20 Imperial Dragon Qi, Communication Token

When the thought of imprinting his Dao mark appeared in Zhao Mu's mind, the mysterious stone dial started vibrating.

A golden glow pulsated and slowly displayed a line of text—

'You've arrived at the underground stone chamber. Acquired Imperial Dragon Qi!'

'Would you like to imprint?'

Zhao Mu's eyes lit up with surprise.

His emotions became slightly unstable.

Imperial Dragon Qi?

That was no ordinary thing!

He was well-read and knew a lot of things to begin with.

Add to that his imprinting and acquisition of Spiritual Transformation Expert Huo Rulie's martial experience, his knowledge was expanded even further.

Regarding the Imperial Dragon Qi, it was something he had heard of.

It was something condensed from the Purple Fortune of being the chosen one that was acknowledged by the people during the founding of the nation.

It was not something a person without an emperor's fate could obtain.

One should know that whenever chaos and civil war happened, the heroes of the people would have the opportunity to transform into a dragon.

They were born special with an exceptional fate.

According to the books on Feng Shui, they were known as 'hidden flood dragons'.

Each had the qualification to conquer the Divine Continent and stand tall in the Central Plain.

Finally, when they secure the throne and rise to the peak of the nation, they would be known as a 'true dragon'.

By gathering the fate around them, the flood dragon would transform into a dragon.

Apart from that, there were also subcategories of 'lesser python', 'water wyrm', and the likes.

Under the heavens, only the true dragon could obtain the blessing of the Imperial Dragon Qi!

Or to put it in another way, only by acquiring the Imperial Dragon Qi could a hidden flood dragon transform into a dragon!

The two complemented each other.

"Within the Zhou Kingdom, only one person can obtain the favor of the Purple Fortune."

Zhao Mu's gaze glowed.

Apart from the Emperor of Zhou, even the Crown Prince who stayed in the Eastern Palace did not qualify.

As for himself, he had managed to obtain the Imperial Dragon Qi!

Could it be that the imperial astronomer's fortune-telling was right all along?

Swallowing flood dragon and pythons!

Transform into a true dragon!

"Was it my arrival that fulfilled the prophecy? Or did the imperial astronomer have the ability to predict the future?"

Zhao Mu frowned his brows as he asked silently.

Unfortunately, nobody in the stone chamber could give him the answer.

He could only keep it to himself and think about it in the future when he can test it.

"Imprint."

Zhao Mu nodded.

The space around him rumbled, as though a huge hole had been ripped open.

Limitless Qi essence and vitality poured forth.

Following the fractured space, a total of nine Dragon Qi rushed into his body.

Its blinding lights appeared in shades of red and purple.

Red represented fortune.

Legend has it that it could nullify danger and bring luck, turning ill fate into good luck.

Purple represented nobility.

Only able to be manifested by one of great status.

It represented power, status, and one's lineage.

With the two combined, it gave off a faint gold color.

That was the Imperial Dragon Qi!

Nine bright lights swirled about above his head, then dropped straight down, forming the shape of an emperor's crown.

It seemed as though the Divine Sun and Moon Scriptures were triggered by the Imperial Dragon Qi and had started reacting.

The Primordial Yang Qi hidden within his body's apertures started circulating immediately, burning up on the spot as though they were true flames.

Several hundred years of internal energy were burnt through within an instant.

After that, it turned into waves of extremely pure and extremely powerful true Qi!

Along with it, the Nine Aperture Golden Elixir within his chest crumbled and scattered throughout his entire body!

A surreal feeling of unrivaled power filled up his mind.

His pure Yang physique was complete!

Zhao Mu quickly suppressed his lofty thoughts.

He closed his eyes and sensed carefully.

That body was like a crystal clear jade, pure and translucent.

At the same time, it was like a diamond that had incomparable toughness.

His every move would be surrounded by rings of air currents, just like the halo of a Buddha.

It was absolutely divine!

"It actually carries its own special effects."

Zhao Mu smiled.

At that moment, the abundant Primordial Yang Qi flowed throughout his body.

It absorbed the Qi essence of the world around him and converted it for his own use.

He slowly opened his eyes. His pupils had completely turned into a brilliant gold color.

That was the sign of manifestation of one's root bone as recorded within the Divine Sun and Moon Scriptures.

Pupils of Sun and Moon!

After manifestation, it could capture fast action as though they were played out slowly, easily exposing all the flaws of the various martial art techniques in the world.

They could be considered as a pair of magical eyes!

Zhao Mu had only cultivated the Primordial Yang Qi, therefore having only the Pupil of Sun.

Only when the Mysterious Yin Qi was successfully cultivated would the Pupil of Moon manifest itself.

"The Imperial Dragon Qi and the Divine Sun and Moon Scriptures are a perfect match."

Zhao Mu muttered the mantra to conceal his aura, concealing all the signs of his pure Yang physique and returning to his mundane appearance.

"This leader of the Dragon Guardian was well known in his life, yet his death went unnoticed."

He walked up to the Taiji Pure Yang Coffin. His vast and powerful Primordial Yang Qi transformed into a fierce true flame that enveloped the corpse that was untouched by decay.

The terrifying heat that could melt metal immediately turned the corpse into ashes and moved them into a wooden box.

"Coincidentally, I need to head to the imperial tomb in Tong Province in three months. I'll be able to complete this request."

Zhao Mu left the ash container within the Taiji Pure Yang Coffin. The stone chamber had many martial arts records and could serve as his study.

From then on, he would come by frequently.

After all, the cold palace had many people and wandering eyes.

He had to hide from the eunuchs and maids whenever he needed to practice martial arts.

It was rather inconvenient.

"So this is a serendipitous encounter," Zhao Mu said with great satisfaction.

…

A few days later.

Black Dragon Altar, Tianjing City.

Outside the courtroom, there were two lions cast from refined steel placed on both sides of the gates.

Within it, the atmosphere was oppressive and quiet.

When asked, the uniform that nobles and ministers in the imperial court were most unwilling and terrified of seeing was not the chief ministers or the Three Lords.

The answer would unanimously be the Black Dragon Altar.

The mysterious koi uniform was like a nightmarish existence that was more terrifying than a ghost coming from the nether world.

Right then…

The four Guardian Commanders that caused the ministers to pale were all gathered in the same hall.

Shadow Guardian, Zhou Wen;

Eagle Guardian, Ji Liang;

Wolf Guardian, Jiang Gong;

Zhen1Guardian, Zhu Jian.

They each took a seat.

"Eunuch Chen passed a message to have us try to figure out the location of Black Dragon Altar's master, the mysterious Grand Commander."

Wolf Guardian Commander Jiang Gong was the first to speak.

He appeared honest and had dark skin, built like a strong farmer.

However, his actions had always been vicious and ruthless. He was especially skilled in the art of torture.

No matter how stubborn one was, when fallen into his hands, they would be reduced to a mud-like state, easily manipulated.

"How to find out? How long has it been since we took this position? It's not even been twenty years! How long was the master of Black Dragon Altar? He's an Innate Grandmaster, a minister that fought alongside the founding ancestor!" the Hawk Guardian Commander Ji Liang said to himself as he filed his nails.

He appeared effeminate, with very womanly eyes.

However, he was the strongest one among the four Guardian Commanders.

Peak of the sixth Mortal Stage, Qi Refinement.

The number of Lulin rebels that died in his hands was beyond counting!

He was the fiercest person in the Zhou Kingdom's martial world. 

"Ji Liang is right. From the founding of Black Dragon Altar up until now, how many commanders have been changed? However, the Grand Commander had always been the same! Grandmasters hardly show their faces to begin with. We don't even know what he looks like, how would we know if he's alive or not?"

The Shadow Guardian Zhou Wen nodded in agreement.

Out of the four commanders, he had the best appearance.

He looked like a courteous scholar.

However, if one learned of this commander, they would know that this commander loved to kill and had a violent nature.

Along with his cultivation of martial arts from the demonic sects, it was already veering off the proper path.

If one were to categorize Wolf Guardian Jiang Gong as a ruthless man, then the Eagle Guardian Ji Liang would be a violent man.

Meanwhile, the Shadow Guardian Zhou Wen would fall under the category of an evil man.

"Why are you guys complaining? His Majesty gave the order. We'll have to get it done even if it cost us our lives!"

The last commander, Zhen Guardian Zhu Jian bellowed.

That person looked average without any imposing aura.

However, after he spoke up, the entire hall fell into silence.

The other three commanders dared not say a word, keeping to themselves, as though they were terrified of Zhu Jian, who was also a third rank officer just like them.

That was not without reason.

Of the four Guardians, the Shadow Guardian was in charge of intelligence.

The Wolf Guardian was in charge of the imperial prison with the authority to arrest and interrogate.

The Eagle Guardian was able to mobilize the riders and send in armored troops, holding the right to command the army in his hand.

Meanwhile, the Zhen Guardian had the right to monitor the palaces, which included the Black Dragon Altar.

Zhu Jian was allowed to face the emperor and report directly to him.

Therefore, the other three Guardian Commanders would have some fear for him.

"If that's the case, can Commander Zhu tell us what we can do?"

As the atmosphere turned even more solemn, the Wolf Guardian broke the awkwardness.

"Before the Grand Commander went into closed-door cultivation, he left behind three communication tokens."

Zhen Guardian Zhu Jian closed his eyes and contemplated for some time before saying, "One of the tokens was used thirty years ago. Back then Phags-Pa, who was at the peak of the Spiritual Transformation Stage, made it into the ranking board by killing the Fire Lord, who just barely advanced to an Innate Grandmaster, and made a name for himself.

"The late emperor was worried and used one token to inquire about the Grand Commander's progress.

"The second token was used twenty years ago when Marquis Zhao Kai placed first in the martial arts tournament at Little Mirror Lake. His Majesty…did not get a reply that time.

"With the Imperial Preceptor growing stronger and the imperial court having just suffered a defeat, losing Yongxue Pass in the process, this is the critical moment that we should use the third token!"

The Eagle Guardian Ji Liang continued to file his nails. A hint of a smile appeared on his effeminate face as he asked quietly, "If the third token doesn't get us a reply, what then?"

Zhen Guardian Zhu Jian's eyes twitched. His face tense while he said in a low voice, "That means the Grand Commander has failed to break through and passed on due to old age…I'll personally report it to His Majesty."

Eagle Guardian Zhou Wen took out a folded fan from somewhere, flipping it open loudly, and said calmly, "Commander Zhu, please."

Zhu Jian scanned his surroundings. It was obvious he came prepared.

He took out a shell-like communication token that resembled a jade stone.

That item was refined by the Cloud Abode using their secret techniques.

It had the miraculous ability to communicate over long distances and could transform into a water-screen.

It was incredibly hard to come by!

"The Grand Commander went into closed-door cultivation to the death. He planned to use the Imperial Dragon Qi and the Taiji Pure Yang Coffin to break through the barrier of the Human Immortal Stage! Therefore, he surely wouldn't have left Tianjing City."

Zhu Jian grabbed onto the communication token and declared, "This item can communicate across 3 thousand miles. Whether we get a reply or not, may everyone here bear witness to this."

The other three commanders nodded in agreement.

"Alright! I'll start now!"

Zhu Jian had a solemn expression as he cracked the exterior of the shell.

He infused it with true Qi to activate the item.

The communication token shimmered and formed a round mirror out of rippling waters!

One breath!

Two breaths!

10 breaths later.

The shimmering light dimmed.

Zhu Jian who was holding onto the communication token lowered his gaze and muttered in a deadpan tone, "It seems—"

"Who's communicating with me?"

A calm voice rang out suddenly. It was like a lightning bolt that struck the four Guardian Commanders of Black Dragon Altar out of the blue.

—