Fighting: Practice makes it real, start with a poisonous body.

Chapter 327 Junior, I need your help!
Gu Yuan's breathing became increasingly rapid.

Clearly, his immediate priority was to find a way to heal his wounds and escape the pursuit of the Dragon-Phoenix Son.

The beast army of the Dragon and Phoenix Sons is spread everywhere, and the Tianheng Mountains have long been covered with a net of heaven and earth. Every moment of delay increases the risk of death.

The secret of the Origin Qi, however, held his mind like a magnet. It was the only key to breaking through to the Emperor Realm, and even when he was in dire straits, he could not ignore it!
Gu Yuan's gaze returned to the rock wall. The handwriting was still vigorous, but it carried a hint of melancholy about the impermanence of life, as he eloquently recounted the state of mind of the Pure Lotus Demon Saint back then.

"Upon hearing the Emperor's secret, I was overjoyed and immediately asked the Sword Emperor where those two streams of Origin Qi were hidden, and whether there were any specific locations or clues."

Unfortunately, the Sword Emperor simply shook his head, indicating that he also did not know the exact location of those two streams of Origin Qi.

Gu Yuan's heart sank suddenly, and the burning passion that had just ignited was instantly doused with cold water.

"I was filled with disappointment and couldn't help but ask, 'Even an emperor like yourself couldn't detect the location of the Origin Qi?'"

I simply cannot believe that the power of an emperor, which is all-encompassing, would be helpless against two streams of primordial energy.

The Sword Emperor replied that it was not so. With his Emperor-level cultivation, although his true body had already ascended, what remained here was merely a remnant.

However, if one is willing to pay a certain price and expend one's source power, one can naturally perceive the approximate location of the source energy.

But his power must be preserved.

Firstly, we must protect this site and prevent malicious individuals from breaking in and causing damage.

Secondly, we need to wait for a suitable successor to pass on the swordsmanship and the mission of fighting against the Dragon-Phoenix Child.

Thirdly, the potential of the Dragon-Phoenix Child is limitless, and its birth will inevitably bring about a catastrophe. He needs to preserve enough power to restrain it at critical moments.

Therefore, he could not use too much power in order to explore the source energy.

He's only telling me this now because he sensed, through his innate imperial instincts, that two remnants of Origin Qi still remain on the Dou Qi Continent. As for their exact locations, I'll have to find them myself…”

"So, in the end, the Pure Lotus Demon Saint still didn't know the location of the Origin Qi?"

Gu Yuan frowned deeply, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the rough surface of the rock wall.

He had indeed been overwhelmed by the news of the two sources of energy, but now that he had calmed down and thought about it carefully, he realized that this was exactly how it should be.

If the Pure Lotus Demon Saint had truly found the Origin Qi, with his foundation as a half-Emperor, he would surely have been able to take the final step and ascend to the Emperor Realm. He wouldn't have left behind only a frozen body and these walls full of last words.

"I felt incredibly regretful; the elation in my heart vanished instantly, like a bubble bursting."

But I also understand that it was already a great favor for the Sword Emperor to tell me about the existence of Origin Qi.

He could have ignored me and let me die in meditation outside the ruins, but out of pity for my talent, he enlightened me on the key to breaking through to the Emperor Realm. I am eternally grateful for this kindness.

Finally, moved by my sincerity in bowing before the Emperor for a thousand years, the Sword Emperor passed on to me a demon-slaying sword technique.

That sword technique contained the pure imperial sword intent, upright and fierce, dedicated to slaying demons and evil spirits. It was completely different from the fire-based techniques I had cultivated all my life, yet it was infinitely mysterious.

After he finished imparting his skills, he told me to leave.

Just as I turned to step out of the ruins,
The Sword Emperor suddenly spoke up and told me: "Jinglian, your obsession is too deep, and you have been blinded by the Emperor Realm."

Rather than blindly pursuing that elusive path to imperial power, what's more important for you is to understand your own heart and know what you truly want.

At the time, my mind was completely focused on Origin Qi and the Emperor Realm, so I couldn't understand the deeper meaning of the Sword Emperor's words at all. I just took it as a casual remark from an Emperor.

Filled with confusion and disappointment, I turned and left. The inscription on the rock wall paused for a moment here, as if it fully expressed the Pure Lotus Demon Saint's state of mind at that time.

"The moment I stepped out of the ruins, I saw the ruins that were floating in the void slowly sinking."

The imperial barrier once again enveloped the ruins, which sank thousands of feet underground. The soil churned, burying all traces as if nothing had ever happened.

A thousand years ago, when I first discovered the ruins, my heart was only set on the inheritance of the Emperor Realm, and I was afraid that others would find out and compete with me for it.

With the power of a minor demon, it unleashed its unique secret technique, Nightmare Mist, covering an area of ​​millions of miles around the ruins.

The mist can stir up desires and fears in people's hearts, plunging all living beings into an endless illusion.

I thought that I could unravel the illusion after I received the inheritance, but I never imagined that this wait would last for a thousand years.

Now that I've been born, my wishes have been dashed, and only now do I remember to unravel the illusion.

But the moment the fog dissipated, the scene before me struck me like a thunderbolt!

Within a million miles, towns were reduced to ruins, fertile fields turned to scorched earth, and the bones of countless people lay scattered haphazardly, long since turned to skeletal remains, densely packed and shocking to behold!
This completely shook me...

The writing on the rock face was slightly blurred, but it conveyed a deep-seated regret and self-reproach.

"In pursuit of the so-called path to the Emperor, I have fallen into such a state of madness."

In the blink of an eye, a single thought has brought about the deaths of millions of innocent lives, resulting in such a monstrous massacre.

My hands are stained with blood. Even if I become emperor someday, what will it mean? I'll just be a tyrant with blood on my hands!
If I continue on the path of pursuing the Origin Qi, how many more atrocities will my hands commit in order to achieve my goal? How many more innocent people will die because of me?

At this moment, I finally understood the profound meaning behind the Sword Emperor's parting words.

I've knelt before the Sword Emperor's gate for a thousand years, only today do I realize who I truly am.

If I abandon everything to become emperor, will I still be myself after becoming emperor?
I've been on the wrong path all along.

That demon-slaying sword technique was not a gift from the Sword Emperor, but rather a way for me to atone for my sins.

Slaying demons is not about slaying external evils, but about slaying the evil and delusions within my own heart!

I understand now. My mission is not to become an emperor, but to help the successor of the Sword Emperor fight against the Son of the Dragon and Phoenix, protect this Dou Qi Continent, and protect all living beings in this world.

This is what I truly want to do, the only path to atonement for the rest of my life...

However, I do not possess the Sword Emperor's ability to plan for eternity, so how can I traverse endless time to help his successor?

On the day the dragon and phoenix child was born, I had already turned into a handful of dust, and even if I had the will, I was powerless to change the outcome.

Fortunately, I do have some talent, and after thinking for a long time, I finally came up with a solution.

That's why I left this tomb and sealed my body here..."

Seeing this, Gu Yuan's expression turned slightly serious. The real highlight was finally about to begin!

"Young man who has come here, I need your help."

I can be resurrected, and in the body of a half-emperor, I can give my last bit of strength for humanity!

(End of this chapter)