The gray-robed elder was already gone, but with the power of the Archon of Destiny, Wang Chong quickly found his trail.
It was a barely visible wisp of gray energy, drifting in the air and rapidly dissipating. But it was enough to point Wang Chong in the right direction.
“Over there!’
Wang Chong continued his pursuit of that blurred figure.
A few moments later, at the northwestern side of the Imperial Palace, that elder’s energy once more disappeared.
“This is the Western Mausoleum!”
Wang Chong was shocked as he stared at the building before him.
In front of Wang Chong was a set of white jade stairs, flanked by a set of white jade railings, and at the top was a massive stele in the form of a dragon and an enormous tomb.
The Western Mausoleum!
Everyone in the Great Tang knew that this was where Emperor Taizu of the Great Tang was buried—Emperor Taizong’s father and the founder of the Great Tang.
When Taizu died, Emperor Taizong had been overcome with grief, so he buried him near the Imperial Palace to honor him.
But there was something else special about the Western Mausoleum. It wasn’t just Taizu’s burial place, but also where the sovereigns of the Sui Dynasty had been buried, including Emperor Wen of Sui. Even Emperors of the Han Dynasty and some sovereigns from the Warring States Period had been buried here.
According to the number one astrologer and diviner of Emperor Taizu’s time, Heavenly Master Yuan, the Western Mausoleum was the dragon’s den of the realm, where the true dragon rested.
This was why the sovereigns of so many generations had favored it.
But the grounds of the Western Mausoleum were limited, and after so many sovereigns had been buried here, it could not take much more.
Though there had been a proposal to have the sovereigns of the Sui moved out, Emperor Taizong was benevolent and believed that the new dynasty should not do this, as it could be imitated by future generations and lead to discord.
Thus, he had chosen another place to be the imperial mausoleum.
After the burial of Taizu, the Western Mausoleum became a forbidden ground. No eunuchs, maids, guards, or even members of the imperial household could enter.
For one hundred years now, the Western Mausoleum had been completely sealed off, no one even talking about it.
Chapter 2335 - The Riddle of the Dragon-Shaped Stone Stele!
Chapter 2335: The Riddle of the Dragon-Shaped Stone Stele!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Wang Chong had never imagined that the gray-robed elder would ultimately disappear into the mausoleum.
After a few moments of silence, Wang Chong began to make his way up the jade steps.
At the top of the steps, Wang Chong saw several large words written in cinnabar.
‘Forbidden Ground of the Imperial Household! Entry Prohibited!’
After a few moments of silence, Wang Chong walked past the sign.
Not only the capital, even the imperial household was in danger now. If he did not think of a way to resolve this crisis, even the Western Mausoleum would be in danger.
Buzz!
Wang Chong spread his enormous Psychic Energy over the Western Mausoleum.
The mausoleum was cold and empty, tinged with chill. It was like it had been completely forgotten.
But Wang Chong quickly made a discovery.
“Over there!”
Wang Chong’s body blinked away, and he instantly appeared within a side hall of the mausoleum. Close to the wall, Wang Chong saw a familiar figure: the gray-robed, thin elder with mysterious origins.
His eyes were shut and he was leaning against the wall like he was sleeping.
“This!”
Wang Chong was stunned by the sight of the elder.
After chasing this person with so much effort, almost losing him quite a few times, he had ended up finding this gray-robed elder so easily.
But for some reason, perhaps because it was so easy, Wang Chong found it strange. Something seemed different.
“This energy!”
In a flash of insight, Wang Chong suddenly understood.
Though the gray-robed elder had not possessed heaven-destroying pulses of energy, he had still possessed a very faint and gloomy energy.
But this gray-robed elder, though appearing identical, felt like another person.
Simply put, that energy had disappeared.
“Ah!”
As he was thinking, he heard a soft muttering. That sleeping gray-robed elder trembled and slowly opened his eyes as if he was waking from a dream.
The old man looked blankly at Wang Chong, as if he had never seen him before.
“This… Why am I here?!”
The old man muttered as he stretched his body. As if he had not seen Wang Chong, he walked around him and went elsewhere.
Wang Chong was left speechless on the spot.
He carefully examined the gray-robed elder from the moment he had woken up, not letting a single detail go, but in the end, he was disappointed.
Though it seemed absurd, in the final analysis, this gray-robed elder was probably just the man responsible for keeping the Western Mausoleum clean.
He truly did not recognize him.
“What is going on here?”
Wang Chong slowly raised his head up to the night sky, his brows furrowed.
He did not go after the gray-robed elder, nor was it necessary, as that man was not his target.
“Possession?”
Wang Chong’s mind was whirring with thoughts.
Wang Chong was no stranger to this sort of thing, where a body was possessed and walked the earth as an avatar of someone else.
Heaven had used such an ability on the steppe, Essence Supreme had countless avatars, and even Li Junxian was capable of this. Wang Chong was naturally capable of this feat as well. It simply required using one’s Psychic Energy to surmount the other party’s consciousness.
But the method used by this other party was different from any method that he knew. This method left no mark, and it did no damage to the body serving as the vessel.
But who was this person, and why had they chosen the caretaker of the Western Mausoleum?
And what was their objective?
This other party had been hiding in the capital for numerous years. Why had the tea leaves left by the Origin Immortal Lord been able to draw them out?
It was the middle of the night, and Wang Chong had followed this person as they randomly wandered the capital. All of the locations they had visited had seemed very ordinary. It all seemed very pointless, so why?
Wang Chong felt like he was in a sea of fog.
Regardless, Wang Chong was at least sure that what had happened on this night was no coincidence. This mysterious figure who had come out of nowhere was undoubtedly an important clue.
As for the Western Mausoleum… there had to be a reason this person had chosen to disappear in this place. So long as he could find the relationship, he would inevitably be able to find the answer.
This thought made Wang Chong’s eyes turn determined. He was sure that the key was the Western Mausoleum, so all he needed to do was to find ‘that person’.
Wang Chong’s Psychic Energy once more burst out, engulfing the Western Mausoleum as he tried to find out where that person was hiding.
But the entire mausoleum was empty. Wang Chong was not dejected by this outcome. Scanning his eyes over the entire region, he quickly turned his attention on something else.
This was a dragon-shaped stone stele, around one hundred feet tall.
The Western Mausoleum was the tomb of generations of sovereigns. The symbol of the Son of Heaven was the true dragon, and this stele in the shape of a dragon was clearly meant as the guardian beast for the tomb.
The stele was covered in moss and seemed weathered by time, as if it had been standing here for a long time.
After looking around the mausoleum, Wang Chong found that it was the stele that stood out the most of all. Most importantly, Wang Chong sensed a very faint energy from this stele.
It was the same aura that came from that mysterious figure.
This tendril of energy was as thin as a hair and was vanishing quickly. A moment later, it had evaporated, its existence so brief that it seemed to not exist. For Wang Chong, this was an extremely important piece of information.
“Is the secret here?”
Wang Chong quickly walked over to the dragon statue. He reached out to touch it and found its surface cold and smooth, but there was nothing else special about it.
Dragon statues like this could be found all over the Imperial Palace. This one in the Western Mausoleum wouldn’t stand out at all.
Buzz!
Wang Chong quickly sent a sliver of Stellar Energy into the dragon statue.
“Strange. There’s nothing special about it.”
Wang Chong’s brow furrowed as he probed several more times.
It appeared that this really was an ordinary guardian beast, but just as Wang Chong was searching the statue again, he felt a strange reaction from the stele.
It was a very weak resonance, as small as a grain of dust in the ocean. But what Wang Chong cared about was that this mote of dust radiated spacetime energy, extremely high-level spacetime energy.
Whoosh!
Wang Chong immediately sent out a massive torrent of spacetime energy into the dragon statue, toward that special point near the dragon’s tail.
Bang!
A few moments later, that point that was the size of dust suddenly exploded as if it had been packed with tons of explosives. At the same time, an enormous pressure appeared in Wang Chong’s senses.
“Leave this place! You should not be here!”
As this voice rang out, the fabric of spacetime trembled, and it felt like the heavens themselves were crashing down upon him.
Wang Chong was a peak Grotto Heaven realm expert and had even clashed with Heaven before. Even so, Wang Chong still felt immense pressure from this voice. This was simply absurd.
“Senior, this one seeks an audience!”
Though Wang Chong was alarmed, he maintained his composure and bowed to the statue, at the same time sending his thoughts into it.
“Rejected! Leave swiftly!”
The voice was cold and devoid of emotion.
But Wang Chong didn’t give up. This person was far stronger than he had imagined. Even if they couldn’t match Heaven, the gap was not great.
Since Wang Chong had encountered such a formidable fighting force, he had to bring it onto his side. This would undoubtedly be a huge aid to him.
More importantly, while that person seemed cold and unfriendly, that they had replied meant that there was a chance.
“Senior, do you not even care for the sentiment of a friend? The Origin Immortal Lord was a master of divination and left this item behind, in addition saying that Senior could be of assistance!” Wang Chong sternly said.
In truth, Wang Chong was lying to that mysterious person in the stele.
The Origin Immortal Lord had naturally not said these words, but Wang Chong sensed that the two of them had most probably known each other.
“This is what the Immortal Lord left for this one. I am sure that Senior recognizes it.”
Wang Chong struck while the iron was hot, taking the Xuanyuan Sword and presenting it with both hands.
The Xuanyuan Sword had been used by the Yellow Emperor more than one thousand years ago, and Wang Chong now understood that this sword was more famous than he had realized. Whether it was an old monster like Heaven or his Supremes, they had all recognized this sword.
The other party’s reply was a pleasant surprise for Wang Chong.
“Hmph, what does it matter if you take out that sword? I said long ago that I would see no one. If you insist, then let’s see if you have the skill!”
After saying this, that person’s energy disappeared. However, that dust-like point of spacetime energy remained.
It was clear that Wang Chong’s words and the Xuanyuan Sword had proved useful. While the other party remained cold and unfriendly, he had not completely rejected Wang Chong.
That tiny point of spacetime energy was Wang Chong’s opportunity.
Moreover, Wang Chong was now certain that the Origin Immortal Lord had predicted that he would open the silk bag at this time, and the tea leaves in the bag were connected to this person. Whether or not he could obtain any information on Heaven and the Celestial Palace from this person and break the stalemate would depend on what happened next.
Bang!
Wang Chong poured his Grotto Heaven Stellar Energy into that spacetime point, and a moment later, an arched spacetime passage appeared in front of him.
The universe contained in a mustard seed!
For experts of spacetime energy, size was no longer absolute.
The small could be infinitely large, and the large could be infinitely small. That spacetime point was a passage that led to another place.
Without fear, not even blinking, Wang Chong ventured into this passage that his Grotto Heaven Stellar Energy had activated.
Buzz!
A few moments later, Wang Chong appeared in a strange place.
It was a gloomy place, and it appeared to be underground. To his sides were tough and dense cave walls.
Chapter 2336 - Layers of Seals!
Chapter 2336: Layers of Seals!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Wang Chong was suspicious, but he didn’t slow down. As he advanced, his body remained tense, ready at any time to respond.
But after taking a few steps, Wang Chong grimaced.
In front of him stood a stone stele.
‘On the decree of Emperor Taizong, Yuan Tiangang has sealed this place!’
The words appeared to have been chiseled into the stone. Farther down, a golden-red compass had been embedded in the rock.
As Wang Chong stepped into the range of the stele, an enormous Taiji formation appeared beneath his feet, covering every inch of the cave.
Whoosh!
Space was instantly condensed, becoming as tough as steel, and the earth began to exert an enormous pull that pinned Wang Chong in place.
Even Wang Chong’s Stellar Energy began to flood out of his body, rapidly vanishing into the earth.
All of this had happened very abruptly, and Wang Chong felt his heart sink.
Yuan Tiangang!
This was the number one diviner from one hundred years ago.
In the several hundred years of the Tang Empire, he was the only person to ever truly obtain the status of state teacher, and he had been personally appointed by Emperor Taizong.
The Earth Trap Formation!
A thought flashed through Wang Chong’s mind.
Yuan Tiangang was known for his astrology, not his martial arts. Wang Chong was sure that Heavenly Master Yuan must have possessed a high cultivation level, for greater than what the common people imagined, but it could not be higher than his.
If Yuan Tiangang himself had appeared, he would have posed little threat to Wang Chong, but what he had used was a special land subsidence art, using the earth itself as a cage to imprison him.
The surrounding several hundred li had probably become like a vacuum, crazily draining away Wang Chong’s Stellar Energy. Until all of Wang Chong’s Stellar Energy had been emptied out of his body, the formation would not stop.
More importantly, this wasn’t a contest of martial arts. Wang Chong could not defeat the ‘earth’.
As these thoughts ran through his mind, Wang Chong had a flash of insight and quickly regained his composure.
This formation Yuan Tiangang had set down was truly formidable, but unfortunately, Wang Chong had also studied formations, and he had read the Formation Divine Treatise.
Bang!
/> A moment later, Wang Chong stomped his foot down. Rather than trying to stop the flow of Stellar Energy, he accelerated it.
This Grotto Heaven Stellar Energy did not flow into the ground to be absorbed by the formation, but was used by Wang Chong to create his own formation.
The Origin Immortal Formation!
Wang Chong used Stellar Energy to form a small Origin Immortal Formation around him.
On his journey to the northwest, Wang Chong had used this method against his enemies. Now that he was so much stronger, he was even more skilled at this method.
The moment this miniature Origin Immortal Formation appeared, the Earth Trap Formation draining away his energy was thrown into disarray. Like a small pebble being thrown onto a placid lake surface, a wave of disturbance appeared in the formation.
For Wang Chong, this small ripple of disturbance was enough for him to deal with this crisis.
Buzz!
Wang Chong appeared next to the stone stele and thrust out his finger. Spacetime sealing power entered the stele and immediately disintegrated the formation that Yuan Tiangang had left within.
Whoosh!
In a rush of air, the terrifying pull subsided, and everything in the cave fell still once more.
“Forgive me for my offense.”
Wang Chong bowed before stepping past the stele and continuing onward.
A few moments later, he felt another pressure coming from the front.
‘On the decree of Emperor Wen of Sui, Heaven-Reaching Great General Yu Juluo guards this place!’
The second stone stele soon appeared before him, and standing behind the stele was an armored figure, his hair white, a spear in hand, as motionless as a statue.
That person stood motionless, but even so, he still exuded an enormous pressure.
“How?!”
Wang Chong was stunned as he stared at this figure.
After all, he was a member of a great clan, and while growing up in the clan, he had heard all sorts of stories about heroes of past dynasties.
Wang Chong had recognized this man instantly. This was Heaven-Reaching General Yu Juluo, a renowned Sui general that his grandfather had told him stories about, though he was much older.
In the age of the Sui Dynasty, Heaven-Reaching Great General Yu Juluo had been on the same level as the Great Tang’s Su Zhengchen. He had been born with divine strength and had reached an extremely high level of martial arts, causing him to be granted the title of Heaven-Reaching Great General.
The Human Emperor c1-2382 Page 1400
