Venerate Spirit Treasure then crossed his arms and looked at Ye Zichen and company, as if eager for them to start begging.
But it was strange; this time, none of them gave into curiosity. They showed not even the slightest trace of interest in knowing why “transcendence” was written on the mausoleum’s sign.
Venerate Spirit Treasure didn’t get the reaction he was hoping for, but he still explained it, as if he were just muttering to himself.
“Before an era ends, a Transcendent Mausoleum will always descend. This is an eternal, unbreakable rule.”
“The Second Era failed to transcend. The God Emperor chosen by the Second Era’s Emperor Star is buried inside. Afterward, that era’s four great Auxiliary Stars sealed the place. It holds the remains of a former God Emperor, which is why the people of the Third Era call this the Divine Mausoleum.”
“Don’t look down on this mausoleum. It really does hide an opportunity to transcend.”
Venerate Spirit Treasure shook his head and laughed, as if eager to show off his knowledge. No one wanted to give him the satisfaction of responding, but his explanation of the meaning behind the sign “Transcendence” branded itself deep within their consciousnesses.
The Transcendent Mausoleum.
So, this place actually housed the remains of the Second Era’s Master of the Stars!
Ye Zichen’s heart was solemn. If this mausoleum truly contained the body of the Second Era’s Master of the Stars, the possible rewards waiting inside were likely too much for even an imperial-level expert to ignore.
And just now, Venerate Spirit Treasure’s explanation did mention a chance at transcendence.
But if the mausoleum really contained such an opportunity, why didn’t it descend in the Upper Three Realms? Why did it come here, where the top experts were nothing but Immortal Kings?
“I’m shocked. To think you’d get here one step ahead of me!” A sudden burst of hearty laughter emanated from overhead. The sound was familiar, and Ye Zichen couldn’t help but frown. When he looked up, he saw none other than Gu Li.
But this time, there was no sign of the Left and Right Special Emissaries.
He only had An Lu with him, as well as the two imperial lord-level experts Gu Li had arranged to attend to her.
Although Gu Li had recently taken the initiative to smooth things over with Ye Zichen, there was still definite tension between them.
Practically unconsciously, Yang Jian and the rest locked onto Gu Li’s group, then stood protectively around Ye Zichen.
“An enemy?” asked Xue Lan as she watched this play out. “Should I call over the alliance members?”
“Don’t!” Ye Zichen called out to stop this. He knew that Xue Lan had her current position because, not long ago, Stone and Xue Qi had ascended. That meant that the positions of head of the Leisure House and Head of the Upheaval Alliance had fallen to her.
As their leader, she could naturally call immortal kings to their aid.
But in the face of Gu Li’s group, in the face of experts at that level, immortal kings were far too weak.
“Hey, is that called for?” Gu Li’s group landed on the ground. Gu Li laughed and shrugged, but as he drew closer, he looked somewhat exasperated.
“Stay where you are. Don’t move.”
The Great Sage stuck his Ruyi Jingu Bang straight into the ground. So long as Gu Li took so much as a single step forward, the Great Sage would smash his head in without the slightest hesitation.
An Lu bit her lip and stood between them, then looked between Gu Li and Ye Zichen.
Gu Li still wore that frustrated, helpless grin. He shrugged fearfully and took several steps back, then smiled at An Lu. “You go on ahead.”
An Lu nodded, then broke into a radiant smile and dashed over.
Now that she was the one approaching, Ye Zichen’s friends made no effort to stop her. They let her run right up to Ye Zichen.
“Big Brother Zichen,” said An Lu sweetly.
“What did you come along for?” Ye Zichen patted her head, then looked up at Gu Li. His smile instantly faded. “What were you thinking, bringing her here?”
“Don’t blame Gu Li for that. I insisted on coming. I missed you, Big Brother Zichen!” she said with a giggle.
When he took in that pure smile, the iron-like exterior he presented to Gu Li melted in an instant. He smiled warmly at An Lu, as if she were his little city. When he next looked at Gu Li, he no longer took him to task about An Li. “What a rare sight, seeing you without the Demon Emperor and the others.”
“Aren’t you the same? The Ocean Emperor and his friends didn’t follow you here, either,” said Gu Li.
After exchanging a few pointless pleasantries, Ye Zichen got straight to the point. “Did you bring the fragments?”
“Of course.” Gu Li cupped his hands without hesitation. In his palms were two key fragments. “These are all I have. Given your relationship with the Princess of the Jade Pool, Great Immortal Taibai’s fragment is likely with you too. And the one stored in the Yao-Sealing Pagoda…”
Ye Zichen didn’t waste words either. He flipped his hand and took out his fragments.
He currently held three of them: one that he’d gotten by sniping Taibai Jinxing’s red packet, one that Fairy Zi Xia’s family had been protecting for generations, and one that he’d gotten from the Yao-Sealing Pagoda.
Now that five fragments were in the same place, they seemed to react to each other. Although they were separated between the two of them, they shook violently in their hands.
“You really didn’t disappoint me. You really did become a ruler in just half a month,” laughed Gu Li.
“Let’s skip the useless chatter, shall we? You’ve got the Outsider Gu Li at your side, so I’m assuming you know how to merge these fragments back into a key?”
“That’s only natural,” laughed Gu Li. “Of course I know how to fuse the fragments. I know how to use the key to open the Mausoleum, too.”
“That’s for the best. Once it’s open, it’ll all come down to skill, finders keepers. It’s just, there’s one object I must obtain,” said Ye Zichen.
“Divine Soul Grass, right? I know.” Gu Li smiled calmly. “If we were the only two ones entering, I could naturally cede that particular object to you. However… Once the mausoleum opens, things won’t be as simple as you image. Right, before we open the place up, I must warn all you small fry: you’d best leave as soon as possible.”
“Who are you calling a small fry?” Lil’ Yu frowned.
“I was talking about you.” In the face of her questions, Gu Li naturally didn’t shrink back in the slightest. The gap between them was like the rift between heaven and earth. The way he saw it, she was just an immortal king; he could kill her with a single breath.
He merely glanced at her, then the furious Lil’ Yu froze, as if encased in ice.
Then, she shook violently from head to toe, her complexion as white as paper, before kneeling on the ground.
“Gu Li.” Ye Zichen shouted, then hurriedly waved his hand, locking down the space around Lil’ Yu. Afterward, he pressed lightly between her eyes.
But by then, Gu Li was already standing in the skies, gazing down at the gathered immortals with wanton arrogance. “You’re nothing but ants, yet you wish to encroach on the rewards of the Divine Mausoleum? If you don’t want to die, hurry up and scram!”
