Within Quinn Shepherd's Spirit Embryo Treasury, above and below the Taiji Diagram, all Forty-Nine Heavenly Principles and Sixty-Four Netherworld Daos activated and began to merge. However, the instant the Heavenly Principles touched the Netherworld Daos, they mutually dissolved, causing his cultivation to plunge rapidly!
Quinn immediately stopped.
The Eastern Emperor frowned.
Now, even Dragon-Qilin and Annie could clearly sense the killing intent radiating from him!
Quinn remained unmoved, quietly pondering. In the past, he had borrowed the power of Heaven Duke and Tu Bo to reassemble shattered souls, relying on the Gate of Bearing Heaven to harmonize their forces.
The Gate of Bearing Heaven connects heaven and earth; it is a gateway in the Heavenly Court. From Jade Capital City's inner walls, one must pass through this gate to enter the Lingxiao Hall—this gateway is the Gate of Bearing Heaven.
Back then, Quinn had reversed the Gate of Bearing Heaven, using its wondrous properties to reshape souls with both divine and demonic Dao.
When he first created this resurrection technique, he hadn’t studied its essence in depth—he simply got used to stealing the power of Heaven Duke and Tu Bo.
But now, at the brink of life and death, he finally began to contemplate the true nature of this divine art.
The Eastern Emperor’s killing intent grew stronger and stronger; Annie and Dragon-Qilin became increasingly tense, staring at him intently. Though they were no match for the Eastern Emperor, if he tried to kill Quinn, they would fight to the death!
But the outcome of this battle was obvious: they would all die at the hands of the Eastern Emperor.
Just then, a force of creation—gentle yet filled with the power to forge life and soul—quietly flowed within Quinn, subtly circulating and entering the dragon god’s corpse.
White light radiated from the dragon god’s body, mist-like and drifting. Inside him, soul-black-sand constantly recombined, giving birth to a heaven-soul, reshaping an earth-soul, and evolving a life-soul!
Seeing this, the Eastern Emperor’s killing intent vanished.
Annie and Dragon-Qilin breathed a sigh of relief, gasping for air.
The pressure the Eastern Emperor had exerted on them moments ago was overwhelming—almost suffocating.
Quinn guided the power within him, reshaping the dragon god’s seven human souls one by one. After a while, the dragon god slowly awoke, dazedly looking around, not knowing why he was lying there.
He hurried to his feet, gradually recalling the moment of his death—he remembered dying at the hands of his own father, the Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon. Yet he dared not resent it, lowering his head in silence.
The Eastern Emperor paid it no mind, bursting into hearty laughter: "Grand Archmage! Truly a Grand Archmage!"
Quinn smiled. "Is Your Majesty the Eastern Emperor reassured now?"
The Eastern Emperor laughed, "Of course I am reassured. You have passed this trial, Grand Archmage. The next trial will test your potential."
Quinn let out a long breath, as if setting down a heavy stone. He smiled, "Then may I ask, Your Majesty, how you intend to test me?"
The painted pleasure barge sailed deeper into the Jade Pool. The Eastern Emperor stood at the bow, leisurely proclaiming, "The Heavenly Emperor’s offspring are few; Heaven Duke and Tu Bo, one wounded by love, the other troubled by children, also have few descendants. Earth Mother is dead, the Empress and Madam Yuanmu are nominally alive. In today’s world, the strongest bloodline is mine!"
His long beard fluttered, blue robe elegant, as he declared, "My dragon sons and grandsons—powerful beyond counting! Even in the Heavenly Court, they contend with all the heroes. Even after death in the Netherworld, they reign as ghost warlords! Grand Archmage!"
He looked at Quinn, smiling: "I have a dragon daughter, Gwen Drake, and a dragon son, Kane Drake—both of extraordinary talent. If you can defeat them, you will pass this test. Gwen, Kane, come greet Shepherd Venerable!"
Deep within the Jade Pool, a Dragon Island appeared, where numerous young dragons were cultivating.
As the Eastern Emperor finished speaking, a man and a woman—two dragon gods—rose into the air, greeting Quinn.
Quinn glanced at the pair. Indeed, they were rare talents. He praised, "The Eastern Emperor’s bloodline is truly extraordinary. However, though I am Your Majesty’s Grand Archmage, I am also Shepherd Venerable. To be tested by juniors seems to disregard my title."
The Eastern Emperor raised his eyebrows, uttered an 'Oh,' and asked, "Grand Archmage, what do you propose?"
Quinn replied calmly, "In the early Dragon-Han era, I bore the title of Heavenly Venerable, stormed the Jade Pool, slew countless demigods, and even crushed Venerable Vast-Sky for a thousand years. If Your Majesty intends to test me with your dragon heirs, you underestimate me."
The Eastern Emperor furrowed his brow slightly, "Grand Archmage, you mean..."
Quinn said slowly, "Heaven Duke and Tu Bo both reincarnated, trying to escape the ancient gods’ predicament. As the ancient god emperor of Eastern Extremity Heaven, surely Your Majesty has reincarnated as well?"
The Eastern Emperor nodded.
Quinn continued, "Your Majesty is no stranger to the Spirit Treasury and Heaven Palace cultivation systems, is that right?"
The Eastern Emperor replied coolly, "After I reincarnated, I spent a hundred years reaching Divine Bridge and a thousand years attaining Emperor’s Throne. I met Crimson Emperor and Bright Emperor—who called me uncle. I left behind the Azure Dragon Wildlands Scripture, an Emperor’s Throne technique, now archived by Heavenly Court. Many of my descendants practice my method."
Quinn smiled, "Your Majesty’s talent and foresight are remarkable. Have you also studied the Heavenly Court’s cultivation realms?"
The Eastern Emperor smiled, hands behind his back, "Know yourself and know your enemy—one hundred battles, one hundred victories. Of course I’ve studied the Heavenly Court realm. To be honest, my reincarnated body still lives, wandering through eras. I’ve been collecting Emperor’s Throne techniques and have formed my own insights."
Quinn was deeply moved, clapping his hands in admiration, "The ten Heavenly Venerables of the Heavenly Court are mere children, daring to underestimate ancient gods—truly reckless. Not to mention Heaven Duke and Tu Bo; even just the Eastern Emperor cannot be taken lightly!"
The Eastern Emperor laughed, "The Ten Heavenly Venerables wield great power; I have no choice but to bow my head. But that doesn’t mean my strength is lacking."
Quinn said, "Therefore, I boldly request that Your Majesty’s reincarnated body test my potential."
The Eastern Emperor had already guessed his intent. His gaze flickered, and he said leisurely, "Since the Grand Archmage has so graciously invited me, I cannot refuse. I only fear my blows may be too heavy and injure you."
"No problem."
Quinn beamed, "My body is very sturdy."
"Father!"
Gwen Drake, the dragon daughter, bowed and glanced at Quinn, smiling, "Shepherd Heavenly Venerable’s reputation is widespread; I’ve long wanted to witness your skills."
Kane Drake, the dragon son, burned with fighting spirit, declaring, "Why use a butcher’s blade to kill a chicken?"
The Eastern Emperor looked at Quinn, smiling, "Grand Archmage, what do you think?"
Quinn gently raised his hand. A lotus flower floated up from the Jade Pool and landed in his palm. He smiled, "It’s admirable that my niece and nephew are so ambitious, but they still lack tempering."
He plucked a petal and handed the remaining lotus to Annie, who quickly transformed into a young woman and cradled the lotus to her chest.
Quinn gently blew on the petal.
The petal floated from his palm, drifting toward Gwen and Kane.
As the petal spun through the air, each rotation split it in two—then two to four, four to eight.
Soon, the lotus petals flying toward Gwen and Kane blanketed the sky, forming a vast sea of pink blossoms surging at them.
Gwen and Kane each unleashed divine arts, attacking the incoming flower sea, trying to tear it open and face Quinn directly.
But when their divine arts struck the flower sea, it only fueled its division—making even more petals!
The flower sea engulfed them. They soared and struggled, fighting back, but every divine art was absorbed by the petals, which multiplied even faster, gradually flooding Dragon Island.
On Dragon Island, the young dragons cultivating in the Jade Pool joined the defense, but the flower sea absorbed their divine arts, swelling ever larger and spreading wider!
Though the Azure Dragon Palace’s Jade Pool wasn’t as vast as Heavenly Court’s, it was still a small sea. Now, the flower ocean had seized its center, threatening to swallow the entire pool!
Within the ocean of petals, dragon roars shook the air—some angry, some fearful.
Petals multiplied endlessly, even landing on the dragons and merging with their flesh, as if pink scales were growing all over them.
Even more terrifying, the petals drew energy from within their bodies, splitting into more petals and covering them entirely, replacing their original dragon scales!
Some even felt the petals replacing their flesh and bones.
Worse still, petals floated into their bodies and landed on their Primordial Spirits!
The petals were draining the power of their Primordial Spirits!
Gradually, the roars were left with only terror—even Gwen and Kane, the Eastern Emperor’s most valued experts, could only scream in fear.
They couldn’t break through the flower sea at all—every attempt only made the divine art stronger.
They could only watch as petals grew on their bodies, pierced their flesh, rooted in their Primordial Spirits, draining their bodies, their yuanqi, their strength!
This slow march toward death shattered their Dao-hearts!
At last, the flower sea spread to Quinn’s side, about to swallow the painted barge.
Quinn stood at the bow, gently raising his hand and plucking a petal.
As the petal landed in his palm, the vast sea of flowers vanished. Gwen, Kane, and the other dragon heirs lay sprawled on Dragon Island, drained and listless—the flower sea had devoured all their energy and cultivation!
Had the flower sea not disappeared, their very lives would have become nourishment for those petals!
"Creation Art? Art of Creation?"
The Eastern Emperor fixed his gaze on the petal in Quinn’s hand and said gravely, "Your divine art uses many things—creation arts, numerology, swordsmanship, heavenly law, Netherworld methods... Wait, also the visualization of the Creators, and Ling Heavenly Venerable’s Immutable Art!"
Quinn walked over to Annie, picked up the petal, and gently placed it on the lotus.
As the petal returned to the flower, its stored energy surged through the lotus. Golden light burst forth, streams of terrifying power erupting like fountains—brilliant and dazzling.
The lotus’s power soared, and in moments it became a formidable treasure!
This was because Quinn had drawn all the cultivation of the dragon heirs on Dragon Island to forge the lotus. With so many dragons contributing their power, how could the lotus not be strong?
"This divine art is the fifth form of my Dao-entering techniques, called Wanderer Among Blossoms."
Quinn handed the now-refined lotus to Annie, then turned to smile at the Eastern Emperor, "Your Majesty, you’ve only seen what I allowed you to see. The true mysteries of my divine art—an ancient god like you cannot comprehend. Now..."
His aura condensed, activating the Triple Pill Body Art. A fragment of the Heavenly Court leapt out from behind his head, illuminating the Jade Pool.
Quinn clenched his fist and said calmly, "Now, Your Majesty, it’s time for you to test me personally."