Chapter 635: Heart and Soul Legacy Spanning Twenty Thousand Years

The Human Emperor Ancestor seemed bewildered, as if he hadn't yet recovered from Qin Mu's relentless onslaught. However, the Second Ancestor and the others knew the cause of his confusion: why Qin Mu hadn't learned his cultivation methods and divine arts.

His original intention was to inspire Qin Mu, to unleash more of his potential, and then impart his own cultivation methods and divine arts to him. Qin Mu was indeed inspired. He bravely, fearlessly, and resolutely teleported himself to the Primordial Realm, enduring countless hardships and several near-death experiences. Finally, his cultivation reached the Dao, granting him the power to contend with the Human Emperor Ancestor at the same level. Few could have returned alive from the Primordial Realm; the dangers involved were unimaginable.

Yet, after all Qin Mu had endured, he rejected the Human Emperor Ancestor's cultivation methods and divine arts with a dismissive remark. Was it disdain for his techniques, or for his character? Perhaps both.

The successive Human Emperors exchanged glances, then their gazes settled on the Second Ancestor. Together, they poked him in the ribs. The Second Ancestor winced, reluctantly stepping forward. He blurted out, "Old man... bah, you look younger than me! Master, Human Emperor Qin has his own pride. If you hadn't destroyed our efforts, hadn't smashed my bones and tombstone, he wouldn't have treated you like this. Stop wallowing in self-pity. If he won't learn, you can teach your methods to me!"

The Human Emperor Ancestor glanced at him, shaking his head. "I gave you eight hundred years, and you still couldn't learn. I've given up on you. I think Human Emperor Qin is a Hegemon Body; he'll learn it in a few months at most."

The Second Ancestor stormed back, fuming. "This is too insulting! I'm not going to persuade him. Whoever wants to go, go! With that temper, he deserves to be beaten to death!"

The other Human Emperors exchanged puzzled looks.

The Human Emperor Ancestor then strode forward, casting off his earlier confusion and dejection. "This is Jade Bright Heaven Palace, one of the Thirty-six Heaven Palaces. Although you are all Human Emperors, you've only ever reached the periphery of Jade Bright Palace, specifically the Human Emperor Hall. I will now take you to see the true Jade Bright Palace. Follow me."

The Human Emperors were bewildered. Just moments ago, he was immersed in sorrow, and now he wanted to show them Jade Bright Palace. They couldn't fathom what the Human Emperor Ancestor was thinking. However, the Human Emperor Ancestor was right. Though they had often visited the Human Emperor Hall during their lives, they knew little about it. They could sense that the space of the Human Emperor Hall extended beyond what their eyes could see, but whenever they entered the mist to explore, they would invariably find themselves back in front of the Human Emperor Hall.

Even at full speed, whether flying or running, the result was always the same: they would fly or run, and suddenly another Human Emperor Hall would appear ahead, as if every path led to a loop. At that point, they knew someone had forcefully folded the space around the Human Emperor Hall, preventing others from discovering its deeper secrets. And that person could only be the Human Emperor Ancestor.

The Human Emperor Ancestor must have had his reasons for concealing Jade Bright Palace. What reason did he now have for opening it?

The Human Emperor Ancestor led them forward, explaining, "Jade Bright Palace wasn't a place of high power, but in the Kaihuang Celestial Court, it was an extremely sacred place. This was a center for education, where four Heavenly Teachers served. During the catastrophe, I was a student here."

The Second Ancestor mused, "Was one of the four Heavenly Teachers dressed as a woodcutter? The founding patriarch of the Sacred Cult of the Heavens considered him a sage."

The Human Emperor Ancestor nodded. "He was one of them. When the catastrophe began, he left Jade Bright Palace for the front lines, offering strategies. Later, when Jade Bright Palace underwent a change, he thought I had died. Then he discovered I hadn't joined the war but had fled, and he never bothered with me again."

"Jade Bright Palace underwent a change?" The Human Emperors were perplexed. The Third Ancestor inquired, "Ancestor, what change did Jade Bright Palace undergo?"

The Human Emperor Ancestor did not answer, instead leading them further. Suddenly, the mist dispersed, revealing a magnificent complex of celestial palaces before them. Buildings stood in close proximity, five paces a tower, ten paces a pavilion, arranged in neat rows, with fragrant springs everywhere. The towers shone brightly like young maidens, and the palace corridors curved gracefully, emitting the scent of books from their thresholds. Faintly, the sound of recitation could be heard.

The Human Emperors were startled and uncertain. This place seemed untouched by any war, without even a hint of damage caused by divine arts. The palace halls, towers, pavilions, and pagodas all appeared remarkably pristine, as if freshly built, bearing no marks of time's erosion. This was almost impossible. The Kaihuang Celestial Court had been destroyed; outside Jade Bright Palace, signs of war were still visible—scorched earth and countless graves of fallen gods and devils. How could this place have been unaffected by any conflict?

The Human Emperor Ancestor said nothing, guiding them forward. They passed a grand hall where cushions were scattered, and young boys and girls sat, looking up as if listening to a lecture. The Human Emperors were deeply shocked. These young men and women were astonishingly lifelike, yet they could tell that they had died countless years ago! On the dais was a god or devil with the demeanor of a scholar, raising a hand, a smile on his face, seemingly explaining the mysteries of divine arts to the young people below. This god or devil was also a corpse, utterly devoid of life.

"How is it that their bodies haven't decayed?" Qi Kang Human Emperor asked in a hoarse whisper. No one answered him. The Human Emperor Ancestor continued forward, and they quickly followed.

Along the way, they saw more bizarre sights. Around a corner, they spotted a little girl with two pigtails, frozen in mid-run, chasing a black divine dog. The black dog was mischievous, leading the girl on a chase, its eyes sparkling with playfulness. The little girl was smiling, seemingly clapping her hands and saying something. However, both the girl and the dog were rigid, having died in an instant, preserving their last living gestures. The Human Emperors looked around, their astonishment growing.

Not far off, a scholarly-looking deity stood facing a young woman who cradled several scrolls in her arms. She was looking up, seemingly asking her teacher about a difficult problem. In the courtyard, several youths were practicing divine arts; two of them were sparring, their bodies agile, their hands forming seals as if casting a mudra divine art. Nearby, other youths stood smiling, whispering to each other, seemingly debating who was stronger.

The Human Emperors averted their gaze, suppressing their shock, and followed the Ancestor. The more they saw, the more astonished they became. Time here seemed to have stood still; there was no sound, and everyone remained in their final living postures. Silence. Utter, profound silence. A suffocating silence that made it impossible to breathe!

"Those who came to study at Jade Bright Palace were the most outstanding young talents of the Celestial Court. When the catastrophe struck, it wiped out the entire future generation of the Kaihuang era." The Human Emperor Ancestor said blankly, "The attack here used the divine arts of Youdu, a single divine art that eradicated the future of the Kaihuang era. I narrowly escaped, fleeing in terror without daring to look back. I originally believed my Dao heart was strong enough that nothing could make me feel fear, but seeing so many comrades, so many young people and gods and devils dead, I just crumbled..."

The Human Emperors fell silent; it was difficult not to break down in the face of such an unimaginable catastrophe.

"I ran away, utterly distraught, panicked, like a stray dog," the Human Emperor Ancestor said hoarsely. "I met the Celestial Court army coming to the rescue, but I was completely terrified. I didn't join them; I continued to run until I realized I had nowhere to go, nowhere to escape to. So I turned back and searched, and then..."

His face contorted, his heart aching beyond imagination. He took several ragged breaths. "Then I saw the bodies of my comrades. Heh heh, I should have fought alongside them, died here with them, but I ran. I survived, and they are buried here forever..."

His shoulders twitched twice, and he swallowed his tears, saying blankly, "I stayed here, with no desire to live, wanting to die with them. It was then that I saw many races fleeing, some cultivators escorting countless mortals. So I took them in, protecting them as they searched for a place to rest and multiply."

"I searched for a long time and found the place where the Celestial Court had fallen. They were very grateful to me, revering me as the Human Emperor. These ragged, exhausted people used their last treasures to forge a Human Emperor Seal, promising that generations would uphold and remember it, never daring to betray, never betraying. But they didn't know that I was not the Human Emperor they wanted; I was just a coward who had been scared witless!"

He gave a self-deprecating laugh, shaking his head. "Circumstances create heroes. I didn't want to be this hero, I didn't want to be the Human Emperor, but they pushed me into this position."

The Second Ancestor Human Emperor asked, "Later, you took me as your disciple and gave me the Human Emperor Seal. Was it because you felt you weren't worthy of this Human Emperor Seal?"

The Human Emperor Ancestor nodded. He arrived in front of a building, gazing up at the nine-story tower, and whispered, "This is Jade Bright Pavilion. It contains many cultivation methods and divine arts from the Kaihuang era, superior to those of the Primordial Realm. You can enter and learn whatever you wish." He sat on the stone steps in front of Jade Bright Pavilion, looking desolate and forlorn at the people, though long dead, who seemed alive before him—familiar faces whose names he could still recall, even after twenty thousand years.

The Second Ancestor and the other Human Emperors did not enter Jade Bright Pavilion, but instead looked at him. Suddenly, the Second Ancestor said in a strained voice, "Master, since you possess better and higher cultivation methods and divine arts, why did you not impart them to me? Why did you not impart them to the world? Do you think the people you saved are all mere mortals, commoners, unworthy of the methods here?"

He couldn't help but question him loudly, sneering, "Yes, you are the Human Emperor revered by all races. We are just the commoners and mortals you rescued, not as noble as your bloodline. You are a prince, high above; we are unworthy of your methods! If you intended to impart them, why did you not do so twenty thousand years ago?"

He could not suppress the bitterness in his heart, exclaiming, "Do you know? After you left, I alone confronted the High Heavens. I fought desperately, nearly dying countless times, but it was because of that broken seal you gave me that I persevered. I felt I was the Human Emperor, and I should do something for humanity! Teach me! Why didn't you teach me?!"

The Human Emperor Ancestor remained blank.

The Second Ancestor pointed to the successive Human Emperors behind him, his voice sharp. "They, they also inherited that broken seal from you! For that ideal you scorned, they fought their whole lives, struggled their whole lives, pouring out their life's blood! Many of them never married, never had children, never had descendants, precisely because they feared implicating their future generations due to their identity as Human Emperors, precisely because they feared that romance would delay the Human Emperor's cause! But what about you? You hid your whole life, hid for twenty thousand years—you failed us!"

The Human Emperor Ancestor's body trembled. He shook his head. "I could not pass them on. There are so few people left from the Kaihuang era. I could not pass them on to you; if I did, you would become a threat and be wiped out." He looked up, his eyes brimming with murky tears. "Passing them on to you would be harming you. I couldn't..."

The Second Ancestor was expressionless. After a long silence, he said bitterly, "Now we are already dead, only our primordial spirits remain. What good would it do to pass them on to us now?"

The Human Emperor Ancestor buried his face in his elbows, his voice hoarse. "There are many physical bodies in Jade Bright Palace. They died too quickly, and their bodies were preserved. You... you can each seize a body and be reborn. Human Emperor Qin needs you. He is truly worthy of being called the Human Emperor... Go! Go! Don't let me see you!"

The Second Ancestor and the successive Human Emperors stood in a daze. Suddenly, the Second Ancestor bowed. "Teacher!"

The other Human Emperors all bowed. When they looked up, the Human Emperor Ancestor had covered his face and left.

"Will the Human Emperor Ancestor return?" Yishan asked.

The Second Ancestor's heart was heavy. "He may have seen hope in Human Emperor Qin, but he doesn't want to see us seize and be reborn into the bodies of his old friends. I don't know if he will return, and if he does, seeing our reborn faces will remind him of those old friends..."

---

Just for fun: The Deaf man said, "The Mute is right!" Vote, you must vote!