42: Chapter 42 The Birth of the Ruthless Emperor

In the days that followed, Xiao Nannan truly did as she had said and did not act rashly.

She concealed her aura and traveled through the Eastern Wasteland, Central State, Southern Ridge, Western Desert, and Northern Plains, observing the transitions of the various Holy Lands, Imperial Dynasties, and Yao Race forces.

A hundred years was not long for a Cultivator, but the landscape of the Emperor Burial Star had quietly changed.

The Yuhua Divine Dynasty had collapsed, creating a power vacuum in the Central State, where several great sects were fiercely competing for legacies and territory.

Life Forbidden Zones like the Ancient Mine of Primordial Beginning, Undying Mountain, and God Ruins were deathly silent.

Those Supremes seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep, with not even a trace of their aura leaking out.

But Xiao Nannan could feel that beneath that calm surface, a heart-palpitating darkness was hidden.

She once stood a hundred miles away from the Undying Mountain, staring at the area shrouded in black mist.

"Teacher... it was here that those Supremes besieged you..." she whispered to herself, a cold light flashing in her eyes.

But she did not step inside.

Right now, she was not yet qualified.

She also went to the former site of the Yuhua Divine Dynasty. It had become a field of ruins; among the broken walls and debris, low-level Cultivators could occasionally be seen searching for overlooked treasures.

Xiao Nannan questioned several old Cultivators and learned that the Yuhua Divine Dynasty had collapsed overnight a hundred years ago.

No one had personally witnessed the killer; they only knew that earth-shattering fluctuations had come from the direction of the imperial capital that night, and the next day, the entire city was in ruins, and the high-level members were all dead.

"Some say a Forbidden Zone Supreme acted, others say a mysterious powerhouse took revenge; opinions vary." A white-haired old man shook his head and sighed, "The Yuhua Divine Dynasty committed too many sins over the years to refine that immortal-becoming cauldron; this is retribution."

Xiao Nannan remained silent.

She instinctively felt that this matter should have nothing to do with the Forbidden Zone Supremes—if those old monsters acted, they wouldn't leave any survivors at all, let alone only purge the high-level officials.

"Could it be... the mastermind who ambushed Teacher?" she guessed in her heart, but she could not confirm it.

After a month of quiet cultivation at the mountain gate, Xiao Nannan decided to leave.

"I need to continue my tempering," she said to Tyrant Blade and the undying peach. "Without reaching the Peak of Quasi-Emperor, I am not qualified to talk about revenge. Brother bought me a thousand years, but I want to step into the Ninth Heaven of Quasi-Emperor within five hundred years!"

Her goal was clear and firm: five hundred years, Peak of Quasi-Emperor, then return, slay Emperor Yuhua, and settle all accounts!

...

The news of Xiao Nannan leaving Beidou quickly reached the Undying Mountain.

In front of the water mirror, Chu Tianjiao and Xiao Shitou breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.

"Fortunately, she wasn't impulsive," Xiao Shitou sighed softly. "I was really afraid she would charge straight into the ruins of the Yuhua Divine Dynasty or investigate the outskirts of the Forbidden Zones."

Chu Tianjiao smiled. "Xiao Nannan is more rational than you imagine. Hatred did not consume her wisdom; instead, it made her even more clear-headed."

He paused and looked at Xiao Shitou. "Since Xiao Nannan has returned to the Ancient Starry Sky Road, I'll leave Beidou to you. I need to personally search for the Immortal Emperor—a hundred years have passed, and I always feel that old fox is about to make a move."

Xiao Shitou's expression turned solemn. "Don't worry, Teacher. This Disciple will definitely guard the Undying Mountain well and closely monitor the movements of the various Forbidden Zones."

Chu Tianjiao nodded and said no more. With one step, his figure vanished from the spot.

He did not go directly to pursue the Immortal Emperor but first quietly caught up with Xiao Nannan, who was traveling through the starry sky.

Silently, he appeared a hundred feet behind her, quietly watching that slender and lonely figure.

After a hundred years of battle, the innocence of a young girl had long since faded from her, replaced by a cold and resilient temperament. Her white dress fluttered slightly in the astral wind, and her silver mask reflected the light of distant stars.

A trace of complex emotion welled up in Chu Tianjiao's heart.

This girl was "shaped" by his own hands. He gave her hope and then personally crushed it, only to force out the world-shaking potential sleeping within her.

Sometimes he would ask himself: was this approach too cruel?

But he knew that in this cruel world of cultivation, especially in the era where Dark Turmoil frequently occurs and Forbidden Zone Supremes run rampant, only absolute strength can protect oneself and those one wishes to guard.

"I'm sorry, Nannan," he whispered in his heart. "But this is the path you must walk."

He quietly approached and reached out his hand to virtually caress her cheek.

Although he didn't actually touch her, a wisp of gentle Dao charm brushed over her skin like a spring breeze.

In the starry sky, Xiao Nannan suddenly trembled all over.

"Teacher!" she cried out in alarm, turning her head abruptly.

The Void Realm was lonely, the stars remained as they were; where was there any figure?

She reached out to touch her cheek, where a trace of familiar warmth seemed to linger.

"Little kid, what's wrong?" the undying peach manifested from her sleeve.

"I... I just felt Teacher's aura," Xiao Nannan murmured, a trace of confusion and sorrow flashing in her eyes.

Tyrant Blade sighed softly. "You're thinking about Master again. A hundred years have passed; what should be let go must eventually be let go."

Xiao Nannan was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded. "Yes... perhaps I just miss Teacher too much."

She took one last look at the starry sky behind her, turned, transformed into a stream of light, and continued deep into the Ancient Starry Sky Road.

In the distance, Chu Tianjiao, hidden in a layer of the Void Realm, watched her depart before turning and speeding off in another direction.

His Divine Thought spread out like a spider web, sweeping through one Star Domain after another, searching for any traces the Immortal Emperor might have left behind.

...

Returning to the Ancient Starry Sky Road, Xiao Nannan began an even more cruel campaign.

She was no longer satisfied with challenging Prodigies of the same rank, but actively sought out veteran Saint Kings and even existences who had just entered the Great Saint realm for life-and-death battles.

Every battle was a walk on the edge of life and death.

The fierce reputation of the Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Art also spread throughout the Ancient Starry Sky Road. Those Holy Lands and great sects that prided themselves on the Righteous Path began to publicly accuse her of practicing "evil techniques" and "demonic arts," and united to besiege her in the name of "acting for heaven."

Of course, any discerning person knew that their true target was the immortal peach tree on Xiao Nannan's person.

"Hand over the undying divine medicine and cripple your own Demonic Technique, and we can spare your life!" A Great Saint from the "Haoyang Holy Land" led three Saint Kings and blocked her in an asteroid belt.

A cold sneer curled the corners of Xiao Nannan's mouth under the mask.

"Want the Undying Medicine? Come and take it with your own skill."

The battle erupted instantly.

The Haoyang Great Saint sacrificed a golden divine sun, illuminating the Star Domain with a temperature sufficient to melt stars; the three Saint Kings each held Great Saint Weapons, sealing off the four directions.

Xiao Nannan was in a desperate situation, yet she became increasingly calm.

Her hands formed seals, and behind her appeared that terrifying devouring phenomenon—darkness spreading, all living beings wailing, and the figure of a woman in the center slowly turning around.

"Heaven-Swallowing — Earth-Devouring!"

The black hole Domain fully opened! The light of the golden divine sun was forcibly distorted and swallowed! The ancient treasures of the three Saint Kings hummed and trembled, their Origin actually being drawn out bit by bit!

"This Demonic Technique can actually swallow the Origin of Magic Treasures?!" The Haoyang Great Saint was horrified.

Xiao Nannan took the opportunity to counterattack, transforming into nine phantoms, each performing a different offensive sacred technique—there were sword arts, fist seals, and palm techniques, as if she were practicing multiple Emperor Scriptures simultaneously!

"Just how many Physiques has she swallowed?! How many Legacies has she learned?!" The observers were terrified.

In that battle, Xiao Nannan was heavily injured and coughed up blood, but she forcefully swallowed the three Saint Kings and severely wounded the Haoyang Great Saint.

From then on, the name 'Ruthless' became a complete taboo on the Ancient Road.