The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  The dark red veins on the cauldrons’ surfaces and the mysterious ancient Turkic words were the best indication of the Earthblood Cauldrons’ identity.

  To those Han in the northeast who knew the language of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, the ancient Turkic words on the cauldrons were an extremely solemn prayer to the earth.

  As long as the Earthblood Cauldrons remained, it would be basically impossible to ambush Bagushidu.

  Everyone instantly scowled.

  Wang Chong’s heart also sank.

  “Heh, King of Foreign Lands, you’re truly someone that I can’t let my guard down around,” Bagushidu suddenly said.

  Ignoring the Demonic Emperor Old Man and the white-haired Wushang Village Chief, Bagushidu turned his thin and sharp eyes on Wang Chong and smirked.

  The attacks of the Demonic Emperor Old Man and Wushang Village Chief were secondary, as they were simply incapable of breaking through his ritual tool. What had truly almost cast Bagushidu into the abyss was Wang Chong’s Psychic Energy attack.

  Even his Earthblood Cauldrons had been affected at that moment. If he had been just a little slower, if the Earthblood Cauldrons had appeared just a moment later, the sneak attack might have succeeded.

  What had seemed the least threatening had actually been the most threatening. Not even Bagushidu had predicted this.

  “King of Foreign Lands, if you would forgive me for asking, when did you manage to notify them?”

  Bagushidu bluntly accused Wang Chong with these words. It was clear that Wang Chong had been the planner and commander behind this attack.

  Wang Chong said nothing, his heart sinking even more.

  Their greatest mistake had been underestimating Bagushidu. This Eastern Turkic King was far more terrifying than they had imagined.

  “The winner is king while the loser is scorned. Since I have lost, I have nothing more to say. You can do whatever you want to me!” Wang Chong calmly said, and slowly closed his eyes. Bagushidu was simply too powerful, and no one present was a match for him.

  “Heh, relax. You’re the Great Tang’s King of Foreign Lands, the new War God that both the eastern and western worlds fear. There are even some people that say that your grasp of war has already surpassed Su Zhengchen from one hundred years ago. This king has always held great respect for you and would never treat you so roughly. After all, this king still has something he needs from you.”

  Bagushidu remained graceful and refined. Even though he had almost fallen to the machinations of Wang Chong’s group, he was not at all enraged.

  Wang Chong cared little for Bagushidu’s meaningless chatter. If he were truly so kindhearted, he would have never ambushed him in the first place. What Wang Chong was truly concerned about was Bagushidu’s last sentence.

  “Bagushidu, whether you kill me or torture me, it’s up to you! What sort of trick are you trying to play?!”

  Wang Chong suddenly opened his eyes and stared at Bagushidu.

  “Heh, relax. You’ll understand soon.”

  Bagushidu faintly smiled as he grabbed Wang Chong and rose into the air. Rising and falling like a dragonfly skimming the surface of a lake, he swiftly reached the stone bridge.

  “Demonic Emperor, this king doesn’t have that much patience. If you continue to follow, do not blame this king for being merciless and killing the King of Foreign Lands and then killing you. In any case, this king will still obtain the Origin Immortal Art.”

  The Demonic Emperor Old Man and Wushang Village Chief had just begun to follow when Bagushidu’s words made them freeze.

  ……

  Wang Chong had never expected the pursuit of the Origin Immortal Art to turn out like this.

  He had avoided the Dragonbeasts and the Stellar-Piercing Beetles, defeated the Nightmare Beast and the Darkshadow Spider, and escaped the men in black and the walking corpses, but in the end, at this place so close to the heart of the Origin Immortal Treasury, he had lost to the stalking oriole, Bagushidu.

  This man possessed an absurd level of strength, and though he was extremely low-key, Wang Chong could sense that he was far stronger than all four of them together. And with his ritual tool of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, no one was a match for him.

  The only thing that would have made this man apprehensive was being attacked by all four of them and the third-generation successor.

  “Was it Ozmish Khagan who sent you?” Wang Chong suddenly asked. Now that things had reached this stage, he had calmed back down.

  “Heheh, he can’t order me around.”

  Bagushidu chuckled.

  “Oh?”

  Wang Chong’s eyebrow rose and a look of surprise appeared on his face.

  “Ozmish just made an offer that I couldn’t refuse,” Bagushidu nonchalantly said, his expression brimming with pride.

  Wang Chong was immediately flabbergasted.

  Now that his life was in someone else’s hands, Wang Chong had grown indifferent. But he was rather surprised to learn that the rumors somewhat differed from reality.

  He had learned from the Lone Silence Ancestor that Bagushidu possessed an extraordinary status, but he hadn’t imagined that it was to the level where he could simply ignore the orders of the Eastern Turkic Khagan!

  Bagushidu’s status was apparently far greater than anyone could imagine.

  “What offer?” Wang Chong couldn’t help but ask.

  Bagushidu said nothing, only glanced at Wang Chong in surprise. A normal person would have gone deathly pale and broken out in a cold sweat in this sort of situation, perhaps even begun to plead for their life.

  Wang Chong’s composure was rather unexpected, and he was even in the mood to ask about his deal with Ozmish Khagan.

  “Ha, this is no secret. Before you die, this king will fulfill your desire. If there’s something you want to know, this king will tell you.”

  Bagushidu had unexpectedly agreed to answer Wang Chong’s questions.

  But a moment later, Wang Chong’s heart sank. The more generous Bagushidu was, the more obvious it became that he wouldn’t let Wang Chong go.

  “Ozmish didn’t really say much. He only told this king that if I was able to kill you, he would allow the Earth Sect of the Solar Mountain to become the state religion, and I will become the state teacher!”

  Bagushidu concisely divulged his deal with Ozmish Khagan.

  As he spoke, he carried Wang Chong along the stone bridge. The seething black Stellar Energy flowing in Wang Chong’s body made him move whether he wanted to or not.

  Tap! Tap! The sounds of footsteps echoed on the bridge, and their figures were blurry and indistinct in the haze.

  Wang Chong felt an icy sensation underfoot, and as he looked around, all he saw to his left and right was a bottomless pit. There were no guard rails of any sort, only a pair of lanterns every five steps. Falling from here meant certain death.

  Wang Chong sensed that while the pit to get here was already more than sixteen thousand meters deep, this abyss was even more terrifying.

  This place must go tens of thousands of meters deep! Wang Chong quietly said to himself.

  Chapter 1505 - The Art of Dark Heaven!

  Chapter 1505: The Art of Dark Heaven!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Wang Chong focused his mind and asked, “I’ve never been to the Eastern Turkic Khaganate before and don’t know the internal situation, but with your strength and royal status, becoming the state teacher shouldn’t be difficult, right?”

  Wang Chong sensed that this was probably his best chance to understand the situation in the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, particularly the political situation.

  “Heheh, you’re not a Turk, so you don’t understand how much weight the position of state teacher has to us. It’s very normal for you to ask this question.”

  Bagushidu smiled and glanced at Wang Chong as if understanding what he wanted. However, he showed no intention of denying him. Wang Chong was
already injured, had his cultivation defect, and his Stellar Energy was sealed. If Bagushidu couldn’t deal with someone who was little more than an ordinary person, he would truly be a laughing stock.

  “The Eastern Turkic Khaganate has many different sects, which makes it rather similar to the Central Plains in some ways. But of all the sects, our Earth Sect is the main school and the strongest lineage. Almost all the state teachers of the Turkic Khaganate originated from our Earth Sect!”

  Bagushidu’s robes fluttered as he walked and spoke. His steps were calm and unhurried, like he was taking a stroll through his garden.

  “Whether it is the Western or Eastern Turkic Khaganate, whether they are fractured or whole, holding the position of state teacher bestowed transcendent status and glory on the Earth Sect, and it even became a tradition of sorts. But two hundred years ago, after a certain incident, no state teachers appeared amongst the Earth Sect, and both the Eastern and Western Turkic Khaganates dissolved the position of state teacher. From that point, the Turks no longer had a state teacher or state religion. This was a great humiliation for our Earth Sect.”

  As Bagushidu spoke, Wang Chong noticed a gravity in his eyes and a twinkle of pain, both of which astounded Wang Chong.

  “…Afterward, generations of the Earth Sect’s masters did everything in their power to make the Khaganates approve the position of state teacher and restore the Earth Sect’s status as state religion. Alas, whether it was the Western Turks or the Eastern Turks, their Khagans cherished their authority too highly. They failed to realize that the Earth Sect as state religion could unite the people and bring the two Khaganates back together, offering many benefits and no disadvantages. Moreover, the state teachers of the past never involved themselves in governance and would have been no threat to their power. In their shortsightedness, they failed to see, so the Earth Sect has never been able to realize their wish.”

  Bagushidu’s eyes seemed to dim as many events from the past flitted through his mind. But a few moments later, he regained his composure.

  “Thus, when Ozmish proposed making me the state teacher, I couldn’t refuse.”

  Bagushidu suddenly stopped, glanced at Wang Chong, and smirked.

  “The Great Tang’s King of Foreign Lands is known throughout the land, and your reputation is forged from countless bodies. Although this king is not involved in politics, as an Eastern Turkic King, even without considering the matter of the state teacher post, this king would still have to intervene once for the countless people of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate so that Khorasan does not repeat itself within the Khaganate.”

  Wang Chong’s heart thumped and his mood turned grim.

  In the Battle of Khorasan, Wang Chong used the icy weather against the Arabian Empire, causing them to lose hundreds of thousands of soldiers and numerous generals. This was a major feat for the Great Tang, and it also made all the bordering countries fear Wang Chong and want nothing more than to kill him.

  And this was clearly what Bagushidu intended as well!

  “I didn’t think that Ozmish Khagan and Your Highness would view me with such high regard!”

  Wang Chong gave a long sigh. Since Bagushidu had wanted to deal with him from the very beginning, it would probably be very difficult to end this matter peacefully.

  “Only fear underestimating, not overestimating. The appearance of the Origin Immortal Treasury has gathered many experts of the Central Plains, but all of them are probably underestimating you,” Bagushidu nonchalantly said.

  “Oh?”

  Wang Chong turned to look at Bagushidu, his eyes flashing. Bagushidu’s attitude was far too surprising. It seemed like he had some unseemly admiration for this major foe of the Turks.

  “Heh, your Central Plains have a saying: ‘The person on the spot is baffled while the onlooker sees clearly.’ Whether it’s Song Yuanyi or the Black Yin Ancestor, these experts of the righteous and evil sects of your Central Plains are all looking down on you. Based on what they’ve said, you must be cultivating the evil art of your master and are suffering from its cultivation defect. And in terms of strength, age, and seniority, you’re far inferior to them. Thus, it’s no wonder that they look down on you.

  “However, you were the one who broke the Origin Immortal Formation, and you were the one who opened the treasury. You even arrived at the core of the Origin Immortal Treasury before Song Yuanyi and the others. Once is a coincidence, but twice, thrice… it’s no longer that simple. This king is different from Song Yuanyi and has never underestimated his foes. From the very start, I felt that you weren’t easy to deal with. This is why I waited until now to make my move,” Bagushidu said.

  A gust blew across the stone bridge, bringing with it more of that thick fog. Standing on the stone bridge, Wang Chong felt cold all over. He had never interacted or clashed with Bagushidu before, so he had never imagined that Bagushidu would have such a high opinion of him.

  Now that he thought about it, and given what had just been said, Bagushidu had probably been watching him from the moment he had appeared at the Origin Immortal Formation.

  The thought of someone watching his every move while he was searching for the Origin Immortal Art made him shiver in discomfort.

  “Your Highness is truly clever. It seems that I was under your control from the very beginning, and perhaps you had everything planned out from the moment you gifted me the treasure map. Everyone else thought that they were getting the better end of the deal, but in the end, they were all working for your sake!” Wang Chong said.

  Bagushidu shook his sleeves and proudly smiled.

  “The King of Foreign Lands praises me too much! To hear such words from the Sage Emperor’s disciple is a great honor for this king. But there is one thing that this king still does not understand. This king considers his energy-concealing art to be without peer, and even those monsters in the cave and guardians in the palace were not able to see through it. How did you manage to see through it?” Bagushidu said.

  The Solar Holy Mountain was home to a lineage of martial arts completely different from that of the Central Plains. Amongst all these martial arts, the Earth Sect’s Art of Dark Heaven was the most unique and could be considered the number one concealment technique.

  Bagushidu had always been extremely proud of this art, and its power had been exhibited through the ease with which he had managed to get past all the barriers and get here before everyone else.

  But this Art of Dark Heaven had been seen through by Wang Chong. If he hadn’t responded by immediately attacking, he might have utterly failed to capture Wang Chong.

  This problem had been on his mind this entire time. Bagushidu truly wanted to know just how Wang Chong had managed to do it.

  Wang Chong couldn’t help but be shocked by Bagushidu’s question.

  The Art of Dark Heaven? So he needed to rely on this supreme skill to get here safely.

  Wang Chong’s eyebrows rose in surprise.

  Bagushidu’s words had unintentionally revealed his secret. Wang Chong had believed this entire time that Bagushidu had fought his way here, but it was apparent now that Bagushidu had not fought a single person on his path here.

  Wang Chong fell silent. Bagushidu stood next to him, in no rush at all. His expression was genial and polite, his tone equally polite. It was like the two were friends who had not seen each other in a long time. It was impossible to work up any hostility toward him or treat him as an enemy.

  But there was also no doubt that the arm tightly gripped around Wang Chong’s neck had never once relaxed.

  Just like he had said, Bagushidu would never look down on or drop his guard against his foes.

  This fellow is truly frightening!

  Wang Chong’s heart shivered. He wanted to ignore Bagushidu and refuse to tell him the answer, but a moment later, he decided that given the situation, there was no reason for him not to say it.

  “The lanterns!”

  Wang Chong pointed at the quietly burning l
anterns lining the stone bridge.

  Bagushidu stared at the lanterns in a daze, not clear on what Wang Chong meant. But a moment later, he had a flash of insight, and he sighed in understanding.

  “It was my mistake. King of Foreign Lands, this king somewhat understands why you’re hailed as the new War God of the Great Tang at such a young age and are feared by all sides!”

  The burning lanterns created smoke, which would leave a scent in the air. Bagushidu had remembered to conceal his own energy, but he had forgotten that the lanterns that had begun to burn when he stepped onto the stone bridge had left behind their scent. Wang Chong had smelled this scent and realized that something was wrong.

  “King of Foreign Lands, this king rarely admires another, but this time, this king must truly express his admiration. I didn’t think that our Earth Sect’s Art of Dark Heaven would lose in this way.”

  Bagushidu raised his head and sighed. From his tone, he seemed to view Wang Chong with even greater praise and favor, but these words only made Wang Chong shiver even more. Bagushidu was effusive with praise, but Wang Chong could hear that the killing intent hidden in his voice had intensified.

  It was obvious that the more brilliant he seemed and the more Bagushidu praised him, the less likely it was that he would be let go.

  Chapter 1506 - The Secret of the Earth Sect! (I)

  Chapter 1506: The Secret of the Earth Sect! (I)

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  “Your Highness…”

  Wang Chong suddenly had the idea of using the moment to find Bagushidu’s weakness, but at this moment, there was a gust of wind, and as Wang Chong looked ahead, his body trembled in shock.

  As the fog was blown away by the wind, a figure was revealed to be standing on the stone bridge.

  “How could this be?!”

  Wang Chong’s heart suddenly thumped as he was rendered speechless.

  He had always believed that there was no one else here besides his group and Bagushidu, but it now seemed that this was not the case.