This pair of stone gates stood ten thousand feet tall, truly awe-inspiring. Standing before them and looking up, one could not see the end, because yellow clouds swirled about, mist upon mist, hazy and obscured.
The gates were carved with many marks — primordial ancestors worshipping the sun, moon, thunder and lightning, revering heaven, earth, ghosts and spirits, along with all manner of ancient beasts and strange insects.
Were such tall stone gates prepared for the ancient Great Emperor? A stream of Yellow Springs poured out, carrying an aura of death — ordinary beings approaching would turn to bone, their life devoured.
Yet within these gates, deep in the secret realm, there were also signs of life, which did not match the appearance of the Yellow Springs.
Whoosh!
The Stone Man acted first, his war chariot rumbling, transforming into a hazy beam of light charging forward, wanting to enter the Emperor’s mausoleum first. Though not tall, he seemed like an immortal king descending to the world.
A dragon and a tiger, both stone beasts, radiant with light, pulled the meter-long chariot into the space above the Yellow Springs, about to pass through the massive ten-thousand-foot stone gate.
“Boom!”
Suddenly the great gate shook, wisps of ancient images upon it trembling — the primordial ancestors, unnamed strange beasts, flowers, birds, fish, and insects seemed about to come alive, bursting through the wall.
A powerful force surged there. The stone dragon and stone tiger let out a long cry, as if struck by lightning, then flew backward, spilling wisps of divine blood.
With a loud crash, the war chariot overturned, the Stone Man stumbled, and was also sent flying sideways, divine blood flowing from his mouth, scattering into the void.
He, along with his chariot and two mounts, were all sent flying together, suffering no small injury, shocking everyone present — this was a Great Sage, yet he could not pass even half a step beyond the stone gate.
The ancient Great Emperor had died who knows how many tens of thousands of years ago, the tomb gate wide open, yet a Great Sage still could not enter — this left everyone dumbfounded, their hearts filled with fear.
“Stone man, you really lack manners. How can you be so disrespectful entering the Great Emperor’s mausoleum — you need to kowtow first.” Baijie Daoren spoke up, then turned to Long Ma: “Nephew, go up and pay respects, show him how it’s done — that should surely let you in.”
Long Ma’s face darkened, wanting to bite him, turning away as if it hadn’t heard. What it hated most now was being called “nephew.”
“That’s right — even though the Great Emperor has passed on, he still shouldn’t be defiled. All races must show reverence.” a Human Race Dao Protector spoke, and two men stepped forward to perform a great bow of worship.
Then, bowing with each step forward, they approached the ancient stone gates, and indeed nothing happened — they weren’t shaken back out.
The crowd was astonished — the ancient Great Emperor had left this world over a hundred thousand years ago, yet could he still somehow sense them?
A loud boom sounded, and a grand bronze tripod shook, escorting the Divine Lord close to the towering stone gate. He paused there, and also bowed deeply in a great ceremony.
The stone carvings on the gate showed no disturbance, nothing amiss. He took a step forward and also succeeded.
Behind, among the Underworld’s ghost soldiers, the bronze coffin trembled and flew up into the sky, passing through the yellow mist, flying toward the great gate.
“Clang!”
A deafening metallic reverberation sounded, like a heavenly hammer smashing down, striking hard upon the bronze coffin — the green rust fell away as it tumbled and was flung back out.
The crowd gasped — the Underworld’s peerless expert had disregarded the ancient rule and tried to force his way in, and indeed it had proven true, struck back sideways.
Was there truly something sentient here? The Great Emperor was dead — this was everyone’s shared understanding. How could there still be perception? What was going on?
With a resounding clang, the rust-covered bronze coffin lid was flung open, and from within a tall figure sat up, rising stiffly upright, then stepped forward.
His appearance caused an eerie, sinister chill to spread through the cosmic void, bone-chillingly cold.
Everyone shuddered as one, as if witnessing the descent of the deepest hell into the mortal world — a chill running from head to toe. Facing him felt like facing an eternal, malevolent ghost, hearts trembling.
This person wore black garments, extremely voluminous, covering his entire body, even his head, concealed beneath a mourning crown.
His whole body stood within shadow, no starlight able to approach him; those garments were extremely ancient, conservatively estimated to be a god-demon robe from over a hundred thousand years ago.
He moved with the stride of a dragon and the gait of a tiger, the ancient black robes billowing, wide sleeves lifting, revealing a terrifying sight — people saw very long black fur.
A shocking glimpse made people’s skin crawl, shaking their spirits — that was undoubtedly a tall figure, seemingly covered in black fur, like a giant ape.
Was this even human? He stood majestic and imposing, moving like a dragon and tiger, yet grew black fur, wearing ancient god-demon garments, inspiring dread.
This time, he approached the stone gate, respectfully performing a great bow before it, without forcing his way in again, and as a result entered smoothly.
The only difference was that the Yellow Springs water sensed his aura, boiling for a moment, endless underworld energy rising into the sky, yet he remained unaffected, seeming almost to enjoy it.
The crowd felt even more unsettled — what exactly was this peerless expert from the Underworld, and what kind of being had the former ruler truly been?!
The Divine Lord holding the bronze tripod and this unworldly being from the Underworld were naturally opposed by nature; they each glanced at one another, standing in two separate positions, not approaching each other.
“Heh heh, stone man, if you’ve got the skill, why not enter without bowing?” the Ox Demon clan leader grinned, his enormous ox eyes looking rather terrifying.
He held the gleaming Vajra Wheel, paused before the stone gate, performed his obeisance, and entered safely.
The Stone Man fell silent for a moment, then finally stepped down from his chariot, also approaching, lowering his posture, murmuring quietly, bowing forward before entering.
Afterward, the other Human Race Dao Protectors, as well as ancient evil gods of other races, appeared one after another, shocking everyone — the Great Sages who had come were not merely three or five in number.
With the Emperor’s corpse about to emerge, the Ancient Road was shaken, and countless unworldly experts had left seclusion, rushing here — all told, no fewer than eleven or twelve. Such a force was enough to sweep across endless star regions!
Others also wanted to enter, but had no way to approach the Yellow Springs — even a trace of the Emperor corpse’s aura carried the most terrifying yin death energy. Though only a wisp of it, it was still more than ordinary beings could withstand — approaching it, one’s very body would turn instantly to dust.
“To enter the Emperor’s mausoleum, all beings must proceed together, chanting the Sutra of Deliverance, to protect everyone’s safety — otherwise many strange things may happen.” a Human Race Dao Protector said.
The Great Sages of each race gathered together; among themselves there was nothing left to hide or hold back. In such a great tomb, no one dared act recklessly the moment they entered — cooperation was needed.
“This old monk has here a Ferry-Crossing Buddha Bridge. Though not an Emperor’s weapon, its power not overwhelming, it was once blessed by the recitation of the Amitabha Great Emperor’s scripture, able to dissolve boundless evil energy, and can ferry everyone across the river, toward the divine shore.”
An old monk spoke up, with yellow eyebrows and a shining bald head, wearing a worn cassock. He came from the ancient Amitabha Star Region, a supremely powerful Great Sage, boundless in Buddhist teaching, having traveled the starry sky, and now serving as a Dao Protector on the Human Race’s Ancient Road.
“Excellent, then.” the others nodded — in this world, when it came to blessing through mental power and the like, since ancient times almost no one could compare to the Amitabha Great Emperor.
Many were shocked, never expecting this old monk to carry on him a secret treasure blessed by the ancient Great Emperor himself.
A purple-gold bridge appeared in the old monk’s palm. With a flick of his hand he tossed it, and the bridge quickly expanded, spanning across the Yellow Springs, extending directly onto the ground within the gate, flowing with golden light.
Throughout this process, he continuously chanted repentance for sins, bowing in worship toward the great tomb, and suffered no attack.
“Truly a divine object!” Baijie Daoren’s eyes gleamed, looking as if he could hardly resist snatching it for himself.
Others also recognized it now — this was a treasure blessed by the recitation of the ancient Great Emperor’s scripture. Though it lacked great offensive power, that Buddhist radiance was too intense.
This was the remaining material from when Amitabha Buddha refined the Emperor’s weapon, the Demon-Subduing Pestle. Though only fist-sized, after later generations of sacred monks refined it into the Purple-Gold Bridge, it still held the merit of seizing heaven’s own creative power.
It did not focus on offense, but delivered all beings, able to gather the faith power of Buddhist followers — a rare ancient treasure.
The various camps, armies of different races, group after group, covering the sky and blanketing the earth, boarded the Purple-Gold Buddha Bridge, bowing to the great tomb on one side while passing through the stone gate on the other.
This scene was somewhat terrifying — countless armies, all entering a single tomb, yellow mist flowing, as if legions of heavenly soldiers charging into the nine hells.
This time, besides the Human Race, many powerful figures from other races had come too, countless in number, yet the Purple-Gold Buddha Bridge managed to accommodate and carry them all.
“While protecting ourselves, we must also ensure no accidents befall the various groups chanting the scripture — we must certainly protect them.” a Human Race Dao Protector spoke.
“Naturally.” the Ox Demon King said heroically, sending the Vajra Wheel out to hover high in the sky, letting down a sheet of silver ripples, not only protecting the Ox Demon clan but sheltering everyone else below as well.
Clang!
The Stone Man opened his mouth and spat out the glowing green Measuring Heaven Ruler, flying up into the high sky, letting down chaotic energy, endless immortal tears, auspicious divine light, enveloping this place.
Even grudges were temporarily set aside — nothing was more important than witnessing the ancient Great Emperor. For Great Sages who had cultivated bitterly for thousands of years yet found it hard to advance further, this was truly a fated encounter with immortality.
This was a secret realm, filled with ancient trees and wolf-inhabited forests, not lacking in life essence, accompanied by the death of the Yellow Springs.
The crowd entered, ascending the far bank; ahead, great mountains rose majestically, stretching in unbroken ranges, wreathed in wisps of pure white immortal mist, making one almost feel lost in a dream.
Was this truly a great burial chamber, or had they entered some immortal realm?
“This is truly astonishing — there are traces of the Dao hidden here. If one could comprehend them, perhaps we could break through.” right there, a Great Sage sat down cross-legged, facing the countless immortal mountains, his expression solemn, comprehending the Dao here.
The crowd advanced carefully, keeping their distance from the Yellow Springs, entering among the immortal mountains, mist swirling, filled with a sacred and peaceful atmosphere.
Ahead, the sound of water could be heard — a silver divine river flowed by, and on its bank stood a great stele, carved with several large characters in ancient divine script: Mountain of Emperor’s Weapons.
The crowd’s hearts trembled — they had not expected that so soon after entering, they would arrive at the very place where the ancient Great Emperor had buried his imperial weapons!
At this moment, no one could remain calm, their hearts pounding — everything here was treasure; if nothing went wrong, they would soon witness the emergence of an Emperor’s weapon.
“What is that?” suddenly someone cried out in alarm.
Upstream on the silver divine river, a massive creature lay coiled, coldly watching them, carrying a supreme and dignified air.
“It’s a horse, with the features of a dragon!” people gasped in astonishment, all frozen in place, never expecting a living being to exist here.
It was a crimson-red horse, with a dragon’s head and a horse’s body, its four limbs thick and powerful. Now it suddenly leapt up, like a mountain peak rising, colossal beyond measure, crimson radiance flying.
Ye Fan was startled, looking at Long Ma in its human form — the two true forms were so alike, almost identical.
With a dragon’s roar, this dragon-horse transformed into a stream of crimson immortal energy, vanishing on the spot, then reforming in the sky as a crimson dragon, swaying its head and tail, charging deep into the immortal mountains.
“Heavens, is this real — the ancient Great Emperor’s personal mount, still alive in this era?!”
“How is this possible — the Great Emperor has passed on, yet his mount still lives?!”
Everyone stood frozen, staring at the direction where the crimson dragon had vanished, mouths agape, each as still as a clay or wooden statue.