The Heavens: Man Covers the Heavens, Refines Treasures to Become an Emperor

A wisp of pale golden flame appeared at his fingertips, which he gently touched on the post.

"laugh……"

The black post silently burned, turning into a wisp of smoke, and finally dissipated completely into the air without leaving any trace.

Xue Jin's gaze became distant and profound, as if piercing through layers of space and looking towards an unknowable distance.

……

Meanwhile, far away in the imperial capital, the Forbidden City.

Nestled among a range of mountains adjacent to a vast lake, a solitary peak stands alone. At its summit stands an ancient and dark castle, constructed entirely of non-reflective black stone, its style menacing and oppressive, as if it had gathered all the shadows of the world.

The area around the castle seemed to be swallowed up by the light of the sky and earth, appearing dark and eerie, giving people a sense of "light dares not approach".

This place is known as the "Fortress of the Night".

A winding stone path stretches from the foot of the mountain to the castle’s tightly closed bronze gate, covered with eerie carvings.

At this moment, an elderly man, dressed in a well-tailored, antique-style black court dress, with his hair neatly combed and a kind and gentle face, was slowly walking up the stone path, leaning on a cane.

His pace was unhurried, as if he were simply strolling in his own garden, completely out of place with the gloomy and dark surroundings.

When he reached the massive bronze gate, no one opened it. Instead, accompanied by a deep, drawn-out creaking sound, the gate slowly opened on its own, revealing a bottomless darkness behind it.

The old man straightened his tie, a gentle smile on his face, and stepped into the darkness that seemed to devour everything.

Inside the castle, it was empty, silent, and dark. Only a faint, flickering candlelight in the distance seemed to outline the blurry silhouettes of some massive pillars and domes.

The old man stood in the center of the empty hall, facing the darkness ahead, bowed slightly, and spoke in his unique, gentle voice, which possessed both magnetic and soothing power.

"My lord, we've made some progress on the matter you asked me to investigate. Regarding the origins of that young man named Jiang Xuan..."

His words echoed in the empty, dark hall.

After a moment of silence, a faint, ethereal voice, seemingly coming from the heavens or resounding from the depths of the soul, suddenly echoed in the hall.

"explain."

As the voice faded, countless candles that had been flickering weakly on the dome of the main hall suddenly lit up!

The soft yet cold light instantly dispelled most of the darkness, illuminating the entire hall.

At the far end of the main hall stood a colossal throne, tens of feet high, entirely constructed from various pale, skeletons! These skeletons were of various shapes and sizes, including humanoid, animaloid, and even some strange, indescribable bones, all exuding an aura of antiquity, death, and majesty.

And on that throne of bones sat a blurry figure.

He seemed to be the embodiment of "darkness" and "nothingness," shrouded in flowing shadows, his face obscured, only a profound, cold, and all-encompassing will, as deep as eternal night, could be felt.

At this moment, the ethereal figure was "looking" down at the kind old man dressed in a black court robe.

The candlelight in the hall seemed to be drawn by some force, slowly converging towards the bone throne, slightly dispelling the flowing shadows that enveloped the figure.

The shadows faded, revealing the true face of the throne.

It was not the ferocious and terrifying demon lord as expected, but a woman.

She was tall and graceful, with her jet-black hair styled into an elegant and intricate bun at the back of her head, with a black wooden hairpin carved with phoenix patterns inserted diagonally into it.

Her skin was as white as jade, as if formed from moonlight, and her azure eyes were as deep as the vast starry sky, yet they showed no emotion, only an innate, superior indifference that looked down upon all living beings.

She wore an exquisitely beautiful black gown, its skirt like a blooming black mandala, spread across the throne of bones. The gown was embroidered with intricate and ancient patterns in dark gold thread, which seemed to flow subtly in the candlelight.

On the pinky finger of her right hand, she wore a ring with a dark black gemstone on the face. Upon closer inspection, it seemed as if there were swirling vortexes inside the gemstone, like a pupil gazing outwards.

Despite revealing her true form, the dark aura surrounding her, which seemed to devour all light and even absorb souls, did not diminish but instead became more intense and tangible.

She is the mistress of this Dark Castle, known as the "Queen of the Night".

The old man became even more respectful as he faced the Dark Queen who had revealed her true form. He bowed his head slightly and reported.

"My Lord, according to our initial investigation, the young man named Jiang Xuan is not a native of Feiyun Village."

He suddenly appeared in that remote village about three years ago.

He paused and continued.

"About three months before he appeared in Scarlet Cloud Village, a great change occurred on the northern border of the empire in the 'Purple Abyss Mine,' which had been abandoned and abandoned for many years since the time of the founding emperor."

The entire mine was utterly destroyed overnight by an unknown, terrifying force, reduced to ruins, with no survivors escaping.

A faint ripple flickered in the dark queen's deep blue eyes. She parted her red lips slightly, her voice clear and ethereal.

"The Purple Abyss Mine Prison... destroyed overnight... the timing matches up. It seems that this Jiang Xuan is very likely one of the children who escaped from the Purple Abyss Mine Prison during that upheaval."

The old man nodded, then raised another point of doubt.

"Your Excellency is wise. However, according to the records, Jiang Xuan already possessed the cultivation of the second level of True Martial Realm when he first arrived in Feiyun Village. If he really escaped from Ziyuan Mine Prison, according to the timeline, there were only three months between the destruction of the mine prison and his appearance in Feiyun Village. In three months, a prisoner boy with no foundation could cultivate to the second level of True Martial Realm... This seems to defy common sense."

The Queen of the Night gently tapped the armrest of the Bone Throne with her slender fingertips, making a soft knocking sound, and said calmly.

“If ‘he’ were by my side, reaching the second level of True Martial Realm in three months wouldn’t be impossible. Don’t forget, ‘he’ is most skilled in spatial teleportation. Setting up a short-range directional teleportation array would be enough to solve the problems of time and distance.”

Upon hearing this, the old man's face showed obvious surprise for the first time.

"You mean...Lu Boyai? He...he's not dead?"

The Queen of the Night smiled, a smile that added a touch of mystery and danger to her stunning beauty.

“The ‘old friend’ I visited in the Three Thousand Mountains a year ago was him.”

The old man suddenly realized and murmured.

"So that's how it is... No wonder Jiang Xuan, at such a young age, possesses such extraordinary spiritual techniques, even Xue Jin praised him highly. He actually inherited Lu Boyai's legacy... This 'Hand of Stars' is truly... 'resurrected from the dead'!"

The Queen of the Night gazed into the void of the hall with her azure eyes, as if recalling something, her tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible emotion.

"The upper echelons of the empire, including those old fogies at the observatory, were all fooled by him. A meticulously planned 'fall' deceived everyone. It's just a pity..."

Her tone shifted, a hint of coldness in her voice. "Now, he may really be dead."

The old man was silent for a moment, then sighed.

"If Lu Boyai had been inside the Ziyuan Mine Prison at the time, he probably...would not have survived. But who on earth had the audacity and power to destroy what was once a forbidden area of ​​the empire? Was their target Lu Boyai, or...those children?"

A glint of interest flashed in the Dark Queen's eyes.

"This is an interesting mystery. Who was the target? Why destroy the mine? Was it a revenge killing? To silence witnesses? Or for some unknown purpose? The death of Lu Boyai is probably very complicated."

The old man analyzed.

There are three possibilities.

Firstly, the target was Lu Boyai himself; the destruction of the mine was solely for the purpose of killing him.

Secondly, the target is one or more 'special' beings in the mine, and Lu Boya was merely affected.

Thirdly, both are objectives.

The Queen of the Night nodded slightly.

"Whichever it is, Lu Boya is already dead, and this mystery will probably be difficult to solve in the short term."

The old man bowed and said.

"Should we intensify our efforts to thoroughly investigate Jiang Xuan's background and his connection with the Ziyuan Mine Prison?"

"No need."

The Queen of the Night interrupted him directly, her tone carrying an unquestionable decisiveness.

"This matter ends here. Jiang Xuan's background should be suppressed for now and should not be investigated further."

The old man was slightly taken aback, somewhat puzzled.

The Queen of the Night's gaze seemed to pierce through people's hearts as she looked at the old man and spoke slowly.

"Some truths are not a good thing to know too early."

Unless… that little fellow named Jiang Xuan demonstrates enough power and value in the future to change my mind. Only then might he be qualified to know something about himself.

Her voice echoed in the hall, carrying a cold indifference that suggested she controlled everything.

Just then, a light yet clear sound of footsteps came from the darkness deeper within the castle.

The Queen of the Night glanced in the direction from which the footsteps came, her azure eyes fixed on the figure seated on the throne of bones. Her figure gradually became illusory and blurred, eventually dissipating into the air like ink spreading in water, leaving only the empty throne of bones and the flickering candlelight.

The old man seemed to be used to this. He bowed again to the empty throne, then straightened his formal attire, turned around, and, leaning on his cane, walked slowly toward the bronze gate.

He had barely left when a petite figure emerged from the darkness deep within the castle.

She was a little girl who looked to be only ten years old. She was wearing a slightly oversized black cloak, the hood of which covered most of her face, revealing only a delicate, fair chin and pursed lips.

She was barefoot, stepping on the cold ground, yet seemed completely oblivious.

She walked to the throne of bones, raised her head, and it seemed as if a pair of eyes pierced through the void beneath the hood, gazing at the place where the Night Queen had disappeared. In a tone that was completely different from her youthful appearance, cold and resolute, she murmured to herself.

"Darkness can block the perception of heaven and earth, but it cannot hide from me."

Her voice was soft, yet it possessed a strange penetrating power.

No sooner had the words been spoken than a clear, urgent, and even somewhat reckless young voice came from outside the castle.

"Summer Solstice! Summer Solstice! Are you inside? I've come to see you!"

With the sound, a young man rushed into the hall like a whirlwind.

He appeared to be about twelve or thirteen years old, dressed in pristine white robes. His face was handsome, and his eyes and brows exuded an innate nobility and arrogance. Most striking was the lifelike purple lotus mark naturally emanating from between his brows, which was now shimmering with a holy light.

The young man was surrounded by a faint purple aura, like a deity descending, making him appear even more extraordinary.

He was none other than Chi Zangfeng, the peerless genius of the Chi family in the Forbidden City, whom the old man had mentioned before!

The little girl named Xia Zhi didn't even turn her head when Chi Cangfeng arrived, as if she hadn't heard his call at all. She remained standing there quietly, gazing at the throne.

Chi Cangfeng rushed to Xia Zhi's side, his face filled with undisguised eagerness and excitement, and shouted loudly.

"Summer Solstice! I just came from my father's place! I have formally proposed to him that in three years, when I turn sixteen, I will come to Dark Night Castle to marry you!"

Summer Solstice remained unresponsive, like a lifeless, exquisite doll.

Chi Cangfeng seemed to have long been accustomed to her indifference, and continued speaking to himself, his tone filled with absolute confidence.

"As you know, I possess the 'Golden Sea Purple Lotus' talent, a prodigy unseen in the Chi family for a thousand years! My father has promised to use all his resources to help me cultivate, guaranteeing that I will reach the Cave Heaven Realm before the age of fifteen! At that time, I will have enough strength and qualifications to marry you in a grand and glorious way!"

Upon hearing the words "Dongtian Realm," Xia Zhi paused slightly, but only for a moment.

She didn't even glance at Chi Cangfeng, turned around, and walked towards the bronze gate, leaving behind only a cold, emotionless statement.

"My decision to stay or leave is not up to anyone."

Her voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable resolve.

Chi Cangfeng's smile froze, and a hint of anger flashed in his eyes, but he quickly suppressed it. He flashed forward and blocked Xia Zhi's path again, opening his arms and speaking with a hint of dominance and possessiveness.

"Xia Zhi! Stop being willful! In this world, besides me, Chi Cangfeng, who else is worthy of you? You are destined to be mine!"

Xia Zhi finally stopped and slightly raised her head. Under the shadow of the hood, a gaze seemed to fall on Chi Cangfeng.

No words, no actions.

But Chi Cangfeng felt as if he had been struck hard in the chest by an invisible giant hammer. He groaned and flew backward uncontrollably, falling more than ten feet away before landing awkwardly on the ground, his snow-white clothes covered in dust.

Xia Zhi didn't even glance at him, as if she had merely brushed away a speck of dust, and continued walking towards the massive bronze door.

Chi Cangfeng scrambled to his feet, clutching his throbbing chest. Looking at Xia Zhi's resolute and mysterious back, a fierce and resentful expression appeared on his handsome face for the first time. He growled at Xia Zhi's retreating figure. (End of Chapter)