“The Tianxia Map is an inauspicious item that should not exist. I suggest you discard it,” the demonic shadow said with a complex tone. His eyes were like two icy lakes.
“Hmm?” Emperor Zhao said in astonishment, “You are a remnant soul too. How did your soul manifest physically? It should not be, don’t tell me that the Heavenly Dao did not make you reincarnate?”
Zhou Xuanji heard him and was curious.
Although he did not know much about reincarnation, a person that shocked Emperor Zhao must not be someone simple.
“Junior, tell me your name. Your soul is not bad. After This Emperor revives, be my little brother, and I shall bring you along.”
Emperor Zhao crossed his arms before his chest and laughed arrogantly.
Zhou Xuanji curled his lip and said, “Did I say I would revive you?”
Emperor Zhao chuckled, “One day, the Ancient God Sword will become useless to you. It’s more valuable to revive us.”
He neither mocked nor threatened but rationally analyzed the future with a ridiculing tone.
At the same time, these words also proved his trust for Zhou Xuanji.
“Who are you? Merely a remnant, yet you speak with such arrogance. Since ancient times, I have never submitted to anyone.”
The demonic shadow stared at Emperor Zhao and asked with an even more arrogant tone.
Emperor Zhao replied pridefully, “The Ancient Emperor, Zhao Chengang!”
The demonic shadow was silent.
“Why? Are you frightened?”
Emperor Zhao asked complacently. Seventy thousand years had passed, but his name was still prominent.
“Never have I heard of it before,” The demonic shadow said.
And this time, it was Emperor Zhao’s turn to be silent.
Zhou Xuanji could hold it no longer. He said, “This is Emperor Zhao. There aren’t many historical records about him, other than calling him Emperor Zhao.”
The demonic shadow squinted his eyes and said, “Oh, so you are Emperor Zhao. I have some admiration for you for your ambitious heart, which was rare among the Human Emperors. Even Emperor Xia had less territory than you. You had good foresight and understood that even the overseas must be under your reign.”
Emperor Zhao heard him and felt very pleased.
So this kid was his faithful believer.
“My surname is Dugu, and my name is not important. I have already forgotten it.”
The demonic shadow continued to speak with a tone that was neither humble nor arrogant.
Zhou Xuanji was stunned. Even Emperor Zhao was so too.
Dugu…
Wasn’t that Devil Emperor Dugu who suppressed Liu Wuji fifty thousand years ago?
No way!
So lucky?
“You are Devil Emperor Dugu? The one who suppressed Liu Wuji’s corpse?”
Emperor Zhao asked the question straightaway. He had heard about Devil Emperor Dugu’s name in the Upper Realm.
The demonic shadow who was called Dugu asked in confusion, “Who is Devil Emperor Dugu? Who is Liu Wuji?”
Zhou Xuanji snorted coldly, “You know Emperor Zhao, but you don’t know Devil Emperor Dugu?”
Emperor Zhao ascended seventy thousand years ago while Devil Emperor Dugu went missing fifty thousand years ago. Both of them left many traces in history.
Dugu sighed, “I lost many memories. I’ve been searching for my true self, but I cannot leave Juedi Cliff and can only linger here.”
He looked at Zhou Xuanji intently.
“You came to Juedi Cliff twice before. The first time, you received the inheritance of the Hegemon Sword Emperor, and I took notice of you. The second time, it was I who protected you so that you could obtain the Tianxia Map successfully.”
“Originally, I merely wanted you to learn the World Buddha Art before getting you to discard the Tianxia Map. However, you have obtained another great power, which integrated you and the Tianxia Map even more. This will one day backfire on you.”
Zhou Xuanji frowned deeply. He received help from Dugu in the past?
After some careful thought, he realized that other than the Huangquan Twin Devils, he had not encountered any danger or obstruction.
And this time around, he saw many traps, and each was lethal.
So it was because of Dugu.
Should he believe Dugu?
If he were to forsake the Tianxia Map, his cultivation and battle durability would drop significantly.
The Tianxia Map stored abundant spirit energy that could provide him endless magic energy. It was a divine artifact.
Although magic energy was primary for cultivation, some schools emphasized resources, accompaniment, the correct ways, and a good location as well. External things were important for cultivation as well.
“Whatever about the inauspicious item. As long as you are powerful enough, even the evilest artifact will submit to you!”
Emperor Zhao snorted indifferently, which shook Zhou Xuanji to a realization.
Dugu looked at Emperor Zhao with a complex expression and said, “The Ancient Emperor indeed.”
He disagreed with how domineering Emperor Zhao should be.
There’s always something or someone more powerful. Who dared to think himself to be the most powerful and would not be backfired by any evil artifacts?
“Let’s go down first and not care about him. He cannot leave Judi Cliff.”
Emperor Zhao lost his patience and urged.
Compared to Dugu, he could not wait to see his puppet.
Zhou Xuanji nodded. He glanced at Dugu, before he leaped down into the valley.
Dugu did not leave and stood at the same spot.
“Liu Wuji? It sounds so familiar.”
He mumbled to himself and fell into deep contemplation.
However, he had no lead and could not remember no matter how hard he tried.
Zhou Xuanji descended along the mountain walls and saw a cave shortly after.
Under Emperor Zhao’s direction, he quickly entered it.
He asked about Emperor Zhao’s puppet while he moved forward.
“When I was in the ordinary world, I had nine hundred puppets with different spells and divine abilities. The most powerful one was a Seventh Tribulation Scattered Immortal. The weakest were at least at the Spirit Refinement stage.”
“After my ascension, I upgraded these puppets, and all of them surpassed Great Tribulation Scattered Immortal. However, it was a pity that I’ve lost more than half of them during the previous battle.”
The more Emperor Zhao spoke about it, the sadder he grew. However, his words shocked Zhou Xuanji in his heart.
Nine hundred puppets that surpassed the Great Tribulation Scattered Immortal!
He had such a powerful army, yet he was so defeated so terribly and died.
As Zhou Xuanji was astonished, he could not hold it but ask about Emperor Zhao’s enemy.
Emperor Zhao did not reply to his question directly. Still, he gave an ambiguous reply that he could not reveal too much about the Upper Realm to the ordinary world, as there might be divine retribution.
After passing through the dark labyrinth of passages, he finally stopped.
A stone coffin was embedded in the wall ahead of him. Tree roots intertwined all around like a fortified web, constricting the coffin.
Although he was in darkness, he could see the stone coffin.
With his right hand raised, he sucked the coffin out before leaving.
Soon, he returned to the cliff and put the stone coffin onto the ground. Dugu was standing not far away and looked at him curiously.
With him around, the wandering ghosts dared not to close in on him.
“Open it straightaway!”
Emperor Zhao urged as though he could no longer wait.
Zhou Xuanji waved his sleeve, and the coffin cover flipped open. This made him raise his brow.
So easily?
If others were to find the coffin, wouldn’t the puppet be stolen?
He looked closely and understood immediately—no wonder this puppet could be preserved for seventy thousand years.
It was already turned into bones and was of no value.
He turned around to look at Emperor Zhao.
“Don’t worry. Wait seven days and nights to absorb the essence of the sun and moon, and it will rise. At that time, I will give it orders for you to control, then you can teach Liu Wuji a lesson with it!”
Emperor Zhao chuckled in excitement as usual.
“Humph!”
A cold snort came from the Ancient God Sword. It was from Liu Wuji.
He could no longer endure Emperor Zhao’s arrogance.
You are really powerful as the Ancient Emperor.
But I’m the most powerful person in the human race, and I’m your ancestor!
