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“Whoosh!”
When Xiao Chen appeared above the Ancient Desolate Land, he felt the attacks on the formation suddenly come to a stop.
The formation that Xiao Chen laid was still there. This startled him. It was not that someone was trying to break the formation. That person just wanted to lure him here.
Who can it be?
Xiao Chen did not feel any fear. Now, he believed that he was unrivaled in the Sky Dome Realm. Even the three Holy Masters did not dare to send any more people to seek trouble for him after he snatched away three sets of peak-quality King Grade Battle Armor from them.
Xiao Chen was just feeling suspicious. Who had lured him here? Was this person not afraid of death?
He looked over and extended his Spiritual Sense, instantly covering the entire Ancient Desolate Land.
Many islands dotted the lake. Cultivators of all types appeared in Xiao Chen’s mind, unable to escape his notice.
After sweeping his Spiritual Sense across the entire lake surface and retracting it, Xiao Chen did not find anyone suspicious.
Just as he was about to shift his gaze, he noticed a figure.
This figure with a sword on his back sat at the edge of the Ancient Desolate Land and looked at the lake, appearing distracted and sorrowful.
Even though this was just a back view, the heavy sorrow allowed Xiao Chen to sense the grief in his heart.
“It’s him?”
Xiao Chen slowly landed and walked over, step by step. With just one glance, he could tell whom this back view belonged to.
It was a descendant of the Tianwu Dynasty, Chu Chaoyun!
Chu Chaoyun did not give off any special aura, seemingly very ordinary. When the passing cultivators looked at his demeanor, they could not understand what was going on.
Why was he staring blankly at the lake, looking so sorrowful? Who was he showing this to?
When Xiao Chen saw this scene, he suddenly thought of a saying: “Those who know me know that I’m in sorrow. Those who don’t know me think that I am in want of something.”
Those who understood Chu Chaoyun, like Xiao Chen, naturally understood that he was merely thinking of the past. Ten thousand years ago, this was the most bustling land of the Sky Dome Realm, the center of the world. There had been many people and chariots. The Tianwu Dynasty’s royal flag flew everywhere.
However, after ten thousand years, the city had disappeared, and the country was destroyed. Now, all that could be seen was this ocean-like lake. As a descendant of the Tianwu Dynasty’s royal clan, every time Chu Chaoyun saw it, he probably sighed with considerable sorrow.
However, others did not know. Those cultivators passing by saw only a fool staring at the lake.
After seeing Chu Chaoyun, Xiao Chen was already sure that the one that lured him over was this person.
As though Chu Chaoyun had grown eyes on his back, he seemed to know that Xiao Chen had arrived. He suddenly stood up and quickly ran forward.
Xiao Chen paused for a moment before giving chase.
As Xiao Chen pursued Chu Chaoyun, they both arrived at Hidden Dragon Lake. “Plop!” Chu Chaoyun jumped into the lake.
Xiao Chen hesitated for a moment. Then, he evaluated his own strength. Even if there was a trap below, after executing Dharmic World, he would be able to flee and even kill his opponent.
He stopped hesitating and quickly followed behind, entering Hidden Dragon Lake.
When Xiao Chen sank to the bottom and went through that formless barrier, he saw Chu Chaoyun hovering in the air, above the Tianwu Emperor’s grave.
Aside from Chu Chaoyun, there was no one else. There were no traps, which Xiao Chen had worried about.
Xiao Chen walked over calmly. “What are you planning by luring me here? Chu Chaoyun, you can tell me already, right?”
Before the Tianwu Emperor’s grave, Chu Chaoyun turned around and smiled at Xiao Chen. “Nothing much, I just wanted to meet you and see how strong you are now.”
Xiao Chen was now extremely calm. He said indifferently, “In that case, you really are here to seek death?”
Chu Chaoyun smiled. “Indeed. Now, under Martial Emperor, no one is your opponent. Even the most horrifying outstanding royal talents of the Deep Abyss Demonic World might not be a match for you.
“However, when checking someone out, one should look not only at what is before them now but, even more so, at the future. I came to see if you have any hope of succeeding in your Great Tribulation of wind and fire.”
Feeling interested, Xiao Chen said, “Many thanks for your concern. In that case, what do you think my chances are?”
Chu Chaoyun replied unhurriedly, “With your current strength, I feel that you have a ten percent chance.”
Xiao Chen smiled. “Ten percent. This is quite a lot. Since ancient times, the people who can clear the Great Tribulation of wind and fire have only been one in ten thousand.”
“I’m not finished yet. If I consider the external factors, the likelihood of you succeeding in your Great Tribulation of wind and fire is only one in ten thousand.” Chu Chaoyun paused for a while before picking up the topic again. “Perhaps you do not know. The Thunder Sovereign’s ten-thousand-year tribulation arrived early. Now, there is no news of him. It is not known whether he is alive or not; no one has any word of him.”
“What?!”
“You heard right. Right now, there is no news of the Thunder Sovereign. Many rumors say that he is already dead. The entire Kunlun Realm is in chaos.”
When Xiao Chen heard this, it startled him. No wonder the three Holy Masters dared to send people down to attack him so openly.
It turned out that such a great change had taken place in the Kunlun Realm. Something major actually happened to the undisputed strongest of the Kunlun Realm, the strong Thunder Sovereign.
No news whatsoever, without anyone knowing whether he was alive or dead!
The Thunder Sovereign was considered Xiao Chen’s strongest backer. Back then, in the Kunlun Realm, he was one of the main reasons Xiao Chen did not get crushed by a major character.
Such a change was like lightning on a clear day to Xiao Chen.
The difficulty of advancing to Martial Emperor suddenly increased tremendously. The Great Tribulation of wind and fire already made Xiao Chen very anxious. With the Thunder Sovereign gone, the balance of the external factors was broken, becoming very strange.
Chu Chaoyun laughed softly and said, “Sorry for bringing you such bad news. However, it is still better than suddenly finding out when you go back to the Kunlun Realm. At least you have some time to adjust to this.”
Xiao Chen recovered his wits and said coldly, “What, do you expect me to thank you?”
Chu Chaoyun waved his hand. “There is no need for that. You don’t have to look at me like that, either. There will definitely be a battle between you and me, but this is not the time.”
This again!
Xiao Chen frowned and said, “I’ve really had enough of hearing this. What exactly is the grudge between us? Although I’ve always designated you as an opponent, I do not have any hatred for you. However, you have been hiding for so many years, telling me this same thing. What exactly does it mean?”
“There is no rush. We have the same goals. With us not having achieved our goals yet, how can you understand the entire situation? Catch this!”
Chu Chaoyun gently jumped down and casually broke the formation that Xiao Chen left, reaching out and grabbing a formation flag, then tossing it to Xiao Chen.
This was a formation that Xiao Chen laid when he was a Martial Sage, so it should not be difficult for Chu Chaoyun to break it. However, Xiao Chen did not expect him to be able to break it so casually.
Xiao Chen caught the formation flag. When he saw that Chu Chaoyun seemed to want to break into the Tianwu Emperor’s grave, his expression changed slightly. A murderous intent arose in his heart. “Stop!”
Chu Chaoyun gently drifted down and stood on the simple grave of the first Tianwu Emperor. He smiled gently and asked, “Why stop? Actually, you must also be very curious about the first Tianwu Emperor’s grave in your heart, right? Today, I’ll show you what exactly is inside.”
Before Xiao Chen could do anything to stop Chu Chaoyun, Chu Chaoyun smashed the gravestone with one palm strike. The entire grave shattered and blasted out the coffin in there.
The coffin lid opened with a ‘bang.’ Xiao Chen, who was preparing to make a move, could not help the shock on his face when he saw what was inside the coffin. He could not believe it and stopped cold.
Empty?
That was right. After the heavy coffin lid opened, there was nothing in the coffin.
Completely empty, void of anything.
Xiao Chen even suspected that his eyes were playing tricks on him. This place was definitely the grave of the first Tianwu Emperor and was more than twenty thousand years old.
However, there was indeed nothing in there. The old flood dragon that stood guard here had gravely instructed Xiao Chen not to let anyone open it.
There was nothing in there. Opening it or not, what did it matter?
Xiao Chen narrowed his eyes at Chu Chaoyun. “You’ve long known that there is nothing in there?”
Chu Chaoyun smiled gently and replied, “If there really was any inheritance in there, when the Tianwu Dynasty was destroyed, someone would have opened it long ago and tried to use it to save the Tianwu Dynasty from being destroyed. Those major characters would have taken it away. How could it be the turn of us, two small fries, to take it?”
Xiao Chen said in disbelief, “However, that old flood dragon stood guard here for so many years, making an oath to do so. If there was nothing, why did it guard here, then?”
Chu Chaoyun’s lips curled up as he kicked the coffin lid a couple of times. “It is not that there is nothing at all. I heard that the first Tianwu Emperor made this coffin personally. It is pretty good as a memorial. The old flood dragon’s loyalty was merely guarding a symbol.”
Chu Chaoyun’s tone was replete with disrespect for this first Tianwu Emperor, a total lack of regard. He did not seem to consider the first Tianwu Emperor as an ancestor, not showing any respect for him.
Xiao Chen found this incredible. This result far exceeded his expectations.
The true grave of the first Tianwu Emperor actually did not have anything. With a flash, Xiao Chen arrived at the grave, which was blasted open.
The grave palace was rather complete, suffused with the ancient Tianwu Dynasty’s style. Xiao Chen carefully looked around. The construction of the grave palace was not really complicated nor huge.
The walls of the small grave palace were all solid, bereft of secret passages and rooms.
There were some carvings on the wall. Xiao Chen carefully touched them and felt a sharp sword intent. More than twenty thousand years later, even after the dynasty had fallen, the sword intent remained so sharp.
If not for Xiao Chen being very strong and cultivating the Saber Dao to a level that no one had before, he might have gotten hurt.
Aside from sharpness, Xiao Chen also felt the carefreeness of the sword intent’s master in the sword intent. Which was to say, the master of this sword intent just casually left this behind, and there was no other special meaning.
Xiao Chen withdrew his hand and carefully observed the carvings on the wall. After such a long time, the wall carving had already become blurred, mostly covered by dust.
However, based on the trajectory of the sword intent, he knew that the master of this sword intent completed this carving in one breath, using a sword to do so.
Xiao Chen looked around, using his sharp senses to find the starting point of this carving.
After that, he stepped forward and closed his eyes. He placed his left hand on the starting point of the carving.
“Life Bestowal Spell!”
Xiao Chen formed a hand seal with his right hand before extending his hand and tapping on the dust in the grave palace. Under the control of his Life Bestowal Spell, the dust gathered into a figure holding a sword.
It was like watching the scene of the master of this sword intent performing a sword dance twenty thousand years ago.
Xiao Chen followed the lines on the wall, walking forward, step by step. His right hand continuously formed different hand seals.
“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”
The human figure of dust brandished his sword and danced, executing a set of Sword Techniques and releasing a magnificent and elegant sword light. It was as if Xiao Chen simulated the movements of the sword intent’s master from twenty thousand years ago.