Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Lu Li was shown into the stone forests by Blood Emperor’s servant.

There were Ghastly Wind and Soul Biting Ants in the stone forests but the Ghastly Wind moved away automatically as the servant walked by. The Soul Biting Ants flew away with the Ghastly Wind. None of the ants dared to approach Blood Emperor’s servant.

“Impressive!”

Lu Li nodded. There must be some special Inhibition Formations inside the stone forest that were controlling the Ghastly Wind and Soul Biting Ants. The Ghastly Wind and the Soul Biting Ants had formed a natural shield. Anyone that wanted to invade the valley must first go through the Ghastly Wind and Soul Biting Ants.

They took several turns and found themselves in the depth of the stone forests. Lu Li sensed with psychic power the presence of a small dale with nice views, clouded by some gentle haze. Gazed from the distance, the dale seemed like an earthly paradise for immortals.

Once Lu Li stepped into the dale, he noticed something. This was really like a paradise because the Xuan Qi here was times richer than the outside.

The Xuan Qi in the Prison of Soul was already exceptionally rich and that inside the dale was even more profound. Even a fish living in a stream in this dale could become particularly strong after absorbing such strong Xuan Qi.

“Ha, ha, ha!”

In the middle of the dale was a flourishing forest. Outside were some cabins. From one of them came out a loud laughter.

A short white-robed old man and one holding a fan walked out from the cabin. It was the short man with the white robe that was laughing. His white hair fell to the ground and even his eyebrows and beard were snow white. His eyebrows were surprisingly long. He appeared to be just like a kind grandpa next door.

The short, white-haired man laughed and then checked Lu Li carefully. The former nodded. “Very good. It has been over 10 years. You don’t look much different, but you have become steadier and more composed. Nice to meet you. I am Blood Emperor, and this is the Astro Emperor.”

Nothing about Astro Emperor stood out. He was neither too short nor too tall, his appearance was average, and he seemed gentle. He did not assume any great airs that could be found in a powerful warrior. He had a gray, long beard and he was waving the fan gently. If he had not been here with the Blood Emperor, Lu Li would assume that the Astro Emperor was just another average warrior at the Semi-God Realm.

“He has returned to his original nature.”

Lu Li thought to himself. He bowed to Blood Emperor with great respect. “Nice to meet you, Blood Emperor. I will never forget the great kindness you have offered me.”

“Ha, ha, ha!”

Blood Emperor accepted Lu Li’s gesture. The former helped Lu Li up, smiling and said, “You are welcome. That day, I saw that you were unyielding, and I liked the fact that you had the courage to kill a young master from the Hao Family. Therefore, I helped you. You don’t have to worry about it too much.”

Blood Emperor did mention that he wanted to take Lu Li as a protégé. After all, Lu Li was at least not weaker than the Blood Emperor, if not more powerful. Besides, Lu Li was young. Him becoming an immortal would be promising. It was only a matter of time before Lu Li could excel over the Blood Emperor.

Lu Li and Blood Emperor exchanged some pleasantries. Afterwards, Lu Li bowed to Astro Emperor again and said, “Nice to meet you, Astro Emperor.”

This time, Lu Li did not bow to the waist, but this was already a kind gesture. After all, Lu Li did not know the Astro Emperor and he was not weaker than the latter. Lu Li was merely bowing to Astro Emperor for the sake of Blood Emperor and to show respect to an elder.

“Ha, ha, nice to meet you. Please, stand up.”

Astro Emperor smiled gently and accepted the bow. Stroking his beard and waving his fan, Astro Emperor said, “Over 10 years ago, I read astronomical signs at night and I found something interesting. The Supreme Purple Star was dimming down, but an unknown new star was glowing brighter than the Supreme Purple Star. Back then, I told Blood Emperor that a talent was going to rise up from a small place. That warrior would rule the nine universes and upset the politics there. Lu, you are young and promising. There is no limit to what you can accomplish in your future.”

Lu Li smiled while he actually did not readily agree.

He had always believed that fortune telling and the reading of Eight Diagrams were just con art. Those that read people’s facial expression to tell fortunes were just swindlers. If fortune could be told, then pigs could fly. Lu Li had never resigned himself to destining. He believed that one must rely on oneself, not the god, to change the fate.

“Ha, ha!”

The Astro Emperor threw Lu Li a look but did not say anything. Blood Emperor graciously invited Lu Li to the cabin. They walked through one of the cabins and into the back yard. Eventually, they took seats in a pavilion under a tree.

Blood Emperor’s servant served them tea. Blood Emperor asked Lu Li and Astro Emperor to have a taste. Astro Emperor did not have the tea. He waved the fan and asked, “Lu, I think you don’t quite believe the talks of destiny, right?”

Lu Li didn’t want to get into the topic, so he didn’t reply just now. However, since Astro Emperor mentioned it, Lu Li once again felt dissatisfied. He thought for a moment and said, “Warriors have to change their fate. It is not only the life expectancy but also the destiny that has to be transformed. If all warriors’ destiny were predetermined by god, then we didn’t have to make any efforts. Wouldn’t our realm increase just by sitting in our homes every day? If one was destined to become an immortal, then did it mean that one didn’t have to cultivate and could become an immortal directly? Please enlighten me, Astro Emperor.”

Just now, Astro Emperor mentioned that the Supreme Purple Star was dimming down and a new star was rising. Was he saying that he could tell, over a decade ago, that Lu Li could rise up and rule the nine universes?

But if Lu Li did not cultivate over the years or he had given up, he wouldn’t even be able to leave the Northern Desert, not to mention rule the Heaven Reverse Universe, let alone the nine universes.

Lu Li could achieve today’s accomplish just because he did not believe in fate and did not given into fate. He could survive dangerous situations and he killed his way up.

Now, he was supposed to believe that… everything was predetermined?

“Ha, ha!”

Astro Emperor was not offended. Waving the fan, he said, “Everyone’s fate is indeed pre-determined long ago. But… one does not know about his or her own fate and one cannot control fate.”

“Lu, do you really believe that you have been relying only on yourself till today? If… when you were fighting against the young master of the Hao Family the first time you went to the Prison of Gold, you did not meet Blood Emperor, you would have died that day. If… when the warriors from nine universes were invading the Heaven Reverse Universe, you did not have the silver dragon to protect your soul as you were trying to control the immortal’s body, you would have died then.”

“If… in the Forbidden Ground of Elder God, you did not have the silver dragon mark, how could you survive with the Feather Wind, or obtain the Wicked Bead? Without the Wicked Bead, you probably would have suffered fatal dangers too many times. Without the Wicked Bead, you would have not obtained the Slayer’s blood and you wouldn’t be able to learn the Slayer’s move. Everything says that you have to depend on luck. Sometimes, efforts alone will not yield fruit. Luck… is part of destiny!”

Lu Li was completely astonished. He looked at Astro Emperor in disbelief. Many things Astro Emperor said were confidential information, not known to outsiders. Some matters could not be found out even if Astro Emperor were to investigate. At the moment, Lu Li felt he was seen through by the Astro Emperor. He had no secret.

“If you still did not believe me, I can tell you something else!”

Astro Emperor smiled a mysterious smile. After a pause, he continued, “As a matter of fact, your luck should not have been so strong. Everything is because of one person. She came to the Heaven Reverse Universe and changed the course of your life. Without her, you would have died… the moment you were born!”

“Boom!”

The news was like a thunderbolt out of a clear sky. Staring at Astro Emperor, Lu Li said, “Astro Emperor, who… are you?”