His Legend, a Legend That Could Not Be Found

His Legend, a Legend That Could Not Be Found

Time was like a raging, merciless flood, always swallowing years and rings of age when one least expected it.

No one knew how much time had passed. The place where the Four Emperors had left their bloody marks had become a forbidden ground, and a Stone Hall had been erected there.

The once barren land was now covered in vegetation. Barren mountains and rocky hills had turned green, birds and beasts now flew through the skies, and many crawling Ferocious Beasts could be seen upon the earth.

In such surroundings, that Stone Hall appeared exceptionally abrupt, like a pearl in the night or a wasteland amid lush green grass.

That day, several young human men and women dressed in luxurious clothing arrived at the most dangerous forbidden ground in the Central Domain—"Four Emperors Forbidden Ground."

Leading the way was a somewhat burly young man in brocade robes. He held a cyan longsword, clearing away thorns along the path and slaying quite a few Ferocious Beasts that blocked their way.

Following behind him were two young women. One wore a long yellow dress and looked about seventeen. Her features were delicate enough to seem carved from jade, her curved brows and eyes lovely, her hair tied into twin ponytails. Two small dimples appeared whenever she smiled, lending her a playful charm.

Linked arm-in-arm with the girl in yellow was a Green Robe Woman. She wore clean, simple green robes and was somewhat older, around twenty. Her skin was like congealed cream, her beautiful eyes like clear green pools, and her bearing extraordinary.

Upon closer inspection, all three possessed powerful auras. The Green Robe Woman had the highest cultivation, having reached the terrifying third level of the Golden Core Realm. The yellow-robed girl beside her, who was curiously surveying the surroundings, had also reached Foundation Establishment Perfection.

As for the burly young man walking ahead and clearing the way, he had reached the first level of the Golden Core Realm.

At such young ages, they had attained such cultivation. It was clear that these three were among the world's foremost Heaven's Chosen.

At that moment, the yellow-robed girl asked the Green Robe Woman, "Sister Ye'er, why is this place called the Four Emperors Forbidden Ground?"

It was her first time traveling far from home, so she knew little about many things beyond the outside world. This time, she had secretly slipped out behind her master's back to accompany her senior brother and senior sister on their training journey.

At her words, a nostalgic expression surfaced on the Green Robe Woman's face. She murmured, "Actually, I'm not very sure either."

"My master told me that when his master—my Grandmaster—"

"When my Grandmaster followed the other ancestors to this continent, the Four Emperors Forbidden Ground already existed."

"There are countless legends about the Four Emperors Forbidden Ground."

"The most credible account is that, before they arrived, this continent underwent a heaven-shaking battle that wiped out every living creature on it, turning it into a barren wasteland."

"The Four Emperors Forbidden Ground was, in fact, the Cave Abode of four emperor-level experts."

"There are legends that those four emperors are still alive, and that they come to the Four Emperors Forbidden Ground once every hundred years for a gathering."

At this point—

The burly young man clearing the path ahead turned around and added, "Senior Sister Ye is right."

"Every hundred years, the Four Emperors Forbidden Ground becomes a death zone. Divine lightning rolls through the void above, and every living creature within the forbidden ground flees outside."

"The legend says it is because of the Four Emperors' hundred-year gathering and discussion."

"Experts have once seen it from afar. It is said that the Four Emperors gathered here from the east, south, west, and north."

"But Junior Sister Huang needn't worry. Before coming here, I consulted ancient records. Only fifty years have passed since the last gathering of the Four Emperors ended. That means the Four Emperors Forbidden Ground will be safe for the next fifty years."

To ensure his junior sister's safety, Song Zhi'an had consulted a great number of ancient texts concerning the Four Emperors Forbidden Ground before coming. Only after confirming there was no danger had he dared come here.

Huang Yingying nodded thoughtfully, then asked, "Why do those four powerful emperors gather once every hundred years?"

In truth, Huang Yingying was not the only one curious about this question. Countless cultivators across the continent were equally curious.

"Well... I don't know either."

Although Song Zhi'an had consulted many ancient texts, none recorded why the Four Emperors gathered once every century.

At that moment, Ye Qingran parted her soft lips and said, "They should be searching for something."

"I once read in several unofficial histories that four Supreme Experts traveled and searched across the continent. Traces of Supreme Experts had appeared in places such as the distant Bone Nether Sea, the far-northern Entropy Wasteland, and the far-southern Darkness Origin."

"I suspect that those four Supreme Experts were the Four Emperors of legend."

Since childhood, Ye Qingran had loved researching ancient texts and legends. When she was only seven or eight, she would spend every day hugging the Record of Strange Writings and reading it.

When she had first learned the legend of the Four Emperors Forbidden Ground, she too had been obsessed with it for a long time. Later, she had consulted a great deal of ancient material.

The more she investigated, the more alarmed she became, because legends of the Four Emperors could be traced back fifty thousand years! The Dao Ancient Divine Sect had been founded by her Grandmaster's master only ten thousand years ago.

She dared not imagine how vast a span fifty thousand years was. After searching for fifty thousand years, what exactly had they been seeking? Ye Qingran had always wanted to know.

Suddenly, the entire Four Emperors Forbidden Ground began to tremble as a powerful pressure descended.

The three of them paled in shock.

Song Zhi'an swept his hand out, gripping the longsword in his hand tightly as he said to the two women, "Go! We need to leave now!"

With that, the three fled toward the edge of the forbidden ground without the slightest hesitation.

Unfortunately, they had only escaped several thousand meters when several overwhelmingly powerful pressures descended upon the forbidden ground in an instant.

The next moment, four upright figures appeared above the forbidden ground. Yet they were wrapped in dark clouds and divine lightning, making their faces impossible to see.

At the sight of those four figures, the three of them's pupils contracted sharply. They stared up at the void, their bodies rigid as they did not dare move.

C-could these be the Four Emperors?!

It seemed the legends were true!

But why had they descended fifty years early?

Ye Qingran raised her head and looked at the four figures in the void, somewhat excited.

Had they found what they had been searching for?

At that moment, with courage from who knew where, she asked the four figures, "Four seniors, may I ask what you are searching for?"

"If possible, I can help you search for it as well."

The moment those words left her mouth, the other two looked at Ye Qingran in utter shock.

They had not expected Senior Sister Ye to dare speak to the Four Emperors.

In truth, Ye Qingran was terrified as well. But her curiosity had overcome her reason. Like a riddle that had plagued her for many years now lying within arm's reach, she wanted to know the truth.

There was an even more important reason. If these Four Emperors truly were searching for something, she could have her master mobilize the Dao Ancient Divine Sect's power to help search for it.

That way, there might even be a chance to recruit these four Supreme Experts into the Dao Ancient Divine Sect.

A long time passed.

The four figures in the void remained unmoved, as though Ye Qingran and the others were mere ants on the ground in their eyes, unqualified to speak with them.

Yet after a while, an ancient voice rang out. "No need. It has already been found."

Perhaps because it had heard Ye Qingran's goodwill, that ancient voice did not make things difficult for them.

At that moment, two powerful figures rushed into the forbidden ground, arriving beside Ye Qingran and shielding them.

"Master, Grandmaster, why have you come?"

Ye Qingran was astonished upon seeing who had arrived.

She had never expected even her Grandmaster, who had been in seclusion for a thousand years, to come.

At that moment, her Grandmaster did not answer Ye Qingran's question. Instead, he knelt toward one of the figures in the void. "This junior, Li Changtan, pays respects to the Ancestor."