Chapter 1471: Resurrection

The various patterns on the altar lit up, and bright lines extended in all directions. The entire tomb exuded a powerful presence, as if it had come alive in that instant.

On the other side, Gonggong's crystal skull snapped up. "Yu's aura!"

The Demon Emperor, standing nearby, felt a stir in his heart. This Yu seemed to be his great adversary, and an opportunity had arisen...

"Follow me!" Gonggong had already transformed his body into a black robe, with only his skull remaining as a skeleton; the rest of him was indistinguishable from a normal person. With a flick of his sleeve, he transformed into a cloud of black mist and vanished.

The Demon Emperor naturally wouldn't miss such a good opportunity. With a flash of his form, he also disappeared from the spot.

For those at the Earth Immortal level, space no longer posed any obstacle.

Only Crown Prince Jinwu was left dumbfounded. He subconsciously tried to pursue them, but how could he, unfamiliar with the realm of Earth Immortals, know where the two had gone?

Feeling the immense, tranquil, and eerie ancient tomb, like a giant beast ready to devour someone, he felt a shiver of dread.

Spreading his hands, he cried out in a panic, "I haven't gotten on board yet! I haven't gotten on board yet!"

The next second, a flash of golden light appeared, and the Demon Emperor's figure suddenly materialized beside him. He grabbed Jinwu's shoulder, and together they vanished from the spot.

Meanwhile, Zu An had placed the Nine Cauldrons onto the altar. Not long after, a rumbling sound suddenly echoed, and a large crack appeared in the ceiling, from which a section of stairs directly extended downwards.

Xiang Liu seemed to recall something from the past, momentarily lost in thought.

Zu An seized this opportunity, pulled the three women back, and instantly teleported onto the stairs.

Xiang Liu, as if waking from a dream, said to Fuyou, "You stay here. I'll go and see."

As soon as he finished speaking, his figure vanished from the spot.

Fuyou, injured by the dragon qi, naturally had no objection, as his top priority was to recover as quickly as possible.

As Xiang Liu entered, the descended stairs suddenly began to turn transparent, then completely disappeared.

Even the crack that had appeared in the ceiling was gone; the entire ceiling was perfectly smooth, as if nothing had ever happened.

At this moment, the surrounding air warped and rippled. Immediately after, Gonggong, followed by the Demon Emperor and his son, arrived.

"My Lord!" Fuyou hurriedly bowed to Gonggong.

"What happened to you?" Gonggong was startled to see Fuyou so heavily injured.

The Demon Emperor was equally surprised. From their previous interactions, he knew that Zu An's combat prowess couldn't be measured by mere rank, but he never imagined it to be this exaggerated. An Earth Immortal brought to such severe injury?

He realized that while Fuyou was weaker than him, it wasn't by much. This meant facing Zu An and his companions would also be extremely dangerous for him.

He felt a sense of relief that Fuyou had helped by taking the first blow; otherwise, if he had engaged them based on his previous impression of Zu An, he might have suffered a great loss.

"That boy could use the dragon qi here, and I was caught off guard, suffering a great loss," Fuyou said bitterly. To be defeated by an 'ant' he looked down upon was truly humiliating.

"So he was responsible for the dragon vein's power just now," Gonggong said with some surprise, looking around. "Where are they now?"

"Just now, a space suddenly opened up above, and a flight of stairs appeared..." Fuyou briefly recounted what had just happened.

"Yu!" Gonggong gnashed his teeth, clearly understanding something. He immediately transformed into a cloud of black mist and searched frantically for the hidden space.

This grand tomb was clearly meticulously arranged by Yu, with intricate and profound formations. Even Gonggong might not be able to find it quickly.

Watching Gonggong disappear, the Demon Emperor did not follow him this time but remained where he was.

Fuyou, standing nearby, frowned. "Why are you still here?"

The Demon Emperor looked at him with a smile. "You're injured. I'm staying here to keep you company."

"I don't need your company. Go and help our Lord," Fuyou scoffed.

"No, you do." The Demon Emperor imperceptibly moved behind him, his hand hidden behind his back growing long, razor-sharp claws...

Meanwhile, after Zu An led the three women up the stairs, they discovered that the ancient tomb had a hidden top level.

This level featured various magnificent statues and exquisite murals, all arranged like stars circling the moon, guarding the colossal bronze coffin at the very top.

"This is..." Zu An and the others had initially intended to examine the murals, but their attention was involuntarily drawn to the colossal bronze coffin.

Gonggong's stone coffin had been imposing enough, but compared to this bronze behemoth, it looked more than a mere size smaller.

Just then, black and green mists swirled, and Xiang Liu appeared. He was about to attack them when he also saw the colossal bronze coffin opposite him.

"Yu!" Xiang Liu's voice was a mix of excitement and fear, as if unpleasant memories had been stirred.

The others were startled. Was Yu really lying in there?

Zu An suddenly understood. No wonder his Nine Cauldrons had subtly felt a summoning force ever since entering this secret realm, and it was also what had just activated the mechanism here. He never expected that the alchemy cauldron he had inadvertently obtained from Shen Xuzi at the Imperial Academy was actually the legendary Nine Cauldrons.

However, he soon grew puzzled again. If these were indeed the Nine Cauldrons, why were they so miniature?

After all, the legendary Nine Cauldrons were said to be nine colossal artifacts.

At this point, Xiang Liu had recovered his composure and let out a burst of neurotic laughter. "Hahaha, back then, when we were sealed, I thought it was worse than death. Yet, we, the defeated, have now revived, while you, the victor of yesteryear, have turned to dust and bones. Who could have imagined such a dramatic twist?"

Zu An and the others exchanged surprised glances. From the moment they first met him, apart from his nine-headed, snake-bodied form which was somewhat sanity-draining, his human form had always been that of a gentle, refined young gentleman. This was the first time they had seen him so discomposed.

Zu An couldn't help but ask, "If you all can live until now, why couldn't Yu, who was stronger than you, survive?"

Perhaps it was the good mood from seeing his old enemy dead, or something else, but Xiang Liu didn't rush to attack. Instead, he replied, "It's different. Under normal circumstances, we wouldn't have lived this long either. No one can withstand the power of time; even ascending to the heavens doesn't truly grant immortality."

Zu An keenly caught the information revealed in his words: did it mean that even after becoming an Immortal, one could still die?

"But we were sealed at our peak, our freedom restricted, which was arguably worse than death. However, this had one advantage: because we were within the seal, the passage of time had little effect on us. Once the seal is broken, we can revive." Xiang Liu sneered as he looked at the bronze coffin. "But who in this world enjoys being sealed? Being sealed is not much different from being dead."

Zu An and the others nodded secretly. Indeed, seals could prolong life, but at the cost of freedom and even consciousness. This so-called extended lifespan was only true for external observers; for the individual themselves, their life was not prolonged at all. On the contrary, they were sealed for a very long time, and if the seal were never broken, they might truly spend an eternity in a state worse than death.

"Yu was the victor back then; he naturally lived his life freely and grandly. Such a long span of time would have been enough for him to die several times over," Xiang Liu said. He then looked at Zu An and his group. "Alright, I've answered your questions. Don't resist needlessly. Come back with me to see my Lord. I can guarantee your lives."

Zu An suddenly widened his eyes and looked behind Xiang Liu. "Yu... has revived?"