Chapter 1396: Luan Tree's Elixir

"A seal?" The Demon Emperor raised an eyebrow. Could it be that the ancient emperors were not dead, but merely sealed away?

"That's right," the voice from the ancient tomb replied. "When my father was in power, many terrifying fierce beasts appeared in the world. The most formidable among them were known as the Four Fiends. My father suppressed them, and naturally, they resented him deeply. So, Shun assigned each of the Four Fiends to guard a seal, forming a grand cosmic array that suppressed my father."

"The Four Fiends..." The Demon Emperor silently repeated the words, his face devoid of any expression.

Wu Liang, however, was terrified. The Four Fiends sounded like trouble just by their name; they could even suppress ancient emperors. Emperors from that era were formidable figures who could fly, surely more powerful than today's Earth Immortals.

Unfortunately, he knew anything he said would be useless. He wasn't in charge and could only hope for an opportunity to escape midway.

The voice from the ancient tomb explained, "The Four Fiends are Hundun, Qiongqi, Taowu, and Taotie. By the way, since you just came from Mount Yu, you must have seen Taowu. I sensed its aura."

The Demon Emperor's expression subtly changed. The monster he had encountered on Mount Yu earlier came to mind. He hadn't expected even one of the Four Fiends to be his equal in power. Especially the dense resentment emanating from it, enough to corrode his life force, made him extremely cautious in combat.

What kind of beings were the other three fiends? Even someone as powerful as him could easily be overwhelmed.

Just then, the voice continued, "Do you remember when I mentioned Gun, the descendant of the Black Emperor, who fought against Shun during my father's reign? Heh heh, Taowu was formed from his resentment after his death. I just sensed its re-emergence. If I'm not mistaken, you must have already unlocked one of the seals."

"Unlocked a seal?" The Demon Emperor and the Golden Crow Prince looked bewildered.

Wu Liang, however, had a thought: "The giant stone turtle statue by the Feather Abyss!"

Previously, even the Golden Crow Holy Flame couldn't harm it, and it was only the Demon Emperor's full-force strike that broke it open.

The Demon Emperor knew Wu Liang was skilled in mechanisms and formations, so his assessment was likely accurate.

"So, we just need to break three more seals, and my father will see the light of day again. Then everything will return to normal, haha." As if imagining his father's return, the voice in the ancient tomb began to laugh hysterically.

"Why should I help you?" The Demon Emperor asked, his face expressionless.

"Your Golden Crow ancestor and my father were half-brothers, sharing the same father. You are also descendants of the White Emperor. Knowing the truth, will you still allow the Black Emperor's lineage to usurp the power that rightfully belongs to our White Emperor lineage?"

The Demon Emperor scoffed, "Black Emperor, White Emperor—that's all ancient history from tens of thousands of years ago. Open your eyes and see, times have changed. Who in this world cares about Black Emperors or White Emperors anymore? I am already an emperor; I don't need to ride on the coattails of so-called ancestors."

The voice in the ancient tomb roared for a while, cursing him for forgetting his heritage. But after some time, as if exhausted from scolding, it gradually calmed down:

"It doesn't matter if you don't acknowledge us ancestors, but you still desire immortality, don't you?"

The Demon Emperor said coldly, "Otherwise, why do you think I would patiently listen to you ramble about these stale old matters?"

"Then you have even more reason to break the seals. Once my father is free, he can answer all your questions." The voice sounded as if its scheme had succeeded.

"I don't see the need for such trouble," the Demon Emperor scoffed. "Since you've lived this long, asking you will be the same."

As soon as he finished speaking, he swept his hand in a powerful strike, blasting a large hole in the ancient tomb's main gate.

Wu Liang watched, dumbfounded. The main gate of an ancient tomb was usually its most fortified point, often blocked by tens of thousands of jin of 'Dragon-Slaying Stone.' Whenever he robbed a tomb, he had to dig a tunnel from the side. Yet, the Demon Emperor had simply smashed it open with a single palm strike...

The Demon Emperor did not linger but walked directly into the ancient tomb. At this moment, his entire focus was on immortality, and he had no mind to pay attention to Wu Liang.

Wu Liang was about to seize the opportunity to escape when the Golden Crow Prince grabbed him. "Come on, let's go in together."

Wu Liang secretly cursed the Golden Crow Prince's ancestors but dared not resist. Even if the Demon Emperor had gone inside, he could still kill Wu Liang with a mere thought. And even fighting the Golden Crow Prince alone, Wu Liang wasn't sure he could win.

The Golden Crow Prince's reputation as a 'Young Emperor' among the younger generation was well-earned, not merely boasted.

After they entered the ancient tomb, Wu Liang's heart pounded. "Be careful..."

Before he could finish speaking, the Demon Emperor had already walked straight ahead. The mechanisms and formations within the ancient tomb naturally activated. In Wu Liang's estimation, their power was such that if he encountered them, he would be utterly annihilated.

To his astonishment, the Demon Emperor occasionally merely flicked his sleeve or waved a palm. More often than not, he didn't even need to lift a hand, directly blocking these terrifying mechanisms head-on.

Wu Liang's jaw nearly hit the floor. In his usual tomb-raiding endeavors, he was like a timid daughter-in-law, always carefully guessing the tomb owner's intentions and guarding against the tomb designer's traps. Even then, he often ended up disheveled. Yet, the Demon Emperor simply strolled through effortlessly.

When would he ever be that cool?

Although nominally an imperial tomb, this one was remarkably simple. They didn't have to go far before reaching the main burial chamber.

"What... what are you doing?" The voice spoke again, but this time it lacked its previous enigmatic quality and sounded somewhat panicked.

The Demon Emperor couldn't be bothered with pleasantries. With a wave of his hand, an invisible surge of energy burst forth, instantly shattering the sarcophagus.

The items that fell out made everyone freeze.

A skeleton had tumbled out of the coffin, scattering into pieces upon hitting the ground.

The surface of the bones had a jade-like color, indicating the original owner's high cultivation level during life. However, they had ultimately succumbed to the erosion of time, appearing dull and lifeless, and many parts seemed to have crumbled upon impact with the ground.

"After all these years, I'm finally out of this cursed coffin." The skeleton suddenly sat up, its jaw moving as it spoke in the exact same voice they had heard before.

"So it was you pulling the strings," the Demon Emperor said, a mix of surprise and anger in his voice.

The skeleton didn't reply. Instead, it spread its arms wide, seemingly breathing, and revealed an expression of enjoyment—though how one could discern an expression on a skull was anyone's guess.

"Finally, I can breathe the air of freedom. It's so sweet."

Wu Liang couldn't help but mutter, "In your current state, can you even smell anything?"

The skeleton sighed. "Indeed, I can no longer smell, but I can imagine it."

Everyone was speechless.

"Why are you in this ghastly state?" The Demon Emperor stared coldly at it. The other party's aura was incredibly weak; not to mention him, even the weakest Wu Liang could easily destroy it.

"What else could I be? After lying here for countless years, my flesh and blood have naturally withered away." The skeleton spoke as if describing something completely unrelated to itself.

"Didn't you just mention immortality?" The Demon Emperor's face was as dark as water. "So, you were lying to me!"

A terrifying pressure radiated outwards, causing the entire tomb chamber to shake. Countless pebbles and dust fell from the ceiling, and even Wu Liang in the corner found it hard to breathe. Clearly, after his high hopes for news of immortality were dashed by deception, the Demon Emperor was truly enraged.

The skeleton seemed to be held in mid-air, its throat clutched by an invisible hand. It struggled desperately but was powerless to break free, appearing as if it could be crushed into fragments at any moment.

"The Immortality Medicine of the Koelreuteria tree!" As if sensing imminent destruction, the skeleton hastily uttered a phrase.

The Demon Emperor's heart stirred. "What is that?"

"On the Cloud-Rain Mountain of the Great Wilderness, there is a red stone where a Koelreuteria tree grows. It bears an immortality medicine, and consuming it grants eternal life."

"Your 'immortality' means ending up like this ghastly thing?" the Demon Emperor demanded sharply.

"At that time, I hastily ate only half of an unripe fruit, and my cultivation was insufficient to unleash the medicine's true efficacy," the skeleton said, clutching its throat. "Even so, it allowed me to live through a long, long time, surviving until now."

"Where is this Cloud-Rain Mountain of the Great Wilderness you speak of?" A hint of fanaticism appeared in the Demon Emperor's eyes.

"I don't know," the skeleton quickly said, seeing the other party's expression change drastically, "but my father knows."