Although this mere momentum was vast, it was still unable to illuminate this expanse of mist. 

“Dragon-Swallows-Setting-Sun Talisman?” Jadewave seemed to be dazed. “To use such a formidable seal to imprint on this ancient scroll, a bit interesting…” 

Red light, similar to a roaming dragon, circled the sheepskin three times. God Ming bowed lowly. In an instant, the entire space stirred! It was slightly imperceptible and minutely vibrating, like the flapping of a dragonfly’s wings.

Xu Yangyi took a deep breath. He absolutely couldn’t relinquish such an opportunity to broaden his horizons. The cultivation world was filled with endless marvels. Presently, even he could see...

That this was a supreme treasure!

“ROOOAR!!!” A roar that seemed to step across the long river of time appeared to be heard from the sky. It rended the time, space, and domain that descended here. In this desolate will, even if it was a formless noise, it was enough to cause one’s heart to quake in fear!

“Go.” In the heavy mists, a soft and gentle voice rang out. Following a sonorous bang, the roar of some invisible creature, like it had been hit by a bullet, abruptly vanished.

Xu Yangyi pursed his lips. This power… While Jadewave’s definite realm still couldn’t be made out, all he knew… was that Jadewave was strong… extraordinarily strong! Perhaps… it was even stronger than Vermilion Snow! No wonder Jadewave held such confidence to take up residence here. No mystery that it dared to seize the scenic cultivation land of the Four Great Joint Pools alone.

“Four years ago, father obtained this picture scroll. In these four years, he was unable to decipher it. I request Senior Jadewave for an assisting hand,” God Ming said.

“Hehe…” Within the heavy mist, laughter rang out, accompanied by the gurgle of water. “The Ming Clan is an inheritance of a thousand years. In the present world, it cannot be said to be among the top three noble demon clans, yet there exists no question it is in the top five… An item that all of you cannot solve… is a bit interesting.” 

The thick fog receded, and the sheepskin paper immediately flew into the mist, vanishing. 

Xu Yangyi carefully observed all of this. Originally, Li Zongyuan was the one who knew how to contact this old demon, but the toad-demon was now surprisingly evolving. But all in all, Xu Yangyi found it necessary to be cautious. Although the outside world’s legends had said Jadewave treated people cordially and so on, it wasn’t outlandish that not even ten thousand preparations were enough against such a millennium-old demon.

Very soon, he discovered that he couldn’t hear a thing! All that could be seen in the heavy mist was God Ming and the tremendous black shadow talking about something. It seemed that his sense of hearing had been presently stripped of!

Several seconds later, Xu Yangyi set his mind to ease. This should’ve been the transaction of Jadewave and one of God Ming’s successors. It was normal that he couldn’t hear it.

He looked at his watch again. Ten minutes had passed. In such a situation, he watched sixty minutes go by on his watch. After half of a two-hour period, a soft rumble seemed to come from all around. Afterwards, his sense of hearing returned.

“So that’s how it was. I didn’t expect it was actually such a thing…” God Ming’s complexion was suffused with an abnormal hint of red, and he bowed deeply. “Many thanks for dispelling the confusion, Senior! Past members of the younger generation were surely grateful to you!” 

“Hehe…” A dry laugh was heard from the heavy mists. “Junior of the Ming Clan, although this item is exceptionally precious, for the sake of your many unknown generations of deceased ancestors, I will remind you of two matters.”

“One, the Heavenly Dao rewards the diligent. For gains to exist, there must be losses. Great opportunity is accompanied by great risk. This object is a supreme treasure, and you must also have the destiny to enjoy it.”

“Two, presently, you are only a successor of God Ming. To merely rely on this item, and if you desire to become this era’s God Ming—and even break through to Core Formation—destiny is still required.”

“Junior will bear Senior’s instruction to mind.” God Ming cupped his fist and then used a jade box to store the ancient scroll, with extreme gingerness, into his storage ring.

Xu Yangyi narrowed his eyes. The ring was on the middle finger. He inwardly memorized this.

“Junior, it is your turn now.” In the thick mist, Jadewave turned its head and appeared to look at Xu Yangyi. “Come.”

But just as Xu Yangyi was about to take out the small half-chest, Jadewave suddenly spoke. “Halt.”

Xu Yangyi stopped. In the next moment, he sensed a feeling inside his body that was like soaring clouds and sailing mists as he flew straight into the fog!

“This…” God Ming’s gaze suddenly twinkled. The Ming Clan was an inheritance of a thousand years. There were some secret histories that only they knew. For instance…

Unless it was an item that outsiders couldn’t be permitted to see, Jadewave absolutely wouldn’t pull people before itself!

His own sheepskin scroll recorded the fragment of a world-shaking story, yet even this was taken out before outsiders. This boy… actually possessed an item even more precious than his own? A treasure that couldn’t be put forth or seen?

“Lord God.” An old man bowed and said, “Will we… be taking our leave immediately?”

“No…” A coldness grew within God Ming’s eyes, and he licked his lips. “Did you know…”

“Senior Jadewave… has only ever cared for life or death on its own volcanic lake… however, Senior doesn’t care in the slightest for life or death that has departed these grounds!”

“I still have a debt to be reckoned with that ape.”

Xu Yangyi flew into the mist, involuntary of his own will and freedom. After approximately ten seconds, he finally sensed he’d come to a stop. Nonetheless… this stopping point was shockingly a location covered with scales, a tract no less than tens of meters in size!

This… was Jadewave’s palm!

“You are very lucky.” Before he even opened his mouth, Jadewave’s voice, seemingly carrying a boundless, deep emotion, was heard from the mist. “This item… even gave me the thought of plunder. You truly… possess great destiny…”

Xu Yangyi slightly recoiled back a step, but he quickly heard Jadewave’s gentle laughter. “If I wished to pillage, you wouldn’t be standing here. Although this item has great destiny, the greater the destiny, the greater the challenge is more often than not. I am old and cannot enjoy such.”

“Let us begin.”

Xu Yangyi looked at his watch. The time was right on the dot.

“In the year 2000, China gathered the power of all biologists and geneticists to research and develop three ultimate Slaughter Weapons.” Jadewave said quietly, “They are true weapons of massacre. A single one can contend against a Core Formation master. This is one of the Chinese government’s trump cards. Each province’s Heavens Law avatar has the application to enable their privileges.”

Xu Yangyi didn’t interject. Although what Jadewave was speaking about wasn’t related to the main subject in the slightest, he still continued to focus his attention and listen.

“Cultivation Civilization. What a beautiful noun. However, it is merely maintaining the hard-obtained surface of the weak balance. Each side is careful and cautious. Junior, do you know why things must be solemn and prudent?”

Not waiting for Xu Yangyi to reply, the black shadow in the heavy mist laughed, “It’s simple… Nothing more than annexation… Humanity is aware of the cultivation world. Aware of the many rare treasures. They wish to annex the cultivation world. As for the cultivation world, they have always looked down upon humanity as insects. If not for the nuclear bomb, a weapon of mass destruction which filled the skies in the advent of its creation, the cultivation world would’ve long since killed their way to rivers of blood.”

“What kind of consequence would arise from such annexation? It is a cold war. Like that of the United States and the USSR. Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism stand on humanity’s side. They desire joss sticks, but nearly all cultivators revere themselves as the sole supremacy, believing themselves to be gods but offering no respects to the deities. What we cultivate is our own Dao, one’s own truth. The self that approaches god. These three schools cultivate the Way of the Joss Stick. Whatever the case, they cannot let go of mankind, either. This is humanity’s second trump card.” [1]

The greater demon laughed, “Junior, I will remind you out of friendliness. If Nascent Soul still exists in this world, they can only be among these three schools of several millenniums of inheritances.” 

Xu Yangyi was quiet and inwardly took note.

“The final sword… is the item in your hand, the Emperor Armament.”

Xu Yangyi took a deep breath, listening to Jadewave’s decryption with rapt attention.

“Each emperor controls China’s fate. Among them, likewise, there is an item closely related to them. It is known as an Emperor Armament… Perhaps this emperor died on top of it and dyed it with his imperial blood, or maybe it holds an immense origin…”

“For example, Liu Bang of the Han dynasty’s Snake-Beheading Sword. Or, the lost Realm-Inheritance Jade Seal… These are Emperor Armaments. However, these Emperor Armaments also possess the greatest power at the same time they enjoy a nation’s destiny. Such as the buried Snake-Beheading Sword under Beijing… Once a cultivator moves against humanity, be they the Great Circle of Foundation Establishment to the Great Circle of Core Formation, a path of survival nearly ceases to be.” [2]

“The Heavens protect humanity.” Jadewave seemed to sigh with boundless vicissitudes. “If any of China’s heroic masters cultivate, they need to be Nascent Soul Dao Lords. They are the exalted from amidst the myriad masses… and even to this day, their souls guard this Earth…”

“Perhaps you do not see…” A tremendous green ball of light raised upwards to look at the night sky dotted with stars. “But I do…”

“Since the far-off ancient times, they… have always, always been guarding against the cultivation world. In China’s history, there existed thirty-two sovereign kings who took their accompanying Emperor Armaments and buried them in the Earth after their deaths. These Emperor Armaments are a barrier. Otherwise… the present mankind could only be slaves. In the ancient era without nuclear missiles and high technology, Emperor Armaments were humanity’s greatest trump card against resisting the cultivation world.”

Xu Yangyi’s mind billowed like a tide. This incomplete chest was actually an artifact of a king? There was such a legend? The kind of secret… that didn’t exist in any book or any unrecorded history, truly hadn’t been passed down? Forgotten to history, a secret Chinese tale that could only be handed down through oral recount? 

He silently gripped the box. It was ice-cold, but he took hold of a fiery sensation. If this was an Emperor Armament... then which emperor was it intimately related to in history?

Xu Yangyi could already see its might. If this was the explanation behind the Emperor Armament, then all was clearly resolved. Why was Vermilion Snow frightened of it?

If it could slay Core Formation, what was there to say about half-step Core Formation?

“However… the item in your hands… is more terrible than an Emperor Armament…” As Jadewave began to speak, the enormous green lights that were its eyes flashed, and its voice couldn’t help but carry a shred of dread.

When Jadewave saw this item for the first time, it instantly realized what it was! Jadewave’s first instinct was to plunder! This was an item that truly existed in legend! However, Jadewave immediately discovered that this item… had recognized a master! It had acknowledged a man’s Dao! It had approved of a man’s truth! And at that time, Jadewave had promptly extinguished this thought.

It was a legend too old… Jadewave dared not use its own life to probe. It was said that once this item protected its master, it wouldn’t defend for a second time!

“Junior…” Jadewave settled its mood. “China has over thirty provinces. In each province, there is a person that wields an Emperor Armament. However… they are all dead armaments. Because they were buried after an emperor’s death, they are titled dead Emperor Armaments, Umbran Armaments.”

“You may be unaware, but when an emperor died in the ancient era… any item he carried on his person, including palace maids and eunuchs, everything would be buried with him! Of course, these were the closest items and subjects. Included among these things was a most significant element; they wouldn’t allow any Emperor Armament to drift about in the outside world.”

“And yet… exceptions will inevitably exist. Some Emperor Armaments, their wielders holding the greatest injustice, are unwilling to pass on. Even though they leave for immortality, they bear incomparable resentment and curses for being buried in an emperor’s tomb. It is such an Emperor Armament, an Animus Armament that has never been witnessed in China until now! A living Emperor Armament!” [3]

“A living Emperor Armament is a spiritual item throughout eternity! An Animus Armament cannot arise because of death from age. Only a dead emperor—an ancient, dead emperor with countless resentments, hatreds, and injustices is able to cause this execution of remembrance, unvanquished for a millennium to remain to this day. It is truly ironic that a living emperor cannot create an Animus Armament, but a dead emperor can… as for this living Emperor Armament… It in itself is a colossal hidden treasure. In its life, it will only protect one master, recognize one master, and determine one master… As for this person…” 

Jadewave paused and began to laugh, “They need to hold the greatest relation with this emperor and moreover be willing to assume the responsibility of his long-cherished desire that spanned across a thousand years!”

“At the same time… only the sole Animus Armament… in all of China’s five thousand years of history… can bring a titanic destiny for its wielder.”