“Two Great Emperors born in the same era — who could have fought the Eternal Universe Great Emperor in a life-or-death duel?”
Tu Fei did not believe it. From ancient times to the present, the same era had never once produced two Great Emperors — not a single ancient record attested to it.
The Black Emperor said, “There are always things that history forgets, things that never see the light of the world — even if they once shook the heavens and the earth, they leave not the faintest trace.”
“What are you saying — are you telling us two Great Emperors truly coexisted and met? Which was weaker, which was stronger, and what was the outcome?” Tu Fei was desperate to know.
“Naturally, the Eternal Universe Great Emperor survived. That battle had immense consequences — otherwise, what might have happened is very hard to say.”
The blazing sun hung overhead. The desert looked as though it had been formed from molten gold, scorching and unbearable. Not a breath of wind, not a single cloud — fiercely hot, the golden sand grains a little dazzling to the eye.
“What happened back then? Tell us quickly,” Ye Fan also urged. This boundless desert of limitless expanse — to think it had been struck out with a single blow of the Solar Divine Furnace by the Eternal Universe Great Emperor — it was difficult to imagine the sky-shattering, earth-destroying might that must have entailed.
“What was the other Great Emperor’s name?” Tu Fei was also pressing for answers.
“No one knows, because it was not human — yet its power was absolutely comparable to a Great Emperor’s!” the Black Emperor said.
“What? Not human? Then what was it exactly — could it be an ancient demon emperor of the demon clan?”
“It’s hard to say clearly what it was, but it was absolutely one of the most powerful existences in this world,” the Black Emperor said gravely.
Both Ye Fan and Tu Fei felt like kicking it. The Black Emperor spoke unhurriedly, leaving its audience on edge while it itself appeared perfectly at ease.
“Just tell us everything at once!”
“Watch your attitude with me. Just because I don’t lose my temper doesn’t mean you can take liberties — even a great master wouldn’t dare show me disrespect!”
“Oh, really? When you saw the Red Dragon Daoist, who was it that bolted for tens of li without stopping? When word came that a Holy Lord was approaching, who was it that fled at the first hint of wind?”
“That was then, this is now,” the Black Emperor said evasively.
“An existence comparable to a Great Emperor — where did it come from? Don’t tell me it crossed the star domains to get here,” Ye Fan said, frowning.
“I’ll say it plainly — the pre-Qin Qi Cultivators you speak of are truly not comparable to Great Emperors. The existence that engaged the Eternal Universe Great Emperor in a life-or-death duel was born on this very land of the Northern Region.”
Ye Fan and Tu Fei exchanged a glance, and in the same moment both arrived at the same place in their minds, their hearts pounding.
“Are you saying…”
“You’re finally not being slow — you’ve worked it out. That’s right. The supreme powerhouse comparable to a Great Emperor came from the Primordial Forbidden Zone!”
The Black Emperor’s words were like a stone dropped into the heavens, sending waves crashing through the heart — utterly shocking.
“You… are certain?” Tu Fei was left speechless.
“This place is countless tens of thousands of li from the Primordial Forbidden Zone. Why would the battle have taken place here?” Ye Fan also had doubts.
The Black Emperor said, “In former days, the Eternal Universe Great Emperor shook the world with his brilliance. To forge an extreme-path weapon, he entered the Primordial Forbidden Zone and carried out a great slaughter there…”
Ye Fan’s heart gave a lurch — he had witnessed that place with his own eyes. Bones piled in heaps and mountains, and even after ten-odd million years, hundreds of skeletons still radiated light — all of them undoubtedly fearsome creatures.
“When the extreme-path weapon was complete, heaven and earth stirred at that instant. All of the Northern Region could sense it, and every living creature was alerted.”
On that very day, as the Eternal Universe Great Emperor departed the Primordial Forbidden Zone, an existence comparable to him came in pursuit.
“Don’t tell us that existence came chasing out of the ancient mine.”
The Black Emperor said gravely, “You’ve guessed correctly. According to research conducted by a sage of later generations, it was indeed an existence that emerged from the ancient mine.”
Ye Fan was immensely shocked. The Primordial Forbidden Zone and the ancient mine were two entirely different concepts!
He had observed the Primordial Ancient Mine from afar — that place was terrifyingly formidable. He had even suspected that deities might dwell within it. There were also legends in the world that sacred spirits resided inside.
On that night long ago, Li Desheng with his Nether Darkness Eyes had witnessed many extraordinary things. Thinking back on them now still felt beyond comprehension.
Within a silver river of starlight descending from the sky, one after another corpse clad in ancient attire had floated, bathing in the sacred star-glow — drifting up and down — along with countless points of light.
And that was only the tip of the iceberg — the outermost, most gossamer-thin veil of the ancient mine. What lay within its depths, no one could say with any clarity.
“Something comparable to a Great Emperor in power, originating from the Primordial Ancient Mine…” Tu Fei murmured to himself, momentarily losing himself in thought.
“You’re wrong — it was not a person,” the Black Emperor corrected.
“Then do you know what it was? The world has legends that immortals dwell in the ancient mine — could those be them?” Ye Fan asked.
The Black Emperor shook its head. “Some say it was a primordial creature, others say it was an immortal, others say a sacred spirit, and still others say it was an ancient person. There are too many legends — it cannot be clearly said or clearly explained.”
“How long did the Eternal Universe Great Emperor fight it?” Ye Fan asked. This was the question that concerned him most.
“A long time. It is said that on that day, only three sages across the entire Northern Region sensed the supreme imperial power. According to their accounts, the very vault of heaven over the Northern Region was made to tremble — yet everyone else was completely unaware.”
“So this is what the boundless imperial divine might of a supreme Great Emperor looks like — capable of fighting to that degree and still concealing it from all…” Tu Fei was aghast.
The Black Emperor said, “Based on the personal notes left behind by one sage, the Eternal Universe Great Emperor did genuinely meet his match. Otherwise, he would not have accidentally struck out this vast, boundless desert.”
“Did the Eternal Universe Great Emperor kill the one that had come chasing out of the Primordial Ancient Mine?” Ye Fan asked.
“He did. After the life-or-death duel concluded, the Eternal Universe Great Emperor struck it dead on this spot and refined it into ashes — body and spirit both extinguished,” the Black Emperor said, looking out over the boundless desert.
“Something comparable to a Great Emperor in power — and in the end it was still refined into nothing, body and spirit both destroyed…” This was earth-shaking news. Tu Fei stood there in a daze.
Now the Great Emperors were gone — remote and unreachable. In the distant past there had been battles between emperors, yet today even a glimpse of an emperor’s trace was impossible to come by — one could only sigh.
“The blood of the one that came from the Primordial Ancient Mine dyed the desert red. Its weapon was shattered here and fell scattered everywhere, the Dao pattern fragments forming the residual patterns — and thus did this strange, perverse place, the Divine Desert, come to be.”
“So that’s how it formed…” Tu Fei’s heart and spirit both stirred. The Black Emperor knew far too much — far more than the holy lands likely knew.
“How do you know so much of a Great Emperor’s secrets?” Ye Fan asked.
“This Emperor is versed in the ancient and modern alike — from the Desolate Antiquity to the eternal future, there is nothing I do not know comprehensively!” The Black Emperor tilted its head and looked away.
“This is truly… like something out of a dream!” Tu Fei sighed, feeling he could not fathom it. “And to think — this was someone who came out of the Primordial Ancient Mine. That forbidden zone has existed since ancient times. Throughout all of history, no matter how many dazzling paragons of genius have appeared under heaven, none have ever been able to do anything to it. Yet a supreme powerhouse that emerged from within was actually destroyed by the Eternal Universe Great Emperor — the might of a Great Emperor is truly unfathomable!”
This was indeed a staggering matter, unrecorded in any historical text — hard to believe.
“Did the Primordial Ancient Mine show no reaction at all? Having had a supreme existence destroyed, surely there must have been some response?” Ye Fan asked.
“These are things that no later person can know — even the sages of that era could not speculate on them,” the Black Emperor shook its head.
“There must be some deductions, at least. Did anything particularly unusual happen afterward?” Ye Fan felt there must be some clues.
“Afterward, within five hundred thousand li of the Primordial Forbidden Zone, the Eternal Universe Great Emperor never set foot there again for the rest of his life.”
“Is that so…” Tu Fei was appalled. Even a Great Emperor had misgivings.
The Black Emperor thought for a moment, then said, “There is also one legend: after that battle, the Eternal Universe Great Emperor established his Dao lineage and went directly to the Central Province, never returning again.”
“What in the world is inside the Primordial Ancient Mine? That a Great Emperor should hold it in such dread!” Ye Fan was shaken.
“The third account is: after the Eternal Universe Great Emperor’s battle concluded, he came alone to the outside of the Primordial Forbidden Zone and transmitted a voice into the ancient mine, reaching an accord with those within. Not ten years later, he founded the ancient Jiang Family, and then vanished completely.”
“What is the truth of it?” Both Tu Fei and Ye Fan were left with doubts, unable to arrive at any clarity.
All of this was from too distant an age — even the legends were nearly impossible to find, let alone any verification or recovery of the truth.
The Black Emperor sighed. “Thinking back to those few Great Emperors of old — every one of them accomplished deeds that shook what was above and below heaven. Their supreme demeanor — how could ordinary mortals ever fathom it? What later generations record in their books captures only the most superficial of things. No one has ever truly understood them.”
“Wait — could we have finally walked out? There are great boulders ahead!” Tu Fei called out.
There on the desert horizon, two great boulders appeared — their outlines looming, flickering in and out of view.
“We’ve finally seen something else. I truly feared being trapped here for another hundred-odd years,” the Black Emperor said, still suffering the lingering dread of its past ordeal.
The two men and one dog sprinted forward, not wanting to linger another moment in this blazing, scorching desert, leaving behind a long string of footprints in the sand.
“These are black metal blocks!”
When they drew close, they were all astonished.
Both metal blocks were five or six meters long, jet-black throughout, with a dim luster, their icy aura striking the face — even under the vicious midday sun, they gave one a feeling of cold.
The black metal blocks were pitted and scarred, with many places that looked as though they had been struck and dented by palms and fingers.
“Why would there be metal blocks like these here?” Tu Fei marveled.
At the same moment, Ye Fan noticed that this stretch of sand was different from the rest — it was crimson as blood, with waves of chilling, deathly air.
The Black Emperor said, “This crimson sand should be stained by the blood of the existence comparable to a Great Emperor — even after tens of millions of years have passed, the color has not faded.”
“In that case, could the metal blocks be…” Tu Fei said, startled.
“Exactly — in all likelihood, these two pieces are what remained after the person’s weapon was shattered by the Eternal Universe Great Emperor and fell here.” The Black Emperor’s eyes blazed with scorching intensity as it charged forward.
Clang!
It struck the block with force. The black metal did not budge — it rang out with a resonant hum, like the toll of a great ancient bell.
“These are absolutely fragments of that person’s weapon!” the Black Emperor exclaimed.
Tu Fei also drew close and struck it with force — the impact sent numbing vibrations up through both his hands, and he could not leave the faintest mark on it.
“Not comparable to a Great Emperor’s sacred objects — but absolutely top-tier forging materials,” the Black Emperor said.
The black metal blocks were of unknown composition — even the widely-traveled Black Emperor could not identify them. But one thing was certain: this material was extraordinarily precious, and its degree of hardness left one utterly speechless.
“This sort of thing — even the great Holy Lords, if they laid eyes on it, would not be able to ignore it.”
Tu Fei and the Black Emperor stepped forward, one man and one dog, and each collected one of the blocks.
Boom!
Heaven and earth shook. The instant the black metal blocks were put away, the void trembled, and the entire landscape underwent a dramatic transformation.