Chapter 1404: Descendants of the Mysterious Emperor

“Who?” Zu An and the others instantly looked up, scanning their surroundings, but unfortunately, they saw no one within sight.

The group exchanged glances, each seeing the gravity in the others' expressions. They were all considered top masters of their generation, with incredibly keen senses for their environment. Under normal circumstances, not a single blade of grass or tree within several miles could escape their perception.

Yet, this voice had appeared without any warning. Not only could they not pinpoint its location beforehand, but even after the voice sounded, they still couldn't find its source. This meant that the opponent's cultivation was likely far superior to theirs, and if they harbored ill intentions, the group would be in danger.

“Oh, how can you also possess the cultivation method of the White Emperor's lineage, and yet be afflicted by the Puppet Curse?” The voice sounded again, seemingly filled with confusion.

“Who are you?” Zu An vigilantly looked around, as the voice wasn't coming from a single direction, but from all sides, preventing him from determining its precise location. He quickly activated the jade cong, attempting to communicate with nearby creatures to investigate, but still found nothing.

“Who am I?” The voice seemed surprised. “Right, who am I? Who exactly am I?”

Zu An and the women exchanged bewildered glances. This person seemed mentally unstable, so they winked at each other, deciding to seize this opportunity to leave this strange place as soon as possible.

Just then, the voice came again, “I remember who I am! I hate it so much!”

Zu An’s expression shifted slightly. This intense hatred, if it were in his previous life, would belong to a vengeful spirit. He quickly decided to make a run for it.

“Don't you want to undo the Puppet Curse you're under?” The voice then spoke again.

Not just Zu An, but even the three women, Yan, Yun, and Yu, instinctively stopped. The Puppet Curse concerned Zu An's life and death. If it wasn't lifted, even if he miraculously survived the Land of the Unknown, he would become a slave to the Demon Emperor, and then death would be preferable to life.

Zu An also understood that Mi Li could only temporarily shield the Puppet Curse by leveraging the chaotic rules of this Land of the Unknown. Once they returned to the normal world, her methods would be ineffective.

“There’s no free lunch in this world. What do you want?” Zu An asked cautiously.

“There’s no free lunch in this world?” The voice repeated the phrase, a hint of amusement in its tone. “That’s an interesting saying. Come to the foot of the mountain first.”

Zu An was hesitating when the voice said, “Don't worry. Since you are afflicted by the Puppet Curse from the White Emperor’s lineage, it proves we have a common enemy. You needn't fear that I will harm you.”

Zu An wasn't one to overthink things, so hearing this, he decided to go and see. He initially wanted the three women to stay at a distance, but Yan Xuehen spoke first: “We’ll go with you. It’s better to have someone to look out for each other if anything happens.”

A warmth spread through Zu An’s heart. Seeing her usual aloofness, ignoring him, he realized she actually cared about him. Noticing his fiery gaze, Yan Xuehen’s cheeks flushed slightly, and she immediately turned her head away, no longer looking at him. Yun Jianyue and Yu Yanluo were concerned about the unknown mysterious entity and didn't notice the exchange of glances between the two.

So, following the voice's guidance, they arrived at the foot of the mountain ahead. Only then did they notice an ancient-looking cave entrance at the base of the mountain.

Zu An stopped, maintaining a certain distance from the cave entrance. “I'm here. Just say what you want to say.” He wondered if it might be an old monster trying to take over his body. Ever since he was tricked by Old Man Mi at the beginning of his transmigration, he had developed a phobia.

It seemed to "see" the women beside him, and the voice sighed with emotion, “In my time, I also had several confidantes like them. Alas…” The tone was filled with a sense of loss.

Zu An inwardly scoffed. He didn’t expect this to be an old lecher too. Wait, why did he use “too”?

“You said you can undo his Puppet Curse?” Yun Jianyue couldn’t help but ask.

The voice replied, “The Puppet Curse is a unique skill of the White Emperor’s lineage. It’s very difficult to undo.”

Yun Jianyue's phoenix eyes narrowed. “Are you toying with us?” After all, she was experienced. Although the other party’s realm was mysterious and terrifying, if they were truly that powerful, there would have been no need to call them over; they could have simply used their divine powers to seize them. Now, seeing this cave entrance, she was even more certain of her guess: the other party was most likely trapped inside for some reason, which was why they called them over. As long as they were careful, there shouldn't be much danger.

“I only said it’s difficult, not that it’s impossible to undo,” the voice replied.

Zu An asked in a deep voice, “What’s this about the White Emperor you just mentioned?” Seeing the other party being so mysterious, he didn’t want to be led by the nose, so he took the initiative. His Puppet Curse was clearly cast by the Demon Emperor, so why did this person keep mentioning the White Emperor?

“Before I explain that, you answer me: why do you possess the White Emperor’s lineage’s ‘Gourmand Devouring Heaven Art’ and ‘Phoenix Nirvana Sutra’?” the voice asked.

The three women all looked at Zu An. They had more or less known about some of his cultivation methods, but this was the first time they heard such a complete detail, and how was it even related to the White Emperor?

Zu An was equally confused: “I don’t even know who the White Emperor is, so how could I have any of his cultivation methods?” This person was truly mysterious, able to perceive his ‘Gourmand Devouring Heaven Art’ and ‘Phoenix Nirvana Sutra’. Wait, why couldn't they perceive the ‘Primordial Chaos Genesis Sutra’?

“Looking at your dull-witted appearance, you don’t seem as sinister and cunning as those of the White Emperor’s lineage. So you probably aren’t their descendant,” the voice murmured to itself.

Zu An: “…” You’re the dull-witted one. Your whole family is dull-witted.

Then the voice slowly said, “Long, long ago, my ancestor, Xuanyuan, conquered north and south, defeating various powerful individuals, and was recognized by the world as Emperor, hence the Yellow Emperor.”

The other three women thought he was referring to the ordinary concept of an emperor, so they weren’t particularly moved. However, Zu An’s heart was in turmoil. Xuanyuan? Yellow Emperor? Could it be the one from his memories of his previous life?

“After the Yellow Emperor ascended, he passed the throne to his son Shaohao Xuanxiao, who was revered as the White Emperor,” the voice continued.

“Ascended? What ascension?” Yu Yanluo was fine, but Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen were both startled, sharing the same confusion as the Demon Emperor. At their realm, they were more concerned with finding the path to immortality, the so-called ascension and transcendence. However, for a long time, becoming an immortal only existed in legends, and no one had truly witnessed it.

“Of course, it means ascending to the heavens to become an immortal,” the voice sounded a little strange. “Is there anything odd about that?”

Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen were speechless. This person was really putting on an act. However, his tone didn't seem like he was deliberately showing off.

At this point, the voice continued, “After the White Emperor ascended, because his biological son was unworthy, he passed the throne to his nephew, my ancestor Zhuanxu, who was known to the world as the Black Emperor. It was originally a normal succession, but the White Emperor’s descendants always felt that the Black Emperor had used some sinister scheme to usurp the throne, and from then on, they deeply hated the Black Emperor’s lineage.”

Zu An had some internal thoughts. The Black Emperor’s lineage, being the beneficiaries, naturally felt it was normal, but it was also reasonable for others to think something was amiss when the throne was passed to a nephew instead of a son.

“After the Black Emperor ascended, the imperial throne was supposed to be inherited by his son. Unfortunately, Jun of the White Emperor’s lineage recaptured the throne, and he was known to the world as Emperor Jun.”

Zu An’s heart stirred. He hadn't heard much about the White Emperor and Black Emperor, but Emperor Jun was very famous, especially in various fantasy and primordial novels, where Emperor Jun was a super boss.

“After the White Emperor’s lineage regained the throne, they severely suppressed our Black Emperor’s lineage. Not only that, they also slandered us greatly,” there was a hint of hatred in the voice. “For example, three of the Black Emperor’s sons, even after death, were slandered as plague ghosts: one residing in the Jiang River as a malarial ghost, one in Ruo River as a phantom ghost, and one residing in human homes, prone to frightening small children, as a child ghost. And another son, Huan Dou, was made a typical villain of the world, and his resentment after death was even called one of the Four Fiends. This is simply outrageous!”

Zu An's expression was strange. He had thought that terms like “chimei wangliang” (goblins and monsters) referred to small demons, but he never expected their father to be the Black Emperor Zhuanxu?

“Are you asking me to help you deal with the White Emperor’s lineage?” he asked gravely.

“No, although the White Emperor’s lineage is hateful, they are after all from a different faction, and resorting to all means necessary is understandable,” the voice was extremely cold. “In comparison, betrayal from within the same faction is the most detestable. What I hate more is that person who is also from the Black Emperor’s lineage!”

***

Someone died, but not completely…

He took a deep breath of fresh air, his chest heaving. Confusion, bewilderment, various emotions surged into his mind.

Where was this?

Then, Shi Yu instinctively surveyed his surroundings, and became even more bewildered.

A single dormitory room?

Even if he had been successfully rescued, he should be in a hospital room right now. And his body… how could there be no injuries at all?

With doubt, Shi Yu’s gaze quickly swept through the room, finally settling on a mirror on the headboard. The mirror showed his current appearance, around seventeen or eighteen years old, and quite handsome. His previous self was a handsome young man of over twenty, with an extraordinary demeanor, who had been working for some time. But now, this appearance looked like that of a high school student…

This change left Shi Yu in a daze for a long time. Please don't tell him the surgery was very successful… His body and face had changed; this was no longer a question of surgery or not, but of immortal arts. He had completely transformed into another person!

Could it be… he had transmigrated?

Besides the mirror, which was clearly placed in a bad feng shui spot on the headboard, Shi Yu also found three books nearby.

Shi Yu picked them up and his expression instantly became serious at the titles.

“Essential Beast-Rearing Manual for Novice Breeders”“Post-Natal Care for Pet Beasts”“Guide to Appreciating Exotic Beast-Eared Girls”

Shi Yu: ???

The first two book titles were relatively normal, but what was wrong with the last one?

“Cough.”

Shi Yu’s gaze sharpened, and he reached out his hand, but his arm quickly stiffened. Just as he was about to open the third book to see what it was, a sharp pain shot through his brain, and a flood of memories surged forth.

Bingyuan City.Pet Beast Breeding Base.Intern Pet Beast Breeder.Beast Master?