The Strongest Mythical Emperor
Chapter 268: Awakening Stone

Chapter 268: Chapter 268: Awakening Stone

That night, Qin Jun wanted to spend a spring night filled with laughter and love with Li and Zhu Yanqing, but unfortunately, Daji stopped him and even forbade him from having relations with any other palace maids.

Could Qin Jun bear this?

He became angry at once, but Daji explained, "Your Majesty, your cultivation was weak before, and you had not yet truly stepped onto the path of energy refining. But now that you have, if you engage in the act of yin and yang fusion, it will lead to a loss of your internal yang energy. As long as Your Majesty breaks through to the Transforming Void Realm, this concubine will personally devote herself to you and offer you a great opportunity that will be beneficial to Your Majesty’s future cultivation and have no harm."

Upon hearing this, Qin Jun calmed down. He had already reached the seventh level of the Ascending Mortal Realm and was not far from the Transforming Void Realm. He believed that Daji would not deceive him, so he suppressed that lustful fire within him.

Being an emperor and still not being able to get laid, how tragic!

...

The Qianyue Kingdom changed its name to Great Qin!

The sovereign of Nanzhuo personally came to offer congratulations!

The Southern Domain Imperial Dynasty appeared, took the Great Qin Kingdom as a vassal state, and declared its protection of the Great Qin Kingdom!

A series of news spread, causing great shock to the kingdoms surrounding the Nanzhuo Dynasty. These events were even recorded by the Destiny Pavilion as current major events, causing the entire Southern Domain to talk about the Great Qin Kingdom.

A small kingdom becoming the focus of the entire Southern Domain truly astonished people beyond belief.

With the protection of the Southern Domain Imperial Dynasty, no force within the Righteous Dao dared to touch the Great Qin Kingdom.

Six days quickly passed, and the Great Qin Kingdom was truly on the right track. In order to stabilize the newly-formed Great Qin, Qin Jun decided not to initiate any wars within the coming months.

Li Cunxiao and Liu Bowen came to prostrate themselves before Qin Jun five days ago. With one being a strong Earth Immortal Realm fighter and the other being a great sage, Qin Jun immediately put them to important use. Li Cunxiao joined the military forces. Because of his burly physique and immense strength, he quickly caught the eye of Li Yuanba, and the two of them dueled daily, causing unrest in the capital.

When Liu Bowen met Zhuge Liang, it was as if they were old friends who had just met and couldn’t get enough of each other, chatting about the past and present every day.

And so, two Foundation Establishment teams were thus born. Fate truly is miraculous.

On this day, Qin Jun took Lei Zhenzi, Li Cunxiao, Liu Bowen, Zhu Yanqing, and the Bone Eroding Tribulation and left quietly. Very few knew of this departure; only those close to him were aware.

The reason he did not bring Red Boy and Sha Wujing was that Qin Jun feared another sneak attack from the Abyss Sect.

He planned to head to the no-man’s land to find the secret branch of the Abyss Sect. As for bringing Zhu Yanqing along, it was because the no-man’s land also had the Holy Sect’s stronghold, and she intended to use the teleportation gate there to return to the Holy Sect.

"What exactly is your status in the Holy Sect?"

Above the clouds, Qin Jun couldn’t help himself and asked Zhu Yanqing once more. This art of Riding Clouds was performed by Lei Zhenzi. Despite having a pair of Wind and Thunder Wings, his Riding Clouds technique was also very fast. In less than half an hour, they had flown past the Black Dragon Kingdom, which was many times faster than Sha Wujing.

He thought that in less than half a day, they would reach the no-man’s land.

Golden Immortal Realm powerhouses are indeed awesome.

"Even if I told you, you wouldn’t know. You should just concentrate on your cultivation instead, be careful or I might surpass you," Zhu Yanqing said with a roll of her eyes. She was now Qin Jun’s imperial concubine. If her parents found out, they would probably tear Qin Jun to pieces.

It was the command of parents, the matchmaking of the go-between.

Qin Jun took her as a concubine without her parents’ consent.

Hearing her response, Qin Jun couldn’t help but curl his lip, as if your Holy Sect is so powerful. Sooner or later, I will turn the tables and make the Great Qin replace the Holy Sect, turning it into a vassal state, and show you!

"Your Majesty, sometimes knowing too much is not a good thing," said Liu Bowen with a light chuckle. The middle-aged man, dressed in an unassuming long robe, appeared very ordinary and was difficult to associate with a military strategist.

Qin Jun couldn’t help but glare at him. So much for speaking up!

Lei Zhenzi and Li Cunxiao didn’t interject, and as for the Bone Eroding Tribulation, Lei Zhenzi had already cast a silencing spell on it, preventing even telepathic communication.

Li Cunxiao, clad in heavy armor and with a resolute expression, continued to practice in meditation on the clouds. Unmoved by the laughter and conversation of the other three, the reason he was brought along instead of Li Yuanba was that he had managed to force Li Yuanba to transform into the Giant Bird. Fortunately, Lei Zhenzi intervened in time.

He and Liu Bowen were both new faces. Staying in the Great Qin Kingdom would probably have led to oppression, so Qin Jun brought them along. In battle, Lei Zhenzi would strike, Liu Bowen would give strategic advice, and Li Cunxiao’s role was to watch over the Bone Eroding Tribulation.

Just then, Li Cunxiao suddenly opened his eyes, his thick eyebrows knit together as he said in a deep voice, "Something’s ahead!"

Qin Jun looked towards Lei Zhenzi. The man was still closing his eyes, calm and composed, so it seemed there would be no danger.

Rumble—

A rumbling sound came from ahead, growing louder and louder. Soon, Qin Jun and the others were alarmed to see a meteor falling from the sky, trailing a tail of flames. Even from tens of miles away, they could vaguely see it.

"A stone from beyond the heavens, it will bring another disaster," Liu Bowen said, shaking his head in lament.

The sky in this world wasn’t like that of my former life on Earth; at least Qin Jun had not yet learned from any ancient texts just how high it reached. It was said that flying up to nine thousand miles high would incur the Heavenly Dao’s punishment.

Nine thousand miles...

Qin Jun would be exhausted before even reaching that height.

"Never mind that, just keep moving forward. Getting to the ownerless lands as soon as possible is the real task at hand," Qin Jun said. The more they delayed, the more danger Little Torch Dragon faced. He couldn’t forget the look in its eyes as it was sucked into the bronze bracelet.

The Sky Stone quickly fell beneath the clouds, while Qin Jun and the others continued their journey.

About an hour later, Lei Zhenzi stood up and spread his wings. Before Qin Jun and his party could react, they found themselves atop a mountain peak.

"We’ve reached the ownerless lands so quickly?" Qin Jun asked with a frown.

Lei Zhenzi nodded, "The ownerless lands are vast, so I landed us on the outskirts. This guy doesn’t know where the secret branch is, so it’s best we let him signal and wait for the members of the Abyss Sect branch to come to us."

Qin Jun nodded; perhaps the Abyss Sect branch was nearby, and flying into the center of the ownerless lands might actually waste more time.

As he was about to have Lei Zhenzi lift the Bone Eroding Tribulation’s silence spell, he suddenly looked to the north, where he saw an endless barren Gobi desert with sparse flora, only dead trees and cliffs.

Following his gaze, one could see a group of cultivators engaged in battle about a kilometer away.

It was clearly two opposing forces, identifiable by their matching uniforms, numbering hundreds. Various spells were cast, producing an impressive array of sounds.

"Tsk, tsk, what a small world," Qin Jun said teasingly, not having expected to run into You Fenghuang on the first day.

You Fenghuang, clad in purple garments, was surrounded by about a dozen others dressed like her, both men and women. They were being attacked by a group of cultivators in white, clearly at a disadvantage, with constant injuries and even many bodies on the ground; the battle was quite brutal.

"What, not going to take action yet?" Zhu Yanqing asked Qin Jun, eyeing him closely. She was aware of the ambiguous relationship between Qin Jun and You Fenghuang. Even though they always bickered, as a woman, she clearly understood the emotions You Fenghuang’s eyes held when looking at Qin Jun.

"No rush, we’ll just walk over there."

Qin Jun waved his hand. A kilometer wasn’t far for them; even Qin Jun, at the seventh level of the Ascending Mortal Realm, could reach there in a matter of seconds.

As soon as he had spoken, the group of six jumped down from the mountain peak.

"Holy Maiden, you run. Leave this to us to hold them back!"

A middle-aged man from the Netherworld Holy Sect shouted firmly, "Even if we die, we can’t let the people from Right Tiger Hall get the Awakening Stone!"

You Fenghuang, wielding a longsword and fighting against several white-robed cultivators, bit her lip at his words, "We’ve been hunted for four days. If we flee, we flee together; even if I leave, there’s no chance I’ll live to return to the Holy Sect."

Could today really be the end for her?

A sense of despair rose in You Fenghuang’s heart. Her spiritual power was nearly depleted, and she would not have lasted this long without relying on medicinal pills. The dozen or so survivors from the Netherworld Holy Sect were all at the Golden Elixir Realm, while a quarter of the several hundred cultivators sent by Right Tiger Hall were at the Golden Elixir Realm, and the rest had cultivation levels above the seventh layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm. If the battle dragged on, they would all die.

The image of a certain frivolously smiling face surfaced in her mind—if he were here, she probably wouldn’t have fallen into such a dire situation...

"Tsk, tsk, You Fenghuang, the Holy Maiden of the Netherworld Holy Sect? I’ve heard about your unrivaled beauty, and seeing you today, your reputation is well deserved."

An attractive man with a folding fan in his hand said with a smile as he strolled leisurely towards You Fenghuang, utterly unconcerned by the surrounding battle.

"I heard you’re the betrothed of Ghost Young Master, so I should get a taste of you on his behalf," he said, his smile unpleasant, particularly the lust in his eyes.

You Fenghuang wore a frosty expression, not bothering to reply, and remained focused on the fight. A single lapse in concentration could mean her death and no burial.

Meanwhile, eight hundred meters away, Qin Jun, as he approached, suddenly heard the system’s prompt tone: "Ding! Triggered a mandatory task—collect Awakening Stones! You have three days to complete the task. If you fail, your cultivation will be reduced by a major realm!"

A mandatory task?

Qin Jun’s face changed, wondering if this was the collection task the system mentioned when he summoned Lei Zhenzi?

Damn!

What a total scam!

A three-day deadline with no rewards!

Qin Jun cursed inwardly; his gaze inevitably shot forward as the mandatory task was triggered at this moment, suggesting that the so-called Awakening Stone was among that group of people ahead.

With that thought, he quickened his pace.

It looked like he’d have to play hero and rescue the beauty today!