Ever since he became a Great Emperor, a powerful sense of summons had appeared in his mind. He had suppressed it with all his might, but as time passed, the summons within him grew stronger and stronger.
The other two Great Emperors of the Falling Star Domain had attained that rank later. One had been a Great Emperor for two hundred years, while the other had held the rank for fewer than fifty.
At that moment, Great Emperor Withered Stone gazed at the vast mountain range before him.
This range, known as Ten-Thousand-Bone Mountain, was the greatest forbidden ground in the Falling Star Domain. Legend had it that, in a distant age, a Chaos Ferocious Beast that could not be killed had been suppressed and sealed in its deepest reaches.
The strongest cultivators of the Falling Star Domain generally took turns standing guard, fearful that the suppressed Chaos Ferocious Beast might escape.
Over the endless years, many powerful cultivators of the Falling Star Domain had tried to venture into the forbidden grounds to uncover the truth. Yet the seals within were far too powerful, and no one could break through them to enter the Core Region.
As time passed, the power of the seals deep within Ten-Thousand-Bone Mountain steadily weakened. In particular, over the past hundred-odd years, their decline had grown increasingly rapid.
Deep in the night, when the moon was full, strange sounds would emanate from the depths of Ten-Thousand-Bone Mountain. They sounded like chains clashing, yet also like stone slabs grinding against one another.
These sounds could pierce a cultivator's soul, startling countless cultivators awake from their dreams.
After becoming a Great Emperor, Great Emperor Withered Stone had taken over from the previous guardian and had guarded this place for two hundred and fifty years.
He had only