Chapter 1395: Ascension

Wu Liang was dumbfounded. He had initially thought the ancient tomb contained a "ten-thousand-year zongzi," but judging by the speaker's tone, it seemed he was still alive?

How was that possible?

Throughout history, it had been exceptionally rare for powerful individuals to live beyond a thousand years, often requiring unique racial talents. Human lifespans, in contrast, were even shorter.

This ancient tomb was at least tens of thousands of years old, yet the person inside was still alive?

This revelation would completely overturn the common knowledge of the cultivation world. If word got out, it would undoubtedly cause a massive stir across the land.

At the same time, a hint of excitement appeared in his eyes. Could this be an immense opportunity for him?

To achieve immortality...

The mere thought of it made him involuntarily joyful.

Meanwhile, Crown Prince Golden Crow's expression changed dramatically. He was still young and had a long life ahead of him, so immortality wasn't as pressing for him. On the contrary, if his father truly achieved immortality, wouldn't he be stuck as Crown Prince forever?

Watching the throne of the Demon Emperor, which was almost within his grasp, slip away would be a truly painful realization.

In contrast to his son, the Demon Emperor's eyes instantly blazed with fervor: "How are you able to live for so long?"

However, being no ordinary person, he quickly forced himself to calm down. "What do you want?"

"A shrewd one, indeed," the voice chuckled softly. "Then listen patiently while I finish."

Crown Prince Golden Crow hastily said to the Demon Emperor, "Father, be wary of deception. This person has gone to great lengths to keep us here; who knows what traps he's set. I suggest we explore other areas to avoid having Zu'an and his group seize the initiative."

The Demon Emperor hesitated upon hearing this. Zu'an carried too many secrets; he was the first person in many years whom the Demon Emperor couldn't see through. Perhaps the boy truly might seize some opportunity first.

At that moment, a playful voice echoed from within the ancient tomb: "It seems your son doesn't wish for your immortality. That's hardly surprising; such matters are all too common in royal families."

The Demon Emperor's gaze instantly sharpened, fixating intently on Crown Prince Golden Crow.

He knew perfectly well these were words meant to sow discord, but at his age, he was too concerned with immortality. When a person becomes overly obsessed with something, they often turn blind.

Crown Prince Golden Crow quickly explained, "Father, don't listen to his nonsense. I would never dare to have such thoughts."

The Demon Emperor snorted. "Let's hear what he has to say before making any plans."

After what had just transpired, Crown Prince Golden Crow dared not speak further, though he inwardly cursed this unknown ancestor to death.

"That's better," the person in the ancient tomb chuckled. "We've been talking for so long, and I still don't know your names."

The Demon Emperor frowned. Some dark arts in the world could use a person's name as a catalyst to harm them, though such spells typically also required one's birthdate, hair, or fingernails. As long as he safeguarded the latter items, he needn't worry about any tricks. "You may call me the Demon Emperor."

Crown Prince Golden Crow said, "My name is Crown Prince Golden Crow." Wu Liang opened his mouth: "My name is..."

Before he could finish, the person in the ancient tomb interrupted him: "What arrogance, none of you even use your true names, only your titles."

Wu Liang's mouth opened and closed a few times, and he couldn't help but feel frustrated. Apparently, the other party didn't even consider him a person.

Oh well, he thought, it made sense. This was a reunion for the Golden Crow clan; why was he interjecting?

The Demon Emperor said coldly, "Our clan has always been this way. Only those with the most noble status are entitled to use their titles in place of their names."

"Alright, have it your way," the voice sounded somewhat disdainful, but didn't dwell on the point. "My name is Danzhu, and my revered title is Emperor Danzhu!"

There was a hint of arrogance in his tone.

The Demon Emperor, however, was somewhat dismissive: "Emperor? From what you've said, you couldn't have been emperor for more than a few years in total. What qualifications do you have to use that revered title?"

The voice fell silent.

After a long silence, a deep sigh followed: "You're right, I am indeed a good-for-nothing, hahahaha~"

Hearing the slight madness in his voice, the Demon Emperor, fearing he had gone insane and would jeopardize their business, hastily asked, "Since you are the successor of the previous Emperor, why were you so easily usurped?"

Upon hearing this, the voice regained some normalcy, replaced by a deep hatred: "Because the one who usurped the throne was also of the imperial family. His name was Shun, and his ancestor had also been an Emperor."

"Many, many generations ago, we shared a common ancestor named the Yellow Emperor. Later, the Yellow Emperor ascended to the heavens, passing his throne to his son, Shaohao, who is our direct ancestor and was revered as the White Emperor."

The Demon Emperor's heart stirred: "What do you mean by 'ascended to the heavens'? Did he pass away?"

The voice sneered, "Ignorant. Of course, it means exactly what it says: he ascended to the Immortal Realm."

The Demon Emperor's eyes instantly became fervent: "Are there truly Immortals in this world?"

Although he was now revered as an Earth Immortal by all, no matter how powerful, he was still an immortal on the mortal plane, vastly different from a true Immortal.

For tens of thousands of years, countless astonishingly talented cultivators had emerged, yet not a single one had truly become an Immortal. Eventually, people even began to doubt if the highest cultivation realm was merely that of an Earth Immortal.

The Demon Emperor had been stuck at the Earth Immortal realm for many years. Initially, he harbored the same doubts, but in recent years, he vaguely felt that Earth Immortal shouldn't be the limit. However, he had no clue how to advance further.

So, hearing that someone from ancient times had ascended, how could he not be excited?

"What's so surprising about that? Many people have ascended. For example, Di Jun, the father of your Golden Crow clan's progenitor, also ascended to the Celestial Realm before passing the imperial throne to my father," the voice snorted, as if with a strong sense of superiority.

"What exactly is ascension...?" The Demon Emperor could no longer contain himself and bombarded the speaker with many questions about cultivation.

The voice impatiently interrupted him: "This is not about you asking me; it's about you listening to me."

Learning about ascension from him, the Demon Emperor's attitude clearly shifted: "Please speak!" In the corner, Wu Liang was dumbfounded, thinking to himself that he was truly having his eyes opened today, learning such profound secrets. It would be worth it even if he died... *Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey*, he thought, I definitely don't want to die.

At that moment, the voice from the ancient tomb continued: "After the White Emperor ascended, the imperial throne should have been inherited by his son. However, it was seized by his nephew, Zhuanxu, who was also known to the world as the Black Emperor. From then on, the White Emperor's lineage and the Black Emperor's lineage became embroiled in a history of love and hatred..."

"The Black Emperor reigned for many, many years. After his departure, the throne was again seized by his nephew. This nephew was from our White Emperor lineage, none other than Di Jun, the father of your Golden Crow clan's progenitor. Di Jun later passed the imperial throne to his son, Di Zhi, but Di Zhi's reign was short, and he soon abdicated in favor of his younger brother, Yao, who is my father, Emperor Yao."

"After many years of peace across the land, various disasters began to erupt: droughts, great floods, and terrifying ferocious beasts rampaging through the human world. My father had no choice but to promote a large number of subordinates to deal with these problems."

"Among them were descendants of the Black Emperor Zhuanxu, such as Gun and Shun... Because the Black Emperor had been gone for many years, his descendants had remained docile, which caused my father to lower his guard and grant them too much power. These individuals took the opportunity to grow powerful, with Gun's influence being particularly strong. However, Shun had always been very subservient. So, with Shun's help, my father executed Gun atop Mount Yu, and his body sank into the Abyss of Yu."

The Demon Emperor and the others' expressions changed several times, wondering if the Abyss of Yu was perhaps the very place they had entered.

"But I never expected that fellow Shun to be so ambitious. Without Gun's checks and balances, Shun's power became uncontrollable. Finally, while my father was in seclusion, Shun launched a surprise attack and sealed him away."

"Initially, I was kept in the dark, believing my father had ascended. It was only when he outwardly honored me as Emperor, then swiftly deposed me on baseless charges, that I realized his treacherous ambition."

The Demon Emperor inwardly sneered, thinking this fellow was quite foolish to only realize it then. However, since he now needed the other's help, it was not good to speak too harshly. "Are you telling me all this because you want my help with something?"

"Astute!" The voice grew a little more excited. "I need you to help me lift the seal on my father!"