Mythical Era: My Evolution into a Celestial Beast-Chapter 827: Opening a new path (II)

Not far away from Chen Chu, Qian Tian smiled faintly, his hair half-black and half-white. "Feeling a bit disoriented?"

"I’m fine. Just feeling a little off," Chen Chu replied, shifting his gaze from the floating earth below to the figures ahead.

In the void in front of Chen Chu, the First Councilor Qian Tian stood upon a Yin and Yang Taiji diagram[1] that twisted space and time across several kilometers, radiating an aura of profound energy.

Not far from Qian Tian, the Celestial King had taken on a form of a three-meter-wide golden cube, rotating slowly.

Chen Chu got straight to the point. "Sirs, while escaping from Deorus and another demon god earlier, I was attacked by a third."

"There was a third demon god?" Both Qian Tian and the Celestial King were visibly stunned. They hadn’t expected that Chen Chu had faced not two, but three demon gods, and still managed to make it out alive.

During the confrontation after the battle, they sensed two demon gods across from them. So besides Deorus and Kaodes, that meant the third one...

The golden cube spun, and the Celestial King said in an echoing voice, "Chen Chu, was that demon god from the Ancestral Purgatory Court?"

Chen Chu thought for a moment. "I’m not sure where they’re from, but when the enemy used the Cursed Speech rule, their chant included the Primordial Ancestor’s decree. These strange powers sealed both my planar world and my summoning techniques. I almost ran into trouble, but fortunately, at the last moment, I was able to use the forbidden weapon to escape. But those Purgatory demon gods are indeed powerful. Even though I managed to retreat into the depths of time and space, I was still struck by a blow that crossed through it, which crushed the forbidden weapon’s power..."

Naturally, there were things he couldn’t fully disclose, so Chen Chu went with the explanation he had given the kings earlier. However, when they heard that Chen Chu had entered ancient human ruins hidden in the void and gained a vast trove of martial arts knowledge, even developing his own foundational body enhancement arts, they were still left stunned.

Like Xie Chen and the others, they immediately saw just how significant the impact of the foundational body enhancement art was. They gazed at the young black-haired man standing before them, a few strands of white hair on his forehead adding a touch of maturity to his appearance. He was only seventeen years old, yet he had already shouldered so much for the Federation.

Qian Tian suddenly spoke up, "Chen Chu, have you considered opening another cultivation path?"

"Another cultivation path? What do you mean?" The sudden change in topic made Chen Chu pause in confusion.

Looking at the black-haired youth before him, Qian Tian’s gaze softened. "You know about Zhenwu's racial weapon, don’t you?"

“I do.” Chen Chu nodded. He was naturally familiar with Heavenly King Zhenwu, who, despite being only at the peak of the heavenly king realm, could directly clash with, and even wound, a middle-stage demon god using the power of the True Martial Divine Stele.

Qian Tian continued, "That weapon is actually a condensed principle path, the path of true martial arts. Zehnwu’s[2] name is also related to the weapon; that wasn’t his initial title, but it was changed to align with his principle. The foundational principles won’t interfere with your own strength. If the arts you created perform as expected, it would be equivalent to opening a new path for the Federation.

“This is a system that can turn everyone in the Federation into a transcendent being. When it grows stronger and becomes advanced, it will become a foundation for humanity, helping us become a powerful force. Then, all you need is a vessel to carry this foundation, which will give you a second principle enhancement.”

Qian Tian’s words made Chen Chu feel intrigued. With his talent, it wouldn’t be long before he created his own path and broke through to master a new principle. He essentially had two thanks to the blank primordial principles within the Soul-Suppressing Imperial Seal. If he could gain control over a racial foundation power...

Chen Chu thought deeply and asked, "Sir, there must be limitations to this foundation principle, right?"

Qian Tian nodded. "Of course, everything has its pros and cons. The racial foundation principle is tied to its civilization. If the civilization perishes, the foundation will dissipate as well, and if the bearer of the foundation only has this one principle, they will fall to the king level. Even if they control many principles, they will still suffer severe injuries if their foundation dissipates, with their true form torn apart.

"Of course, it is also immensely beneficial. Because the racial foundation is tied to a civilization, you won’t need to spend mental energy cultivating. You only need to guide the development of the civilization it's tied to. The stronger the civilization, the stronger this principle becomes. For example, the True Martial Civilization has developed to the point of producing beings who have reached the supreme level, which is why the True Martial Divine Stele is so powerful.

"The reason the Celestial King, Primordial King, and I were able to rise to the peak so quickly and hold our ground against the demon gods is also closely tied to this. If you establish a new path of body enhancement and allow us to help you promote it, you could break through to the heavenly king level within six months and begin carrying the foundation, allowing you to touch the principles ahead of time.

"This'll allow you to save some time, and with your talent, you might break through to the peak within three years."

Chen Chu nodded thoughtfully. Relying on a growing civilization to refine a type of foundational power into a principle was indeed a shortcut to increasing combat strength. That being said, meeting the conditions to carry the foundation of an entire race was clearly no easy task.

Chen Chu only qualified because he had created an entirely new cultivation path. Moreover, the drawbacks were obvious. Unlike Qian Tian and the others, his path was broader and stretched much farther, so he couldn’t afford to be bound.

After considering the risks, Chen Chu shook his head and said, "I’ll pass, sir. I’ve already found my own path, and I’m confident I can cross the heavenly king level in a short time. Rather than splitting the body enhancement path, it’s better to continue integrating it with true martial arts. By then, the True Martial Divine Stele will be even stronger."

"...Alright then." Both Qian Tian and the Celestial King were surprised by Chen Chu’s refusal. However, when they recalled that he had obtained the Emperor’s Inheritance, they immediately understood.

Their suggestion for Chen Chu to carry the foundation was to help him break through to the peak faster. Under normal circumstances, establishing a new cultivation path would consume an enormous amount of resources and energy. In particular, the weapon used to carry the foundation would need to be refined by the entire race working together.

Since Chen Chu refused, Qian Tian and the Celestial King didn’t bring it up again and instead pondered for a moment. "The seal on your body is a bit troublesome. It comes from the power left behind by that Purgatory True Demon while in slumber. Back then, even Yan Kuang was nearly destroyed by a purgatory decree."

Chen Chu’s eyes shifted slightly. "Yan Kuang, the one who opened up worlds and mastered the supreme law?"

The golden cube rotated slowly. "Yes. Back then, Yan Kuang stepped into the heavenly king realm and directly killed a great demon king on the battlefield, provoking a response from the other side. It was also because of Yan Kuang that we learned how strong the Purgatory Clan's foundation is. While rapidly building their foundation, they were also looking for ways to infiltrate us and gather intelligence."

"Celestial King,” Qian Tian said, “I'll handle this. The matters on the battlefield will be left to you and the Primordial King."

"Alright." The cube rotated slightly.

Boom!

The light of Yin and Yang burst forth, forming a massive, slowly-rotating Taiji diagram that obscured the sky and sun. The sudden change made everyone below look up in astonishment. However, at that moment, no one knew what had happened to make the First Councilor act so solemnly and display such an anomaly in the principles. The invisible pressure spreading from the diagram made everyone below struggle to breathe.

Even from more than twenty thousand kilometers away, at the Purgatory Demon Clan's base, the two demon gods guarding the place turned their gaze in that direction. However, as their gazes neared the human base, they were intercepted by a ten-thousand-meter mech, radiating endless white divine light like a god.

The anomaly lasted for about a day and a half before the diagram disappeared, and Chen Chu and Qian Tian reappeared in the sky. Chen Chu wore a solemn expression as he gave a slight bow to Qian Tian, who was sitting cross-legged in the void. “Thank you, sir.”

Compared to the ease with which the Hell's Eye eroded its seal, erasing the other two seals was far more difficult for Qian Tian than Chen Chu had imagined. They were powered by principles that surpassed even the supreme level. Even Qian Tian, who was said to be the strongest of the human race, had to consume his principles' origin to erase the seals.

With his energy clearly weakened, Qian Tian shook his head. "This is something I should do. Whether for your contributions to the Federation or as a junior of the human race, I have an obligation to assist. Now that the seals are broken, there’s a matter that requires your help."

Chen Chu politely responded, "Please continue, sir."

"No need to be so formal. It’s about the expedition. We formed an alliance with the Heavenly Feathered Race and sent an expeditionary force led by Heavenly King Zhenwu to provide support. However, whether it’s us or the Feathered Race, we both know that their destruction is inevitable. The main purpose of this expedition is twofold. One, to delay the Feathered Race's destruction, and two, to display our strength to those wavering within our allies.

"With a heavenly king-level figure like Zhenwu, and with your power as a younger cultivator, everyone should gain confidence from this display of strength. The Feathered Race will be destroyed, but not completely wiped out. We need to win over the remaining members and join forces.

"According to the information brought back by Xuanwu and the others, Deorus and his forces are expanding recklessly because of a command from their primordial ancestor. Therefore, after the Feathered Race is destroyed, the three empires facing them will be freed up to deploy some of their forces on us while their main armies rest. At that point, our pressure will increase dramatically."

Just as Chen Chu had expected, the information he received from Tarorya was actually something Qian Tian and the others had known about for some time, and they had already begun making preparations.

"I understand." Chen Chu nodded slightly. "However, while the seals have been broken, I still need some time to recover from my injuries. The expeditionary force will need to wait for me for a day."

Qian Tian nodded. "No problem. I’ll inform them."

Soon, a golden beam of light streaked across the sky, heading toward Passage One City. Chen Chu was going to find a place to summon the Dragon Emperor of Destruction and the Little Purple Dragon.

1. Taiji, also known as "Taichi" is an ancient Chinese martial art. This type of diagram is commonly made up of Yin and Yang, which represent the duality of opposing forces that are interconnected and interdependent. The symbol of yin and yang is a circle divided into two equal sections, one black (yin) and one white (yang), with a small dot of the opposite color in each section. ☜

2. The term “Zhenwu” means “true martial art” in Chinese. ☜

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