Chapter 559 - 335: All Emperors Martial Scripture

"To think there’s a whole Grotto Heaven hidden here. I wonder which Dynasty’s ruins these are."

"While the Taoist Sect is busy fighting the Demon Race, let’s sneak into this underground ancient city and see if we can find anything."

Countless streams of light passed through the Ancient Array, disappearing into the vast Ancient Dynasty Ruins.

Within the underground ruins lay an area shrouded by a vast, dense fog.

Mountains rose and fell, ancient trees touched the sky, and ruins were everywhere. Many palaces had already collapsed, their pillars scattered about and covered in withered leaves.

A man with a full head of black hair and a dignified bearing, dressed in a green robe, had blended into the crowd.

It was none other than the Eternal Emperor, who had infiltrated the ruins.

Gazing at the broken walls and rubble, the Eternal Emperor couldn’t help but feel a pang of melancholy.

’I must find the old Imperial Treasure Vault. Otherwise, how can I restore my great enterprise?’

His gaze was calm as he recalled the contingency plans he had once left behind.

Back then, he had led the experts of the Eternal Immortal Dynasty to this very place and slain one of the Divine Beings. He had also left many failsafes, thinking they would never be needed. He never imagined that one day, he himself would reawaken here.

Soon, he sensed many auras appearing in the ruins. A few of the figures even possessed considerable Cultivation.

’Could someone have already discovered this place?’

The Eternal Emperor wondered suspiciously.

Only he knew the true path through the underground ruins. If others could find their way here as well...

...then there were only two possibilities.

One, the experts sleeping in the Returning Ruins Silent Sea had awakened.

Two, the Cultivators of this era had already discovered this place.

The Eternal Emperor mused, ’The Human Race experts slumbering here are also exceptionally difficult to deal with. If they find out that I am still alive, I fear it will trigger another war of condemnation.’

’Before that happens, I must first obtain the All Emperors Martial Scripture.’

The Eternal Emperor struck out with his palm, cleaving a vicious-looking plant before him in two. He then looked at a plant growing beside a cave.

The entire plant was dazzling, burning like a flame and emitting a scorching aura.

’A Fire God Flower, and a thirty-thousand-year-old one at that. It can help me condense a wisp of the Mysteries of Fire. The corpse of the Fierce Beast Huo Dou should be nearby as well.’

Muttering to himself, the Eternal Emperor plucked the plant.

He did his best to avoid places where Cultivators of the Human and Demon Races might pass.

In the sky above, a pair of rainbow lights plummeted down, arriving inside the Ancient Dynasty Ruins.

Only after they landed was it clear they were a man and a woman.

Lu Mingyuan’s original Golden Emperor Armor had been shattered during his tribulation, so he could only change into a temporary green Daoist Robe from the Taoist Sect.

Grasping the Divine Blade Zhu Xie, his eyes were like lightning as they swept across the boundless ruins below, his presence naturally imposing.

The ancient ruins from the divination had finally appeared.

The Six-Yao Turtle Shell had long ago predicted the appearance of these two great Opportunities.

The first was the Absolute Brewed Blood Spring, represented by the Corrupt Divine Flower, and the second was these ancient ruins.

The Great Yan Cultivators had already taken much of the Absolute Brewed Blood Spring. Now, he was determined to claim what lay within these underground ruins.

Yun Qinghe held the Immortal Sword Celestial Burial. Dressed in a white Daoist Robe, she looked as ethereal as an immortal, her sash fluttering and giving her an otherworldly air.

"You go on and seek your Opportunity in the treasured lands. I will stand guard here."

"As the saying goes, a demon’s words are meant to delude the masses. I trust you can make your own judgment about certain things."

Lu Mingyuan recalled the Yuqing Ancestor Master’s recent words and couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.

He didn’t know whether he should believe Bai Ze’s words.

At that moment, Yun Qinghe’s beautiful eyes swept over the rubble-strewn ruins before fixing on Lu Mingyuan. With unprecedented gravity, she said, "There’s a rumor recorded in the ancient texts. It says that the Eternal Immortal Dynasty was destroyed by a coalition of powers because it won the war against the Demon Race and seized the Ascension Platform. That war lasted for a hundred years. It’s highly likely that the treasures and wealth left behind by the Eternal Immortal Dynasty are in this underground world."

"Before its destruction, the top experts of the Eternal Immortal Dynasty used a forbidden technique, trapping all the experts from the various powers to die on Dragon Peak Mountain. All the factions that wanted to seize the Ascension Platform suffered bizarre and unpredictable attacks, suspected to be a method left behind by the Old Gods of the Celestial Court. The involvement of an Evil God cannot be ruled out."

"There must be. Otherwise, where did the Corrupt Divine Flower come from?"

Lu Mingyuan said with certainty.

Still, the sheer power of the Eternal Immortal Dynasty truly astonished Lu Mingyuan.

Back then, the Human Race had wiped out the Divine Beings. How powerful must they have been? And yet the Eternal Immortal Dynasty, a single Celestial Destiny Dynasty, was able to eliminate so many of those powers and take them down with it?

Even the Divine Beings of the Upper Realm, if they consolidated the power of an entire realm, probably wouldn’t have such strength.

’Just how much power did the Eternal Immortal Dynasty gain from monopolizing the Celestial Mandate?’

The Great Yan had been established for over three hundred years and was already quite glorious and prosperous, but it still couldn’t compare to the dynasties of the Middle Ages.

Yun Qinghe fell silent for a moment before speaking again. "The Human and Demon Races did indeed join hands as allies, reach an agreement, and defeat the Divine Beings. But in the end, the Ascension Platform still became a hidden danger for all the major races. Even the Human Race is divided into many different peoples, and numerous disputes gradually arose over how to use the Ascension Platform."

"I believe this same dispute will also manifest within the Great Yan Dynasty."

Lu Mingyuan remained calm. "So what if there’s a dispute? Just because there’s a dispute, should we hand over the Ascension Platform? Having it in our hands is the greatest source of stability. If it were to fall into the hands of the Demon Race or those with malicious intent, that would be the greatest disaster."

Yun Qinghe nodded, agreeing with him.

As time passed, half a month went by since the underground ruins appeared, but no Cultivator had found any signs of an inheritance mansion.

Instead, there were many ruins, all collapsed in various places, along with a number of decaying corpses.

On their rotted clothing, the patterns were incredibly ancient.

The state of these corpses was bizarre; some looked as if they had committed suicide, while others appeared to have been killed by their companions.

Some ruins still preserved numerous murals and patterns, and even a good deal of text, recording the events that had once taken place in this area.

A few older-generation Cultivators who had studied the Middle Ages spent several days researching these patterns and finally came to a shocking conclusion that left all the other Cultivators trembling in horror.

"This is actually a sealed land! It contains a great Opportunity, but also a great terror!"

"The master of this Empire was an incredibly ancient being of immense antiquity. He was the first King of the Human Race to call himself Emperor."

The first to call himself Emperor?!

The name of an Ancient Dynasty surfaced in many people’s minds.

Before the Middle Ages.

The Human Race only had Human Emperors; the title of Emperor did not exist.

It was only during the thousand years when the War of Ascension erupted that an unparalleled genius appeared among the Human Race. He pacified the eight wildernesses, subjugated the Four Seas, and established an unprecedented Great Empire. He then led the many ancestors of the Human Race to crusade against the Divine Beings, successfully obtaining the Celestial Mandate from the Celestial Dao.

He formally transitioned from a tribal society to an Empire.

Human Emperor.

Divine Beings.

What did that even mean? They had only seen such concepts in fragmented ancient records. A being like a Human Emperor cultivated the Divine Dao, achieved Perfection in the merits of the Celestial Dao, traversed the starry sky, and could pluck stars and grasp the moon with ease.

Even Divine Beings had to treat them as equals.

This discovery instantly sent all the Cultivators in the ruins into a frenzy!

All the Cultivators were incredibly excited.

If they could find the inheritance mansion of that Great Emperor and obtain his legacy, wouldn’t they soar to the heavens in a single leap?

Even Ascension to the Upper Realm might not be impossible.

But what the Cultivators studying the ancient culture said next made their faces pale with utter dread.

Their trembling voices said it all.

"This is also a place of great terror! All living beings here were once annihilated, and the entire Empire was buried in this place!"

"Countless Human Race experts lie in eternal slumber here, sleeping in the Returning Ruins Silent Sea. That Human Emperor gave his life to suppress an supreme fiend, to prevent it from emerging into the world..."

"An supreme fiend... that is a terrifying thing that brings chaos to all life. It comes from the Mythical Era. Once it emerges, it will destroy the world, and all races and living beings will die..."

They had studied the ancient script and learned this information from the stone carvings, which made them feel chilled to the bone.

This news was clearly far more frightening than the first revelation.

Many Cultivators were scared witless on the spot.

What exactly was an supreme fiend?

The stone carvings in the ruins didn’t mention it.

But the fact that even the master of this Empire, the Emperor himself, had to use his own life to seal it spoke volumes about its terror. It was probably on a world-ending level.

Many Cultivators backed away, a chill running through them. They felt a creeping horror, realizing that the very ground beneath their feet might be filled with nothing but withered bones!

What was supposed to be a land of great Opportunity had instantly become something akin to Purgatory.

This news spread quickly, stunning not only the Cultivators inside the ruins but also those standing guard outside.

Soon, some Cultivators discovered a fog drifting out from the depths of the ruins.

At first, the fog was white, but it later turned gray, then black.

It even exuded a startling demonic nature!

Numerous savage beasts, having lost all reason, charged out from the various mountain ranges, sweeping toward the Cultivators who had entered the ruins.

Cultivators with weaker Cultivation who were tainted by this fog immediately lost control of their Heart Spirits and began attacking the people around them.

However, within the ruins, in a secluded place of ancient trees and cloud-like vines, a pale, desolate gray mist shrouded the heavens and the earth.

The Eternal Emperor had finally arrived.

He pushed aside the vines, and a large bronze door appeared before him.

"I’m here."

"What I left behind is inside!"

He took a deep breath and took out a secret key.

This key could open the gate to the Imperial Treasure Vault!

He inserted the key into the keyhole.

In an instant.

Runes interwove, and Dao patterns swirled like clouds.

Beams of five-colored divine light shot out from the Compass, striking the bronze gate before splitting off to land in eight different corners.

Soon.

A tremendous sound echoed from the spot.

The gate of the Bronze Palace swung open, and a simple yet vast aura emanated from within, like the gaping maw of a Primordial Ancient Demon.

Wisps of Spiritual Qi from all over the ruins surged toward it, disappearing without a trace like stones sinking into the sea.

From within the palace came the heavenly sound of the Great Dao, mystical and profound, utterly captivating.

「At the same time.」

Lu Mingyuan and Yun Qinghe passed through the mist and stepped into this mysterious land.

"There’s something ahead."

Lu Mingyuan narrowed his eyes, observing with his naked eye.

He had discovered that the black fog could devour his Sacred Consciousness, forcing him to rely on his physical sight.

Ahead was a palace hidden in the gray mist. The air was extremely cold and sinister, and Demonic Qi drifted about, carrying a bizarre aura.

The ground was littered with bleached white bones, creating a grim and eerie sight.

Scattered Array Patterns were engraved on pale, bluish-white stones on the ground, giving them a sense of great age.

He saw many Divine Weapon Fragments.

They were covered in rust, looking like clumps of reddish-gray mud.

But peeking through the rust was a subtle white light, and they seemed to be carved with ancient markings. There was no telling how many tens of thousands of years old they were.

Mixed in were traces of long-dried blood, its divine nature completely faded.

"But why is the door open?"

Yun Qinghe asked quizzically, pointing ahead.

Lu Mingyuan followed her gaze and saw a large bronze door standing wide open.

Through the thick fog, he thought he could see a tall throne inside the main hall directly ahead.

On that tall throne sat an immensely terrifying, imposing figure.

Unfortunately, it was now just a desiccated corpse.

...