Chapter 1400: Ascension

Wu Liang was dumbfounded. He had originally thought this ancient tomb contained a ten-thousand-year-old zombie, but judging by the voice's tone, it seemed he was still alive?

How is that possible?

Throughout history, it was already extremely rare for powerful cultivators to live for more than a thousand years, often requiring special racial talents. Human lifespans were even shorter.

This ancient tomb had existed for at least tens of thousands of years, and the person inside was still alive?

This completely subverted the common knowledge of the cultivation world. If this news got out, it would undoubtedly cause a huge uproar across the land.

At the same time, there was also a hint of excitement in his eyes. Could this be his great stroke of luck?

If he could achieve immortality...

The mere thought of it made him chuckle uncontrollably.

Crown Prince Jinwu's expression, however, changed drastically. He was still young and had a long lifespan ahead of him, so immortality wasn't as urgent for him. On the contrary, if his father truly achieved immortality, wouldn't he be Crown Prince forever?

To watch the Demon Emperor's throne, which was almost within his grasp, slip away – that would be a truly painful realization.

In contrast, the Demon Emperor's eyes instantly burned with intensity: "Why are you able to live for so long?"

However, he was not an ordinary person after all, and quickly forced himself to calm down: "What do you want?"

"You are indeed a smart person," the voice chuckled lightly. "Then please listen patiently until I finish."

Crown Prince Jinwu hurriedly said to the Demon Emperor, "Father Emperor, be careful of a trick. This person went to great lengths to keep us here, and we don't know what traps he has laid. In my opinion, we should go explore somewhere else to avoid being preempted by Zu'an and the others."

The Demon Emperor hesitated upon hearing this. That Zu'an boy had too many secrets and was the first person he couldn't see through in many years. Perhaps the other party might indeed seize some opportunity first.

At this moment, a mocking voice came from within the ancient tomb: "It seems your son doesn't wish for your immortality. Which is understandable; such things are all too common in royal families."

The Demon Emperor's eyes suddenly sharpened, staring intently at Crown Prince Jinwu.

He could tell that these were words meant to sow discord, but at his age, he cared too much about immortality. Once a person cares too much about something, they become blind.

Crown Prince Jinwu hurriedly explained, "Father Emperor, don't listen to his nonsense. I would never dare to have such thoughts."

The Demon Emperor snorted, "Let's hear what he has to say before deciding."

After what had just happened, Crown Prince Jinwu dared not say anything more, but he cursed this unknown ancestor of countless generations to death in his heart.

"That's better," the person in the ancient tomb chuckled. "We've been talking for so long, and I still don't know your names."

The Demon Emperor frowned. There were some dark arts in the world that could often use a person's name as a guide to harm them, but such arts also required one's birth details, hair, nails, and so on. As long as he kept the latter few things safe, he wouldn't have to worry about the other party's mischief. "You can call me Demon Emperor," he said.

Crown Prince Jinwu said, "I am Crown Prince Jinwu." Wu Liang opened his mouth: "My name is..."

Before he could finish, he was interrupted by the person in the ancient tomb: "What arrogant airs you all put on, claiming titles instead of names."

Wu Liang's mouth opened and closed a few times, and he couldn't help but feel extremely depressed. Apparently, in the other party's eyes, he wasn't even considered a person.

Ah, well, that's right. This was a reunion for the Jinwu clan; what was he doing trying to join in?

The Demon Emperor said coldly, "Our clan has always been this way since ancient times. Only the most esteemed individuals are qualified to use a title instead of a name."

"Fine, have it your way," the voice seemed a little disdainful, but didn't dwell on it. "My name is Danzhu, and my revered title is Emperor Danzhu!"

There was a hint of arrogance in his tone.

The Demon Emperor was somewhat disdainful: "Emperor? From what you said, you probably weren't emperor for many years in total. What right or virtue do you have to use this esteemed title?"

The voice: "..."

After a long silence, a long sigh was heard: "You're right, I am indeed a good-for-nothing, ha ha ha."

Hearing the madness in his voice, the Demon Emperor worried he had gone mad and would ruin his plans, and hurriedly asked: "Since you are the successor of the previous Emperor, why were you so easily usurped?"

Upon hearing this, the voice regained some normalcy, replaced by intense hatred: "Because the usurper was also of the imperial clan. His name was Shun, and his ancestor was also an Emperor."

"Many, many generations ago, we had a common ancestor named the Yellow Emperor. Later, the Yellow Emperor ascended to the heavens and passed his throne to his son Shaohao, who is our lineage's ancestor and was revered as the White Emperor."

The Demon Emperor's heart stirred: "What do you mean by 'ascended to the heavens'? Did he die?"

The voice sneered, "Ignorant. It means exactly what it says: he ascended to the Immortal Realm."

The Demon Emperor's eyes immediately became fervent: "Are there really Immortals in this world?"

Although he was now revered as an Earth Immortal by all, even if he was powerful, he was still an immortal of the earth, vastly different from a true Immortal.

But for tens of thousands of years, countless extraordinarily talented cultivators had emerged, yet not one truly became an Immortal. Later on, people even began to doubt the cultivation realms, believing that Earth Immortal was the highest possible attainment.

The Demon Emperor had been stuck at the Earth Immortal realm for many years and initially harbored the same doubts. Only in recent years, toward the end of his life, did he vaguely feel that Earth Immortal should not be the limit, but he had no clue how to advance further.

So now, hearing that someone from ancient times could ascend, how could he not be excited?

"What's so surprising about that?" the voice snorted, as if possessing a strong sense of superiority. "Many people have ascended. For example, Dijun, the father of your Jinwu clan's progenitor, also ascended to the Celestial Realm back then before passing the throne to my father."

"What exactly is ascension...?" The Demon Emperor could no longer contain himself and immediately asked many questions about cultivation.

The voice impatiently interrupted him: "Now is not the time for you to ask me questions, but for you to listen to me."

Having learned about ascension from him, the Demon Emperor's attitude towards him clearly changed. "Please speak!" he urged. Wu Liang in the corner was dumbfounded, thinking to himself that he had truly had his eyes opened today, to learn such a secret. It would even be worth dying for... Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey, he didn't want to die!

At this moment, the voice from the ancient tomb continued: "Back when the White Emperor ascended, the imperial throne should have been inherited by his son, but it was seized by his nephew Zhuanxu. Zhuanxu was also known as the Black Emperor by the world. From then on, the White Emperor's and Black Emperor's lineages became entangled in too many tales of love and hatred..."

"The Black Emperor reigned for many, many years. After his departure, the throne was also taken by his nephew, who was from our White Emperor lineage, and was Dijun, the father of your Jinwu clan's progenitor. Dijun later passed the throne to his son, Dizhi, but Dizhi's reign was very short, and he soon abdicated in favor of his younger brother Yao, who is my father, Emperor Yao."

"The world was peaceful for many years, but later, various disasters erupted, including droughts, great floods, and terrifying ferocious beasts ravaging the human world. My father had no choice but to promote a large number of subordinates to deal with these problems."

"Among them were descendants of the Black Emperor Zhuanxu, such as Gun and Shun... Because the Black Emperor had been gone for many years and his descendants had always been well-behaved, my father relaxed his guard and gave them too much power. These individuals took the opportunity to grow powerful, with Gun's faction being the strongest. But Shun had always been very submissive, so my father, with his help, executed Gun on Yu Mountain, and his body sank into Yu Abyss."

The Demon Emperor and the others' expressions changed several times, thinking to themselves: could that Yu Abyss be the place where they had entered?

"But I never expected that fellow Shun to be so ambitious. Without Gun's restraint, his power became uncontrollable, and finally, he ambushed my father while he was in seclusion and sealed him away."

"Initially, I was kept in the dark, believing my father had ascended. It was only when he outwardly honored me as Emperor and then quickly dethroned me with some trumped-up charges that I realized his true ambition."

The Demon Emperor secretly sneered, thinking this fellow was quite foolish to only realize it then. But now that he needed something from him, it wasn't good to speak too harshly. "Are you telling me all this because you want me to help you with something?" he asked.

"Smart!" The voice became a little more excited. "I need you to help me unseal my father!"