Shrouding the Heavens

Chapter 305 - From The Primordial Mine

The big black dog said, “Some things are forgotten by history. They will never be shown to the world. Even if they once shook heaven and earth, no trace may remain.”

“You mean there really were two Grand Emperors in the same era? Which was stronger? What was the result?” Tu Fei pressed anxiously.

“Of course, Grand Emperor Eternal Universe survived. That battle carried immense consequences. If not for his survival, who can say what might have happened?”

The blazing sun burned overhead. The vast desert was like molten gold, scorching and unbearable. No wind, no clouds, only blazing heat. The golden sand shimmered so bright it stung the eyes.

“What exactly happened back then? Hurry and tell us.” Ye Fan urged as well. This endless desert stretched for who knew how many thousands of miles. It had been created by a single strike from Grand Emperor Eternal Universe’s Sun God Furnace. It was hard to imagine such world-shattering power.

“What was the other Grand Emperor’s name?” Tu Fei pressed further.

“No one knows, because it was not human. But its power was absolutely equal to that of a Grand Emperor!” the black dog said.

“What? Not human? Then what was it? Could it have been an ancient Grand Emperor of the demon race?”

“It’s hard to say what it was. But one thing is certain: it was one of the most powerful beings in existence.” The black dog’s tone was heavy.

Ye Fan and Tu Fei both wanted to kick him. The black dog spoke slowly and lazily, while they were on edge.

“Spit it out already!”

“Show me some respect. Do you think this Grand Emperor is a sick cat just because I’m calm? Even the mighty wouldn’t dare slight me!”

“Yeah, right. When you saw the Red Dragon Daoist, who was it that bolted dozens of miles away in a single breath? And when you heard a Sacred Lord was coming, who was it that ran faster than the wind?”

“That was then, this is now,” the black dog said sheepishly.

“This being, equal to a Grand Emperor, where did it come from? Don’t tell me it crossed Starfields to get here?” Ye Fan frowned.

“Not at all. The Pre-Qin Energy Refiners you mentioned cannot be compared to a Grand Emperor. The one that fought Eternal Universe was born on this very land, in the Northern Region.”

Ye Fan and Tu Fei looked at each other, hearts pounding, the same thought flashing in their minds.

“You mean…”

“You finally figured it out. Yes, that godlike being, equal to a Grand Emperor, came from the Primordial Mine!”

The black dog’s words were like thunder, shaking them to the core.

“You… are you certain?” Tu Fei was dumbfounded.

“If that’s the case, why did the battle happen here, so far from the Primordial Mine?” Ye Fan asked, puzzled.

The black dog explained, “Back then, Grand Emperor Eternal Universe astonished the world. To forge a Paragon Artifact, he entered the Primordial Mine and unleashed a massacre on it’s denizens…”

Ye Fan’s heart jumped. He had seen that place with his own eyes: piles of corpses, mountains of bones. Even after hundreds of thousands of years, countless skeletons still glowed with terrifying light.

“When Eternal Universe completed the weapon, heaven and earth stirred. All beings in the Northern Region felt it.”

That very day, as Eternal Universe left the Primordial Mine, a being equal to him chased after.

“So… it came from the Primordial Mine?”

“You guessed right. According to the research of a sage in later generations, the being truly came from the depths of the Primordial Mine,” the black dog said gravely.

Ye Fan was stunned.

He had glimpsed the Primordial Ancient Mine from afar. It was terrifying beyond measure. He suspected gods might dwell within. Rumors claimed there were divine spirits inside.

That night, Li Desheng with his Lunar Sight had witnessed strange, unimaginable scenes: beneath the silver waterfall of the Milky Way, corpses dressed in ancient garb floated up and down, bathed in holy starlight, alongside countless motes of light.

And that was only the outer veil. No one knew what truly lay within the Mine.

“To think… a being equal to a Grand Emperor came from the Primordial Mine…” Tu Fei muttered, dazed.

“You’re wrong. It was not human,” the black dog corrected.

“Then what was it? Aren’t there legends that immortals dwell within the Mine? Was it one of them?” Ye Fan asked.

The black dog shook its head. “Some say it was a primordial beast. Some say an immortal. Some say a holy spirit. Others say an ancient pre-historic human. Too many tales, no one knows for sure.”

“How long did Eternal Universe fight it?” Ye Fan asked, his curiosity fixed on this point.

“A long time. It’s said that day only three sages in the Northern Region could sense the Grand Emperor’s might. They recorded that even the heavens trembled. Yet all others were oblivious.”

“That’s… the might of a Grand Emperor. To battle at such a level, yet hide it from the world…” Tu Fei was horrified.

The black dog said, “According to one sage’s notes, Eternal Universe truly met his match. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have accidentally created this endless desert in the battle.”

“Did Eternal Universe kill it?” Ye Fan asked.

“Yes. After a life-and-death duel, he struck it down here, burning it to ashes.” The black dog gazed out at the desert.

“A being equal to a Grand Emperor, utterly annihilated…” Tu Fei murmured, stunned.

Now, with the Grand Emperors long gone and unreachable, even the traces of their battles could no longer be seen. It was enough to make one sigh.

“The one from the Primordial Mine, its blood stained this desert red. Its weapon was shattered here, the fragments scattered and inscribed with broken Dao Runes. That is how this sinister divine desert came to be.”

“So that’s the truth…” Tu Fei was shaken. The black dog knew too much, knowledge even the Sacred Grounds might lack.

“How do you know all these Grand Emperor secrets?” Ye Fan asked.

“I am versed in all ages, ancient past to eternal future. There is nothing I do not know!” The black dog tilted its head arrogantly.

“This feels… like a dream,” Tu Fei whispered. “That being truly came from the Primordial Mine… For countless ages, no genius has ever conquered that place. And yet, a godlike being from within was slain by Eternal Universe. The Grand Emperor’s might is unfathomable!”

It was shocking. Not recorded in history. Hard to believe at all.

“Did the Primordial Mine show no reaction? The death of such a being should have stirred something,” Ye Fan asked.

“No one knows. Not even the sages of that era could guess.” The black dog shook its head.

“There must be some theories. Was there nothing unusual afterward?” Ye Fan pressed.

“From then on, Grand Emperor Eternal Universe never again set foot within fifty thousand miles of the Primordial Mine.”

“…Even a Grand Emperor had such fear!” Tu Fei shuddered.

“There’s another story,” the black dog continued. “That after the battle, Eternal Universe established his lineage, then left for the Middle Continent and never returned.”

“What exactly lies in the Primordial Mine, that even a Grand Emperor would dread it so?” Ye Fan’s heart pounded.

“A third version says Eternal Universe went alone to the edge of the Primordial Mine, spoke to the Mine, and struck some agreement. Less than ten years later, he founded the Desolate Ancient Jiang Clan… and then vanished.”

“What’s the truth?” Ye Fan and Tu Fei were bewildered. The past was too distant. Even legends were scarce, let alone evidence.

The black dog sighed. “Think of the Grand Emperors of ages past. Each shook heaven and earth with unmatched deeds. Their majesty cannot be fathomed. What later generations recorded is only the surface. No one truly understood them.”

“Eh? Did we just get out? Look, boulders ahead!” Tu Fei cried.

On the desert horizon, two massive stones emerged, faint but visible.

“Finally, something other than sand. I was starting to fear we’d be trapped for another century,” the black dog muttered, recalling past terrors.

The two men and the dog rushed forward, leaving a trail of footprints in the scorching sand.

“These aren’t boulders… they’re chunks of black metal!”

When they drew close, they froze in shock.

Each block was five or six meters long, pitch black, with a dull sheen. Cold air streamed from them. Even under the noon sun, they chilled the air.

The black metal was dented, pitted as if struck by mighty blows.

“How could such metal exist?” Tu Fei gasped.

At the same time, Ye Fan noticed that the sand here was different, blood red, with a bone-chilling aura.

“This desert was stained by that being’s blood,” the black dog said. “Even after hundreds of thousands of years, the color has not faded.”

“Then these metal blocks must be…” Tu Fei realized.

“Yes. Likely fragments of its weapon, shattered by Eternal Universe and fallen here.” The black dog’s eyes burned as it rushed forward.

Clang!

It struck the block hard. The black metal didn’t budge, ringing like a great bell.

“Definitely fragments of its weapon!” the black dog shouted.

Tu Fei stepped up and hit it too. His hands went numb, unable to leave the faintest mark.

“Not on par with a Grand Emperor’s Paragon Artifact, but certainly top-tier forging material,” the black dog judged.

The black metal’s origin was unknown, even to the well-traveled Black Emperor. But its toughness was undeniable.

“Any Sacred Lord would covet this.”

Tu Fei and the dog each seized a piece.

Boom!

Heaven and earth quaked. The moment the black metal was taken, the void shook, and the world around them changed.