Chapter 1067: Herein Lies a Supreme Treasure

Chapter 1072: A Treasure Lies Within!

The Empress, whose gaze had pierced through the stone door to rest on the immortal skeleton, now withdrew it, a silent murmur echoing in her heart. Her final glance swept across the other seven stone doors in the vicinity, excluding the one she was currently in. After scanning them one by one, the Empress's eyes slightly narrowed as they landed on the third stone door. She then closed her eyes, sat down cross-legged, and waited in silence.

And behind the closed third stone door, which she had been gazing upon, was the black-robed figure, whose movements had been strange since arriving at Emperor Mingyan's secluded cultivation ground, and who was wrapped in iron chains.

He stood there, his eyes fixed intently on the stone door before him, as if his gaze could pierce through it to observe the underground palace beyond, and the black crystal on the immortal skeleton's hands. He made no rash movements, but with a somber expression, chose to sit cross-legged and wait, just like her.

Simultaneously, within this Rain Realm, other factions were also approaching the underground palace, each using their own knowledge and different methods. They were searching for the stone doors that led to it. They had an advantage in their search; for one, they each possessed intelligence, having some understanding of Emperor Mingyan's secluded cultivation ground. On the other hand, their cultivation made it easier for them to perceive the location of the doors. It could be said that among all those who came to Emperor Mingyan's secluded cultivation ground, apart from Xu Qing and Er Niu, all other factions were powerful and cunning.

Only Xu Qing and Er Niu, like headless flies, remained completely oblivious to the doors and the underground palace within this Rain Realm. Their fate was fraught with hardship; after watching the elderly sovereign depart, the two of them had to summon graveyard corpses dozens more times before finally truly feeding the family of heads to their fill. During this time, they didn't even have time to check their storage bags. This exhaustive effort left both Xu Qing and Er Niu physically and mentally exhausted. However, there were benefits: their use of the gray mist, initially rough and unfamiliar, had become much more proficient, even reaching a refined level. Er Niu, in particular, as the primary operator, had now almost reached perfection with the gray mist under this passive practice. As for their freedom, while still absent, after the family of heads had eaten their fill, they carried Xu Qing and Er Niu, and after whistling through the sky for a period, returned to their lair.

Their lair was an unparalleled grand tomb! The tomb resembled a colossal mountain. Xu Qing and Er Niu had never encountered such a vast mountain throughout their journey; its height seemed to touch the sky infinitely, and its expanse was like a colossal city, standing there as if it were the pinnacle of this realm. Inside the tomb, there were multiple underground palaces and numerous restrictions, but upon the return of this family, these restrictions became mere decorations. After returning to their lair, the family dispersed; the two large heads went to the main palace and fell into a deep slumber. The smaller heads also returned to their respective subordinate palaces, falling into a deep sleep. This time, they had truly overeaten and were now digesting their bounty. For a time, thunderous breathing sounds rose and fell within the underground palace. And the freedom Xu Qing and Er Niu had lost had somewhat returned.

"Only a tomb this large could contain this family..." Xu Qing continued. "And looking at it this way, this family must have once been corpses, but later, for some unknown reason, they developed sentience and achieved a certain degree of revival."

Er Niu glanced at Xu Qing, their eyes met, and after waiting for a moment to confirm the family was sound asleep, they carefully retreated, intending to find a way to leave. But soon, they both sighed. Their freedom was only partial. While they could move normally within the tomb, leaving was impossible. Restrictions were one reason, and they weren't necessarily insurmountable, but the most crucial issue was that they discovered a sense of dread would arise if they moved a certain distance away. The thunderous snoring would pause, as if the large heads would awaken in the next instant.

"Damn it, they're completely preventing us from escaping!" Er Niu fumed. "They must have never eaten this much before, so they're addicted!" He examined the items they had taken from the sovereign; it seemed that only calculating their gains could bring him some inner peace.

Xu Qing, meanwhile, looked thoughtful, not bothering to examine the items Er Niu was checking. Instead, he looked around, and after his gaze swept over the directions of each underground palace, he suddenly spoke. "Senior Brother, according to your previous theory on that barren planet..."

"You judged that Emperor Mingyan would certainly have opportunities, so the more desolate and desperate a place, the more fortune it contained."

"Then... what about here?" A faint light gleamed in Xu Qing's eyes.

"I observe the number of underground palaces here perfectly matches this family, and when they returned, the restrictions were intact yet offered no obstruction to them whatsoever. Then, there's a high probability that this place is indeed this family's tomb. If these judgments are correct, how did they revive? Was it because some fortuitous opportunity existed here that caused them to undergo different changes from other corpses!" As Xu Qing spoke, he looked at Er Niu.

Er Niu looked thoughtful, and as he listened, his eyes lit up. "Alright, little A Qing, your analysis is actually identical to what I was thinking! I was just about to say that we should thoroughly search this place." Er Niu rubbed his hands together, looking around. Xu Qing naturally didn't argue with Er Niu about whose idea it was. Seeing his Senior Brother agree, they didn't hesitate, dispersing to search for suspicious areas.

And so, time slowly passed. Seven days quickly went by. The family was still asleep, clearly not actively waking up anytime soon. During these seven days, Xu Qing and Er Niu had searched almost every place they could. Even the subordinate palaces where the smaller heads slept were explored separately by the two of them. But they found nothing in terms of fortuitous opportunities. Everything within this underground palace was empty; even the few items present had decayed and lost all meaning. So finally, they appeared outside the main palace tomb chamber where the two large heads resided.

"Could it be inside?" Er Niu's breathing quickened slightly. Xu Qing's eyes gleamed. Although entering the main tomb where the two large heads resided posed a danger, since things had already come to this, how much more dangerous could it get? So, after exchanging glances, they both gritted their teeth and stepped into the main tomb.

The moment they entered, a thunderous snoring sound was deafening. Two large heads, pressed together, lay there in a deep slumber. The entire main tomb was similar to the outside, empty and uncluttered, except... at the far end, there was a stone door. This door exuded ancientness, and the carvings on it also gave off a sense of age, as if it had existed for a very long time. The moment they saw this grand door, both Xu Qing and Er Niu's hearts stirred. They had searched everywhere, and only this stone door gave them an unusual feeling. So, after their eyes met and they checked the two giant heads again, they carefully advanced, finally arriving at the door.

The moment they stood there, both Xu Qing and Er Niu's pupils contracted. At such close proximity, the ancientness emanating from the door was even stronger, and at the same time, a dense aura of death seemed to slowly seep out from within.

"Inside here, there's a supreme treasure!!" Er Niu's breathing quickened. After sniffing a few times, intense light surged wildly in his eyes. "According to my premonition and my past treasure-hunting intuition, little A Qing, the treasure inside here is incredible!!" Er Niu licked his lips, stepped forward quickly, and after touching the stone door with his hand, he felt his heartbeat quicken, making him even more certain of his judgment. He then pushed hard. The door did not budge an inch. Even with Xu Qing joining in and the two of them combining their strength, the stone door merely trembled a few times and remained unopened.

Er Niu grew anxious. A blue light flashed in his eyes, and he gave Xu Qing a knowing glance. Xu Qing immediately turned around, looking at the two large heads in slumber. His gaze finally landed on the head that had captured them and brought them here, and he clasped his fists and bowed.

"Senior, thank you for your care throughout this journey."

"If you brought us here and claim to have no intention of letting us open this door, this junior finds that hard to believe."

"Since that is the case, I ask Senior to lend us a hand."

Throughout this journey, although the large heads had not uttered any words and everything seemed to be instinctive behavior, that previous half-smile always lingered in Xu Qing's mind, as well as their tacit approval of Xu Qing and Er Niu extorting the sovereign. Therefore, Xu Qing did not believe the large heads possessed low intelligence. Based on this judgment, there had to be a reason why they were brought here and allowed to attempt to open the door. This was clearly also Er Niu's judgment, so as Xu Qing turned and bowed, Er Niu also bowed deeply.

The snoring vanished instantly. The two heads slowly opened their eyes and stared at Xu Qing and Er Niu. Their gaze then shifted to the stone door, and their expressions became solemn and grave, with a strong sense of apprehension rising within them. But ultimately... perhaps Xu Qing and Er Niu's judgment was correct, or perhaps for other reasons, the two large heads exchanged glances and then simultaneously blew a breath. These two breaths silently fell upon the stone door. The stone door immediately rumbled. Xu Qing and Er Niu seized the opportunity, each bursting forth to push with all their might. Finally, amid the stone door's intense trembling, a gap was pushed open.

The instant the gap appeared, an aura of death spread out, accompanied by fluctuations of Dao traces. Xu Qing and Er Niu's hearts trembled, for through the gap, their gaze penetrated and they saw a scene... a vast underground palace that created a storm in their minds and stirred immense ripples: countless skeletons and piled altars, the immortal skeleton seated cross-legged, along with numerous inheritance imprints and Dao trace authorities, and floating all around were... individual Emperor's treasures.

"Emperor Mingyan's Secluded Cultivation Ground!" These eight words instantly appeared in Xu Qing and Er Niu's minds. At the same time, they also noticed other stone doors existing within this underground palace. Some were closed, while others were... open. And behind the open stone doors, figures sat cross-legged. A total of three figures. They were precisely the cultivators from Ximoyu who had entered the Dao Platform with them from the outside! The moment Xu Qing and Er Niu looked at them, these three parties also looked up, their gazes instantly piercing through the gap in the stone door where Xu Qing and Er Niu were. Their eyes met.