Chapter 154: Perfection of the Ancient Demonic Five Beasts, First Strike at the Fifth Realm to Decapitate the Yuan Emperor [Happy New Year's Eve!]
Within the pitch-black and gloomy grand hall, absolute darkness prevailed.
No lamps had been lit, and the night was like a completely overturned inkpot, its dark fluid staining everything, allowing not a shred of light to pierce through.
Upon the imperial throne, the Emperor of the Zhao family sat quietly.
Spread out below was the corpse of the Second Prince, Zhao Pei, his eyes still wide open in death, refusing to close.
The bloodline of the noble Great Zhao imperial family had ultimately ended up in such a miserable plight, nailed to death outside the city of Lin'an as if hoisted onto a pillar of shame, dealing a fierce slap to the face of Zhao Tianyan himself.
Suddenly, clear footsteps began to echo, step by step.
Prime Minister Qin Lishi walked in slowly, holding a glazed lamp that gradually illuminated the ink-black grand hall.
"This old subject pays respects to Your Majesty."
Qin Lishi bowed slightly and said.
"Beloved Minister Qin, spare the formalities." The Emperor of the Zhao family spoke quite calmly. "You request an audience with Us at this hour—could it be that something of great importance has occurred?"
At this juncture, civil and military officials alike were completely unwilling to seek an audience with him, fearing that doing so would incur the wrath of the Zhao family's Emperor.
Could the Emperor not deal with officials who relied on Great Zhao for their prosperity, if he dared not deal with An Le who was using the Sacred Mountain as a tiger skin to intimidate others?
The Emperor of the Zhao family was naturally well aware of this, which was why he felt quite startled and suspicious at Qin Lishi's arrival.
"Your Majesty, the news that An Le has become one who can converse with the Saint Master has now spread across the world. According to reports from all directions, the geniuses on the Great Yuan-Mongol Empire's Falcon Ranking have crossed the Canglang River by boat and are heading toward Lin'an in the capacity of envoys."
"Gu Baijing, the Emperor of the Western Liang Kingdom who has fallen into madness, has personally dispatched a document stating that he will send the Western Liang Imperial Grand-nephew and Young Princess—the children of Crown Prince Gu Chenglin, Gu Huangquan and Gu Naihe—together to visit Lin'an as Western Liang envoys."
"As for the Kingdom of Dali, the Dali Emperor has also sent a document, intending to let several geniuses of the Dali Kingdom's Star-Plucking Sect come to Lin'an to study in the capacity of envoys."
Qin Lishi bowed as he stated the situations one by one.
The lamp he held flickered from side to side under the breath of an invisible breeze, making the light within the grand hall wax and wane.
After a moment, the Emperor of the Zhao family upon the imperial throne let out a soft laugh.
His voice carried a hint of mockery.
"They truly do not hold Us in their eyes... One by one, sending the most talented generation of youths in their countries to Lin'an, all for the sake of contending for the position of the Seventh Mountain Lord."
While mocking, the Emperor of the Zhao family also revealed a hint of helplessness.
In truth, he really did not dare to do anything to the geniuses of the Great Yuan-Mongol Empire's Falcon Ranking. Putting aside the principle that in warfare between two nations, messengers are not executed, the deterrence alone brought by the Yuan-Mongol Emperor was enough to make him hesitant to act rashly.
Furthermore, these geniuses entering Lin'an were actually related to the Sacred Mountain—they came to contend for the position of the Seventh Mountain Lord. If he were to strike out casually, he had no way of knowing whether he would violate the will of the Sacred Mountain.
As for the two kingdoms of Dali and Western Liang, the Great Zhao Emperor had intentions of joining forces with them to resist Yuan-Mongol, and naturally would not do anything to undermine relations with them.
weighed down by so many considerations, the Emperor of the Zhao family truly did not dare to strike.
And these people all knew that he dared not strike.
Just as outside the Lin'an Prefecture gates, when An Le slew the Second Prince Zhao Pei and verified his identity as one who could converse with the Saint Master, the Emperor of the Zhao family had simply remained silent, leaving a ten-thousand-strong army staring at one another in bafflement, turning the whole affair into a joke.
At this moment, the Emperor of the Zhao family could not help thinking that these nations dared to act so unbridled perhaps because An Le's actions had set a precedent.
This made the hatred the Zhao family's Emperor felt toward An Le burn ever more intensely.
"Forget it. If they wish to enter Lin'an, let them enter. Generals like General Ye and General Li, as guardians of the frontier battlefields, have not tried to stop them, so We naturally will not go and block them."
"Besides, they are inheriting the will of the Sacred Mountain to contend for the position of Mountain Lord, and We naturally have no reason to stop them."
"Once they enter Lin'an, they need only strictly abide by the laws of Great Zhao."
"As for Dali and Western Liang, our Great Zhao is currently preparing to join forces with the two nations to resist the Great Yuan-Mongol Empire... We can afford to be somewhat lenient."
"The matters of hosting them shall be handled by Beloved Minister Qin."
The Great Zhao Emperor said indomitably.
Wasn't An Le arrogant?
These people entering Lin'an were essentially targeting An Le. Especially the geniuses of the Yuan-Mongol Falcon Ranking; since An Le had crossed south from the Yuan-Mongol capital, Dadu, safe and sound, these geniuses were naturally filled with bitter dissatisfaction.
The geniuses of the Falcon Ranking had received feedback from the Central Plains dragon veins, and now each possessed exceptional talent and extremely formidable cultivation. It was said that the geniuses at the forefront of the Falcon Ranking had even stepped into the Seventh Realm.
Most of them were under fifty years of age, and to be more rigorous, the supreme talents at the top of the ranking were all under thirty.
Breaking into the Seventh Realm before thirty...
In the future, they were almost guaranteed to enter the Ninth Realm, or even possess the qualifications to assault the Tenth Realm.
Such supreme talents were bound to be proud and arrogant, and they would definitely clash with An Le. These geniuses alone would be enough to give An Le a handful of trouble.
The one who converses with the Saint Master might not necessarily become the Lord of the Seventh Mountain. Now that the Emperor of the Zhao family had completely broken ties with An Le, he naturally did not wish to see An Le's path go smoothly.
Inside the Tianxuan Palace, Qin Lishi nodded, though he did not voice too many opinions.
In fact, before coming to report, he had already guessed roughly seventy or eighty percent of the Zhao family Emperor's attitude. Facing the geniuses coming to Lin'an from Yuan-Mongol, Dali, Western Liang, and other nations, the Emperor of the Zhao family... naturally could not make the overbearing move of detaining all these geniuses in Lin'an; that did not fit the Emperor's style.
Indeed, Qin Lishi even felt that the Emperor of the Zhao family would have to treat them well with fine food and wine, terrified that these people might get injured or die in Lin'an, thereby creating unnecessary trouble.
The Emperor of the Zhao family wished to extend his life by five hundred years, and until he could complete that endeavor, his primary pursuit would likely be stability.
"This subject understands."
"This humble subject withdraws."
Qin Lishi spoke no more. Holding his lamp and performing a court salute, he turned and left the Tianxuan Palace.
Within the palace towers, darkness closed in once again.
The Emperor of the Zhao family sat quietly and motionlessly upon the imperial throne.
......
......
Dawn was breaking.
A pale white fish-belly hue spread across the horizon, resembling the blank space in a traditional ink wash painting, stirring infinite imagination.
Inside the small courtyard, the morning breeze blew gently.
An Le sat quietly beneath the old locust tree. On the leaves of the old locust tree, sword qi surged, looking as though they were frosted over.
Li Qingchuan narrowed his eyes, standing rigidly in the courtyard as he stared at An Le, astonishment flashing repeatedly through his gaze.
Throughout this entire night, An Le had opened and closed his eyes many times. As An Le's Dao bond servant, he could clearly sense An Le's condition; every single time he opened and closed his eyes, an imperceptible transformation would take place.
What was going on here?
An epiphany?
That was the only possible explanation. Perhaps An Le was reflecting upon and summarizing his experiences during this period of cultivation, which was why continuous transformations were taking place?
Was this what a true supreme talent looked like?
Li Qingchuan marveled inwardly. He himself was a genius; those who could enter the Ninth Realm could all be called geniuses—without talent, one could not even touch the threshold of the Ninth Realm.
Yet, Li Qingchuan knew he could not achieve the monstrous feat of constant, continuous epiphany like An Le.
Inside the house, Zhao Huangting and Su Muzhe had been appreciating paintings. Sensing the situation outside, they both walked out.
"Do not go and disturb him."
Although Zhao Huangting could not fully fathom An Le's state either, such changes were, without a doubt, a good thing for An Le.
"His trip to the northern lands yielded massive gains. Drawing upon the will of that ancient emperor from ten thousand years ago within the Green Mountains, if he can manage to grasp even a sliver of that emperor's essence, it will be immensely beneficial to his future cultivation."
"Following that, crossing south of the Canglang River, he relied on a trump card to slay Tong Guan—a Fifth Realm warrior killing a Ninth Realm expert... Even if he relied on a mysterious trump card, the harvest is simply beyond our imagination."
"Therefore, we do not understand his state, nor is there any need to interfere with it."
Zhao Huangting said.
Then, casting a sideways glance at Li Qingchuan, the old man still harbored a deep sense of dissatisfaction toward this old Daoist priest, even though the latter had become An Le's Dao bond servant.
Zhao Huangting even felt as though Li Qingchuan had gotten off far too easy.
"Keep your wits about you and properly guard his path. Do not let anyone disturb this rare state of his."
Hearing this, Li Qingchuan hurriedly acknowledged the order.
Right now, as a Dao bond servant, his status was the lowest. Given the extraordinary relationship between Zhao Huangting and An Le, Li Qingchuan was certainly not foolish enough to act arrogant in front of Zhao Huangting.
Suddenly.
Zhao Huangting and Su Muzhe both raised their heads.
They saw someone drifting through the night sky, flying gracefully on a sword.
Anyone who could swagger about flying on a sword above the Lin'an Prefecture airspace naturally possessed deep confidence, as well as an extraordinary background and strength.
Sure enough, the newcomer was the ice-cold and aloof Sixth Mountain Lord.
The Sixth Mountain Lord descended gracefully into the courtyard.
At a single glance, he spotted An Le's bizarre state, and his stern brows knitted together in a frown.
He had come to take An Le to the Saint Mountain to determine the mountain; since the matter of conversing with the Saint Master had already been decided, it could not be delayed for too long.
Usually, the Sacred Mountain would grant those qualified to converse with the Saint Master some time to prepare, and even consider what questions they wished to put to the Saint Master.
After all, the opportunity to converse with the Saint Master was truly too rare—it was a precious chance to have one's doubts resolved.
Doubts in cultivation, doubts in life, or even doubts in matters of the heart... the Saint Master could answer them all.
Seeing the Sixth Mountain Lord, Zhao Huangting knew what his purpose was.
He smiled and pointed toward the house: "An Le just painted a scroll of sword and bamboo. Go inside and appreciate it, and by the way, wait a moment for him. This kid... should have encountered a wonderful opportunity."
A gleam of light flashed in the Sixth Mountain Lord's eyes. He still vividly remembered the ink-bamboo painting An Le had first shown him.
Thus, he stepped into the house to appreciate the painting. As for taking An Le to the Saint Mountain to settle matters, there was no rush anymore.
Peace returned to the courtyard once more.
An Le sat quietly beneath the old locust tree, his aura shifting constantly, the trace of death between his brows even flickering in and out of existence.
This caused Li Qingchuan—whose very life and death were now inextricably linked to An Le's—to feel his heartstrings tighten involuntarily.
......
......
An Le had no idea how many times he had been defeated.
However, he felt no discouragement; on the contrary, he grew more combative with every setback. Defeat in this space did not affect his invincible momentum anyway, so An Le simply did not care, using the clashes to continuously temper his steadfast heart and his landscape sword intent.
He even fused his steadfast heart and landscape sword intent into a set of swordsmanship unique to him alone, naming it simply and directly after them: *Steadfast Heart and Rivers and Mountains*.
Battling powerful opponents was the best way to hone oneself, and dancing on the razor's edge of life and death allowed one to continuously elevate oneself, strengthening and tempering the mind and spirit.
Clashing with the battle puppet that replicated the youthful Emperor Yuan improved An Le's combat techniques the fastest.
A breeze swept past.
An Le's eyes were clear. Opening them, he found himself once again inside the battle puppet space.
Tilting his head slightly, an arrow whistled past him, which he easily dodged. The arrow exploded upon impact with the ground, blasting a deep crater, while the Mo Chi sword had already emerged from its sword box, held firmly in his grasp.
The Sacred Deer posture of the Ancient Demonic Five Beasts moved with steps as swift as the wind, bounding forward like a divine deer in mid-leap.
He collided and clashed with the charging youthful Emperor Yuan. Within his internal elixir, the phenomenon of the ancient beast emerged instantly, the divine deer posture shifting seamlessly into the Demonic Tiger posture. It lashed out like an ancient demonic tiger roaring at the stars, unleashing a might that was unimaginably vast and powerful!
Before clashing with the youthful Emperor Yuan, An Le had once thought that with both his physical body and spiritual cultivation at the dual Fifth Realm perfection, coupled with his billowing invincible momentum, he could be considered invincible among his peers.
However, after truly exchanging blows with the youthful Emperor Yuan, An Le realized that he had not yet refined his cultivation arts to absolute perfection.
His spiritual cultivation art, the *Waterfall Sword Scroll*, aided by the future Green Mountain sword qi visualization, had successfully given birth to sword intent of the mind, which could be considered reaching perfection in the lower five realms.
However, his physical-body forging art had not yet reached the perfection of the lower five realms.
The *Ancient Demonic Five Beasts Classic* was evolved and transformed from the *Five Beasts Body-Forging Technique*. Although he had successfully manifested the five beasts' phenomena and could infuse them into every strike and stance to amplify his combat power, the truth was that An Le was not yet entirely fluent in the transitions between the phenomena of the ancient five beasts.
In other words, his ancient demonic body-forging scripture still had room for improvement.
Therefore, this battle of wits and steel against the youthful Emperor Yuan had been continuously dedicated by An Le to perfecting the transitions of the Ancient Demonic Five Beasts.
From the qi and blood circulation and switching between the deer posture and the tiger posture, there was now no obstruction whatsoever—it was entirely natural and smooth like flowing water.
As he drew his sword, the momentum was heavy and powerful, colliding with the youthful Emperor Yuan who radiated divine might, yet he was not the slightest bit disadvantaged.
An Le's gaze was calm. Wielding Mo Chi, sword qi surged and intertwined before him. Various simple swordsmanship techniques were unleashed one after another, flowing like uninhibited, splashing ink over a landscape painting.
The youthful Emperor Yuan parried with a two-part black spear. Amidst the collisions, qi, blood, and spiritual intent billowed and spread, tearing and ripping up all the turf across the grasslands.
Intricate swordsmanship wove together into a canvas that slowly unfolded like mountains and rivers.
The youthful Emperor Yuan's face was grave, his eyes even carrying a trace of astonishment. This Central Plains youth—how formidable!
When had such a supreme talent been born in the Central Plains?!
Nevertheless, the battle intent in the youthful Emperor Yuan's eyes boiled over. Using brute force to break all techniques, his dual-part spear thrust out fiercely, attempting to pierce clean through the air.
The Sword Qi Mountains and Rivers scroll was torn to shreds, but sword marks were likewise left across the body of the youthful Emperor Yuan, oozing with bright red blood.
The sword intent raged, burrowing along the wounds and drilling into the youthful Emperor Yuan's body.
The youthful Emperor Yuan was grave to the extreme. Within his body, a blazing sun seemed to rise, his qi and blood glowing with dazzling brilliance that melted away the numerous strands of sword intent.
He gripped his spear with one hand and the curved saber at his waist with the other.
An Le charged into battle once more with his sword. His qi and blood shifted and morphed, transforming into the Demonic Ape posture. His sword style grew bizarre and unfathomable, and coupled with his landscape sword intent, the Landscape Scroll unfurled once more.
Yet An Le's gaze remained serious; he had previously suffered repeated defeats at the hand of the youthful Emperor Yuan's single saber strike.
This saber strike possessed immense might. An Le had experienced countless failures and reviewed them repeatedly, constantly adjusting and deducing through [Ancient Prodigy] and [God-Communication Sword Body]. His combat techniques steadily improved throughout this process, and his predictive calculation prowess in battle grew as well!
The instincts and intuition honed through life-and-death combat began to gradually integrate into his combat techniques.
The saber qi tore apart the Sword Qi Mountains and Rivers scroll, but An Le showed not a shred of surprise. His sword momentum shifted again, sending sword qi soaring to the Dipper stars, roaring across the world like a mountain-sized fierce bear.
The fierce bear embracing the mountains was like an unmoving King of Vidyaraja, capable of both offense and defense.
Having used the fierce bear posture to block that world-destroying saber qi, An Le was covered in blood, but his eyes burned brightly. Raising his sword, his mind pure and clear, with nothing left in his gaze save for a single sword strike, he smoothly and naturally transitioned from the fierce bear posture to the Sword Crane posture—the very last trace of stiffness during the transition was shattered with a roar!
Then, he thrust forth his sword!
A steadfast-heart sword strike!
Sword light crisscrossed, saber qi raged.
This single sword directly caused blood to spout from the youthful Emperor Yuan's shoulder, nearly cleaving him diagonally in half!
The wounded youthful Emperor Yuan grew all the more crazed. Wielding his curved saber in a flurry, his movements incomparably tricky and ruthless, every single strike aimed at taking a life without the slightest bit of flashy or superfluous technique.
After An Le weathered the first wave and achieved a counter-attack, his entire person grew braver the longer he fought.
Both of them gave it their all. The Yuan Emperor wielded his saber, An Le raised his sword, parrying and countering each other blow for blow. Every single move was ferocious and lethal, each trying to find the other's weak point, yet both were at the Fifth Realm perfection—their body-forging and spiritual cultivation arts had both reached the ultimate zenith of the Fifth Realm, leaving not a single flaw to be found!
Battling in this self-forgetful state, two whole days passed unawares. The turf across the entire grassland was shattered beyond recognition.
Ravens and ravines crisscrossed, earth churned upward.
Lingering sword qi and saber qi dyed the severed green grass, making them look grim and razor-sharp.
Rain began to fall upon the grasslands.
Raindrops pattered down unceasingly.
The youthful Emperor Yuan gripped his curved saber, gazing at the Central Plains youth in the distance who was likewise covered in blood.
"What is your name?"
The youthful Emperor Yuan spoke for the very first time. This signified that he acknowledged this youth as an opponent standing toe-to-toe with him.
"An Le."
Grasping Mo Chi, An Le slowly closed his eyes and said softly.
The youthful Emperor Yuan raised his curved saber: "My name is Tie Qingcang. I am very glad to know you, yet deeply regret knowing you as well. Because you are going to die."
His words were rather chuunibyou, yet carried an arrogance that thoroughly matched his temperament.
The youthful Emperor Yuan mobilized all the qi and blood within his body, squeezing out every last ounce of strength he possessed.
Facing the youthful Emperor Yuan, whose momentum was climbing higher and higher, a corner of An Le's lips curled into a smile, and he slowly closed his eyes.
His state of mind settled deep and firm. Upon his internal elixir, the phenomena of the Ancient Demonic Five Beasts shifted continuously.
The demonic tiger, fierce bear, divine deer, demonic ape, and sword crane all seemed to condense into physical substance at this very moment.
His internal elixir transformed into a green mountain, across which the Ancient Demonic Five Beasts loomed large.
It was as if scenes from the ancient era were recreating themselves!
At this instant, An Le's Ancient Demonic Five Beasts Classic was thoroughly refined to perfection!
The true perfection of the lower five realms!
BOOM!
As the youthful Emperor Yuan charged forward like a blazing, scorching sun, the raindrops falling from the dome of heaven were instantly vaporized. The ruined grasslands suddenly grew arid, and the green grass seemed to wither and turn yellow!
The youthful Emperor Yuan swept out with his curved saber, and that blade qi was scorching and tumultuous!
It carried an overbearing and ferocious might that sought to sever everything in existence!
Yet An Le opened his eyes!
The Ancient Demonic Five Beasts Classic was thoroughly perfected, and the transitions between them now possessed no shackles whatsoever.
He raised Mo Chi and thrust forth a sword. Various phenomena manifested behind him, sword qi surged forth and materialized before him into a profound canvas!
Within that canvas, the ancient paintings seemed to be depicted vividly and exhaustively!
This extremely intricate sword strike collided with the youthful Emperor Yuan's single saber blow.
However, the youthful Emperor Yuan discovered that stripped through layers of sword qi, this supremely intricate sword strike ultimately boiled down to just a single, highly streamlined sword.
Sword qi and saber qi split the open ground. The very last patch of turf beneath their feet was thoroughly shredded into pieces, dirt flying as the bare earth was exposed!
The youthful Emperor Yuan's chest was pierced by Mo Chi, his heart crushed to pieces by that streamlined sword strike!
Bewilderment still lingered within his eyes.
He had once been supremely confident; he had once soared with boundless arrogance; he had once experienced the tragic slaughter of his tribe, and amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood, he had sworn an oath to unite the six tribes of the grasslands and become the King of the Grasslands.
He wished to stand at the pinnacle of cultivation and become the number one in the world.
To ultimately rule the world, step into the Eleventh Realm, and question the Sacred Mountain!
That was why he had sought perfection in every single realm.
Yet it turned out that he, who had once been confident of being invincible in the lower five realms, was not truly invincible.
Henceforth, the new era replaced the old.
This Central Plains youth before him would supplant him and become the true number one of the lower five realms!
(End of this chapter)