Heaven-Surpassing Divine Emperor

Jiang Chen’s foot came down, crushing the head of the Qinghuo Gang expert. Blood sprayed high into the air.

Blood pooled on the ground, staining the cold corpse red!

"Benefactor, you’ve saved my life again! From now on, you are my, Lui Yifa’s, idol! You must come back to my family with me. I’ll hire the best artist in Yulan Mansion to paint a portrait of you! We’ll hang it in the central hall, and on the first and fifteenth of every month, I’ll kowtow and worship it to ensure your incense burns strong and repay your kindness!" Lui Yifa dove over and hugged Jiang Chen’s thigh, his face filled with excitement.

The corner of Jiang Chen’s mouth twitched, his face darkening. "..."

’What the hell!’

’The first and fifteenth of the month?’

’Are you trying to repay me or curse me to die an early death?’

Jiang Chen kicked Lui Yifa away and snarled, "This is your last warning. If you dare mention burning incense for me again, I’ll slap you to death!"

"Er..."

Lui Yifa looked completely lost and confused. He asked cautiously, "Benefactor, do you feel my sincerity is lacking? Then... then every time I burn incense for you, I’ll also offer a living sacrifice of three Demon Beasts, and I guarantee there’ll be no shortage of fruit offerings. How does that sound?"

His handsome face was filled with heartfelt sincerity!

Jiang Chen’s face went from pale to livid. He clenched his fists, wanting nothing more than to punch this guy to death!

"What a joker," Jiang Chen sighed, rubbing his forehead.

Lui Yifa’s eyes lit up with excitement. "Benefactor, how did you know my nickname? Ever since I was little, whenever my dad gets mad, he calls me by my nickname—Joker!"

"I..."

Jiang Chen opened his mouth, but no words came out. At a loss, he waved his hand in defeat. "Alright, Lui Yifa, you win. I don’t need you to set up a Spiritual Position for me, and I don’t need you to guarantee my incense offerings. I just need you..."

"What? You need me? No, that’s absolutely not okay! My dad would never agree to me giving myself to another man. I’m the only son in my family for three generations! He’s still counting on me to find a big, plump wife and carry on the family line! Benefactor, h-how about... I introduce you to my cousin? He’s pale and delicate-looking, much prettier than me!" Lui Yifa said with a completely serious expression.

Jiang Chen was dumbfounded. He held it in for a long time before finally forcing out a single word—"Scram!"

Lui Yifa looked aggrieved, clearly not understanding what he had done wrong.

「Just then...」

Lui Yifa’s companions gathered around. Each one was battered and bruised, and none had escaped serious injury.

Everyone hurried to express their gratitude to Jiang Chen.

These people were all from the Lui Family of Yulan Mansion. The Lui Family was one of the Four Great Clans of Yulan Mansion, possessing a profound heritage and three True Martial Realm masters within the clan. Lui Yifa’s father in particular, the Lui Family Patriarch Lui Guan, was an expert at the True Martial Realm Fifth Stage.

One of them was named Lui Xun; he was the cousin Lui Yifa had offered to introduce to Jiang Chen.

Lui Xun swallowed a pill to stabilize his injuries and gave Jiang Chen a deep bow. "Thank you for saving our lives, Benefactor. If it weren’t for you, we would have already died at the hands of those Qinghuo Gang bastards."

"It was nothing."

Jiang Chen waved his hand, his eyes welling with tears. ’I’ve finally met a normal person,’ he thought. He immediately asked, "From what I know, your Lui Family is a First-class power in Yulan Mansion. How dare the Qinghuo Gang openly attack you?"

Beside Lui Xun, a capable-looking girl with rosy lips, pearly teeth, and short hair bit her lip and said viciously, "It’s all because the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm is about to open, and everyone is scrambling to hunt Demon Beasts. They saw us kill that Black-striped Golden Bull, so they attacked to steal it. Those Qinghuo Gang bastards... sooner or later, I’ll teach them a lesson!"

"Tiantian, shut your mouth!"

Lui Xun snapped at her. The short-haired girl snorted and fell silent. Lui Xun turned to Jiang Chen with an apologetic smile and continued, "The world of a Martial Artist is one where the strong prey on the weak. It’s not really a matter of right or wrong."

Jiang Chen glanced at Lui Xun. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

’My impression of this refined young man has soured quite a bit. Someone who chooses his words so carefully is likely a deeply calculating person, not someone suitable for deep friendship.’

’In my opinion, even though Lui Yifa is a dimwit and Lui Tiantian is outspoken, they are both more worthy of friendship than Lui Xun!’

His attitude toward Lui Xun immediately became more indifferent. He looked at Lui Tiantian and asked, "Miss Tiantian, you just mentioned the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm. I wonder, what exactly is that place?"

Lui Xun froze, giving Jiang Chen a deep look.

Upon hearing that Jiang Chen had never even heard of the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm, his eyes flickered, and a hint of disdain and contempt flashed through their depths.

’Any power with some standing in Yulan Mansion would know about the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm.’

’In his eyes...’

’Since Jiang Chen doesn’t even know about the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm, his background must not be very noble. Even if he has some strength, he isn’t worth getting too close to.’

"Benefactor, I know about that! Let me tell you..."

Lui Yifa shouted, eager to share what he knew as if presenting a treasure. "A hundred years ago, a powerful expert from Yulan Mansion discovered an ancient tomb deep within the Bluestone Mountain Range. It attracted many experts at the time. When the tomb finally opened, it turned out to be a whole new world inside! Many of them went in and obtained countless treasures. The City Lord’s Mansion, the Qinghuo Gang, and the Red Flame Army were able to become the three Overlords of Yulan Mansion because they got a lot of goodies from that tomb back then!"

"Ahem, cousin, it’s better not to discuss some matters!" Lui Xun coughed lightly, winking desperately at Lui Yifa.

He was reminding Lui Yifa not to leak too much information about the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm.

Lui Yifa frowned in confusion. "Cousin, what’s wrong with your eyes? I see you blinking like crazy. Did you get sand in them?"

"Er... yes, I got sand in them!"

Lui Xun’s expression stiffened. He shot Lui Yifa a vicious glare, snorted, and said no more.

Jiang Chen frowned slightly and glanced at Lui Xun, feeling a growing dislike.

’I’m your savior, for crying out loud. It’s one thing if you won’t tell me about the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm yourself, but you’re even trying to stop Lui Yifa? What’s the big idea?’

’If it weren’t for Lui Yifa, I would have slapped Lui Xun for his attitude just now!’

Completely oblivious, Lui Yifa continued his vivid explanation, "That world within the tomb is the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm. After that, more and more experts heard the news and rushed over, hoping to enter the realm to find their own opportunities. But after that first opening, the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm didn’t appear for a full twenty years. It wasn’t until the previous Mansion Master of Yulan Mansion sat in meditation by the tomb for ten years that he finally discovered its secret..."

After Lui Yifa’s explanation, Jiang Chen finally had some understanding of the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm.

The ancient tomb was the entrance to the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm, but to open the portal, one had to supply the tomb with sufficient energy.

This energy was the Essence Blood of Demon Beasts!

The expert from a hundred years ago was a renowned Demon Hunter. He had slaughtered countless Demon Beasts and used the tomb as a storage place. By a stroke of luck, he provided the tomb with enough Demon Beast Essence Blood, causing the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm to open for the first time.

Later, the Mansion Master of Yulan Mansion discovered the method to open the realm, and the knowledge spread among the upper echelons of Yulan Mansion.

However, besides needing enough Demon Beast Essence Blood, the tomb’s opening was also time-restricted; it could only be opened once every ten years.

"Every time the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm opens, experts from all the major powers swarm in, resulting in heavy casualties that severely weaken Yulan Mansion’s overall strength. So, the Mansion Master decreed that a hunting blood sacrifice would be held every ten years to open the realm. Each family and faction can only send experts under the age of thirty into the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm, preventing clashes between the top masters..."

Lui Yifa swallowed and continued, "Each time the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm opens, it can only accommodate one hundred people. Therefore, the Mansion Master established a rule: the entry slots are distributed based on the amount of Demon Beast Essence Blood each faction contributes. Right now, experts from all the major powers are frantically hunting Demon Beasts. That Black-striped Golden Bull was a Tier One High-level Demon Beast with abundant Essence Blood—very rare. That’s why those Qinghuo Gang bastards attacked us!"

"I see!"

Jiang Chen nodded, his eyes gleaming. He was now a little more curious about this so-called Celestial Demon Ancient Realm.

Lui Yifa blinked and said, "Benefactor, why don’t you join us! With your strength, we can definitely hunt more Demon Beasts. When we get the entry slots, we’ll give you one!"

A flicker of interest showed on Jiang Chen’s face.

’My cultivation is stuck at the Peak of Martial Arts Ninth Stage. Without some sort of lucky encounter, it will take at least three or four months to break into the True Martial Realm.’

’For an ordinary Martial Artist, that might be a fast pace, but I can’t forget that I have an incredibly powerful enemy. Lan Haichen’s strength is beyond the True Martial Realm. If I want to surpass him, I can’t just follow the conventional path of cultivation.’

’At this thought...’

Jiang Chen decided to go to the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm with Lui Yifa and the others.

However...

Just as he was about to speak, Lui Xun, who was standing to the side, cut in, "Cousin, you didn’t even ask for our opinion before arbitrarily deciding to give an entry slot to an outsider. Isn’t that a bit inappropriate?"