Spirit Vessel

The gales blew fiercely but didn't affect the reflection of the moon on the clear surface of the Southern Ocean. The water looked like the scales of a white dragon.

A boat was assaulted by the waves, occasionally being pushed dozens of meters up high or being pulled down into a sinking whirlpool. It seemed so fragile but still managed to stay on top of the water.

The heretical king sat on top of this boat, wearing a simple cloak. He had a kind smile while looking at the reef islands far away. That place had fires and people fighting.

"Xuan Wei, do you think the heretical dao will unite?" He asked.

Another person was with him - a man in full armors. The shaking boat didn't affect his stability at all.

"It will unite with your presence. No one will be able to stop this." He answered.

The heretical king nodded. He slightly opened his eyes, revealing a glint as bright as the stars.

He stared at the stars above as if he was looking at a painting. He nodded and said: "I had a premonition recently that this land would be stained with blood in the near future, but why? The dragons? Chaos in Yin and Yang World? Sigh, I'm getting old, can't even see clearly anymore."

"Even a saint might not be able to see the future but you can see bits and pieces, that's amazing enough." Xuan Wei said.

The king shook his head and stroked his beard in response: "The uncertainty warrants early preparation. The heretical dao must unite. No, more than that, Jin and all dynasties must do so. With solidarity comes power and that will save us from any disaster."

"Others believe that you wish to rule the world, unaware of your noble intention." Xuan Wei added.

A large wave suddenly smashed the ship.

"Not necessarily." A pleasant female voice sounded.

Xuan Wei's armors issued clanks as he swung his spear that emit powerful roars. The entire vicinity suddenly calmed down, no more waves.

He saw two six-armed men standing on the water while carrying a palanquin. They looked like two specters instead of regular people.

"It's fine, Xuan Wei." The king smiled and told the man to pull back.

He then cupped his fist and bowed his head towards the night: "I've been waiting for you, Enlightened Being."

This was Feiyun's second time meeting the king. He still looked like a friendly old man.

Feiyun stood next to the carriage and quietly watched everything. He wasn't qualified to speak in their presence given his current cultivation level.

Unrestrained Enlightened Being walked out of the carriage, wearing a draconic yellow robe on her thin figure, her waist wrapped by a jade belt. Her head was worn in a coil, fixated in place by a blue hairpin.

As she walked on the water, smoke would rise from below and take the form of mountains and rivers along with other terrains.

Feiyun could only see a faint figure with long, fluttering hair. There was an animated dragon on her robe as well, seemingly able to fly out at any moment.

These two six-armed men turned into two black gases. They circled around the palanquin.

These were the souls of two Enlightened Beings refined into slaves by Unrestrained.

"Only true masters dare to call themselves king in Jin." She got on the boat and sat down in front of the heretical king. She sat on a higher spot and looked down on him.

Feiyun could only see her back, not her face.

Xuan Wei became enraged at her arrogance. His spear was pulsing with light and murderous intent.

Having the courage to fight Unrestrained meant that he was extremely powerful. However, the heretical king stopped him again.

"Incredible, simply incredible. Your abilities are worthy of admiration, Your Majesty." The king seemed surprised after seeing her for the first time but quickly composed himself and smiled.

Her true identity startled him because she had tricked people for so long. He himself thought that she had died two thousand years ago, hence his praise.

The two of them were from the same era. Long Jiangling was unstoppable two thousand years ago. All the lords and Enlightened Beings in Jin kneeled before her. No one dared to oppose the empress considered the strongest since the first emperor of Jin.

No one could contend against her. Those who could survive one move from her were considered true masters.

Then the heretical king was born. He was considered the only person who had a chance against the empress.

His talents were incredible, becoming a Giant at the age of twenty. However, he was one hundred years younger than her. Once he rose high enough, she suffered a mysterious death in her palace.

The two of them never got the chance to meet.

The empress didn't care too much about him but on the other hand, his life goal was to defeat her. In fact, during his haughty youth, he even declared that he wanted to dominate and take her as his concubine.

This led to him being hunted by the court. They failed to kill him as his cultivation increased, eventually becoming the heretical king of Senluo.

Perhaps he didn't remember his own crazy words back then but he immediately guessed that she was the old empress right away. She couldn't be anyone else.

"I've heard about you, a big shot from the heretical dao successfully cultivating eleven out of twelve heretical arts. Not bad." She said.

"The truth is that I can finish all twelve whenever." He revealed.

Once, he could only look up at her. This was no longer the case.

"Each heretical art is quite profound. Successfully cultivating them would increase one's talents and power. Getting all twelve finished would result in power similar to the scriptures." She said.

"The twelve arts are actually derived from the incomplete sections of the three scriptures. These heretical sages of the past compiled and perfected them. All twelve might not be comparable to the three scriptures but shouldn't be far off. There's a reason why I don't want to finish it right now, I'm missing one thing."

"What is it?" She seemed to consider him to be on the same level as her right now.

"A joy cauldron. Senluo was actually the Joy Temple back in the golden age of Buddhism, only inferior to the three pagodas. During the disaster, the members of the pagodas all died. On the other hand, the Joy Temple had some experts left. Due to the chaos after, a Buddhist sect couldn't survive so the temple changed its name to Senluo, slowly taking the heretical path."

"The twelfth art is the Dao of Joy, combining the Joy Scripture and the second part of the Dao Scripture containing the essences of dual cultivation. In order to finish this dao, I must find the right cauldron with a similar cultivation as myself. Her talents can't be mediocre either or my cultivation would go down."

Feiyun quietly listened to these two experts. They chose to discuss the dao instead of fighting.

He didn't know about this Dao of Joy but had heard about the dual cultivation method from Yuji Manmiao. This was a mysterious way, not inferior to Golden Silkworm Scripture.

Thus, the heretical king needed to find a suitable match before starting the final art.

Feiyun suddenly realized something and looked up again. The heretical king and the enlightened being were no longer there, only Xuan Wei looking up in the sky.

"You court death!" Black clouds billowed and blotted out the firmament.

One could see the empress' avatar standing above. It was 330 feet tall with a golden radiance. She raised her hand and sent out hundreds of draconic energies towards her foe.