"Hmm!?"
Faced with Ye Xuan's confidence, even the head revealed a look of astonishment.
It truly was not a dragon, but merely an ancient demon beast that had shed its skin and transformed into a flood dragon not long ago.
Yet this man had actually seen through its identity!?
"Heh heh, you humans are certainly confident. But even if you possess Lightning Dao Sword Intent, your cultivation is only at the Spirit Sea Realm!"
"With you, you still want to slay a dragon!?"
Buzz!
Before the words had even faded, its flood-dragon body suddenly shot out from atop the giant pillar. Its gaping maw opened wide, as if it intended to swallow Ye Xuan whole!
"You really are courting death!"
Ye Xuan bared his teeth in a savage grin. Now that there was no one else in the great hall, he no longer needed to hide his strength.
In the next moment, he spread both arms wide, wantonly releasing the aura of Nine Thunder Tribulation Heaven.
Although his talent had only initially awakened, thunder still burst from his body, and his aura soared wildly!
His Lightning Dao Sword Intent climbed to its absolute peak, causing the scarlet longsword in his hand to be bathed in thunder!
A faint power of the imperial bloodline was concealed within it as well.
With a single sword strike, he could slay this flood dragon!
"My lord, spare me!"
Yet just as Ye Xuan was about to swing his sword down, the flood dragon suddenly dropped from the air with a thud. Its head slammed against the ground as it begged for mercy in a piteous voice.
Hmm!?
This left Ye Xuan completely dumbfounded.
"Weren't you quite arrogant just now?"
Ye Xuan furrowed his brows, but the aura around him did not weaken in the slightest.
This flood dragon's intelligence was no lower than a human's.
"My lord, you never said you possessed Emperor Blood!"
But now, the flood dragon's eyes held nothing but clear fear and fawning servility.
"Emperor Blood!?"
Ye Xuan's pupils suddenly contracted. Not many people in this world knew of his imperial identity.
How had such a little flood dragon found out!?
"Heh heh, you little bug are rather clever!"
At that moment, a glowing little figure appeared outside Ye Xuan's body.
After looking the flood dragon up and down, it finally said, "Tsk, tsk, that explains it. You've been trapped here for who knows how many years without dying. I never expected you to be a descendant of the Undying Ancestral Dragon!"
"Undying Ancestral Dragon!?"
Ye Xuan was startled when he heard this. He immediately raised his brows and said, "You mean the Undying Ancestral Dragon, one of the five great ancient ancestral dragons!?"
Those were the five strongest dragon clans in all the myriad realms.
"But it's a flood dragon..."
Ye Xuan truly could not imagine what connection this flood dragon could have with an ancestral dragon.
"Huh? Otherwise, why would I say that it only possesses a trace of ancestral-dragon bloodline?"
"Otherwise, it wouldn't have been trapped here!"
"If I'm not mistaken, you were born in this hall not long ago, right?" Little Pagoda looked at the flood dragon.
"My lord, that's right. I only broke out of my shell recently, but I'm a descendant of an ancestral dragon?"
Clearly, the flood dragon itself had no idea of its identity.
"That adds up!" Little Pagoda nodded and looked at Ye Xuan. "Even if it only possesses a trace of the Undying Ancestral Dragon's bloodline, it would still take ten thousand years to hatch!"
"Judging by the timing, that's about right!"
"It should have been placed here by the master of Sword Hall ten thousand years ago."
"So that's how it is!" Ye Xuan nodded. That did make sense. "In that case, are you willing to acknowledge me as your master?"
It possessed ancestral-dragon bloodline. Even if it was only a trace, killing it would truly be a waste.
Besides, this little dragon did not seem like a fool.
"I'm willing, of course I'm willing!"
As the little dragon spoke, it directly spat out a drop of blood essence and offered it up.
At present, all it wanted was to stay alive and leave this damned place.
Ye Xuan accepted the blood essence, formed a master-servant seal, then had it transform into something the size of a finger and coil around his arm.
Immediately afterward, he arrived before the mysterious ancient bronze coffin.
Apart from the little dragon, this was the only thing in Sword Hall.
The sword intent he had sensed earlier had also come from within it!
However, when Ye Xuan reached the ancient coffin, his expression suddenly changed again.
He immediately raised the longsword in his hand and brought it down with all his strength!
Clang!
Yet this sword strike merely sent sparks flying. It had not even left the slightest mark on the coffin.
One had to know that this sword of his could cleave even Heaven Tier materials!
"Hmm!? Interesting. This coffin is actually made with Azurestar Star Sand!?" Little Pagoda frowned.
"Mm. It's a Quasi Emperor-grade material. Although there's only a little of it, it's still beyond my ability to cut open right now." Ye Xuan shook his head. "I'll have to think of a way."
Ye Xuan circled the coffin several times, only to discover that it had no patterns whatsoever. It did not even have the slightest seam!
There was no formation or restriction either!
How was he supposed to open it!?
This was the only opportunity in the secret realm. Ye Xuan would never be willing to give up just like that!
"The only thing different about this coffin is that sword intent is being released..."
Ye Xuan leaned against the coffin and pondered for a long time. Suddenly, his expression changed slightly. He placed the longsword atop the coffin and pushed his sword attainments to the limit.
Buzz!
In an instant, densely packed arcs of sword-lightning appeared and traveled across the bronze coffin.
What brightened Ye Xuan's eyes was that as the lightning arcs moved, the Imperial Seal he had seen earlier surfaced on the bronze coffin lid!
So the key to opening the coffin was the Imperial Seal!
Ye Xuan hurriedly used the lightning arcs to carve the Imperial Seal onto the coffin.
The Imperial Seal looked simple, but it was actually extremely difficult to comprehend. Even though this Imperial Seal was incomplete, copying it was no easy task.
But Ye Xuan had once observed the Imperial Seal in the Emperor Hall. A simple imitation was not difficult for him.
After half an hour, Ye Xuan's face had gone pale before he finally withdrew his Divine Sense.
At this point, Ye Xuan had exhausted all his strength, but the Imperial Seal had been successfully copied.
Buzz!
Sure enough, accompanied by a humming sound, a crack split open in the ancient bronze coffin, and it slowly opened.
A powerful, domineering sword intent erupted from within the coffin along with dense spiritual energy.
"High-grade Spirit Marrow Milk?"
Yet Ye Xuan frowned when he saw that the coffin was filled to the brim with white spiritual milk.
Although there was more of it than what he had obtained in the altar earlier, and it was somewhat purer, this still could not be considered much of an opportunity.
Besides, the sword intent could not possibly have been released by this spiritual milk.
Ye Xuan immediately reached his hand into the spiritual milk and groped around. In the next moment, he touched something, and his expression changed slightly.
It seemed not to be the remains of some ancient cultivator.
Rather, it was...
He pulled the object out, and even Little Pagoda froze. "This is a sword hilt!?"
Aside from the spiritual milk, there was only this single sword hilt in the coffin.
The sword hilt was ancient and broken. The blade had already disappeared, but an Imperial Seal could still be seen at its pommel!
It was more complete than the one on the little sword.
"This should be a sword once used by that Ancient Emperor!"
"This tomb was actually built for a sword hilt!" Little Pagoda smiled, though it was somewhat disappointed.
"It's quite a good thing."
Ye Xuan's gaze narrowed slightly. The material of this sword hilt was extremely special, something he had never seen before.
Moreover, even if there had been nothing else, obtaining the Imperial Seal alone counted as a harvest.
He also believed that the tomb of this mysterious Ancient Emperor was definitely not the only one. This sword hilt would certainly prove useful!
Immediately afterward, he put away the sword hilt. He had originally intended to take the mysterious bronze coffin with him as well, but he discovered that it was incredibly heavy and could not be placed in his storage ring, so he could only give up.
Afterward, Ye Xuan jumped straight into the coffin and began absorbing the pure Spirit Marrow Milk within.
This secret realm was a good place, and no one would disturb him here. He might as well cultivate here.
Outside the secret realm, after waiting for several days, Nangong Fei and the other two who had escaped left first.
After all, so many people had died in the secret realm this time. The Barren Continent would surely be thrown into turmoil, so it was unwise to remain there.
Several more days passed. The city lord of a Southern Region city and experts from the various first-rate sects descended upon the valley, but they found no entrance to the secret realm. After searching without result, they left.
Thus, with four days remaining before the Sect Tournament, Ye Xuan opened his eyes within Little Pagoda's space.
Buzz!
In an instant, lightning flashed wildly in his eyes, and a powerful aura swept in every direction.
"Heh heh, this trip to the secret realm wasn't in vain after all. My cultivation has finally reached the Peak Spirit Sea Realm!"
Little Pagoda chuckled wickedly. "You can finally dual-cultivate with your wife!"
The words immediately made Ye Xuan's old face flush. Chu Wan'er's beautiful, flower-like face surfaced in his mind, and he suddenly missed her terribly as well.
He had been gone for so long. Wan'er must have missed him too.
There were less than four days left before the Sect Tournament. It was time for him to return.
Immediately afterward, Ye Xuan left Sword Hall, controlled the secret realm's restrictions, and appeared in the valley.
A great many powerful auras still lingered in the area, but Ye Xuan merely sneered. He had already gained control of the secret realm's formation nexus. No one would be able to find the true entrance again!
A day later, Ye Xuan returned to the Violet Firmament Sect.
When Su Ziyun learned that Ye Xuan had returned, she was overjoyed. She had long been as anxious as an ant on a hot pan and rushed straight to Saintess Peak.
Ye Xuan and Chu Wan'er had both vanished without a trace, nearly worrying her to death!
"What!?"
"Wan'er isn't in the forbidden land, but went to Tianxuan City to challenge the tower!?"
When he learned that Chu Wan'er had left the sect long ago, Ye Xuan was also startled.
"That's right. Since you hadn't returned either, I couldn't leave!"
Su Ziyun was now filled with guilt. If she had known this would happen, she would have stopped Wan'er no matter what.
"Then we'll go to Tianxuan City immediately!"
Ye Xuan also knew that, with Wan'er's temperament, the Sect Master could not have stopped her.
Now that Chu Wan'er had yet to return, she had likely been trapped by the Hundred Refinements Tower!
He could not wait another moment!
Before you continue