246: Chapter 246 The Empress's Decree Shakes the Heavens

In the sky, the Golden Crow hung like a giant eye, casting down light that was not warm but a scorching heat that burned all things, making Su Changge's eyelids sting with pain.

He struggled to open his eyes, his vision a blur of gold and white. The intense dizziness left by the spatial turbulence washed over his Divine Soul like a tide, nearly causing him to sink back into unconsciousness.

Beneath him was soft yellow earth, burning hot from the exposure to the blazing sun. He tried to move his body, and a sharp pain of being crushed and then reassembled immediately shot through his limbs; every inch of his bones and muscles groaned under the unbearable burden.

After a long time, he managed to gather a sliver of strength, propping himself up with his palms against the cracked earth and barely managing to sit up.

The moon-white Daoist robe he wore, which once symbolized his status as the head of the Taixuan Sect, had been reduced to tattered strips by the shearing force of time and space. His exposed skin was covered in countless tiny wounds, mixed with sand and dried grass clippings, leaving him in a wretched state.

The first thing he did was reach into his robes.

The sensation was still there. The marching rations he had pilfered from the Blood Clan's armory, the beast-skin pouch filled with fresh water, and the few Low-Grade Spirit Stones that were hard currency even in the Blood Abyss Realm were all safe and sound.

Su Changge's tense mind relaxed slightly.

Since his external possessions were still with him, it meant he still had a slim chance of survival in this dangerous and unknown land.

He leaned against a giant rock eroded with countless holes and regulated his breathing for nearly half an hour before his churning blood calmed down. Then, he called out in his heart.

During the spatial turbulence, the System panel had been dead silent. That feeling was as if his Divine Soul had been stripped of its last reliance, making him truly feel the fear of falling.

"System, are you still there?"

The familiar, emotionless mechanical voice finally echoed in his Sea of Consciousness.

[Beacon signal reconnection successful]

[Host's current status: Stable Dao Foundation (minor physical injuries)]

[Current realm coordinates: Qingming Domain - Lingxu Wasteland]

Su Changge's Divine Thought froze for a moment.

Qingming Domain?

Where is this?

He was clearly in the Blood Abyss Realm when he was swallowed by that strange vortex. Could the System have lost its mind in the turbulence, even getting the name of the realm wrong?

His thoughts raced, and he asked again.

"Repeat, where am I?"

[Current realm coordinates: Qingming Domain - Lingxu Wasteland]

The cold prompt voice did not change at all, every character crystal clear.

Su Changge immediately sank his mind into his Sea of Consciousness and pulled up the System panel.

The originally black interface had returned to normal. The sixty million emotion points lay quietly in the numerical column, and at the very top of the panel, a line of realm coordinates written in ancient Dao script clearly marked: Qingming Domain - Lingxu Wasteland.

He scrutinized those words three times.

That's right.

It was the Qingming Domain.

It was neither his familiar Cangxuan Dao Domain nor the Blood Abyss Realm he had just escaped from.

At this moment, Su Changge's state of mind completely collapsed.

That damned spatial vortex had actually exiled him to a completely unfamiliar Dao Domain!

His Taixuan Sect, his peerlessly talented female disciple with a promising future, Ye Qingyao, and the massive power of the entire Blood Clan he had painstakingly subdued...

In an instant, all gone?

Su Changge sat paralyzed on the ground, true bewilderment and despair appearing in his eyes for the first time.

He had finally managed to gain a firm foothold in the Cangxuan Dao Domain, with a future Empress backing him, millions of Blood Clan members under his command, and sixty million emotion points, just as he was about to start his carefree life of cultivation.

One vortex had sent him back to square one, or even worse than the starting point, directly throwing him into this barren land with thin Spiritual Qi and unfamiliar Laws.

How unjust is the Heavenly Dao!

He sat on the burning sand, letting the wild wind mess up his black hair. After a long time, he forced down the collapsing emotions that almost swallowed his sanity.

I can't panic.

I must not show even a hint of cowardice at this moment.

He was currently only at the Qi Refining First Layer with a meager cultivation. In this unfamiliar Dao Domain, any sign of weakness could invite a fatal disaster.

Su Changge supported himself against the rock and slowly stood up.

He brushed the dust off his body, tidied his tattered robes to cover his wounds, and tried his best to look less pathetic.

He suppressed all his outward emotions, his face returning to its usual indifference as he stood with his hands behind his back by the rock, as if the despondent person from just now had nothing to do with him.

He looked up and scanned the surroundings.

As far as the eye could see was endless withered yellow, stretching all the way to where it met the sky.

The wind carried hard sand and gravel that struck his face, bringing needle-like pain.

The Golden Crow in the sky radiated blatant malice, parching the earth, and a scorched scent permeated the air.

In this vast wasteland, there was nothing but jagged rocks and withered grass hugging the ground, let alone any signs of human life or a teleportation array capable of crossing the void.

Su Changge's heart, which had just calmed down, hung in suspense once again.

In such a desperate place, he couldn't even find someone to ask for directions. How was he supposed to find the way back?

Was he really going to be drained of his Spiritual Qi and life force in this wasteland?

He stood for a long time before finally deciding to head toward the sunset.

No matter what lay ahead, he had to find traces of living beings first.

He protected the rations and water pouch in his robes and took heavy steps toward the west.

The wind grew more violent, blowing his robes wildly and making his figure somewhat unsteady.

He walked very slowly; the injuries in his body had not yet healed, and every step pulled at his bones and muscles, bringing sharp pain.

As he walked, he vented his silent rage at the System in his heart.

Useless piece of junk. Other than those deceptive special effects, it doesn't even have the most basic ability for surveying or positioning. When he returned to the Cangxuan Dao Domain, he would definitely accumulate enough emotion points to completely dismantle this broken System.

Su Changge trekked for a full two hours, yet his progress was less than ten miles.

The Golden Crow in the sky gradually sank below the horizon, and the temperature of the wasteland plummeted.

The scorching hot wind of the day turned into a bone-chilling cold current in an instant, seeping into his marrow.

Su Changge found a crevice in a rock sheltered from the wind and curled up inside, intending to take refuge for the night and continue tomorrow.

He took out some rations and took a hard bite; the dry, hard texture scraped his throat painfully.

He took a gulp of water and forced the food down, a huge sense of grievance and unwillingness welling up in his heart.

A few days ago, he was the "My King" of the Blood Abyss Realm, enjoying the worship of Blood Clan Princes, tasting spiritual fruits that only bloomed once every ten thousand years, and living in a magnificent blood-colored divine palace. Now, he could only gnaw on rations that even a Mortal merchant caravan would despise in a crevice in the wild.

All because of that damned spatial vortex!

Su Changge leaned against the cold rock wall, looking up at the unfamiliar and bright stars in the sky, and let out a long breath of turbid air.

I wonder how that girl, Ye Qingyao, is doing now.

That cheap disciple of his wouldn't really think he's dead, would she?

...

Meanwhile, in the Cangxuan Dao Domain a thousand years after Su Changge's timeline.

Taixuan Sect, Forbidden Ground secret chamber.

Ye Qingyao sat upright on a Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Jade Bed. The spatial rift in front of her had already closed, leaving only a few faint ripples of time and space. Her face was still pale, without a hint of color.

Just a moment ago, her Divine Ability that spanned through the ages was just an instant away from touching her Revered Master.

But it was forcibly repelled by a pure, ultimate power of purification that she could not understand.

Ye Qingyao raised her slender hand and pressed it against her chest.

The pain from the impact of that overbearing energy was still there, but compared to the pain in her heart, it was insignificant.

Her Revered Master's face and his aura were imprinted perfectly in the depths of her Divine Soul.

He is not dead!

Ye Qingyao's originally cold gaze now burned with a will strong enough to incinerate the Nine Heavens.

No matter where Revered Master is, even if she has to search through all the heavens and myriad realms, she will definitely find him!

She lightly raised her jade finger, and a beam of Spiritual Qi containing the might of an Emperor shot out.

The heavy stone door of the secret chamber opened silently. Outside, more than a dozen Nascent Soul Ancestors, who could make an entire Dao heritage tremble with a single stomp of their feet, were holding their breath with lowered heads, standing respectfully in attendance.

Ye Qingyao's voice, amplified by supreme Dao methods, resounded throughout the entire Taixuan Sect and then spread to every corner of the Cangxuan Dao Domain.

"Spread this Empress's Decree."

"From this day forward, within the Cangxuan Dao Domain, all Sects, noble families, and Loose Cultivators must all mobilize to search for the traces of Su Changge."

Her voice paused, each word as heavy as Mount Tai, crashing down on everyone's minds.

"Anyone who can provide definite clues will be rewarded with ten portions of Divine Materials capable of forging Emperor Weapons and granted one complete legacy of a fallen Emperor!"

"Anyone who can bring him safely back to this Empress will have this Empress personally protect their Dao and help them break through the bottlenecks of the Emperor Realm!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the dozen or so Nascent Soul Ancestors who had lived for thousands of years collectively gasped, their Divine Souls shaking violently.

Emperor Weapon materials? An Emperor's legacy?

And even... the Empress personally protecting their Dao to help them become an Emperor?!

What a crazy bounty! Since the end of the Ancient Era, the entire Cangxuan Dao Domain had never seen such a shocking reward!

After the shock came boundless fanaticism.

The dozen or so Old Ancestors knelt down, their voices trembling with excitement.

"We respectfully obey the Empress's Decree!"

The moment the command was given, the entire Taixuan Sect, this colossus standing at the peak of Cangxuan, roared to life like a precision war machine.

The Empress's Decree spread to every corner of the Dao Domain through countless ancient teleportation arrays in just half an hour.

Eastern Wasteland, Western Liang, Central State... all Cultivators who heard the Decree, whether they were Old Ancestors in seclusion or Prodigies training outside, all fell into a frenzy.

Countless Cultivators abandoned everything in their hands and began to search the world for a person named "Su Changge."

The entire Cangxuan Dao Domain was swept by an unprecedented wave of people searching.

Ye Qingyao stood at the entrance of the secret chamber, gazing into the depths of the Void Realm, the Spiritual Qi at her fingertips flickering, reflecting her resolute profile.

Revered Master.

Wait for me.

I will definitely find you.

No one knew that from this moment on, the name Su Changge would become the most maddening legend in the Cangxuan Dao Domain for a thousand years.