God Emperor

Deep inside the Ancient Snow Mountain, forests and peaks soared to the sky. Deep valleys were everywhere. Ice and snow covered the land. It was entirely a world of ice. There was no sign of human life.

The camp of the Nether Heavenly Palace was in the Cangtian Canyon, right beside the Bottomless Abyss.

The canyon’s entrance had two 99-story metal towers. They were like two snowy peaks that rose up in the wind. It added to the intimidating aura.

The Nether Heavenly Palace’s fifth camp’s leader was Banner King Man Ye. The leader of the sixth camp was Banner King Wuliang. They stood before the towers, one left and one right. The two radiated with a thick aura. The snowflakes fluttering down flew out when they were 100 feet from the two.

Mei Lanzhu and Shangguan Xianyan had already come to the Nether Heavenly Palace. They stood behind Banner King Man Ye.

Shangguan Xianyan’s slight frame was surrounded by nine rings of saintly light. Her graceful body faded in and out of sight. There was an impressionistic kind of beauty.

“We’ve already waited for an hour,” she said. “How come Gu Linfeng still hasn’t come to report?”

“Maybe he ran into a beast along the way and is inside the beast’s belly now.” Mei Lanzhu’s lips curled into a cruel smile.

Banner King Man Ye was huge. He was like a human-shaped metal tower. “Let’s wait a bit longer!” he barked. “Gu Linfeng isn’t weak. As long as his Fate Qi isn’t bad, he can definitely pass through the Ancient Snow Mountain and arrive here.”

Banner Kings Man Ye and Wuliang had Gu Linfeng, Mei Lanzhu and Shangguan Xianyan had come to the Nether Heavenly Palace by themselves. This was actually a test too.

Only those that could travel freely in the Ancient Snow Mountain were qualified to become Banner Lords. In the future, they had to lead Banner Fighters outside for missions too.

If Gu Linfeng died along the way, it meant that his cultivation wasn’t enough to become a Banner Lord of the Nether Heavenly Palace.

They waited for another hour.

Even Banner King Wuliang of the sixth camp started frowning. “Can it be that Gu Linfeng doesn’t know where the Nether Heavenly Palace is and got lost?”

Mei Lanzhu touched his hand softly. “The Ancient Snow Mountain is so vast. It’s not that easy to find the Nether Heavenly Palace’s camp. It’s normal to get lost too. If he accidentally runs into the Bottomless Abyss area, then it’ll really be a pity…”

A figure flew out of the wind and snow in the distance. Landing at the entrance of Cangtian Canyon, he laughed heartily. “Thank you, Deity, for your concern. I indeed got lost earlier. Thankfully, I backtracked in time and finally found the camp.”

As he walked closer, Zhang Ruochen’s figure grew clearer. He finally appeared before them.

He bowed. “Greetings, Banner Kings, Deity, and Saintess.”

“Gu Linfeng, you’ve come too late,” Shangguan Xianyan said in her pleasant voice. “We waited for four full hours. Who do you think you are?”

“My apologies! It is all my fault for making the precious Saintess wait in the cold wind for so long. I am unforgiveable.”

Seeming like a gentleman, Zhang Ruochen immediately took out a delicate blue-flower pill bottle. He handed it to Shangguan Xianyan with a smile. “This is an Eighth Grade Clear Marrow Pill. It can help you comprehend Rules of Saintly Way. I hope you will accept it as my gift of apology to you.”

The Clear Marrow Pill was the most valuable pill Zhang Ruochen found from Su Bai. Even a seventh level Half-Saint carried it around. It was evident how helpful this pill was to cultivation.

Zhang Ruochen had a lot of divine blood. Each drop was more effective than the Clear Marrow Pill, so he didn’t really care about it. However, giving it to Shangguan Xianyan could piss off Mei Lanzhu.

Shangguan Xianyan didn’t refuse him. She reached out a slender hand and took the bottle from Zhang Ruochen’s hands.

Her fingers seemed to be carved out of ethereal jade. They were translucent and pure. Her fingertips scratched past Zhang Ruochen’s palm gently.

“Since you’re genuine, I’ll forgive you again,” she said, smiling.

Mei Lanzhu, standing to the side, clenched his fists tightly. He was so angry that he was shaking. His eyes seemed to spew fire.

If the Founder hadn’t taught him to have the temperament of a Deity, he probably would’ve charged over to kill Zhang Ruochen. It was hard for a petty person to act like he had a big heart.

Zhang Ruochen glanced at Mei Lanzhu. He was smiling inside, but he pretended to be in panic. “Oh no, I only have one Clear Marrow Pill and I gave it to the Saintess. I didn’t prepare anything for the Deity. I’m sure that with the Deity’s big heart, you won’t be offended, right?”

Mei Lanzhu scoffed. “It’s just a Clear Marrow Pill. I can have as many as I want. Only a country bumpkin like you would think it’s a treasure.”

Banner King Man Ye walked out and glanced at Banner King Wuliang. “Since Gu Linfeng has arrived at the Cangtian Canyon, I’ll take the Deity and Saintess back to the fifth camp.”

With that, Banner King Man Ye, Mei Lanzhu, and Shangguan Xianyan left the Cangtian Canyon, disappearing in the wind and snow. Only Banner King Wuliang and Zhang Ruochen remained in the vast white land.

Banner King Wuliang smiled. “Gu Linfeng, from now on, you are the Banner Lord of the Nether Heavenly Palace’s sixth camp. You are under me. Let’s go! I’ll take you to the sixth camp to see the other Banner Lords.”

The Nether Heavenly Palace had six camps. Each camp had one Banner King, 12 Banner Lords, and 1,200 Banner Fighters.

The Banner King was the leader of the camp. Above them were the Palace Ruler and two Vice Palace Rulers of the Nether Heavenly Palace. Usually, the Vice Palace Rulers came out to assign tasks. The Palace Ruler rarely appeared.

However, whenever the Palace Ruler appeared, it meant that something big would happen.

The Nether Heavenly Palace was known as the first of the Ten Heavenly Palaces. They didn’t have many people, but they were all elites of the elites. Even the Banner Fighters could take up a high position in the sect if they left the Nether Heavenly Palace, let alone the Banner Lords of each camp.

Zhang Ruochen was the newest to the Nether Heavenly Palace. He was also the youngest, so he ranked last amongst the 12 Banner Lords of the sixth camp.

On the first day that he’d arrived, Banner King Wuliang hosted a welcoming banquet for him. Seven Banner Lords came in total. The other four were apparently on missions.

The seven Banner Lords had mostly come because of Banner King Wuliang. After all, Gu Linfeng was just a young guy. He didn’t qualify to invite them.

These seven were all famous figures of the older generation. They were famous and stood out, even in the Tiantai State that was filled with strong cultivators. The weakest one was a fourth level Half-Saint.

“Isn’t the Nether Heavenly Palace in charge of guarding the Bottomless Abyss? What other missions are there?” Zhang Ruochen asked out of curiosity.

Banner King Wuliang sat at the uppermost seat. “The Bottomless Abyss isn’t a peaceful place. There are many dangers on its outside. Our mission is to clear away the dangers.”

Zhang Ruochen was still confused and his expression showed it.

A one-eyed Banner Lord laughed. “Banner Lord Gu, you don’t need to know so much now. Since you’ve come to the Nether Heavenly Palace, you’ll naturally have many opportunities to carry out missions. Here, let’s drink.”

Zhang Ruochen smiled. He picked up a bowl of saint heart wine and just touched his lips to the rim. Then he poured the wine into his spatial ring. He didn’t actually drink it.

Apparently, the saint heart wine was a fancy drink made out of a Half-Saint’s heart. It could help a Monk cultivate. Zhang Ruochen really…couldn’t drink something like that.

After the welcoming banquet, Zhang Ruochen returned to the residence of the Banner Lords. He entered a cave residence carved into the mountain.

There was a stone staircase inside the residence. It reached all the way to the ground. The further one descended, the thicker the Spiritual Qi. The bottom of the residence was a pool gathered from a spiritual spring. A three square foot spiritual crystal bed lay in the heart of the pool.

There was a Spiritual Collecting Formation inside the pool. It turned this place into a paradise for cultivation.

From now on, this would be where Zhang Ruochen cultivated in the Nether Heavenly Palace. He didn’t have to go outside when he didn’t have missions.

The Nether Heavenly Palace treats their Banner Lords very well.

Zhang Ruochen strolled through the residence but didn’t stay long. He put on the Shooting Star Invisibility Cloak and left the camp.

Tonight, he prepared to investigate the Bottomless Abyss.

…

Another Banner Lord’s residence in the Cangtian Canyon.

Blinding gold light radiated from Mei Lanzhu’s body. “What is this?” he roared. “Why didn’t Gu Linfeng die?”

As he yelled, powerful Holy Qi rushed at Zhao Shiqi, who was kneeling. He flew out and hit the stone wall.

Thud!

Zhao Shiqi climbed up. Clutching his chest, he said, “Deity, please listen to my explanation. Banner Lord Su Bai and I indeed prepared to stop Gu Linfeng, but we were attacked by a blood beast along the way. The blood beast was extremely strong—probably even in the Saint Realm. Banner Lord Su Bai was swallowed before she could even escape. I had to use a saint decree to escape as well.”

Mei Lanzhu’s expression hardened. “How can a Saint blood beast escape to the borders of the Bottomless Abyss?”

Zhao Shiqi sighed. “It was too dangerous at that time. I only thought about escaping and saving myself, nothing more.”

Mei Lanzhu clenched his jaw. He slammed the left side of the wall, resulting in a resounding boom. Due to the palm’s force, rays of light poured out of the formation on the wall.

“Then he’s lucky. I’ll let him live a few more days.” Mei Lanzhu waved his hand, his expression dark. “Leave now!”

Zhao Shiqi retreated. In a darker corner of the residence, faint Holy Qi ripples spread out. A thin and ancient figure emerged from the darkness.

“Who is it?” Mei Lanzhu cried. He felt something and turned around abruptly.

At the same time, golden light shone from his hands. Two three-foot-long palm prints materialized before him and slammed down at the black shadow.