Chapter 296 - The Last Human Emperor
Chapter 296: The Last Human Emperor
The sword cultivator clone stimulated his spiritual qi and gently blew a gust of cold wind forward.
In the ancient palace in front of him, some naturally drooping flags were slowly unfolded on the flag poles by the cold wind.
After a long time, the ancient words on the flag revealed an infinite aura of vicissitude.
With Jiang Li’s current level of ancient literature, it was not difficult for him to recognize the words on it. The country’s name was Shang, and the king’s name was Zhou!
The owner of this palace was the failure at the end of the Divine Investiture Tribulation.
He was an unlucky person who had been schemed against by many Sages.
It was led by the disciples of the Chan School under the Heavenly Lord of Primordial Beginning, who instigated the eight hundred vassals of the human race to rebel, resulting in the end of the last generation’s Human Emperor!
He was also the emperor who had been cursed the most in the history of his previous life, Di Xin, also known as King Zhou of Shang!
It turned out that the underground palace under Fengdu City belonged to him.
It was no wonder that there was such a legend in Fengdu Ghost City.
Through the eyes of his clone, Jiang Li looked at this ancient building that had existed for an unknown period of time, and the shock in his heart was unable to calm down for a long time.
On the other hand, the other cultivators with him were far inferior to him in terms of knowledge. They did not know what the word “Shang” on the flags meant.
Their thoughts were not on the palace in front of them.
Of the cultivators who entered with Jiang Li, 14 of them approached and stood together. They did not say a word and only exchanged glances before understanding what everyone wanted to do.
They tacitly stepped forward and surrounded Jiang Li’s clone in the middle. All of their hands were even pressed on the talisman papers and artifacts. Obviously, they had ill intentions.
“Fellow Daoist, we are naturally very grateful that you drank the wine for us in the dungeon.”
“However, the danger hasn’t been resolved yet. There might be danger ahead. It’s really inconvenient for us to defend ourselves without artifacts.”
“How about this? Return the artifact to us first. This way, we can stick together and protect you, right?”
“When we find better treasures in this palace, we’ll make it up to you. How about this?”
When they spoke, they emphasized the word “protect”. Their meaning was obvious. If they did not do as they said, the safety of the sword cultivator clone could not be guaranteed now.
The 14 of them surrounded Jiang Li’s clone covetously. As soon as they left the dungeon, they intended to attack their savior.
Therefore, it was indeed not a good action to take advantage of others. If he offended them too much, when they recovered, it would be very easy for them to take revenge.
Even Old Ghost leading the group, who originally was not well-liked, stood together against a common enemy and unanimously dealt with Jiang Li.
“Fellow Daoist, you should return the items to everyone. We’ve only met by chance, so everyone should take a step back. I, Old Ghost, guarantee that they definitely won’t attack you.”
He had already spoken and was threatening Jiang Li.
Surrounded by more than ten cultivators of the same level and without the Intrinsic Flying Sword in hand, the sword cultivator clone’s strength was less than 10%. He looked to be in danger.
However, he was not flustered and could not be bothered to argue with them.
Without needing him to say anything, the remaining seven cultivators who had consumed the Nine Nether Earth Fruit secretly circled behind the fourteen people and formed a second layer of encirclement.
Spiritual qi fluctuation suddenly erupted, and they attacked first.
Human cultivators had high attack and low defense to begin with. When they were suddenly ambushed from behind, those cultivators who had placed all their attention on Jiang Li and utterly did not notice the cultivators behind him instantly suffered heavy injuries.
Even Old Ghost was no exception. The sword directly pierced through his heart from behind.
They were all Core Formation cultivators. With their inner cores in their stomach, it was naturally not so easy to die. However, the result of being heavily injured and the invasion of the foreign spiritual qi could not be avoided.
“What are you doing? He just fed you poisonous pills. Instead of taking back the antidote, you actually helped him!”
In just a moment, their ability to resist collapsed, and they lay weakly on the ground that was covered in thick dust.
Old Ghost roared at the seven cultivators who had ambushed him. He could not understand why this group of people had been tricked by Jiang Li and had to give him money.
However, they were actually Jiang Li’s ‘good friends’.
The mouths of the fourteen cultivators, including Old Ghost, were covered in talismans. Their limbs were tied up by special ropes, and the weapons and artifacts on their bodies were all put away. They were like huge dumplings and were held in their hands from both sides.
“Bring them along. Let’s go in and take a look.”
The seven “good friends” each carried two captives and followed Jiang Li inside.
Jiang Li was still very interested in the palace of the last Human Emperor.
In the past, if there was no such thing as the Battle of Muye, the greatest traitorous incident of humanity in history, perhaps the life of the human race would have been much better than now.
Be it in history or mythology, it was recorded that this was a righteous incident.
However, why did Jiang Li call King Wu of Zhou the greatest traitor in history?
In fact, if one jumped out of subjectivity and used the simple values of an ordinary human to evaluate objectively, the day when the Shang Dynasty’s flag was broken and King Zhou self-destructed the Star Tower was definitely the darkest day in the history of the human race.
Because after that day, there would only be the Son of Heaven in the world, and there would be no Human Emperor.
The gods of the Heavenly Court also looked down on the world from high above, treating them as grass.
King Wu of Zhou had personally ended the Human Emperor Era with the support of the Immortals of Chan School and the Heavenly Court. He even shamelessly called himself the Son of Heaven. Wasn’t this son of the Heavenly Emperor a traitor to the human race?
Who knew how the ancestors of the human race would treat him after he died.
As for the distorted history, what was the credibility of a usurper’s records of history?
In order to make his usurpation legitimate, the usurper would naturally use all his knowledge to defile the former ruler.
As for whether they had done those things, how could the future generations know?
For example, Yang Guang, who was also a tyrant, was an incompetent and lecherous ruler. Historically, he was an old lecher. In order to pamper the beauties of Yangzhou in Jiangnan, he built the canals wantonly and made the people suffer.
However, Jiang Li had a friend who could prove that an old pervert would not delay going to Jiangnan for a few years just to make a river. This did not make sense.
Jiang Li approached the palace. There were no guards or traps on the outside. It seemed that this underground palace, which was the core, was far inferior to the Fengdu City above.
He tentatively pushed the door, and then the two doors creaked and slowly opened.
Not only was there no guard here, but even the door was not locked.
They first threw two captives in. The captives fell to the ground and rolled for more than twenty meters. Apart from stirring up dust on the ground, nothing abnormal happened.
Jiang Li walked into the hall and observed carefully, but he only saw two skeletons standing straight behind the door holding spears.
He stepped forward and poked them tentatively. To his surprise, the two skulls shattered and the two spears fell.
Jiang Li instinctively reached out to receive it, wanting to see what material this spear was made of. Perhaps he could refine it again.
However, not only did he not stabilize the spear, but this spear that did not seem to have any traces of refinement and looked like a mortal weapon almost brought him down.
The two spears ruthlessly smashed into the ground, shattering the unknown hard black stone slab.
He frowned in disbelief. How heavy was this thing?
The reason why he did not grab it earlier was indeed because he could not predict its weight. However, even if the clone was not a body cultivator, he was still a Core Formation cultivator, right? How could he not grab an ordinary spear?
The clone stepped forward and grabbed the spear again. He wanted to raise it, but he discovered that if he only used his physical strength, he really would not be able to grab the spear. He could only barely do so with the enhancement of his spiritual qi.
However, grabbing and using were two different concepts. This situation overturned his understanding.
It was no wonder that the Human Emperor at that time could stand on equal footing with the Heavenly Emperor in terms of status. Even a small soldier guarding the door could hold such a weapon to fight. Weren’t those famous generals super ferocious people who could suppress the disciples of the Chan School and beat them up?
If these two spears were refined and could make them shoot at the enemy like flying swords, it would probably be very terrifying.
Unfortunately, he could not use the storage bag now. It was really not convenient to carry these two things around. He could only temporarily leave this spear on the spot and take it away when he had the chance.
Continuing to move forward cautiously, in this palace, swords, axes, and ravines were slashed everywhere. Traces of tragic battle were everywhere.
When he entered the square, he could still see two special buildings. One was a vertical and towering all-metal pipe. There were traces of flames burning inside, and there were a few layers of brown filth stuck to the surface.
The other was a square stone pit that was like a swimming pool. There was a thick layer of floating ash at the bottom. Under the floating ash, a few human figures could be vaguely seen.
However, they were also ordinary buildings. Perhaps due to the passage of time, Jiang Li did not discover anything special about them.
Then, there was the Central Jade Hall, Eastern Azure Hall, Southern Flame Hall, Western White Hall, and Northern Profound Hall. He carefully explored them one after another, but his caution was like a wink to a blind person. The entire underground palace was empty.
There were no traps or treasures here. Apart from the two skeletons at the entrance, there was really no one else.
Not to mention anything else, it should be true that King Zhou had been betrayed by everyone. The dignified Imperial Palace Hall was actually so poor, and Jiang Li even wanted to leave something behind to make it look good for him.
After he was defeated and died, King Zhou was assigned to be in charge of marriage in the mortal world. However, the God of Matchmaking had already done those things, so there was actually no need for him.
This person had moved his former palace to the netherworld and built Fengdu City on it. Perhaps he wanted to get closer to the Empress Tomb outside the city.
However, Di Xin, oh Di Xin, where did you hide all the treasures? Could it be that you really only brought an empty palace over?
Jiang Li could not help but be slightly anxious. The vibrations on the ceiling of the underground palace were already becoming more and more obvious. Large cracks had already appeared in many places, and large rocks were starting to fall.
The demolition ability of those large sects in the Eastern Region was extraordinary. Even if this underground palace was really buried thousands of feet underground, it could not withstand their digging.
He had to find the treasures in the underground palace as soon as possible. Otherwise, it would be too late when those large factions arrived.
Wait, Jiang Li’s footsteps paused as he suddenly thought of something.
Central Jade, Eastern Azure, Southern Flame, Western White, and Northern Profound?
There was probably something wrong with the names of these five halls.
He, King Zhou, was the Human Emperor. Jiang Li could understand why he had built the four halls. However, it was not an exaggeration to say that there was a deep hatred between him and the Central Jade Hall. What reason did he have to build such a palace?
From ancient times, according to legend, there had always been five Heavenly Palaces and even the Heavenly Emperors in the five locations of North, South, East, West, and Central.
East Heavenly Emperor: Green Emperor Taihao (Fuxi)
West Heavenly Emperor: White Emperor Shaohao
South Heavenly Emperor: Flame Emperor Shennong
North Heavenly Emperor: Black Emperor Zhuanxu (Grandson of the Yellow Emperor)
As well as the Central Heavenly Emperor: Jade Emperor Hao Tian
Apart from the Central Heavenly Emperor, the Jade Emperor, the other four were all past Human Emperors!
Although the East Heavenly Emperor, Green Heavenly Emperor Taihao, was originally from the Primordial Demon Race and was not a human, everyone knew the name of the Human Emperor, Fuxi. Without a doubt, he was also truly part of the human faction.
As for the most famous and powerful Central Heavenly Emperor, he was not very friendly with the Human Race.
That was because this Hao Tian was an unknown Connate Being of the Primordial World. He was very noble and looked down on humans.
In the ancient myths and legends of his previous life, this Jade Emperor was called Hao Tian. He was once a servant of the Dao Ancestor.
He could be considered the junior brother of the Six Sages of the East and West.
Later on, the Dao Ancestor did not forget this boy who served him. He casually arranged a ‘decent’ job for him. That was the Jade Emperor of the Central Heavenly Court, who was said to control everything in the Three Realms and Six Paths.
As for the Gods and Immortals in the Central Heavenly Court, including the Jade Emperor, most of them were Connate spirits of the Primordial World.
It was naturally not the same as the other four Heavenly Emperors.
Previously, he had wondered why the description of Fengdu City in the legends was that it was as precious as the Heavenly Court. The Ghost Emperor presided here and ruled over billions of ghosts and gods. It was the home of the legendary human souls, but it had nothing to do with the Heavenly Court.
That was because the owner of Fengdu was also a Human Emperor. Although King Zhou had been humiliated and placed on the Divine Investiture Board after his death, he had built another Netherworld city and did not need to be responsible for the Heavenly Court.
The problem now was that King Zhou had been separated from his family by the Heavenly Court and Chan School. His family had been destroyed, and the bloodline of the Human Emperor had been severed. Why would he build a central palace here?
Jiang Li led the others to run back to the central jade hall. He thought for a moment before suddenly brandishing a sword light that shot directly towards the plaque on the jade hall.
With a crisp bang, the signboard was shattered by the sword light. Then, a golden light flew out.
Jiang Li hurriedly flew forward and grabbed the golden light in his hand. In the next moment, his entire body was enveloped by the golden light and vanished on the spot.
After Jiang Li disappeared, the ceiling of the underground palace completely shattered. Several terrifying auras that were enough to destroy an area surged into the underground palace.
He scattered his spiritual sense towards the palace below.
The seven good friends who were still in the palace had already passed through the bronze door and returned to the Fengdu dungeon. After tossing the captives to the warden, they carried the spears and returned the same way.
…
On the Nine-Tailed Tomb’s side, Jiang Li was staring blankly at the beautiful statue in front of him as if he had completely lost his mind.
From his feet, his body was petrifying bit by bit.
[Affected by the residue of the fox’s temptation. Added Status: Dream of Spring.]
[Multiple mental resistances of the main body are in effect. Immunity is in progress… Immunity failed… The influence of the residue of the fox’s temptation is weakened, the Spring Fragrance Stone Dream is used on the body.]
[Spring Fragrance Stone Dream: All attributes reduced by 80%, body stiff and petrified, rational mind weakened. Invasion of the Fox Seductive Illusion. Duration: 200 years] (− +)
Jiang Li’s main body stood in front of the stone statue in Daji’s tomb. Just like that, he was completely pulled into the illusion by the fox aura without him noticing.
In his mental world, a pink nine-tailed fox crawled in.
The little fox ran towards the core of the Sea of Consciousness, turning everything it passed into a pink world.
The dark clouds of heavenly tribulation in Jiang Li’s mental world, the Five Elements Sword Peak, the blood-colored Hundred Beasts, and the Nine Nether Tree were all trying to resist the corrosion of the pink nine tail.
But had anyone ever seen pink tribulation clouds?
After all, this was the power of the Green Mountain’s Nine Tails. Even with his mental cultivation, it was completely insufficient to resist it.
Fortunately, Jiang Li had enough trump cards. At this moment, the dragon blood in his body surged madly, and the blood red mark on his palms was scorching hot.
Three drops of dragon blood were burned away, and the Asura Lord’s blood in his palms faded away.
In Jiang Li’s consciousness, a few streaks of blood suddenly appeared, tearing apart the bewitching air. Only then did Jiang Li’s consciousness suddenly become clear.
He did not have the time to be surprised that he had fallen for it unknowingly. He hurriedly took out his status panel and pressed the minus button behind the [Spring Fragrance Stone Dream] status.
One second, two seconds, Jiang Li’s consciousness started to become dull again. Three seconds, four seconds, the little fox demon transformed into a beautiful woman with nine tails on her back. Jiang Li’s consciousness could not help but enter the gentle dream again.
Five seconds later… all the illusions suddenly disappeared. Jiang Li’s entire body shook, and he gasped for breath as he woke up.
[You have passed the Spring Fragrance Stone Dream. Skill “Iron Will (Passive)” has been obtained.]