Chapter 966: The First Emperor of Revered Ancient
Very few people in modern times in Revered Ancient had ever heard about the God-Extinguishing Thorns. It was even hard to find mention of them in ancient records.
Information could only be found in fragments of classic works that had been passed down from person to person over the years. And of course, there were certain people from ancient times who knew of them.
They were a weapon invented by the Summer Immortals back when they came from Deep Earth and fought the Brilliant Heaven Godfolk who ruled Revered Ancient. They weren’t necessarily very dangerous to cultivators. But when used on gods... they could extinguish godsource!
Even then, considering the rare materials and mysterious methods that went into creating them, back when they were used, only twenty-four had ever been created. Each and every one was stained with vast quantities of Brilliant Heaven Godfolk blood, and as a result, if a god even got a whiff of the presence of one, they would be shocked.
During the final battle between the Summer Immortals and the Brilliant Heaven gods, most of the God-Exterminating Thorns were destroyed. Those that survived were left stabbed into the body of the Brilliant Heaven god emperor. They served as sealing devices, and were left behind in the abyss that contained the Revered Ancient of that time. There were some people who had come to call that location the abyss of gods.
In later generations, there were no God-Exterminating Thorns in the world. And because the Summer Immortals left, the creation method was lost. Until today. Just now, Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior had unleashed the might of a God-Exterminating Thorn.
That was the reason for Zi Qing’s shock.
“Sadly, that wasn’t the full might of a God-Exterminating Thorn,” he said coolly as he looked in the direction of South Phoenix. “Well done, Master Seventh! Lil’ bro destroyed his soul, something which is beyond my mastery of time, in the hopes of severing karma. And you used yourself as the measuring stick to call out to my last breath of energy that I exhaled when I died. By tapping into the most profound ancientness, you attempted to sever karma. Unfortunately... the karma between my lil’ bro and I can’t be severed that way!”
The Crown Prince of Violet and Cyan lifted his left hand and reached toward the black fog that resulted from Xu Qing’s self-detonation.
That action caused the fog to rumble as the power of time appeared. Apparently, he was planning to pull aside the fog and delve into time itself.
***
When Xu Qing’s soul detonated, something very dramatic happened in the lands of the Firemoon Darkheaven people, which provoked shock amongst many of the cultivators there.
The dramatic event occurred... as Sir Firedark was giving a dao lecture to fellow members of his species. Seemingly out of nowhere, he exploded. Blood sprayed everywhere. Sir Firedark wasn’t even able to finish his sentence. Flesh and blood erupted everywhere. His soul shattered.
It was life substitution. The only thing that remained was a discarnate soul that he had ensconced in the god temple there. As a result, he survived the life substitution, and it was possible that he could be resurrected in the future.[1]
Something similarly shocking was happening in South Phoenix.
On the spot where Peerless City once stood, in the formation made by hundreds of thousands of Seven Blood Eyes cultivators, Master Seventh’s right hand pressed down onto the forehead of the silver giant.
Intense rumbling broke out. Because of imperceptible connections of fate, as well as the guidance of reincarnation, it ensured that the fluctuations caused by Xu Qing’s self-detonation didn’t just cause Sir Firedark to explode. Evidence of time interference became visible on the silver person. Horrifying cracks spread across the surface of the person, which grew deeper by the moment. The silver person seemed to be on the verge of collapsing.
At the most critical moment, the hundreds of thousands of Seven Blood Eyes cultivators went into a dao chant.
“Oh boundless exalted celestial, provide comfort to the physical form; the apprentice’s spiritual and physical souls, along with the five yin organs are in the dark underworld; azure dragon and white tiger join hands to fight; vermillion bird and black turtle provide defense of the true and real.”
As their voices drifted out, wild colors flashed in heaven and earth. Winds screamed. At the same time, Flame Phoenix let loose a piercing cry, which shattered the clouds and caused nourishing rain to fall.
Master Seventh was also chanting something as he pushed his hand down onto the silver person’s forehead. At the same time, he bit the tip of his tongue and spat out some of his own dao blood. It landed on the silver person, isolating it from outside forces.
Rumbling sounds echoed out as the cracks on the silver person stopped worsening. Although it didn’t seem like the existing damage could be fixed, it was no longer about to collapse.
Master Seventh looked up and spoke in a voice full of ghastly killing intent.
“Years ago I made a deal with the Summer Immortal Palace. Afterward, I walked through time, sitting by and watching people live and die, allowing fate to run its course.
“When Master Sixth died, I felt pain, but could only sigh. When humankind experienced ups and downs, I could only watch indifferently. It was the same even when the empress achieved godly ascension and Swordsage perished. There was no karma between myself and them.
“Zi Qing, when you sought to restore your kingdom, using the empress’s ceremony to shirk your tribulation and present a sacrifice to the broken face with no harm to yourself, I had no reason to interfere. And that is because I have no karmic connection to any of it.
“But, you shouldn’t have plotted against my apprentice! My apprentices are my karma. They kowtowed to me. I accepted their three cups of tea, the teas of gratitude, the past, and faith. I promised to keep them safe. And therefore... as long as I’m around, no one is allowed to touch them!
“Zi Qing, because you plotted against my apprentice, and are not willing to sever that karma, then... I had no choice but to conspire against your imperial authority! You don’t want to sever the karma? Fine! Let’s end this!”
Master Seventh looked very awe-inspiring as he performed an incantation gesture with his left hand. Then, only a few breaths of time turned into tens of thousands of them as he pointed up into the dome of heaven.
Then he spoke in a voice like heavenly thunder.
“In the half-sixty-year-cycle past lived he named Xu Zi; he died on this spot and meditated before death; his last energy is now commanded by the Summer; Immortal guides the energy to this spot; hasten as if by laws amended!” [2]
As he summoned the last energy of the person named Xu Zi, the world went wild, and a boundless energy sprang up, eventually converging in Master Seventh’s left hand. It was a densely-packed conglomeration of violet energy. As soon as he had it, he pushed it into the chest of the silver person.
Then he spoke something like a chant of law.
“Execute!”
That one word caused the mountains in Revered Ancient to tremble. In all regions, dazzling light rose up from various mountains and rivers as an enormous spell formation chart was revealed. The chart filled all of Revered Ancient as it began to move.
Then, in the canopy of heaven over the imperial capital of humankind, a saber formed. And it slashed down toward the Crown Prince of Violet and Cyan!
Zi Qing shivered as he looked up at the descending blade. No one but a True God could stop that saber! The reason was that the saber wasn’t aiming to sever life or the soul. Rather... it was severing the destiny aura and imperial authority of the Sovereign Kingdom of Violet and Cyan.
The slash of the saber caused all living beings in the Heaveneater Region to be shaken to the core. The destiny aura of the Sovereign Kingdom of Violet and Cyan, which coiled in the air above the region in the form of a violet dragon, let loose a howl of agony.
It was cut completely in two! And something else split in half. It was the throne that represented the Emperor of Violet and Cyan in the imperial palace there! Half of the destiny aura and imperial authority was severed, and it was pulled through the void in the direction of the continent of South Phoenix.
In the air above the imperial capital of humankind, the Crown Prince of Violet and Cyan’s face was ashen as he slowly looked up. A few breaths of time passed, and Zi Qing’s complexion returned to normal.
“Just what I would expect of the first Ancient Emperor of Revered Ancient,” he said coolly. “Falling prey to your scheme has been an honor. However, this action of yours has revealed how weak you are. You... are really just an old man. The heaven of Revered Ancient wasn’t yours in the past, and it’s not yours now. As for you, lil’ bro, you can have half of the imperial authority. But take care of it! Next time we meet, I’m going to take it back.”
With that, he looked away from the continent of South Phoenix and back at the dissipating cloud of black fog. Then he took a step and disappeared over the horizon.
Shortly after, he reappeared in the Heaveneater Region, within the violet dragon of destiny aura that had recently been cut in half. Using the destiny aura, he remolded his body and formed an imperial robe and crown. As the countless commoners of the Sovereign Kingdom of Violet and Cyan bowed, as did the government officials, and as the Torchlight agents looked on with shining eyes, he walked into the imperial palace and sat on the throne.
The moment he did, shouts of praise rang out from everywhere in the Sovereign Kingdom of Violet and Cyan.
“Congratulations to our emperor on ascending the throne of our sovereign kingdom!”
As those voices rang out, the broken face of the god in the sky looked at the Heaveneater Region and opened hīs eyes. The entire Heaveneater Region rumbled as life was reversed, mutagen overflowed, and the aura of a god abounded. Then a statue of the broken face appeared in the public square outside of the imperial palace. It was the only statue like it in all of the Revered Ancient mainland!
At the same time, the fluctuations of a god altar began to roll out of Zi Qing. He was rising directly to Altar God!
Shortly after, he smiled. Things are going to be very interesting going forward.
***
At the same time, above the formation with hundreds of thousands of Seven Blood Eyes cultivators in South Phoenix, Master Seventh’s ancient eyes flickered as he unleashed one last bit of magic.
“Return!”
His voice contained a sensation of a very mysterious ceremony, something that could shake life and death and tap into fate. An instant later, the mounds of flesh in the formation rose up and flew toward the silver person. That flesh pulsed with a terrifying aura that went beyond anything in the world, and didn’t exist within the timescape.
It was... Eminent Desolation’s flesh. As it entered the silver person, the silver person trembled, then slowly shrank down. Silver light turned into skin, until finally...
It became a fleshly body. It looked exactly like Xu Qing! However, it was more complete and thorough!
“Awaken, my apprentice!” Master Seventh said, his voice hoarse and full of exhaustion.
A few breaths of time passed. Xu Qing opened his eyes.
***
“The dao is void; without scriptures, one cannot grasp the dao; the dao exists in scripture. Without a teacher, one cannot understand its truths.
“Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity is the great founder. All humans owe him a single bow of respect.
“Heaven, earth, celestial, terrestrial. They bear the weight of all. All humans owe them three bows of respect.
“However amazing the Ancient Emperor was, he did not show you favor. Heaven and earth, and all other living beings in this sea of suffering, have done nothing to save you.
“Only Master will ascend to heaven and descend to hell for you. Only he will show you favor. Only he will save you. Only he will expend all effort so that you can walk a great dao. Therefore, you owe him nine bows of respect!” [3]
1. Inchapter 911 , it was explained that when Sir Firedark and Xu Qing fought, the loser would have to give a drop of soul blood that could be used as a life-saving item in a moment of crisis. Firedark outright stated the same inchapter 913 . ☜
2. This version of the chant is the same as before, except the name is changed. In this case, the Xu is the same surname as Xu Qing’s surname. The Zi is the ‘surname’ from Zi Qing, which is also the character for ‘violet.’ It’s unclear what this means, although I thought of a few possibilities. In the Chinese comments, I saw all of the exact same possibilities that I thought of, with none backed by enough evidence or logic to seemingly take the cake as the prevailing possibility. Does it mean that Zi Qing’s real name is Xu Zi? Is it supposed to be a combination of the names Zi Qing and Xu Qing? Is it referring to Xu Qing (remember, based on what has been revealed in the past couple chapters, he also died in Peerless City, just as Zi Qing did in his previous life). Or does it mean something else? There is no explanation about this at the moment. ☜
3. The apprenticeship ceremony was inchapter 263 . ☜