Chapter 179

Chapter 179: A Fragment of Burial Soil

"Wait… wait…"

Great Emperor Ziwei suddenly realized a crucial point. He stared at Ye Xu and said, "Brother Qing Xuan, you only lured Tai Sui into the Purple Palace. How did you subdue Him?"

He couldn’t believe that merely giving Tai Sui a nest would make Him willingly serve Ye Xu.

"That’s my secret."

Ye Xu smiled mysteriously.

Like an overly curious child, Great Emperor Ziwei kept pressing Ye Xu for answers.

Feeling his head throb, Ye Xu replied, "I told Him I’m an Innate Divine Being, an embryonic spirit of heaven and earth. Like Him, I originate from the Primordial Chaos—we share the same roots."

"I promised to help Him reclaim His former glory."

"…"

The corners of Great Emperor Ziwei’s mouth twitched. "Is He truly that easy to deceive?"

He remained skeptical. After all, as a Primordial being, how could He be swayed by a few words like a naive three-year-old?

Of course, another possibility existed: that this man before him truly was an Innate Divine Being, possessing mystical power and charisma enough to make Tai Sui submit.

With that thought, Great Emperor Ziwei drew a sharp breath. If his guess proved right, the origin of this "Brother Qing Xuan" would be utterly staggering.

Ye Xu hadn’t lied to Tai Sui.

His Second Primordial Spirit Avatar was forged from seven-colored divine stone and carried the aura of the Dao of Heaven, effectively constituting an artificially nurtured spiritual embryo.

Despite His innocence, Tai Sui was no fool—He immediately sensed the aura of the Dao of Heaven.

As for Ye Xu’s promise to restore Tai Sui to His peak? That remained a distant hope.

Regardless, content with His improved abode, Tai Sui saw no reason to move elsewhere.

Thus, man and beast easily reached a pact of equals.

"Ahem…"

Great Emperor Ziwei cleared his throat, hesitantly blurting out, "Brother Qing Xuan, could you ask Tai Sui on my behalf? Would He… spare a sliver of His flesh? Just so I might savor its marvel?"

Ye Xu fixed him with an utterly bewildered stare. "Brother Yu, you truly are a strange one."

"Shall I summon Tai Sui so you may inquire yourself?"

"Absolutely not!" Great Emperor Ziwei frantically waved his hands, utterly unwilling to face Tai Sui again.

He swallowed hard, face etched with profound regret.

Tai Sui’s flesh would forever remain beyond his reach.

Ye Xu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

He’d never risk souring his pact with Tai Sui just to indulge an obsessive gourmand like Great Emperor Ziwei.

Understand, this was a Primordial being with immense research value. After finally subduing one, Ye Xu intended to study it thoroughly.

…

The world of the Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest was vast and boundless.

Upon first entering the Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest, one encountered an expansive continent with winding mountains and overlapping, towering peaks.

At the limit of the visible horizon stood an endless mountain range that resembled a barrier, dividing the entire Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest into two parts.

Among the cultivators entering the Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest, aside from some Great Emperors, all the Emperor Venerables rushed straight for this barrier, attempting to cross the mountain chasm and reach the world’s core.

Duobao Daoist was one of them.

He possessed some knowledge of the Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest, aware that it contained seven supreme treasures, though he wasn’t clear on their specific locations.

Hidden high in the sky, he concealed his presence so well that not even someone as high-ranking as Dao King could detect his aura.

The only person who discovered his trace was Su Miao Zhen.

This woman possessed keen spiritual senses, capable of detecting even the faintest trace he left.

However, Duobao Daoist wasn’t concerned. Since Su Miao Zhen had noticed him, he had become even more cautious. Unless a true immortal made their descent into the world, no one could find his whereabouts.

He was far ahead of the others.

Duobao Daoist did not linger along the way. Within a single day, he reached the mountain range.

Roar!

The mountains were home to many ancient ferocious beasts and monstrous birds. Duobao Daoist moved cautiously, skirting around these dangers one by one as he pushed deeper into the range.

Just as Duobao Daoist was nearing the end of the range, he suddenly halted, motionless.

"Burial Soil…"

Ahead, a section of black soil floated, stretching for thousands of miles. It radiated an aura of extinction and deathly stillness, bleak and endless, devoid of any trace of life force.

This patch of Burial Soil was vastly, drastically different from the Burial Soil Lin Qianmo had witnessed in Godfall Ridge.

Deathly, barren, and dark, it seemed saturated with all the world’s negative forces.

Duobao Daoist’s expression turned grave.

"Why would Burial Soil be in the Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest?"

Burial Soil was shrouded in mystery, its existence spanning across several epochs. Even Duobao Daoist couldn’t pinpoint its origin.

But he knew of the legend circulating in the world concerning a second life.

The source of this legend was the very same, strange Burial Soil.

Duobao Daoist had never believed in the so-called second life. Though he had seen people who had supposedly lived a second life, in his view, those individuals had all changed in some way, large or small, as if they had become entirely different people.

Therefore, Duobao Daoist regarded Burial Soil as an ill omen.

Swoosh!

At that very moment, a flash of sword light gleamed, abruptly stopping before the Burial Soil. Su Miao Zhen appeared, her long hair loose and flowing, her demeanor arrogant and cold as she hovered in mid-air.

She was barely three feet away from Duobao Daoist yet remained completely unaware of his presence.

Then, Dao King, Emperor Venerable Yama, Emperor Venerable Mi Luo, and the others flooded after her, arriving one after another.

"How could the Burial Soil appear here?"

Emperor Venerable Mi Luo’s gaze was filled with horror. Clearly, he understood the terrifying nature of the Burial Soil. Even standing at the peak of the lower realm, speaking of the Burial Soil could still make him blanch.

"The Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest is a legacy leftover from the Primordial Era. For the Burial Soil to appear here, does it mean that the Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest and the Burial Soil belong to the same period?"

"Even…," Emperor Venerable Yama rasped, his voice grim, "could the existence of the Burial Soil predate the Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest?"

This viewpoint instantly shattered everyone’s composure.

Throughout history, countless people had vainly tried to use the Burial Soil to obtain a second life, but nearly all had failed. No one knew the origin of the Burial Soil. Nor did anyone know who had spread the legend of the second life. All held the Burial Soil in deepest reverence and fear.

"This is not our concern," the Dao King solemnly declared. "Right now, the Burial Soil blocks our path. If we wish to traverse the mountain range, we must cross the Burial Soil."

"Why cross the Burial Soil at all?" Emperor Venerable Zi Zai laughed heartily. "This stretch of Burial Soil is only a thousand miles long, but these mountains stretch endlessly. We just need to find a place without Burial Soil to cross, right?"

With those words, Emperor Venerable Zi Zai flew eastward. Avoiding the Burial Soil area, he activated Heavenly laws manifesting earth. His physical body grew vast, and he prepared to step directly over the mountain range.

Buzz!

Suddenly.

A ghostly glow spread across heaven and earth. The Burial Soil seemed disturbed by Emperor Venerable Zi Zai’s aura, as if some substance or lifeform stirred within. The thousand-mile stretch of Burial Soil instantly blotted out the sky and earth.

Emperor Venerable Zi Zai’s face contorted in panic, and he frantically pulled his foot back.

"Idiot!" The Palace Master of the Holy Mother Palace had an ugly expression on her face. The Various Emperor Venerables also looked extremely grave, wishing they could hurl Emperor Venerable Zi Zai into the Burial Soil.

Duobao Daoist’s pupils shrank drastically. Witnessing the scene, he silently retreated. Changes in the Burial Soil were definitely not a good sign.

Woo!

The ghostly light spread. The Burial Soil trembled ceaselessly, like a black serpent stretching its body. A wave of bizarre power awoke, expanding wildly, sweeping out in all directions. Wherever the ghostly light covered, plants and trees withered instantly. The world turned bleak, murky, and filled with decay.

"Run!" Emperor Venerable Mi Luo let out a long roar, attempting to flee before the ghostly light covered them. But he was too late.

The ghostly light was the power of the Great Dao. The Burial Soil was a domain of the Great Dao. The moment its power awakened, it had already enveloped heaven and earth. Escape was impossible. The instant they saw the Burial Soil, they were already trapped.

"It’s all the fault of that fool Zi Zai!" an Emperor Venerable yelled furiously.

The Burial Soil was unfathomably bizarre. Even an immortal couldn’t guarantee a safe escape, relying on luck. Last time, Lin Qianmo and the others could walk out precisely because of good fortune, as they hadn’t stepped into overly strange sections. This stretch in the Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest was clearly exceptionally malicious.

Emperor Venerable Zi Zai felt shock, anger, and resentment.

"Damn it! How could I know the Burial Soil was this treacherous?" he retorted with indignance. "Now I’m stuck in the same mess as you lot! Trapped inside with no way out!"

"Something’s changing…"

Right then, Emperor Venerable Mi Luo’s eyes sharpened.

A heavy fog rose from the Burial Soil. The sound like weapons and hooves seemed to resonate, and the very earth shook. The group stared, shocked, towards the front.

Out of the Netherworldly gloom, a mighty force seemed to surge forth – horses and banners, an iron-clad killing aura concentrated into an essence. A terrifying aura of slaughter polluted heaven and earth, making them shiver uncontrollably.

A bone-piercing chill gripped everyone. They discovered, to their horror, that their magical power, their primordial spirit, and their physical body were all as if imprisoned. They couldn’t use them in the slightest. They couldn’t even make a sound. They could only watch helplessly as the iron cavalry charged straight towards them.