Chapter 121: Qi Yuan's Plan, Creating the Blood Palace

Chapter 121: Qi Yuan’s Plan, Creating the Blood Palace

But alas, at this moment, the demon had already taken root in his heart.

His cultivation had recovered to the Great Supreme realm, and his primal divine ability was once again flawless and innate.

Yet the heart demon had already emerged, like a wildfire spreading across the plains, utterly impossible to extinguish.

The Purple Daoist’s face twisted in fury, staring at Qi Yuan in terror: “What have you done?!”

He simply could not comprehend.

The heart demon was devouring his body; even now, with all his primal divine ability focused on defense, it was not enough.

“What did I do? I don’t remember.” Qi Yuan shot the Purple Daoist a blank look.

Not far away, Chen Huan witnessed this scene. Facing Qi Yuan, he felt even more bewildered, and somewhat unsettled.

He had only seen Qi Yuan use a few words to intimidate the Purple Heavenly Sovereign.

And then the Purple Heavenly Sovereign, for no apparent reason, had his heart demon shatter his body.

He did not know the reason, but he found it utterly horrifying.

Chen Huan wondered whether he should pierce his own ears.

What if one day, after hearing Qi Yuan’s words, he too suffered a heart demon breaking through his body? That would be terrible.

Meanwhile, the once-mighty Purple Daoist roared in agony for a long time, but could never suppress the demon within his heart.

In the end, he died with resentment.

Seeing this, Qi Yuan could not help but sigh: “As expected of a Great Supreme—he took so much of my mental effort to kill!”

To be honest, Qi Yuan did not enjoy killing with words.

He was never good at rhetoric; how could he compare to the thrill of Zhuge Wuhou cursing Wang Lang to death before the battle?

What he truly loved was cleaving an enemy dead with a single sword stroke, or beheading them with a kitchen knife.

But alas, the enemy was too powerful, and he had only mastered the Great Forgetting Heart Sutra to the level of “Time’s End,” barely scratching the surface.

It was not truly invincible.

Perhaps only when he reached the level of “Engraving Time” would others forget him the moment they laid eyes on him.

He could also forget everything at any time, anywhere.

Even himself.

Chen Huan, standing nearby, heard Qi Yuan’s words and wished he could splash tea in Qi Yuan’s face: “Brother, with just a few words you talked a Great Supreme to death—you’re even stronger than my master!”

“A few simple words, yet they drained all my wisdom!

Do you know, mental labor is sometimes harder than physical labor.”

Of course, that was only sometimes.

Chen Huan felt that Qi Yuan was spouting nonsense again, saying things he could not understand.

But all he could do was stand by and say…

“Brother is mighty!

A Great Supreme, killed just like that!

I never thought that I, Chen Huan, would one day fight side by side with my brother, slaying a Great Supreme, plus… six Supreme lackeys.” Chen Huan had even included Yu Bai Supreme.

Qi Yuan paid no attention to Chen Huan.

Killing a Great Supreme gave a lot of experience.

He had directly leveled up to 132.

If only there were more Supremes for him to kill.

Qi Yuan even felt he could quickly reach level two hundred.

Unfortunately, Supremes were not so easy to kill, especially Great Supremes.

He looked at the Purple Daoist’s corpse: “If you hadn’t wanted to be my wife, you might have barely qualified as a decent white moonlight.”

As soon as he said this, Qi Yuan felt more and more like a scumbag.

But he did not care; his eyes fell on the ancient stone slab beside the Purple Daoist’s body.

“The Fate Stone Tablet… we meet again.”

Qi Yuan revealed a brilliant smile, grabbing the Fate Stone Tablet that seemed to want to escape.

“No wonder this Purple Daoist looked so much like the Purple Heaven Mystic Maiden—it turns out they both obtained the so-called supreme treasure of this world, the Fate Stone Tablet.”

Qi Yuan held the Fate Stone Tablet and gazed at it.

[Fragment of the Fate Stone Tablet, once called the Deception Stone Tablet, containing an ominous presence, purified by the Buddha.

Everyone can obtain the answer they seek from the Fate Stone Tablet.]

The information was sparse, but useful.

He looked at the fragment of the Fate Stone Tablet, his expression profound.

He recalled the mummy he had encountered in the Gate of Ten Thousand Differences.

The mummy had said he came from the Buddha Land to purify the ominous.

This Fate Stone Tablet…

“Since mortals can obtain the answers they seek from you, can you make me a Golden Immortal or a Primordial Saint?” Qi Yuan’s eyes held a smile.

He pinched the Fate Stone Tablet in his hand.

At that moment, a peculiar scene appeared in Qi Yuan’s mind.

He seemed to transcend time and space, seeing a future version of himself.

In that future, relying on the Fate Stone Tablet, he was invincible, defeating the White Emperor and the Venerable One, breaking free from this world, and ultimately ascending to the legendary Immortal Realm.

With the Fate Stone Tablet, he resolved crises step by step and attained the supreme Dao.

The future him became a Primordial Saint, able to traverse the river of time at will.

He opened his mouth and exhaled; all the stars were extinguished in an instant.

Qi Yuan’s eyes looked over.

[Deceptive future vision—those who possess the Fate Stone Tablet are more inclined to believe it is real.]

Everything was an illusion.

He had not traveled to the future, nor had he attained the Primordial Dao.

Everything was an illusion.

He held the Fate Stone Tablet, his expression calm: “No wonder the NPCs who obtained you all thought they were invincible under heaven. So that’s it…”

Then he laughed: “Can you help me find the person I am looking for?”

He thought of Ning Tao.

But this time, the Tablet of Destiny held no answers.

Strange characters began to surface upon its visage.

They hinted broadly that even the activation of the Tablet required sustenance, and none was finer than the host’s own lifeblood.

Qi Yuan smiled faintly. "I suspect you have absolutely no idea who it is I am truly searching for."

Securing the splintered fragment of the Tablet of Destiny, he bound it with several restrictive seals before stowing it away.

He turned his gaze to Chen Huan, who stood nearby, and spoke softly. "Let us depart."

...

A day later, within the confines of the City of No Return.

Chen Huan’s face was a mask of sheer astonishment. "You wish to forge a faction, and christen it the Crimson Palace?

That name carries an ill omen."

Among the potentates of the current era, who remained ignorant of the Blood Fiend?

The Blood Fiend was a monstrosity far more terrifying than any regular demonic aberration.

The Supreme Venerable had once prophesied that the Blood Fiend would bring utter ruin upon the world.

Though Chen Huan stood in opposition to the Supreme Venerable, he still placed a measure of faith in those words.

"The Crimson Palace it shall be," Qi Yuan stated with quiet certainty.

His paramount purpose in establishing the Crimson Palace was to find the Canary.

When the Canary had awakened him in the past, he knew not what price had been paid, but it must have been staggering.

Before his departure, he had bestowed the power of reincarnation upon thirteen individuals within the Crimson Palace.

Now, perhaps with tens of thousands of years having slipped away, those thirteen might well be trapped within the endless cycle of rebirth.

He founded this palace precisely to awaken the dormant memories of those thirteen souls.

Or perhaps, if they still held the Crimson Palace in their hearts, they would journey to the City of No Return to seek him out.

Remaining a solitary sentinel in this City of No Return would achieve nothing.

"Big brother, raising a faction is a troublesome affair.

We reside deep within the One Hundred and Eight Thousand Cities; why would anyone travel thousands of miles just to court death in our domain?" Chen Huan reasoned, his logic sound.

A formidable faction drew people in because it offered tangible benefits to those who sought entry.

His brother spoke of building a faction as if it were a simple whim.

But who would actually come?

Furthermore, they were in a place like the One Hundred and Eight Thousand Cities.

To venture here was to embrace death.

Even if souls did arrive, they would likely be nothing more than the weak and desperate.

Qi Yuan’s gaze grew deep and inscrutable. "Who says our Crimson Palace lacks treasures? Am I not treasure enough?"

"What?" Chen Huan froze in bewilderment.

Then he heard Qi Yuan continue smoothly, "I possess a supreme, profound method that can elevate a Terrestrial Myth into a Sovereign. Is that... not inducement enough?"

The Path of the Fiend-Man was a terrain Qi Yuan knew better than anyone.

He could preach the Dao, aiding the non-player characters of this realm to shatter their boundaries.

Particularly the leap from a Terrestrial Myth to the Sovereign Realm.

The Sovereigns of this era numbered a mere thousand or so.

But what of the Terrestrial Myths?

Within the One Hundred and Eight Thousand Cities alone, their numbers exceeded a hundred thousand.

To say nothing of the entirety of the Liufeng Realm.

The City of No Return was far too small.

It was a mere speck among the One Hundred and Eight Thousand Cities.

Even within a cluster of a thousand cities, the tally of Terrestrial Myths would easily approach a thousand.

And this thousand-city expanse was a region of the One Hundred and Eight Thousand Cities that lacked even a Grand Sovereign to oversee it.

It defied imagination to consider how many Terrestrial Myths resided in territories guarded by a Grand Sovereign.

How many souls languished, trapped at the bottleneck of a Terrestrial Myth, unable to ascend to a Sovereign?

Even Chen Huan, a disciple of the White Emperor, found it nigh impossible to break through.

Let alone the standard herd of Terrestrial Myths.

Hearing this, a look of profound horror washed over Chen Huan’s face. "Big brother... if you do this... you will offend the Palace of the White Emperor, and you will incense the Supreme Venerable of the Endless Sea of Blood."

He could already foresee the cataclysmic shift in the world's balance the moment Qi Yuan began his discourse, elevating the world's Terrestrial Myths into Sovereigns.

Even if the White Emperor cared little for the rise of a Crimson Palace, would the high authorities of the White Emperor's court blindly ignore it?

Would the Supreme Venerable ever permit the existence of the Crimson Palace?

When that day came, the Crimson Palace would bear an immense, suffocating pressure.

"If any refuse to submit, let them come to the City of No Return to find me. I shall make them submit myself." Qi Yuan dismissed the collateral complications without a second thought.

His singular, overmastering desire was to locate the Canary.

It was entirely possible that before the Crimson Palace even grew to true prominence, the Canary would have already found him.

"But big brother... acting in this manner will inevitably draw the eyes of the entire world upon you." Chen Huan understood perfectly the staggering shockwaves Qi Yuan would send through the realm if he could truly fashion Sovereigns out of Terrestrial Myths. "Moreover, those who join the Crimson Palace and ascend to the Sovereign Realm through your grace... what if they... betray you?

The loyalty of outsiders can never be guaranteed."

Qi Yuan’s expression remained entirely placid. "Why should I require their loyalty?

I merely need them to perform tasks for me.

Should they prove unwilling... then, conveniently enough, they shall simply become my experience points."

The Sovereigns of this world were far too few.

Qi Yuan estimated that even if he slaughtered every single Sovereign in existence, he would still fall short of level two hundred.

Thus, it was far better to manufacture a crop of Sovereigns himself.

If they chose to oppose him, he would simply strike them down, converting them into fuel for his experience bar—a delightful prospect indeed.

Naturally, if they remained peaceful and refrained from making an enemy of him, he wouldn't care to bother them.

If he helped them ascend to the Sovereign Realm, then so be it; consider it a deed of casual charity.

Whether walking through life or navigating a game, Qi Yuan possessed no desire to cast his gaze upon anyone outside of those he genuinely cherished.

He needed only to fulfill his own designs.

"Big brother, once this path is set in motion, there is no turning back. Are you entirely certain?"

"Confirmed." Qi Yuan said calmly.

...

The Land of a Thousand Cities.

Huang Mengling smiled in surprise. She looked at Chen Huan and said lightly, "Junior Brother, although you are now a Supreme, you should not make such jokes."

A few days ago, Chen Huan arrived at Dabeicheng in the Land of a Thousand Cities. Following Qi Yuan's instructions, he sought out Land Myths to join the Blood Palace.

Unfortunately, progress was slow.

After several days, only two Land Myths, whose lifespans were nearly exhausted, were willing to follow him to Wugui City and join the Blood Palace.

After all, their years were almost spent; if they did not break through, they would only die of old age.

"Sister, I have concealed nothing in what I said," Chen Huan said earnestly. "The Warden of Wugui City is a born divine being, capable of helping others break through to become Supremes!

It was by listening to the Warden of Wugui City's teachings that I, your junior brother, broke through to become a Supreme."

"Preposterous. Even Master himself cannot help others break through to become Supremes. Do you think that Warden of Wugui City can?" Huang Mengling sneered.

She had met the Warden of Wugui City before—some talent, but nothing more.

Help others break through to become Supremes?

Was that possible?

It was like modern people watching short videos, where the blogger says, "Become my disciple, and I'll help you earn a hundred billion in a year."

Who would believe that?

Better to believe in Qin Shi Huang.

Faced with such absurdity, Huang Mengling naturally did not believe it.

"Sister, the terror of the Warden of Wugui City far exceeds your imagination." Chen Huan recalled the time when he and his brother were besieged by a Great Supreme leading other Supremes. He said, "The Purple Daoist of the Land of a Thousand Cities led Supremes to attack my brother and me, and my brother... killed him effortlessly!"

When ordinary Supremes fell, did it not always cause mountains to crumble and cities to be destroyed?

Especially a Great Supreme—killing one was exceedingly difficult.

It might take a hundred or a thousand days of combat for one to die.

How long did it take for the Purple Daoist to fall?

Less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick!

Huang Mengling's mocking expression deepened. "The Purple Daoist was a Great Supreme. Who in the Land of a Thousand Cities could be his match?

Who could kill him?

To trap him, at least three Great Supremes of the same rank, with the aid of over a dozen ordinary Supremes, would be needed.

The Warden of Wugui City is merely a Land Myth. Even if he barely broke through to become a Supreme, how could he kill the Purple Daoist?

Junior Brother, I do not know what you intend, but I advise you to turn back before it is too late."

As she spoke, Huang Mengling blocked Chen Huan's path.

After all, she was his senior sister, and Chen Huan had always feared her.

But at that moment, a terrifying aura spread, and Huang Mengling's face turned pale as she heard Chen Huan's voice.

"Sister, I am now... a Supreme!"

"I call you 'sister' out of respect for Master!"

"Sister, do you understand?"

Chen Huan's expression was icy.

Huang Mengling felt a bone-deep killing intent and chill.

Her teeth chattered; she dared not meet Chen Huan's gaze and silently stepped aside.

Chen Huan did not look at his sister again and left the place.

In the palace, the fear on Huang Mengling's face took a long time to fade. "A Supreme who broke through by luck without comprehending a powerful innate divine ability—I could defeat him easily in a hundred years!"

Huang Mengling was somewhat unconvinced.

After an unknown time, an ornately dressed old man hurried out of the palace, looking flustered.

Huang Mengling was startled. "Wang Gai, aren't you in the palace in secluded meditation to break through to become a Supreme? Why are you going out?"

Wang Gai saw Huang Mengling and lowered his head. "Immortal Huang, I... I want to go to Wugui City to seek an opportunity."

Wang Gai dared not look at Huang Mengling.

Chen Huan's words had been exaggerated, even absurd.

They held no credibility whatsoever.

They might even be a trap.

But Wang Gai's lifespan was nearly over.

He did not fear death.

What he feared was that after his death, without his protection, his large family might face a miserable fate in a place like the Land of a Thousand Cities.

The Warden of Dabeicheng, that Supreme, had always been iron-fisted and valued only usefulness in his subordinates.

As long as Wang Gai could fight, his clan could live well, in wealth and honor.

If he died, his clan's fate might be dire.

This Supreme's actions had drawn some criticism, with many pointing out the impropriety, but it was useless—after all, the Supreme's father was a Great Supreme.

"Get lost!" Huang Mengling's face turned extremely ugly.

Upon hearing this, Wang Gai quickly ran out.

He sighed inwardly. "The leap from Land Myth to Supreme is truly difficult.

Even Immortal Huang, a disciple of the White Emperor, is affected by the comprehension of innate abilities, inadvertently giving rise to inner demons and emotional turmoil."

He remembered that when he first met Immortal Huang, she had been courteous and polite.

Not like now, with inner demons running rampant.

Thinking this, Wang Gai grew even more anxious.

If even a disciple of the White Emperor found it so hard to break through to Supreme,

could they, by going to that Wugui City and joining that so-called Blood Palace, truly break through to become Supremes?

But then he thought, since he was going to die anyway,

he might as well make a desperate last stand.

If he failed, at least he would have tried his best.

...

In a land of ice and snow, a black silhouette appeared.

Ning Tao's small face was deathly pale, like a pear blossom, half of it tightly covered by a black veil, but the exposed half was enough to captivate a nation.

Alas, the law of the word "demon" does not allow one to admire that bewitchingly beautiful face—it only breeds disgust.

She walked through the icy snow, clutching the chain tightly in her hand.

Suddenly, she halted, her voice carrying a blend of allure and ethereality: "Husband, when will you come to see me?"

Alas, no one answered her at all.

In the frozen wilderness, there was only the howling of heavy snow.

Ning Tao was not disappointed; instead, she smiled seductively: "Husband, you must hide well, or if this humble one finds your true form, I will surely lock you tightly by my side.

Who told you... to never come see me."

She walked through the icy snow, solitary and alone.

After an unknown span of time, the wind and snow ahead ceased.

A blood-colored figure appeared before her—it was He Wu of the Thirteen Demons of the Northern Demon.

Ning Tao's eyes showed wariness: "Why are you here again?"

At that moment, He Wu's eyes held a trace of joy: "Are you also curious why we became like this, loathed by heaven and man?"

"Curious or not, what difference does it make?" Ning Tao smiled bitterly.

At least she had not seen disgust in her husband's eyes.

What she saw seemed like an inadvertently familiar doting love.

"At the southernmost tip of the Flowing Wind Realm lies the End of the World; perhaps there we can find our answers," He Wu said. "I have already notified the Thirteen Demons of the Northern Demon, and they are all willing to go with me to the End of the World. Will you come?"

Ning Tao's eyes showed curiosity: "Who told you this news?"

He Wu's eyes turned reminiscent as he replied, "It cannot be said, cannot be said."

"Are you not afraid it might be a trap?" Ning Tao asked.

"If this too is a lie, then this world would be too absurd," He Wu said.

Ning Tao was silent for a moment, then finally spoke slowly: "I will go to the End of the World, but... I fear I cannot arrive anytime soon."

She was still with the Blood Demon, suffering endless pursuit.

He Wu glanced at the blood-red fleshy mass behind Ning Tao and said helplessly, "If you discard him, perhaps all threats will vanish."

Ning Tao smiled sweetly: "If I discard him, what if my husband cannot find me?"

He Wu looked at Ning Tao, and after a long pause said, "Even the Blood Demon, upon seeing your face, would loathe you; otherwise, why would he not show himself?"

Even they themselves loathed themselves, let alone others.

"No, my husband will not," Ning Tao said stubbornly, lifting her head. She glanced behind her, her gaze firm, "He is merely lost for a time, not..."

(The chapter ends)