Chapter 55: Tonight, we hold a funeral for Great Liang!

“Is this the path above the Grandmaster level?”

Su Chen subconsciously held his breath.

Too strong!

This pressure alone made Grandmasters tremble, forced the Peak practitioners to submit, and turned the mortal realm into a desolate wasteland. This was a different level of existence that transcended the Great Liang.

The giant whale had not yet appeared.

Yet the entire imperial palace was already frozen, and the imperial city was covered in frost. Blizzards descended from the abyssal caves, turning this place—which had originally been in the warmth of spring—directly into a world of ice and snow.

*Wooo!*

The giant whale cried out.

It had appeared!

*Boom!*

At this moment, the cause of the abnormal snowstorms and bitter winters that had persisted since the tenth year of Jianwu, as well as the frozen lands of Great Liang, was finally revealed.

The providence of Great Liang was thin. The giant whale rose from beneath the earth, altering the climate across a hundred thousand miles of Liang territory.

This long-lived exotic beast stood a hundred feet tall, with a massive body spanning several thousand meters. It was translucent, as if carved from azure ice crystals, swimming through the sky. Blizzards surged around its body, scattering down upon the mortal world.

Upon its body, seven hundred-meter-long Soul-Fixing Nails, after three hundred years, had long since turned the color of ice-blue blood.

It emerged from the dark depths, wandering aimlessly above the imperial city.

“Heavens!”

“What on earth is happening?”

Outside the imperial city, First-Rank practitioners cried out in terror. They saw the giant whale, resembling a celestial beast, roaming the heavens, and the imperial city being frozen in an instant.

Could all of this truly be achieved by human hands?

“The Immortal Treasure!”

“I understand, this is the Immortal Treasure that the rumored Emperor Taizu of Liang obtained...”

A First-Rank practitioner’s eyes burned with fervor. He attempted to step into the imperial city, only to be instantly turned into an ice sculpture, his life force extinguished.

The crowd was horrified.

The imperial city had become a death trap.

An ordinary First-Rank practitioner would die just by stepping foot there.

“Hahaha!”

“I am still a step ahead, am I not?”

A manic laugh rang out.

Beneath the giant whale.

Amidst the ruins of the Tianwu Tower, the demonized Emperor Jianwu was bleeding from his seven orifices, his flesh and blood withered. Yet, even so, he continued to laugh.

Because his hand had pierced the chest of the white-robed Chu Shi, ripping out that still-beating, living heart.

“This final blow... was not your power...”

“You!”

“You awakened the Great Yu...”

The white-robed Chu Shi felt a wave of weakness. The world spun, and he spat out blood continuously. Flowing from the wound in his chest was neither crimson human blood nor pitch-black demon blood, but an ice-blue demonic blood identical to that of the giant whale in the sky.

“So what?”

Emperor Jianwu sneered.

Victory was decided!

He was the ultimate winner.

After today, he would continue to hold the Immortal Treasure, rule Great Liang, suppress Great Zhou, and continue to consume his children for longevity, remaining the sole Emperor of Great Liang.

Everything that happened today would vanish into time within a generation, two, or three. No one would remember; it would only become a legend in ancient texts.

“Exotic beast, exotic beast... your soul was scattered, yet it reassembled itself within the body of my only son who possesses a spiritual root.”

“What does it matter if you opposed me for three hundred years? In the end, you died by my hand today.”

“Rest assured, I will not repeat my mistakes. I will no longer let a child with a spiritual root consume your longevity blood!”

“Dissipate completely!”

Emperor Jianwu laughed wantonly.

“You ungrateful, evil seed... you will meet no good end.”

The white-robed Chu Shi—or rather, the soul of this thousand-year beast—let out an unwilling roar. Blood leaked from his nose and mouth, his body grew cold, and he collapsed completely to the ground.

“Now, it is time to deal with the bystanders.”

Emperor Jianwu’s cold, dark eyes swept across the surroundings.

*Buzz!*

Two First-Rank demons felt their scalps go numb, as if plunged into an ice cellar. Without hesitation, they turned and fled.

They were utterly terrified.

They likely would never dare to walk the mortal realm again.

“Father, spare me!”

The young Emperor knelt and kowtowed, held by the white-haired purple-robed man. Tears streamed down his face, his eyes filled with regret.

“Good son, you are my future Crown Prince. How could I kill you? I can barely bring myself to protect you enough,” Emperor Jianwu said with a smile, patting his shoulder.

He did not kill him.

It wasn't out of affection for his son, but because of the need for longevity. He should be killed, but not right now.

“Thank you, Imperial Father!”

The young Emperor was overcome with gratitude, weeping profusely and kowtowing repeatedly. However, beneath his sleeves, the veins on his hand bulged as he gripped a metal plate even tighter.

Nearby, amidst the ruins of the Tianwu Tower, a black-robed figure raised a decaying head, revealing yellow talisman paper on his face. He stared at Emperor Jianwu, poised to strike.

It looked like a scene of fatherly love and filial piety.

However, a Grandmaster—even a weakened one—was still a Grandmaster. The young Emperor did not dare to take a step.

“There is still one more small fry.”

Emperor Jianwu withdrew his smile, his cold eyes turning toward the figure in the bright red python robe.

“It seems... I am finished...”

Xu Han was laughing, laughing wildly.

His bright red python robe was stained with blood, fluttering in the wind and snow.

Was he afraid?

Yes!

Facing a Grandmaster, his extreme blood essence and dark blue true essence were trembling violently; he lacked even the courage to fight.

But from the bottom of his heart, he felt happy.

Fortunately...

He hadn't dragged Master Su into this.

Designing a way to lead Master Su away was perhaps the best decision he had ever made in his life.

“This ice and snow brought by the giant whale is something even a Peak First-Rank cannot withstand. Fortunately, Master Su is not in the palace...”

“Godfather, the things you couldn't do, I did them for you. I did even more than you ever could!”

Xu Han laughed, his laughter growing louder and louder. Tears of joy flowed from his eyes; he felt an unprecedented sense of liberation.

So, he, Xu Xiaohan, could also become such a remarkable figure!

He was so close.

He was almost able to overthrow Great Liang and achieve what even his godfather, Zhang Gui, could not.

“Hahaha!”

“Standing at the pinnacle of power, standing above millions, making sure no one dares to bully or insult me, making sure everyone knows the name Xu Xiaohan! This is my youthful spirit, the desire of my heart!”

“A Grandmaster? So what?”

“It is merely death.”

“What is there to fear?”

“Fight! Let us fight!”

Xu Han laughed loudly, casting aside all inhibitions. He burned his blood essence and true essence, preparing to walk toward Emperor Jianwu, intending to burst forth with the most brilliant final radiance of his life.

“An ant dares to provoke a Grandmaster...”

The white-haired purple-robed man showed a mocking expression.

“A pity. He is merely at the Peak level; he is utterly useless.”

The young Emperor felt a flash of regret.

As for Emperor Jianwu, though he watched Xu Han, he never truly took him seriously. He merely beckoned with a finger and said indifferently.

“Fine!”

“I grant you death.”

“Then, come and receive it.”

Just then.

A trembling voice echoed through the tense atmosphere.

“Um...”

The Peak First-Rank practitioner from Great Zhou appeared in the distance, looking terrified and on the verge of tears. He didn't want to come, but he didn't dare not to.

He truly hadn't expected the battle to end so quickly.

The brocade box in his hand felt exceptionally heavy and dangerous.

Before him was a Grandmaster.

But the person behind him might not be much inferior to a Grandmaster.

He truly had no choice.

“Lord Xu, someone asked me to deliver something to you.”

“Catch it!”

With a surge of true essence, the Great Zhou First-Rank practitioner threw the brocade box toward Xu Han. Without hesitation, he turned and fled, scrambling away.

Initially, no one paid attention to this little interlude.

When the brocade box landed in Xu Han's hands.

At this moment, it was the same.

A mere broken-armed Peak First-Rank facing a Grandmaster—even a wounded one—could he really turn the tide?

Unless he also became a Grandmaster, but was that possible?

“Master Su...”

Xu Han recognized the box, his gaze turning complex.

“Once upon a time, I hoped Master Su would collect my corpse just as he did for my godfather. But now, I hope he doesn't. It's too dangerous...”

In the next instant.

Xu Han opened the brocade box.

A strange fragrance wafted out.

“Hm?!”

Emperor Jianwu’s expression changed.

“This is...”

The old purple-robed man was nearly driven mad.

“Ah! The Thousand-Year Ginseng King! The last time it appeared was during the Great Yu Dynasty. A First-Rank practitioner who consumes it has a seventy percent chance of entering the Grandmaster realm...”

“Seize it!”

The young Emperor screamed hoarsely.

*Boom!*

In the ruins, the black-robed figure flew forward, attempting to snatch it.

Faster than him was.

The old purple-robed man.

And even the Grandmaster demon, Emperor Jianwu.

“Hand it over!”

“Ah!”

“Hand the Thousand-Year Ginseng King to me!”

The three powerful figures present had blood-red eyes, all driven mad, lunging for the brocade box.

Inside the box.

A ginseng the size of a palm lay quietly. It had a human shape and, as if possessed by life, it pulsed up and down as if breathing.

The Thousand-Year Ginseng King was enough to drive every practitioner in the mortal realm mad, even Grandmasters, for it represented the most powerful force in the world.

A Grandmaster consuming it could reach an even higher level.

“Master Su, so this was your gift. But why give it to Xiaohan? This is such a waste of a Thousand-Year Treasure Medicine King...”

Xu Han’s eyes trembled, and tears flowed down.

This was the Thousand-Year Treasure Medicine King!

Below immortal spiritual medicines, it was the strongest treasure medicine in the mortal realm.

A peerless opportunity that led directly to the Grandmaster realm!

As expected.

In this half-life of wandering and suffering, in the end, the only one who had treated him best was Master Su.

Xu Han swallowed the Thousand-Year Ginseng King!

“Ah!”

“Spit it out, you brat!”

The old purple-robed man roared.

The young Emperor’s eyes bulged with rage, and Emperor Jianwu was also roaring hoarsely.

“Eating my treasure medicine! I will eat you!”

*Boom!*

A Grandmaster and two Peak practitioners attacked.

“So, this is a Grandmaster...”

At this moment.

Rolling crimson flames ignited upon Xu Han’s body.

He had entered the Grandmaster realm.

“A Grandmaster?!”

“You entered the Grandmaster realm? How is that possible so quickly!”

The young Emperor’s terrified cry had just escaped.

*Boom!*

In that instant, the old purple-robed man and the black-robed corpse-refiner were turned to ash beneath the crimson flames.

“I am also a Grandmaster! Give me back my treasure medicine!”

Emperor Jianwu roared, consumed by fury.

*Boom!*

Two Grandmasters collided.

*Pfft!*

Emperor Jianwu was slammed into the ruins, black demon blood leaking from his nose and mouth.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

In the next moment, Xu Han, wreathed in blazing fire, moved as fast as a streak of light. He charged forward, unleashing thousands of punches in an instant. The sky was filled with afterimages as he relentlessly hammered at Emperor Jianwu’s head.

“How can he be this strong?!”

Emperor Jianwu was terrified.

The young Emperor was ecstatic.

Lord Xu would surely stand on his side.

A Grandmaster!

After this, even if he controlled the Immortal Treasure, he was willing to share Great Liang with his foster father, Lord Xu!

“Hahaha!”

“I understand now.”

“You practiced Zhang Gui’s Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Art. You reached the Peak by burning your lifespan, so your foundation is unstable. You cannot hold the power of a Grandmaster at all...”

“What? Do you want to kill me quickly because you're afraid I'll retaliate against Su Chen?”

“You guessed correctly.”

“He actually gave the Thousand-Year Ginseng King to a useless eunuch dog like you! What a waste! He didn't even contribute it to me! I will tear him into a thousand pieces!”

Emperor Jianwu’s face was covered in blood as he hissed savagely. In that moment, he threw a punch, recreating the lethal power that had killed the white-robed Chu Shi.

*Boom!*

Xu Han was sent flying.

His Grandmaster strength, like a deflated balloon, plummeted instantly.

Emperor Jianwu’s aura also plummeted.

“You made me pay such a heavy price!”

“You!”

“Must repay me with your medicinal blood!”

Emperor Jianwu approached with a distorted expression.

“A Peak First-Rank foundation obtained by burning lifespan is, after all, like floating duckweed without roots...”

Clad in his bright red python robe, Xu Han sat slumped in a pool of blood. His essence was scattering, and his black hair rapidly turned white. His appearance withered, and his flesh dried up in an instant, just like Zhang Gui in years past.

He was dying.

Before death.

The past of his life flashed before Xu Han’s eyes.

He...

Really...

Wanted to see Master Su one last time.

There were too many words he wanted to say to Master Su before he died. Even if it meant death, he wanted to die in the arms of the only person who had ever been good to him.

“Quick!”

“Give me your medicinal blood!”

Seeing Xu Han on the verge of death, Emperor Jianwu grew desperate. He wasn't faring much better; if he didn't eat now, there wouldn't be a drop of medicinal blood left. Opening his massive, fanged maw, he lunged to bite Xu Han.

At that moment.

The swirling snow and wind suddenly went silent.

“Sigh!”

A single sigh.

Then.

The sound of footsteps approached.

A moment ago, the figure was a thousand meters away, then a hundred meters away; in the next instant, he was in the midst of the battlefield. A youth in ink-black robes, his black hair fluttering, a sword box on his back, looking as elegant as jade.

Under the moon.

The youth’s deep, cold eyes gazed at the unsightly Emperor Jianwu.

“Killing my cub... did you ask our Su official first?”

In the next instant.

The ring of a sword echoed.

The Dust-Washing Sword left its scabbard!

“Master Su, run!”

“He is a Grandmaster. Even if he is weak, killing a Peak First-Rank is as easy as flipping a hand. If you don't leave, you will die...”

Xu Han reached out, wanting to tell Su Chen to flee, but unfortunately, he no longer had even that much strength.

He regretted it so much.

Why did he want to see Master Su one last time before death, only to implicate him and cause him to die here as well?

That was the Emperor Taizu of Liang!

“Hahaha!”

“You!”

“I get it, I get it! Not just Xu Han, you can eat it too, you can eat it! Is that enough now?”

“Now, even stray cats and dogs dare to jump out! Even if Xu Han reached the Peak by burning his lifespan, he is still a Peak First-Rank. What are you? A Second-Rank visceral freak, or just your usual First-Rank combat limit?”

Emperor Jianwu laughed heartily. Looking at the jumping Su Chen, he showed no fear; instead, he laughed mockingly, his charging speed increasing.

A mere Second-Rank visceral practitioner practicing the Three Extremes Realm was a fool. No matter how monstrous his talent, he was destined never to cross the threshold of the Five Viscera Cleansing in his cultivation.

He would never progress a single inch in his life; he was effectively half a cripple.

A Three Extremes Realm Second-Rank practitioner was, at most, a top-tier ordinary First-Rank. Beneath this frozen land, let alone ordinary First-Ranks, how many dead Peak First-Ranks or even Peak practitioners were there?

However.

In the next instant.

Emperor Jianwu could no longer laugh. An expression of absolute terror appeared in his eyes. A chill ran through his entire body, and he desperately tried to turn and flee.

Under the bright moon and clear stars.

Amidst the swirling snow.

The elegant youth controlled the sword with his will. The blizzard converged into this single blade—it was the snowstorm strike of the old purple-robed man.

But what terrified him was not that, but the *intent* nurtured within the Dust-Washing Sword—the subtle, microscopic Grandmaster intent that had flashed briefly before.

“That strike... was delivered by you?”

“Impossible!”

“How can it be you? This is the realm of subtlety that even I have never touched!”

“It is absolutely impossible for a Second-Rank to perform this. This subtle sword intent requires at least a Peak First-Rank to barely manage...”

“Wait!”

“This aura... have you merged your Qi through the third stage of visceral cleansing?”

Emperor Jianwu was terrified to death.

A generation's demon Grandmaster, who killed gods and buddhas alike, did not hesitate for a second under this strike; he turned and fled.

Having killed two Grandmasters in succession, he was at the end of his rope. Though he was above the Peak, he was no longer in the Grandmaster realm.

He was no match for this strike!

“This strike is named: Star Burial!”

“Tonight, with this sword, I shall hold a funeral for Great Liang! Rest in peace, Your Majesty Taizu.”

Under the moon.

On a snowy night.

Under Emperor Jianwu’s terrified gaze, this heaven-shaking strike spanned thirty miles, nearly piercing through the entire imperial palace, as it fell heavily.

“No!”

Emperor Jianwu resisted like a madman, but it was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, or a firefly trying to compete with the moon—utterly futile.

“Which Grandmaster is striking again?”

“Perhaps, the one who delivered this strike is our Great Liang's demon Emperor Taizu himself!”

“That's it.”

“This strike is incomparably terrifying; it must possess three hundred years of foundation. Only His Majesty would have such sword dao attainment...”

In the distance.

Outside the frozen world of the imperial city, the First-Rank practitioners did not dare to step forward even an inch. They watched the heaven-shaking strike with eyes full of shock.

However.

They did not know that this strike, carrying three hundred years of foundation, was being used to bury the very man they called the Demon Emperor Taizu.