The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  “What is this?”

  The Demonic Emperor Old Man slightly creased his brow. He had initially believed that this rare treasure left by the Origin Immortal Lord could help Wang Chong when he was in danger, but it was now apparent that this object was far from just a simple treasure.

  “What a strange diagram.”

  The Formation Elder’s brows furrowed and a pensive look appeared in his eyes. These strange white dots now had his entire attention.

  The Wushang Village Chief looked at the diagram on the ground and said, “The Origin Immortal Lord is regarded with extremely high prestige in the martial arts world. There must have been a reason he laid down the Origin Immortal Formation and left behind this Energy Condensation Pearl.”

  Upon hearing this, Wang Chong suddenly had an idea.

  “Master, the treasure map should be with you. Why don’t we take it out and see what happens?”

  Wang Chong looked to the Demonic Emperor Old Man.

  This abrupt request took all three elders by surprise, but the Demonic Emperor Old Man quickly seemed to catch on.

  In an abnormal silence, the Demonic Emperor Old Man took out the fragmentary Origin Immortal Art treasure map.

  This map had been obtained from the Black Dragon Bandits, and it had already been in a damaged state.

  Wang Chong and his master had their own ideas about this treasure map, but the appearance of the Origin Immortal Mountain had completely shattered their initial hypotheses.

  And at that point, the treasure map became a useless piece of trash.

  However, now that the ‘Origin Immortal Mountain’ had been revealed as the Origin Immortal Formation and subsequently shattered, everything had changed.

  The damaged treasure map was placed below the Energy Condensation Pearl. No one understood what exactly to do, but the Formation Elder seemed to understand what Wang Chong wanted.

  “Let me try!”

  The Formation Elder quickly took the treasure map and began to move it around. As the white dots of light illuminated the treasure map, they quickly revealed the silvery threads upon it.

  These silver threads had clearly been woven into the treasure map, and it was only under the illumination of the white light that they were finally revealed.

  Moreover, as the Formation Elder continued to shift around the treasure map, more and more of the silver threads appeared, gradually connecting together into a different image.

  It was as if the treasure map had been switched out for a completely new one.

  The atmosphere turned strange. The Demonic Emperor Old Man and the Wushang Village Chief became extremely focused. Although they had studied this map for many hours, they had never imagined that the materials used to make the treasure map had been hiding their own secret.

  “Brother Wenfu, this seems to be the real secret of the treasure map. Rather than being damaged, this is only a portion of the map and is only so large,” the Wushang Village Chief abruptly said as he looked at the silver diagram on the treasure map.

  “Kid, you really did guess correctly.”

  The Formation Elder suddenly tugged on the treasure map, placing the silver diagram directly beneath the region of white dots projected onto the ground by the Energy Condensation Pearl.

  There was a flash of light as a starry radiance burst out from the treasure map and cast a dense collection of lights onto the air.

  The Formation Elder was the first to realize what was happening, and he called out in surprise.

  “This is a star map!”

  He specialized in formations and was particularly knowledgeable in the field of the shifting of the Nine Palaces. The calculations of the Nine Palaces involved both astronomy and geography.

  The Formation Elder would frequently calculate the positions of the stars, so he was extremely familiar with them. While the dots of light projected by the silver threads of the treasure map might have seemed nonsensical to others, the Formation Elder had been able to immediately recognize them as a star map.

  “This is none other than the Supreme Palace Enclosure of the Three Enclosures. Here is the Supreme Palace Left Wall, over here is the Supreme Palace Right Wall, and these are the southern Official Stars, appearing like a young bird. They represent the Heavenly Court, and the seats of the Five Emperors. This one is the Left Law Administrator, and this is the Right Law Administrator1. All of them represent the Heavenly Emperor…”

  The Formation Elder was constantly pointing at dots of light and listing a string of star names. He was extremely familiar with the stars in the sky.

  The Demonic Emperor Old Man and Wushang Village Chief had strange expressions on their faces as they glanced at each other.

  No one in the martial arts world could be bothered to research the stars. It was pointless for the Formation Elder to point out all these stars to them.

  But Wang Chong had a thoughtful look on his face. In the apocalyptic era, he had looked through many books and had some understanding of astronomy, but as the Formation Elder was so excited, he decided to remain quiet for now.

  “Brother Zhou, just tell us what this star map means,” the Demonic Emperor bluntly said.

  “Haha, it’s very simple! The treasure map was never damaged. That was just how large it was in the first place. If my guess is correct, there are six pieces to the complete treasure map. Only when the six are brought together will we have the complete map. Through the star map, we will be able to pin down the location of the Origin Immortal Lord’s treasury.

  “Kid, you’ve done a great service. Even though all those martial artists were rushing in one after the other to try and find the secret to the Origin Immortal Art treasure map, you managed to dig out the whole truth.”

  The Formation Elder looked at Wang Chong and chuckled. He was truly liking the kid the more he got to know him. Strength, daring, intelligence, and meticulous thought—this youth was truly one in ten thousand.

  What a pity! How could he have been lost to an old scoundrel like Zhang Wenfu?

  The Formation Elder turned to the Demonic Emperor Old Man, a strange expression on his face.

  The Demonic Emperor Old Man’s expression remained rigid and inflexible as he pretended not to notice. Next to him, the Wushang Village Chief couldn’t help but chuckle. He had heard the Formation Elder grumble quite a bit and talk about how he wanted to take Wang Chong for himself.

  “But it doesn’t matter if we’ve found the secret to the treasure map. It still has no use,” the Demonic Emperor Old Man said. “If it’s as you say and we need all six pieces for the complete star map to find the true location of the Origin Immortal Art, our expedition to the northwest will still end without any gain.”

  If it were just for his own sake, finding the Origin Immortal Art would not have been that important, but Wang Chong was currently his ‘only’ disciple and also his most cherished one. No matter what, he wanted to find the true Origin Immortal Art for his final disciple.

  “Heh, in the past, having only one piece of the treasure map would naturally be useless, but have you forgotten that the appearance of the Origin Immortal Formation has already drawn so many people to the northwest?”

  The Formation Elder’s lips curled into an eerie smile.

  The Formation Elder profoundly gazed at the other three.

  “Senior, you! No…”

  Wang Chong’s entire body trembled as he suddenly imagined what the Formation Elder might be up to.

  But this was too audacious!

  The Formation Elder smiled back in reply.

  ……

  The next day, a piece of news spread over the entire northwest like a gust of wind.

  It turned out that the Origin Immortal Formation was just a seal left behind by the Origin Immortal Lord to protect an extremely important treasure.

  Only someone with this treasure could find the location of the Origin Immortal Lord’s treasury.

  The second piece of news was that the Origin Immortal Lord�
��s treasure map actually consisted of six pieces. If one had all six pieces and the treasure from the Origin Immortal Formation, one could find the location of the Origin Immortal Art.

  And according to the exhortation of the Origin Immortal Lord, anyone who found his treasury would become the number one person in the world.

  Even a mere peasant, if they found that treasury, could achieve this dream!

  Chapter 1419 - The Four Ends Martial Lord!

  Chapter 1419: The Four Ends Martial Lord!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  “Have you found out where the information came from?”

  On a high mountain, Song Yuanyi stood with his hands behind his back and gazed at the Wind Elder standing before him.

  The Righteous Alliance was strictly organized and was a faction that was spread throughout the world. Each of its elders was responsible for a different region, and the Wind Elder was the person in the Righteous Alliance responsible for intelligence-gathering and spies.

  The Wind Elder bowed and respectfully said, “Alliance Lord, our investigations found that this news has already spread throughout the entire northwest, and even the disciples of our alliance are discussing it. There’s no smoke without fire. This news didn’t come from our Righteous Alliance or the Five Ancestor Alliance, and none of the unaffiliated martial artists know what’s going on. Based on the current situation, I suspect that it was the Demonic Emperor and his disciple who are intentionally spreading this news!”

  If Wang Chong’s group had been here, they would have definitely been stunned. The Wind Elder was incredibly terrifying, needing very little time to collect the clues and point the finger at them.

  “Hmph, Zhang Wenfu seems to cherish this disciple he took from the Imperial Court very deeply. He’s cultivated the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art to such a profound level that he’s already suffering from cultivation defect. Based on how that kid performed last time, he’s cultivated that evil art to a mature level, on par with Zhang Wenfu at his prime. The weakness of that evil art has probably already begun to manifest in him.

  “For his disciple, even the Demonic Emperor will spare no effort!” Song Yuanyi lightly said, his expression extremely cold.

  “Alliance Lord, the information leaked by the Demonic Emperor will probably have many people scrambling,” the Wind Elder said.

  “It’s useless. With me here, they will never be able to obtain the world’s number one art!” Song Yuanyi firmly said, cutting off the Wind Elder.

  “Yes!”

  Seeing Song Yuanyi’s expression, the Wind Elder instantly shut his mouth and did not dare say any more.

  ……

  “Haha, interesting, truly interesting!

  “There this fake Origin Immortal map, and there’s a real one! This expedition to the northwest has truly been rather fun!”

  Meanwhile, on another mountain, Black Yin Ancestor Luo Qiyin and Myriad Ghost Ancestor Pei Luanchang had gathered together with many other elders. Luo Qiyin had a sinister look in his eyes and an amused expression on his face.

  “Old Five, you’ve got the most ideas. What do you plan to do?” the Myriad Ghost Ancestor asked.

  “Heh, that kid broke the Origin Immortal Formation and took the key treasure. Everyone saw it. Our first priority is naturally to find him!”

  Luo Qiyin evilly chuckled.

  “And didn’t he say that only if we have the six pieces of the map can we open the Origin Immortal Treasury? Since that’s the case, we’ll take both the treasure and map from them!”

  The Black Yin Ancestor laughed again.

  “Have all the routes out of the northwest been placed under guard?”

  One of the Five Ancestor Alliance Elders bowed his head and said, “Ancestor, we’ve dispatched men onto every road. And in the skies, we have eagles watching night and day. As long as they appear within ten li of those major routes, we’ll immediately find out.”

  The Imperial Court was not the only one that used eagles. The sects had their own secret arts for training birds, and they were even more formidable. And they were even more skilled when it came to chasing down one person or a small group.

  “Within three days, I want every inch of this land scoured and that kid’s trail found!” the Black Yin Ancestor harshly said.

  “Yes, Ancestor!”

  A few moments later, the several hundred Five Ancestor Alliance experts rushed out like bees leaving their hive.

  ……

  The Righteous Alliance, Five Ancestor Alliance, and sects of various sizes were searching for Wang Chong and his master. And while these titans of the martial arts world were getting to work, the unaffiliated martial artists were not just sitting back either.

  Even though they didn’t have as much grandeur and force as the Righteous Alliance or Five Ancestor Alliance, countless martial artists were still converging on this place, drawn over by news of the Origin Immortal Art.

  Although quite a few martial artists had lost their lives in the Origin Immortal Formation, it took only a few moments for more martial artists to take their place.

  Even some martial artists from the nearby Western Regions were lured over. The number of martial artists in the northwest had failed to decrease, only increase.

  If one stood atop a high mountain and looked down, they would see tents set up everywhere.

  And there were still martial artists on the way.

  The Origin Immortal Art had a thunderous reputation that everyone knew, but this was an ethereal and elusive existence. No one had obtained it for the last several hundred years, so why would things be different now?

  But they were different. The presence of the Origin Immortal Formation and the deaths of so many people had, rather than wearing away at the enthusiasm of the crowd, only drawn to the northwest the attention of practically the entire martial arts world.

  Nothing made the Origin Immortal Art seem more real than that vast Origin Immortal Formation and the countless corpses within.

  And that last piece of news, ‘Anyone who obtains the Origin Immortal Art will become the world’s number one’, was enough for countless martial artists to go insane!

  At this moment, in the southeast corner of the region, twenty to thirty martial artists had gathered together and were silently waiting.

  These unaffiliated martial artists were all imposing and powerful, their auras clearly that of the Imperial Martial realm. Only at this level of martial arts could be one considered a true expert. ‘Imperial Martial’ really just meant ‘Martial Emperor’.

  Anyone who could reach this level was a known figure in the martial arts world.

  But all these Imperial Martial experts had gathered together into a neat formation, their heads lowered as they silently waited.

  These people had waited for an hour now, but none of them seemed impatient. On the contrary, they lowered their heads even more, appearing even more respectful.

  “You’re sure? The Four Ends Martial Lord will really come?”

  “That’s right! The Four Ends Martial Lord has been in seclusion this entire time and rarely appears in the north. Will he really make an exception?”

  “The matter is confirmed without a doubt. I received an order from the Martial Lord not too long ago.”

  Several of the martial artists whispered to each other, and the mention of the Martial Lord’s order immediately made them fall silent in respect.

  Everyone in the martial arts world knew that the Four Ends Martial Lord did not belong to any sect. He traveled alone and wandered here and there. Despite this, the Four Ends Martial Lord possessed immense prestige.

  His influence was on par with sect titans like Song Yuanyi and Luo Qiyin.

  In the eyes of the unaffiliated martial artists, the Four Ends Martial Lord was a paramount existence, a transcendent expert that stood alongside Song Yuanyi.

  Moreover, the Four Ends Martial Lord had made his name in the martial arts world m
any years ago. He had twenty personal disciples, each with astonishing talent. He had essentially formed a lineage and possessed immense influence and many followers.

  Gallop!

  At his moment, the thundering of hooves came from the distance, the sound so heavy that even the earth beneath their feet seemed to be shaking.

  Grains of dust were jumping and jolting into the air.

  “The Martial Lord! The Martial Lord is coming!”

  One of the Imperial Martial experts suddenly raised his head and looked forward with extreme excitement.

  A figure wearing shining red armor appeared on the horizon, the cape on his back flapping in the wind as he rode in on a mighty Ferghanan steed taller than an adult man.

  The hooves pounded against the earth to a thunderous cadence.

  Although this man came alone, the momentum of his charge felt like it could topple mountains and reverse the seas.

  As that man charged forward, the air around him seemed to blur.

  Any martial artist who saw this would pale at the sight.

  And as the warhorse got closer, a bold and upright energy like that of the blazing sun could be felt.

  “It really is the Martial Lord!”

  The waves of heat caused everyone to become excited. There was only one art from which one could feel emanations of scalding energy from tens of thousands of feet away: the Four Ends Martial Lord’s ‘Paramount Fierce Yang Divine Art’.

  Neeeigh!

  With a sharp neigh, a long shadow cast itself over the group. That mounted figure had arrived.

  The mood was exceptionally somber and serene.

  “Paying respects to Martial Lord!”

  Everyone lowered their heads in respect.

  All was silent as that storm of energy stood before them. But each of them could sense a sharp and majestic gaze, so powerful as to be tangible, slowly scanning them.

  After a long while, a cold and aloof voice rang out.

  “Rise! Tell me everything you know about the Origin Immortal Art!”

  The mounted figure raised his head, his domineering eyes pulsing with vast waves of energy.

  “Yes, Martial Lord!”

  Without the slightest hesitation, they recounted all the events regarding the Origin Immortal Art that had happened over this period of time.