The Expedition of the Azure Sky Sword Sea

Yan Zi, whose age remains unknown, is a Triple Path Emperor who has mastered the Substitute Path and the Dual Yin-Yang Paths. His greatest life goal is simply to survive.

So far, he has been doing quite well in achieving this goal.

When he uttered these words, the surrounding cultivators were momentarily stunned, their expressions filled with confusion.

Yan Zi?

Who the hell is this guy?

Indeed, no one had heard of him, nor did they know where this figure had come from in the myriad realms of the universe.

It was normal for them not to have heard of Yan Zi. Even the cultivators who had fought on the frontlines of the Heavenly Dao had no idea who he was. Historical records about Yan Zi, the Triple Path Emperor, were scarce, perhaps mentioning him only in passing with a brief reference to the Substitute Path.

It could only be said that Yan Zi had hidden himself extremely well, maintaining a low profile and never revealing his reputation in the Great Heaven.

The cultivators searched their minds for the name Yan Zi, but finding no detailed records about him, their expressions grew bolder. Smirks appeared on their faces as they crossed their arms and sneered at Yan Zi.

"Since you, fellow Daoist, have admitted that your cultivation level is similar to ours, let's skip the pleasantries. There must be treasures and opportunities in this area, and since you arrived first, you must have already claimed them all."

The sage chuckled lightly, exchanging a subtle glance with the cultivator beside him, then continued,

"We're not greedy people. Just hand over half of the treasures and opportunities you've obtained, and we'll let you leave peacefully. Otherwise..."

The cultivator didn't finish his sentence, but the implication was clear.

The surrounding cultivators joined in with laughter, urging Yan Zi to hand over the treasures and opportunities he had acquired. After all, it was better to part with wealth than to lose one's life, and it would also help him make friends. What was there to lose?

But was it really as simple as they made it sound?

If Yan Zi were to hand over half of the treasures and opportunities, he would immediately be surrounded and killed by these cultivators, as it would prove that he had indeed obtained something valuable.

The sages' eyes glinted with faint killing intent, their gazes burning as they stared at Yan Zi's back, waiting for him to speak.

They waited, but Yan Zi remained silent.

One of the sages grew impatient, his hand swirling with divine power as spiritual energy gathered around it, causing a slight tremor in the void. He demanded,

"What do you mean by this, fellow Daoist? Why aren't you responding? Do you look down on us?"

Yan Zi turned his head and gave them a helpless look. If it weren't for his aversion to getting involved in karma, he would have already sent these cultivators on their way. He shook his head and replied softly,

"I haven't seen any treasures or opportunities. You should look elsewhere."

All he wanted was to live peacefully and achieve immortality.

The sages' auras suddenly erupted, and the leader among them took a step forward, causing the shattered city wall to tremble. He shouted at Yan Zi,

"My master is the Fire Armor Emperor, and I am the Half-Step Great Sage, the Fire Rain Saint! My name is renowned across countless star domains. How dare you act so arrogantly in front of me? Are you seeking death?!"

The sages gathered behind the Fire Rain Saint, their auras blazing like a rainbow, and the pressure converged on Yan Zi.

Yan Zi shook his head helplessly. He had no desire to kill this group of sages and incur unnecessary karma, nor did he want to reveal his true abilities in front of everyone.

He had hidden and maintained a low profile for tens of thousands of years, and it was completely unnecessary to break his cover over such a trivial matter.

Just as Yan Zi was about to leave, another group of cultivators arrived, their voices filled with mockery.

"Well, well, who do we have here? Such a big mouth! Oh, it's the Fire Rain Little Saint, haha!"

This new group of sages seemed to be on par with the Fire Rain Saint's group, and their words were even more sarcastic. Clearly, there was some enmity between the two factions.

Seeing this group, the Fire Rain Saint's aura diminished slightly, calming down as he retorted,

"You really are like dogs, always following us wherever we go. How pathetic."

"If we're dogs, then you must be the shit, haha! You're quite funny, insulting yourselves like that."

The argument between the two groups grew heated, and in the chaos, they forgot about Yan Zi's presence. Taking advantage of the commotion, Yan Zi quietly slipped away, his figure disappearing from the city wall.

Such disputes were common on the frontlines of the Heavenly Dao, and this one didn't escalate into a fight. The two groups eventually dispersed, and though they were puzzled by Yan Zi's disappearance, they assumed he had fled out of fear and didn't bother searching for him.

From then on, Yan Zi's figure occasionally appeared on the chess-covered city wall, sitting alone without any particular purpose. When asked, he would simply say his name was Yan Zi.

The cultivators were all puzzled.

Who the hell is Yan Zi?

If there were a ranking for the most obscure emperor in the Great Heaven, Yan Zi would undoubtedly take the top spot.

As more and more cultivators returned to their respective star domains with benefits gained from the Heavenly Dao frontlines, rumors spread, and soon, even the Blue Sky Sword Sea, located at the lowest level of the Great Heaven, heard the news.

The Eight Saints of Azure Sky were aware of this development, and Emperor Capital and others began to reminisce about their days on the Heavenly Dao frontlines. Though the battles were intense, they had been meaningful.

After some preparation, they decided to head to the Heavenly Dao frontlines, not for treasures, but to investigate any traces of Chen Xia.

Not only would the Great Sages of the Blue Sky Sword Sea go, but also the cultivators of the Heaven Mending Realm and the Quasi-Sages, forming a team to explore the entire Heavenly Dao frontlines.

The journey was named "Following in the Footsteps of Saint Chen."

Most of the Heaven Mending Realm cultivators were prodigies of the Blue Sky Sword Sea, while the Quasi-Sages included two former top talents, Zhou Jia and Bai Lu.

The group gathered, led by Emperor Capital and Li Yang, and set off on a top-tier airship, heading back to the Heavenly Dao frontlines.