Chapter 1795: Xuanming Valley

"I think I understand why you are the ultimate victor. It seems your strength extends far beyond just your cultivation level. The most important weapon a person possesses is always their mind and wisdom; I completely agree with that saying. And you are clearly the type I favor most. If you are willing to serve me and help me accomplish something, then within the imperial dynasty, I can share anything you desire with you."

In truth, the old emperor's words were somewhat exaggerated, but the more he spoke this way, the more Xu Yang understood the old man's immense ambition.

"Then allow me to guess. Your Majesty will likely appoint the three of us as generals to conquer the Xuanyu Dynasty, ordering us to lead the martial artist army into battle. Am I correct in my assumption?"

After Xu Yang finished speaking this time, the old emperor finally burst into laughter, throwing his head back.

"You truly are an exceptionally intelligent young man; such talent is rare, and I genuinely do not wish to let this opportunity slip away. As an emperor, I also cannot allow a talent like you to go to another imperial dynasty and become my adversary. Therefore, rather than a request to the three of you, consider this a mandatory order. However, the chance to receive such an appointment was earned through your merits, making it a relatively fair transaction after all. Just as you surmised, the Xuanyu Dynasty has been making moves in secret more than once, and they are preparing for a final battle within a month. After a month of preparation, all martial artist forces deploying for battle will be led by the three of you. You need not worry about other matters; simply focus on helping me eliminate all martial artist forces within the Xuanyu Dynasty's territory that are involved in the conflict. If you can help me complete this mission again, then the rewards awaiting you will exceed your wildest imagination."

Xu Yang saw no reason to decline the old emperor's offer. More importantly, Xu Yang vaguely felt that only by escalating the conflict to the level of two great imperial dynasties would the hidden martial arts forces, lying dormant in the shadows, finally emerge. That was the outcome Xu Yang most desired. Only then could he gain more opportunities to locate where the will of the Supreme God resided.

"As the saying goes, 'every common man has a share of responsibility for the rise and fall of an empire.' Since we are all subjects of the imperial dynasty, we naturally have an obligation to bear such responsibilities. Since Your Majesty trusts us, the three of us will certainly not disappoint you. However, for this upcoming month of preparation, we three will require absolute freedom. While the army needs to prepare, we martial artists also need sufficient time to accumulate our strength. I do not wish for anyone to disturb us during this period."

The old emperor had already prepared for this; with a slight wave of his hand, a subordinate presented three exquisitely crafted maps, inlaid with golden borders. Clearly, these maps contained the precise coordinates of the empire's three forbidden zones, which Xu Yang most coveted. They also featured exceptionally detailed markings.

The old emperor spoke slowly, "These three forbidden zones are places of certain death for any cultivators below the Dao Integration realm. The three of you must consider this carefully; rashly venturing there with your current strength would undoubtedly be dangerous."

Xu Yang smiled and shook his head. "Your Majesty, rest assured. I, Xu Yang, have never gone back on my word when it comes to promises. Let us meet again in a month."

With that, Xu Yang gently waved his palm, accepted the three maps, and without any lingering attachment, turned around and left the spacious royal palace hall with Long Kun and Qingya.

After the three had departed one by one, the high-ranking and influential court officials standing on both sides of the hall chattered amongst themselves for quite some time, then sent two representatives forward to pose a question.

"Your Majesty, those three are still young, just inexperienced youths with no practical combat experience. If they act so rashly, won't there be risks?"

The old emperor, however, seemed to have a completely different perspective, shaking his head gently.

"Rest assured," he said. "Those three young men are no ordinary individuals; they will certainly bring about the outcome I most desire. As for other responsibilities that should not fall upon the empire, they naturally won't burden us. This time, it is absolutely a sure-fire win for us."

Clearly, for such high-ranking and powerful emperors, they knew better than anyone how to maximize their own interests. What unknown aspects truly lay hidden behind this battle could perhaps only be judged after both sides officially commenced hostilities.

After leaving the Tiandu Imperial Dynasty, Xu Yang merely sent the Dragon Vein Totem to the Xuanhuang Sect to greet Xiao Hua and Ling Yao, the two girls. He then immediately headed with Long Kun and Qingya towards the direction of the three forbidden zones.

In fact, Xu Yang had an important objective in doing this: he wanted to forge his third personal divine artifact. He had been inspired by the phenomenon of martial cultivation and primordial power cultivation systems being able to merge, and he wished to create a special divine artifact that could transform its physical form at any time using the aura within his body.

Once formed, this divine artifact, capable of freely changing its form, would be put to many more uses by Xu Yang. Even if it merely transformed into a dagger, it could become a sharp blade to slit an enemy's throat. While swords are powerful, they still possess drawbacks that cannot be entirely compensated for. The third divine artifact Xu Yang intended to forge this time was designed to completely avoid such flaws. The exclusive artifact spirit Xu Yang chose for it was the sword spirit of the Lingxu Sword, which was all-encompassing and unconventional!

Among the three forbidden zones, the one closest to Tiandu was named Xuanming Valley. The map provided no indication of this place's origins, and even Qingya was not very familiar with this location, which had been forbidden throughout history. It was only after Xu Yang and the other two personally entered the valley that they finally understood the true meaning of the name "Xuanming."

This was actually a valley surrounded by two diametrically opposed attributes. The left side of the valley was perpetually covered in snow, while the right side presented a scene of gentle spring breezes, with lush grass and chirping orioles, where all living things thrived, nurturing an incredibly rich life force. This formed a stark contrast to the snow-covered, deathly silence of the valley's left side.

"Holy cow, Boss," Long Kun exclaimed. "This place doesn't look like a forbidden zone at all. I can't find any characteristics that would make it one. Such a rich life force isn't where life is buried, either."

While there seemed to be nothing wrong with Long Kun's words, Xu Yang could see through to the essence of this place from a different perspective.

"Indeed, as you said," Xu Yang replied, "but have either of you considered how such peculiar terrain was formed, and for what reason?"