Shrouding the Heavens

Chapter 597: Chapter 601: The Central Emperor Reappears 9,000 Years Ago

Wang Teng, hailed as the Northern Emperor by the young heroes of the Five Great Domains, was a figure whom almost no one dared to confront; everyone made sure to avoid him on sight. Now, the young prodigy from the Eastern Wastelands had arrived and nearly killed Wang Teng’s younger brother, a feat that astonished many. In this era, among the young generation, perhaps only the one who had killed a King Body with a single slap could compete with Wang Teng. This was the opinion of many, who called him the Central Emperor.

The Northern Emperor had once taken the name Wolf God, roaming between the Northern Plains and the Eastern Wastelands. By the age of fifteen, he was already unbeatable among his peers. After ten more years of accumulation and refinement, the level of his cultivation realm was unpredictable. Furthermore, it was known to all that he carried the great destiny of Heaven and Earth, having even acquired the nine secret arts. Heaven knew what other Ancient Techniques he might still possess. Since entering Qi Shi Mansion, no one dared to contend with him. He, however, remained in seclusion, rarely appearing. When he did venture out, it was only to go to the retreat area of the sovereigns located behind the mansion. As for the Central Emperor, some said he was not from this world at all. The specifics were unknown, but strictly speaking, in the current generation, Wang Teng stood alone as the undefeatable.

“Brother, you must avenge me!” Wang Chong shook his elder brother’s arm, for once acting like a child, all his previous ferocity gone. “He stole my war chariot and injured me! And he disrespected you! You must kill him!” Wang Chong clung to his brother’s arm, refusing to let go.

This was an Ancient Cave within Qi Shi Mansion, a place no one usually dared to enter. It was Wang Teng’s personal retreat, considered a Forbidden Area by the other Saint Heirs. Inside the Ancient Cave, there were several dozen spiritual medicines, each over ten thousand years old. At the very center grew a Medicine King, its fragrance alluring, its body crystalline and radiantly glowing. If anyone were to enter, they would be utterly shocked, for this Medicine King was one of the six that had emerged from the Immortal Burial Ground, and it had been transplanted here.

Everything in the Ancient Cave was ancient and simple, devoid of any opulence. Beside the Medicine King was a Mystic Jade Bed, upon which Wang Teng sat, unmoving. He had an imposing and heroic stature. His black hair cascaded down his back, his face was as if sculpted by a blade, and his sword-like eyebrows slanted upwards towards his temples. His eyes, deep and unfathomable, seemed to contain the Illusion Destruction of endless stars, making him appear like an ancient emperor reborn.

“Big brother, why aren’t you saying anything? Help me get revenge!” Wang Chong began to whine.

“If you continue like this, you’ll end up dead outside one day. Even as your brother, I won’t be able to protect you,” Wang Teng replied calmly.

“How can you say that, Big brother? Mother said that when we’re out, you have to take care of me,” Wang Chong pouted, wrinkling his nose as he held onto his arm, clearly displeased.

“You need to learn some restraint.” Wang Teng extended a finger and pressed it against the youth’s brow. “I will seal you away for one year. You are not to come out until your temperament has been smoothed out!”

As his finger pointed, the Ancient Cave filled with a crystalline radiance. A True Dragon, Divine Phoenix, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise materialized, their forms constantly resonating with a sacred and harmonious aura, as if divine spirits were emerging.

“Ah, no!” Wang Chong screamed, trying to flee, but he found himself unable to move, fixed to the spot.

He was immensely dejected. “Brother, that’s a sacred body! He’s worthy of you taking action personally to kill him.”

“So-called special physiques mean nothing. In my eyes, there are only the living and the dead. Without achieving Great Success, they are no different from the teeming masses,” Wang Teng stated, his expression indifferent.

“You may be the number one in the world, but your little brother isn’t! If I don’t kill him, he’ll become my Heart Demon, and I won’t be able to cultivate in peace!” Wang Chong cried out.

“Go into seclusion and reflect properly for a year!” Wang Teng gestured with his finger. Wang Chong, despite being at the fourth transformation of the Dragon Transformation realm, had no power to resist. He cried out as he was sent flying into a stone chamber, the Stone Gate crashing down, sealing him inside.

“Wu Gu, Jin Wuduo, come in.”

“Greetings, Master!” Two towering beings entered from outside the Ancient Cave. One was ten feet tall, its entire body covered in shimmering silver scales. It possessed four powerful arms and silver hair that cascaded down its shoulders, with a vertical eye in the center of its forehead. The other stood two meters tall, its body gleaming with golden light. It had a pair of golden Divine Wings, and every inch of its flesh was densely covered in golden scales. A pair of antlers sprouted from amidst its golden hair.

“Go and bring me the head of the young man named Ye Fan,” Wang Teng said calmly.

“Is it… that sacred body? Rumors are swirling outside that if he matures, he could even suppress the ancient kings,” one of the beings said, startled.

“Why concern yourself with others’ physiques? The strong should be confident, with ‘I’ alone being supreme. If one is unable to prove the Dao, then regardless of whether they are a reincarnated Daoist saint or not, they are merely the difference between a living person and a dead one.”

“The Master’s teachings are wise.”

Wang Teng continued, “He has cultivated some Ancient Techniques, as well as some Forbidden Secret Arts, and is capable of battling individuals at the Holy Land Supreme Elder Level. The two of you go together to ensure nothing goes wrong.”

“With such strength, one of us alone would be enough to kill several of him.”

“Even a lion uses its full strength when hunting a rabbit. I don’t want any accidents. Go, bring me his head,” Wang Teng said coldly.

“Yes!”

The two beings dared not say more. They retreated from the Ancient Cave and began to discuss quietly.

“The Master’s cultivation of that Heavenly Technique is nearing completion. When it does, not even the Central Emperor will be his opponent.”

“The Central Emperor isn’t even from this world. In a way, the Master is already number one under Heaven.”

Qi Shi Mansion was a place of one delicate mountain peak after another. Every disciple possessed their own Spiritual Land and usually did not disturb one another.

“That’s… ancient creatures!”

Someone discovered the two beings and, astonished, cried out from afar.

“I’d long heard that Wang Teng is unfathomable. He even ventured deep into the Eastern Desolate Forbidden Land and actually enslaved ancient creatures as his servants! It turns out to be true!”

Many people heard the commotion and watched from the beautiful mountain peaks, all of them moved and not daring to approach. A golden and a silver streak of light traversed the sky, disappearing over the horizon. It took a long time for everyone to return to their senses, their awe for Wang Teng’s Ancient Cave deepening.

“The Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao; the name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the beginning of Heaven and Earth; the named is the mother of myriad things…”

Recently, someone had inscribed these words at the Mountain Gate of Qi Shi Mansion, causing quite a sensation. Many people stood before the stone wall, contemplating the meaning. Even the sovereigns of the mansion had come to observe. These phrases were not specific cultivation methods; they merely elucidated the essence of the Dao. Though devoid of secret arts, they provoked deep thought. This event caused a stir, its news spreading to the outside world. Many curious individuals came, drawn by its reputation, believing that Qi Shi Mansion indeed housed extraordinary people whose discussions were worth pondering.

When Ye Fan learned of this, he hurried over immediately. He used his Divine Eye and quickly spotted Pang Bo in the crowd, his heart filled with incredible excitement. He secretly sent a voice transmission, and then the two of them left one after another, meeting in a remote place among the mountains.

It had been over two years since they had last seen each other after parting in the Eastern Wastelands. In such a vast world, where traversing a single region could take ten to twenty years, their reunion was no small feat.

“Damn that Black Emperor! It transported me to some godforsaken place, and I ended up falling into a Dead Volcano…” Pang Bo recounted his experiences, cursing the great black dog repeatedly, his voice filled with resentment.

Falling into the volcanic crater was bad enough, but it turned out to be a Desolate Land, engraved with endless Array Patterns, and he was nearly refined to death there.

“Wasn’t it an Ancient Cave Mansion? Were there treasures?”

“Not a damned thing! I was refined so much that I lost eighty pounds of flesh and blood! Don’t let me see that dog, or I’ll eat it!”

Pang Bo had been trapped there for nearly two years. His only gain was that he was forced to cultivate day and night to resist the Array Patterns; otherwise, he would have been reduced to ashes.

“Two and a half years, and you’ve reached the fourth transformation of Dragon Transformation. That’s a huge gain,” Ye Fan said with a smile.

“That damn dog! After I got out, I flew for another half a year just to get from that uninhabited area to a populated place…”

The two of them recounted their respective experiences. Pang Bo naturally knew about Ye Fan’s recent ordeals. He handed over the God-beating Whip and said, “This treasure is peculiar. It can isolate the Qi Mechanism. With it, you won’t have to fear the skilled disciples of Godly Diviners deducing your whereabouts.”

“It has such a wonderful use?” Ye Fan was surprised and, without ceremony, slung the God-beating Whip over his shoulder again.

He thought for a moment, then took out all the treasures he had on him. First, he gave Pang Bo the wooden planks cut from the Enlightenment Ancient Tree, along with a few Stone Nails. “Sitting on these to cultivate yields twice the results with half the effort. This is from the Divine Coffin that the Undying Emperor built to try and maintain his immortality.”

“Is this that ancient Saint?” Pang Bo was amazed. Among Ye Fan’s pile of treasures, he was particularly shocked by the piece of Divine Source Block with an old man sealed within.

“What exactly is in Qi Shi Mansion?”

“There might really be a path leading to the Outer Domain. I’ve been investigating it recently. Maybe we can return home from there.”

Ye Fan gave the Nine Divine Weapons to Pang Bo, saying, “You don’t have a suitable weapon. Keep these for self-preservation, but whatever you do, don’t let that unscrupulous Daoist find out.”

“I don’t need these. You’re in a difficult situation right now; these nine weapons are of great use to you,” Pang Bo refused.

“I prepared these specifically for you. The Nine Divine Weapons are a perfect match for your Demon Emperor Nine Slashes. Don’t worry, I still have suitable weapons to use.”

Ye Fan was indeed worried about Pang Bo’s safety. The last time Liu Yiyi had been captured, if not for his careful planning and using his Heavenly Tribulation at a critical moment to trap and kill everyone, they would have undoubtedly died. He vaguely felt that an ‘old acquaintance’ might have been behind it. Although many people died that day, the true culprit was never found. Ye Fan told Pang Bo all of this. After pondering for a long time, they both felt it was necessary to guard against this ‘old acquaintance,’ who could be quite dangerous.

Although he had given away the Nine Divine Weapons, Ye Fan’s cauldron had already interwoven Laws and was now immensely useful. Moreover, he possessed a gourd he had seized from the Purple Mansion’s Saint Heir. The stopper alone could unleash Chaotic Light, making it highly likely to be a King’s Weapon.

The two talked for a long time. Now that Ye Fan was using the God-beating Whip to isolate his Qi Mechanism, he no longer had to worry about being tracked. He learned a great deal about Qi Shi Mansion from Pang Bo, including the possible existence of a path to the Outer Domain, which excited him the most. Additionally, he learned detailed information about some of the powerful experts.

Some people believed that, besides Wang Teng and the Central Emperor, a figure known as the Southern Demon and a mysterious powerhouse from Sumeru Mountain should also be counted among the top contenders. Unfortunately, those two were rarely seen, so not many people acknowledged their strength.

“Ye, let’s focus on cultivating first. We’ve only been cultivating for a few years. Compared to others, there’s a big gap. Some people are just on another level; you have to acknowledge their strength. Do you know who the Central Emperor is?”

“Who is he?” Ye Fan was puzzled.

“He’s not a person of this era at all. His name is Xiang Yufei.”

“That sounds somewhat familiar…” Suddenly, Ye Fan’s eyes widened as he instantly recalled.

When he was looting Daoist Duan De, he found a Longevity Lock on him. It was made from leftover material used by a Buddha to cast a Demon-Subduing Pestle, later reforged by several Arhats into a Life-Protecting Divine Lock. Its last owner was Xiang Yufei.

Nine thousand years ago, a peerless genius named Xiang Yufei had emerged in the Central States. At just nineteen, he became an Emperor Master Level figure, unrivaled, and possessed the bearing of an ancient Great Emperor. Unfortunately, Heaven is jealous of outstanding talents. He passed away just after turning twenty; even the Longevity Lock couldn’t extend his life. Legend had it that at the final moment, Xiang Yufei buried himself in an Ice Coffin, slumbering on a Snow Peak, hoping to evade his Death Tribulation and revive in the future.

Nine thousand years have passed, and Daoist Duan De even managed to steal the Longevity Lock from his body. So how did he revive?

“Are you sure the Central Emperor is Xiang Yufei?”

“To be precise, it’s the twenty-year-old Xiang Yufei. Nine thousand years have passed, yet time hasn’t left a single trace on him!”

“How is this possible?!” Ye Fan was shocked. Not long ago, he was lamenting how Heaven is jealous of great talents, feeling it was a pity for that individual, yet now that person had reappeared in the world.

“The Central Emperor is Xiang Yufei from nine thousand years ago! There’s no mistake!” Pang Bo declared with utmost certainty, revealing some hidden information: Qi Shi Mansion was behind it all.

Although Qi Shi Mansion had been closed to the public for ten thousand years, they hadn’t been idle during that time and had undertaken many significant projects.

“Why did they do that?” Ye Fan didn’t understand.

“Because at that time, the Demon Emperor had only been dead for a thousand years. Even though Xiang Yufei possessed the disposition of a Great Emperor, during that special period, it was impossible for him to prove his Dao and become a Great Emperor. He needed to bide his time.”