Chapter 1463: Key

Could the death of the Qiongqi have triggered some mechanism? A thought flashed through everyone’s mind. Fortunately, the few people present had strong cultivation bases and quickly stabilized themselves, slowly descending from the air.

Fortunately, it wasn't a bottomless abyss below. Not long after, the group arrived on level ground and discovered that the space below was also quite vast.

Right ahead, another door appeared. Compared to the one above, this door was even more ancient and mysterious. In its center was a design resembling a star map, with several special grooves.

The Demon Emperor glanced at it, then looked at Zu An. "You still haven't answered my question."

Zu An gathered with the three women and calmly replied, "I know about the Undying Medicine."

If he knew the Sun-Shooting Bow was in my possession, he might immediately turn hostile. In comparison, information about the Undying Medicine was more suitable; it would make him hesitate to act, not daring to easily attack them.

"The Undying Medicine!" The Demon Emperor's breathing quickened. This was what he needed most right now. "Good, you certainly qualify to cooperate with me now."

A hint of resentment flashed in the Golden Crow Prince's eyes. If his Imperial Father became immortal, wouldn't he remain a useless prince for life? However, he dared not show any sign of it. He could only comfort himself that if he could also achieve immortality, it would still be a good outcome.

"Where is the Undying Medicine?" the Demon Emperor eagerly pressed.

Zu An smiled. "Do you think I'd tell you at this moment?"

"Makes sense." The Demon Emperor wasn't offended. He didn't believe the other party was lying; if Zu An and the others didn't truly know, they couldn't possibly have fabricated the name "Undying Medicine." Once they cooperated, found higher-level power, and left this place, it wouldn't be too late to force him to hand over the Undying Medicine. With so many women around this guy, there would always be a way to make him yield.

At this moment, Wu Liang had already been studying the gate for a while. As he stroked the patterns on it, he excitedly said, "No wonder we couldn't find a way to enter upstairs earlier. It seems the upper one was just a decoy. This is the real gate."

The Demon Emperor squeezed the ghost in his hand until it was distorted. "Is this the place where you said your father, Emperor Yao, was sealed?"

"Yes, yes, I can already feel my father's aura." The ghost let out a scream, its heart filled with malice. 'Once my father is out, he will suppress all you scoundrels!'

Zu An, standing nearby, was stunned. 'Isn't this supposed to be Dayu's tomb? How could it be Emperor Yao's?' 'Did we come to the wrong place again this time?' 'But that makes no sense. Previously, Shun also mentioned me dealing with Dayu.'

"Didn't you say your father would appear once the Four Fiends' seals were broken? Where is he?" The Demon Emperor stared coldly at the ghost in his hand, as if he could crush it into dust at any moment. Throughout their journey, he had interrogated Dan Zhu and now knew that Emperor Yao was a true great emperor of old, and there must be many treasures buried with him. More importantly, the power of an ancient great emperor deeply fascinated him. If he could experience it firsthand, he believed he would have a chance to advance further.

"We need to open this tomb first. Oh, right, use the gems we obtained earlier and embed them in the gate; that will open it." The ghost trembled all over, terrified of being killed before seeing its father, as that would be a huge loss.

The Demon Emperor looked up at the special holes on the gate; their shapes did look somewhat familiar. So, with a wave of his hand, several rays of light, which were the gems he had collected along the way, shot out from his sleeve.

Four gems of different colors—red, green, blue, and yellow—were embedded into the gate. Rings of light appeared on the gate, and various lines were activated as if they were circuits.

Everyone waited expectantly for the gate to open. To their surprise, the lights eventually stopped, then gradually faded, returning to ordinary line patterns.

"How could this be?" The Demon Emperor's face darkened, and he stared menacingly at the ghost in his hand.

"No... that makes no sense! This is how you open the gate!" The ghost was clearly bewildered and terrified, its voice trembling.

At this moment, Wu Liang's voice came. "I know," he said. "Something is still missing. There's a keyhole right in the center here. A key must be missing."

"A key?" The Demon Emperor's heart sank. They hadn't found any keys along the way. He instinctively looked at Zu An and his companions. Zu An also spread his hands, clearly indicating they hadn't encountered any keys either.

The Demon Emperor's face was clouded with gloom. He approached the gate, intending to use his Earth Immortal power to forcibly break it open. Few tomb doors in the world could withstand his full-force attack. Unfortunately, after he threw a punch, a layer of light flashed on the tomb door. He clearly felt his power being channeled by the door to unknown directions in all directions. Evidently, no matter how many times he tried, he wouldn't be able to smash the gate head-on.

Suddenly, his gaze sharpened. He looked at the keyhole in the very center, pondered for a moment, then turned to the Golden Crow Prince. "My son, do you remember a key in the Imperial Treasury that had a very similar shape to this?"

The Golden Crow Prince also went to check. "Indeed," he confirmed. "That key seemed to have always been in the treasury. I even played with it when I was a child, but I never saw anything special about it. I don't know why it was kept in the treasury."

One must know that the Imperial Treasury held the accumulated wealth of generations of Demon Emperors. What right did an ordinary key have to be stored there?

The Demon Emperor said in a deep voice, "That key was already in the treasury when I was a child. No one knows its origin. There are even rumors that it has been passed down through generations of the Golden Crow clan since ancient times. Our ancestors through the ages could not figure out its purpose. We only know it's impervious to water and fire, and even our Golden Crow Sacred Flame can barely harm it."

The other people present were secretly astonished. A key that even the Golden Crow Sacred Flame couldn't harm? Its mere material proved it was an extraordinary item.

"I never imagined it would be used here." As the Demon Emperor spoke, he felt both the satisfaction of a secret that had plagued the Golden Crow clan for centuries finally being revealed, and deep vexation.

At this moment, Yun Jianyue couldn't help but say, "You're saying so much, but did you bring the key?"

The Demon Emperor and the Golden Crow Prince hung their heads dejectedly. Although they didn't answer, their expressions said it all. They were truly vexed. They were clearly within inches of the treasure mountain, but lacked a key. And this key was one they actually possessed; they just hadn't brought it! A secret realm in such an unknown place might only open once in countless years, by pure coincidence. After all, the Imperial Mausoleum had existed for so many years, and this was its first opening. If they missed this opportunity, they likely wouldn't have another chance to enter. Just thinking about this, both of them were so frustrated they almost spat blood.

Just then, Zu An's voice came. "Hmm, why does this shape look a bit familiar to me?"

The Golden Crow Prince was already annoyed. Hearing this, he sneered, "You claim everything from my Imperial Treasury is familiar? You should use your brain when boasting."

Zu An thought to himself, 'So what if it's the Imperial Treasury? I'm even familiar with your stepmother's bed.' He didn't bother to respond to the other party, carefully observing the shape of the keyhole in the center.

"Stop pretending!" "If you can figure anything out, I'll eat these rocks right here and now." The Golden Crow Prince was actually secretly pleased. He had just realized that if his Imperial Father couldn't gain further power in this secret realm, then as his lifespan was nearing its end, he would pass the throne and his cultivation to him. So, naturally, he had to try his best to stop Zu An, even though he didn't believe the other party would actually figure out anything valuable.

Who knew that the next second, Zu An pulled out an oddly shaped key? "Do you think it's this one?"

The Golden Crow Prince's smile immediately froze on his face.

The Demon Emperor was originally nonchalant, thinking, 'How could a key from my own treasury be with someone else?' But after seeing it clearly, he was both surprised and delighted. "Where did you get that?" He was even shocked, wondering, 'Has this guy been entering and leaving the palace so easily? I had no idea he stole the key from the treasury. Did he steal other valuable items as well?'