Chapter 1466: Resurrection

The patterns on the altar glowed, and shimmering lines spread in all directions. The entire tomb exuded a powerful aura, as if it had come alive in that instant.

On the other side, Gonggong’s crystal skull suddenly lifted, exclaiming, “The aura of Yu!”

The Demon Emperor, standing nearby, felt a stir in his heart. This Yu seemed to be his great nemesis; his chance had come…

“Follow me!” Gonggong’s body had already transformed into a black robe, and apart from his skull head, the rest of him was indistinguishable from a normal person. With a wave of his sleeve, he transformed into a cloud of black mist and vanished.

The Demon Emperor naturally wouldn’t miss such an opportunity. With a flash, he too vanished from the spot.

For Earth Immortals, space no longer posed any obstacle.

Only Crown Prince Jinwu was left bewildered. He instinctively wanted to chase, but being unfamiliar with the realm of Earth Immortals, he had no idea where the two had gone. Feeling the quiet and deep ancient tomb, like a giant beast ready to devour, he felt a chill creep up his spine.

Spreading his hands, he frantically cried out, “I haven’t boarded yet! I haven’t boarded yet!”

The next second, a golden light flashed, and the Demon Emperor suddenly appeared beside him. Grabbing his shoulder, they both vanished from the spot.

Meanwhile, as Zu An placed the Nine Cauldrons onto the altar, a rumbling sound suddenly echoed not long after. A large crack appeared in the ceiling, and a section of stairs extended directly downwards.

Xiangliu seemed to recall something from the past and was momentarily lost in thought.

Zu An, seizing this opportunity, pulled the three women back and instantly teleported up the stairs.

Xiangliu snapped out of his trance and said to Fuyou, “You stay here; I’ll go check it out.”

As soon as he finished speaking, his figure also vanished from the spot.

Fuyou had been injured by the dragon energy, and his top priority was to heal as quickly as possible, so he naturally had no objection.

As Xiangliu entered, the descending stairs suddenly began to turn transparent and then vanished. Even the crack that had appeared in the ceiling was gone; the entire ceiling was smooth and seamless, as if nothing had ever happened.

At this moment, the surrounding air twisted and rippled, and then Gonggong, followed by the Demon Emperor and his son, arrived.

“Lord!” Fuyou hurriedly bowed to Gonggong.

“What happened to you?” Gonggong was surprised to see Fuyou so heavily injured.

The Demon Emperor was equally surprised. From their previous interactions, he knew that Zu An’s combat power could not be simply measured by his rank, but he never expected it to be so exaggerated. An Earth Immortal injured this badly? He knew Fuyou was only slightly weaker than him, so wouldn’t he also be in great danger if he faced Zu An and his group? He felt a bit fortunate that Fuyou had tested the waters first; otherwise, if he had fought them based on his previous impression of Zu An, he would have probably suffered a great loss.

“That boy can use the dragon energy here, and I was caught off guard and suffered a great loss,” Fuyou said bitterly. To think he had fallen into the hands of an ant he looked down on; it was truly humiliating.

“So he was responsible for the dragon vein power just now,” Gonggong said, also surprised. He looked around and asked, “Where are they now?”

“Just now, a space suddenly opened above, and a flight of stairs appeared…” Fuyou briefly explained what had just happened.

“Yu!” Gonggong gnashed his teeth, clearly understanding something. He instantly transformed into a cloud of black mist, searching everywhere for the hidden space.

This grand tomb was clearly meticulously arranged by Yu; the arrays within were complex and profound, and even Gonggong might not find the hidden space quickly.

Watching Gonggong disappear, the Demon Emperor did not follow him this time but remained where he was.

Fuyou, standing nearby, frowned. “Why are you still here?”

The Demon Emperor looked at him with a smile. “You’re injured; I’m here to keep you company.”

“I don’t need your company. Go help the Lord,” Fuyou snorted coldly.

“No, you do,” the Demon Emperor said, unknowingly walking behind him. His hand, hidden behind his back, grew long, extremely sharp nails…

Meanwhile, as Zu An led the three women up the stairs, they discovered that this ancient tomb had a hidden top level. This level contained various magnificent statues and exquisite murals, all arranged like stars around the moon, guarding the enormous bronze coffin at the very top.

“This is…” Zu An and the others had originally intended to examine the murals, but their attention was involuntarily drawn to the enormous bronze coffin. Gonggong’s stone coffin had been imposing enough, but compared to this enormous bronze coffin, it was more than just a size smaller.

At this moment, black and green energy swirled as Xiangliu also appeared. He was about to attack the group when he noticed the enormous bronze coffin opposite him.

“Yu!” Xiangliu’s voice was a mix of excitement and fear, as if some unpleasant memory had been triggered.

The others were startled. Was Yu lying inside?

Zu An suddenly understood. No wonder his Nine Cauldrons had subtly felt a summoning power ever since entering this secret realm, and it was also what he relied on to activate the mechanism here. He never expected that the alchemy cauldron he had inadvertently obtained from Shen Xuzi at the Imperial Academy was actually the legendary Nine Cauldrons. However, he quickly became confused again. If they were the Nine Cauldrons, why were they so miniature? After all, the legendary Nine Cauldrons were said to be nine massive objects.

At this moment, Xiangliu had regained his composure and let out a neurotic laugh. “Hahaha, I remember when I was sealed; I thought it was worse than death. Yet here we, the defeated, are now resurrected, while you, the victor back then, have turned into dry bones. Who could have imagined such a dramatic ending?”

Zu An and the others glanced at him in surprise. Ever since they first met him, apart from his nine-headed, snake-bodied form which was quite sanity-draining, his human form had always been that of a gentle and elegant young master. This was the first time they had seen him so out of character.

Zu An couldn’t help but ask, “You all managed to live until now, so why couldn’t Yu, who was stronger than you, survive?”

Whether it was because he was in a good mood after seeing his old enemy dead or for some other reason, Xiangliu did not rush to attack. Instead, he replied, “It’s different. Under normal circumstances, we wouldn’t have lived this long either. No one can withstand the power of time; even if one ascends to heaven, it doesn’t truly mean eternal life.”

Zu An keenly caught the information revealed in his words: Does that mean even after becoming an immortal, one can still die?

“But we were sealed at our peak, our freedom restricted, which was arguably worse than death. However, there was a benefit: because we were sealed, the passage of time had little effect on us. Once the seal is broken, we can come back to life.” Xiangliu looked at the enormous bronze coffin and sneered, “But who in this world likes to be sealed? Being sealed is not much different from being dead.”

Zu An and the others secretly nodded. Sealing could indeed extend life, but in doing so, one lost all freedom and even consciousness. The so-called extension of life was only relative to other observers; for the individual themselves, their lifespan was not extended at all. On the contrary, they were sealed for a very long time, and if the seal was never broken, they might truly spend an eternity in a state worse than death.

“Yu was the victor back then; he naturally lived his life freely and grandly. These long years would have been enough for him to die several times over,” Xiangliu concluded, looking at Zu An and his group. “Alright, I have answered your questions. Don’t offer futile resistance; come back with me to see the Lord. I can guarantee your lives.”

Zu An suddenly widened his eyes and looked behind Xiangliu. “Yu… has he revived?”