Volume 1, Chapter 188 – Scarlet Emperor Heaven-Burning Lotus

Empress Qingxuan smiled, light swirling in her hand.

A lotus platform as crimson as blood appeared in her palm.

It was no larger than her palm, yet the moment it appeared, the temperature inside the Black Phoenix Chariot soared!

It was as though an inextinguishable divine flame had sprung to life out of thin air.

The lotus platform rotated slowly. It had nine petals, each as translucent as crystal.

They seemed to have been condensed from the purest laws of fire, radiating the vast, ancient pressure of an emperor’s Dao!

This pressure was unlike the Donghuang Bell’s power to suppress all things, the Dragon Soul Sword’s majestic grandeur, or the razor-sharp aura of an ordinary heaven-rank artifact.

It carried a searing heat that could set everything ablaze and a domineering force that could reduce all creation to ashes.

Despite the many artifacts Gu Han had seen, the sight of this lotus platform still intrigued her.

Its aura was entirely different from that of a heaven-rank artifact!

Empress Lingshuang’s pupils contracted sharply. For the first time, undisguised astonishment appeared on her perpetually impassive face.

She could clearly sense that this lotus platform was no lower in rank than the Frostheaven Sword!

“This is called the Red Emperor Heaven-Scorching Lotus.”

Empress Qingxuan spoke with rare solemnity and nostalgia.

Her fingertips brushed gently over the lotus petals, as though touching a long-buried memory.

“I obtained it from a place called the Lihuo Great Marsh when I first arrived on the Xuanhuang Continent.”

“According to legend, the Lihuo Great Marsh was formed after the death of the Red Emperor, an ancient expert of the Xuanhuang Continent who had already stepped halfway into the Immortal Realm.”

“I had only just arrived on the Xuanhuang Continent back then, so I knew none of that.”

“The Red Emperor Heaven-Scorching Lotus lay hidden within the Heaven-Scorching Fire Eye at the very heart of the marsh, protected by layer upon layer of restrictions.”

“I spent a full century and survived countless brushes with death before I finally obtained it.”

She paused, and a chillingly lethal edge entered her voice.

“But how could such a supreme treasure possibly be taken without anyone noticing?”

“Just as I put away the Red Emperor Heaven-Scorching Lotus and prepared to leave the Lihuo Great Marsh…”

“Two Great Emperors appeared and sealed off the marsh’s exit.”

“They claimed to be from the ancient Liyang clan and said they were descendants of the Red Emperor.”

“They even declared that the Red Emperor Heaven-Scorching Lotus was their clan’s sacred relic. They demanded that I hand it over immediately, or they would hunt me to the bitter end.”

“Two Great Emperors… Ha.”

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She gave a soft laugh, her eyes full of disdain.

“I had endured untold hardships to obtain it, so naturally, I refused to hand it over. That battle lasted three full days.”

“The Lihuo Great Marsh was shattered, and the devastation spread across a vast area. Countless nearby sects and cultivation clans were caught in the destruction.”

Empress Qingxuan’s tone remained calm, but beneath that calm, both Gu Han and Lingshuang could sense just how brutal and perilous the battle had been.

She had fought two opponents alone, on their own territory, and both were Great Emperors from an ancient clan with a long lineage and profound foundations!

“Naturally, I was no match for the two of them together. I used a secret art to tear open the void and escape temporarily, but I paid a considerable price.”

Empress Qingxuan’s fingertips glided over the lotus platform. Its fiery red radiance seemed to flicker, illuminating her breathtaking profile.

“From that day onward, the ancient Liyang clan and I became mortal enemies.”

“Their lineage stretches back into antiquity, and their influence is deeply entrenched throughout the Xuanhuang Continent.”

“During my later travels across the Xuanhuang Continent, they gave me plenty of ‘special attention,’ both openly and behind the scenes.”

She looked up at Gu Han, a hint of amusement in her eyes beneath which lurked a well-concealed edge.

“If I hadn’t been so fortunate, I might truly have died over there.”

“So, Little Sister…”

Empress Qingxuan lowered her voice, speaking with heartfelt sincerity.

“The Xuanhuang Continent holds countless opportunities, but it is also… fraught with danger.”

“It is a far more dangerous world than our Canglan Continent.”

“Venturing there without sufficient strength or resources would be no different from a lamb walking into a tiger’s den.”

She slowly put away the Red Emperor Heaven-Scorching Lotus. The scorching aura vanished with it, and the temperature inside the chariot returned to normal.

“This Imperial Armament is one of my greatest trump cards.”

Empress Qingxuan looked at Gu Han, her expression earnest.

“When the time comes in the Central Province, once I take it out and tell them this story…”

“Do you really think they… won’t be tempted?”

“A brand-new world with a complete Great Dao, where the path to immortality may still exist, yet powerful enemies lurk everywhere…”

“Compared with defying heaven here on the Canglan Continent, which do you think would tempt them more?”

Gu Han listened in silence, fully understanding Qingxuan’s intentions now.

Qingxuan was showing her the cards she held while also putting her mind at ease.

With this Imperial Armament and Qingxuan’s firsthand experience as proof…

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The claim that “void nodes lead to other worlds” would no longer be empty conjecture. It would become a bargaining chip of tremendous weight!

It was enough to make any Immortal Ascension expert who still yearned for a higher realm seriously consider the possibility, perhaps even find it irresistible.

“An excellent strategy, Big Sister.”

Gu Han praised her sincerely.

Empress Qingxuan smiled faintly and lounged back against the cushioned couch.

“I’ve simply lived a little longer and seen a little more.”

She glanced at the silent Empress Lingshuang across from her, a teasing glint entering her eyes.

“What do you think, Little Sister Lingshuang? Is this little trinket of mine at least worthy of your notice?”

Empress Lingshuang remained expressionless, her voice cool.

“However fine an artifact may be, it is ultimately an external object.”

She paused, then turned her gaze toward Gu Han, her tone softening slightly.

“Gu Han, the Xuanhuang Continent is extraordinarily dangerous. Even if a passage truly exists, we must proceed with caution.”

Empress Qingxuan was not annoyed. Instead, her smile deepened.

“You’re so worried that it’s clouding your judgment, Little Sister Lingshuang.”

“If the three of us join forces, escaping unharmed should be entirely possible. We might even come away with something worthwhile.”

“The key is figuring out how to make them willingly become our ‘vanguard.’”

Gu Han nodded slightly. Qingxuan’s reasoning was clear.

They would use the Imperial Armament and Qingxuan’s personal experience as a lure, tempting the others with the promise of a broader world.

Then, in the name of “joint exploration,” they would guide everyone’s attention away from “defying heaven to alter fate” and toward “opening a new path.”

Once that happened, opening the passage would become everyone’s shared desire.

And as the providers of the information and the “guides,” they would naturally hold the initiative.

“The plan is feasible.”

Gu Han made the final decision.

“But we’ll still need to work out the details.”

“In particular, we must prepare thoroughly in advance for the stability of that void node and the protective measures required for the crossing.”

“Don’t worry.”

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Empress Qingxuan smiled confidently.

“Since I dared suggest it, I naturally came prepared.”

“I still remember some of what I learned and the protective techniques I used when I passed through the void node all those years ago.”

Her gaze settled on Gu Han’s cool, elegant profile, and her voice softened once more.

“But with Little Sister accompanying me, I’ll feel even more confident.”

The tips of Gu Han’s ears warmed beneath her gaze. She coughed softly and changed the subject.

“We still have some distance to cover before reaching the Central Province. Why don’t you both rest for a while?”

“Once we arrive, I’m afraid we won’t enjoy this kind of peace and quiet again.”

Time slipped quietly by as the nine black divine birds sped onward.

Inside the Black Phoenix Chariot, Gu Han, Qingxuan, and Lingshuang either cultivated in silence and regulated their breathing or discussed the finer details of their plan in hushed voices.

Five days later, the Black Phoenix Chariot crossed the sea between worlds separating the Southern Region from the Central Province.

When the land beyond came into view, even Gu Han, who had prepared herself for the sight, showed a flicker of surprise.

This was the true heart of the Canglan Continent: the Central Province!

It was entirely unlike the Southern Region’s natural elegance or the Eastern Region’s prosperity.

The world here possessed an air of magnificence and gravity, an aura that seemed to approach the very origin of existence!

Wherever one looked, the contours of the mountains and rivers stood out with extraordinary clarity. They resembled enormous sleeping dragons coiled across the land, breathing in and exhaling vast quantities of spiritual energy.

The drifting clouds overhead shimmered in five colors. This was no illusion conjured by a spell, but a natural phenomenon created when spiritual energy grew so dense that it merged with the light of the heavens.

The spiritual energy flowing through the air was several times purer than that of the Southern Region!

A single day of cultivation here might well equal three to five days in the Southern Region!

Even more striking was the distribution of the sects, cultivation clans, and cities among the mountains and rivers below.

Unlike those in the Southern Region, which were built against mountains or beside rivers, they appeared to follow some profound and mysterious pattern.

Some occupied the nodes of spirit veins, while others guarded nexuses of the earth’s energy. Their auras were interconnected, faintly forming an invisible “network” that covered the entire Central Province.

Even the walls of the smallest cities along the periphery glimmered with faint spiritual light, clearly inscribed with defensive formations.

Cultivators came and went within those cities, and their auras were generally far stronger than those of cultivators in the Southern Region. Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators could be seen everywhere, and even Spirit Transformation cultivators were far from uncommon.

It truly lived up to the saying: Nascent Soul cultivators were as numerous as dogs, and Spirit Transformation cultivators were everywhere.

“As expected of the Central Province…”

Gu Han stood before the chariot window and quietly marveled at the magnificent mountains and rivers rushing past below.

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Empress Qingxuan came to stand beside her. Her fitted purple attire made her already statuesque figure appear even taller and more commanding.

A smile played on her lips as her gaze swept over the land below.

“What do you think of this place, Little Sister? Is it worthy of your notice?”

“A blessed land rich in spiritual splendor, where the Great Dao manifests.”

Gu Han gave her honest assessment.

“Rich in spiritual splendor, certainly. But as for the manifestation of the Great Dao…”

Empress Qingxuan chuckled meaningfully.

“Deadly dangers lurk here as well.”

She raised a hand and pointed toward the distant horizon. There, the hazy silhouette of a colossal scarlet tower rose tens of thousands of meters into the sky, its peak vanishing into the sea of clouds as it radiated a scorching, violent aura.

“That is the Blazing Flame Tower, the symbol of Lihuo Palace’s mountain gate. Lihuo Palace is one of the Central Province’s nine great sects.”

Qingxuan’s voice was languid, but a nearly imperceptible chill ran beneath it.

“The previous Palace Master of Lihuo Palace was also an Immortal Ascension expert tens of thousands of years ago.”

She pointed elsewhere. Shrouded in drifting clouds and mist, a cluster of immortal mountains and ornate pavilions could be faintly seen floating in the sky, with spirit cranes circling amid boundless rays of multicolored light.

“That is the Yin-Yang Sacred Land, another of the nine great sects. Its lineage stretches back through the ages, and the depths of its foundation are unfathomable.”

“Most of its disciples cultivate through dual cultivation. The Joyous Union Sect is one of its subordinate sects.”

Finally, her gaze settled on the very heart of the Central Province, where spiritual energy was at its most abundant.

There, amid swirling purple qi and dragon-shaped currents of spiritual energy, the silhouette of an unimaginably majestic imperial dynasty appeared and vanished from view.

Its walls soared thousands of meters high, as though carved from an entire mountain range. Patterns resembling dragon scales had formed naturally across their surface, radiating the imperial pressure of one who ruled over all the land.

Countless palaces and towers had been built along the mountainsides, rising tier upon tier into the clouds, their surfaces gleaming like gold and jade beneath the sunlight.

There was even a “celestial river” formed entirely from liquefied spiritual energy. It cascaded from the Nine Heavens and encircled the dynasty, its waters roaring as they nourished all living things.

Above the dynasty, the phantasmal forms of nine golden dragons, condensed entirely from its national fortune, wound through the sky, guarding it in every direction.

“That is the Longteng Dynasty.”

For once, a note of solemnity entered Empress Qingxuan’s voice.

“The undisputed greatest power on the Canglan Continent, and the seat of the Sovereign Longteng.”