369: Emperor Qingcang

The mighty Great Saint Realm aura surrounding Ji Qingyi gradually receded. She immediately stood up and straightened her robes.

Facing Gu Changge's figure, she bowed deeply, her voice carrying an unprecedented sincerity and respect:

"Junior Ji Qingyi thanks Senior for the grace of saving my life, providing guidance, and protecting my Dao! This kindness is like a second birth; Qingyi will never forget it!"

Gu Changge simply responded with a noncommittal, faint "Mm" to her solemn thanks.

Immediately, his gaze swept over the Corpse of the Nine Nether Fierce Beast, which was still emitting an ominous aura. He frowned slightly and casually flicked his sleeve.

Without any earth-shattering commotion, that massive, mountain-like, indestructible corpse of the peerless Vicious Beast, along with the dense, malevolent Death Qi surrounding it,

silently melted away, annihilated, and completely turned into nothingness. All that remained here was pure Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and the tai yin Dao Rhyme emanating from Ji Qingyi.

After finishing this seemingly trivial matter, Gu Changge returned his gaze to Ji Qingyi and calmly looked at her.

"Your Aptitude is acceptable. Grow quickly."

Before Ji Qingyi could react, he had already turned around and walked toward the depths, quickly disappearing.

"Senior..."

Ji Qingyi maintained her bowing posture, gazing in the direction Gu Changge had disappeared, before finally straightening up after a long time.

The expression on her cold, beautiful face was complex and hard to decipher; there was gratitude, shock, and an indescribable sense of mission.

She tightly gripped the tai yin source crystal in her hand, feeling the vast, gentle Origin power within it, and recalled the terrifying method that had casually annihilated the Corpse of the Vicious Beast moments ago.

"Grow quickly..."

She repeated the sentence in a low voice, and the light in her eyes gradually became extremely resolute.

Collecting her thoughts, Ji Qingyi sat down cross-legged again to consolidate the cultivation she had just achieved after Breaking through to the Great Saint Realm!

Gu Changge passed through the last expanse of surging Chaos mist, and the scene before him suddenly cleared.

This was no longer a broken abyss, but a vast, silent, and strange space that had been independently segmented.

Above the dome, there was eternal twilight, emitting a desolate halo.

The ground beneath his feet was formed by soil mixed with dark, solidified Emperor Blood. Stepping upon it, one could feel a mighty, unyielding will surging profoundly, attempting to pry open the sky.

Terrifying ravines crisscrossed the land like giant scars—abysses torn by sharp claws and chasms cut by weapons.

Every trace retained a heart-palpitating, tragic Dao Rhyme, silently telling the tale of the ultimate bloody battle experienced by the coffin's owner in life.

At the center of the space, there was only one thing.

A massive, rough, and ancient dark-yellow stone coffin.

A thick, almost solidified, tragic Emperor Might and pure Death Qi emanated from the stone coffin, pressing down upon the space, making it solidified and heavy.

This was not the silence of decay, but the final residual "existence" naturally emitted by the unextinguishable Battle Intent and remaining body of a heaven-supporting figure who had died of exhaustion.

Gu Changge's gaze settled calmly upon the stone coffin.

Deep within his eyes, a flicker of light appeared.

Instantly, the scene before him rippled like water. The life scroll of the Great Emperor buried here unfolded before his eyes like a long river of time flowing backward.

He saw that in the Primordial Era, when Ten Thousand Races rose together and the Human Race was weak, a skinny, blood-stained youth crawled out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of bones, looking up at the massive shadow that was devouring his clansmen.

For the first time, he tightly gripped the rough stone spear in his hand. The light burning in his eyes was no longer fear, but the fire of hatred and unyielding spirit that sought to burn down the Eight Desolations.

He saw the youth grow up amidst blood and fire, roaring and charging on the front lines of the Ten Thousand Races Battlefield.

His companions withered like autumn leaves, while the Human Race banner behind him was shattered again and again, only to be raised anew each time.

He progressed from wielding a stone spear to commanding Dao Weapons. His figure grew ever more towering, yet his spine stood like Mount Buzhou, supporting a sky of respite for his weak clansmen behind him through countless desperate situations.

He saw him finally ascend the peak, his Emperor Might vast and mighty, earning him the title "Great Emperor Qing Cang," meaning the one who holds up the Human Race's sky!

At that time, the Dao Rhyme in this world was dense enough to simultaneously bear the presence of multiple Great Emperors.

That was one of the darkest yet most glorious eras in the history of the Human Race. He single-handedly carved a path of blood for the Human Race within the Xuanhuang Great World, where Ten Thousand Races stood tall, securing a place for them to survive.

He saw that time was merciless; Great Emperor Qing Cang reached his twilight years.

His Emperor Star had dimmed, and his Lifespan was nearing its end.

It was at this moment that a Nine Nether Fierce Beast, whose vicious might soared to the heavens and intended to devour the Human Race as blood sacrifices, crossed realms and arrived!

That battle shattered the star rivers, and the Great Dao wailed in sorrow.

The Qingcang Battle Spear, which had accompanied him his entire life and felled countless powerful enemies, let out an unbearable cry of sorrow during the ultimate collision with the Vicious Beast and shattered!

Emperor Blood splattered across the heavens. He burned his final Emperor Dao Origin, using his body as a prison and his remaining Great Dao as a lock, unleashing a final strike that pierced through the ages.

He nailed the peerless Vicious Beast to the abyss, but he himself was exhausted, his Emperor Body cracked, and his Dao fire about to extinguish.

He saw the dying Great Emperor Qing Cang use the last of his Divine Soul power to forge this Emperors Tomb, carving his lifelong Dao methods onto the stone walls and condensing his most core Legacy into a scripture.

He looked back at the Human Race territory he had sworn to protect until death, which was now beginning to show signs of prosperity. A trace of relief and endless concern flashed in his weary eyes.

He then returned to eternal peace, slowly stepping into the stone coffin he had prepared for himself, to sleep here forever.

The scene abruptly ended here.

"Great Emperor Qing Cang..."

Gu Changge softly spoke the title. A ripple, almost imperceptible, passed through his calm eyes.

That era was far too distant.

It was long before the Human Race currently became the Dominator of Xuanhuang—an epic paved with blood and bone to forge a path of survival.

"Paving the way with bloody battles, propping up the heavens with his own spine, and winning territory for the future generations of the Human Race—a magnificent departure."

He was no longer just observing a piece of history, but understanding the full weight and solitude of a pioneer.

Gu Changge stepped forward.

The terrifying Emperor Might and silent Battle Intent surrounding him, enough to shatter a Sacred Lord's Divine Soul, obediently parted to the sides when they approached three feet from his body.

The final lingering will of Great Emperor Qing Cang in this space was permitting this unfathomable existence to approach.

He walked to the side of the stone coffin.

In front of the coffin was a stone platform, upon which quietly lay a heavy scripture condensed from dark gold Emperor Blood Dao patterns. Four ancient characters were outlined by Dao marks on the cover: "qing cang emperor scripture."

Gu Changge lowered his gaze slightly and swept it with his Divine Sense.

In an instant, the supreme Battle Intent, the unyielding Dao Rhyme, and the general outline of cultivation contained within the scripture—which focused on forging a path for the clan, using war to nurture war, and seeking life in desperate situations—were all clear in his mind.

"Using war to nurture war, forging the Dao with blood, and possessing heaven-penetrating will... This scripture is truly the method of a fierce Battle Emperor. Decisive in killing, charging forward relentlessly, leaving no retreat—no wonder it could hold up the sky and suppress the world."

He nodded slightly, his tone carrying a rare trace of pure approval.

This scripture might be lacking in the Dao of longevity and creation.

But the pure will and battle wisdom it contained—to fight for protection and carve a path for the clan—could be called extraordinary, even in his eyes.