The gold and red light surged forth, but Venerate Spirit Treasure was one step faster. He created a barrier around them.
He really couldn’t afford to act any slower. He was the only one here who understood the Transcendent Mausoleum, and he was fully aware of just how dazzlingly bright the light screen was. Even a ruler would be temporarily blinded.
Although Yang Jian and the others were imperial lords, they didn’t understand the situation here, so it was hard for them to make rapid-fire judgments and respond accordingly. Thus, it was all up to Venerate Spirit Treasure.
The dazzling light stung their eyes. It was only after it mellowed that they noticed the barrier around them. They glanced at each other, but they didn’t even need to wonder; they knew it was Venerate Spirit Treasure’s work.
The entire sky above the Immortal Region was enveloped in gold and red, as if those present stood in a gold and red sea.
Even within the barrier, the light was so dazzling, they couldn’t look directly at it.
Fortunately, the barrier reduced its intensity somewhat, so their eyes didn’t hurt as much as they might have otherwise.
“Is this light coming from the mausoleum’s protective covering? Pu Jingwan pursed her lips and looked at the Divine Mausoleum.
Only then did the others notice that the seal around the mausoleum vanished. All they saw now was dazzling light coming from all directions. It seemed that the mausoleum’s former barrier was indeed the source of this spectacle.
“The heavenly lightning just now must have dispersed it,” said Yang Jian, recalling that last bolt of electricity.
Actually, even before that final bolt, the scalp-tingling electrical storm overhead had raged nonstop. They hadn’t sensed anything out of the ordinary about that final bolt.
Thus, they hadn’t expected it to create such dazzling light upon making contact with the mausoleum’s protective covering.
Despite Yang Jian, Pu Jingwan, and the Great Sage’s cultivation, the intensity of the light left them temporarily blinded, even with Venerate Spirit Treasure’s help. They could see again, but the stinging pain still remained.
“But why is that guy standing there as if nothing even happened?” The Great Sage glanced at Gu Li and frowned. They’d experienced the dazzling light firsthand, so all of them were well aware of its intensity.
But Gu Li had been standing closest to the barrier, and his cultivation was inferior to theirs. In terms of his eyes, he certainly couldn’t compete with the Great Sage; Old Lord Taishang had personally crafted his Fiery Eyes of Truth in his pill furnace.
And yet, he showed no signs of distress even in the face of that dazzling radiance, and his eyes were open as usual. He made no effort to block or evade the light either.
They didn’t understand. Even now, they could only look at the mountain because of the barrier.
“Don’t forget what he has in his hand!” When he heard the Great Sage’s question, Venerate Spirit Treasure couldn’t help but explain. “That’s the key to the mausoleum, which means he’s its master, the one about to open it. Besides, the last era’s Four Great Auxiliary Stars placed this barrier. They were servants of the Emperor Star. How could they possibly do anything to hurt him? Look at Ye Zichen. Does he seem like he’s in pain?”
“It’s true,” said Ye Zichen earnestly. “I feel perfectly fine.”
Yang Jian and the Great Sage looked at each other. They didn’t quite know what to say. The light had practically blinded them, but Ye Zichen and Gu Li, the twin emperors, hadn’t suffered at all.
“Actually, the whole reason that barrier existed was to help the new Emperor Star dispose of his competitors,” said Venerate Spirit Treasure. “However, this time, the Transcendent Mausoleum’s location is rather unusual. Thus, your would-be competition has yet to show their faces. This resulted in the barrier releasing its light to no real effect.”
Getting rid of competitors!
At their cultivation, they could use their divine sense to investigate their surroundings even if they couldn’t use their eyes. Even so, they were used to sensing the world visually.
When the seal broke, if Venerate Spirit Treasure hadn’t reacted quickly, who knows? The light might have blinded them. Given that burning sensation just now, the odds seemed rather high.
They were already top experts, even on the level of the Upper Three Realms as a whole, yet the light was enough to blind even them. It would likely work on other experts, too. After losing their eyes, they wouldn’t completely lose the ability to fight, but since they were used to relying on their vision, their combat prowess would drop starkly.
To the Emperor Star, this was no small help!
It’s just that this time, the mausoleum descended into a lower plane, and none of the other major powers were here. Had they been here, the light might very well have caught them off guard.
For a moment, Ye Zichen thought it quite a pity. It would have been perfect if they could have blinded Zhou Wu.
“Wait, that’s not right. Venerate Spirit Treasure, you just said that Gu Li holds the key, so he’ll be recognized as the mausoleum’s owner?” Yang Jian frowned. “Did you say that?”
Venerate Spirit Treasure nodded.
“Jeez! I knew that pipsqueak was up to no good. Tricking my bro’s key fragments away to open the mausoleum and get recognized as its owner? Hmph! Once we get inside, the mausoleum will give him preferential treatment, now won’t it?” Yang Jian said in a rare display of intelligence.
“You’re right,” said Venerate Spirit Treasure with a nod.
“That bastard….” Yang Jian was champing at the bit. He wanted to grab Gu Li by the neck and squeeze him to death.
However, he’d forgotten: An Lu was in their barrier too.
She loved Gu Li with absolute passion. When she heard Yang Jian slander him behind his back, her pretty face soured. However, when she considered that Yang Jian was Ye Zichen’s friend, she forced her comeback down.
Fortunately, Ye Zichen noticed. He cleared his throat pointedly.
Yang Jian had more to say, but when he noticed An Lu’s expression, he forced the words back down and held his tongue.
“Big Brother Ye, Gu Li wasn’t thinking about that sort of thing at all,” she said, trying to argue on his behalf.
“It doesn’t matter whether he does or not. If the one who opens the mausoleum really becomes its inheritor, I might very well blame Gu Li for keeping that a secret. But since anyone can go inside after it opens, it doesn’t actually matter too much even if he does become the inheritor and get preferential treatment.” Ye Zichen patted An Lu on the head and laughed. “Don’t frown so much. It doesn’t look good.”
An Lu’s purpose in coming here was improving Ye Zichen and Gu Li’s relationship. She didn’t want her beloved and her dear big brother to be at each other’s throats all the time.
When she saw that Ye Zichen wasn’t angry, she smiled and nodded.
“Why hasn’t he opened it yet?” asked Pu Jingwan. “It’s already been more than an hour.”
They’d adjusted, but the light hadn’t weakened in the slightest. The Divine Mausoleum, which occupied all of what had once been Howling Valley, was still radiating intense light. It was practically visible even from the Heavenly Court and the Underworld.
By now, it really had been about an hour since the barrier broke, but despite holding the key in hand, Gu Li had yet to insert it into the lock.
Based on his expression, he seemed to be waiting… Waiting for the right opportunity!
