Atop the Emperor Mountain.
Bai Hongyu and Wang Quan were the first to ascend into Emperors.
However, being the earliest did not necessarily make them the strongest Emperors.
For instance, although Qin Tianchen had yet to become an Emperor, he intended on accumulating his foundation of Emperor qi to nurture the High-grade Emperor's Core!
"Nine hundred and ninety-seven!"
"Nine hundred and ninety-eight!"
Qin Tianchen was starting to bleed all over his body.
His body was suffering an intense amount of pressure. However, Qin Tianchen was determined to cultivate nine hundred and ninety-nine strands of Emperor qi!
"I did it!"
Qin Tianchen was overjoyed.
Then, the nine hundred and ninety-nine strands of Emperor qi in his spiritual mound merged into a High-grade Emperor's Core!
…
"Fifty-six thousand eight hundred, fifty-six thousand nine hundred, fifty-seven thousand, fifty-seven thousand one hundred…"
"Sixty-thousand!"
Chu Kuangren had cultivated sixty-thousand strands of Emperor qi in the Slumbering Emperor Coffin!
Furthermore, he had no intention of stopping anytime soon.
The Chaos Daoist Celestial was in awe. With Chu Kuangren's scale, he would surely cultivate an Emperor's Core with a grade that was superior to that of the Chaos Daoist Celestial.
Crack, crack…
Unable to withstand the enormous amount of Emperor qi, Chu Kuangren's body began to collapse as his veins ruptured through his skin.
"This is bad. If this goes on, the little one's going to destroy his own body." The Chaos Daoist Celestial was worried.
However, what followed next caught him dumbfounded.
While destruction ravaged Chu Kuangren's body, a surge of mythical energies began its tireless work of repairing his wounds back to their initial state.
"What sorcery is this?"
This bewildered the Chaos Daoist Celestial.
It seemed like the young boy before him possessed multitudes of peculiar abilities.
It was the activation of Chu Kuangren's Immortal Body!
Chu Kuangren was unfazed by the damage as he continued refining the Chaotic qi.
Soon, the once boundless Chaotic qi that filled the Slumbering Emperor Coffin began to thin out.
Amused, the Chaos Daoist Celestial muttered to himself, "This fella is trying to absorb all of the Chaotic qi in this coffin."
There was a flicker of light within his eyes.
Chu Kuangren's Emperor qi had now reached seventy-thousand strands, and there was still no end in sight. Evidently, Chu Kuangren could go much further.
"With enough resources, perhaps we might be able to forge mankind's first Prominent-grade Emperor's Core in history!"
"This will be a remarkable moment for mankind!"
At this thought, a determined look flashed in the Chaos Daoist Celestial's eyes, and he immediately merged his spirit form into his physical body.
Following that, his body began to release copious amounts of Chaotic qi, which restored the boundless Chaotic qi that once filled the Slumbering Emperor Coffin.
"Little one, let me use my lifetime's worth of cultivation to help forge your Prominent-grade Emperor's Core!"
As the Chaotic qi swarmed into Chu Kuangren's body, Chu Kuangren's speed of cultivating his Emperor qi increased at a drastic rate.
Seventy-thousand, eighty-thousand, ninety-thousand…
Ninety-thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine!
Finally, one hundred thousand!
At the one-hundred-thousandth Emperor qi, Chu Kuangren unleashed an explosion of an unprecedentedly terrifying ripple of energy.
As an array of divine light circulated within his body and Chu Kuangren's Daoist runes intertwined, the one hundred thousand strands of Emperor qi fused into a glittering golden Emperor's Core!
At that instance, the Nine Heavens, Demonic Underworld Realm, Firmament Star, and even those of the outer region could sense the energies from the Prominent-grade Emperor's Core.
Several ancient ones opened their eyes in bewilderment. Even the Emperors who were scattered throughout the Universe could feel a numbing sensation.
"Holy sh*t. What energy is that?!"
"It's from an Emperor's Core. Someone has managed to cultivate it. But what Emperor's Core could possibly produce such frightening energy?!"
"Is it from the Emperors on the Emperor Mountain?"
"Unlikely. Although the Emperor Mountain has managed to produce nine Emperors this time, none of them possess the power to cultivate an Emperor's Core this powerful."
"Who is it then? I've never felt an Emperor's Core this powerful since ancient times. Could it be an entity who hailed from immemorial times?"
The old ones of the Nine Heavens and even Firmament Star were shocked.
In the Slumbering Emperor Coffin.
Chu Kuangren gradually stood up as his Prominent-grade Emperor's Core radiated strands of purified Emperor qi that coursed his veins, muscles, and every cell of his body.
He could feel his body undergoing an endless transformation!
It was his body molting the former Supreme Sage body away into becoming an Emperor body!
Chu Kuangren lightly punched downwards.
The terrifying energy that came effortlessly from his fist caused the entire Slumbering Emperor Coffin to shudder in its wake.
"How strong." Chu Kuangren was fascinated by his newfound power. Then, he proceeded to assess the situation within his body.
The Supreme Foundations of his spiritual mound had vanished and replaced by a glittering elliptical Emperor's Core that was encased within countless Daoist runes.
The Emperor's Core was seething with endless amounts of Emperor qi that modified his entire spiritual mound and flesh. Even the Bodhi Soul that sat just beside the Emperor's Core was significantly strengthened due to the Emperor qi's nurturing.
"It feels like I could easily crush more than millions of my former self with just a finger. Is this the strength of an Emperor?"
Chu Kuangren exclaimed in awe.
"You're no ordinary Emperor."
The spiritual form of the Chaos Daoist Celestial reappeared. This time, his spirit form appeared to be significantly weakened. However, the celestial stared at Chu Kuangren brightly and said with fascination, "You're mankind's first Emperor to possess the Prominent-grade Emperor's Core!"
"Since immemorial time? Not even the Human King managed to do so?"
"The Human King possessed the Prominent Dao, but alas, not even he could cultivate the Prominent-grade Emperor's Core," said the Chaos Daoist Celestial.
"I see. Huh? Why are the surroundings so different now?"
Only then did Chu Kuangren realize that the once boundless sea of Chaotic qi had almost vanished completely, leaving only scraps of those Chaotic qi lying around.
"Who do you think caused that?"
The Chaos Daoist Celestial rolled his eyes. "To supply you with enough resources to cultivate this Prominent-grade Emperor's Core, I've sacrificed my lifetime's worth of cultivation just to provide you with Chaotic qi."
Just how strong was the Chaos Daoist Celestial?
As mankind's strongest cultivator from archaic times, the Chaos Daoist Celestial's cultivation was unparalleled. However, even he had to sacrifice his cultivation to help Chu Kuangren produce the Prominent-grade Emperor's Core.
This demonstrated how hard it was to produce the Prominent-grade Emperor's Core.
"Thank you so much, Senior."
Upon realizing what happened, Chu Kuangren immediately bowed towards the Chaos Daoist Celestial.
He then unleashed a palm technique and shattered the crimson pillars that penetrated the Chaos Daoist Celestial's body.
"Senior, let me get you out of here."
"It's no use. Although you've ascended into an Emperor, this coffin is the Underworld God's Fated Godly Weapon. He has used this coffin to seal me within. Although you can rupture the spirit blood energies that were eating into my souls, you can't get me out of here," said the Chaos Daoist Celestial helplessly.
Godly Weapons are weapons that the Gods used, whereas a Fated Godly Weapon is a Godly Weapon that is spiritually linked to a certain God.
Indeed, no matter how hard Chu Kuangren tried, or how much power he unleashed, he could not move the Chaos Daoist Physique's body. It was as if his body had been fused with the Slumbering Emperor Coffin.
"What should we do now?" Chu Kuangren frowned and said.
"Don't worry. I won't die so easily for now. Now that you've ascended into an Emperor, it's best that you leave this place and attend to your own affairs first."
"Senior, is there anything I can do to help?"
Chu Kuangren asked.
His trip into the Slumbering Emperor Coffin had landed him such a remarkable Opportunity of Fortune. The Chaos Daoist Celestial had even sacrificed his cultivation to help Chu Kuangren forge his Prominent-grade Emperor's Core. Chu Kuangren would be overwhelmed by guilt if there was nothing he could do to return the favor.