“A precious relic of the Mysterious Emperor lineage?”
Lin Yuan fixed his gaze on the golden box.
More than half a year earlier, his avatar had delivered the golden box here.
From the moment the box arrived, it seemed to sense something and began slowly absorbing the aura of Lin Yuan’s “Mysterious Emperor evolution path.”
It absorbed continuously until now.
Only at this moment did Lin Yuan faintly feel that the box had slowed or even stopped its absorption.
“Is it about to open?”
Watching the golden box, Lin Yuan sensed a different sort of fluctuation coming from within.
“Master.”
A six-armed figure appeared nearby, speaking in a cautious tone.
“Mm.”
Lin Yuan glanced at the six-armed figure.
Time passed little by little.
Click, click.
The aura inside the golden box began to shift rapidly, until a crack appeared on the surface.
“Huh?”
Lin Yuan eyed that crack.
It widened bit by bit until the golden box was fully opened.
Inside, a piece of hide lay neatly folded.
Calling it hide wasn’t entirely accurate; it was certainly the skin or pelt of some powerful creature, overall a greenish hue that carried a sense of the ancient and boundless.
“What is this?”
Lin Yuan studied the hide carefully but did not act rashly.
The six-armed figure at his side couldn’t discern anything either; it knew nothing of that hide.
“Rise.”
With a slight movement of Lin Yuan’s mind, the hide floated gently upward.
“This hide itself is a secret treasure of Chaos-level,” Lin Yuan said gravely.
As it drifted, a mysterious aura spread out, suppressing space and time, and it originated from this hide.
“So it’s only a Chaos-level treasure?”
Lin Yuan looked puzzled. The hide felt more imposing than that Chaos-level treasure left behind by Dominance pinnacle expert Cang Weiyang.
A Chaos treasure of this quality was worth at least a hundred thousand Chaos Stones, likely priceless on the market.
Moreover, given that the hide could suppress time and space, it was clearly a control-type treasure, which tended to be more valuable than offensive-type treasures.
But…
This hide came from the golden box, and the box belonged to the Mysterious Emperor lineage. According to the six-armed figure, these golden boxes were personally forged by His Majesty the Mysterious Sovereign, so the item inside was likely left by His Majesty the Mysterious Sovereign.
Supposedly, countless ages ago, that peerless Great Saint, His Majesty the Mysterious Sovereign, specially created these golden boxes. How could they contain only a Chaos-level treasure?
Even a Great Saint-level treasure wouldn’t be enough to warrant special preparation by His Majesty.
Lin Yuan felt a surge of puzzlement.
“Master, on the surface of this hide, a map is inscribed,” the six-armed figure abruptly said, having noticed something.
“A map?”
Lin Yuan’s mind sharpened, and he looked again.
Sure enough,
On the reverse side of the hide, a highly intricate map was etched, involving layers upon layers of time and space, the kind that might confound even Chaos Venerables or Chaos Great Saints.
“This map…”
Lin Yuan quickly scanned it. The territory it covered was unimaginably vast, at least ten times greater than Guming Chaotic Continent, and it included numerous marked regions.
“This map shows His Majesty’s mausoleum,” the six-armed figure suddenly remarked.
“A mausoleum?”
Lin Yuan looked once more.
A mausoleum was similar to a burial ground—ordinary mortal beings might need that. They would die someday.
But for His Majesty the Mysterious Sovereign? Even if he were just at the Path-Clearing level, he would be effectively immortal, let alone someone who was a peerless Great Saint.
Laying out a mausoleum implied foreknowledge of one’s own demise. Yet peerless Great Saints—Chaos Venerables—had an incredibly slim chance of death.
All the more so, foreknowing death in advance?
Even if it really were possible, a Chaos Venerable would typically try to avoid death rather than openly preparing for it. Why build a tomb for oneself?
“His Majesty…”
The six-armed figure stared blankly at the map on the hide.
Lin Yuan, however, was deep in thought.
First, if His Majesty the Mysterious Sovereign constructed a mausoleum, it meant he somehow knew he would die.
If he knew he would die, yet took no measures to avoid it, and instead embraced it, it must have been impossible to prevent.
But what kind of inevitable death could claim a peerless Great Saint? The pursuit of a thirteenth-rank time lifeform?
Indeed, if they were hunted by a lifeform of the thirteenth rank, they would assuredly be doomed. Moreover, the Mysterious Sovereign’s realm would likely be destroyed along with him.
A thirteenth-rank being’s intent to kill would not only encompass the Mysterious Sovereign himself but also anything related to him, erasing it all.
It was similar to how Marquis Qingfen had wiped out the entire Dongyang Family; under causal extension, not a single trace remained.
Even if the Mysterious Sovereign opened thirty-three thousand three hundred thirty-three Mysterious Emperor secret realms, that would only stymie beings at his own Great Saint level. He could not possibly hide from a thirteenth-rank time lifeform.
Since the Mysterious Emperor secret realm still existed, that meant a thirteenth-rank time lifeform was not involved.
The hide’s map of His Majesty’s mausoleum made Lin Yuan all the more mystified about the Great Saint’s disappearance.
“However, this map only shows the inside of the mausoleum; there’s nothing indicating where it’s located,” Lin Yuan noted inwardly.
That meant the map itself wasn’t terribly helpful.
“Oh well.”
“Even without the map, this hide is a Chaos-level treasure in itself. I only spent thirty thousand Chaos Stones on it; it was a bargain for sure.”
Lin Yuan stopped worrying about it. With his current foundation, he could fully wield a Chaos-level treasure, and this hide would indeed be extremely useful in his hands.
Qingfen City, East Gate.
At this moment, numerous figures had gathered at the vast eastern gate, their auras frightening. Every one of them was at least at the Dominance realm, all disciples under Marquis Qingfen.
Marquis Qingfen had accepted tens of thousands of disciples over the years, but those who reached Dominance numbered only a few hundred.
“His Lordship told us to wait here because he’s bringing back a newly accepted disciple. What’s going on?” Some among them muttered quietly.
Moments earlier, Marquis Qingfen had departed, sending them a message to assemble at the gate.
“What sort of disciple would prompt His Lordship to fetch them in person?” one powerful being said in disbelief. Ever since they joined Marquis Qingfen, they had never seen him do such a thing.
“It doesn’t matter. Since His Lordship told us to wait, we wait.”
Most of them stayed silent, simply standing in place.
“Senior Brother, when His Lordship took you as a disciple back then, nothing like this happened, did it?” Among the foremost in the crowd, a youth glanced at a tall man beside him.
He addressed that tall man as “Senior Brother,” who was Feng Wanxing—the second strongest person in the Qingfen Domain, just beneath Marquis Qingfen.
“No need to talk about that,” Feng Wanxing said with a sidelong look.
“We are all His Lordship’s disciples. In the ancient imperial battlefield to come, we should all support each other.”
“Yes, yes,” the youth responded hastily.
He was feeling somewhat resentful but meant nothing by it.
Just then, a ripple of distortion spread across the distant space-time.
“They’re here.”
All the waiting experts turned to look.
They saw that space-time swirl like a vortex. Marquis Qingfen, dressed in a green robe, emerged, followed by Lin Yuan.
“That person beside His Lordship?”
“That must be the new disciple he’s bringing in.”
Many powerful figures on the scene immediately fixed their eyes on Lin Yuan, sizing him up with quiet curiosity. They were all eager to know what sort of individual Marquis Qingfen held in such esteem.
Lin Yuan, following Marquis Qingfen out of the space-time passage, glanced around at the many gathered experts.
They had traveled from the Yu Family’s location to Qingfen City, which lay unimaginably far away—comparable to half a universe in the Chaos Void.
In this source world, time and space were incomparably stable. Traveling such a distance by void-walking was infinitely more difficult. Even in his prime, Lin Yuan would need quite a while to cross it. Yet with Marquis Qingfen leading him, they arrived in an instant.
“Marquis Qingfen’s mastery of time and space must be at least the eighth level,” Lin Yuan thought to himself.
Stepping out of the passage, Lin Yuan looked at the many formidable individuals who had been waiting.
“All are Dominance realm?” Lin Yuan was taken aback.
“Greetings, Your Lordship,” all the experts waiting there said in unison, bowing toward Marquis Qingfen.
Marquis Qingfen looked them over, smiling faintly. He turned to Lin Yuan and said, “These are all your senior brothers.”
“In my ranks, strength is what counts. If your strength someday surpasses theirs, then all of them will become your junior brothers, and they’ll have to call you senior.”
Marquis Qingfen explained.
“Understood.”
Lin Yuan nodded.
It was the same in this source world, the main universe, and the Chaos Void—strength alone commanded respect.
Strength was status, it was everything.
Marquis Qingfen shifted his gaze back to the crowd of disciples, saying, “This one is my new disciple. He’ll be living in Burning Heaven Courtyard for the time being. If you have no important matters, do not disturb him.”
“Yes.”
All the disciples responded at once, waves of emotion surging within them. Burning Heaven Courtyard was one of Marquis Qingfen’s personal cultivation residences. None of them were ever permitted to set foot inside, not even close.
Yet Lin Yuan was going to live there?
Such indulgent treatment was truly remarkable.
After making a brief introduction to the dozens of Dominance disciples under his command, Marquis Qingfen led Lin Yuan off to the entrance of Burning Heaven Courtyard.
“Burning Heaven Courtyard is one of my cultivation spots. Within it, I’ve stored countless manuals and legacies—material from the Qingfen Domain, from other domains, and even from the royal clan of the Liyang Ancient Kingdom.”
Marquis Qingfen said to Lin Yuan, “If you read through them, you’ll gain a sense of what your future path might be.”
“Thank you, Your Lordship.”
Lin Yuan was grateful indeed.
What he craved most right now wasn’t weapons or valuables, but knowledge and inheritance.
With his Unrivaled Insight, the more knowledge he acquired, the faster he could grow—there’d be no upper limit to that growth.
And everywhere, in all worlds, advanced knowledge and legacies were undoubtedly precious. The manuals kept in Burning Heaven Courtyard had clearly been systematically compiled by Marquis Qingfen, making comprehension even more efficient.
“After you study them for a year or two, once you have at least a basic understanding of your path, come see me again.”
Marquis Qingfen finished with a friendly smile, then vanished.
“Burning Heaven Courtyard…”
Lin Yuan composed himself and walked inside.
Main Universe.
While half of Lin Yuan’s attention was focused on refining the jade gourd, he continued cultivating and deepening his comprehension of the Dao.
Because this source world’s rule framework differed from that of the Chaos Void, Lin Yuan’s understanding of rules grew at a steady, rapid pace.
Time flowed on.
In a flash, three hundred years had passed.
...
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