Fighting with Emperor Wu

The snow had been falling steadily for half a month.

However, there was no sign of letting up.

Chen Xia had lied to her.

Qiu Yi would often stand at the doorway of Little Cinnabar Hall, gazing at the verdant Surging Sea, wondering if there really wasn't a passage leading out from within as Chen Xia had said there was, whether or not he would come back.

But she did not get to wait for his return.

By early spring, the snow had melted into water, nourishing the growth of all things. The flowers that couldn't stand the cold began to sprout, waiting for the warmth to bloom.

Qiu Yi cleaned up the pavilion a little and moved the chairs inside.

Lately, Little Cinnabar Hall had also been somewhat lifeless. The cultivators were a little absent-minded in their work and cultivation, and would often come to the doorway pavilion, hoping to catch a glimpse of that familiar figure from the past.

In these years, Chen Xia seemed to have become the backbone of Little Cinnabar Hall. Although he never spoke or issued orders, as long as he sat here, Little Cinnabar Hall would feel at ease.

And the Eight Great Forces should also reshuffle after this. Relying solely on Chen Xia's Little Cinnabar Hall, there was no way it could remain among the Eight Great Forces.

But Chen Xia had not been gone for long. For safety's sake, the other seven Great Forces had not yet started discussing this matter.

For now, they would let Little Cinnabar Hall keep its spot. It didn't cost them anything anyway.

Within Little Cinnabar Hall.

Qiu Yi, who had succeeded in carving her first Dao Talisman, began a terrifying rise to prominence.

And this Dao Talisman she carved was called—

Outstanding Talent!

Thousands of meters below the Surging Sea.

Chen Xia went all the way unhindered. Along the way, he encountered some flood dragons, but they fled in fright with just a hint of the aura of a celestial dragon from him.

Until he reached a depth of ten thousand li at the bottom of the sea.

It was not dark here, but rather bright instead.

Sure enough, an ancient dragon lay dormant here. An extremely aged dragon, so old that Chen Xia even thought it was a snake. He was just about to ask it a question.

The old dragon raised its head, and looked at Chen Xia with its dim, enormous eyes. After sizing him up, it softly said,

"Please go back if you are only at the Sea Inversing Realm. You cannot leave Qing Province."

"Then what realm can get out?" Chen Xia asked in puzzlement.

"No one has made it out so far." The old dragon replied listlessly as it lay curled up on the seafloor, and added,

"In principle, the Heaven Mending Realm should work. If you can cultivate to the Heaven Mending Realm here in Qing Province, then you will be able to get out."

"I'm in a hurry." Chen Xia's tone grew somewhat urgent. This old dragon was quite polite, so he didn't feel good about attacking it directly.

The old dragon shook its head slightly. "If you insist on leaving, you can try first. But don't blame me if you get hurt."

Chen Xia frowned. "Fight with you?"

"Naturally not with me. I'm only at the Sea Inverting Realm. And with my aged body, I may not even be your match." The old dragon denied.

"Then who?" Chen Xia asked again.

"The Martial Emperor!"

The old dragon said in a low voice.

Dazzling radiance erupted in the bright seafloor, instantly enveloping everything. The light flashed so intensely that Chen Xia couldn't open his eyes for a moment, and his spiritual sense could not detect anything either.

Just a few seconds.

He regained his senses. The seafloor had turned into a starry sky, and there were twinkling stars all around. He could see them but was obviously restricted from leaping out.

"It's been a while since anyone came." A voice with a hint of laughter sounded in this sea of stars.

A handsome cultivator had appeared at some point, standing face to face with Chen Xia, and asked,

"Name?"

"Qiong Qi." Chen Xia reacted instinctively and answered.

The handsome cultivator twisted his neck and chuckled back.

"Chen Jiu."

He asked again.

"You want to get out too, right?"

"Mm." Chen Xia nodded. "I heard there was a way out through the Surging Sea, so I came down. I thought I would have to fight the old dragon, didn't expect it to be you."

Chen Jiu shook his head with some regret. "I didn't expect it either, that there would still be people coming after the path of immortal cultivation was cut off. I'm quite impressed."

"Time keeps moving forward relentlessly, that's beyond control." Chen Xia nodded in response, and asked another question.

"What realm are you at?"

"Heaven Mending." Chen Jiu replied, while chuckling, "I'm just an incarnation, a strand of will, of my true self, who still remains guarding around Qing Province. Not that powerful, but shouldn't be too weak either."

"I have to fight before I can get out?" Chen Xia asked again.

"If you win, you can get out. I won't be able to stop you as just an incarnation anyway." Chen Jiu said with a smile.

"Shall we start?" Chen Xia asked again.

"Mm." Chen Jiu nodded.

Then almost in an instant,

three million flying swords flooded the sky, carrying terrifying sword intent as they swarmed towards Chen Jiu.

"Wow, so many."

Chen Jiu was stunned for a moment. He had never seen a sword cultivator with so many life-bound swords before.

In but a moment,

the three million flying swords all arrived, vast as an ocean!

Clanging sounds rang out as the swords clashed. Sword intent permeated the air.

Abruptly, one of the leading flying swords halted.

Then dazzling golden light erupted, and boundless martial fortune gathered and converged onto the tip of the sword, concentrating on one person.

Boundless martial fortune contended against the sword intent.

Chen Jiu's figure was forced back thousands of kilometers in an instant. He stepped out and directly crushed a meteorite, stabilizing himself. He exclaimed,

"This is still my domain after all, so I have some advantage over you. Don't mind it."

"It's fine." Chen Xia replied plainly. His gaze focused as a bronze sword suddenly appeared in his hand. Terrifying sword intent erupted in a flash, and his figure vanished abruptly.

In the next moment, Chen Jiu was surrounded by nothing but sword intent—truly flooding the heavens!

Chen Jiu couldn't help but sigh in admiration.

"The young cultivators nowadays are just too fierce!"

The semi-immortal sword along with the three million flying swords descended, like a gigantic wave of condensed swords, with Chen Xia leading the charge at the crest—truly commanding the towering wave!

The boundless martial fortune shrank back and swayed unsteadily.

Chen Jiu's figure was instantly slashed back thousands of kilometers again. He stamped his foot, directly crushing a meteor, stabilizing himself once more. He marveled,

"If we were both still at the Sea Inverting Realm, it would be hard to say who would win or lose. Back in the day, I was also unmatched among peers of the same realm, most adept at killing enemies above my realm."

"Even later when I went out to the Star Region and became what other cultivators called a Great Sage, I never met anyone as defying of the heavens as you."

It was truly an epic battle of OPs.

Chen Xia was also very curious. "You were that powerful?"

"Nothing much." Chen Jiu shook his head. "I just killed some uppity quasi-emperors I disliked when I was a Great Sage. Got quite a reputation in the Star Region. You might run into me again after you get out."

Chen Xia frowned and let out a breath. "Then I guess the warm up is over?"

"Mm." Chen Jiu nodded. "Let's get serious now. Watch out."

Golden martial fortune began emanating from his body, shrouding him completely in swirling golden cloud markings, filled with the purest martial fortune.

"True Body of the Divine."

Chen Jiu intoned in a low voice.

The Martial Emperor was the supreme existence atop the martial path.

That was him!

Chen Xia raised his brows.

A transformation, huh?

He could do that too!

Pure white radiance emerged from his body, exuding supreme might within the starry space. Pure white wings unfurled, truly like a celestial dragon soaring through the heavens.

"Damn, you look so cool." Chen Jiu exclaimed in admiration.

Chen Xia grinned. "It's transformation versus transformation, who's afraid of who!"

Within the celestial domain.

Big Yellow Dog sat as usual on the stone lion, straining his eyes to gaze at the starry sky. Suddenly he frowned and said,

"Old Zhang, why does that star keep blinking?"

"Which one, it's too far to see." Zhang Daoming shook his head.

"That one, blinking so fast. Don't tell me it's in heat?" Big Yellow Dog started guessing.

"Could also be having a seizure." Zhang Daoming offered his own speculation.

The starlight suddenly flashed violently, as if struck by immense impact.

"What do you think?" Big Yellow Dog continued asking.

Zhang Daoming frowned and explained,

"Mating... call?"

Today's three chapters can be considered finished. Again, heartfelt thanks for all the gifted subscriptions.