Beginning of Cultivation
Chapter 117: Saint Emperor

Chapter 117: Saint Emperor

In the desolate desert that had long been uninhabited, an unusual scene unfolded: eleven people were lying supine on the sand. Actually, it wasn’t entirely on the sand, as the wind had covered their bodies with a layer of sand over time.

As they breathed, grains of sand entered their noses without causing any issues. Now, nearly anything that entered their bodies would disintegrate immediately. Coincidentally, a tourist group was passing by. While in their vehicle, they noticed a human hand emerging from the ground.

"Stop the car, it looks like there’s someone ahead." one of them said.

The driver halted and remarked:

"What on earth? Why would there be people lying here in the desert? Hmm, there’s blood on the hand. Everyone stay back, let me check it out."

He had no idea what had transpired, but the traces of the battle had been obscured by the wind, making everything unclear.

He grasped the hand and pulled the person buried in the sand out. However, the moment he touched the hand, he was startled. He muttered to himself:

"Is this a hand or iron?"

The bodies of Jun Wu Xiao and his companions could no longer be compared to ordinary steel. Iron swords or armor against them would be like soft plastic, easily bent in any direction. However, Jun Wu Xiao’s body weight wasn’t high, so he could be pulled out easily.

The driver was astonished when he saw him: a clearly youthful face but with silver hair. No, platinum hair to be precise, and his clothes were very distinctive.

A person standing about five meters away observed and remarked:

"Are people still wearing ancient clothing these days?"

"Huh, isn’t it only those old cultivators who wear this kind of attire?"

"But does he look like an old person? Even with his face covered in blood, you can tell he’s a youth. He probably dyed his hair that color."

"Could he be a descendant of some cultivation family?"

"Probably, but why would they dare to fight here? Isn’t this the eastern continent? Aren’t they afraid of the government or the gods punishing them?"

.....

Of course, they are not afraid of punishment, but they fight here with good intentions. They didn’t want to scare or disrupt the eastern continent. But who would have thought that going to the desert would actually meet someone?

Jun Wu Xiao, who had been sleeping, opened his eyes. Initially, he had noticed the group approaching but they were too weak to pose any threat to him, so he continued to sleep. However, their noisy chatter eventually woke him up.

He sat up suddenly, like a corpse rising, startling everyone into stepping back. He glanced at them briefly and asked:

"Do you have any extra water? I need some to wash my face."

By now, his injuries had nearly healed completely, but the blood on his body hadn’t disappeared, it had merely dried. Although the blood of cultivators had unique properties, it still contained water and would evaporate like ordinary blood.

The tourists, being well-prepared for their trip, had brought plenty of essential supplies. However, they were unsure if they might face any unforeseen accidents, so using their water for face-washing seemed wasteful.

Jun Wu Xiao noticed their reluctance and thought:

"Is it really that difficult to share a little water? Oh right, this is a desert. Using water to wash my face here would indeed be wasteful. They’re still ordinary people and need water to survive."

Then he said:

"Ah, it’s been so long since I last drank water that I forgot normal people need it to live. It’s not urgent for me, so you can keep it."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, as they had often heard that high-level cultivators were easy to talk to. Meeting one for the first time today seemed to confirm this rumor.

"Hi, are you from a cultivation family? Why would they let someone so young become a cultivator? As far as I know, cultivators can’t have children." a girl asked.

With nothing else to do, Jun Wu Xiao decided to chat a bit.

"Young? I think I’m older than your grandfather."

Seeing his nonchalant attitude, no one felt scared. The girl said:

"Don’t joke about other people’s grandfathers like that."

Jun Wu Xiao was taken aback. Why didn’t anyone believe him when he told the truth? Well, it made sense since he looked so young now. He said:

"I’m not joking. I’ve lived for over two hundred and thirty years. I bet your grandfather hasn’t lived that long."

Everyone was stunned upon hearing this. The driver, who had read some ancient texts, said:

"Are you one of the Guardian Gods?"

Given his age, it seemed likely he had lived through the era of monsters. Actually, he had lived much longer than that, making his identity relatively easy to deduce.

"How did you recognize me?" Jun Wu Xiao asked in surprise.

He had seen portraits of himself and his friends, but they had looked much older then, not like how they appeared now.

The tourists were astonished, their eyes wide in disbelief. They hadn’t expected such a surprise encounter during their trip.

"Is it true?"

"I’m so lucky! Coming to this desolate desert and meeting a legendary god!"

"But he’s really handsome for a god."

"What nonsense are you talking about? Cultivation makes people more beautiful. It’s just that the process is too difficult, so few people do it."

.....

"It can be deduced from your age. After all, there are very few people in this world who live more than two hundred years old." the driver said.

Jun Wu Xiao nodded and was also curious about the current state of humanity. Their clothing and the gadgets they carried were quite interesting. He asked:

"Who is the current emperor of humans?"

"It’s the Human Emperor." they responded in unison.

Jun Wu Xiao looked puzzled and asked:

"What do you mean? Is there someone named Human Emperor?"

"No, it’s just that emperor since then has been called the Human Emperor." the girl explained.

This confused Jun Wu Xiao even more. Did it mean the same person remained emperor, or did they just continue to use the same title? He shouted:

"Xia Ni, what’s the deal with this Human Emperor? What did you and the Evaluate Council do?"

At that moment, a head popped up from the sand—it was Xia Ni. He hurried over to Jun Wu Xiao and said:

"What’s with the noise while I’m sleeping? I guess I never told you about the Human Emperor, did I? It’s a rule we established with the officials of that era. Every emperor since then has been called the Human Emperor. When someone becomes emperor, they must temporarily abandon everything else—family, friends, hobbies, or anything unrelated to the advancement of humanity. So, calling the emperor the Human Emperor isn’t wrong because whoever takes the throne adheres to this rule during their reign."

Upon hearing this, the tourists and the driver immediately knelt and said:

"We pay our respects to the Saint Emperor."

Jun Wu Xiao was taken aback. He had no idea when his friend had acquired such a title.