Chapter 74: Signing In To "Eternal Emperor Fist!"

"Ah?"

Mei Kai was shocked, disbelief written all over his face that someone would be so nonchalant about an Emperor weapon. This was something that if known to the public, it would incite overwhelming greed, a fierce desire in people's hearts. And the senior before him waved it aside like it was nothing at all.

He was racking his brain. If the great master was not moved by an Emperor's Weapon, what would impress him about anything the Mei family had?

"Emperor's Sutra?" asked Mei Kai again, this time with a cautionary tone beginning to creep into it.

In the long history of the Mei family, there once was a Great Emperor. As a legacy of this lineage, the family held on to the Emperor's Scripture, though it was incomplete after passage of time.

"It's useless to me," Xian Yue replied calmly, shaking his head. "If you don't have anything that truly interests me, I won't be able to help you."

It wasn't that Xian Yue was trying to be stubborn. He simply had no connections to these people, and passing his time over something with no personal stakes didn't interest him.

Mei Kai's shoulders drooped. The Emperor Weapon, the Emperor's Sutra—none of it meant anything to this elusive master. What could he possibly provide that would be worth anything?

At this moment, Mei Rong came out with her first word so far. Speaking in a very shy voice, she said, "Would you like to take an interest in spiritual plants, Senior?"

"Spiritual plants?" Xian Yue lit up. "What kind of spiritual plants are we talking about?"

If there was something he held a soft corner for, it was nature's treasures.

Realizing the shift in his mood, Mei Rong replied in turn, "Despite losing the prestige of our Mei family, we still have such deep and historical genealogy, and we have collected so many spirit plants. We have Emerald Apples, Ice Fire Lotuses, Celestial Silkworm Potatoes, Galaxy Oranges…."

She could list even more, each one more exotic, and precious than the previous one. Xian Yue's face grew increasingly tense with each word.

Okay, Xian Yue said resolutely, I'll help you search for the poison beads, but only if you hand over all those spiritual plants.

After coming to the Eternal Divine City, Xian Yue had decided to develop his own orchard. Gathering rare spiritual plants from around the world would be a pleasure itself, and he could enjoy their fruits at his own convenience.

Mei Kai stood mute. The elder had thrown away the Emperor Weapon, but seemed to have such an interest in spiritual flora! This was truly the kind of view from an otherworldly master.

Mei Rong smiled "Ah, as I expected, this elder is just as said—more of an indulgence fond for food and plant-grafting rather than material authority."

"Do you know where the poison bead is?" Xian Yue asked, redirecting the conversation to the topic at hand.

"We're not quite sure," Mei Kai said with a hesitation in his tone. "The place where the Dao Emperor fell is mysterious, and we just want to draw some leads."

"Then why are you seeking it?" Xian Yue asked in a curious tone.

"To be honest, Senior, it's for my younger sister," Mei Kai replied sincerely. "She's been suffering from a rare illness, and the poison bead might be the cure."

"I see," Xian Yue mused. "Well, if we find it, that's good. But if we can't, I'll deal with your sister's illness myself. In exchange, I want every single one of those spiritual plants you mentioned. No exceptions.".

Mei Kai nodded vigorously. "Don't worry about it, Senior. We would never go on our word." Xian Yue placed away his bronze chariot and went forward.

The group hadn't ventured very deep into the Emperor's Fall, but dangers were already clearly visible. If Mei Kai was indeed alone, he would have been done for a long time ago. The air was thick with a strange fog-a fog holding an eerie, otherworldly power. Even cultivators would struggle to survive for long within such an atmosphere.

But under Xian Yue's lead, the fog retreated as if it was scared to draw any closer, so an open way was paved for them to follow.

Mei Kai gazed. What kind of cultivation was this one that the fog gave a way for him? It just didn't seem believable.

"Senior, why is it easy for you to find where my father is?" Mei Rong inquired hesitantly, confusion dominating.

"The fog here is meant to obscure godly senses, so it is impossible to notice anything from afar."

"Well, I just looked at them," Xian Yue said carelessly.

Mei Kai and Mei Rong were both stunned into silence. Did he mean that their eyes were useless in comparison?

As they continued walking, a system notification suddenly appeared in Xian Yue's mind. 

[System: Sign-in successful. Congratulations, host, you have obtained the Emperor Grade Supreme Divine Ability—Eternal Emperor Fist.]

Xian Yue's footsteps didn't falter, though inwardly he was taken aback. The Eternal Emperor Fist was a supreme Divine Ability that perfectly complemented his current cultivation.

One punch could split the heavens. Another could destroy worlds. A third could obliterates chaos, while a fourth could reduce all to nothingness.

In fact, with the strength that he now possessed, Xian Yue did not need to learn new techniques. Every movement already contained an amount of strength that cannot be fathomed. Laws bent to his will, and he existed beyond the limits of cause and effect.

However, now that the system had given it to him, there was no point in not taking it. It could come in handy someday. And so, they pressed on, Xian Yue quietly absorbing into his immense collection of techniques with quiet efficiency.

Time passed. "What is this black mist made of, Senior?" Mei Kai asked edgily, his voice laced with unease. "It's like it could kill even the strongest among us."

"It is not just a mist," Xian Yue replied. "It is ghost mist replete with netherworld laws. It further contains vestige traces of Immortal Dao laws. Ordinary beings can't withstand it-not even a Great Emperor."

Mei Kai furrowed his brows, his face vacant. "Immortal Dao laws? Ghost mist? I have never heard of such thins…"

Their conversation was interrupted as Mei Rong pointed ahead. "Look! There are stairs!"

Broken steps emerged from the mist, visibly man-made but now broken and eaten away by time. The sight was eerie but somehow mesmerizing at the same time.

"Who could have made this?" Mei Rong asked aloud.

"I do not know," Xian Yue replied quietly enough but kept walking.

The black fog before them started to stir as if something within it was moving inside.

"Careful! "Mei Kai said suddenly, with an anxious tone. "We might have stepped into some dangerous zone".

Xian Yue, who remained composed though his tone was the opposite, guided everyone in the direction of the sound. When the fog opened up, a humanoid figure stood perfectly still within.

The skin of the figure was pale, almost translucent; and it shook in some perpetual state of abject fear or agony.

"A human?" Mei Rong gasped in amazement.

"No," Xian Yue corrected his eyes narrowing. "That's not human."

Mei Kai paled as he realized they had just stumbled into something much more dangerous than he had anticipated.