Chapter 153: Xuanyuan Sword, The Jiang Family

Outside the mirror.

Watching the old Heavenly Emperor walking with his arm around Gu Changqing’s shoulder, the gathered cultivators were struck with astonishment.

Since Gu Changqing returned to the Heavenly Palace.

This old Heavenly Emperor had been endlessly cold toward his pitiable daughter and toward the generals under him who had returned alive.

Utterly indifferent.

Yet this same aloof, proud old Heavenly Emperor, someone whom the people dared not approach.

Displayed an unexpectedly warm attitude toward Gu Changqing!

Especially seeing the Heavenly Emperor with his arm around Gu Changqing’s shoulder, the cultivators gaped in disbelief.

Even Mu Nanzhi up in the sky was extremely stunned!

In her memories, her father had never shown such a posture.

Even when facing his closest daughter, he had never complained or spoken so much as a word about being tired!

Yet now it seemed her father placed boundless, unreserved trust in Gu Changqing!

If earlier she had thought her father’s closeness to Gu Changqing was a way to use him to accomplish certain things.

A method of manipulating others.

Now, that excuse no longer held up.

If he didn’t regard Gu Changqing as one of his dearest, how could he possibly say the word “tired”?

…

“Why do I feel like the old Heavenly Emperor and the Heavenly Emperor seem like brothers?”

“Yeah, yeah, I feel it too. But they’re obviously generations apart!”

The cultivators’ faces showed bewilderment.

Ye Chen, seeing the old Heavenly Emperor’s favorable attitude toward Gu Changqing, inexplicably felt a twinge of sourness in his heart.

He spoke, “What’s the use of being good? Later the Heavenly Emperor still suppressed and killed the old Heavenly Emperor, didn’t he? Truly like feeding a wolf that can never be domesticated.”

But when Ye Chen finished speaking, he found he received no response from any of the cultivators.

He turned his head in surprise and discovered the gathered cultivators were silent, as if they hadn’t heard him.

For a moment Ye Chen’s heart was a jumble of emotions.

He knew well that Gu Changqing’s expedition alongside the Dragon Clan outside the continent had struck a deep chord in the cultivators’ hearts.

Because of that, even if the cultivators would never loudly demand releasing the Heavenly Emperor, the hatred in their hearts toward the Heavenly Emperor had likely been reduced by an unknown degree.

…

Inside the mirror.

As the old Heavenly Emperor pointed at that millstone, Gu Changqing’s gaze followed upward.

Upon closer inspection he realized.

This overwhelmingly sacred millstone, like a product of the Heavenly Dao, was actually broken.

No, it couldn’t exactly be called broken.

At the center of the millstone there was a crack, and that crack had been filled with an indescribable pattern of regulatory dao resonance.

It was easy to see that the resonance did not belong to the millstone itself, but had been added later.

The dao laws were exceedingly obscure, endless divine patterns glimmering, the revealed aura as magnificent and vast as a true ancestor of the Great Way.

But Gu Changqing was surprised to feel that this aura was somewhat similar to the aura on the old Heavenly Emperor.

Bang!

Outside the realm shrouded by the millstone, it seemed some terrifying existence was striking against this fearsome millstone.

With each impact the millstone trembled slightly, and wisps of malevolent qi burst from that crack into the Beixuan Continent, but were then swallowed and submerged by the immortal mists that shrouded the Heavenly Palace.

The old Heavenly Emperor pondered for a moment and slowly said, “This millstone is the core of my Heavenly Palace, and also the seat of the regulatory dao resonance of the Beixuan Continent.”

“Put simply, it can be understood as the foundation for the formation of the Beixuan Continent, the source of its qi laws. Though the formation history of the Beixuan Continent across the eons cannot be traced, I suspect the original Beixuan Continent formed by relying on this millstone.”

After first explaining the millstone’s origins, the old Heavenly Emperor continued, “I suppose, having gone to the Dragon Clan, you now have some understanding of those outer domain beings?”

“The assault you felt just now actually originates from the outer domain. What kind of race it is we do not know, but we can surmise: this race is likely no weaker than the race that created the Dragon Clan’s temporal rift.”

“And the dao resonance at that broken crack is a secret technique I used to seal it with.”

“However, this method cannot withstand the assault for long. At most a hundred years, and the fissure will be forced open! When that happens, those outer domain beings will flood into the Beixuan Continent. The consequences, you can surely imagine.”

“And the task I want you to undertake is intimately connected with this millstone.”

The old Heavenly Emperor paused. The playful expression left his face and he showed a rare seriousness toward Gu Changqing. “The second matter: I want you to make a trip to the Jiang family…”

The Jiang family!

A chill ran through Gu Changqing’s heart.

Jiang Minghuang!

The name of this brother surfaced in his mind.

He was no longer the youth he had been. Having traveled the mortal world for so many years, he now had understanding of this world.

There was only one clan in the world with the surname Jiang, and only one clan that dared to bear the name Jiang!

And that family was the noble clan to which Jiang Minghuang belonged!

A Longevity Family so exalted it was terrifying!

The old Heavenly Emperor ignored Gu Changqing’s reaction and continued aloud, “This millstone was once whole, but in the ancient ages it suddenly became fractured.”

“The fallen fragment plunged into the Beixuan Continent and was obtained by a Xuanyuan Great Emperor.”

“After that Great Emperor acquired the fragment, he forged a divine weapon called the Xuanyuan Sword!”

“However, later that Xuanyuan Great Emperor mysteriously disappeared, leaving the Xuanyuan Sword behind in the Xuanyuan ancestral land!”

“Your mission is to retrieve the Xuanyuan Sword. Only the Xuanyuan Sword can restore the millstone, and only by restoring the millstone can we resist the outer domain onslaught!”

The old Heavenly Emperor paused, then continued.

“The Xuanyuan lineage has deep roots. Through the eons it branched into three lines in later generations: Jiang, Ji, and Zhen families.”

“The Jiang family is the orthodox Xuanyuan line, and thus has long guarded the Xuanyuan ancestral land.”

“Moreover, within the Xuanyuan ancestral land there dwells an old monster.”

“That old monster was originally a sword retainer at the side of the Xuanyuan Great Emperor. After the Great Emperor’s disappearance, this sword retainer sealed himself within the ancestral land to guard the Xuanyuan Sword.”

“Time passed, the ages have rolled on, and the sword retainer of old is no longer what he was. Now he has achieved strength approaching Immortality, so even I find him difficult to oppose!”

Gu Changqing listened to the Heavenly Emperor’s words, raised his head, a trace of surprise crossing his eyes.

The old Heavenly Emperor seemed to notice, glanced at Gu Changqing, and chuckled lightly. “After your time among the Dragon Clan, your cultivation level has greatly fallen, barely reaching the edge of Supreme.”

“This level of strength is indeed a bit weak, however…”

The old Heavenly Emperor gave a meaningful smile. “I believe you can do it, Second… ah, I mean, Changqing.”