragon Saliva Grass taken from the Dragon's Nest to improve their physical constitution and lay a more solid foundation.

When the four were at the Earthly Realm, they could cross three realms to fight against powerful enemies by joining forces. After refining the Dragon Saliva Grass and breaking through to the Heavenly Realm, each of them would have the strength to fight across realms. When they joined forces, they would have the combat power of four absolute masters, enough to contend with the strongest experts in the middle of the Heavenly Realm.

Such a powerful fighting force is probably unmatched by many in the entire Yunwu Kingdom.

Emperor Yi was not worried that the four would lose control because of this. He had personally perfected the Four Symbols Heavenly Technique, so how could he not have left a contingency plan in it? If the four had any disloyal intentions, they would only face death.

"It's about time to make a trip to Yunwu Royal City."

(End of this chapter)