Chapter 521 - 314: Bizarre Stone Statue, Divine Relic, Celestial Demon Divine Statue

Divine Fallen Blood Stone.

As the name suggested, it was the crystallized essence of divine blood, dropped by Ancient Gods during their great war against the Human Race. Having persisted through the ages, it had not dissipated even after ten thousand years.

Lu Mingyuan suspected that a single drop of this divine essence could pierce through stars and mountains, possessing immense might and power.

Seeing the incredible effect of the Divine Fallen Blood Stone in his hand, Lu Mingyuan didn’t hesitate. He took out all the Blood Stones and placed them before him.

’This is the perfect opportunity. I’ll see if I can break through to the Thirteenth Realm.’

Sitting down cross-legged on the spot, Lu Mingyuan circulated his Primordial Qi. Yun Qinghe and Sui Yuqing stood on his left and right, acting as his Protectors.

His one hundred thousand Acupoints shone like stars in the sky. Within a ten-li radius, a tide of Spiritual Qi surged in, forming a massive vortex and causing a great commotion.

His Cultivation continued to climb.

With his current Cultivation, he had already reached the peak Perfection of the Middle Fifth Grade.

The Perfection Realm of the Celestial Human Realm.

He was only one step away from breaking through to the Martial Saint Realm.

This meant that below the rank of Saint, he was unrivaled.

But this single step was like a great mountain barring the way. Countless Martial Artists had spent their entire lives unable to cross it.

To sanctify the Flesh Body and forge a Martial Saint Body was no easy feat.

Lu Mingyuan estimated that he would need hundreds more Divine Fallen Blood Stones to officially step into the Martial Saint Realm.

Seeing this, Yun Qinghe’s heart wavered in a slight daze.

She had never imagined that Lu Mingyuan’s strength had already reached such a level.

So far, besides the Great Nether Empress, who could fight him for over a hundred rounds...

...he had yet to suffer a defeat at anyone’s hands.

The Martial Saint Realm, unseen for a hundred years, was now within his reach. Not only that, but in terms of potential, he could probably ascend to the unheard-of Fourteenth Realm of Martial Arts.

But in that moment, Yun Qinghe’s gaze transformed from gentle to sharp and profound.

This subtle change, however, went unnoticed by anyone.

"Let’s go. To the altar on Dragon Peak Mountain."

Lu Mingyuan finished absorbing the power of the Divine Fallen Blood Stones. The stones instantly turned to dust. He glanced at the surrounding Native Beastmen and saw faces filled with fear and awe.

They had clearly been overcome by the aura emanating from him.

"The altar on Dragon Peak Mountain is located on the highest peak of the mountain behind the Imperial City. It’s where the Emperors of the Mongolian Dynasty have worshipped the Divine Beings for generations."

Lu Mingyuan instructed the two women.

Afterward, the Northern Garrison Cavalry led the way, charging toward the Imperial City.

「Along the way.」

They passed many cities that had been reduced to wastelands, now nothing but ruins.

Just before the Imperial City, Lu Mingyuan passed a huge temple.

The wasteland was desolate, and rubble from the dilapidated temple hall was scattered everywhere. The temple gate stood a hundred zhang tall.

Inside, fragments of divine statues in strange poses could be seen. Among them was a giant statue of a blind, one-armed ancient Buddha. It wasn’t just Buddhist statues; statues clad in Daoist Robes and Confucian Shirts were also smashed to pieces and scattered about.

Lu Mingyuan stared at a relatively intact stone statue of a male Bodhisattva with blood-red eyes for a moment and felt a wave of dizziness wash over him.

The Blood-Eyed Stone Statue Bodhisattva before him looked exceptionally strange. A Blood Crow stood on its shoulder, and its fingernails were extremely long, resting on its knees. It was not in the traditional pose of holding a Jade Purification Bottle.

Suddenly, for an instant, the eyes of the Blood-Eyed Bodhisattva flickered.

"Your Majesty, are you all right?"

It was Sui Yuqing’s Void Spirit Buddha’s Voice that made Lu Mingyuan’s eyes twitch. A moment later, he slowly opened them, having just broken free from the Illusion Technique at the last possible second.

RUMBLE—

In the direction of Imperial City Mountain’s peak, a clap of thunder and a flash of lightning split the dark night sky, illuminating the true appearance of the hall before them.

The light vanished in a flash. Lu Mingyuan looked up from the ground into the void and saw the words written on the plaque of the towering hall.

"Longevity Hall of the Celestial Demon."

He murmured the words slowly, his gaze sweeping over his surroundings.

The ruined hall, the broken divine statues, the towering stone gate.

A viscous darkness filled the air, creating an indescribably eerie feeling.

’It seems this is the true form of the Divine Beings worshipped by the Native Beastmen in this Grotto Heaven.’

"Can you let go of my hand?"

Amidst the silence, a clear, cool, and slightly rich female voice came softly from behind him.

"Hm?"

Lu Mingyuan responded instinctively. His eyes refocused, and he discovered that Sui Yuqing had, at some point, taken his hand in hers.

Her hand was warm and soft. Lu Mingyuan couldn’t resist giving it a gentle squeeze.

Yun Qinghe stood calmly behind him. Lu Mingyuan and Sui Yuqing were so close that they could feel the warmth of each other’s breath through their clothes. They looked incredibly intimate.

"What do you think you’re doing to my senior sister?"

Yun Qinghe asked coolly.

Lu Mingyuan’s expression stiffened, and he quickly sat up straight.

Then, he realized with a start that he was still gripping her slender wrist.

When he had been trapped in the Illusion Realm, the situation was urgent, so he had squeezed a little too hard, leaving a red mark on her fair wrist.

"Fairy, my apologies. That statue was just too strange. Thankfully, your Buddha’s Voice cleansed me and allowed me to break free."

Now that he was safe, Lu Mingyuan immediately let go of her and apologized softly.

Sui Yuqing shook her head, not blaming Lu Mingyuan. Her beautiful eyes held a hint of aggressiveness as she chuckled softly:

"It’s fortunate enough that you were able to escape the statue’s control."

"You can’t just look at any of the stone statues here. Most of the Divine Beings are already dead, but some still exist in the Upper Realm. There are even some Holy Nether Divine Beings among them, who are exceptionally bizarre. So, it’s best to be careful."

Sui Yuqing’s tone was gentle and virtuous—a world of difference from Yun Qinghe’s icy demeanor.

Lu Mingyuan nodded. "I didn’t expect that the Divine Beings here would include not only those from the Demon Race, but also Holy Nether Divine Beings. It seems the War of Ascension back then was quite chaotic."

"Dragon Peak Mountain is just ahead. The Chess Saint and the Empress are also up there. The Throne Great Demons should be gathered there as well. Your Majesty must be prepared for battle."

Sui Yuqing spoke softly. Her cloud-like, ink-black hair was strewn across her shoulders. Her simple, pretty face possessed an indescribable beauty. With skin like ice and jade, she had a graceful and elegant posture. The cinnabar dot between her eyebrows, in particular, added a touch of otherworldly, fairy-like beauty.

Since coming to this world, Lu Mingyuan had seen many beauties, including the dashing Huo Hongling, the proud ice queen Yun Qinghe, the lovely Princess Consort Yang Yingchan, the well-read and gentle Qi Muxue, and the demonic King Wu Gongyu. Each had her own unique style.

But if he were to name one whose beauty was truly inviolable, it would be Sui Yuqing alone.

All adjectives lost their weight before such genuine, celestial beauty.

Lu Mingyuan reined in his Heart Spirit and laughed self-deprecatingly, shaking his head. In his past life, he had loved reading all sorts of novels and had seen countless heroines described as heavenly beauties, so stunning they seemed divine. He would always scoff, ’It’s so fake.’ Only now, seeing it for himself, could he truly understand the feeling.

He met Sui Yuqing’s captivating gaze and sighed.

"Fairy, your talent is unparalleled in this world, and your Destiny is the greatest in the nation. It would be far too much of a pity if you were to stop at the Twelfth Realm."

Hearing this, Sui Yuqing’s beautiful eyes dimmed slightly. She straightened her skirt, stood up, and turned her back to Lu Mingyuan.

"Let’s leave it to fate. Everything depends on destiny. I used to not believe in it, but now, I have no choice but to show some respect for the heavens."

Her tone was filled with desolation, completely lacking the flair of the Dao Alliance’s number one beauty.

Lu Mingyuan thought for a moment before offering an explanation:

"What you have is a type of hidden psychological illness. To cure it requires stimulus, and it will take a long time."

"A psychological illness? What’s that?"

Sui Yuqing was unfamiliar with this new term and asked in confusion.

"The Imperial City is ahead, but it seems we don’t need to enter. The altar is behind it. There are more unknown stone statues along the way. Let’s get around them as quickly as possible."

Just then, Yun Qinghe cut in, interrupting their conversation.

After advancing with the army for a hundred li, Lu Mingyuan finally noticed that a forest of stone pillars had appeared up ahead.

This place seemed to be a ruin, with almost nothing left intact. Everything was enormous. Luminous Pearls, which were priceless in the Mortal World, were nothing but streetlights the size of miniature suns here.

If even the streetlights were that big, it was hard to imagine the scale of everything in the grand halls. Along the way, hundred-meter-tall divine statues had collapsed to the ground, toppled over at odd angles in strange poses.

There was a winged man covering his eyes, a giant wolf howling at the moon, and a figure with a human torso, a snake’s tail, and a sacred expression...

"These statues... they seem to be from the Celestial Demon Race. They are Celestial Demon Divine Statues."

Sui Yuqing, with her extensive knowledge, recognized the origin of these statues at a glance.

Beyond the rows of divine statues, a smooth, clean sword scar appeared on the highest mountain peak. At the very summit was a Ten-winged Fire Dragon Statue, roaring toward the sky.

The dragon statue was so massive it spanned three entire mountains. Looking up from the ground, it was as if a Giant Dragon coiling in the void had been frozen in place on the summit.

Torch-lit altars stood atop a ten-thousand-meter staircase, lining both sides.

Terrifying auras burst forth from the direction of the summit, as if powerful experts were engaged in battle.

As Lu Mingyuan witnessed this scene, his brow furrowed bit by bit.

The Dynasty’s altar. They had arrived.

...