Heaven-Surpassing Divine Emperor

”What’s this?”

Jiang Chen froze for a moment, then picked up the parchment to examine it. It contained a map.

There were a few ancient characters on the edge of the map. He could vaguely make out the two words ’Celestial Demon,’ but the rest were illegible.

At the same time...

The Black Gourd, which had shattered into two halves, trembled slightly. Two streams of black energy drifted out and slowly rose, coalescing before Jiang Chen into a transparent, illusory figure. With white hair and a beard, it possessed a transcendent, ethereal aura. Wasn’t it a perfect likeness of the ancient corpse before him?

”A hundred years... Someone has finally come!” a faint voice emanated from the ethereal figure.

A look of vigilance appeared on Jiang Chen’s face. He subconsciously tightened his grip on his sword, staring at the figure as he asked in a low voice, ”Who might you be?”

”I am Bai Changsheng, Hall Master of the Tenth Hall of the Saint Martial Sword Sect!”

The old man’s ethereal form spread its hands. They were transparent and illusory, completely intangible, as if to show he posed no threat. He continued, ”There’s no need to be afraid, little one... I am merely a remnant will. It’s impossible for me to harm you!”

”Hall Master of the Tenth Hall of the Saint Martial Sword Sect? What proof do you have of your identity?”

A glint flashed in Jiang Chen’s eyes. He kept his gaze fixed on Bai Changsheng, not letting his guard down in the slightest.

The Saint Martial Sword Sect had thousands of disciples, who were divided among the Ten Halls.

Each hall was presided over by an incredibly noble and powerful Hall Master. But as far as Jiang Chen knew, to become a Hall Master of the Saint Martial Sword Sect, one had to be a powerhouse at the Peak of the Heavenly Destiny Realm at the very least!

’If this old man calling himself Bai Changsheng really is the Hall Master of the Tenth Hall... then how could he have died here?’

’With only a remnant soul left behind in a Black Gourd?’

Bai Changsheng’s figure drifted slowly, passing through his own corpse like a ghost before reappearing in the open air. His aged voice carried a hint of desolation and helplessness. ”I am indeed the Hall Master of the Tenth Hall of the Saint Martial Sword Sect. A hundred years ago, a good friend and I obtained an Ancient Secret Map that recorded the location of some Ancient Ruins. Together, we set out to explore them...”

Bai Changsheng’s ancient voice slowly recounted the events of a century ago.

His tone shifted—at times high and passionate, at others somber and full of malice, or firm and seething with rage and hatred...

As he reached the end of his tale, his features twisted, his face revealing an overwhelming hatred.

It turned out that the Ancient Secret Map that Bai Changsheng and his friend had found marked Ancient Ruins located within the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm. They were said to be the tomb of an ancient powerhouse, a place called the Celestial Demon Ancient Castle.

Within the Celestial Demon Ancient Castle were numerous Spirit Medicines and treasures.

Relying on the Secret Map, Bai Changsheng and his friend entered the Celestial Demon Ancient Castle. His friend found an incredibly powerful Earth Tier High-level Profound Weapon. Bai Changsheng was happy for him. As the two delved deeper, Bai Changsheng obtained a Fourth Grade Spiritual Pill, a Primordial Golden Pill. This was one of the Top-grade Spirit Pills, capable of helping a Heavenly Destiny Realm powerhouse break through to the Union Palace Realm.

Both he and his friend had found precious treasures, and Bai Changsheng was overjoyed. But just as he was preparing to refine the Primordial Golden Pill and break through to the Union Palace Realm, that very friend attacked him!

Bai Changsheng fought desperately to escape but was mortally wounded. On the brink of death, he placed a remnant of his will and the Ancient Secret Map into the Black Gourd and cast it out of the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm. He hoped that a fated person would find it, locate his body, and fulfill his dying wish!

Bai Changsheng stared at Jiang Chen and said earnestly, ”Little one, even a Heavenly Destiny Realm powerhouse could perish in the place where I died. The reason you were able to reach the bottom of the lake so smoothly was not just because of the Black Gourd, but more importantly, because you carry the disciple token of the Tenth Hall!”

”The disciple token of the Tenth Hall?”

Jiang Chen paused, glancing at the ring on his index finger. It was a gift from Bai Ling. His pupils constricted slightly. ”Senior, do you know Bai Ling?”

”Bai Ling?”

Bai Changsheng looked puzzled.

Jiang Chen quickly explained, ”This Storage Ring in my hand was given to me by Senior Sister Bai Ling. She’s a True Martial Realm disciple of the Saint Martial Sword Sect!”

Bai Changsheng shook his head and gave a bitter smile. ”I perished a hundred years ago. This Bai Ling you speak of must be quite young; I don’t know her. However, within the entire Saint Martial Sword Sect, the only disciples with the surname Bai belong to my Tenth Hall’s lineage. If what you say is true, then that little girl named Bai Ling is likely one of my descendants!”

”I see...”

Jiang Chen nodded thoughtfully.

’Bai Ling is only in her twenties. When Bai Changsheng died, she hadn’t even been born yet!’

Bai Changsheng’s form had grown much fainter. He said, ”Little one, are you willing to help me fulfill my last wish?”

”I am a disciple of the Saint Martial Sword Sect, and Senior is an elder of my sect. Of course I am willing to help you!” Jiang Chen said without a moment’s hesitation.

’Bai Ling has done me a great favor, and this Bai Changsheng is likely one of her clan’s ancestors. This can be considered a way of repaying her kindness!’

”I have two last wishes. The first is that you take my Hall Master’s Order from the Tenth Hall back to my disciple, Bai Yetao. The second is that you deliver the news of my death to him and tell him the identity of my murderer. He is...”

Bai Changsheng’s hair stood on end, his hatred soaring to the heavens. He bit out the name, word by word, through gritted teeth: ”The Hall Master of the First Hall of the Saint Martial Sword Sect, Tu Shanhe!”

TU! SHAN! HE!

Those three syllables rang out with fury, sharp and resonant, stirring up a gale that sent sand and stones flying!

Bai Changsheng’s hatred for this person was simply terrifying!

Jiang Chen was shaken to the core. He never would have imagined that Bai Changsheng’s enemy was the First Hall Master.

’Anyone capable of becoming a Hall Master is a terrifying powerhouse at the Peak of the Heavenly Destiny Realm—someone who could crush me with a single finger! What’s more, Tu Shanhe was already the First Hall Master a hundred years ago. After a century, his power must have far surpassed what it once was. He might have even stepped into the Union Palace Realm.’

’Is it really worth it to provoke such a terrifying titan just to fulfill Bai Changsheng’s dying wish?’

While Jiang Chen was carefully weighing his options, Bai Changsheng’s voice sounded again. ”Little one, I won’t let you help me for nothing... Back then, to escape with my life, most of my treasures were destroyed. I have only two things left. One is the Secret Map to the Celestial Demon Ancient Castle in your hands. It can guide you to the castle’s deepest parts, help you avoid danger, and obtain the ultimate treasures. The other is the Fourth Grade Primordial Golden Pill I found in the Celestial Demon Ancient Castle!”

”If you are willing to help me, both of these things will be yours!”

Bai Changsheng stared at Jiang Chen with a burning gaze.

Jiang Chen’s breathing grew ragged. Setting aside the Secret Map to the Celestial Demon Ancient Castle, just the Primordial Golden Pill alone... was a top-grade pill among Fourth Grade Spiritual Pills! The boundless medicinal power it contained was enough to allow a Peak of Heavenly Destiny Realm Powerhouse to step into the Union Palace Realm—enough to make two lifelong friends like Tu Shanhe and Bai Changsheng turn on each other. Even if one were to search the entire Saint Martial Dynasty, it would be impossible to find another!

’If I could get that Primordial Golden Pill and refine it, my cultivation would advance by leaps and bounds!’

’Fortune favors the bold!’

’This risk is worth taking!’

At that thought...

Jiang Chen looked up at Bai Changsheng’s ethereal form and said in a solemn voice, ”Rest assured, Senior. I will definitely fulfill your last wish!”

”Good, good, good...”

Bai Changsheng nodded, but his gaze suddenly turned cold. A terrifying spiritual fluctuation pulsed from his ethereal form, and a black ray shot into the space between Jiang Chen’s eyebrows. ”Little one, it’s not that I don’t trust you, but people’s hearts are not what they once were. I will use the last of my remnant will to place a Heart Demon Shackle on your soul. As long as you fulfill my wish and deliver the Hall Master’s Order to my disciple, Bai Yetao, he will naturally help you remove it. If you break your promise, the Heart Demon Shackle will remain in your soul forever, preventing you from ever breaking through the Heavenly Destiny Realm to reach the Union Palace Realm!”

Anger flooded Jiang Chen’s face.

’I’ve been completely played!’

However... he could understand Bai Changsheng’s reasoning. After all, the man had been betrayed by the brother he trusted most; it was understandable that he would take precautions. Letting out a long sigh, Jiang Chen said, ”Rest assured, Senior. I will complete your last wish.”

”Mm.”

Bai Changsheng nodded. His remnant will gradually faded, and a final wisp of Divine Thought lifted a glittering golden Spirit Pill from the ancient corpse. It flew out and landed in Jiang Chen’s hand. Both Bai Changsheng’s ethereal form and his physical body disintegrated in the wind, turning into motes of light that scattered and drifted away. ”Little one, I hope you won’t disappoint me!”

With those words, Bai Changsheng vanished completely from the world.

All that remained was a round, brilliantly glowing Spirit Pill, a simple, ancient Hall Master’s Order, and the parchment in Jiang Chen’s hand—the Secret Map of the Celestial Demon Ancient Castle.

Jiang Chen clenched his fists, placed the Hall Master’s Order and the parchment into his Storage Ring, and fixed his gaze on the Primordial Golden Pill. ’This is a Fourth-grade Spiritual Medicine. Only someone at the Heavenly Destiny Realm can truly refine it. At my current level, I can only refine a tiny fraction of its power. But even that fraction will be faster than cultivating in a Spirit Vein!’

He flipped his hand, tossed the Primordial Golden Pill into his mouth, and swallowed it in one gulp. With his current strength, he was still far from being able to truly refine it.

He could only store the Primordial Golden Pill in his Dantian.

There, he would wash over it day and night with his True Essence, absorbing the medicinal power that leaked from its surface.

As expected of a Fourth Grade Spiritual Pill, the moment it entered his body, he began to circulate the Profound Yellow Undying Technique. Under the constant washing of his Profound Yellow True Essence, surging streams of medicinal power began to flow from the Primordial Golden Pill and merge into his body. The sensation was sublime, and Jiang Chen unconsciously immersed himself in it.

He cultivated like this for three full days and nights!

「On the morning of the fourth day.」

Just as the sun rose above the horizon, a terrifying True Essence Light erupted from Jiang Chen’s body. Within his Dantian, a second True Essence Spirit Sea had formed!

”Hahaha! As expected of a Fourth-grade Spiritual Medicine! It sent me straight to the True Martial Realm Second Stage! This feeling is incredible!” Jiang Chen laughed excitedly. Looking inward at his Dantian, he discovered that the Primordial Golden Pill had only melted by a razor-thin layer!

Not even a tenth of it was gone!

”Now that I’m at the True Martial Realm Second Stage, if I run into Zhao Qiankun again, I’m absolutely confident I can kill him in three moves!” Jiang Chen clenched his fists. The True Essence in his body surged like a dragon, filled with explosive power. ”Three days have passed without me realizing it. I wonder how Little White and the others are doing. I should go find them!”

With that thought, Jiang Chen stood up, cleaned the area, and buried Bai Changsheng’s ashes by the lake, building a simple stone grave. ”Rest assured, Senior. I will not let you down!”

Just as he was about to turn and search for Little White, Lui Yifa, and the others, Jiang Chen heard the roar of a Sharp Sword Tiger in the distance...