After asking about the Emperor Road, Chu Kuangren inquired further about the Divine Emerald Lamp.
Wu Clan Leader did not try to be secretive about it either as he started to explain to Chu Kuangren about the chronicles of the Divine Emerald Lamp.
“It has been common knowledge since long ago that the Divine Emerald Lamp is in the Wu Clan’s possession, so I don’t think it’s really a secret. However, the truth is that this Emperor Weapon is currently in an incomplete state. It can only be used with the Wu clan’s secret technique of using a cultivator’s blood essence to fuel it. Hence, the other clans were not too concerned about this Emperor Weapon. It’s just that, for some reason, they have recently decided to turn their attention to this Divine Emerald Lamp. They even went as far as bribing our Wu Clan Senior Elder.”
Wu Clan Leader appeared a little perplexed as well when he came to this part of the story.
Chu Kuangren, on the other hand, looked deep in thought.
An incomplete Emperor Weapon, one that required one’s own blood essence or even life as the cost to activate it. No wonder those people were not interested in it at first.
If it was a completed Emperor Weapon, that would be a whole different story.
“What if they are able to make the Divine Emerald Lamp whole again?” A bright spark flashed past Chu Kuangren’s mind.
This could explain why the Zhang clan, the Qian clan, and the other clans had a sudden interest in the Divine Emerald Lamp.
There could even be a mastermind pulling the strings behind all of them.
“Right. There’s also another rumor about this Divine Emerald Lamp. Legend has it that this divine lamp is connected to Sword Emperor Qingxuan from a few centuries ago.”
Wu Clan Leader suddenly remembered a fable that had been passed down in the clan for generations.
“Oh, a connection to a Sword Emperor,” Chu Kuangren replied, with his interest now piqued.
“Exactly. The Divine Emerald Lamp’s owner, Emperor Qingli was Sword Emperor Qingxuan’s Daoist companion. But after Sword Emperor Qinxuan went into closed-door meditation in the Emperor Road, there was no news of him. Rumor has it that he died in his closed-door meditation. It’s said that only Emperor Qingli knows the method of looking for him and that this method involves the Divine Emerald Lamp.
“Nevertheless, these were mere folklore during the ancient times. Nobody has any solid evidence to prove either of that.” Wu Clan Leader shook his head and smiled.
“Whether it’s true or not, we’ll find out after we make the Divine Emerald Lamp whole again.”
Chu Kuangren initially planned to return this Emperor Weapon to the Wu clan, but now, he scrapped that idea.
An incomplete Emperor Weapon was of no use for him, but he could not say the same when it was complete again. Moreover, it involved the existence of a Sword Emperor.
The next day.
After a long night’s study, Chu Kuangren was almost done organizing all the information he had gotten about the Emperor Road.
The key information among all that was the Emperor Mountain at the end of the Emperor Road!
That was where the Emperor’s Throne resided.
Ever since the Emperor Road was closed off, Emperor Mountain had not produced an Emperor’s Throne for over a hundred and fifty thousand years.
Recently, an incredibly powerful Emperor’s Aura had surged out from Emperor Mountain. The whole mountain was enveloped by an unknown force, and nobody was allowed to go near it.
Such a strange phenomenon was usually a sign that Emperor Mountain was about to produce an Emperor’s Throne.
This had made all the living beings on Emperor Road go crazy as they all prepared to fight for the Emperor’s Throne.
“The Emperor’s Throne on Emperor Mountain is a symbol of Emperorhood. This concerns not just the sky-prides from Nine Heavens and the Underworld, but also the native sky-prides of Emperor Road and all those others who hail from the archaic or past ancient orthodoxies. Hah, this Race to Emperorhood is already at its crucial moment. It’s getting increasingly more exciting now.”
Chu Kuangren gripped the Descendant Self Sword in one hand and continued, “I hope that my next few opponents will be somewhat interesting. Otherwise, walking all the way to the end of this Emperor Road by myself will be too lonely and boring.”
The Descendant Self Sword gently vibrated, as if it understood its owner’s sentiments.
In that instant, all cultivators of the Wu clan felt themselves shudder, after which they checked their surroundings with curious glances.
“Wu Clan Leader, show yourself!”
Just then, a loud shriek echoed above the Wu clan.
Following that, a chilly Sword-based Daoist Rhyme swept across the room with great speed, covering the entire Wu clan.
That was a Sage Ruler Poise!
One of the most elite Sage Rulers at that!
Chu Kuangren, who was still inside his room, looked outside the window. “Oh, that was fast.”
He was not surprised at all. The fact that several major clans were fighting for the Divine Emerald Lamp surely meant there was some elaborate scheming going on and a mastermind behind all of this. Since the major clans failed, that mastermind would surely send more people to get it if he or she was unwilling to give up.
Above the Wu clan, besides Zhang Clan Leader, Qian Clan Leader, and a few other Sage Rulers from yesterday, there were also several extremely imposing swordsmen.
One thing worth noting was that each one of these swordsmen wore different colored clothing.
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, purple.
Wu Clan Leader and the rest of them looked flabbergasted when they saw these few swordsmen.
“It’s them!! Why are they here?!”
“No! Why would we be targeted by these guys?”
Looks of despair were seen on each Wu clan member’s face.
These few swordsmen in front of them now were not exactly the most elite swordsmen of Emperor Road, but their presence represented the involvement of one of Emperor Road’s most feared forces!
“The Sword Tribe! What did we do to get the Sword Tribe on our trails?!”
One of the elders was shocked.
Neither one of them could answer him as they were all similarly dumbfounded.
Wu Clan Leader took a deep breath. He had long guessed that there was a mastermind instructing the Zhang clan and the other clans to do this. However, he did not expect it to be the Sword Tribe!
“The Seven-colored Swordsmen. These are the highest-end swordsmen that a Sword Tribe member could get as their bodyguards. Within the Sword Tribe, only the Sword Tribe Daoist is eligible to receive such a high-end treatment. I have never expected the person who is targeting us to be not just any Sword Tribe member, but one of the top-ranked ones — that notorious outlawed sky-pride, Sword Daoist!”
Wu Clan Leader proclaimed before he suppressed the fear in him and slowly walked out.
He had to face this no matter what.
“Greetings, fellow esteemed members of the Sword Tribe. I’m the Wu Clan Leader. Is there anything that I can help you with?”
“Hand out the Divine Emerald Lamp, or we’ll obliterate the Wu clan!”
That swordsman in red robes threatened him. When the word ‘obliterate’ was spoken, a brutal Sword-based Daoist Rhyme gushed out. It felt as though it had transformed into fine, invisible sword qis that swept across the entire Wu clan. This Daoist Rhyme made the Wu clan cultivators’ scalps tingle, whereas the weaker ones trembled so much that they knelt on the floor.
“Divine Emerald Lamp…”
“As I have thought. It wasn’t the Zhang clan or the Qian clan who wanted the Divine Emerald Lamp. It was the Sword Tribe.”
“The only question is, why are they looking for this divine lamp? Is it because of that unproven rumor about Sword Emperor Qingxuan?”
Wu Clan Leader kept thinking, but he was helpless at that.
If he knew from the beginning that his opponent was someone as powerful as the Sword Tribe, he would have given up the Divine Emerald Lamp long ago.
The Sword Tribe must have felt it was unnecessary to deal with the Wu clan themselves, so they sent the Zhang clan and the Qian clan to do their biddings. However, they did not expect that someone like Chu Kuangren would be here, so they had no choice but to send the Seven-colored Swordsmen. However, the Divine Emerald Lamp was not in the Wu Clan Leader’s hands either.
“Why? Do you plan to rebel against us?”
The Red Swordsman looked at Wu Clan Leader with hostility when he saw that he was silent.
“Master Swordsman, that Divine Emerald Lamp is currently not with us,” Wu Clan Leader explained.
“Then, where is it?”
“It’s with me.”
Before Wu Clan Leader could give an answer, a white-robed figure slowly walked out from the shadows.
It was a man donned in a peerless white robe, with an exquisite ancient sword strapped to his waist. He took leisurely steps amongst that piercing Sword-based Daoist Rhyme from the Red Swordsman, not affected by it at all.
The Red Swordsman’s pupils narrowed at the sight of Chu Kuangren. His sixth sense told him that this Chu Kuangren guy in front of him was an undisputed elite!!
