The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  If not for this, then given Little Nightmare’s affection for that man, it also would have been standing here in the Celestial Palace.

  But Wang Chong had no plan to tell Little Nightmare this, as this would only add to its sorrow.

  After bowing to Da Hong and his comrades, Wang Chong walked around their bodies and continued forward.

  The scene before them was exceedingly resplendent and grandiose, like a dream. Heaven had gone to great lengths to construct this false Celestial Domain.

  Walking past the resplendent nameboard, they soon saw something new.

  This was an enormous body, tens of thousands of feet in length.

  In the middle of the restless sea of mist, they saw a savage and majestic dragon head, its drooping whiskers as thick as an arm and a hundred and sixty feet long. The dragon head also sported two dazzling golden horns.

  “This!”

  Though they had mentally prepared themselves for such sights, especially after seeing that giant green bird, when they saw this ten-thousand-foot divine dragon, they were still given a massive shock.

  In all of the myths of the Central Plains, no creature had a greater status than a dragon, but everyone knew that dragons were mythical and did not exist.

  Li Xuantu was a member of the imperial household, which had always regarded itself as descendants of dragons, and the Emperors even claimed to be nine-clawed golden dragons. But in reality, Li Xuantu had never believed such things.

  Yet this was clearly a real and authentic dragon.

  “This is the Azure Dragon!”

  Li Xuantu slowly stepped close, staring at the massive dragon head in shock.

  “I didn’t think that Heaven would even be hiding a real dragon inside the Celestial Palace. It’s no wonder he’s been able to control the Emperors of the Central Plains for so long. The imperial household considers themselves to be dragons, and if a dragon appeared in the realm below, any imperial authority would lower its head.”

  Heaven’s methods were far beyond their imagination. With this divine dragon at hand, no matter what dynasties rose and fell, they would always be playthings in his hands.

  Wang Chong looked up at the giant dragon and said, “But it’s clear that this divine dragon is imprisoned here, and Heaven can’t reach his hands into this place. That’s why he had to go to such great lengths to create the green bird to try and lure Emperor Wu in.”

  The Celestial Emperor Palace was covered by that golden barrier that rejected all of Heaven’s power. In this way, the divine dragon had been sealed.

  “Heaven’s servant, Essence Supreme, has a very powerful creation ability. The Behemoth Army and that green bird were both his work. But this creation ability must have a limit, and different creatures have different levels of difficulty. This divine dragon probably belongs to the highest level of difficulty, and even Essence Supreme is probably unable to create one,” Li Xuantu sternly said.

  Wang Chong nodded.

  This could also explain why the divine dragons had vanished from the Central Plains. The Behemoth Creation Art had easy and difficult creations. For giant apes, lions, and elephants, it was easy to gather materials—one simply needed to extract cells from their respective animals and then culture them. Wang Chong had already seen proof of this in the Behemoth Army.

  But dragons were different. Ancient texts said that dragons had the head of a camel, the horns of a deer, the neck of a snake, the eyes of a turtle, the palms of a tiger, the ears of a bull… This meant that using the Behemoth Creation Art would require the fusion of at least six different creatures, and they needed to be naturally fused together without the slightest mistake. This level of difficulty was clearly above that of the green bird.

  And this was only in theory. Actually putting it into practice was definitely far more difficult.

  “Does looking at this dragon remind you of anything?” Wang Chong suddenly said.

  “You’re talking about… the Yellow Emperor ascending to the heavens on a dragon?”

  Li Xuantu’s heart thumped in understanding.

  There was only one story from the ancient era that could be associated with this blue-black dragon.

  It was said that in the later years of the Yellow Emperor’s life, a divine dragon descended from the heavens, its tail concealed in the clouds as its head entered the Yellow Emperor’s palace. The divine dragon said to the Yellow Emperor that the heavens above had recognized his achievements and felt his benevolence and virtue. Thus, it had been sent as an emissary to bring him up to the heavens to serve as this world’s first Celestial Emperor, ruling over both the heavenly and mortal domains and maintaining the laws of the world.

  This story was clearly noted in the records, but anyone with the slightest bit of historical knowledge understood that this was a legend fabricated afterward. It could only serve as a teatime conversation, not anything to be taken seriously.

  “Mm.”

  Wang Chong nodded.

  Some things were now exceedingly obvious. There was no doubt that the one who had created this world in the core of the Celestial Palace and prevented Heaven from properly using the Celestial Palace was Little Nightmare’s master, the originator of human civilization in the Central Plains and the sacred sovereign venerated by countless people, the Yellow Emperor.

  Whether it was Da Hong, Feng Hou, Yu Shi, or Li Mu down in the ocean, they had all been his subordinates.

  And this dragon had been the divine dragon that had lured the Yellow Emperor into the Celestial Palace, the so-called divine emissary.

  The truth was truly astonishing. What many people had regarded as a legend, a story to be lightly chatted about, was actually authentic history. As for those kind and gentle endings, those were the true children’s tales that existed only in the imagination of the people.

  Wang Chong didn’t know the exact details, but there was no doubt that Heaven had underestimated this revered sovereign, resulting in the scene before them.

  Little Nightmare was rather confused. Clearly, it did not know of the myth that Wang Chong and Li Xuantu had spoken of.

  Wang Chong found it somewhat unbearable, but in the end, he decided not to speak of it.

  It was fine if only he and Li Xuantu knew. It wasn’t necessarily a good thing for Little Nightmare to know.

  But deep down, Wang Chong still felt that something wasn’t right. Something in this story seemed to be missing.

  “Let’s go in!”

  Wang Chong strode forward past the giant dragon and into the curling mists.

  The Celestial Emperor Palace was before them, as was the core of the Celestial Palace. Regardless of what had happened, once they reached the core, everything would be revealed.

  Taptap!

  All was quiet, and the only sound was that of their footsteps echoing through the Celestial Palace. The mood grew heavier and heavier.

  After traveling tens of thousands of feet, they arrived in front of an enormous palace, built on an epic scale. Even before they got close, they could feel an enormous pressure as heavy as a mountain range radiating from the palace.

  Even the air seemed to be much heavier.

  Not only that, as they approached the Celestial Emperor Palace, Wang Chong and Li Xuantu sensed a storm of unimaginable energy coming from within.

  “So powerful!”

  Li Xuantu glanced inside with shock in his eyes.

  They had seen many powerful existences on their way here, but the one within the palace far surpassed all of them, even matching Heaven’s avatar.

  Half-step Divine Martial!

  Li Xuantu immediately understood that this person had cultivated to a level that was unfathomable to the vast majority of people. In certain aspects, this person had even surpassed Li Xuantu’s lifelong foe, Li Taiyi.

  Wang Chong felt something more than that suffocating pressure, and it made his eyebrows twitch more and more fiercely.

  The Xuanyuan Sword was also growing restless, as if it was b
eing called by something.

  Boom!

  As they drew close, the palace gates flew open. Within, Wang Chong saw the Celestial Emperor Palace, and he saw that mighty sovereign who had created this enormous world at the center of the Celestial Palace.

  Chapter 2361 - Yellow Emperor, Xuanyuan!

  Chapter 2361: Yellow Emperor, Xuanyuan!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Within the resplendent palace was a majestic middle-aged man in a dragon robe, surrounded by a sea of energy, motionless and seated upon a massive throne.

  His eyes looked in the direction of Wang Chong’s group, his expression compassionate and serene, as if he had been quietly waiting this whole time.

  Upon seeing this figure, anyone would feel like they were looking up at an imposing mountain, and their minds would be filled with reverence and respect.

  The originator of human civilization, Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan!

  As he looked at that figure on the throne, Wang Chong instantly understood who it was.

  This was the originator of all civilization in the Central Plains.

  The man on the throne had united all under heaven, established China, built up its civilization, and cherished its people, thus creating a civilization that had persisted in the Central Plains ever since.

  This man had not merely united the realm in the physical sense. He had created the soul of the Central Plains.

  Wang Chong had never imagined that this would be how he would run into Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan.

  But deep down, Wang Chong knew that this person had yet another identity that no one else knew about.

  Destiny Experimental Body 2!

  When Wang Chong reached the doors, he could clearly sense the call coming from another Stone of Destiny, and this sensation was growing stronger and stronger.

  Wang Chong felt a complicated mixture of emotions. At the start, Wang Chong would have never imagined that this man on the throne was a transmigrator like him.

  But Wang Chong quickly turned his head to the grief-stricken Little Nightmare, only a mental body now. It passed Wang Chong and dejectedly made its way into the palace.

  Everything was clear now. The one who had created this massive world in the depths of the Celestial Palace was none other than the Little Grass who had been constantly on its mind. Wang Chong and Li Xuantu had already realized this, but for Little Nightmare, only now did it truly believe the reality before its eyes.

  That person who had grown up together with it, its constant companion, its master and friend, was truly gone, disappeared forever.

  “M-… Master.”

  Upon reaching the throne, Little Nightmare threw itself on the body and began to wail.

  Wang Chong couldn’t help but feel sadness at these cries.

  Little Nightmare was a beast, not a human, but its soul and the emotions it felt were no different from a human’s.

  “I came too late!”

  A long sigh brimming with infinite sorrow resounded through the hall.

  At this moment, a golden point of light burst out from Wang Chong’s forehead. This hazy light quickly formed into a projection of a person wearing a tall hat and a wide belt. As this figure looked at the man on the throne, their eyes were stricken with grief.

  It was Master Guangcheng!

  Wang Chong was not at all surprised to see this figure.

  Before they had set out, Master Guangcheng had left a mental brand on Wang Chong. This was merely a projection without any special abilities. Master Guangcheng’s actual body was still on the ground, in the Western Mausoleum.

  Wang Chong recalled the conversation he had had with Master Guangcheng before leaving the Western Mausoleum.

  “Kid, I hope that you can help me with something!”

  “What does Senior require? So long as it is within this junior’s abilities, this junior will do all he can,” Wang Chong had said.

  “It’s not that big of a deal. You just need to help me with something.”

  Master Guangcheng had extended a finger and placed it on the center of Wang Chong’s forehead, leaving behind a mental brand.

  “Senior, what is this?”

  “No need for questions. If you can’t reach that place, there’s naturally no meaning to it. If you do manage to get there, you’ll naturally understand. Perhaps I’m just overthinking it…”

  ……

  That conversation had ended with a long sigh from Master Guangcheng.

  Master Guangcheng had not said any more, and Wang Chong had not asked any more questions.

  But now that he thought back to it, Wang Chong suddenly felt that since master and disciple were linked, perhaps Master Guangcheng had already realized something before they had set out?

  Did he already know that Xuanyuan was here?

  Wang Chong quickly came back to his senses.

  This was a moment that belonged to Little Nightmare, Master Guangcheng, and Xuanyuan, a moment for the master-servant and teacher-disciple relationships from more than one thousand years ago. Nothing else mattered.

  Wang Chong silently stood on the side, not disturbing them.

  “Time…

  “Fate…

  “As your teacher, in the end, I was still too late!”

  Master Guangcheng painfully closed his eyes, his face stricken with grief. Behind him, Wang Chong could even see that his robes were trembling from the excessive grief.

  Wang Chong was greatly moved by this sight.

  A simple mental brand would not tremble like this. There was no doubt that Master Guangcheng had almost lost control of himself. Before this, Master Guangcheng had always seemed strict, aloof, and lacking in affection.

  But at this moment, Master Guangcheng seemed extremely fragile, like a normal old man who was immersed in sorrow. He even appeared much older than before.

  For others, that figure on the throne was just a revered legend, but for Master Guangcheng, this was his disciple, someone who had been alive and who had poured in all his efforts and hopes.

  They had been master and disciple, and perhaps they had been close friends, maybe even regarded each other as family.

  But when they met again, they were separated by the boundary of life and death!

  “Senior…”

  Wang Chong sighed, finally stepping forward and comforting him.

  “Restrain your grief. If Little Grass were still alive, he would not want you to be so grief-stricken. Our first priority is to stop Heaven so that this tragedy doesn’t repeat itself!”

  Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan, the Qin First Emperor, Huo Qubing, Gen Zhu… and all those countless mummies on the Heaven-Reaching Path, those people who would never be able to leave… These people had all been lured in by Heaven and ultimately slain by him.

  The more than three million people in the capital below would soon suffer the same fate, and countless more people would die if Heaven were not stopped.

  Wang Chong was sure that Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan, whose body had not decayed despite the passage of time, had set up this world here and prevented Heaven from fully utilizing the Celestial Palace precisely because he had understood all this.

  Everything had its reason.

  He must have left something behind.

  This was also linked with the ‘mission’ that Li Mu had spoken of!

  “Master, you have to take revenge for Little Grass!”

  Little Nightmare suppressed its grief and looked up at Wang Chong.

  “No matter what, Heaven must die!”

  Little Nightmare’s eyes reddened and erupted with hatred.

  “Mm.”

  Wang Chong gave a stern nod.

  Little Nightmare hadn’t needed to say anything. He would never let Heaven go.

  Bang!

  Wang Chong strode forward. He could already sense a shard of the Stone of Destiny in the Yellow Emperor’s forehead. Once he retrieved this ‘Stone of Destiny’, the ‘Stone of Destiny Repair
Plan’ would greatly progress, and he would also bring an end to Heaven’s hopes.

  No matter what, he could not allow the Stone of Destiny to fall into Heaven’s hands.

  But just when Wang Chong was one step away from the throne…

  Bang!

  Wang Chong’s right foot stepped onto a furtive, palm-sized formation located right in the middle of the stairs.

  The formation had been so well-hidden that Wang Chong had failed to notice it.

  Light erupted from beneath Wang Chong’s feet, and a special pattern emerged on the stairs. It was rather similar to the Taiji pattern, but at the ‘S’ where Yin and Yang intersected, there was a golden true dragon.

  The image rapidly expanded, transforming into torrents of light that flowed across the entire palace. A few seconds later, the entire Celestial Emperor Palace shuddered.

  The vast sea of boundless energy within it grew restless.

  Not only that, the seated figure of Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan suddenly began to move.

  Crack!

  Xuanyuan’s right hand resting on the throne suddenly trembled, and this tiny movement made everyone pale.

  “Master!”

  “Disciple!”

  No one was more agitated than Little Nightmare and Master Guangcheng.

  They had thought that the body on the throne was just an empty shell, but at this moment, they felt a faint mental ripple. This sudden development had them overjoyed.

  Wang Chong was also flabbergasted, but a moment later, he understood what was happening. Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan had not come back to life. This was simply a psychic remnant he had left behind.

  This psychic remnant had been sealed all this time, and only when Wang Chong stepped onto that formation was the remnant triggered.

  Though it seemed incredible and very much like a coincidence, Wang Chong was sure that this man from one thousand years ago had predicted his coming and intended for this to happen.

  As this thought occurred to him, he felt a vibration from his waist.

  The Xuanyuan Sword had been hanging from his waist, his left hand gripping its hilt. But at this moment, the Xuanyuan Sword became scalding hot. Within the sheath, the sword madly shuddered as if something was pulling at it.