Firmament Sword

Xu Luo’s eyebrow twitched. He said thoughtfully, ”The laws of heaven and earth... seem to be undergoing some sort of quiet change recently. Otherwise, it would have been nearly impossible for you all to step into that realm without several hundred, or even several thousand, years of cultivation. Even a peerless prodigy would need at least a century or so.”

”Is there something wrong?” Little Fatty asked.

”For the Martial Artists of this world, it can be considered a good thing. But I can’t shake the feeling... that there’s something wrong with all this,” Xu Luo said, pondering.

Huangfu Chongzhi thought for a moment before suddenly speaking up from the side. ”Now that you mention it, I suddenly feel that something is indeed off. Logically, since ancient times, there have been countless cultivation geniuses, but we’ve rarely heard of anyone managing to enter the Saint Realm... Of course, that might also be due to our limited perspective. But Third Brother has already come into contact with the world’s most powerful Cultivators, so if it’s true that very few people can enter the Saint Realm... then why has it suddenly become so much easier today?”

Little Fatty scratched his head and said, ”I think this is great! Maybe when Third Brother stirred the heavens and earth, he changed some of this world’s rules, making it less difficult for people to break through to the Saint Realm!”

”Perhaps. For now, it certainly seems like a good thing. In any case, even if you all really do ascend to the Divine Domain, just be careful. Just remember... the Divine Domain is no paradise. It’s a vast, bizarre, and chaotic world.”

Everyone nodded silently. They took large gulps of wine, but their hearts felt a little heavy. The seat that had once belonged to Sui Yan was now empty.

”I’m preparing to make a trip to the Ancient Race Continent.” As everyone was getting tipsy, Xu Luo suddenly put down his wine cup and spoke softly.

”I’ll go too,” Xu Jie said.

”Me too.” Huangfu Chongzhi’s expression was calm as he said coolly, ”Third Brother, you can’t leave us behind this time.”

”Then you definitely can’t forget me!” Little Fatty exclaimed loudly. ”I’ve wanted to see the Ancient Race Continent for a long time! There are only four of us brothers left now. Who knows when someone else might leave? We have to cherish this chance to fight side by side!”

With that, Little Fatty slumped onto the table, drunk.

Xu Luo nodded. ”This time... we go together!”

...

...

A piece of news was rampaging like a storm across the vast and endless Ancient Race Continent.

The Huo Family was annihilated!

This shocking news swept through the entire Ancient Race like a hurricane!

”How is that possible? The Huo Family’s power... is definitely in the top three on the entire Ancient Race Continent! This news has to be wrong!”

”It’s absolutely true! The Huo Family gathered over ten thousand experts and entered the Central Plains Star Continent. They intended to crush and sweep across the entire Central Plains Star Continent, to massacre every living being there as a Blood Sacrifice for the Huo Family Ancestor, Huo Tongtian, who died five years ago! But in the Central Plains, they were ambushed and annihilated. Of the ten thousand-plus powerful members of the Huo Family... not a single one survived!”

”They say the one who entrapped and killed the Huo Family was a sworn brother of Beidou’s Eighth Star. He specializes in Mechanical Arrays and laid down a heaven-shaking Killing Array, slaughtering all the Huo Family experts!”

”Beidou’s Eighth Star... is still alive?”

”Of course! He’s alive and well! Not many people would dare to have ideas about Beidou’s Eighth Star anymore, would they?”

”The poor Huo Family... they dominated the Ancient Race Continent for so many years, only to fall in a place like the Central Plains Star Continent...”

”Hmph, they brought it on themselves. If the Huo Family hadn’t been so arrogant and tried to massacre the Central Plains Star Continent, how could something like this have happened?”

”Exactly. No matter how much Beidou’s Eighth Star hated the Huo Family, it’s unlikely he would have come to the Ancient Race Continent to wipe out the entire family. But the Huo Family? They just served themselves up on a silver platter...”

All sorts of voices rose up across the Ancient Race. Amidst the various discussions, the fall of the Huo Family in the Central Plains Star Continent received little sympathy. Instead, most people were gloating over their misfortune. This had a great deal to do with the Huo Family’s long-standing reputation among the Ancient Race.

At the same time, Beidou’s Eighth Star, who had faded from the public eye of the Ancient Race, once again became the center of everyone’s attention.

The Su Family of the Ancient Race.

Su Qianqian sat quietly by the window, her delicate hand cupping her cheek. A faint glimmer of joy flashed in her bright, lively eyes.

’Brother Xu Luo has finally eliminated the scourge of the Huo Family. How satisfying! I wonder if he still remembers that someone on the Ancient Race Continent is still thinking of him.’

As she thought this, a dim light flickered in Su Qianqian’s eyes. ’Outsiders all think the one who wants to refine me is the Su Family Patriarch, but they don’t know the real person behind this is the Su Family Ancestor. If Brother Xu Luo really comes to save me, wouldn’t that be like a lamb walking into a tiger’s den? No... I have to get this information out.’

Su Qianqian’s elegant brows furrowed slightly. She had always believed the one who wanted to refine her was the Su Family Patriarch, because that’s what he had told her from the very beginning!

”Do you want revenge? The team that entered the Central Plains Star Continent back then was indeed searching for your Central Plains Su Family on my orders. But I never told them to slaughter your entire family. I only ordered them to bring back the Heart of the Fire Dragon. However, the matter ultimately started because of me, so I can take responsibility!”

Su Qianqian could still clearly remember the expression on the Su Family Patriarch’s face when he said those words. He had seemed somewhat grief-stricken.

Of course, back then, she didn’t believe the Su Family Patriarch was capable of any sympathy. In her eyes, his so-called grief-stricken expression was nothing more than an act.

”And how can you take responsibility?” Su Qianqian had asked scornfully.

She had entered the Ancient Race Continent hoping to secretly take revenge, but she hadn’t expected the Su Family’s power on the continent to be so immense. Not long after she set foot on the lands of the Ancient Race Continent, she was discovered by members of the Su Family and captured without even a chance to resist.

Then, the Su Family Patriarch had met with her immediately.

”I can help you kill those who participated in the slaughter of your family, but you must agree to one condition!” the Su Family Patriarch had said, looking at Su Qianqian.

”What condition?” Su Qianqian had asked with a cold smile at the time.

As a girl, and a beautiful one at that, it seemed she had nothing of value to offer besides her own body.

Su Qianqian had already decided back then that if the Su Family Patriarch truly proposed such a condition, she would rather die than agree!

Because her family would certainly never want her to avenge them in such a way.

”The condition is that after you have completely fused with the Heart of the Fire Dragon, I will extract all the essence blood from your body...” The Su Family Patriarch’s condition left Su Qianqian stunned and furious.

”You can hear me out before you decide whether to accept my condition,” the Su Family Patriarch said coolly, having naturally noticed Su Qianqian’s anger. He watched her calmly.

”Speak,” Su Qianqian said, her gaze turning cold.

”First, let’s talk about your revenge. If I don’t help you, no one in this world can! The Su Family is not a pushover, and its members are certainly not weak. For a little girl like you to cultivate to the highest realm and take revenge is practically impossible. Not to mention, your enemies won’t give you the time to do so.”

”Second, extracting all the essence blood from your body doesn’t mean you will die. It doesn’t even mean you’ll become an ordinary person. I will compensate you.”

”The first compensation: from the day you agree, you, Su Qianqian, will be the Su Celestial Maiden! You will be the favored daughter of the Su Family! From this day forward, you will enjoy all the glory and splendor this world has to offer!”

”The second compensation: after your essence blood is taken, I will use my authority as the Su Family Patriarch to find divine materials and Spirit Medicines from all over the world to restore your power.”

”The third compensation: if one day you wish to marry, you may do so. I will not stand in your way. And if it is someone you love, I will provide a dowry large enough to ensure you are highly valued.”

The Su Family Patriarch looked at Su Qianqian calmly and said finally, ”As for me... you might think that I am your greatest enemy, but there’s nothing to be done about that. I cannot die, at least not at your hands.”

Su Qianqian was astonished at the time. She didn’t understand why the high and mighty Su Family Patriarch would offer her so much compensation. Was it all just to obtain her essence blood after she fully fused with the Heart of the Fire Dragon?

Su Qianqian didn’t think her blood would become that precious after fusing with the Heart of the Fire Dragon. However, as a prisoner, she was in no position to refuse the conditions proposed by the Su Family Patriarch.

From that day on, Su Qianqian of the Central Plains Star Continent vanished from the world, and the Su Celestial Maiden of the Ancient Race appeared!

It was also from that time on that Su Qianqian believed, deep down, that the person who wanted to refine her was the Patriarch.

But later on, she gradually discovered that something was amiss.

Because if the Su Family Patriarch were acting for his own selfish gain, the other high-ranking members of the Su Family would surely have pushed back. This was especially true when the Su Family Patriarch executed the group that had participated in exterminating the Su Family of the Central Plains Star Continent. That incident... barely caused a stir within the entire Su Family.

No one even spoke of the matter!

At the time, Su Qianqian hadn’t thought that far ahead. Her heart was filled only with the satisfaction of revenge. But as time passed, she gradually figured some things out.

She finally sensed that there were many things hidden in this matter that she knew nothing about!

It was only recently, by a very slim chance, that Su Qianqian learned that since ancient times, the Su Family has had an Ancestor who has almost never come out of seclusion, remaining in isolation to cultivate.

But every few years, this Ancestor would send a telepathic message to the current Patriarch, either to pass down some Cultivation Techniques or to give some instructions.

The matter of searching for the Heart of the Fire Dragon was an instruction given by this Ancestor during his most recent telepathic message to the current Patriarch!

Learning this sent a chill down Su Qianqian’s spine.

An Ancestor who had lived from ancient times until today... what kind of realm must his power have reached?

And thinking back on how every time she saw the Patriarch, she could sense a trace of pity in his eyes, and how he had become increasingly indulgent toward her over the years...

Su Qianqian finally understood. The one who wanted her essence blood... was the Su Family Ancestor!