In the mirror.
A pillar of qi shot forth from Gu Changqing’s body, piercing through heaven and earth.
Above, the skies and clouds shattered, and vast ripples surged outward like tides, engulfing the firmament.
At that moment, heaven and earth changed color. In the forests, all beasts fell silent!
Those outside the mirror gaped, unable to speak for a long time.
Was this guy fucking human?!!!
“He just…he started his cultivation journey just like that???”
At this moment, all the top experts in this world could not control their expressions. These world-shaking existences, who had swept through every realm, were all utterly stunned!
Qi Refining!
What shocked them was how quickly Gu Changqing had crossed the huge gap between a mortal and a cultivator.
For a mortal, what a terrifying abyss this was!!
“And judging by the commotion, it seems the Heavenly Emperor has directly reached the twelfth level of Qi Refining!”
At that moment, everyone fell silent.
They did not know how to put it into words!
So terrifying!!
Ye Chen himself was even more stunned.
Even though he was unwilling to admit it.
He couldn’t help but feel bitter.
The cultivation talent he prided himself on, his vaunted ability to crush all beings, compared to the youth in the mirror, was utterly crushed — not even worth a shit.
Just as everyone wondered how this Heavenly Emperor had accomplished it.
They saw within Gu Changqing’s body.
A single tendon-bone.
It erupted with a blazing divine radiance, overflowing with resplendence. Like a great sun spreading its rays, breathtakingly magnificent.
Within the dazzling light floated countless tiny characters.
They were like great Dao runes, obscure beyond words, and yet like ancient, terrifying gods or demons — relics left in the long river of time, ancient and mysterious!
At this moment, everyone’s eyes outside the mirror froze!
That was an Immortal Root!!!
The gathered cultivators were both stunned and suddenly enlightened.
They were stunned because, besides Gu Youwei, the Heavenly Emperor actually had an Immortal Root too!
They were enlightened because they understood why the young Heavenly Emperor’s cultivation talent was so terrifying.
An Immortal Root was a supreme treasure. Its greatest function was to assist cultivation.
In the ancient epochs, it was said that any cultivator who contained an Immortal Root would inevitably become a peerless sovereign of an era!
Put simply: if you have an Immortal Root, you can become a supreme powerhouse even lying down!
“How could he have an Immortal Root? This is impossible!!”
Gu Youwei looked as if struck by lightning, utterly stunned!
Everyone found it hard to accept.
Everyone knew that Gu Youwei had fallen out with the Heavenly Emperor because the Heavenly Emperor had nearly taken her Immortal Root!
But if the Heavenly Emperor already had one, why would he still try to take hers?
Gu Youwei went blank, her thoughts in utter turmoil.
Before this, even when she saw Gu Changqing treating her very well, she never showed any emotion.
Only because in her heart she held an overwhelming hatred for the Heavenly Emperor — hatred for his deception.
She hated that her own brother would turn against her for the sake of an Immortal Root.
But now, since he already possessed an Immortal Root, why would he still try to take hers?
At this moment Gu Youwei lost her aloof composure. She clutched her head and was wracked with pain.
“Could it be that the events of back then were always a misunderstanding? Could a brother who treated me so well then really have become so heartless?!”
She murmured to herself, her mind in utter confusion.
Ye Chen, seeing Gu Youwei like this, paused slightly and pondered, “I think I know what happened.”
“Emperor Jiang said that a year later, the Heavenly Emperor’s spiritual vein ruptured and his Dao Palace was destroyed. Perhaps his Immortal Root was also taken.”
“It was precisely because he’d experienced the Immortal Root’s power that perhaps he later made a move on Miss Youwei’s Immortal Root.”
“Exactly! Emperor Ye’s words make a lot of sense.”
The crowd immediately agreed, “The Heavenly Emperor’s Dao Palace was shattered and his spiritual vein collapsed. Perhaps that robbed him of the chance to get to the Immortal realm, and the Immortal Root was his hope of doing so. Maybe that’s why he targeted Miss Youwei.”
“After all, by then he had already done many cruel and lawless deeds. He was capable of striking at his own kin!”
A self-mocking smile crossed Jiang Minghuang’s face as he said lightly, “Yes, he was indeed capable — and quite practiced at it.”
“Would you really be like that?”
Gu Youwei stared at the youth in the mirror, sorrow filling her eyes.
When Gu Changqing stepped into the path of cultivation and his Immortal Root awakened.
He displayed an extraordinarily powerful cultivation talent.
Here, deep in the mountains.
He cultivated day after day.
Aside from preparing some food for little Youwei each day, his life seemed to consist only of cultivation.
Fortunately little Youwei had the young leopard she grew up with as company. She was sensible and did not disturb her brother.
Perhaps because he cultivated day and night, his progress was rapid, advancing by leaps and bounds.
When his Qi Refining realm reached its peak.
Gu Changqing lost his subsequent method of cultivation.
With no cultivation technique, he researched on his own — and in that state he actually worked out how to condense a spiritual vein and forge a Dao Palace.
This scene fully shocked the powerful cultivators outside the mirror.
Each of them uttered, “This boy defies logic!”
Time passed day after day.
Such days lasted for nearly a year.
By now, Gu Changqing’s cultivation had reached the Palace Tempering realm, one step away from that so-called Great Power realm.
Qi Refining, Spirit Condensation, Palace Tempering!
These are the three foundational steps of the cultivation path.
After completing these three steps, with no method left, Gu Changqing finally encountered a bottleneck.
However, he did not give up. While probing the threshold of the Great Power realm, he also tempered his Dao Palace and his spiritual vein.
During that time.
He also tried teaching little Youwei cultivation.
But that girl was too playful: while he could reach peak realms in a day, she dawdled for nearly a year and still couldn’t even get one foot through the door.
“The Heavenly Emperor’s cultivation speed is truly terrifying.”
“It’s a pity that such a prodigy had his Dao Palace and spiritual vein destroyed.”
Outside the mirror, countless cultivators sighed with regret.
At that moment someone asked, “By the way, Emperor Jiang, how long until you see the Heavenly Emperor again?”
“Three days.” Jiang Minghuang replied expressionlessly.
Three days?
So soon!
Everyone was stunned.
The Heavenly Emperor was still in the mountains, and it seemed he would not descend.
What was going to happen during these three days?