Chapter 246: Di Qing in Seclusion

Qingdu, the capital of the Yanfeng Ancient Kingdom, was the most transcendent city. No powerful individual on the Origin Continent, including the three alien races, dared to act presumptuously there!

Inside Emperor Qing Palace at this moment.

"No one is allowed to disturb the Master during his seclusion." A puppet creature stood outside the palace gate, looking coldly at the eight figures before it. Emperor Fu and the other seven Emperors had gathered there.

"Something major has happened this time," Emperor Fu began. "One of our Yanfeng Ancient Kingdom's thirteen Emperors, Emperor Yuan, has been killed. This is no small matter. You must report it to your master immediately." Although they had all sent messages to Emperor Qing, he consistently ignored all communications while in seclusion.

"You servant, hurry and report to your master!" Emperor Yan snapped.

"Please report it quickly," Emperor Jiufeng urged.

The puppet creature looked at the eight Emperors, its face expressionless. It shook its head and said, "My master commanded that while he is in seclusion, no matter how important the matter, he is not to be disturbed."

"You..." Emperor Chu couldn't help but say, "You servant, didn't you hear Emperor Yuan was killed?"

"Even if all Emperors were killed, my master is not to be disturbed," the puppet creature stated coldly. "It will absolutely execute its master's orders; no one can change that!"

The eight Emperors were exasperated upon hearing this. What kind of talk was that? Emperor Qing wouldn't care even if all Emperors died?

"This puppet servant is too rigid; it's impossible to reason with it," Emperor Kong added.

"Forget it. Emperor Qing must have something important going on," Emperor Fu said. "Let's go see the Ancestor instead." Although the eight Emperors were quite displeased, they didn't dare force their way into Emperor Qing's seclusion area and could only leave reluctantly.

***

Within a hidden world in the Yanfeng Ancient Kingdom, there was an ancient, rustic cave dwelling. The eight Emperors stood respectfully at its entrance, not daring to show the slightest surprise.

"Reporting to the Ancestor: a black-robed powerhouse, accompanied by an old servant, killed Emperor Yuan, forcing him to choose reincarnation," Emperor Fu reported respectfully from the cave entrance. "This black-robed powerhouse is incredibly strong; even the eight of us combined couldn't defeat him. He is suspected to be a being above a God King. Please instruct us on how our Yanfeng Ancient Kingdom should deal with this black-robed powerhouse."

After Emperor Fu finished speaking, the other seven Emperors also stood respectfully by, patiently awaiting a response.

For a long time, the cave dwelling remained silent, with no response.

"I've reported it, but the Ancestor hasn't responded. He must also be in seclusion," Emperor Fu said, looking at his companions. "According to custom, when the Ancestor emerges from seclusion, he will naturally know everything."

"Yes," the other seven Emperors said helplessly. If the Ancestor's clone were awake, he would respond immediately. But if he was in seclusion, it was hard to say when he would respond.

"Let's go," the eight Emperors could only retreat, not daring to step inside the ancient cave dwelling.

***

All major powers on the Origin Continent detected that Emperor Yuan's karmic ties had completely vanished! This meant Emperor Yuan was either completely dead or had been forced to reincarnate. This was an enormous event.

"Emperor Yuan is dead?" a middle-aged man wondered as he arrived at the previous battle site. Traversing the past timeline, he easily found the scene before the battle: Demon Lord Tie Xiao in his hidden palace, and Emperor Yuan concealed nearby. Suddenly, the surrounding scene became obscured.

"The culprit is at least at the Ultimate Realm," the middle-aged man mused in surprise. "Perfected in the Grand Dao, leaving no trace."

"That battle caused immense commotion. I only saw from afar the collision between the boundless Blood River and the grand formation of the eight Emperors," the middle-aged man thought. "I wonder who the culprit is."

"Interesting," he murmured. "Daring to kill Emperor Yuan, showing no respect for the Ancestors of the two Ancient Kingdoms." The middle-aged man was quite curious.

The clash between the boundless Blood River and the Primordial Space Eight-Phase Formation was terrifyingly powerful, yet also incredibly difficult to observe. On the entire Origin Continent, only a few beings, such as the three alien races, the Lord of Myriad Worlds, and the Realm Beast of Tianmu Kingdom, could glimpse a few traces. However, no one had seen the culprit's appearance. Various factions investigating the truth could only conclude that Emperor Yuan was killed, and the perpetrator was at least an Ultimate Realm existence!

"Emperor Yuan, possessing a set of powerful secret treasures, died in just two or three breaths?"

"Even with eight Emperors of the Yanfeng Ancient Kingdom working together, they couldn't save him?"

This news also spread among the Monarchs of the Thunder Ancient Kingdom. These Monarchs felt a tremor in their hearts. On the Origin Continent, the two Ancient Kingdoms appeared to stand as equals. However, in terms of deterrent power, the Thunder Ancient Kingdom was slightly inferior to the Yanfeng Ancient Kingdom, which, after all, had Emperor Qing.

"If that culprit targeted any Monarch, they could easily kill them, right?"

"This person is very likely a being above a God King! Just a single glance might severely wound our minds, driving us mad and out of control."

These Monarchs were uneasy. Their cultivation of Primordial bloodlines had a clear flaw: when facing a being above a God King, even a single gaze could make them lose control.

"For a while, we must act more cautiously and quickly ascertain the culprit's identity." These Monarchs became much more vigilant.

In the following days, the entire Origin Continent was abuzz with trepidation! The once arrogant royal families of the two Ancient Kingdoms, who had been high and mighty, significantly reined in their domineering attitudes, and the wanton consumption of billions of lives completely ceased! Everyone knew that the culprit was someone who abhorred evil.

"An Emperor of our Yanfeng Ancient Kingdom being killed—this is the first time in history."

"It's been more than half an epoch since Emperor Yuan was killed, and there's been no news of his return. Could he be completely dead?"

"The eight Emperors personally intervened to save him, which did buy some time. Emperor Yuan had enough time to reincarnate! He probably doesn't dare to return to the royal family, fearing continued pursuit by the culprit."

A group of Marquises from Emperor Chu's lineage gathered, chatting about the matter. Currently, the death of Emperor Yuan was the hot topic of discussion at gatherings of the two Ancient Kingdoms' royal families! The Emperor Chu lineage and the Emperor Yuan lineage did not have a good relationship, so these Marquises spoke with great delight.

"That culprit abhors evil, but he wouldn't even deign to look at us, mere Chaos Realm members of the royal family," Emperor Chu Yu said with a laugh. The power gap was too immense. Ordinary royal family members were merely spectating. The truly uneasy ones were the God Kings of the second God King stage within the royal family, the Emperors and Monarchs, and those royal family members burdened with great sins!

***

Emperor Qing Palace, East Pavilion.

Rumble~~~ The doors of the ancient grand hall finally opened. Emperor Qing, the most transcendent of the Yanfeng Ancient Kingdom's thirteen Emperors, had finally emerged from seclusion. This news immediately reached the ears of all the other Emperors. Immediately, Emperor Fu, Emperor Yan, Emperor Xi, and others, whether in their true forms or as avatars, all rushed there.

"Please, everyone, take a seat," Emperor Qing said from his high seat of honor. The eleven Emperors all sat down, assuming relatively low postures. They knew very well that while they all appeared to be Emperors, in reality, it wouldn't be long before they would have to leave the Origin Continent to venture out. Their strength compared to Emperor Qing's was vastly different, not on the same level at all.

"Emperor Qing, you must know about the situation," Emperor Fu said. "Tell us, how should we respond now?"

"Haha..." Emperor Qing, seated there, began to laugh. "With Emperor Yuan's death, our Yanfeng Ancient Kingdom now has twelve Emperors."

Emperor Fu, Emperor Yan, and the other eleven Emperors were somewhat speechless. Emperor Qing was still laughing about such a matter?

"Has Emperor Yuan not returned to the royal family since his reincarnation?" Emperor Qing asked again. A reincarnated identity was uncontrollable; considering the number of beings on the Origin Continent, reincarnation into a tribal being in the wilderness was the most probable outcome. Once Emperor Yuan's realm reached a certain level, he could quickly recover his strength. And he could reunite with the royal family! Confirming his identity would be relatively easy, for instance, through the Ultimate Realm secret arts Emperor Yuan knew or the detailed amount of merit he owed the clan. It would be simple to verify his identity.

"He has not returned," Emperor Fu stated. "He owes too much to the clan and doesn't have enough merit to exchange for sufficient resources to cultivate an Ultimate Realm life form again."

"That's quite clever," Emperor Qing nodded. "As long as he doesn't reveal it himself, no one will know his reincarnated identity, which makes him safest."

Emperor Yan also asked, "Emperor Qing, are we just going to endure this matter?"

"It's just a minor incident; why pay it too much mind?" Emperor Qing laughed, treating it as mere entertainment.

"A minor incident?" Emperor Wu, who was nearby, couldn't help but interject. "One of thirteen Emperors has been killed! This affects the entire royal family of the Yanfeng Ancient Kingdom."

Emperor Qing's gaze fell upon Emperor Wu. Emperor Wu's heart trembled, and he dared not speak further.

"No one died completely; they all reincarnated. What's the big deal?" Emperor Qing's gaze swept over the eleven Emperors present. "You've had it too good on the Origin Continent. What is this minor setback?"

Emperor Qing had a clone on the Origin Continent, but he had actually begun venturing outside long ago. The outside world—that was where one fought for survival in the darkness! That was where true peril lay! Out in the world, at best, a clone would die, and all the precious treasures accumulated outside would be lost. At worst... the clone connected to the source world would completely perish. The Ancestors of both Ancient Kingdoms, when venturing out, were also extremely cautious and fearful. In Emperor Qing's view, the Origin Continent was too safe! These Emperors were too comfortable.

"Yes," Emperor Fu said. "Compared to venturing outside, what happens on the Origin Continent is indeed a minor matter. However, we still need a plan of action."

"The combined power of the eight of you had already reached the limit of the Origin Continent," Emperor Qing said leisurely. "With the help of formation secret treasures, your moves were also more profound than those of a God King. Under such circumstances, you were still suppressed by that black-robed individual."

"The black robe either possesses a very high cultivation realm himself or he utilized an extremely powerful secret treasure! In any case, his boundless Blood River realm is superior to your formation." Emperor Qing shook his head. "Even if I were to act, I would be roughly on par with him. Even if I gained the upper hand, I couldn't do anything to him."

"Under the influence of the Origin Continent's rules, even the Ancestor's intervention would be ineffective against him," Emperor Qing stated.

The eleven Emperors fell silent.

"Don't clamor for war and killing," Emperor Qing said, looking at the eleven Emperors. "When you leave the Origin Continent in the future, you will encounter many powerful individuals. You must learn to make friends, or at least not make too many enemies."

"If this black-robed individual has reached a level above a God King, making him invincible on the Origin Continent, then we must find a way to adapt to his existence," Emperor Qing laughed. "If you can't kill him, you have to adapt to him."

The eleven Emperors understood the reasoning, but the Yanfeng Ancient Kingdom's royal family was accustomed to being dominant. Now they had to adapt to this black-robed person?

"We are willing to befriend him, but what if he remains hostile and tries to kill us?" Emperor Yan asked.

Emperor Qing smiled faintly: "If we actively try to befriend him and he still refuses to show respect, then we've made an enemy. Once we're enemies, if we encounter him outside the Origin Continent, we'll kill him every time!" Outside, while making friends was important, killing was also crucial. Strength and status were earned through slaughter.

"The foundation of our Yanfeng Ancient Kingdom is on the Origin Continent," Emperor Qing said, looking at the eleven Emperors. "So, we must try to befriend him. After all, if we truly fall out, while the Ancestor and I can pursue him outside, he could cause chaos within the Origin Continent."

"A mutually destructive outcome is not advisable," Emperor Qing stated.

"Yes," the eleven Emperors responded.