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

"I suppose there will be no more foreign enemies. From now on, I can just focus on my cultivation and wait to face the great war against the Ghost Clan." Xiao Yunshang thought to herself, and Su Mu had the same idea.

But life is unpredictable, and unexpected events can happen at any time. On that very day, a tremendous disturbance arose from the depths of the vast western mountains. Black mist continued to expand outwards, and in the instant the entire mountain was shrouded in it, it collapsed and shattered with a deafening roar. The majestic mountain crumbled into pieces, with rocks of all sizes flying everywhere, leaving behind a bottomless crater, at the bottom of which lay a vast underground lake of magma. The black mist seeped into the magma from the bottom of the crater, and a colossal fire phoenix spread its wings and soared into the sky. It was the terrifying power contained within its body that shattered the entire mountain.

Ten thousand years ago, the world's order shifted, and the powerful demonic beasts of the Cangmang Mountains did not migrate away from the Tianyuan Continent with their clan. The Heaven-Sealing and Earth-Locking Array was originally intended to prevent the spread of the black mist, but its very existence has led to the gradual depletion of spiritual energy within the mountains, continuously worsening the cultivation environment. Although the powerful demonic beasts clearly possess the ability to destroy the array, none dare to act. Once the array is broken, boundless black mist will instantly flood into the mountains, and all the demonic beasts will become food for the Gui Clan.

In the sparse spiritual energy, the cultivation of demonic beasts stagnates, and when their lifespan is exhausted, they can only perish. Only this fire phoenix has found a glimmer of hope.

The Phoenix clan is born with the talent for rebirth through Nirvana. Normal Nirvana requires cultivation to the late stage of level nine, with a solid foundation to transform and reach the divine realm. Ten thousand years ago, this fire phoenix was only at the mid-stage of level nine, its cultivation insufficient to support a complete Nirvana. With the mountain's spiritual energy depleted, it had no further opportunity to cultivate to the late stage of level nine. To survive the long ten thousand years, it had no choice but to take a risk and forcibly initiate Nirvana prematurely.

Premature Nirvana requires extremely high environmental conditions, and it chose this underground lava lake, a place rich in pure, high-level earth fire essence. However, relying solely on the earth fire and its own mid-stage ninth-level cultivation was still insufficient to sustain a ten-thousand-year Nirvana. Therefore, it joined forces with other demonic beasts of its generation within the mountain range to set up an array. When the lifespan of its peers was nearing its end, they would voluntarily throw themselves into the lava lake, using their life's cultivation essence to continuously supply the Fire Phoenix with the essence of Nirvana to sustain its rebirth.

After ten thousand years of dormancy, it finally succeeded in its rebirth. However, forcibly transforming prematurely had more disadvantages than advantages. After the rebirth, its cultivation level remained at the mid-stage of the ninth level, neither becoming stronger nor falling in realm. It was already extremely content. All its former peers of demon beasts had perished, and only it had survived to this day.

"The Ghost Clan..." From within the churning black mist, countless Ghost Clan members rushed towards it at breakneck speed. The unique chilling aura of the black mist awakened the Fire Phoenix, which had slumbered for millennia. It immediately sensed that the Heaven-Sealing and Earth-Locking Array had long since failed. The Fire Phoenix flapped its wings and soared into the sky, its body ablaze with endless phoenix divine fire. Any Ghost Clan members that approached and touched the flames instantly turned to ashes. Although the mid-stage ninth-level Fire Phoenix was powerless to completely eradicate the Ghost Clan threat, even ordinary Ghost Clan experts would not dare to provoke it lightly. It knew that top-tier Ghost Clan members lurked deep within the black mist, and their numbers were vast. It dared not linger, fearing being surrounded by a large number of Ghost Clan members, and immediately rushed out of the black mist, speeding eastward, far away from the land of calamity.

The Fire Phoenix flew at incredible speed, reaching the eastern edge of the Vast Mountain Range in just a few flaps of its wings. This place was home to a large number of low-level demonic beasts, all fleeing the black mist. Many had mistakenly entered the heart of human territory and were frequently hunted by human cultivators. While the native human cultivators of Tianyuan were relatively mild-mannered, the powerful individuals who had migrated from the Wulong Continent possessed formidable strength, making it impossible for demonic beasts below level six to contend with them; they could only hide in secluded corners to eke out a living.

Fire Phoenix didn't need to interrogate them; it used its divine sense to probe the conversation between the demonic beasts and quickly grasped the current situation. "The human race established the Great Qian Empire, which has lasted for thousands of years, with top-tier local experts residing in the imperial palace." "The barbarian, witch, and Japanese tribes are all fleeing the black mist, pouring into human territory, and the black mist is continuously expanding from all directions." "Descendants of these tribes who migrated ten thousand years ago have returned to the Tianyuan Continent from the Wulong Continent." "I wonder if there are any Martial Emperor level experts among these people…"

Low-level demonic beasts have limited range of activity and dare not approach the imperial city, so the information they possess is extremely scarce. To uncover more secrets, Fire Phoenix must personally venture deep into the human heartland to investigate.

"That level nine sea turtle in the East Sea is proficient in the art of long-term slumber; I wonder if it survived the ten-thousand-year calamity." "The person who returned from the Wulong Continent possesses three divine talismans. If they have a Martial Emperor under their command, I will join forces with them to explore the opportunities in the Martial God's ruins." "If there is no Martial Emperor in charge, I will personally seize those three talismans."

The Fire Phoenix paused briefly before setting off again, flying eastward.

On June 28th, Su Mu's Imperial Dao Profound Spirit completely digested and refined all the primal energy of the dragon scales, concluding his secluded cultivation at its peak. The Imperial Dao Profound Spirit's foundation surged, bringing him one step closer to transforming into a divine embryo.

The moment Su Mu opened his eyes, the familiar system notification sounded in his mind. [Congratulations to the host, your demonic beast offspring, Jinzi, for advancing to the late-stage seventh-level flying beast. The system reward has been stored in your inventory. Please check it.]

Just as Su Mu had predicted, Jinzi's slumber this time wasn't a minor breakthrough; he jumped two levels directly from the early stage of level seven to the late stage. Su Mu opened the system warehouse to check the rewards. Last time, when Jinzi broke through to the early stage of level seven, the system distributed a bunch of low-grade Heaven-rank treasures. This time, the reward quality was upgraded again, all being mid-grade Heaven-rank resources. Ten mid-grade Heaven-rank eighth-level Nirvana Pills; ten new reward, mid-grade Heaven-rank eighth-level Dragon Essence Pills; and the reserves of high-grade pills such as Enlightenment Pills and Qian Yuan Divine Glow Pills were further expanded. Qian Yuan Divine Glow Pills can be taken multiple times, which can not only increase the success rate of the Profound Spirit Transformation Divine Embryo, but also continuously replenish the original power of the formed divine embryo.

Besides the pills, a mid-grade Heavenly Rank Qianjin puppet has been added to the warehouse. A low-grade Heavenly Rank puppet is enough to contend with a late-stage Martial Emperor, while a mid-grade Heavenly Rank puppet can directly restrain an early-stage Martial Emperor. Su Mu now has another trump card to save his life.

"Aside from the Ghost Clan within the black mist, do any early-stage Martial Emperors or level nine exotic beasts still exist on the Tianyuan Continent?" Su Mu pondered to himself. Before officially confronting the Ghost Clan, this mid-grade Heavenly Rank puppet and the eighth-grade Dragon Essence Pill would likely be useless. He could easily kill ordinary late-stage Martial Emperors with his own combat power, without needing to use any trump cards or pills.

"First, adapt to the all-round enhancement brought about by the strengthening of the Imperial Dao Profound Spirit, and then you can take the Ninth Grade Nirvana Pill to temper the Imperial Dao Overlord Body to the level of a divine body."

Having made up his mind, Su Mu left his bedroom and went to the entrance of the library. He saw Jinzi, who had just woken up, with Xiao Yunshang standing guard beside him.

"As expected of the Golden-Winged Roc, his cultivation level rose by two levels after just one night's sleep."

While praising it, Xiao Yunshang took out the demon beast's inner core and essence blood left by Su Mu and fed it to Jinzi. Jinzi ate with relish, and upon hearing Xiao Yunshang's praise, it raised its head and flapped its wings, looking extremely smug and proud. It could understand human language and had the ability to speak, but as an ancient divine bird, it naturally preferred to cry out and rarely uttered human words.

"A mere late-stage seventh level is only equivalent to a late-stage Martial King of the human race. Don't be too complacent." Su Mu raised his hand and gently patted Jinzi's proud head, reminding it not to be arrogant, as its path of cultivation was still long.

Jinzi immediately shrank its neck, letting out a low, timid cry, full of defiance. "It's already quite remarkable, there's no need to deliberately belittle it," Xiao Yunshang advised. "If it were to fight with all its might, very few late-stage Martial King cultivators of the same level could contend with it, and it could even put up a fight against early-stage or mid-stage Martial Emperors."

Upon hearing the praise, Jinzi proudly raised its head. "After you've eaten your fill, take to the skies for a while," Su Mu instructed. Jinzi responded and flapped its wings, soaring into the air. Usually, Su Mu was in seclusion, and without anyone to protect it, it dared not travel far. Today, it was finally able to soar freely.

"Gold can grow so quickly, all thanks to meeting you." Xiao Yunshang sighed softly as she looked at the birds in the sky. "The more noble the bloodline of a demon beast, the more cultivation resources it consumes to raise it. In the past, after the Beast Taming Sect of Tianyuan Continent migrated to Wulong Continent, it was unable to supply demon beast resources, and the sect quickly declined and perished."

"The inner core essence that nourishes the gold is almost entirely a gift from powerful enemies who come to provoke us." Su Mu chuckled. "From now on, I'm afraid no more enemies will send resources. Once the gold breaks through to level eight, its growth rate will slow down significantly."

"It's peaceful with no one attacking, allowing us to focus on our cultivation in seclusion," Xiao Yunshang agreed. "Ordinary enemies might leave behind level eight demon beast resources at most, but if a Martial Emperor or a level nine expert comes to provoke us, it's uncertain who will plunder whose treasures."

"Does my wife underestimate me?" Su Mu said confidently. "I used to be able to kill a late-stage Martial Emperor, and now I can even fight against a Martial Emperor or a level nine beast."

"Yes, yes, my husband is invincible." Xiao Yunshang teased with a smile, but in her heart she truly admired Su Mu. However, she did not forget to remind him, "The greater the difference in realms, the more difficult it is to overcome the gap in strength. The late stage of Martial Empress and the early stage of Martial Emperor may seem to be only one level apart, but in reality, they are worlds apart. A Martial Emperor can condense a Divine Image, but a Martial Emperor's Martial Image will be completely suppressed in front of a Divine Image, and may even collapse directly."