The Yao-Sealing Pagoda.
When he watched the little tower fly outward, cold sweat instantly drenched Ye Zichen’s back. Emperor Hades’ follow-up questions made him even tenser. His heart clenched, and he struggled with all his might to regain control of his emotions, but his heart refused to listen. It thudded uncontrollably.
In the incomparably quiet grand hall, the sound of his heartbeat rang loud and clear.
“I found it by coincidence.” Ye Zichen forcefully surprised his shock, gnashed his teeth, and lied brazenly.
Emperor Hades’ expression instantly darkened, and his eyes narrowed into slits. A chilling, sinister aura filled the entire hall. ‘Tell the truth.”
“I….” Ye Zichen wanted to come up with some other excuse, but found that under such intense pressure, he had no way of telling anymore lies.
“I forged the Yao-Sealing Pagoda with my own two hands, and Five Elements saw it as his most precious treasure. You say you found it by coincidence? Do you really think I’d believe that? Tell me the truth! You’ve been to his mausoleum, haven’t you!”
“I did.”
“There we go. Wouldn’t it have been better to just say so earlier?” As he spoke, Emperor Hades retracted his divine pressure and tossed the Yao-Sealing Pagoda back to Ye Zichen. “Take good care of it. There are quite a few people who covet this thing in the Upper Three Realms. Even the liches value it highly.”
Ye Zichen took hold of the pagoda and listened to Emperor Hades’ words. Afterward, he was certain that Emperor Hades and the Five Elements Great Emperor were no mere casual acquaintances.
“Why is the Yao-Sealing Pagoda so important?”
“Do you really not know, or are you just pretending? Isn’t a key to the North Star Emperor’s mausoleum enough for those geezers to fight over? Also, do you know just who is imprisoned on the final floor of the Yao-Sealing Pagoda?”
“Who?”
“Why should I tell you?” Against all expectations, Emperor Hades laughed and shrugged, then smiled at Ye Zichen playfully.
Ye Zichen didn’t want to pay any heed to a major power with such a poor sense of humor. If Emperor Hades didn’t want to tell him, well, he just wouldn’t ask.
Emperor Hades seemed to sense Ye Zichen’s helplessness. He continued, “In short, the Yao-Sealing Pagoda is far more precious than you imagine. Obtaining it is your great fortune. Please treasure it.”
“I will.”
“However, that’s still not the reason I brought you here,” said Emperor Hades. “Approach me.”
Naturally, Emperor Hades was the absolute authority within his seasonal palace. Even if Ye Zichen was unwilling, he had no choice but to obediently walk up to his host.
Emperor Hades rose to his feet as well, but to his surprise, his height only reached Ye Zichen’s shoulders. He frowned despite himself and pressed down on Ye Zichen’s shoulders, making him a full half-meter shorter.
Next, Ye Zichen felt the emperor’s hand slap his forehead.
The center of the forehead was one of the most important parts of a cultivator’s body. Ye Zichen instinctively wanted to dodge, but Emperor Hades didn’t give him the chance at all. His right arm reached out and grabbed Ye Zichen like a steel trap; he couldn’t budge even as the emperor’s left hand pushed palm-first into his forehead.
When Emperor Hades’ palm landed on Ye Zichen’s head, his body immediately illuminated with dark purple light.
His hand pushed into Ye Zichen’s forehead, shoving him backward. He landed right on a prayer mat, which Emperor Hades seemed to have prepared in advance.
After finishing this, Emperor Hades’ legs gave way. He stumbled and almost fell.
“Master.” Su Yiyun had been watching all this play out from outside the hall. When he saw his master stumble, he rushed to his side and helped him back into his chair.
Emperor Hades’ face was covered in a faint sheen of sweat. His dark pupils were lifeless, and his lips were pallid.
“Master, are you alright?”
Emperor Hades waved limply to indicate that he was unharmed, but he rested for a full hour before speaking. “I’m going into seclusion today. If anyone comes looking for me, tell them I’m out traveling.”
“Master, you….” Su Yiyun wanted to say something but stopped.
Emperor Hades noticed his hesitation and chuckled, but he didn’t hide the truth. “That’s right. My cultivation method has entered its low ebb.”
No cultivation was absolutely flawless, not even Emperor Hades’. With his method, after cultivating to a certain point, you’d sink into a low ebb. He currently looked like a youth as a direct result of said low ebb.
It didn’t just make his body return to his youthful appearance; even his strength weakened by an enormous margin.
When the head of the Sha Family visited, he concealed himself in mists. Why? Because he didn’t want his guest to realize that he’d already entered his low ebb.
“Master, didn’t you say you could hold it back for at least a hundred years more?” Su Yiyun furrowed his brows. Emperor Hades absolutely couldn’t get any younger now; the yao were eying them hungrily from the other side of the River Styx. Humanity needed Emperor Hades to act as a deterrent and prevent invasion.
“I could have suppressed it a few years longer, but I transferred too much of my origin energy into that brat, so I won’t be able to suppress my low ebb much longer.”
In just a few breaths of time, Emperor Hades had visibly changed. It wasn’t just his face; his body had shrunk. He was currently only the size of a six-year-old child.
“In the near future, you must keep a close eye on the yao’s movements. Although I intimidated them just recently, some of those old monsters aren’t the type to give up so easily. I’ve managed to delay their invasion at best; I couldn’t stop it completely.”
‘The River Styx is our first line of defense, as well as our final line of defense. Here, let me give you a command medallion….”
As he spoke, Emperor Hades pulled three command medallions from his breast pocket and placed one in Su Yiyun’s hand. “This dark purple command medallion represents the master of the River Styx. So long as the yao dare attempt to cross the river, use it to assemble the vicious beasts within and have them mount a defense.”
“Understood.” He clenched it in his hands. Emperor Hades passed over another command medallion. This one was made of gold.
“Take this one too. If the vicious beasts of the River Styx aren’t enough to stop the yao invasion, you can use this to visit Bi’An of the Four directions Palace. Tell him….. Tell him that he still owes Emperor Hades a favor. He definitely won’t refuse.”
“Your apprentice understands.”
“And this one.” By now, Emperor Hades was as small as a three or four-year-old. His hands were too tiny to lift the command medallion on his own. “Give it to Ye Zichen once he wakes up and tell him to give it to the head of the nine-tailed foxes. Have their clan head open a pathway to the lower realms for him….. The Xuan-Yuan Sword is about to reawaken, and all three realms have sent people to snap it up and bring it to their respective reams. The Xuan-Yuan Sword absolutely must not fall into the demons’ hands. Remember, he absolutely must travel from the lands of the nine-tailed foxes no matter what. Nowhere else will do!”
