“Hey, did you all hear something?” the group came to a stop, extremely cautious and careful within this life-forbidden zone, none daring to be careless.
This was a great continent floating within the universe, suspected to be the entrance to an ancient Great Emperor’s tomb; over all these years, who knew how many powerhouses had come to attack it, decades of assault yielding no result.
And within this star domain, there were over a dozen such terrifying continents, some larger even than stars, existing eternally since ancient times, drifting who knew how long within the cold universe.
Which one was the true Emperor’s tomb still could not be determined; in recent years, several had developed cracks, emitting wisps of imperial might that made people tremble from the depths of their souls.
In the end, some speculated that these dozen-plus continents might have originally been a single whole, one massive ancient Great Emperor’s mausoleum, only fractured apart for some reason.
Each one might be the true tomb, not to be overlooked or missed, but each was also a life-forbidden zone — over all these years, who knew how many had died here without ever digging out the ancient mausoleum’s main chamber.
According to legend, even a Human Race Great Saint had been lost here, a Sacred Spirit that had ambushed from beyond the domain had also died here, and as for the great ancient evil god that had come in a large-scale assault, two had fallen — truly a place where blood was spilled and bones buried.
Ordinarily, there were naturally no few cultivators active here, various combat teams searching for the ancient Great Emperor’s immortal treasures.
Today, this team’s strongest member was at the Sage King realm, the weakest at the Sage Seventh Heaven — five people in total, all quite formidable. To have made it from the Human Race’s First Pass all the way here and formed such a team, not one of them was ordinary.
At the very least, in terms of personal fortune, anyone who had made it here alive could be said to be blessed by heaven — decades of bloody battle, not falling, was proof enough.
At this moment, they heard a faint, indistinct cry coming from deep within the cracked earth, and were naturally astonished — had someone gotten inside the great tomb? This was too astounding!
This was without question a hair-raising matter — had someone made their way deep into the ancient Great Emperor’s tomb? Even though this floating continent deep in the universe might not be the main chamber, it had never been breached before — far too shocking.
“Do you all hear that, someone below really has beaten us to it — what should we do now?” These people were all seasoned veterans, otherwise they wouldn’t have survived this long; each of them rolled their eyes in thought.
“We were just talking about the Sacred Body from the Emperor’s Burial Star facing off against the Overlord Body, and the person below heard it — I think I heard him say the Sacred Body is his brother!” Their hearts pounded, because the key point wasn’t these words, but that the person had said whoever freed him would be given an immortal scripture.
They quickly searched for the entrance, believing it better to trust it than not — no matter what, someone who could go this deep into the great tomb surely had gained something.
“This is a Heaven-Sound Stone, no wonder it can carry our words all the way down — transmitting sound up from deep underground — there really is someone down there!” They found themselves in a bind — the seal was boundlessly terrifying, and they simply couldn’t break it.
“Let me guide you above on how to break through correctly, and I’ll pass on a supreme immortal scripture to you when the time comes.” the person below shouted again.
The five exchanged glances, all showing a look of surprise on their faces.
They had charged deep into the starry void, fighting their way to this point, and had long since settled their mindset, knowing full well they had no hope of contending for supremacy on the Emperor’s Road — let alone them, even the most dazzling talents had no chance at all with those few young Supremes around. Now, they only wanted to seize more fortune along this road, to become powerhouses of a single domain, rather than aiming for the entire universe.
Now a great opportunity lay right below them — never mind whether it meant finishing off the person below or rescuing him, just breaching the entrance to the ancient Great Emperor’s tomb alone would be a fortune in itself!
Deep within the ancient mausoleum, any single artifact would be priceless — they believed that once they broke through the entrance, they surely wouldn’t leave empty-handed.
“Though this one has an immortal scripture, I regretfully lack a suitable heir — why don’t you all become my disciples? I’ll pass on the immortal arts to you, spreading my Dao.”
The people above were rendered speechless — this man’s face was thick indeed; was this asking for rescue? He was clearly the one trapped here, yet still wanted to take them as disciples.
“We’re not here to seek a master!” one person said, none too pleased.
“Since that’s the case, then let’s speak as equals of the same generation. This one often reads the Great Emperor’s scriptures here, and would very much like to find someone to discuss them with; naturally, I won’t shortchange you fellow junior brothers. Besides that, there’s an ancient Peach Tree of Immortality here, of endless benefit to cultivators. Would you be willing to follow by my side? You could surely shine brilliantly through this.”
The several above exchanged glances, no matter how they thought about it, something felt off. This person’s face was truly thick — not wanting to be their master anymore, but wanting to recruit them as underlings instead, wasn’t that a bit much?
One of them said, “How could an undying peach tree possibly be in an underground tomb?”
From deep within the ancient mausoleum came a man’s deep, resonant voice, saying, “Naturally it’s not the whole tree — this is a coffin, a divine coffin only a Divine Venerate of the Mythic Era could possess, carved from the wood of the undying peach tree.”
“What, the true main chamber of the ancient Great Emperor’s mausoleum is here?” The five all changed expression, but quickly calmed down again, not quite believing it.
“On the west side of the Heaven-Sound Stone there’s a crack — go down about ten-some li, and you’ll see a crystal wall, from which you can view a corner of the great tomb.” the person below pointed out.
They naturally understood — the person below wanted to escape, and everything now was to lure them in, hoping to move their hearts enough to lend a hand.
Regardless, this person’s presence deep within the mausoleum was not fabricated — they naturally wanted to find out the truth, to see if there was really a heaven-defying fortune here.
Soon, the group went deep underground for over ten li, and truly saw a flaw in this great tomb — a crystal wall, through which some of the interior scenery could be faintly seen.
“Why is there a crystal wall here now?” They felt puzzled.
“Have you forgotten that ancient Sacred Spirit — a Great Saint realm being, who bled to death before the Great Emperor’s mausoleum; the crystal wall is his petrified body, transformed by the Dao.” the person in the tomb patiently explained.
“You… what are you eating?” Just then, a female Sage King cried out in shock, seeing through the crystal wall a burly, powerfully built man inside, hair disheveled, gnawing on a piece of coffin plank.
“A fierce ghost, he’s not human, he’s eating a corpse!” another powerhouse felt his scalp go numb, crying out in fright.
They had originally not quite believed anyone could enter the ancient Great Emperor’s tomb, and now through the crystal wall saw a man far more burly than an ordinary person, actually gnawing on a coffin — immediately thinking of some terrifying legends.
“This is the undying divine will of the ancient Great Emperor — he’s being consumed by backlash, could he be trying to eat the Emperor’s corpse? Too terrifying!”
“This is a revived divine corpse, undying through calamity, having escaped heaven’s reckoning, connected to the ancient Great Emperor, become a terrifying Yin god!”
None of the five were weak, but at this moment they felt a chill from head to toe, each growing goosebumps, retreating continuously, not wanting to stay a moment longer.
“Truly ignorant — this is a coffin carved from the undying peach tree, equivalent to the main body of an undying divine medicine, a priceless immortal treasure!” As the five paled with fright, a disdainful voice came from within.
“He’s showing disdain for us!”
“A divine will wouldn’t have such rich emotional fluctuations.”
“He… could he really be a person?”
The five powerhouses exchanged words swiftly, all rather depressed.
“But… eating coffin planks — that’s not something an ordinary person could do!” the female Sage King said, still shaken, feeling the person inside was somewhat terrifying, surely some kind of demon king.
“What’s the big deal — just an ownerless ancient coffin. Back in my day, I even ate the Undying Heavenly Sovereign’s coffin without hesitation. Besides, though the taste isn’t great, this is genuine, honest-to-goodness immortal medicine! Actually, I wanted to save a few pieces of coffin plank for you all, but since you’re being like this, I’ll just eat it all myself.”
The five outside were speechless for a good while — just who was this person inside? Eating coffin planks and feeling superior about it — what kind of thick, coarse nerves did one need to be like this!
But upon further thought, the few of them felt there was some logic to it — that truly was the trunk of the undying peach tree, a genuine immortal medicine. This left them thoroughly conflicted.
“Fellow junior brothers, hurry and help me out — once I’m free I still need to go kill the Heavenly Overlord Body, not a minute to waste.” the person below said, treating himself as anything but an outsider.
The five powerhouses were left speechless — what kind of person was this, so shameless — we’re still considering whether to finish you off and take everything inside for ourselves.
“This person doesn’t seem simple — he managed to eat from the undying peach tree, and by his own account, even ate the Undying Heavenly Sovereign’s coffin — definitely no ordinary figure. Why not make friends with him?” one of them said.
“What are you talking about — he wants to be our master, and failing that, wants to take us as underlings instead. Have you ever seen someone like this? Definitely no good — let’s just find a way to finish him off.”
“Don’t jump to conclusions yet, let’s watch a bit more.”
The five outside discussed with a mix of frustration and conflict, honestly not knowing quite what to feel about the person inside.
“Fellow junior brothers and sisters, hurry along, time is precious, quickly get to work.” the person deep in the mausoleum urged.
“Damn it, he really thinks of us as his junior siblings, so full of confidence while asking for help!” one person said, none too pleased.
“Fellow junior brothers, listen well for now, I’ll pass on a passage of scripture to you, greatly beneficial.” the person inside truly transmitted a passage of ancient method, profound beyond measure.
“The Dao Classic — this seems to be the legendary Dao Classic, he really passed us a huge section.” the group outside was greatly astonished.
Days later, they grew even more conflicted — digging at the tomb on one hand, while on the other being called junior brothers and sisters by this fellow, all while listening to a passage of the Dao Classic’s ancient method.
“At this rate, I’ll really start thinking he’s my own senior brother who ascended in seated meditation.”
The person deep in the ancient mausoleum called them junior brothers and sisters more and more smoothly; they had gone from fierce resistance to numbness, no longer in the mood to constantly refute and object, seeming to have grown somewhat used to it.
“Fellow junior brothers and sisters, at this rate, without a few hundred, a few thousand years, you won’t be able to break through the entrance — why don’t you go call that disgraceful fellow with the Heavenly Overlord Blood over here for me, let me teach him a lesson, and have him break through this seal.”
The group all showed disdain together — wasn’t this fellow just saying he wanted to go kill the young Supreme with Heavenly Overlord Blood flowing in his veins? And now he wanted them to bring the man here to help free him instead.
“Fellow junior brothers and sisters, relying on just yourselves, you truly can’t open this exit. Back then, I got in by taking advantage of the rare opportunity when the Sacred Spirit transformed via the Dao. Now, all I can do is spread the word, find some laborers, some hard workers to break through. Otherwise, this won’t open. If not for this, you’d have a very hard time getting the immortal medicine, ancient scripture, and divine artifact into your hands. But rest assured, since we’re all fellow junior brothers and sisters now, once I break free, I’ll give you all a great fortune.”
The five powerhouses were conflicted once more — relying on themselves alone, they truly couldn’t break through, it would be pointless effort. But to spread the news like this felt like giving something away unwillingly too.
“Though there’s no Emperor’s corpse here, there is a swath of Great Emperor formation patterns — once triggered, even someone wielding an Ultimate Dao Imperial Weapon would suffer a crushing defeat. Bring the Overlord King here, and dealing with him would be a sure thing — I have a way to break free.”
The group inwardly complained — who was thinking about whether he could break free, what they were conflicted over was the immortal treasure inside.
“If I break free, doesn’t that mean the immortal treasure has emerged into the world too? It’ll all be on me — I’m your senior brother, I am your fortune.”
The group secretly cursed inwardly — never had they seen someone so thick-faced, but thinking it over carefully, they really did need this person to come out for things to work.
“Why don’t we make him one of our own — I feel this person has some redeeming qualities.”
“That’s true too — otherwise how could he have survived to now.”
“I want to beat him up!”
This was their secret discussion.
Days later, a shocking piece of news spread — the Overlord King had left the continent he’d been assaulting, heading toward another continent that might hold the Emperor’s tomb.
“What does it matter that you have Heavenly Overlord Blood flowing in your veins — I’ll suppress you with one hand!” deep in the ancient mausoleum, someone said with great arrogance.
The Overlord King’s expression was cold and indifferent; he cared for nothing else, only wanting to break open the great tomb and obtain the immortal treasure within — he had no reaction at all to this provocation.
“This fellow is really bold, provoking the Overlord King — is he not afraid that the instant the ancient mausoleum opens, he’ll meet the bloody wrath of a young Supreme?”
“You think someone who wanted to be our master, failed, then simply promoted himself to our senior brother, could possibly be a person of integrity and refined manners? Definitely no good sort.”
The five powerhouses discussed, both with disdain and with a sense of wonder.
This star domain trembled — the Overlord King had originally been set to face off against the Sacred Body, and now had unexpectedly set everything else aside for the moment, to attack an ancient mausoleum first, drawing no few people over to watch.
“I think he really does know the Sacred Body, and seems to want to share his burden, keeping the Overlord Body here.” one of the five powerhouses made such a judgment.
Deep within the universe, a great wave of commotion arose — for years no one had been able to enter deep into the ancient mausoleum, and now, unexpectedly, word came that someone had succeeded — how astonishing.
Many powerhouses rushed over, all paying close attention, no few entering the field, wanting to break open the Emperor’s tomb, to retrieve the divine treasure.
And in this process, they naturally also witnessed a thick-skinned strongman, calling out the Heavenly Overlord Blood, standing deep within the ancient mausoleum, yet wanting to fight the Overlord King.
Everyone was in an uproar, stirring up a wave of shock, drawing even more people to come.
“Want to fight Ye Fan? Get through me first — I’ll beat the Overlord Body until he spits blood, make him kneel down and sing his submission.” the person in the ancient mausoleum was arrogant to the extreme, leaving everyone speechless.
The rivalry between the Sacred Body and the Overlord Body had, because of this, been pushed to a new height — a storm before the storm; before the two invincible physiques clashed, such a strongman’s provocation naturally made it all the more talked about, all the more watched.