Chapter 357: Emperor’s Secret

Chapter 357: Chapter 357: Emperor’s Secret

Compared to the past, the Qin Family’s mansion gates now appeared clearly much more aged.

At this moment, two young clansmen were guarding outside the gate.

Their ages seemed not much different from Ji Chen’s, yet their cultivation had both reached the Sixth and Seventh Layer of the Void Realm.

This undoubtedly reflected the power and deep foundations of the Nine Great Emperor Clans.

Even the clansmen guarding the gate possessed such cultivation.

One had to know, in the past within the Celestial Martial, strength at the Sixth and Seventh Layer of the Void Realm was already enough to be called a Saint Master Level figure.

It could well be imagined to what degree of strength those disciples within the Qin Family who possessed Direct Lineage Bloodline had grown.

Existences such as the Nine Great Emperor Clans had been inherited within Divine River City for an unknown number of tens of thousands of years, and had rarely had much contact with the Nine Great Star Domains.

Thus, the world actually did not know much about them.

Compared to the cultivators rushing from the Nine Great Star Domains to Divine River City to prepare for war, if a great war truly were to begin, then without doubt, the Nine Great Emperor Clans would be the strongest backing of the Desolate Realm.

Even the terrifying lineup of the Celestial Emperor’s Mansion, when compared to them, would have to appear slightly inferior.

"This is the Qin Family’s estate. Idlers, please leave."

The two clansmen were chatting idly when they clearly sensed Ji Chen’s approach. Their gazes immediately swept toward him, and they directly opened their mouths to drive him away.

Ji Chen said nothing, merely stood there quietly.

He was no longer Qin Chen now, yet he still possessed all of the latter’s memories.

Back then, Qin Zhihai fell in battle beneath the starry sky, causing Qin Chen to undergo a transformation, ultimately growing into the Venerable Supreme of the Desolate Realm, guarding Divine River City alone, his great merits enough to be sung and praised.

All of this, Ji Chen had corresponding memories of within his mind.

Now, when he once again arrived at the Qin Family, he had already become a stranger, not even allowed to step into the Qin Family mansion.

Letting out a bitter laugh, Ji Chen turned around and left this place.

Not long after, he arrived at a plaza.

A black tower stood here, incomparably grand, yet already dim and without light.

The Spirit Emperor Tower of former days had long since lost its effect, reduced to an ordinary tower, no longer allowing entry for cultivation.

It was said that during the Immortal Ancient war of that year, this tower had rendered great service for the Desolate Realm, but was later destroyed by the combined efforts of the Emperor Venerables of the Yu Realm, becoming what it was now.

Ji Chen stood before the Spirit Emperor Tower. Gazing at that dim, lightless black tower, scenes of past experiences within the Secret Realm involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

"Buzz!"

All of a sudden, within his body, the illusory shadow of the Spirit Emperor Tower in his Spiritual Sea trembled slightly, as if emitting a certain note of sorrow, transmitting it to Ji Chen.

Ji Chen remained silent, and in the end departed, leaving this place.

He continued to walk alone through Divine River City, visiting many of his "old haunts" from those days.

Some taverns and teahouses were places he had frequently visited during those ten years in the Secret Realm.

"The Mansion Master once said there might be a hub leading to the Immortal Realm within Divine River City. I wonder whether the Nine Great Emperor Clans know some information?"

Coming to a tavern, Ji Chen casually ordered some wine and dishes, drinking alone there.

If he wanted to save Qu Luoning, the simplest method was to pluck a Holy Medicine from the Immortal Realm, or to break through himself to that legendary Realm and ascend to immortality.

Compared to the latter, the former was obviously much simpler.

But the main problem lay in this: did the Immortal Realm truly exist?

Since ancient times, people had never known much about this so‑called Immortal Realm; it had always existed only in legend.

Yet no matter what, Ji Chen felt that affairs of the world did not arise without cause.

If there were rumors related to the Immortal Realm, then it was more than likely that it truly existed.

Moreover, back then Ning Bufan had once glimpsed the Immortal Road. Ji Chen had questioned him about this several times, but the clues obtained were truly too few.

Now that he had come to Divine River City, he naturally had to first seek whether there truly existed a Path to Immortality here.

Though he was a disciple of the Celestial Emperor’s Mansion, if he wished to make contact with the Nine Great Emperor Clans, Ji Chen’s current status was still somewhat insufficient.

At least, if he wanted to learn information about the Immortal Realm from the mouths of the Nine Great Emperor Clans, he was still far from enough as he was now.

After all, secrets of this sort would surely only be known by those old monsters who had lived for countless years.

"Have you heard? A hundred miles outside Divine River City, it seems someone has discovered a relic left by an Emperor Venerable of old. That was the battlefield of an Emperor Venerable’s war back then. For many years, few dared to venture deep within, but recently, disturbances have frequently occurred there. It’s said that someone went to investigate and saw traces of an Emperor Venerable’s Weapon within!"

"The news is true. For many years, the Nine Great Emperor Clans have also been exploring that region, but it’s said there exists a certain Great Dao Forbidden Power within that mountain forest. Almost none who dared venture deep inside have been able to return alive. By now, it has already become a Life Forbidden Area."

"Back then, two Emperor Venerables fought a fierce battle in the skies above that mountain forest and ultimately both fell, the Emperor’s Blood dyeing that place red, its color yet to fade even now. The Great Dao Forbidden Power there was formed precisely because of that."

As Ji Chen drank alone, such discussions suddenly reached his ears.

He immediately became interested and inclined his head to listen.

He heard a young man speak, "Seems you know quite a bit. There are indeed many Secret Treasures within the ’Emperor’s Fall Mountain Range’ that have yet to be found. The Power of the Dao within is incomparably vicious. For many years, even with the combined efforts of us Nine Great Emperor Clans, we have not dared to venture too deep."

The young man wore a brocade robe, bearing extraordinary temperament. From his words, one could tell that this person was actually a disciple of one of the Nine Great Emperor Clans in Divine River City.

"Aside from Emperor’s Weapons, what else is in those mountains?" Ji Chen asked.

Emperor’s Weapons naturally held great allure for him, but at the moment, what he cared about most was the matter of Qu Luoning.

If there existed some peerlessly rare Holy Medicine in the mountains, he might risk going in to take a look.

Upon hearing this, the young man’s gaze shifted slightly toward Ji Chen. After sizing him up once, he said, "There’s quite a lot besides Emperor’s Weapons—not only Great Emperor’s Secret Techniques. It’s said that the Emperor’s Blood there has remained unscattered for years, and as a result, in the depths of the mountain range, many Spirit Grasses have long absorbed the power of the Emperor’s Blood and have now transformed into Holy Medicines. Our Nine Great Emperor Venerables once plucked several of them; their effects were extremely powerful."

"Oh?"

Hearing this, Ji Chen could not help but narrow his eyes.

The youth only smiled and continued, "If this friend also has an interest in the Emperor’s Fall Mountain Range and wishes to enter the mountains to seek the Emperor’s Treasure, you might as well take a trip to ’Mist Rain Tower’ in the south of the city. Tonight, many experts from our Nine Great Emperor Clans will be there, recruiting people in preparation to enter the mountains together and explore."

As soon as these words were spoken, before Ji Chen could say anything, quite a few cultivators in the tavern could no longer restrain themselves and rose to leave, clearly intending to go take a look at that Mist Rain Tower.

"My thanks."

Ji Chen did not hesitate. After cupping his fists slightly toward the young man, he rose and left this place.