When Yunfan and Hongzhi arrived, a large crowd had already gathered around the exhibit. They had to wait almost ten minutes just to be let inside, which was just as bustling as the outside. A dozen groups of students ambled through the dimly lit room from pedestal to pedestal while quietly discussing the contents. The soft drone of conversation gave the area a stifled feeling.
Chu Yunfan immediately gravitated towards the nearest display, with an antique-looking sword with the blade covered in teal rust from tip to hilt. The small sign next to the pedestal informed him that the sword had been found in one of the first Ancient Zenith civilization ruins that had been discovered in the Kunlun Realm.
It seems too damaged to be of any use. Well, if it did have any use, I wouldn't be able to see it here at this exhibit; the military would probably be using it.
According to the plaque next to the display, the metal alloy was unidentifiable through modern means due to the passive metal- and lightning-attributed Qi that the sword emitted. Many of the artifacts from the Ancient Zenith civilization naturally emitted Qi and some researchers theorized that these items had once had their own cultivation base, which was a testament to the advancement of their civilization.
When humans first explored the Kunlun Realm, they found an incredibly vast jungle stretching as far as the eye could see. The trees there dwarfed even the largest and oldest trees on Earth, towering higher than three hundred meters tall and nourished by ample energy of heaven and earth. Spirit Beasts originating from the Kunlun Realm were far more intelligent and ruthless than Spirit Beasts on Earth, and were referred to as Kunlun Beasts.
The dense energy of heaven and earth could crush those who were maladjusted to the environment. The jungle was filled to the brim with Kunlun Beasts. Even some of the plants were hostile. At first, there seemed to be no point in venturing into the sprawling rainforest.
That was until they discovered the first Ancient Zenith ruin.
Although most of the items that might have once been there had succumbed to the elements, many precious treasures such as alchemy recipes, cultivation techniques, weapon styles, and other useful things were recovered. These significantly helped humanity in their constant battle against the Catastrophe of Beasts, allowing them to train stronger martial artists and retake enough land to establish the first post-Collision Cities, bastions of safety for ordinary citizens.
The Ancient Zenith civilization played an undeniably crucial part in humanity's current success. Kunlun script and studies had become very important subjects, since the world government was firmly supporting further exploration of the Kunlun Realm and the discovery of more Ancient Zenith ruins.
Yunfan returned his attention to the blade on the pedestal, examining the pictographic script that was only faintly visible along the length of the weapon. Within ten minutes, he felt like he had seen everything there was to see and moved onto the next exhibit.
Suddenly, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He turned to examine it and couldn't help but gasp.
Hovering over the heads of the crowd was a light projection of an enigmatic scroll that was about nine meters in length; it was impossible to miss. Seemingly made from some metallic-colored cloth, it shimmered as an invisible wind stirred the scroll. Mysterious and archaic symbols decorated the edge of the scroll painting, and simple yet profound strokes formed a picture of unshakeable mountains and placid rivers.
Strangely, nobody seemed to pay the wondrous scroll painting any attention, as if only Chu Yunfan could see it.
That's weird. There's a pretty big crowd below the scroll, I wonder what they're looking at.
He began picking his way through the crowd, forcing his way past couples and groups until he could see the exhibit directly below the mysterious scroll: an ancient stele with hundreds of lines of Kunlun script and spell formation equations. Yunfan couldn't make heads nor tails of anything on the bronze tablet and several lines had been covered by greenish-blue rust.
Twisting his head around to examine the people around him, he realized that they were all intently reading the exhibition plaque or studying the stele. None of them showed any signs of seeing the enigmatic scroll that floated over their heads. He tilted his head backwards to observe the scroll again.
Now that he was much closer, he could examine the finer details of the scroll and make out some of the Kunlun script. While the painting flowed naturally, the words written along the edge were a dirty brown color and were garishly written by a shaky hand. They seemed completely out of place.
I can read some of this… "Body"… "Mind"… "Seal"… "Transplant"…?
Suddenly, the words along the edge of the scroll turned blood red and began glowing with an black light. A sharp pain pierced his skull, but his body and mouth was locked into place, leaving him unable to react. The pain grew and grew, like someone had drilled a hole in his head and began pouring lava into his body, until any coherent thought disappeared under the endless waves of agony radiating from his temples.
***
He opened his eyes. His bare feet stood firmly on a glassy surface that resembled water, but was an opaque white. In every direction as far as the eye could see was more white, with the only change in color being the horizon line between the glassy floor and the bone-white sky.
Without the warning, an ear-piercing screech filled the air as the sky was cleaved in two. Yunfan shook uncontrollably. An incredibly profound aura pushed down on his shoulders, like the heavens themselves had been placed on his back. An immense eye looked through the massive wound in the marble-white sky, before disappearing from view. In the time that it took for a spark to fly off a piece of flint, a human silhouette rocketed out of the gash in the sky at blinding speeds.
When the figure slammed into the water-like surface, a powerful tidal wave swept outwards. The wave was too fast for Yunfan to react. His eyes widened before he clenched them shut just before the wave was going to hit him— before the water passed through him harmlessly. It only felt like a refreshing breeze had swept through his hair.
As his vision cleared, he could finally see the intruder in detail. An incredibly refined figure wearing long, teal robes embroidered with silver thread stood atop the water. He had sharp eyebrows and piercing black eyes, framed by his long, dark hair that reached down to his waist.
Is that… a cultivator from the Ancient Zenith civilization?
"I am the Alchemy Emperor. Submit your body to my Will and I will grant your soul a merciful death."
"What?" Yunfan's mouth gaped as he tried to process all the new information. He's speaking in the Kunlun language. How do I understand him?
"So you have chosen to resist. Perish, mortal."
"What?!"
The self-proclaimed Alchemy Emperor swung his hand. Immediately, a blast of blue energy materialized and flew at Chu Yunfan. Before he could even scream, the magical energy appeared right before him.
Without warning, a shimmering, verdant light enveloped Yunfan. The Alchemy Emperor's attack simply bounced off the surface, not even leaving a scratch.
…
"Huh?"
"Huh????"
They stared at each other for several seconds.
"Huuu… You're a stronger opponent than I thought, mortal. Perhaps I'll use a little more of my power."
Before Chu Yunfan could respond, another energy blast that was three times as large was flying towards him.
And then bounced off the jade-green bubble.
…
"O-okay, perhaps I need to reveal some of my true prowess!"
The next blast was nine times as big as the first and gave off an incredibly menacing aura.
Only to bounce off the the jade bubble again.
…
"W-wait, what's going on??"
The next attack was almost thirty times bigger and was almost as large as the giant gash in the sky. The process of creating the energy blast took well over five minutes.
However, it also bounced off the jade-green barrier.
…
"I-I'm the Alchemy Emperor! How is a mere mortal defying me?!"
The previously refined scholar was pulling his hair. His clothing was frazzled and his eyes were red, making him look like a raving madman.
Yunfan's eyebrow twitched. "All this 'mere mortal' stuff is getting tiring, you know?"
"S-silence, fool! Postrate and beg for your life, you pathetic scum!"
Something in Yunfan snapped.
"OH, SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Chu Yunfan yelled back, veins popping out of his forehead.
The watery depths responded to him by forming a massive wave and slamming into the Alchemy Emperor. When the water returned to its normal, calm state, the refined Emperor had turned into a soaked, bedraggled shell of a man. Spluttering, he attempted to speak.
"H-how dare a mortal—"
"I SAID SHUT UP!"
Water surged upwards and crashed into the Emperor again. Coughing and wheezing water out of his lungs, he attempted to say something.
"YOU JUST KEEP REPEATING THE SAME CHEAP LINES!"
Tidal wave.
"YOU COME INTO MY BODY AND TRY TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO?!"
Tidal wave.
"THE ARROGANCE! THE INSOLENCE!"
Tidal wave.
"AND THEN YOU TRY TO KILL ME!"
Tidal wave.
"TRASH!"
Tidal wave.
"SCUMBAG!"
Tidal wave.
"NO BITCHES!"
The Alchemy Emperor was gasping desperately, clawing at the glassy floor with his face down. His robes were torn and drenched; his hair was disheveled; his self-respect devastated. He opened his mouth again.
Chu Yunfan raised his hand to send another wave crashing towards him, but he managed to say something before he did:
"W-wait!"
Yunfan paused, staring fiercely at the bedraggled cultivator. The Alchemy Emperor seized the opportunity to crawl over to Yunfan's feet and began grasping his ankles.
"P-please stop h-hitting me."
The Alchemy Emperor postrated.
"Why?"
One simple word sent shivers down the cultivator's spine.
"Y-you're a cultivator right? You're really wea—"
Chu Yunfan raised his hand threateningly.
"—I mean, you're in the Body Tempering Realm, yes?"
Yunfan nodded, seeing no reason to lie.
"I used to be a Soul Absorption cultivator! I can be your mentor!"
"Soul Absorption?"
The Alchemy Emperor gave Yunfan an incredulous look. "You don't know what Soul Absorption is?"
Yunfan briefly considered hitting the Emperor again, but his curiosity overtook him. "No?"
"What kind of backwards world do you—"
Yunfan raised his hand. The Emperor flinched.
"—I mean, it's the seventh major realm of cultivation."
Chu Yunfan raised an eyebrow skeptically. "You're a seventh realm cultivator… who lost to someone in the first realm."
"…"
"Lie again and I'll hit you."
"I'm not lying! I'm just severely weakened since I'm only a soul without an Internal Aperture or Qi Sea!"
"Weak enough to lose to someone in the first realm of cultivation?"
"You're an abnormal case, you freak."
Tidal wave.
Spluttering, the Alchemy Emperor managed to say, "You have some kind of—" He coughed violently for a few seconds. "You have some kind of powerful item that defends your soul. It must be an incredible treasure if it can stop Soul Absorption attacks with impunity, even if I am weakened."
"But I don't have any precious artifacts?"
"What's that necklace, then?"
"It's just a pendant my Mom gave me."
"It's clearly more than that. Only someone above the third stage of Soul Absorption would be able to detect the strange Qi that necklace emits."
Yunfan pondered that momentarily, before filing that new piece of information into the back of his mind.
"I still don't believe that you're a seventh realm cultivator. How else can you prove it to me?"
"…"
"Guess I have no reason to keep you alive, then." Yunfan raised his hand again.
Feelings of desperation welled up in the Emperor's chest. "W-wait, wait, wait! I… I can give you my inheritance!"
Chu Yunfan nodded for him to continue.
Encouraged, the Emperor began explaining. "My 'inheritance' was designed so that when I transplanted my soul into a new host, I could use the resources inside to assist me on my cultivation journey. Since you're now my host, you should be able to access the Mountain River Diagram, an unrivaled storage dimension artifact."
"However, for situations where my soul might start degrading over time while waiting for a new host, I also stored my memories in my inheritance. That should prove my cultivation level!"
Chu Yunfan smiled gleefully. Since he had the Emperor at his mercy, there was no harm in keeping him around. Little did he know that an idle threat would reveal such an incredible fortuitous encounter!
"Hmph. You seem to have some value," Yunfan snorted.
The Alchemy Emperor heaved a sigh of relief, his whole body turning limp.
"Thank you for your boundless generosity and mercifulness!" The Alchemy Emperor kowtowed before Chu Yunfan. "I hereby declare before the heavens and earth that…"
He looked up. "What's your name?"
"Chu Yunfan."
"I hereby declare before the heavens and earth that Chu Yunfan will be my disciple and inheritor!"
Yunfan smirked. Suddenly, the Alchemy Emperor distinctly felt like he had just been robbed blind.