Chapter 835: Chapter 559: The Heavenly King Ascends to the Peak
He vanished in a single thought.
When he reappeared, he was already in front of the sedan chair.
"Who dares block the way?"
The Demon Kings immediately attacked on the spot.
Lu Chenzhou’s gaze flickered, and an invisible storm swept forth, scattering the dark clouds, tearing apart the earth; the Demon Kings were reduced to a mist of blood.
The disparity in spiritual power was simply too vast.
With a mere thought, he could annihilate Demon Kings.
Inside the sedan chair, the Blood Flood Dragon Young Lord was also unconscious.
There were also several corpses of female cultivators.
Lu Chenzhou lifted his hand and captured, crushing the Blood Flood Dragon Young Lord and extracting his soul to be absorbed by the Martial Arts Tree.
The Dao Essence increased, but it was insignificant.
He was mainly searching for fragments of memory.
After probing, he looked toward the distance.
"The Mountain Forest Demon Venerable has broken through, and another Middle Realm Blood Flood Dragon Demon Venerable has descended out of nowhere. The level of difficulty is higher than I imagined."
Two at the Middle Stage of the Seventh Realm,
And one at the Early Stage of the Seventh Realm.
This force truly isn’t weak.
"No rush—first, I’ll silently slaughter all the Demon Emperors of Corpse Palace, and in the end settle scores with the three Demon Venerables as a whole."
Billions upon billions of restless spirits.
Were crying out the crimes of the Demon Race.
...
Corpse Palace.
Within an opulent palace, a towering draconic brute with a blood-red horn was soaking in a blood bath, as thousands of Kun Gu female cultivators took turns serving him.
"Hahaha! The Kun Gu Realm is truly the holy land of this Venerable. No wonder I begged Grandmother Tree to send me here."
The Blood Flood Dragon Demon Venerable hugged beauties on both sides, snow-white thighs curling around him like entwining white snakes in mating.
Suddenly, his expression changed dramatically.
Eight demon runes twisted together between his brows.
"Eighteen is dead!"
The Blood Flood Dragon Demon Venerable sired many offspring, so he couldn’t be bothered to give them names; instead, he ranked them numerically by power.
Jiao Shiba—Number Eighteen—was precisely the one slain by Lu Chenzhou. Although not that strong, he had tremendous talent, and as long as he didn’t die young, ascending to Demon Venerable status was a certainty.
Among his progeny, he firmly ranked in the top five.
"Go and investigate for me. There must still be cultivators at least at the Six Realms hiding in the Kun Gu Realm!"
The Blood Flood Dragon Demon Venerable summoned his subordinates.
"Yes!"
After this was handled, the Blood Flood Dragon continued reveling in pleasure.
Buzz! The Communication Order sounded, and a projection floated before him: it was a red wave-haired woman in a lurid crimson robe, captivating yet sinister, her hair like withered vines.
If Lu Chenzhou were present, he would find this woman bore some resemblance to the Blood Vine Demon Emperor.
"Grandmother!"
The Blood Flood Dragon Demon Venerable scrambled upright in one go.
This was the Blood Demon Grandmother—an old-school Demon Saint, of the Eight-Pattern Demon Clan, and the left and right hand of the Blood God Lord, currently roaming outside the Forbidden Zone. Her strength was terrifying.
After the Black Mountain Demon Saint fell, the Blood Demon Grandmother became Star Palace Hall Master, in charge of the expeditionary wars across the Three Thousand Worlds.
"Blood Flood Dragon, is the mission complete?"
"Grandmother, the three of us have thus far dispatched over twenty Demon Emperors to conduct a carpet search across the Kun Gu Realm. We’ve indeed found some Six Realms Ancient Cultivation Cave Mansions, but their value is low; as for any Eight Realms Ancient Cultivation Cave Mansion, we’ve yet to discover them."
"Don’t slack off. I’m at a key reckless breakthrough moment and can’t leave Blood Tree Great World. If I emerge in seclusion and you’ve made no progress, you know what will happen..."
The Blood Demon Grandmother’s lips curled upward.
The projection gradually faded away.
The Blood Vine shuddered in fear.
Grandmother is most adept at draining yang to replenish yin; under her command are thirteen enslaved Demon Venerables and Seventh Realm male slaves.
Nicknamed: the Blood Demon Thirteen Cauldrons.
...
Mystic Sky Realm.
Star Dome Sea.
Headquarters of the Eye of Truth.
"That wasn’t easy... This vessel has finally reached the Seventh Realm."
The Blood God Sect Hierarch opened his eyes.
"Lord, as you ordered, I’ve instructed the Demon Race across the Three Thousand Worlds to look out for ancient cultivators’ cave mansions. But I don’t really understand—spiritual weapons or cultivation technique inheritances of cultivators are useless to us. Why waste the effort?"
The projection of the Blood Demon Grandmother materialized.
The Blood God said coolly:
"While they’re useless to us, we can’t let the cultivators get them. Otherwise, it’ll only bolster humanity’s strength."
"So that’s the reason."
"In the course of searching ancient cultivation cave mansions, if you find any treasure containing the Tiger Clan Essence Blood of the Ninth Realm, be sure to secure it."
...
Xia Realm.
Amidst the starry skies.
On a desolate Death Star, a bored youth in a mysterious robe yawned, gazing at the void ahead as it split open.
From the shadows, a graceful silhouette walked forth.
"This humble self, Lady Ten-Thousand-Spiders, greets the Dragon and Tiger Great Saint."
The mysterious-robed youth raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? You know my title and still dare come—little ghost girl, you’ve got some guts."
"As the ancestor of the Great Wilderness Tiger Flood Dragon, second only to Lu Wu and the Ten Tiger Generals, a half-step Great Power, the Dragon and Tiger Great Saint surely wouldn’t stoop to kill me." The graceful silhouette laughed softly.
The mysterious-robed youth gripped the air, pulling her in. Lady Ten-Thousand-Spiders, the Ghost Empress, trembled over, unable to move.
From within the youth’s flesh, chain after chain emerged, binding him to the star beneath his feet, unmovably.
Pages of an ancient book appeared in the air.
The Ghost Empress patted her chest, trembling with laughter: "Great Saint, being shackled can’t feel good, can it? You fought for the Divine Court and the cultivators until death, slaying uncountable demons, yet ended up like this. Why not strike a deal with us?"
The youth snorted coldly.
"Your level? You think you’re fit to bargain with me?"
The Ghost Empress snapped her fingers.
A phantom projection appeared; she was stunningly beautiful, like a Heavenly Immortal, her fair arms and long legs, pale as jade lotus roots, exposed beneath a thin robe, wafting fragrance with every movement.
"Now do I qualify?"
Mother Forget-Sorrow gave a sweet smile.
The youth’s expression grew solemn.
After a moment, he smiled faintly:
"Very well, let’s talk."
...
Time is lost in cultivation.
In a flick of the finger, another half-year passed.
In the past few years, no new Absolute Peak has yet appeared in the human world, but the number of Grandmasters and Heavenly Kings continued to rise.
After the Council wiped out the remaining Demon Emperors, they did not exterminate the Great Demon Kings and Demon Kings entirely.
In the Million Mountains, Rashamon Ghost Country, Yun Meng Marsh, Four Seas Outer Sea, and other remote places, Demon Kings could still be found.
These Demon Kings were used as whetstones for the new generation’s training—the Council assigned powerful cultivators to monitor these Forbidden Zones in real time, and once a Demon Emperor appeared, they would be wiped out.
Without Demon Emperors, Demon King numbers would not threaten humanity, so they let it be, allowing them to reproduce at will.
The school campuses of the Myriad Phenomena, Taiyi, Spirit Mountain, and Sword and Blade four Daoist Schools had also been completed,
The Daoist Lords were temporarily assumed by the Heavenly Realm Guardians of the Four Base Cities, and in 2275, selection of Deans and Military Leaders would commence.
Anyone at or above the Six Realms could participate.
...
On this day.
Dragon Transformation Ancient Road.
The Lighting Order was sounded.
Lu Chenzhou opened his eyes.
The projection of the Northern Guardian King appeared.
"Chenzhou, how goes your cultivation lately?"
"Not bad, somewhat stronger than before."
"Good... then I’m relieved. You’re now ranked second on the Heavenly Person List, and can challenge me at any time."
The Northern Guardian King smiled.
"Haha, no rush. Let’s wait for the Dean selection in five years—I’ll test your skills then, President."
Lu Chenzhou smiled faintly, confident and composed.
Years of cultivation atop the Dragon Transformation Ancient Dragon had brought him another step forward; even facing a True Seventh Realm opponent, he could now stand toe-to-toe.
"Er...five years from now?"
"Is that too late?"
"A bit. I want to reach Breakthrough Seven soon. Lately, I’ve felt a powerful sense that my opportunity for breaking through has arrived."
"Then do it, President."
"Will you break through Seven in five years?"
"Uncertain."
"Then I’ll wait. I’m counting on you to defeat me and take over the Heavenly Person List. With its boost, your odds in the selection will be much greater."
"The Heavenly Person List is but an external object. Even without it, I’m confident I will be chosen in five years."
Lu Chenzhou spoke lightly.
The Northern Guardian King’s brows arched.
"So I shouldn’t wait for you?"
"President, go break through Seven as you wish. If by then I can’t defeat you, it just means my fire control isn’t sufficient. No need to suppress your cultivation for my sake."
The Northern Guardian King roared with laughter.
"Good, boy! Arrogant enough. So be it—I’ll break through Seven soon. Don’t regret it when the time comes."
"Looking forward to our match, President."
"By the way, a meeting of the Elder Council is scheduled for today; there are important matters to discuss."
Since a meeting was called, Lu Chenzhou temporarily left the Dragon Transformation Ancient Road and returned to the human world.
After years in seclusion, this was Lu Chenzhou’s first time freed from tens of thousands of times gravity—
Every single cell in his body was cheering, crackling, his muscles and bones sparking golden flames as they rubbed together.
Gurgle—
His blood abruptly boiled like magma, surging through his veins in a storm, meridians becoming semi-translucent colored glaze, while True Gang torrents washed over, ringing with the sound of metal striking metal.
Each acupoint star inside his body lit up together, forming a mysterious Circulation Star Map beneath the skin.
This star map was composed of 720 stars.
Currently, 708 were lit.
Only the final 12 remained, faintly discernible.
His surging qi-blood roared within him like the tides of the East Sea, while his mighty heart beat like a planetary engine, rumbling dully and causing the void to tremble.
Lu Chenzhou’s qi-blood had reached 410,000.
The End Realm for Heavenly King was 350,000.
The limit for Heavenly King was 500,000.
"I’ve officially entered the ranks of Peak Heavenly Kings."
Lu Chenzhou stood atop the heavens.
In his bearing, there was both world-weariness and cutting sharpness.
In the past few years, apart from his fleshly body transforming upon Dragon Transformation Ancient Road, his spiritual cultivation had not slacked either.
42,000 prajna.
His surging telekinesis swept gently like a breeze over the sprawling mega-metropolis more than 3,000 kilometers across beneath his feet; swept past one after another building—some modern, some classically styled—man-made structures; swept over mortals and cultivators, and construction sites where technology and arrays were joined; swept over the training grounds of Myriad Phenomena Daoist School where energetic martial youths practiced staking; swept over the current Yun Meng Base City, home to 3.6 billion people.
Three hundred and sixty technological satellites engraved with array runes now floated above Base City in high orbit. Each mechanical eye beamed with a cold light, scanning the giant city below.
From time to time, invisible ripples would spread outward.
All demons and ghosts, nowhere to hide.
"Human society really has changed."
Lu Chenzhou sighed inwardly. Having survived the long darkness of the Great Catastrophe, humanity had combined arrays with technology, rapidly iterating and upgrading towards a wholly new era.
These satellites were the latest product of Daoist Science and Technology and Divine Martial Technology, called the Circulation Stars Supervision Array.
The Heavenly Observation Array could mimic the sound frequencies of the Dragon Roar and Tiger Roar Technique, sending out vibration waves every hour.
This was one of the greatest inventions of the new era.
Though Lu Chenzhou wasn’t involved in the main research, he provided the original theoretical foundation, and so was also listed as a founder.