Chen Fan's thatched hut was nestled beside the fiery red figure.
Yi Fu did not speak further, but returned to his own hut.
The remaining thatched huts were spread around in a posture of guarding.
At this moment, Chen Fan and the fiery red figure were in the huts closest to the center.
The woman opened her eyes, looked at Chen Fan, and said, "My name is Long Ling."
"Hello."
Chen Fan greeted her politely, "My name is Chen Fan."
"Mm."
Long Ling nodded, then closed her eyes.
There was nothing to talk about.
Chen Fan sat down in front of the thatched hut and closed his eyes...
At this moment, he seemed to be surrounded by various rules.
The rules were chaotic, as if they were trying to assimilate Chen Fan, turning him into rules.
Chen Fan did not immediately begin to cultivate, but sat amidst the rules, thinking.
He was contemplating Yi Fu's intentions.
"Yi Fu must have sensed the aura of the divine artifact on me." Divine artifacts could sense each other.
If the Heavenly Cloud Sword could sense the Heavenly Crown, then... the Heavenly Crown must also be able to sense the Heavenly Cloud Sword.
Perhaps Yi Fu had exposed the Heavenly Crown precisely to lure him into the city.
But... why?
He couldn't figure it out.
This was also why Chen Fan stayed.
He wanted to see what Yi Fu intended to do.
Not only did he not try to seize the divine artifact from him, but he even built him a thatched hut, a sacred place for cultivation.
The method used to build these huts was far beyond the reach of ordinary people.
Constraining rules, drawing boundaries.
"To assimilate me?"
Chen Fan had to think this way.
After all, to cultivators, the temptation of divine artifacts was too great.
He couldn't believe anyone could resist it.
He stayed to observe, to be closer to the Heavenly Crown.
He wanted to see what Yi Fu was truly after.
Finally, Chen Fan began to comprehend the power of the rules surrounding him.
The rules were dense, like small dragons swimming, without self-awareness, moving purely by instinct.
Rules, so many.
An uncountable number.
He tentatively touched a rule...
"Eh?"
Chen Fan let out a surprised sound.
These rules seemed to fit him perfectly, every single one.
Why?
Chen Fan was full of questions.
"Could it be..."
He thought of it.
It must be because Yi Fu stripped the sentience from the rules?
Moreover, he also sensed an inner craving.
"Shall I try to absorb them?"
Since Yi Fu provided the opportunity, Chen Fan couldn't just sit there idly.
No sooner thought than done.
"Buzz."
He attempted to absorb these rules.
Instantly, Chen Fan's own Rule Great Dao appeared.
This was a path he had created himself, robust and formidable, directly crashing into the dense rules.
In an instant, Chen Fan's rules began to devour the surrounding rules.
"Something's wrong."
Suddenly, a sense of crisis struck Chen Fan.
Something was wrong, he couldn't devour them.
If he devoured them, what was the difference between that and absorbing the Dao into his own being?
The Heavenly Dao would not permit rules to be devoured.
Devouring them would be equivalent to severing the Great Dao.
Absorption was permissible; absorption would strengthen the Great Dao, leaving behind his own comprehension.
Devouring, however, was the complete destruction of a rule, its power integrated into other Daos.
To use an analogy, the Dao of Blades and the Dao of Spears.
A person could cultivate, comprehend, and absorb both the Dao of Blades and the Dao of Spears separately. The comprehension would merge into the heavens and earth, strengthening both Daos.
But if the Dao of Spears devoured the Dao of Blades, it would sever the root of the Dao of Blades, and all aspects of the Dao of Blades would be inherited by the Dao of Spears.
This was the truth of the matter.
Therefore, he could not devour them.
Could he only comprehend them?
Thinking this, Chen Fan began to grasp and comprehend a single rule.
It was faint, very weak.
Chen Fan understood. These were not true rules of the Great Dao, but rather imitations. They possessed only a trace of power, yet contained the origin of the rules.
"What a grand undertaking," Chen Fan realized.
Yi Fu was stealing the Great Daos of heaven and earth.
After stealing them, he placed them near his own people, allowing them to comprehend these rules more easily.
"But, why?" There was still a question.
Supremes needed to comprehend rules.
Even the most talented could not comprehend many rules; ten, twenty... was possible.
But the rules before him, there must be hundreds of them, how could they be comprehended?
Did Yi Fu intend for his disciples to comprehend so many rules?
That was impossible.
It couldn't be achieved even with a lifetime of experience.
Chen Fan attempted to absorb one of the rules.
After being absorbed into his body, this rule faintly formed a silken thread on his skin.
"I understand now."
A golden light suddenly flashed in Chen Fan's eyes.
Imperial Qi.
Yes, Imperial Qi was the manifestation of rules.
To enter the Emperor realm, one had to refine rules into one's own being, forming Imperial Qi.
He couldn't think of any other possibility.
Di Long, who was nearby, and Long Ling beside him, had both condensed Imperial Qi.
Imperial Qi was the stepping stone to the Emperor realm.
So... how many threads of Imperial Qi were needed to become an Emperor?
"Hoo."
Chen Fan calmed his mind.
With no distractions, absorbing the rules was the most important thing at this moment.
"Buzz."
Thread after thread of rules was absorbed into Chen Fan's body.
On his skin, nascent forms of Imperial Qi appeared, very weak.
Chen Fan had a large appetite and absorbed all the rules around his body.
Outside his body, there were hundreds of nascent forms of Imperial Qi.
Finally...
He opened his eyes.
"Bang."
The moment he opened his eyes, all the nascent forms of Imperial Qi that had just been condensed dispersed.
"Fake?"
The bewilderment lasted only an instant before Chen Fan understood.
Indeed, these Imperial Qi were all fake.
Yi Fu's grand gesture was to provide him with a method to condense Imperial Qi.
At this moment, Long Ling, who was beside him, opened her eyes and proactively said, "To condense Imperial Qi, one needs to refine rules. Master has provided us with the means to refine rules. Whether or not one can refine them, and how much one can refine, depends on one's own potential."
Chen Fan asked, "How many threads of Imperial Qi are needed to enter the Emperor realm?"
"One is enough."
"Hmm?"
Long Ling continued to explain, "Having Imperial Qi allows one to enter the Emperor realm, but Emperors are not all the same. The more Imperial Qi one condenses, the stronger one will be at the moment of entering the Emperor realm. The Emperor realm is named by the number of Imperial Qi."
"For example, if I were to break through to the Emperor realm now, I would be a Dual-Dao Emperor. Di Long, on the other hand, would be a Single-Dao Emperor. Although the difference is only one thread of Imperial Qi, their combat power is vastly different."
Chen Fan pondered, "What is the maximum number of Dao Emperors?"
"Nine is the extreme number."
Long Ling did not conceal anything, "Nine is the limit. But there have been monstrous geniuses who felt that nine was not enough, and they crossed the limit of nine, condensing the tenth, the eleventh thread of Imperial Qi. Such Emperors have their own posthumous titles."
"Titled Emperors?"
"Yes."
At this point, Chen Fan still had a question. "I have another question. If someone solely focuses on one path, will they only be able to become a Single-Dao Emperor?"
"Of course not."
"Then..."
"There are three thousand Great Daos, and the Daos are infinite. Take me as an example. I focus solely on the Dao of Fire. But you know, fire... can burn, can explode, can illuminate, can keep warm... branches are also Daos."
Chen Fan suddenly understood, stood up, and clasped his fists, "Thank you, fellow cultivator, for clarifying my doubts."
He understood.
There are three thousand Great Daos, and the Daos are infinite.
One Dao can manifest into thousands. As long as one can comprehend it, it can be condensed into Imperial Qi.