It was Ning Changqing who successfully located the Jade Pool Sacred Land ruins. He gazed at the shattered immortal mountains and the countless fragments of broken Emperor weapons. The once paradise-like Jade Pool Sacred Land had turned into a desolate ghost domain.

Ning Changqing sighed. "Even the undefeated eventually fall to time. Forces that have endured for eternity cannot withstand the passage of years. If not for obtaining the Wheel of Time, I might have already disappeared in the long river of time."

Fortunately, in this life, he possessed one of the Nine Innate Supreme Treasures—the Wheel of Time. His future was limitless.

Ning Changqing walked through the ruins. The destruction of the Jade Pool Sacred Land carried great terror. Without his numerous methods, even a large group of Great Emperors would have fallen here.

He finally reached the depths of the Sacred Land, where a towering immortal tree that pierced through the ages stood. However, the tree had lost its former grandeur. Its laws and Dao essence were gone.

A terrifying existence had broken into this place and fought a great battle against the immortal tree. In the end, the tree had withered while the terrifying being's fate remained unknown. It might have been killed by the tree, or perhaps…It was still alive.

Ning Changqing sensed the familiar formations around him. Back then, he and the founder of the Jade Pool Sacred Land had jointly arranged these protective arrays. Even a powerhouse of his previous life's level might not have been able to break them.

With a casual wave of his hand, the grand array dispersed, granting him unobstructed passage. He had left preparations here long ago.

Sensing the presence of a living being, the ancient immortal tree—which should have been dead—suddenly bloomed with a soft green glow. It seemed to be reviving. Countless silhouettes of Great Emperors from across history began to emerge.

Ning Changqing stood with his hands behind his back, watching the life form about to take shape.

The terrifying existence that had destroyed the Jade Pool Sacred Land had fought its Immortal Spirit, causing the spirit to fall into silence. Yet the Immortal Spirit had not truly died. In its silence, it had been reborn, fusing the Daos and laws of hundreds of Great Emperors throughout history to nurture a new life.

Ning Changqing believed that the Immortal Spirit bred by the Jade Pool Sacred Land would be even more terrifying than the one from the Myriad Laws Emperor Sect and would become his strongest ally. He had left methods here precisely to restrain the Immortal Spirit and prevent it from going out of control.

Unfortunately, the Mythical Era had ended before the Immortal Spirit could develop its own will. The Wheel of Time had brought him to this new era. Perhaps this was destiny.

Finally, the vitality of the immortal tree condensed into a little girl around three or four years old. She wore a green ruqun dress, her tiny bare feet hovering in the air. Her entire body was as flawless as the finest mutton-fat jade. She opened her large eyes and curiously examined the world.

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A smile appeared on Ning Changqing's face. Then his smile froze.

The little girl formed from the Immortal Spirit pouted, her eyes showing unfamiliarity and even disgust toward him. She flew a circle around Ning Changqing before shooting off in one direction at a speed so fast that he could not stop her.

Ning Changqing watched as the Immortal Spirit girl landed in someone's arms, revealing two adorable dimples as she laughed happily.

"Big Brother, Big Brother…"

The little girl acted coquettishly.

Ning Changqing was stunned.

"It seems we meet again," Su Chen said while gently playing with the little girl in his arms. He gave Ning Changqing a bright smile and greeted him like an old friend he had not seen in a long time.

Su Chen was very pleased to see Ning Changqing again.

Ning Changqing, however, was not pleased to see Su Chen.

At least not right now.

The smile never faded—it simply transferred entirely from Ning Changqing's face to Su Chen's.

When Su Chen had still been the Myriad Laws Great Emperor, his first encounter with the immortal tree had given him a vague sense of the Jade Pool Sacred Land's secrets. From that moment, he had begun an experiment. Chi Yao had been his test subject.

The Jade Pool Immortal Spirit felt an instinctive closeness to the current Su Chen. It was not only because they were both Immortal Spirits, but also because the former Jade Pool Sacred Maiden had been naturally drawn to the aura of the Myriad Laws Emperor Sect. That was why she had abandoned Ning Changqing without hesitation.

This was a buried cause and effect from the Dark Era, long lost to history. Ning Changqing knew nothing of it. The seed Su Chen had casually planted back then had now given Ning Changqing a nasty surprise.

Ning Changqing's face turned extremely gloomy. He could not understand why the Immortal Spirit would reject him—one of her creators—so decisively. But he knew the current situation was extremely unfavorable. One Immortal Spirit already gave him headaches. If two of them joined forces…

Ning Changqing attacked. A Saint King aura erupted from his body, transforming into ancient, mysterious runes. He had forcibly broken through from the Saint King realm to the Great Saint realm at a massive cost. Yet as long as he could kill Su Chen, he believed any price was worth it.

"Di Chen, I told you—the next time we meet would be your death," Ning Changqing declared, his voice shaking heaven and earth like an ancient supreme expert issuing a decree that could bury an entire era.

"Not bad momentum," Su Chen praised, watching Ning Changqing's imposing display.

He could now confirm that Ning Changqing was a reborn ancient powerhouse, most likely from the Mythical Era—that mysterious and legendary period filled with the oldest secrets. Even his previous life's great enemies, the Primordial Demon Lord and the God Emperor, had known very little about the truth behind the Mythical Era's destruction.

Facing Ning Changqing's full-powered strike, Su Chen extended one hand. His five fingers seemed to grasp ten thousand Daos before clenching into a fist. So what if Ning Changqing was a supreme expert from the Mythical Era? Su Chen had once dominated an entire era and buried two of the greatest masterminds after the Mythical Era's fall.

Mythical Era's number one Heavenly Venerate reincarnation versus Emperor Dao Era's number one Great Emperor.

"How is this possible? You've already reached the Quasi-Emperor realm?" Ning Changqing was sent flying by the punch, blood bursting from his mouth. If not for his Mythical Heavenly Venerate Dharma Body, that single fist might have killed him outright.

Ning Changqing could no longer remain calm.

Su Chen withdrew his fist and said indifferently, "You're allowed to break through, but I'm not?"

What a joke. They were both old monsters reincarnated. On top of that, Su Chen's 200,000-point talent had not been added for nothing. If Ning Changqing could still catch up to him in cultivation, then his title as the Emperor Dao Era's number one demon and the greatest prodigy in history who stood half a step from transcendence would be utterly meaningless.