Starting with being handed over to the Imperial Concubine, building a family with a thousand-year hi

The sword cultivator Xuanling's energy body collapsed and disintegrated.

Su Mu immediately urged his own Imperial True Spirit to leave his body, steadily enveloping the dissipated sword embryo energy and absorbing and devouring it all.

"Indeed, it's the sword essence born from a top-grade Earth-rank sword embryo!"

Su Mu silently commented to himself.

The grade and sword power contained in this sword embryo far surpass Su Feiyang's previous high-grade earth-rank sword embryo, possessing immense potential.

"It would be even better if it were of the lower grade of the Heavenly Rank."

Su Mu sighed slightly.

On second thought, he quickly suppressed his greed. If it were truly a Xuanling nurtured by a low-grade Heavenly Rank sword embryo, its combat power would undoubtedly surge, and in a head-on battle, he might not be able to secure a decisive victory.

At this moment, his Imperial True Spirit can only temporarily absorb and store the energy of this top-grade sword embryo, and cannot completely refine and fuse it for the time being. It needs to be slowly refined and polished later.

In addition, the white-bearded old man's natal weapon, a top-grade Earth-rank longsword, also fell into Su Mu's hands.

This sword has not completely become ownerless; the bond of its original bloodline still exists. Since the old man is still alive, he will need to expend considerable effort to forcibly erase the original mark of ownership if he wants to fully control this supreme longsword.

Thus, the battle of the Black Mist came to a complete end.

After the Imperial True Spirit had absorbed all the energy of the sword embryo, Su Mu put away the ink-gold puppet and the black spear, held the slightly cool, top-grade longsword, and slowly walked out of the gradually dissipating black mist.

Outside the east gate of the imperial city, Xiao Yunshang had been waiting quietly for some time.

Seeing Su Mu emerge unharmed, she immediately hurried to greet him, her eyes filled with a hint of doubt: "Brother Su, what happened inside just now? I saw your puppet fight those two Martial Emperors of Xichuan Sword Pavilion with my own eyes."

"They claim they're here to help wipe out the Ghost Clan, but they harbor malicious intentions and are waiting for an opportunity to ambush me," Su Mu said calmly.

He had already guessed that the two must have greeted Xiao Yunshang before entering the black mist, which was why the other party knew their origins.

"We are all human, and we fought to the death to resist the calamity of the Ghost Clan. They actually attacked us from behind. It's too despicable!" Xiao Yunshang frowned, her heart filled with indignation.

"I once killed a sword genius who had been sealed away for ten thousand years by the Xichuan Sword Pavilion, so I already had a grudge against them." Su Mu's expression was calm and his tone was composed. "I am never afraid of their revenge. Since they dare to provoke me and suffer defeat and death, they should not blame me for disregarding the feelings of our own kind."

"It seems that both of them escaped in the end," Xiao Yunshang said softly.

"They did indeed escape." Su Mu nodded, then changed the subject slightly, "However, that mid-stage Martial Emperor abandoned this top-grade Earth-rank longsword, and even his sword dao spirit, which he had nurtured for many years, was completely left behind by me."

"That's the terrible price they deserved!" Xiao Yunshang said in a clear voice.

All the strange races within the black mist were completely wiped out, the rampant and expanding black mist came to a complete halt, and slowly dissipated with the evening breeze, thus completely resolving the crisis at the east gate of the imperial city.

After exchanging a few words, the two returned to the palace together. The recent series of fierce battles had taken a toll on both of them, and they urgently needed to rest and recover.

Back in his room on the second floor of the library, Su Mu sat cross-legged and activated the Purple-Gold Profound Fire to envelop the Imperial True Spirit, accelerating the absorption and initial fusion of the sword embryo's original energy within his body.

……

In the northern part of Huitai County, in the Great Qian Empire, lies a remote and desolate wilderness.

Two figures stood in mid-air; they were the two Martial Emperors of Xichuan Sword Pavilion who had previously escaped from the black mist of the imperial city in a sorry state.

"Senior Brother Yu, your Xuanling... was it really left behind by that Su Mu?" The young Martial Emperor early stage cultivator Yan Qibing asked in disbelief.

The white-bearded old man, Yu Hao, gave a bitter smile, his expression forlorn: "That's right. In that situation, death was certain. I could only abandon Xuanling and use it as cover to escape with my life."

"Outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!" Yan Qibing was utterly bewildered. "He's not a cross-realm powerhouse from the Wulong Continent, just a native cultivator of Tianyuan. The spiritual energy here is thin, and the cultivation environment is harsh. How can he possess such terrifying combat power?"

"He must have obtained an immense ancient opportunity," Yu Hao said in a deep voice. "Ten thousand years ago, the Tianyuan Continent was at its peak, and several powerful martial gods were born there. This person must have inherited the legacy of a martial god, which is why he has such heaven-defying foundation and such a rapid rise."

"Could you tell what kind of cultivation technique he is practicing, Senior Brother?" Yan Qibing asked with curiosity in his eyes. "His physical body is stronger than normal, and now even his true spirit foundation is far beyond that of ordinary people, even comparable to us Xuanling. It's too strange."

"He was surrounded by a faint aura of imperial power." Yu Hao, with his broader knowledge, pinpointed the key point: "He must be cultivating a top-tier imperial technique. Human imperial techniques are inherently superior to all other techniques, domineering and unparalleled, which is what created his unparalleled combat power."

"The Imperial Path?" Yan Qibing's pupils constricted, his face filled with shock. "Could it be that he's walking the path of the Human Emperor?"

"He may not be a legitimate Human Emperor." Yu Hao shook his head slightly. "Human Emperors are born with unparalleled talent and supreme fortune, showing extraordinary abilities from a young age. He should only have risen to power through the opportunity of the Imperial Path and been influenced by the Imperial Path's foundation, rather than possessing the legitimate Human Emperor's Dao Body."

Yan Qibing's worldview was still shattered: "A eunuch dares to tread the path of the Human Emperor?"

"There's no need to dwell on this." Yu Hao suppressed his emotions and asked in a deep voice, "Right now, I've lost all my Xuanling energy and my strength has plummeted. What do you suggest we do next?"

"Let's wait for my Xuan Body to heal and my Xuan Spirit to be restored before we talk about it again." Yu Hao's tone was solemn. "Previously, the black mist suppressed the rules of heaven and earth, preventing us from forming an array to fight, which led to our crushing defeat. In an ordinary environment, the outcome would have been uncertain!"

Yan Qibing nodded repeatedly, completely convinced. Having lost his Xuanling, Senior Brother Yu's combat strength was less than one-tenth of what it used to be, and he was indeed no longer qualified to contend with Su Mu.

Two days of arduous practice passed in the blink of an eye.

Su Mu's Imperial True Spirit finally absorbed and fused the original energy of that top-grade Earth-rank sword embryo completely.

Through this tempering, his Imperial True Spirit foundation surged, and his aura became increasingly profound. He only needs to accumulate enough Imperial Qi to complete the final transformation and advance to the Imperial Profound Spirit realm!

Now that the barbarian and Japanese tribes have completely broken away from the Great Qian's system of submission, the imperial aura should logically be gradually weakening. However, Xiao Yunshang's breakthrough to the Martial Emperor realm has stabilized the nation's fortunes, and Su Mu's own strength has continued to rise, intimidating all sides and stabilizing the court. As a result, the imperial aura within the palace remains rich and profound, without diminishing in the slightest.

Su Mu did not rush to leave seclusion, but instead went into seclusion again to calm his mind.

He activated the purple-gold mystic fire around his body, combined with his powerful and domineering imperial blood essence, and began to refine the top-grade longsword with double the enhancement.

Although his Xuanhuo (mysterious fire) was not top-tier or domineering, his Overlord Body essence blood was a top-tier source in the world. The fusion of the two was enough to forcefully infuse the sword body, suppress the original master's essence blood imprint, and wash away and forcibly erase the bond of recognition.

An afternoon of rituals passed in the blink of an eye.

This top-grade Earth-rank longsword has completely washed away its former owner's mark and truly belongs to Su Mu.

This sword is named Qu Guang.

Two more days have quietly passed.

In the afternoon, Chang Wei made a special trip to the library to request an audience.

He had made all the preparations, thoroughly stabilizing his realm and honing his foundation. Everything was ready, except for the challenge of breaking through to the Martial Emperor realm. He had come here to ask Su Mu if he could follow Xiao Yunshang's example and condense his Martial Aspect to break through his realm within the palace.

"Okay." Su Mu nodded lightly, readily agreeing.

He is currently in top condition and fearless of any unforeseen events. With Xiao Yunshang in charge of the palace and Chai Min fully recovered from her injuries, the two Martial Emperors are guarding the city, making its defenses impregnable.

Although Xiao Yunshang is a newly promoted Martial Emperor in the early stage, her innate Xuan Lei Body talent is unparalleled, and her combat strength far surpasses that of others of the same level. Chai Min, on the other hand, is a veteran Martial Emperor in the mid-stage, with formidable combat power.

In addition to this, Su Mu had another consideration.

Xiao Yunshang's breakthrough might have been a mere coincidence. However, Chang Wei's subsequent breakthrough to Martial Emperor in the Imperial Palace would inevitably arouse speculation among powerful figures from all sides.

Then he can release the news so that everyone knows that only by relying on and following him can one quickly break through in this Tianyuan Continent and gain the recognition of heaven and earth!

In the dead of night, strange celestial phenomena suddenly appeared above the palace.

A giant ape martial spirit phantom, hundreds of feet tall, appeared in mid-air, its powerful and profound earth-elemental Daoist aura sweeping across the land. At the same time, a condensed and dazzling humanoid primordial spirit light appeared alongside it.

One martial spirit and one primordial spirit, both solidified and stable.

The vast and boundless power of heaven and earth poured down, continuously merging with the martial spirit and primordial spirit, forcibly pushing the two to merge into one, and the overwhelming pressure shook the entire imperial city.

Chang Wei primarily cultivates earth-based techniques. At this moment, the endless earth-based spiritual energy in the world is frantically gathering and piling up layer upon layer, forming a heavy and boundless suppressive force.

The giant ape's martial spirit and primordial spirit silently endured the extreme pressure. If they were not careful, they would fail to merge and their breakthrough would be in vain.

Chang Wei was full of confidence. His only worry was that a powerful figure might sabotage his breakthrough at a crucial moment.