Swallowed Star 2: Land of Origin

"The merit points for this task are fifty million, which is rather small. Given the high threshold and arduous nature of the task, such measly merit points for three thousand eras of hardship? In the Dream Domain, one could easily earn that much by picking up some treasures."

"This task has been discussed and designated for me by several Emperors?" Luo Feng slightly furrowed his brows.

Before the completion of the Twenty-four Forms World Life Form, he was not willing to be in too much conflict with the Emperors.

"Master, I have received a task assignment." Luo Feng immediately transmitted the message and sent the complete task content to his master.

"Reject it," Emperor Chu immediately ordered, "Cultivating Primordial Bloodline Beast Eggs is very troublesome, as you need to multi-task with one hundred and ninety-two focuses simultaneously and tend to them with care, and furthermore, you are always under puppet surveillance, you cannot slacken in the slightest. Three thousand eras of time... will greatly impact your cultivation."

"This is a tough and exhausting job. Those whose cultivation has stalled at the Second Realm of Godly King and are adept at creating avatars will take on this task to please a certain Emperor. You don't need to accept it," Emperor Chu instructed.

"Yes, Master." Luo Feng did not intend to accept it either.

He already had the material of the Primordial Bloodline for the Twenty-four Forms, and if he wanted stronger Primordial Bloodline materials, they would have to be from Ultimate Realm Power Primordial Bloodline creatures, which are forbidden to be shared by both Ancient Country Imperial Clans.

According to Luo Feng's understanding, even the Avatars of the Ancestors would be watching, and even if one took on the role of a guard, private maneuvers were not possible.

"Based on my understanding of them, once you reject, they will still have other moves," Emperor Chu commanded. "Don't worry about how they threaten or tempt you, just refuse everything. Leave the rest to me."

"Disciple understands," Luo Feng thought to himself, rejected yet there are other moves?

...

Huyang City, City Owner's Mansion.

Luo Feng was drinking fruit wine on the upper floors of the high-rise pavilion.

"The path of life has finally reached the Second Realm of Godly King as well." Luo Feng felt quite relaxed; since the Life Lotus rooted in his inner world, Luo Feng and the Great Dao of Life were in perfect harmony, and studying the Secret Patterns of life in the Star Tower also helped him a lot.

The life-related Secret Patterns in the Star Tower represent the largest category.

That very night, the three branches of 'Life Spirituality, Body of Life, Origin of Life' merged perfectly, and he made further progress in realm, which allowed even smoother comprehension of the Twenty-four Forms.

"Just by displaying a bit of Second Realm of Godly King strength, the Emperors have begun to pay attention to me," Luo Feng said to himself while holding his wine cup. Earlier, he had made his power at the First Realm of Godly King public, capable of entangling with the Emperor of Tian Kun only through multiple avatars, and the Emperors ignored him.

Now, one after another, they took notice and even had designs on him.

Luo Feng could feel subtle threads of causality beginning to entangle him. Though these threads of causality were faint, they were also cryptic and profound, and even Luo Feng found it difficult to detect the connections at the other end.

Because he couldn't detect who was connected, Luo Feng could extrapolate the outcome.

"Given my realm and the perceptiveness of my Spiritual Will, if I cannot detect these obscure causal threads, then they must be the doings of Emperors and Monarchs. As Ultimate Realm Life Forms that have achieved Perfection, they can isolate themselves from all causality inquiries, so naturally, I cannot detect them."

Suddenly—

The temperature around him rose, and invisible white flames began to burgeon.

"Hm?" Luo Feng's complexion slightly changed.

The rules of heaven and earth around him changed, transformed into the rules of fire. Within the spreading white flames, the visage of a woman made of fire appeared, looking at Luo Feng with indifference.

Seeing her, Luo Feng stood up and politely paid his respects: "Guest Official Luo He pays his respects to the Emperor."

The woman wielding such terrifying flames could only be 'Di Wu,' one of the thirteen Emperors of the Flame Wind Ancient Country, and she had a life-and-death enmity with his master, Emperor Chu.

"Hurry up and accept the task of cultivating the Primordial Bloodline Beast Eggs," the woman's visage ordered coldly.

"Emperor, I cannot accept," Luo Feng shook his head.

The woman's gaze suddenly turned much colder, and the invisible white flames instantly eroded Luo Feng's body. Luo Feng's World Life Form felt extreme pain as his body was almost instantly burned to a state of near annihilation before starting to recover again.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

This terrifying flame was intentionally restraining its power, scorching Luo Feng's physique to the brink of obliteration but not completely destroying it.

"Just a newly initiated World Life Form is still too weak in front of an Emperor," Luo Feng felt a sizable gap at that moment.

"Just because you are a disciple of Emperor Chu, you dare to refuse me?" the woman's visage looked at Luo Feng with coldness. "You must accept this task. If you dare to refuse... all the disciples of your Blade River Sect will turn to ash."

Luo Feng's expression changed, "Emperor!"

An Emperor using the lives of all disciples of the Blade River Sect to threaten him without any care for appearances?

"Speak, do you accept or refuse?" the woman's visage asked coldly.

"Di Wu, are you threatening my disciple?" A terrifyingly dark presence arrived, wantonly eroding the surrounding white flames, and formed a towering figure that stared at the woman's visage, "If you dare to annihilate all the disciples of the Blade River Sect, I'll just kill another of your children. Guess who I'll choose this time?"

The woman's visage watched the other with eyes full of murderous intent.

She had five children.

Over the years, two had been utterly killed by Emperor Chu, without any chance for reincarnation! Now only three remained!

If all her children were gone, she would be free of attachments and would fight to the death with Emperor Chu. But because of the remaining three, she had to be exceedingly cautious.

"You threaten me for a disciple?" the woman's visage said angrily.

"Yes, I am threatening you," Emperor Chu looked at the woman, with his Ultimate Realm Power of Destruction and the Great Dao, combined with powerful Secret Treasures, he could curse kill anytime he wished, making her children's survival impossible.

Even while hiding within the Diwu Palace, Emperor Chu's direct curse killing couldn't save Di Wu's children.

"Good, very good." The woman's face sneered, and then the white flames dissipated completely, and she vanished.

"Master." Luo Feng looked to Emperor Chu.

"Have you seen their shamelessness?" Emperor Chu's terrifying aura condensed as he spoke with a smile.

"I hadn't expected an Emperor to use the life of an entire sect to threaten me into doing things." Indeed, Luo Feng had his eyes opened. For a God King Grade Secret Treasure, one might understand the unscrupulous methods, but still...

Just one task, and he threatened with the life of an entire sect?

Luo Feng felt this so-called Emperor's way of doing things wasn't even on par with that of a common Godly King, not to mention a common Primal Chaos Realm in terms of dignity.

Emperor Chu said, "When power is unrestrained and can do as it pleases, it takes a strong Mental State to control oneself".

Luo Feng nodded.

Unrivaled power, in the hands of a madman, was indeed terrifying.

"Practicing the Primordial Bloodline, having the bloodline will contaminate oneself; they act even more recklessly." Emperor Chu shook his head, "I also have to keep her three children to restrain her. In the future, should you get involved with Emperors or Monarchs, immediately contact me, and I will help you resolve it."

"Thank you, Master." Luo Feng was truly grateful.

"Of course, the best solution is for you to grow stronger yourself." Emperor Chu said with a faint smile and then left.

Luo Feng nodded.

He was going all out in his comprehension of the Twenty-four Forms.

...

A vast space.

Twelve thoughts converged here, manifesting twelve vague and towering figures. They were the twelve Emperors of the Flame Wind Ancient Country, excluding Emperor Qing!

Each of them exuded a terrifying presence, all like complete Great Daos descending. Whether it be devastating and destructive, or an endless abyss, or full of boundless vitality...

"This assembly is proposed by Di Yan," Di Fu spoke, "Di Yan suggests... stripping Luo He of his Guest Official status! According to the Imperial Clan's traditions, to strip a Guest Official status requires at least half of the Emperors in attendance to agree."

The Guest Official system was established by the Ancestor.

Stripping the Guest Official status wasn't something that one or two Emperors could decide.

"Strip the Guest Official status?" Emperor Chu laughed, "My disciple Luo He, with his extraordinary talent, was unbeatable in the First Realm of Godly King right after he became a Godly King. Now that he has reached the Second Realm of Godly King... The Blade Light he cast before, in the Second Realm of Godly King, is considered top-tier."

"With such talent, Di Yan, you actually want to strip him of his Guest Official status?" Emperor Chu shook his head.

"Do our Imperial Clan need to care about a mere cultivator's talent? Even the Lord of Ten Thousand Realms wouldn't dare defy our Flame Wind Ancient Country!" Di Yan sneered coldly, "The dignity of the Flame Wind Ancient Country is what's most important."

"How exactly did this little fellow offend the dignity of our Flame Wind Ancient Country?" Emperor Chu continued.

Di Yan spoke indifferently, "Since Luo He became a Godly King, he has rejected all tasks given to him, never accepting one! Instead, by using his status as an Emperor's Disciple, he received a heritage worth over 200 million Merit Points. A Guest Official who only knows how to take without giving... I think the Imperial Clan does not need such a Guest Official!"

"The heritage he received was bestowed by me." Emperor Chu said, "It's customary for Emperors to pass down heritage to their disciples."

"While it is customary, he still refuses every single task." Di Yan spoke.

"I personally asked him to accept a task... but even with my status as an Emperor, he didn't consider it and still refused." Fire Lady Di Wu spoke lightly with a laugh, "If he doesn't care for an Emperor's orders, what's the use of such a Guest Official?"

"He directly refused you when you personally asked?" a dusky figure spoke up, "Since the Emperor personally saw him and ordered him to do something, he should obediently accept. With such disregard for hierarchy, I also agree to strip his Guest Official status."

"What? Just because you're high-ranking, he has to obediently listen to you? He doesn't have the right to refuse?" Emperor Ming chuckled lightly, "Even the Ancestor had set the rule that Guest Officials have the right to refuse. But it seems in front of you, Di Yuan, he somehow loses that right."

"In their eyes, even as an Emperor's Disciple, he should be completely under their control, at their mercy to kill at will." Emperor Xuan said coldly from the side.

Di Fu looked at the scene in front of him with a headache.

"Gentlemen, let's make a decision on Di Yan's proposal," Di Fu urged.

The results quickly came in.

Those who agreed to strip Luo He of his Guest Official status were Di Yan, Di Xi, Di Wu, Di Yuan, and Di Wu—a total of five.

Indeed, Di Wu's attempt to see Luo Feng and his subsequent refusal caused dissatisfaction among some Emperors. Some Emperors were very concerned about hierarchy! A mere cultivator not giving face to an Emperor deserved punishment! This was why Di Yan dared to propose stripping Luo He of his Guest Official status.

But Di Yan and the other two had thoroughly offended several Emperors over the long years.

For example, Emperor Xuan, who also greatly valued hierarchy, did not hesitate to stand on the opposite side of Emperor Yan. His disciple, 'Emperor Gui Xu,' being pushed to such an extent, Emperor Xuan saw it as a great shame! Di Yan and his two associates simply didn't care about Emperor Xuan's dignity!

Emperor Kong would always oppose Di Yan in every vote.

Thus, in the end, those who disagreed were Emperor Chu, Emperor Ming, Emperor Xuan, Emperor Kong, Di Jiufeng, and Di You—six in total.

Di Fu abstained from voting.

"Di Fu, you abstain?" Di Yan was quite annoyed. Before initiating the proposal, he had assessed that the likelihood of success was high. He never expected that Di Fu, on whom he had bestowed numerous favors, would abstain.