The Place Where an Ancient Great Emperor Died and Was Reborn

Duan De did not believe Qin Sheng and the others. He wandered around this land himself, but aside from that burial mound, he found nothing.

The fat Daoist cursed those two black-hearted bastards in his heart. They had not left him a single thing. They truly deserved Heavenly Punishment!

"What exactly did you obtain?" Duan De forced out a smile, calming himself down.

"You know me. I'm not the sort of person who covets other people's treasures. I just want to help share your burdens!"

Ye Fan could not help but retort, "Last time, you directly snatched my psychic weapon."

Duan De explained with a righteous expression, "Last time, I was only joking around with Brother Ye. Even if Great Immortal Qin hadn't come, I would have returned the psychic weapon to you."

"Fellow Daoist," Qin Sheng said.

"You can fool others, but don't fool yourself too."

"Alas, the world misunderstands me too much." Duan De sighed.

"Fellow Daoist, you said it yourself—this is an Emperor's Daoist Arena," Qin Sheng said.

"If there really were something here, how could we possibly disturb it?"

"The Demon Emperor's Tomb is a perfect example!"

"Right, speaking of that, Daoist, how did you make it out of the Yin Tomb alive?" Ye Fan asked.

Duan De looked both unlucky and heartbroken. "Don't mention it. I nearly died down there. Fortunately, my skills were superior, and I barely managed to escape."

"There was great terror within the Demon Emperor's Yin Grave. Its killing intent was unparalleled. Even supreme figures from sacred lands and aristocratic families have perished inside."

Qin Sheng was not surprised. The Demon Emperor's Yin Grave truly had Emperor Qing "buried" within it. No matter how many people went in, it would never be enough to fill the death toll.

For Duan De to escape the Yin Tomb, he had likely paid no small price. After all, each of his reincarnations began from nothing, and he had to cultivate step by step all over again.

However, this fatty had far too many tricks. Even during periods when his cultivation was weak, he would at most suffer a little and end up in a sorry state. His life would not be in danger.

"You really didn't obtain anything?" Duan De refused to give up.

"Really, nothing." The two gave the same answer.

"That shouldn't be. There should be Chaotic Ruin Dust here."

"What is Chaotic Ruin Dust?" Qin Sheng asked.

"Show me the treasures you obtained, and I'll tell you."

Clearly, Duan De did not believe them at all. Yet both men kept their mouths tightly shut, insisting that they had gained nothing.

Duan De cursed furiously in his heart. Helplessly, he came before the burial mound, his expression shifting unpredictably.

Qin Sheng hurriedly said, "Fellow Daoist, you aren't thinking of digging up this grave, are you?"

"If you want to die, don't drag us down with you!"

"Daoist, don't be impulsive." Ye Fan hurriedly advised him as well. "Think of the Demon Emperor's Yin Grave!"

"After finally discovering an Emperor's Daoist Arena, I'm supposed to return empty-handed? I really can't accept that!" Duan De let out a long sigh.

"You're courting death." Qin Sheng shook his head.

"What kind of figure was an Emperor, and what realm are you in now? Perhaps you're special and capable, confident that you can escape safely."

Qin Sheng said meaningfully, "But some things inevitably bear consequences once their causes are planted. Nothing may happen now, but the future is another matter."

"An Emperor's causality is unimaginably heavy. It is enough to crush the ages!"

Qin Sheng was absolutely certain that if Duan De had come here alone, he would definitely have dug open this grave.

In the original plot, after Duan De obtained the Swallowing Heaven Devil Canopy, he was extremely wary of mentioning Ruthless. Sometimes, he even appeared afraid of her.

The reason for that must have been that Duan De had done something to wrong Ruthless.

Considering that dead fatty's profession...

What he had done was obvious.

He had dug up Ruthless's grave. How could he not be afraid?

Qin Sheng even suspected that Duan De might have touched that bloodstained garment, which most likely belonged to Ruthless.

There was no need to question whether Duan De had the nerve. That dead fatty's courage was greater than the heavens.

Fortunately, it had been Duan De. If anyone else had done such things, they would certainly have died.

Qin Sheng's words seemed to strike a chord with Duan De. He recalled something and fell into thought.

"Even if you want to dig it up, Yezi and I absolutely won't agree. We'll stop you," Qin Sheng continued.

The Swallowing Heaven Devil Canopy taking away that pile of black soil earlier had truly been an accident. Qin Sheng had never once considered robbing a grave.

The more one knew, the less one dared to court death.

Besides, he had received much kindness from Ruthless. Protecting her cenotaph was only right.

After a while, Duan De came back to his senses and said irritably,

"You don't want to die. Do you think I do?"

"This time, I really took a huge loss. I used so many treasures and got nothing at all..."

As Duan De spoke, he inspected his surroundings. His eyes suddenly lit up. He crouched down, grabbed a basinful of red mud, and sniffed it, his face breaking into a delighted smile.

"Well, it's not a complete loss."

Ye Fan stared in disbelief. "Daoist, don't tell me you're planning to haul away even the ground?"

What a locust!

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Duan De said.

"Today, this Daoist master will broaden your horizons. Do you know what kind of place this is?"

"An Emperor's Daoist Arena. You just said so."

"..."

Duan De was left speechless. Then he pretended nothing had happened and continued,

"Legend has it that an ancient Great Emperor once underwent the most crucial transformation of his life here. It was an incomparably brutal and tragic rebirth."

"That Great Emperor's body exploded into a mist of blood, while his Primordial Spirit scattered, leaving him on the brink of death."

"The soil here contains an Emperor's blood?" Ye Fan asked in astonishment.

"In your dreams."

Duan De rolled his eyes. "If that kind of thing had not undergone special treatment, a single drop could kill countless people like us."

"After that Great Emperor completed his most crucial transformation, he reclaimed all his flesh and blood and Primordial Spirit. Yet his Dao charm affected this stretch of heaven and earth."

"The Dao charm of his flesh and blood dyed the earth red, while the Dao charm of his Primordial Spirit eroded the clouds. Each gave birth to a special substance. You've stayed here for months, so you should have noticed something, right?"

The two nodded.

"For some reason, the Dao charm has now dissipated, but those two special substances remain. If their essence can be refined, their benefits will be boundless."

Qin Sheng fell into thought. Based on Duan De's account, could this be the place where Ruthless, in the twilight of her first lifetime, transformed into a Second-Life Flawless Chaotic Body?

That was quite possible, and it matched the cenotaph.

Her first-life Emperor body had already been refined into an Emperor Weapon. Burying the bloodstained garment here could also be considered burying her first lifetime.

Ye Fan asked curiously, "Daoist, how do you know all this?"

Duan De smiled confidently. "Many ancient people deliberately left behind certain information so that the truth of their eras would not be buried by history."

"And I am responsible for excavating it. Those ancient people and I can be considered kindred spirits separated by the river of time."

Grave robbing was grave robbing, yet he made it sound so refined and elegant.

"Fellow Daoist, do you have a way to refine the essence of those two special substances?" Qin Sheng asked with a gentle smile.

Duan De replied proudly, "Of course."

"Hahaha."

Qin Sheng laughed loudly. "Fellow Daoist, gathered together as we are today, we look back on the past, on those glorious and beautiful years."

"Looking toward the future, the bond between us stretches on endlessly, with no end in sight."

"The essence of these special substances should naturally be split equally when we meet!"

Ye Fan nodded rapidly. "Precisely, precisely. Today, we encountered this opportunity together in an Emperor's Daoist Arena. In the future, we may ascend as Flying Immortals together. That would make quite a fine tale."

"Daoist, say no more. We're definitely becoming friends!"

Duan De's vision went dark. Holy fucking Heavenly Venerable.

How could there be people in this world even more shameless than me?

And there were two of them!

Looking at the two black-hearted bastards before him, Duan De truly wanted the heavens to take them away.

"Don't even think about it!" Duan De refused decisively.

"Unless you hand over the treasures you obtained here. Then I might consider giving you some essence of the special substances."

"We truly didn't obtain any treasures," Qin Sheng said.

"Fellow Daoist, given our relationship, isn't it a bit too distant of you to say such things?"

"Stop right there. We have no relationship whatsoever!"

Duan De stopped paying attention to them and began refining the essence of the special substances.

He had mastered a type of Dao Pattern that, once inscribed upon the body, could briefly create the effect of using one's body as a furnace.

When great Divine Ability cultivators of ancient times comprehended heaven and earth, they gained many insights. They copied those insights down and passed them on to later generations, thereby creating the Dao Patterns studied by cultivators today.

They could be called the embodiment of the Dao itself, encompassing everything and possessing unfathomable mystical power.

Some Dao Patterns allowed one to cross hundreds of millions of miles in an instant; others could interfere with the flow of time.

"Can't tools be used to refine the essence?" Qin Sheng asked.

"The origins of these substances are special. Tools cannot collect them; only the human body itself can gather them."

Duan De explained casually, "And the human body has limits. It can't absorb them endlessly, or adverse effects will appear."

Do not assume that because Duan De was the reincarnation of an Ancient Heavenly Venerable, his current body could rival an Emperor's.

At the Emperor Qing's Tomb before, when Duan De fought for psychic weapons at the Dao Palace and Four Extremes levels, his ass had even been stabbed bloody by the weapons...

Qin Sheng clapped his hands and smiled. "In that case, this is all the more a time for us to work together!"

"How much special substance essence can you refine alone, Fellow Daoist? If Yezi and I join in, that would be truly efficient!"

"Besides, you know that Yezi comes from the Desolate Ancient Sacred Land. When it comes to physical bodies, he has no equal."

Hearing this, Duan De was genuinely tempted.

"How about this, Fellow Daoist? You help inscribe the Dao Patterns for us. Then we'll split the refined special substance essence one to nine!" Qin Sheng said generously.

"You get one, I get nine? That could work." Duan De felt that Qin Sheng still had a conscience.

"We get nine, you get one," Qin Sheng said with a smile.

Duan De exploded in anger. Was Qin Sheng treating him like a member of the Demon Race?

"Black-hearted brat, dream on!"

"Fellow Daoist, calm down. Listen as I explain it carefully..."

After some back-and-forth bargaining, Qin Sheng, Ye Fan, and Duan De settled on the terms.

An even split.

The two of them were in excellent moods. They had gained a benefit for free. Wonderful!

Duan De...

Though he could obtain more special substance essence, he was still thoroughly depressed.

Every time he encountered these two shameless bastards, nothing good ever came of it!

Still, that dead fatty truly was a jack of all trades. He knew a little about everything. After spending a day on it, he inscribed the "Furnace" Dao Pattern on all three of them.

Half a month later, Qin Sheng looked at the two dragon-eye-sized beads in his hand and sighed in admiration.

"These two essences are enough to transform both a cultivator's physical body and Primordial Spirit once. An opportunity—this truly is an opportunity."

"Fellow Daoist, thank you so much this time."

"Showing me what you obtained here would be a real thank-you." Duan De said irritably.

"Daoist, you're too attached." Ye Fan spoke with perfect seriousness.

"What is our relationship? We're practically brothers born to different fathers and mothers. Don't fuss over such trivial things."

"Good brother!" Qin Sheng called out with heartfelt emotion.

"How do we get out of here?"

"Hm?" Duan De noticed immediately and instantly changed his attitude.

"So you have no way of leaving this place. I can take you out, but I'll have to charge a toll!"

"Dead fatty."

Qin Sheng changed how he addressed him. "You'd better think this through. If we can't get out, neither can you."

Duan De's current realm was still below Qin Sheng's. Besides, Qin Sheng had now obtained the Swallowing Heaven Devil Canopy.

Looking at the two men glaring at him as though they would pounce and keep him here the next second, Duan De fell silent.

"Meeting you two bastards has truly brought me eight lifetimes of bad luck!"

Why hadn't the Emperor who once cultivated here left behind a killing formation to wipe out these two little bastards?