The Arrival of Prince Heng

No one knew the Daqi Emperor’s true name, yet his renown echoed throughout the entire realm.

He was born countless ages ago. In ancient times, when humanity still lived in a savage state, he rose to prominence and founded the Qi Tribe. He then gradually expanded his people, eventually unifying the entire continent to establish the Daqi Dynasty. He ascended the throne as its first, and only, Daqi Emperor.

Few had ever seen his true face. His last public appearance was tens of thousands of years ago, when he led the Demon Slaying Guards to hunt down and slay the Divine Demon, Nine Infants.

“If His Majesty, the Daqi Emperor, has overcome three tribulations, is his cultivation still at the Calamity Tribulation Realm…?” Su Hanxing asked, dumbfounded. It seemed that even as the Tianyan Sect’s chief disciple, privy to many secrets of the cultivation world, he knew surprisingly little about the mysterious and esteemed sovereign.

“Naturally not. His Majesty broke through the Calamity Tribulation Realm long ago,” Su He replied.

“Then…” Su Hanxing began, eager to inquire further, but Su He raised a hand, cutting him off.

“Enough. Do not inquire too much. Be careful, lest hearing too many secrets destabilizes your Dao heart, leading you to cultivation deviation,” Su He said, refusing to answer Su Hanxing further.

“Understood.”

Though Su Hanxing remained extremely curious, he obediently cupped his hands and assented. He then fell silent, and the carriage immediately descended into a profound quiet. Chi Qiu sat quietly beside Su Hanxing, but within her heart, tumultuous waves crashed against the shore. Triple tribulations, the Daqi Emperor—all these previously unheard-of revelations had flooded into her mind today. She now needed time to process the profound impact these secrets had on her.

“Alright, disembark. We have reached the core region of the Sishui Marsh.”

The treasure carriage remained quiet for only a short while before Su He suddenly rose. The carriage door swung open, and a gentle breeze, laced with wisps of demonic energy, wafted into the cabin. He then stepped out. Chi Qiu and Su Hanxing followed him out of the treasure carriage.

“Woooo—”

“Roar!”

Immediately upon disembarking, a series of desolate yet powerful beast roars assailed Chi Qiu’s ears, far more terrifying than the shrieks of the lesser demons in the outer reaches of the marsh.

“These are Great Demons of the God Concealing stage within the Sishui Marsh,” Su He explained. “They have been summoned by a single Taotie in the core region to guard the Yinglong Tomb. However, they can detect other cultivators, but not me.” He stroked his beard with a hint of self-satisfaction.

“We shall wait here. I expect people from other sects will arrive soon, and these God Concealing stage demons will not be able to detect us.” Su He made a gesture with his right hand, and a small formation instantly materialized within his grasp. He then pressed his hand downward, and the formation expanded to several zhang in size, enveloping the three of them.

Chi Qiu and Su Hanxing both nodded in affirmation. Having successfully constructed the formation, Su He suddenly turned, his expression becoming exceedingly serious.

“This journey to the Yinglong Tomb will undoubtedly be extremely perilous. Though I can divine the timing of the tomb’s opening, due to the True Dragon’s Aura obscuring the heavenly secrets, I cannot foresee whether fortune or misfortune awaits you once you enter. You will have to rely on yourselves.”

“Master, are you not entering with us?” Su Hanxing asked, his expression falling. Chi Qiu also looked at Su He with a bewildered gaze.

“I will not enter the Yinglong Tomb. Someone needs to guard the outside to hold back those few Divine Demons.” Su He nodded, then added, “Not just me, but all Dharma Manifestation Realm cultivators will not enter. This is a requirement put forth by my Tianyan Sect in conjunction with the Daqi Imperial Family, and all major sects and aristocratic families have assented.”

Su Hanxing immediately breathed a sigh of relief. At this moment, he possessed four great divine abilities. Although most of his magic treasures had been destroyed, the most crucial ones remained with him. He was confident that he was now the foremost God Concealing stage cultivator in the world.

On the other side, Chi Qiu also breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that no Dharma Manifestation Realm cultivators would enter the tomb. Although she had never witnessed such a cultivator in action, from Su Hanxing’s descriptions, such beings were not opponents she could hope to contend with.

“This True Dragon’s Aura is quite malevolent,” Su He mused, frowning and muttering to himself with an air of profound wisdom. “Once integrated into the body, it can obscure heavenly secrets to the point that even my Tianyan Sect cannot divine anything about it. Moreover, all cultivators who have merged with True Dragon’s Aura have met untimely deaths. It is ill-omened, truly ill-omened.”

Chi Qiu and Su Hanxing exchanged glances, both remaining silent.

“Oh? The Daqi Imperial Family has arrived, heh heh heh…” Su He suddenly stopped his murmuring and looked up at the sky.

Chi Qiu and Su Hanxing saw a golden warship, over a thousand zhang long, advancing through the air. A large blue banner fluttered in the wind, bearing a colossal ‘Qi’ character clearly visible even from a hundred li away.

Rumble—

Long after they first spotted the warship, a tremendous rumbling sound finally descended. The warship made no attempt to conceal its presence, simply advancing directly into the core region of the Sishui Marsh.

“Roar!”

Instantly, beast roars surged like a tide. Dense masses of Great Demons leaped up from the ground, charging directly toward the golden warship. For a moment, demonic energy erupted, dyeing the entire world a dark hue. Each of these Great Demons possessed God Concealing stage cultivation. Now, thousands of them surged forward simultaneously. Such a magnificent spectacle would be difficult to find anywhere else in the world.

“So many God Concealing stage Great Demons swarming at once… even a Dharma Manifestation Realm cultivator would find it hard to resist, wouldn’t they?” Su Hanxing stammered, awestruck.

“Heh heh heh… just watch,” Su He said unconcerned.

Bang!

Before Su Hanxing could reply, a tremendous boom echoed. A figure, approximately a thousand zhang tall, appeared above the warship. The figure had disheveled hair and a bare torso, its solid muscles bulging with veins. It wielded a colossal stone spear, exuding an aura of primeval wildness.

Is this the Dharma Manifestation condensed by an expert drawing upon the power of heaven and earth? Chi Qiu thought, secretly awestruck. She had never before felt such an overwhelming aura.

“The Bear Totem Dharma Manifestation… it’s that old fellow…” Su He murmured to himself, his smile widening.

The colossal figure stood, spear in hand, facing the tide of Great Demons. It swept its spear horizontally, and a heaven-shaking whoosh ripped through the air. In but an instant, the spear traversed thousands of zhang, and a vast downpour of blood immediately rained from the sky, staining the forest blood-red. With that single spear strike, nearly a hundred God Concealing stage Great Demons were utterly annihilated.

“Too… too strong…” Chi Qiu stammered. Watching hundreds of Great Demons, whose cultivation was higher than her own, being struck into oblivion by that single spear, she finally experienced the terror of a Dharma Manifestation Realm expert.

Such might truly lives up to the name of a Heaven-Earth Dharma Manifestation.

At this moment, she finally understood those God Concealing stage female cultivators who married Dharma Manifestation Realm experts. If she couldn’t become such an expert herself, then perhaps relying on one wasn’t such a bad thing.

“It seems the Dharma Manifestation Realm cultivator sent by the Daqi Imperial Family this time must be Qi Wuyai. His strength is top-tier even among his peers.” Su He clearly knew the owner of this manifestation well.

“It’s Uncle Wuyai? He’s actually that strong?” Su Hanxing was first startled, then his face lit up with joy.

Qi Wuyai, eh…

Chi Qiu pricked up her ears, listening to their conversation without interjecting.

“Uncle Wuyai’s suppressive power is truly terrifying. They’re about to enter the core region.” Su Hanxing pointed at the sky, his excitement barely concealed. It seemed he and this Qi Wuyai were very familiar.

In the sky, the golden warship charged into the core region with overwhelming momentum. When it was just a few li from the center, even several Great Demons of the Dharma Manifestation Realm went to block it. However, the disparity in strength was too great. In mere moments, those demons were defeated and fled.

The golden warship gradually slowed and descended, finally stopping less than a li from Chi Qiu’s group. The Dharma Manifestation also vanished. As soon as the warship halted, a golden figure leaped from it. He took a single step, crossing hundreds of zhang to enter the formation and appear before them.

“Old Su, Hanxing, and who is this?” The golden figure was a middle-aged man in golden robes, eight chi tall, with a congenial face. His long hair was strangely streaked with white.

“This is Chi Qiu.” Su He gestured for her to step forward.

“This junior is named Chi Qiu, a rogue cultivator.” Chi Qiu stepped forward, bowing slightly and cupping her fists in a salute.

“Still a young lass, but with decent talent,” the golden-robed man nodded. “Why are you saluting like a man? Quickly change it.”

Su Hanxing, hearing the man’s words, immediately quirked his lips. He struggled to restrain himself from laughing aloud.

“Hahahaha, her situation is special. Chi Qiu, this is His Highness Qi Wuyai. You may address him as Prince Heng.” Su He also burst out laughing, though he still introduced the Prince’s identity.

“Greetings, His Highness Prince Heng.” Chi Qiu’s face flushed crimson as she greeted him timidly, then performed a woman’s curtsey with extremely stiff movements.

“Now that’s more like a woman,” Qi Wuyai nodded in satisfaction. He didn’t know why Su He was laughing, but for now, he didn’t want to leave the warship, so he invited Su He aboard to discuss matters.

“Let’s go.”

Su He led Chi Qiu and Su Hanxing to board the warship with Qi Wuyai.