Imperial God Emperor

The Stone Pagoda. 

The lights that slowly revolved around the inner walls of the stone tower were like thousands of thumb-sized snakes, and the rapidly moving formation markings were fading away under a strange guidance.

As though it had suddenly perceived something, the protection formations in the space also dissipated. The stone tower suddenly went clear and bright.

The figure that had been sitting on the jade-coloured glass mat for half a month finally slowly opened his eyes.

As Ye Qingyu’s eyes opened, feeling the warm rays of light in the stone tower, a slight hint of joy lit up on his face.

When the last trace of violet glow vanished between his fingers, he slowly rose to his feet and breathed a sigh of relief.  

“Haha, first level of Immortal Step boundary, I have finally reached it!”

He gently stretched about his body, carefully feeling all the new minute changes within his body from the inside to the outside, and from the top to bottom. 

“It's a strange feeling that’s quite different from the previous ascension...”

Ye Qingyu pulled the corners of his mouth back to a slight smile, as though this new strength and perception allowed him a deeper understanding of the secrets and mysteries of this endless world.

Now, his sixth sense and perception ability can reach far beyond two thousand meters. His recognition of all the things in heaven and earth had shifted from a silhouette to an increasingly clear figure. 

Ye Qingyu’s divine senses operated at his will, feeling all living things around the stone tower.

As though everything were close by, even the wind-blown vegetation, the changing of the rolling clouds, and even the sound of wild flowers blooming in the mountains, these were all things he was able to feel very distinctly

“As expected...” 

Ye Qingyu darted his eyes around, gazing at the shape of the world in his sea of consciousness. He then nodded slightly in understanding.

He remembered that in the Underground Moon Immortal Palace he heard Old Fish mention that the Immortal Step boundary was a dividing line of martial arts cultivation.

Before that, all martial artists’ six senses and perception of the world was that the mountain is a mountain, and the water is water. But after stepping into the Immortal Step boundary, the mountain was no longer a mountain and the water was no longer water..

Of course, it was not that everything in the real world underwent such changes. 

This change existed only in the sixth sense of the divine senses of an Immortal Step expert.

Ye Qingyu carefully studied a mountain range that his divine sense had arrived at. 

The shape of the mountain was no longer the forest and soil seen in the past, like the outer layer had been uncovered. What he saw were the veins in the depths of the mountains.

A number of winding brown-coloured veins, like the blood vessels in the human body, seemed as though it were supporting up the essence of the entire mountain.

“It seems I could see the spirit of the mountains...” Ye Qingyu carefully studied the dense web-like veins, feeling the power of law within the veins faintly surging. 

In the distance.

“This is?” 

A long-flowing river that was no longer water-shaped drew Ye Qingyu's attention.

In the river before him, there were wisps of hair-like luster, like spiritual fishes with their own consciousness flowing along with the tide. They flowed along with the stream, but it was also like it was the original form of water. The real river water was formed from these thousands of strands converging together. 

Not only the mountain and water, but the wind, clouds, leaves, and even all living things of the universe... 

At this time, everything was no longer the appearance seen with the naked eye. It instead took the form of vein lines, the energy gathered by the inextricably linked power of laws, as though the living things of the universe were made up of these thousands of changing veins. 

The mysteries of the power of laws of the universe were like a thin layer of paper before Ye Qingyu. With the slightest touch, it would be completely exposed in front of him.

The mountains were not mountains. 

The water was not water.

This was the power of the Immortal Step boundary. 

Ye Qingyu breathed a sigh of relief, retracting his divine senses.

He was very satisfied and delighted with his current perception ability.

With a deep breath, he began to look on the inside.

Ye Qingyu felt the flowing yuan qi within his body running freely like rivers gushing to the tip of each branch. A very carefree and strange feeling enveloped his body, as though his hair, fingertips, as well as skin were all filled with a joyful feeling.

In the dantian world. 

The yuan qi power was still surging, the tremendous waves almost solidifying. Exuding a violet light, the yuan qi true-self doppelganger was still firmly standing on the first immortal step where streams of water had gathered. 

“That... the yuan qi true self doppelganger also transformed.” 

Ye Qingyu looked at the giant body faintly flickering with a thin ice-like light, his heart trembling. He immediately grew excited.  

“Ice armour?!” 

The yuan qi giant, under the effect of the ice that he cultivated, was gradually covered in a layer of icy armour. The armour, set off by the crystal clear pure waves, seemed incomparably dazzling, invincible, and every piece of the scales had a faint icy light lingering around, like an illusion.

The yuan qi giant radiated an imposing aura. 

His every subtle action could send the whole sea crazily surging, and the turn of his hand lifted the monstrous wave into the sky, connecting the sky and ground. 

He seemed to be the king of the entire vast expanse of the dantian world. 

“In this way, the strength of my yuan qi can be moved unobstructed at my will...” Ye Qingyu controlled his mind, and the yuan qi giant put his hands together. A sparkling and translucent wave immediately produced an imposing and majestic trembling sound, slamming toward the vast expanse of the ocean.  

Ye Qingyu's eyes flashed with surprise. 

His clasped hand unfolded, eyes staring with fixed concentration until a substance-like white light gushed out. Like hundreds of rivers had converged on his palm, a huge pillar of yuan qi shot out from the palm of his hand.

“Unexpectedly, after stepping into the Immortal Step boundary, under the control of the yuan qi true-self doppelganger, the power of the yuan qi in the dantian world, whether it is the strength or the speed of operation of yuan qi, have been increased several times...” His palms gently drew closer, a lightning flashed, and the huge pillar of yuan qi instantly dissipated, vanishing completely as if it had never existed in the void. 

Ye Qingyu controlled his mind to send consciousness power surging toward the limbs, blood vessels, and all bones of his body.

There was strange purple-coloured blood flowing in the veins, which was much deeper than before in the Underground Immortal Moon Palace.

There were also faint movements of purple currents around the expanding gap between the muscles, like a little spirit was constantly moving up and down, dancing between the strong and powerful muscles. 

“Huh?” 

Ye Qingyu looked at the markings adhered to the bones, noticing that they were much clearer than before, and increasingly concentrated, covering a much wider area. 

He stretched out his hand, unfolding his fingers in the void. 

His body strength surged, each inch of the bones and tendons all drove to a new boundary. All of the power was gathered to the fingertips, when suddenly his fingers grasped tightly, and his powerful physical body strength increased once again.

“This is... 7 million pounds of strength...”

Ye Qingyu felt his fingers like five giant ancient mountains pressing toward his palm, and instantly made a judgment on his current physical improvement. 

Now that the flow of his divine sense was completed, Ye Qingyu could finally focus his attention.

The endlessly surging force that seemed like it could tear apart the earth had at last gradually calmed down.

Through this experience, he evidently felt that the connection between his physical body and consciousness was growing stronger

Because through the murals of the [Cloud Top Cauldron], his consciousness power had already reached the nine steps of the Immortal Step boundary, while his body was still at the peak of Heaven Ascension. In other words it was as though an immemorial divine mountain was placed on a little boat. 

But now that he had completely entered the Immortal Step boundary, his physical strength had greatly improved and had been refined, and his control of his consciousness power had become more and more smooth and complementary. 

The connection and compatibility between consciousness and physical body was related to whether the martial artist could really display the greatest complementary strength. Ye Qingyu had always extremely valued this point. 

“With my present strength, if there is a chance to battle a Demon Spider Prince again, there is no need to bring out the [Blood Drinker Sword] for me to win against him.” A confident glint flashed in Ye Qingyu’s eyes. 

With a will from his heart.

The boundary walls that Ye Qingyu had set up in the courtyard of the stone tower were like giant flowers blooming, their petals unfolding and then dissipating in the breeze of the void. 

“The training period is a bit too long, I don't know what's going on in the city...”  With this thought, he walked out of the stone tower. 

The stone tower gate was pushed open. 

He stepped out.

But the moment Ye Qingyu stepped foot out of the stone tower, his brows suddenly scrunched together.

Almost right away, he felt a strangeness in the environment.

Quiet. 

A very strange silence. 

Although in sight was still the courtyard outside the stone tower, but there was a strange rippling in the void. It was sometimes slightly distorted, sometimes swaying in the wind, wrapping round the stone tower. 

Outside the courtyard, the view of birds, plants and trees was very clear, as if almost within reach. But all sounds, whether it was the snow, wind, or cicadas chirping had all strangely disappeared.

It was as though he had stepped into a very silent space of the real world. 

In the courtyard, there was not the slightest sound.

Suddenly. 

The space at the courtyard door was twisted. 

A figure emerged from a water-like ripple.

Ye Qingyu saw a young man dressed in a red-and-black robe, with a white round-face and an inexplicable light smile looking at him strangely.  

“The Prince of the Demon Spider clan, Mojin!” 

Ye Qingyu was startled. 

He recognized the round-faced youngster at one glance. It was the young Demon Spider Prince who he ran into at the heavenly gate training zone when he first entered Clear River Domain. 

Why would he come here? 

During the war between the Human Race and the Demon Spider Race, a prince of the Demon Spider Race had silently appeared outside the stone tower where he was training. Several questions surfaced in Ye Qingyu’s mind. 

In the blink of an eye, Ye Qingyu restored his calm.

Given his current strength, there was no need to fear Mojin anymore. 

Ye Qingyu indifferently looked at the round-faced Prince Mojin, and did not take the initiative to speak first——