Volume 1, Chapter 481 – Personal Guards

The Emperor level was an extremely special realm. The gap in combat strength was as vast as a heavenly abyss. The strong among them could cross the cosmic starry sky and dominate an entire starfield, while the weak could not even withstand Solar True Fire.

After reaching the Emperor level, Shi Lan now possessed the power to leave Lingyang behind. She no longer needed to rely on the system for traversal. She could roam the stars on her own and travel to the various great worlds scattered throughout the universe. She would no longer be constrained by lightning tribulations. From here on, the road ahead was broad and smooth.

Once one stood at the very peak of the Emperor level, one more step forward led to the Supreme realm. No matter what world one was in, such beings stood at the absolute summit.

Even though more than a dozen Supremes had once fallen within the Qiongluo Realm, Shi Lan still held deep reverence for experts of this realm.

They were all in the Supreme realm, yet the terrifying battle strength of the Guiyun Sword Emperor remained vivid in her mind. Even with only a mutilated body left behind, he had still made more than a dozen foreign Supremes bleed. The two simply could not be mentioned in the same breath.

…

…

Before entering seclusion to heal, Shi Lan took out an immortal medicine, refined it directly into a mass of essence, infused it into several pieces of precious jade, and handed them to Shi Tianlu.

Compared to her own strength, the Shi family’s strength was far too weak. It was hard for her to set her mind at ease.

Although Lingyang Realm abounded in spiritual objects, anything that could raise a person’s cultivation without the slightest hidden danger was unheard of. Even the purest source power in the greater universe still required time to be slowly refined.

With the cultivation Shi Tianlu and the others possessed, if they directly absorbed the essence of an immortal medicine, their bodies would be torn apart on the spot. They simply did not have the fortune to enjoy it.

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With these few pieces of precious jade on them, their bodies could be nourished, their lives prolonged, and their cultivation gradually increased as well. For people like Shi Tianlu, this was the most suitable method.

The strength of one’s power determined the length of one’s lifespan. Although life and death were difficult to predict, Shi Lan still hoped they could live a little longer.

This bond of blood was very precious to her. At the very least, it proved that within this great world, she still had a place to return to.

After arranging everything at home, Shi Lan took Tianbai and entered the Qiongluo Realm directly. The cultivation environment within that immortal mountain was far better than anything outside.

The rune aura within the Qiongluo Realm had nearly dissipated completely, and the energy between heaven and earth had returned to its original state. Because of the changes in the world itself, the power within the surviving creatures was undergoing subtle shifts as well. The aura that had once belonged to the Qiongluo Realm was growing fainter and fainter.

A vast mountain range had been lifted into the air by an invisible force and now hung suspended in midair. Mist coiled about the immortal mountain, and strange flowers and rare herbs covered the ground. There were also many more disciples of Tianyan Sect than before, scattered throughout the range.

At the very center of the mountain range, one spiritual peak had vanished, replaced by a stone statue nearly a hundred li tall, standing upright between heaven and earth. It was exactly the same as the one at Tianyan Sect’s headquarters on Yunyan Star. Clearly, it was another of Li Canglan’s creations.

Shi Lan’s gaze paused at the shoulder of the jade statue. A crimson vicious bird was crouched there, its pale golden pupils sweeping across the surroundings. It quickly sensed her gaze and looked over.

A crimson streak flashed across the sky as Chi Junyu arrived before Shi Lan. Its body had shrunk considerably again, and its wingspan was now only a little over ten zhang. For a fierce beast of its level, changing the size of its body was no difficult matter.

“You were waiting for me?”

Shi Lan was somewhat surprised that Chi Junyu would appear here. Although she had not entered the Qiongluo Realm during this time, she understood all of its changes clearly.

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Ever since she had taken control of heaven and earth and marked out a continent within the Qiongluo Realm for the surviving creatures to live and multiply upon, the beings of the rune path had rarely stepped beyond that region.

Chi Junyu gave a slight nod, looking somewhat restrained. This had nothing to do with Shi Lan’s current control over the Qiongluo Realm. In its eyes, what was even more terrifying was Shi Lan’s background.

The broken bodies of the Supremes had once been scattered everywhere, and many creatures in the Qiongluo Realm had seen it with their own eyes. To seize Qiongluo from the hands of so many Supremes and bury a host of powerful experts here, the force implied behind her was simply too terrifying.

“If you have something to say, say it.”

Shi Lan waved a hand. In truth, even if Chi Junyu had not come, she had intended to seek out these creatures of the rune path after some time.

In Lingyang Realm, they had no use at all. But once they reached the cosmic starry sky, these eighth-tier creatures would be overlords on the level of Human Emperors, capable of becoming yet another powerful trump card in her hand.

However, once these creatures left the Qiongluo Realm, Shi Lan would no longer have any means of restraining them. Whether to bring them under her command still required long-term consideration.

“Does Tianyan Sect accept fierce beasts?”

Only after hesitating for a long time did Chi Junyu finally speak slowly.

The instant those words fell, Tianbai, who was following at Shi Lan’s side, felt her mind jolt. The look she gave Chi Junyu was full of vigilance.

Ever since the Lan Clan had left Lingyang Realm, Tianbai had been harboring a vague unease. As the ancestral land of the Lan Clan drifted farther away, her bloodline connection with Her Excellency was gradually weakening. Deep down, she had already begun to feel an uncontrollable fear.

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Perhaps one day, Her Excellency would kick her off into some forgotten corner.

From Huang Ze’s mausoleum to Shi Lan’s tribulation crossing, Tianbai had increasingly felt how insignificant her own strength was. With her simple understanding of the world, she had already begun to doubt herself.

Now that Chi Junyu, who was no weaker than a Demon Emperor, had appeared, that sense of threat became even stronger. After all, in a certain sense, the two of them were the same kind of being.

“Tianyan Sect does not accept fierce beasts.”

Hearing Shi Lan’s words, Chi Junyu’s eyes dimmed slightly, unable to hide its disappointment. In truth, this answer had been within its expectations.

“I am short of some personal guards under my command, though. You can take word back. Anyone at the eighth tier or above is welcome.”

Before Chi Junyu could leave, Shi Lan spoke again and added,

“Those with the potential to reach the eighth tier are welcome as well.”

The reason she did not bring these creatures into Tianyan Sect was that she did not want its structure to become overly complicated. Besides, the current Tianyan Sect was still somewhat too weak and could not properly accommodate these overlord creatures equivalent to the Emperor level.

As for personal guards, this was not some sudden whim on Shi Lan’s part either. There was no need for many of them, but they had to be elite.

At the speed her strength was advancing, anyone who served as her personal guard had to be at least eighth tier. Otherwise, there would be no point at all.

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Watching the crimson rainbow depart, Shi Lan turned her head and caught sight of Tianbai’s dejected face.

“There’s plenty of time ahead.”

Shi Lan reached out and pinched Tianbai’s cheek. The smile in her eyes, clear as spring water, was impossible to hide.

“I’m saving the position of captain of the personal guard for you.”

Seeing the smile on Shi Lan’s face, Tianbai rubbed her cheek and could not help grinning too. Her disappointment vanished completely. A moment later, she could not help asking in a low voice,

“Your Excellency, what is a captain of the personal guard?”

Shi Lan froze for a moment, then shook her head slightly.

“That was my oversight. It seems I really need to find you a tutor.”

The world in Tianbai’s eyes was far too simple. She understood the jungle law of the strong preying on the weak very thoroughly, but that was nowhere near enough.

Shi Lan could not keep Tianbai at her side every moment of every day. At this rate, Tianbai would very likely end up being sold one day and still help count the money for the person who sold her.