Talking Duan De into Digging the Netherworld Emperor's Tomb

"Fellow Daoist, leave him a pair of underwear." Seeing Duan De reach for a cultivator's robes, Lin Xian tactfully said, "We're righteous people."

Wherever Duan De's black hand reached, the cultivators there were left naked and penniless.

"Fine, Daoist here will spare your lives today." Duan De clapped his hands and grandly waved them away. "Scram!"

The few cultivators who had nearly been stripped bare were on the verge of tears. They hastily transformed into divine rainbows and flew off while covering their faces. If anyone recognized them, they would never be able to show their faces in Yan Kingdom again.

"A man cannot grow rich without windfall wealth, nor can a horse grow fat without night grass." The plump and wealthy Duan De snorted twice and laughed. "The haul was decent. From now on, we're a gang that shares blessings and hardships alike."

"Of course, of course." Ye Fan and Lin Xian readily agreed.

Clang!

Just then, another object fell from the sky and smashed into the ground. It appeared to be a chunk of green copper.

The next moment, the three men who had just been swearing brotherhood moved almost simultaneously, all reaching for the palm-sized copper plate on the ground.

Ye Fan was driven by instinct, by an inexplicable curiosity that made him feel the copper plate might be worth something.

Lin Xian knew the future and recognized the bronze fragment as part of the Immortal-Ascension Cauldron.

Duan De simply had sharp eyes honed from years of treasure hunting. Seeing Ye Fan and Lin Xian move at the same time, he instinctively followed.

Among the three, Lin Xian had the highest cultivation and got to it first.

Holding the fragment of the Immortal-Ascension Cauldron, Lin Xian had the system record some of the Dao principles within the Green Copper. After studying it for a long while, he sighed. "This is not my Dao."

What lies above form is called the Dao; what lies below form is called a vessel.

A vessel bears the Dao. It was a weapon, and also a manifestation of one's Dao Fruit.

Lin Xian's Dao had already laid its foundations the moment he forged the Universe Diagram into a vessel form. Such a grand, all-suppressing heavy weapon as the Immortal-Ascension Cauldron truly did not suit him.

His Dao was the Universe Diagram. Outwardly, it could encompass all things and absorb the myriad Daos; inwardly, it could roll into a mat and wrap around its user. It contained the meaning of space and time, transcendent and unfettered, emphasizing flexibility and adaptability, freedom to come and go.

A cauldron stood firm between heaven and earth, suppressing fate and fortune. This was a Heavenly Emperor Path.

No matter how powerful it was, it was not Lin Xian's path. Other than myself, all paths are heretical.

It could only serve as a reference. Forcing a fusion would only produce something neither fish nor fowl.

"What a pity. This thing is of little use to me."

Lin Xian shook his head. Unable to replicate the Dao principles on the Immortal-Ascension Cauldron and forge his own weapon, the bronze chunk had lost its greatest use. He smoothly stepped back, dodging a chubby large hand.

Wherever Duan De's large hand reached, graves sprang up in abundance, and every treasure was thoroughly looted. He could not be allowed to get his hands on the bronze chunk. Once it landed in his hands, it would never come back out.

"I took three sentient weapons, and Duan De took two. This item goes to him." Lin Xian turned gracefully and tossed the bronze chunk to Ye Fan, smiling faintly. "Fellow Daoist Duan, you have no objections, right?"

"Naturally not." Duan De gave an awkward smile and withdrew his eager hand.

Ye Fan's heart stirred. Rubbing the bronze chunk, he felt an instinctive response and curiously asked, "Celestial Master, is this thing very precious?"

"Its value differs from person to person. After cultivators refine their Divine Runes into vessels, they choose spiritual treasures whose forms match those vessels. Only when the two are identical can they unleash their greatest power."

"The original form of this bronze chunk was a cauldron, while my Divine Rune vessel form is a diagram."

Lin Xian shook his head. "To me, this bronze chunk is not very useful. It is inferior to the Immortal Treasure Diagram."

"Immortal Treasure Diagram..." Ye Fan's eyes flickered as he heard a new term. He could not help asking, "What is that?"

The Immortal Treasure Diagram was no ordinary item. It recorded the imprint of the Human World Universe and concealed a void map of the Immortal Realm. Its value was no less than that of an immortal artifact.

To Lin Xian, it was incomparably precious. The Immortal Treasure Diagram was as useful to him as the bronze chunk was to Ye Fan.

If he could replicate the universe Dao principles upon the Immortal Treasure Diagram, he would surely forge an ultimate vessel.

"It is an immortal diagram. Its front depicts the starry sky, while its back contains maps of three terrains." Lin Xian chuckled. "As far as I know, the Immortal Treasure Diagram seems to be in a Dragon Nest, buried with a great tomb."

"It is a blessing as vast as mountains and a reward as deep as the sea. If you ever have the chance to enter, you can help me retrieve it."

"If I have the chance to enter the Dragon Nest, I will certainly bring the immortal diagram back for Master Lin!" Ye Fan's eyes shone brightly as he clasped his hands in salute. He was a man who clearly distinguished gratitude from grudges: he repaid every grievance and returned every kindness.

Lin Xian smiled knowingly. Schemes and tricks did not work on someone like Ye Fan; sincerity was the ultimate weapon instead.

The Immortal Treasure Diagram was difficult to obtain because it was buried with an incarnation from one of Ruthless Great Emperor's lifetimes, within the Chaos Dragon Nest, which was filled with layer upon layer of deadly dangers.

No one else could go there. Only Ye Fan, the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body, whose karma ran deep, could enter.

Sigh... System 10086's ethereal sigh rang out. Looking at Ye Fan, it felt a sense of shared misery.

Its host truly did not want to suffer even a little.

How could a fragment of the Immortal-Ascension Cauldron compare to a complete and flawless immortal diagram?

"Great tomb within a Dragon Nest!" Duan De's eyes immediately lit up as he pressed, "Fellow Daoist, you truly are unfathomable to possess such secret information. We must cooperate more often in the future."

"Naturally." Lin Xian nodded randomly and casually made up an excuse to brush him off. "I also know about the Netherworld Emperor's Tomb. Another day, I'll take you to dig it up."

"Fuck!" Duan De could not help blurting out a curse. His eyes lit up, and he was so hungry for it that he nearly howled, "The Netherworld Emperor's Tomb—the true master of the Underworld, the king among Yamas, the supreme sovereign among Yin gods!"

"Fellow Daoist, you actually know about it?"

Lin Xian smiled faintly. Speak human words to humans, ghost words to ghosts.

Ye Fan was a living human, while Netherworld Emperor Duan De was the number one old ghost under heaven.

If you treated Duan De with sincerity, Duan De would scheme against you.

This sort of scoundrel even cheated his own teammates!

At critical moments, in life-or-death crises, perhaps Duan De could be trusted.

But ordinarily, especially when heavenly materials, earthly treasures, and resources from great tombs were involved, one could not believe a single word Duan De said!

Lin Xian went all out in deceiving him. "Not only the Netherworld Emperor's Tomb—even the legendary Source Emperor's Tomb, this poor Daoist knows clues about it."

"Source Emperor's Tomb!" Duan De was nearly mad with joy. He did not dare imagine what his expression would be when he found the Source Emperor's Tomb.

Rumble...

The battlefield was in chaos, with more and more cultivators flooding in. It was not safe to remain here, so Lin Xian grabbed Ye Fan and Duan De and flew to a secluded place, avoiding the battle.

The moment they landed, Duan De impatiently asked, "Fellow Daoist, besides the Netherworld Emperor's Tomb and the Source Emperor's Tomb, what other great tombs do you know of?"

Lin Xian pointed in the direction of Qing Emperor's Tomb and smiled without speaking.

"Qing Emperor's Tomb, wasn't it already..." Duan De had just begun to speak when his pupils suddenly shrank. He stopped himself, transformed into a divine rainbow, and flew into the sky to survey the surrounding mountains and terrain.