Wu Liang was completely stupefied. He had thought that what was in the tomb was an ancient zombie, but judging from what he was saying, he seemed to still be alive! How was that possible?
Ever since ancient times, living past a thousand years had always been extremely difficult. Usually, that could only be achieved through certain races’ special talents. Meanwhile, the human race’s lifespan was far shorter than that.
Just how many tens of thousands of years had the tomb existed? And yet, the person inside was actually still alive? That completely defied the logic of the cultivation world! If news of that got out, it would definitely cause a huge uproar.
He was even starting to become a bit excited. Didn’t this mean a tremendous opportunity for him? If he could obtain eternal life… Just the thought of that alone already made it hard for him to contain his excitement.
The Golden Crow Crown Prince’s expression changed greatly. He was still young, so he still had a lot of his life left. For him, eternal life wasn’t all that pressing an issue. On the other hand, if his father really did obtain eternal life, wouldn’t that mean he would remain the crown prince for the rest of his life? The Fiend Emperor position that had nearly been at hand was about to disappear… just how painful of a realization was that?
In contrast, the Fiend Emperor’s eyes burned with desire. He hurriedly asked, “Why were you able to live for so long?” However, he wasn’t an ordinary person. He quickly forced himself to calm down and ask, “What do you want?”
“You’re an intelligent person, as expected,” the voice replied with a chuckle. “So, just patiently listen to what I have to say first.”
The Golden Crow Crown Prince quickly advised the Fiend Emperor, “Father emperor, you need to be careful. This person might have some kind of trap set up to try to keep us here! In my opinion, we should look around elsewhere so Zu An’s group does not gain the upper hand on us.”
The Fiend Emperor hesitated when he heard that. That youngster Zu An had too many secrets around him. In so many years, that kid was the first one he couldn't see through. Zu An could actually end up obtaining some opportunity before him!
Just then, the voice remarked mockingly, “It looks as if this son of yours doesn’t want you to gain eternal life… But that’s to be expected. This kind of thing is all too common among royal families.”
The Fiend Emperor’s expression immediately grew sharp. He stared directly at the Golden Crow Crown Prince.
In truth, he sensed that the voice was trying to sow dissent. At his age, however, he cared too much about eternal life. Those who cared too much about something would often become somewhat ignorant and blind.
The Golden Crow Crown Prince quickly explained, “Father emperor, do not listen to his nonsense! I would not dare to have such thoughts.”
The Fiend Emperor harrumphed. “We will listen to what he has to say before we make any decisions.”
After what had just happened, the Golden Crow Crown Prince didn’t dare to say anything else. Inwardly, however, he was already cursing endlessly at this ‘ancient ancestor’ of theirs.
“That’s more like it,” the voice in the tomb said with a laugh. It added, “After speaking for so long, I still don’t know your names, though.”
The Fiend Emperor frowned. There were some sinister skills that allowed one to do terrible things to another through knowing their name. However, such methods usually required a hair or fingernail too. As long as he took care of those things, he didn’t have to worry. He replied, “You can call me the Fiend Emperor.”
The Golden Crow Crown Prince said, “I am the Golden Crow Crown Prince.”
Wu Liang began, “I am…”
Before they even finished their sentences, the one in the tomb cut them off. “You all speak so boldly, and yet you don’t even have names and are instead just called by your titles.”
Wu Liang opened and closed his mouth a few times. He felt really depressed. It was as if the voice didn’t even consider him a person.
The Fiend Emperor said coldly, “This is what our race has always been like. Only those of the noblest status have the right to use their titles in place of their names.”
“Fine, whatever you say,” the voice said, seemingly with a hint of disdain. However, it didn’t press the issue, and instead declared, “I am Dan Zhu! My title is Emperor Dan Zhu!” His declaration almost seemed to be accompanied by an austere air.
The Fiend Emperor remarked with a hint of contempt, “Emperor? According to what you said, you were not even an emperor for that long. Can even someone like you use that title?”
The voice was speechless. Then, it let out a long sigh and replied, “What you said is right. I am indeed trash, hahaha~”
When he heard the voice beginning to sound a bit deranged, the Fiend Emperor was suddenly worried that he might have ruined his prospects of achieving immortality. He quickly asked, “If you were the inheritor of the previous emperor, how did you let another seize the throne so easily?”
The voice returned somewhat to normal upon hearing that, but intense hatred suddenly took over as it said, “That’s because the one who seized the throne was also from the royal family. His name was Shun, and his ancestor was previously an emperor too.
“Many, many generations ago, we had a common ancestor called the Yellow Emperor. Later on, the Yellow Emperor ascended and passed the position to his son Shao Hao, who was my generation’s ancestor. He was called the White Emperor by the people.”
The Fiend Emperor felt moved. He asked, “The ascension you speak of, is it death?”
The voice said coldly, “Ignorant. Of course it is as the word implies; he ascended into the world of the immortals.”
The Fiend Emperor’s eyes began to burn with desire. He exclaimed, “There really are immortals in this world?”
Even though he was called an earth immortal by the people of the world, no matter how great he was, he was merely an immortal of the mundane world. He was still too far from a real immortal. After so many years, despite the emergence of all kinds of stunning geniuses, there had never been anyone who could truly become immortal. After so long, people had begun to suspect that the earth immortal rank was simply the limit of cultivation.
The Fiend Emperor had been stuck at that level for so many years. At first, he had also shared similar suspicions. Only in his final years had he vaguely sensed that the earth immortal rank wasn't the upper limit. However, he didn’t have the first clue as to how to take another step.
“Why are you making such a fuss about something like that? There are plenty who have ascended. For example, your Golden Crow Ancestor’s father Dijun also ascended, which is why the throne was passed onto my father,” the voice harrumphed with an air of superiority.
The Fiend Emperor finally couldn't hold it in anymore and voiced his cultivation concerns. “Just what is ascension…”
The voice cut him off impatiently, saying, “Right now, your job is to listen, not to ask me questions.”
After he heard about the existence of ascension, the Fiend Emperor’s attitude noticeably changed somewhat. He replied, “Please speak!”
Wu Liang was stupefied as he watched from a corner. His worldview had really widened today! He had actually learned of such a great secret! Even if I die now, it might be worth it… Pah pah pah! I don’t want to die.
The voice from the tomb continued. “After the White Emperor ascended, the imperial throne initially should’ve been taken over by his son. However, his nephew Zhuan Xu took the throne instead. Zhuan Xu was known by the people as the Black Emperor. From then on, the White Emperor and Black Emperor’s bloodlines shared many conflicts and grudges…
“The Black Emperor remained in his position for many, many years. When he departed, the position was likewise stolen by his nephew. His nephew was from our White Emperor lineage, and was your Golden Crow Ancestor’s father, Dijun. Dijun passed the throne to his son Dizhi, but he only had the throne for a short time. The throne quickly ended up being abdicated in favor of his younger brother Yao, who was my father, Emperor Yao.
“The world enjoyed many years of peace and prosperity, but eventually, all sorts of disasters arose. There were droughts and floods, as well as all kinds of terrifying beasts that ravaged the people. My father had no choice but to raise large amounts of subordinates to deal with those issues.
“Among them, there was no lack of descendants of Zhuan Xu, such as Gun and Shun… Because the Black Emperor had already left for many years, his descendants knew their place. That was why my father lowered his guard and gave them too much authority. Those people took the chance to grow. Among them, Gun was the most powerful. However, Shun had always been extremely respectful, so with his help, my father killed Gun on Feather Mountain. His corpse is also at the bottom of the Feather Abyss.”
The Fiend Emperor and the others’ expressions changed several times. They thought to themselves, Could the Feather Abyss be the very first place we entered?
The voice continued, “However, he hadn’t expected Shun to be so full of ambition. Without Gun keeping him in check, his strength climbed to a level where it couldn't be controlled anymore. In the end, when my father was cultivating in seclusion, Shun plotted against him and sealed him up.
“At first, I was completely in the dark and thought my father had ascended. After that, Shun treated me as the emperor at first, but eventually used some baseless accusations to depose me. Only then did I realize his rapacious designs.”
The Fiend Emperor sneered. This guy had to be ridiculously stupid, only realizing it at that point. However, since he was the one who needed things from the voice, he couldn't say anything that sounded too bad. He asked, “Did you tell me these things because you wanted my help with something?”
“Very clever!” The voice became a bit more excited as it replied, “I need you to help me undo my father’s seal!”
