I made the entire cultivation world cry

Chapter 658 The Qin Emperor (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

"Hua Gu, you go back to Youxian Ferry first. I'll walk the rest of the way by myself."

"what?"

As soon as Jiang Yi finished speaking, Hua Gu raised her head in surprise, her fists still clenched tightly, as if she had just mustered the courage to stand with Jiang Yi.

Hua Gu blushed, stammered for a long time, then sighed and nodded in agreement. Jiang Yi must have a reason for letting her return to Youxian Ferry.

After Hua Gu returned, Jiang Yi relayed a message to the demons still inside Youxian Ferry, "The Sword-Nourishing Gourd belongs to the Qin Emperor after all, and I cannot risk you. Therefore, for the next period of time, I will temporarily close Youxian Ferry and imprison it deep within my Nascent Soul. Don't worry if you can't contact me; just focus on your cultivation and trust me."

Once something has been refined into a natal magic weapon, it will become ineffective and cannot be used by others if it is forcibly removed. Therefore, few people would go to great lengths to seize someone else's natal magic weapon.

But what Jiang Yi has to face next is the evil body of the Qin Emperor. Anything can happen, so he has to be on guard.

The advantage of imprisoning her deep within her nascent soul is that if the evil body of the Qin Emperor wants to remove the sword-nurturing gourd, it must first tear apart her nascent soul. Without the nascent soul, she is dead. It is believed that the evil body of the Qin Emperor would not do such a stupid thing.

Jiang Yi took out a storage jade bracelet made of red glass and put it on her wrist, then put all her frequently used items into it.

Since the Qinghuiqin and Qianlin Sword could not be placed in low-level storage magic items, Jiang Yi carried them on his back.

And then there's the Yaoling Sword. I don't know when it learned the art of transformation. Before she could say anything, it bent its blade and shrank, transforming into a fire phoenix ring that wrapped around her right index finger.

After making all the preparations, Jiang Yi stepped onto the towering ice steps.

A bone-chilling cold instantly spread from the soles of his feet throughout his body, and a sharp, knife-like gale rushed towards him, carrying the supreme pressure left by the Qin Emperor, as if it would freeze and tear his soul apart.

The icy steps were long, each step feeling as heavy as a thousand pounds. The gale-force winds carried sharp screeching sounds and conjured up all sorts of ferocious demonic shadows, directly assaulting the mind.

Jiang Yi remained expressionless, her steps steady. After walking for an unknown amount of time, at the end of the icy steps, the palace gates opened silently.

Inside the gate was not a magnificent golden palace, but a chaotic void. Only in the center floated an ancient seven-stringed ice zither. In front of the zither, a blurry, faceless, slender figure, seemingly formed from wind and snow, faced Jiang Yi.

Without a word, the figure gently raised her hand and plucked the strings of the zither.

Zheng——

With a single note, the colors, sounds, temperature, and even the flow of time and space in the world are instantly stripped away and reduced to nothingness.

All was silent, with only boundless emptiness and coldness.

Jiang Yi felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave, her soul seemingly about to dissipate with the desolate sound of the zither. Just as her consciousness was about to sink, the Qinghui zither on Jiang Yi's back began to play on its own, and invisible sound waves rippled outwards.

Jiang Yi immediately snapped out of her daze, sat down cross-legged, placed the Qinghui Qin on her lap, and began to pluck the strings with her ten fingers, engaging in a musical duel with the snowy figure opposite her.

Jiang Yi's piano music was initially like a warm current quietly surging beneath the ice, subtle yet resilient. Then, it was like the first tender bud breaking through the frozen soil when spring returns to the earth, full of indomitable vitality, gradually gathering into streams, into rivers, flowing endlessly!

In this music, there is the grandeur of the sunrise over the sea, the freedom of the mountain breeze, the hustle and bustle and warmth of the city, the awe-inspiring righteousness of fighting demons and upholding justice, and the small warmth that gathers from the gratitude of countless beneficiaries.

She poured the joys and sorrows of the past year into her music.

The two kinds of musical sounds collided and clashed silently in the void.

The Qin Emperor's sense of emptiness was vast and pure, as if it could freeze eternity.

Jiang Yi's worldly voice is as tenacious as wild grass, gathering countless tiny thoughts of kindness and vitality, bursting forth with dazzling brilliance in the darkest of times.

A moment later, the desolate, cold zither music quietly faded away, and the suspended ice zither and the snowy figures gradually disappeared.

The chaotic void receded, revealing the true appearance of the Heavenly Sound Platform Palace.

The interior of the hall is constructed of ancient black ice and a kind of warm, jade-like white stone, with simple lines that contain the charm of the ultimate simplicity.

Just then, a woman dressed in a plain white flowing dress with wide sleeves stepped out of nothingness, her steps silent, as if she were stepping on an invisible musical scale.

Her beauty was unparalleled, her features exquisite, yet shrouded in an ancient, unyielding aura of cold frost, exactly like Xiao Tianyin in the murals of the Immortal's Crossing, the one who played the zither and brought order to the world. However, she lacked Xiao Tianyin's rigid righteousness, instead exuding an eerie, sinister aura. Her appearance brought no oppressive impact, but the entire Tianyin Platform's presence suddenly contracted, as if she were the absolute core of this space, the embodiment of its laws.

Those deep eyes calmly focused on Jiang Yi.

Jiang Yi felt as if her soul and body had been completely pierced through, leaving her with nowhere to hide.

The Qin Emperor quietly observed Jiang Yi, his clear, cold voice echoing in the empty hall.

“I didn’t come looking for you, but you have the guts to come looking for me yourself.”

Jiang Yi's heart clenched suddenly. The invisible pressure from that gaze almost suffocated her, and a thin layer of sweat instantly seeped out from her back.

But she forcibly suppressed her turbulent emotions, showing no sign of panic on her face. Instead, she slowly stood up, put the Qinghuiqin back on her back, raised her head, and met the Qin Emperor's soul-piercing gaze without flinching.

"Your Majesty, I have already entered this land of nine provinces. No matter where I hide, I will eventually be caught in the clutches of you nine. It is a dead end either way. Rather than sitting and waiting for my death, letting you watch me struggle in a sorry state, I would rather find some dignity and fight to the death."

"A gamble?" The Qin Emperor's lips curled into a very faint smile. "How do you intend to gamble?"

Jiang Yi clearly stated, “You need a perfect ‘vessel,’ a body that can bear your desire to ascend. This person can only be me, and I can’t run away. So why not take the initiative to come and let you nurture me and help me improve my cultivation level as soon as possible, so that this body can reach the height you need? This will save you time and effort for both of us.”

Upon hearing this, the Qin Emperor let out a mocking laugh, "You're really good at playing the abacus!"

Jiang Yi smiled as well, "If you think it's not worth it, that's fine too. I'll go find the Azure Emperor right now. What you're unwilling to do, the Azure Emperor might be willing to do. When the vessel is finished, you two can... discuss it slowly?"

After saying that, Jiang Yi cupped his hands in a clean and decisive gesture, then turned and walked towards the still-open palace gate.

The pace was not fast, but exceptionally firm, without the slightest hesitation.

One step, two steps, three steps... just as her feet were about to step over the high, jade-ice threshold...

"Wait a minute."

The Qin Emperor's cold voice rang out again, causing Jiang Yi to freeze in place.

Jiang Yi's tense nerves relaxed slightly. She turned around, her face still displaying that calm yet slightly roguish expression.

"Does Your Majesty have any further instructions?"

The Qin Emperor's icy eyes fixed on her. "From this day forward, you will cultivate within the Heavenly Sound Platform. I will provide you with the best cultivation techniques and resources to aid you in ascending to the Great Dao, as long as you ultimately lend me a hand."

She paused slightly, her tone carrying a hint of condescension.

"After this is done, I might be able to... leave you a way out."

Jiang Yi stood still, showing neither joy nor immediate gratitude; she simply watched the Emperor Qin quietly.

The Emperor Qin frowned slightly. "What? Is there anything else you're dissatisfied with?"

Jiang Yi smiled, "I have no complaints, just some worries. I'm worried that I might be abducted by the Azure Emperor halfway through my cultivation. After all, I'm the only option for the Azure Emperor. Why don't you go through the trouble of killing the Azure Emperor now and relieve me and you of our worries?"

The Emperor Qin gave a cold laugh and remained silent.

Jiang Yi didn't mind and continued, "In addition, I still have a few doubts in my mind, which are like fishbone stuck in my throat. If I don't figure them out, my mind will not be at peace, and I will easily go astray in my cultivation. I hope Your Majesty can enlighten me."

Killing the Green Emperor is something the Qin Emperor can't do, but answering a few questions won't hurt.

"Just ask."

Jiang Yi stepped forward and asked, "This junior would like to know, with the abilities of the Nine Emperors back then, ascending to the Immortal Realm would have been no problem at all if they had followed the proper cultivation methods. Why did they insist on taking the perilous path of slaying Xuanwu?"

(End of this chapter)