“I promise.” Xu Yangyi was devoid of hesitation, fully aware this was an open conspiracy. What was most important for him currently was still the advancement of cultivation.

“Splendid!” Jadewave laughed heartily, the demon’s laughter uninterrupted for a full minute. It then said: “There is indeed a clue left behind on the surface… Although it is not complete, do you know why there are five holes on this box? Yet there is only a single person?”

Perhaps because it was in a greet mood, Jadewave didn’t wait for Xu Yangyi to respond, and then laughed: “Do you know of the deities of the Five Phases?”

Xu Yangyi shook his head. As a pragmatist, he only cared whether or not something was of use, careless of its origin.

“Junior…” Jadewave laughed: “All of China’s theories are founded upon the Five Phases. This is the root of China’s cultivation world. As for this root, it originates from the Book of Changes.”

“The Book of Changes is the joint origin of China’s two schools of Daoism and Confucianism… The five celestial deities are Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Venus, and Mercury… The five ruler deities is the truth of these five holes! They have another name by which they are called… The Five Primordial Celestials.” 

“The person carved on this chest… No, god, his name is known as Tai Sui!” [1]

“A leopard-headed man mounted on top of a boar-headed horse, this is undoubtedly the god of Jupiter!”

“Next, you must find a human specialist of relics. Mankind’s evaluation of dynasties is far more superb than mine. Discover which dynasty this item is from… Afterwards… search in history, in a time where Daoism or perhaps Confucianism was revered, of an emperor who received the greatest injustice in death. I wager the lower half of this ruined Emperor Armament is there!”

“Where is that place?” Xu Yangyi immediately questioned.

Jadewave began to laugh: “Do you think… after the emperor’s death, you’re able to take away the item from where it is located?”

“Only when both halves are united as one will you be able to bring about true information pried from the Animus Armament. Perhaps you have presently obtained a benefit from within, but… Hehe, is the only Animus Armament produced in five thousand years merely this?”

“The true information hidden within it is only truly complete when it is opened.”

Silent, Xu Yangyi digested this obtained information. This long discussion in the night had finally unraveled the final knot within his heart. Otherwise, he would always have a hole in his heart as he used the Eternal Alchemy Canon to cultivate. In couldn’t be seen in the beginning, but the further ahead into the future, the more tangled it would be, until finally, once it became a paranoia, it would form a heart devil. Perhaps it would then be difficult to forge ahead. 

Today, he felt everything dissipate like vanishing smoke and scattering clouds. So it turned out he was being hunted… because of it. This little box actually held such a great history. An injustice spanning a millennium, a blood-dyed Emperor Armament. It was no wonder it was carrying an arcane effort such as the Eternal Alchemy Canon.

What do you wish of me to accomplish? What is the pursuit of your thousand years of hatred? Nonetheless… these things aren’t important. As long as you aid me in ascending to the apex, I shall fulfill your desire of that year!

“Many thanks.” He cupped his hands. While this evening may have seemed to lack tangible gains, it strengthened his heart and spirit, far better than cultivating for several decades.

He looked at his watch. Twenty-four minutes.

“Remember our agreement.” 

A tremendous green radiance flickered. Just as Jadewave was planning on descending, Xu Yangyi suddenly turned around: “There’s another matter that I wish senior can guide the way.”

“What matter?” Jadewave was aloof; a minor matter was without trouble, not necessarily out of reach. Its mood was quite well, fabulously great. Was it truly believed there was someone with the ease of mind to decrypt matters for people at the Four Great Joint Pools?

Granted that there was a reward, the price to get Jadewave to decrypt was rather high… Jadewave only determined the reward that a majority of clans were able to pay with clenched teeth. Its own cultivation had already reached a bottleneck. Without great opportunity, it couldn’t break through, so it had thought up of this method to bait fishes. 

A century… two centuries… three centuries had past, It had ultimately waited for this day! This ticket was sufficient to make up for three centuries of time! Enough to make up for stifling Its nauseating intolerance towards these insects! This… was a once in five thousand years… Animus Armament condensed from one of China’s over a hundred emperors! 

Jadewave gently laughed in the heavy mists, not knowing which emperor it could be… who could harbor such a fierce hatred. Even above all men, a Lord of the Nine Quiniums still bore such an execution of ideal. He had actually congealed this item of legend. As for the Millennium Grudge of that emperor, it was evident he held a titanic relation with the cultivation world… To be able to incur the attack of the Xuan-Yuan Sword’s wielder, Jadewave dared not to shoulder this karma. However, the greater the karma, the destiny was likewise immense!

Life or death was merely between a thought. This folly was sufficient to make that foolish human boy undertake it.

“With senior’s cultivation, it should be no issue to forcibly use Innersight. After Junior obtained the Emperor Armament, a bit of a mishap appeared in my body. I’d still like to request Senior to dispel my confusions.”

Jadewave’s expression finally turned a shade solemn. At least… until this boy obtained the hidden secret of the Emperor Armament, he mustn’t die. 

“Yes.” Jadewave answered insipidly. Xu Yangyi only felt an icy coldness, like a pair of eyes had sprouted within his body, looking at all of his secrets. He guessed once more of Jadewave’s cultivation, elevating it by a single level.

“There’s no problems… Hold on.” Jadewave carefully swept over every part of Xu Yangyi. There wasn’t anything odd, until it had arrived at the qi sea. After Jadewave had originally done a round of inspection, it suddenly discovered there appeared to be something bobbing up and down within the billowing qi sea. 

“Let me get a careful look.” Jadewave narrowed its eyes. In the next second… the demon saw it clearly! It was a stone-like seed. However… It recognized this seed! A name that even caused a demon to tremble!

“God… God… God… Godseal Spark!” The inside of Jadewave’s heart surged wildly like mad tide flooding the heavens: “Impossible! It cannot be! H-how could this be! Such a thing… Such a thing…” 

“I understand… I understand! So it was like this! The origin was as such!!!”

CRASH! From the violently surging lake surface, a giant wave that was several tens of meters high suddenly rose up! Jadewave’s two enormous eyes glimmered indistinctly. Anyone could see and realize that the demon had suffered a tremendous shock!

Xu Yangyi was on a hair-trigger lookout. Indeed, he did not know what this object was that appeared once he finished cultivating the first part of the Eternal Alchemy Canon.

“This is…” Both of God Ming’s eyes trembled with apprehension. As he looked towards the tremendous thick mists in shock, he unexpectedly discovered that the dense fog held signs of dissipating!

“This… Could it be that Senior Jadewave has suffered a shock? But how is it possible? Isn’t the other but a mere Qi Condensation cultivator?”

Just at this instant, in the vast sky dotted with stars, the first star of the Big Dipper, Tian Shu, suddenly erupted with a burst of eye-piercing radiance!

The shocked Jadewave shivered from head to toe, swiftly raising its head to look towards the sky and bellowing with a hoarse voice: “I REFUSE!!!”

“This Dao Master took no more than a glance! A mere glimpse of the eye! Why?! On what basis must you behead me?!?!”

“Could it be that you are the Will of Heaven?! Bullshit! Who gave you the right to slay me?!?!” 

A Dao Master!

Xu Yangyi and God Ming entirely fell back a step. This change had come too quickly, too abruptly! Senior Jadewave… No, Daomaster Jadewave suddenly frenzied and moreover snarled its realm for the first time since the beginning of history!!

A Dao Master! A Core Formation master! Unless one was at Core Formation, they were not allowed to appellate themselves as a Dao Master! Nonetheless, these things weren’t the cause that put Xu Yangyi on immediate guard. The true reason… 

Someone… was slaying Jadewave? Beheading a demon? Executing a Dao Master Greater Demon? Who dared?!

In the sky… there was no response whatsoever. Subsequently, under the illumination of brilliance like snowy muslin, the Tian Xuan, Tian Ji, Tian Quan, Yu Heng, Kai Yang, and Yao Guang, these six stars, deafeningly erupted with gentle moonlight! [2]

“Heavenly Demon Art… Tortoise Unto Xuanwu!” [3]

A life or death crisis unexpectedly pervaded Daomaster Jadewave’s entire body! At this instant, it simply dared not to care about others. In the wake of a furious roar that crossed the sky, a fierce tide of qi without peer suddenly exploded! 

Boom… With the sound of tremendous quaking, the whole dead volcano of Old Black Mountain trembled!

RUMBLE! All the pool water of the Four Great Joint Pools flew into the air in harmony. At this moment… the thousand-meter pool bottom could shockingly be seen! Xu Yangyi’s gaze focused. He seemed to catch sight of a fin.

“You desire to slay me?! How could it be so easy?!?!?!” Jadewave raved madly, his furious shout carrying an even crazier laughter: “Heavenly Demon Art! Demon Refines The Savage River!!!” [4] 

Swoosh! All the lake water in the air seemed to uniformly transform into imitated scales of light-blue armor in this second! The armor defended above Jadewave! In this instant, the several thousand meters of the volcanic lake had all come into this armor covering!

Xu Yangyi’s gaze flashed, and he backpedalled at lightning speed. Likewise, God Ming no longer cared for image and frantically burst into retreat! Someone… There really was a person taking action against this Core Formation Greater Demon who had lived for over a thousand years! However, the eyes of these two similarly carried a scorching blaze!

This… was the divine ability of a Core Formation master! It easily flipped over rivers and turned over seas! It shrouded the heavens and blotted out the sun!

Moreover, looking below Jadewave’s foot, the thousand meters of lake water had come to a boil in the air! Yet while watching a thousand-year-old Greater Demon’s move, countless tonnes of lake water congealed into form, needless of foundation! Though watching the sky… the seven stars of the Big Dipper sparked synchronously! There existed a person… who had leapt over an immeasurable distance and crossed through infinite space to bring these seven stars to execute this demon!

“This is a true cultivator!”

“We cultivators ought to be like this!”

Xu Yangyi looked at his watch; it was his 52th minute. The 52th minute of an hour… since he had entered here. 

  Spoiler Title 

[1] Tai Sui isn’t actually so much the name of a god, but apparently more so the title of a position depending on what you believe in. This title is known as “Grand Duke Jupiter”.

[2] These are stars that make up the Big Dipper. I was unsure whether to translate them into english, english counterpart of their chinese names or just leave them in pinyin, since these stars exist in Chinese astrology under their own name. In english the stars are labeled from as alpha to eta ursae majoris. Chinese translated names are respectively: Celestial Pivot, Celestial Rotating Jade, Celestial Shining Pearl, Star of Celestial Balance, Star of Jade Sighting-Tube, Star of The Opener Heart, and the Star of Twinkling Brilliance.

[3] You may or not be aware, but a Xuanwu is a mythical tortoise entwined with a snake in Chinese Mythology. In the Chinese constellation star map, Xuanwu, the Black Tortoise, assumes the northern position. Xuanwu is also the name of a daoist god who happens to be accompanied by a tortoise and a snake.

[4] Reference here to the word “Savage”. In Chinese, this word has a bunch of different meanings and I took on definition of “harsh and unreasonable” here. However, Jadewave might actually be referring to an actual river called the Heng River. I’m honestly not quite sure here.