Imperial God Emperor

"What?

"So, the Storm Platform is actually the Chaos Demon Emperor's discarded heart?"

This theory made Ye Qingyu extremely shocked.

To be honest, Ye Qingyu had felt for a long time that the Storm Platform was very strange. Not only was it virtually indestructible, but it also consumed fresh blood. He thought that it was part of some sinister plan of the Greater One Sect—he had never imagined that it could have originated from the Chaos Demon Emperor. He realized that the sect had been using the platform merely as an arena for combat all this while, only activating it when it was time for the Storm Sword Duel Gathering. Obviously, they also did not know its actual history. As for the previous sect that had owned the platform before being destroyed by the Greater One Sect, Ye Qingyu was not able to determine if they knew about its true origin or not.

Suddenly, he quickly realized that when he entered the [Infinite Arsenal] in the Alliance of Domains earlier, he had seen a huge gate and a platform at the center of the arsenal that seemed to be of a similar make to the Storm Platform. Could they have also been body parts discarded by the Chaos Demon Emperor? Does this also mean that the anonymous martial emperor that created the [Infinite Arsenal] was the Chaos Demon Emperor himself?

This would be hard to prove.

The [Infinite Arsenal] was created in a different era than the period of the glorious reign of the Chaos Demon Emperor.

It was a puzzle.

Everything was a puzzle to him now.

Ye Qingyu shook his head and cast all of these wild guesses out of his mind for the time being.

"Could the message that you got from this Chaos Demon Heart be connected to the Reincarnation Hall of the Chaos Demon Emperor?" Ye Qingyu could not help asking.

"That's right. The Chaos Demon Heart was the heart discarded by the Chaos Demon Emperor after his ninety-nineth reincarnation. It could be said that he had reached the peak of his martial skills at that point, and that the body part discarded by him during that reincarnation was the strongest compared to the others. Therefore, there's a huge secret hidden within this heart. Perhaps it even contains the secrets of the emperor before his ninety-nineth reincarnation. Even though I don't know why he didn't retrieve such an important piece of himself back, to me it's the best material for refining one's body. Although I've come to understand the intricacies of its form during these four years, I've not been able to completely grasp the entirety of its profundity. I only managed to understand some of them, especially the parts about the Reincarnation Hall of the Chaos Demon Emperor. As such, I could deduce the time and place when the hall would resurface again," said the million-year-old spirit.

"Exactly what sort of secret is hidden in the Reincarnation Hall that could create a Great Emperor? Also, what does the 'Opportunity to turn Emperor' refer to? Don't tell me the Chaos Demon Emperor is passing on his title?" Ye Qingyu asked one question after another, as if he was a curious newborn who knew nothing about the world around him.

"Hahaha, of course he's not passing on his title. No matter how powerful a martial emperor is, passing on one's title to someone else will not instantly make that person become as skilled. The Great Dao is vast, and the people from later generations might not be able to go along the same path as their forebears did. This is simply because their forebears had forged their own paths, and those from later generations would only be blindly following what they did. How could something as difficult to attain as the title of martial emperor be conferred on someone that merely mimicked the actions of his forebears? From the beginning of time, every martial emperor forged his or her own unique path. If the Chaos Demon Reincarnation Scripture, the Chaos Demon Emperor's lifetime work, was the only item inside the Reincarnation Hall, he would not have impacted future generations as much as he did, nor would there be so many martial emperors created. As such, I can conclude that the 'Opportunity to become Emperor' does not merely mean taking over his mantle," said the million-year-old spirit while laughing. It explained patiently to Ye Qingyu, as if it wanted to counsel and remind him that he had to forge his own path if he wanted to reach the peak of the martial way.

Ye Qingyu was no fool, and naturally, he could understand the motives of this being. He thanked it profusely for its advice.

He could not help but question it further, however, "Since the 'opportunity' doesn't simply mean taking over the mantle of the Chaos Demon Emperor, what could it mean?" He was really trying to get to the bottom of things, and he only did so because he felt extremely close to the spirit, as if they were kin. As such, he was not worried and spoke his mind, something he would not do if it were another stranger.

"About that... even I don't know. The person that knows the answer has either become a martial emperor or has died. There have been so many legends over the years, and I don't think they're all made up. Before I met with my mishap, there were already tales of the Chaos Demon Emperor's Reincarnation Hall, and no one doubted them during my time. I had the fortune to live in a glorious period where the Reincarnation Hall appeared in the human world. There was endless bloodshed because of it; many tried to take it as their own. Dozens of quasi-emperors fought in the skies, and six great domains were ripped apart as a result of their terrible battle. They fought tooth and nail over the hall, and six of them died..." The spirit sighed as it recollected this part. "The fearsome scenes are still fresh in my memory. Out of the four surviving quasi-emperors, one retreated after suffering injuries, while the other three entered the Reincarnation Hall of the Chaos Demon Emperor. That ended the struggle, but no one ever heard of any living being crowned as emperor after that. I'm afraid that all three died in the hall. Think about it—quasi-emperors are the strongest beings in the human world, second only to true emperors. They have mastered the Dao and can sense destiny, as well as being able to calculate the right moment to do certain things. If even they believed the legend of 'opportunity' was to be found within the Reincarnation Hall, then it must be true."

"Wow... there were ten quasi-emperors at that time? And they ripped apart the space of six great domains? That's... really scary," replied Ye Qingyu, feeling fearful.

That incident had occurred millions of years ago, but Ye Qingyu could still feel the fear of the onlookers as he heard this being describe the battle nonchalantly. To him, witnessing ten quasi-emperors battling each other and ripping open the space of other domains was a legendary spectacle.

"That wasn't anything special, just ten quasi-emperors fighting one another. The Vast Thousand Domains are boundless, and there are millions of domains. There can only be one Great Emperor, but many quasi-emperors. I believe that there were some of them who did not show themselves during that time, for whatever reasons. Even in today's age, do you think there's only one quasi-emperor? You're wrong. They're hiding themselves and unwilling to fight over trivial matters with the other humans. They'll only rise when something big happens, and when it's the right time for them to emerge..." said the spirit confidently.

"What? Are you telling me that there are many quasi-emperors alive in today's Vast Thousand Domain, senior?"

Ye Qingyu was a little shocked to hear the spirit's words. This meant that there were other quasi-emperors in the world apart from Li Xiaofei, and that was news to him.

Li Xiaofei had stood head and shoulders above the other martial artists of the Vast Thousand Domains, and Ye Qingyu had never heard of anyone who was on par with him. The human quasi-emperor was the only person whose reputation withstood the test of time, but yet the spirit's claims could also be true. The Great Emperor was responsible for carrying out the will of the heavens, and there could only be one of them at any one time—one had to pass on before the next could rise. Quasi-emperors, on the other hand, were only somewhat responsible for executing divine will, therefore it was a real possibility that there could be two or more of them.

"Of course," replied the million-year-old spirit.

Ye Qingyu remained silent for a while.

He needed time to process the news which he had just received today.

"You just said earlier, senior, that quasi-emperors could predict how things in the world would turn out, and that it was from such a method that they knew about when the Reincarnation Hall of the Chaos Demon Emperor would appear. You also said that there were many of them in the world. Doesn't that imply that new quasi-emperors will rise from the recent bloodshed that happened in the Clear River Domain? Wouldn't they rush here, and wouldn't there be a repeat of the old battle, resulting in domains being ripped apart and countless lives being taken?" Ye Qingyu asked. It was his deduction, but he wished that it would not actually happen, as there were many humans living in the Clear River Domain. It was one of the domains in the Vast Thousand Domains that had the densest population of humans.

"If I'm not mistaken, you're correct. When the quasi-emperors first engage, they'll still be mindful about not causing harm to innocent bystanders, but once they get consumed with winning the opportunity to become a true emperor, they'll definitely cause wanton destruction to their surroundings. This was also the reason I told you to evacuate anyone close to you from the Clear River Domain. It's getting close to the day when the Reincarnation Hall of the Chaos Demon Emperor will re-emerge," said the spirit with a sigh. "I estimate that it'll appear anywhere within one to three months."

"Do you know where it'll appear, senior?" asked Ye Qingyu.

Today, his preconceived notions about the world had been shattered again and again, and he was surprised again and again. By now, he had pretty much lost nearly all of his ability to think and could only question the spirit out of instinct.

"About that... I don't know. Even though I've refined this Chaos Demon Emperor's heart, I still haven't completely merged with it, and the information I have is limited. Furthermore, I only wish to remold my physical body, I don't wish to know all of the secrets of the Chaos Demon Emperor," said the ancient spirit. "I have my own way and don't wish to know how other people did it. I think it's better if I didn't anyway. In this way, I wouldn't be interfered with and I won't take the wrong path."

It spoke incredibly confidently.

Even though Ye Qingyu did not know how powerful this being truly was in its prime, from the way it dismissed the secrets of the Chaos Demon Emperor, he could deduce that it was at least at the quasi-emperor level, or even... higher.

"When I just arrived, I was ambushed at the outskirts of the Eight Peaks. The skirmishers were members of the Greater One Sect, and they wore black armor. They were also adept at hiding in the Void. From what I gather, the Greater One Sect does not possess such skills or personnel. Since you've already been here for four years, do you know where they come from, senior?" Ye Qingyu asked as he exhaled a huge breath of air. He had now turned his focus from legends and secrets of the past to matters of the present.

"Black-armored assailants who came from the dark. I believe they're from beyond the Clear River Realm. Once, when the era of demons and gods was waning, they were powerful. Their technique was mysterious, and no one knew where they came from. Their victims even included demons and gods, but those that you've met are largely inferior to the assassins of that forgotten era. I don't know if they had descendants, but obviously, some factions have already gotten wind of the re-emergence of the Reincarnation Hall and have begun to move. I'm afraid that in the days to come, any martial artist with the power to take part in the fight for the hall will congregate here..." The ancient spirit predicted confidently. "Also, if I'm not mistaken, an ancient monster that has been dormant for thousands of years has already arrived in the Clear River Domain but still hasn't shown itself."

Is he referring to the assassins in black armor?

Ye Qingyu thought, secretly agreeing.

They were extremely evil and strange. The unknown assailants were a force similar to Song Xiaojun's Unmoving City of Darkness in the past with only some slight distinctions. It was also due to this reason that Ye Qingyu followed them closely.

"How about it, young fellow. After we've spoken about so many things, are you feeling up to the task of taking part in the fight to become an emperor?" asked the ancient spirit as it laughed loudly.

Me?

Ye Qingyu was slightly stunned.