NOVPUB"Don't worry, it won't happen," Shen Xiang said with an inscrutable smile.
He looked up at the sky, where the enormous shadow of the First Emperor's Mausoleum loomed over the Capital City. Shen Xiang's gaze seemed to penetrate layers of barriers, seeing the Bronze Coffin hidden deep within the mausoleum.
Suddenly, a conversation with Lu Yu came to mind.
"Sir, when should I enter the mausoleum?"
"You will know when the time comes," was Lu Yu's response, and Shen Xiang's confusion. He did not know when the time would be right and could only wait quietly.
At that moment, Xu Fu was slowly ascending the stone steps toward the Bronze Coffin. His pace was very slow, as if each step carried the weight of long-ago memories.
The coffin at the very top quietly housed the former First Emperor, who once unified the realms, swept through the universe competing with heaven and earth, and was the person most admired in his heart.
However, even such a mighty emperor could fail and die. This was also why Xu Fu had betrayed him. The strength of Celestial Gods and Immortals had been deeply engraved in his heart, letting him know that no matter how hard he tried, he could never cross that terrifying chasm.
With complex emotions, Xu Fu gradually approached the Bronze Coffin. On its lid, there was a scene depicting myriad people worshipping, and around it stood twelve golden figures, as tall as men, seemingly guarding the emperor's coffin.
Looking at these twelve golden figures, Xu Fu couldn't help but sigh. These were the proudest creations of the Qi Cultivators, whose formidable power even the mighty Celestial Gods had to avoid.
However, fleeting beauty is often erased by the rain and wind, and the once terrifying weapons of war could now only stand silently here, serving no purpose other than decoration.
The gods had completely destroyed them, and what was left were merely empty shells. The Essence Blood of the Ancestral Shaman had been stolen long ago, and the meticulously crafted Cursed Scripts by the Qi Cultivators had been wiped clear.
"Your Majesty, why would you lose? How could you possibly lose!" Xu Fu exclaimed with a deep sigh.
It's important to note that the First Emperor was the most perfect being in the heart of Xu Fu, seemingly always victorious, with failure having no association with him whatsoever.
When the gods defeated this mighty earthly Emperor, Xu Fu's faith had crumbled, and he chose to flee, leaving the Central Plains, crossing the ocean, and beginning a new life on an island.
Now, a thousand years had passed, and after much planning, Xu Fu was finally about to see this once emperor, his former faith, as waves surged in the calm well of his heart, relentlessly beating against his chest.
With a loud noise, the coffin was pushed open by Xu Fu, revealing the inside to be completely empty except for an exquisitely depicted map of Kyushu lying quietly within.
Xu Fu's eyes widened in disbelief. The body of the First Emperor was not hidden in this coffin, only a map of Kyushu. This was impossible.
According to his guess, the First Emperor must have left something behind to counter the gods and he had been scheming all along hoping to obtain the legacy of His Majesty and become a powerful Cultivator in this world.
However, everything had exceeded his expectations. His Majesty had left nothing behind but this simple map, which seemed to witness both his glory and his downfall.
"How is this possible!" Xu Fu exclaimed.
Rushing forward, he picked up the map, and no matter how he looked at it, it seemed like just a simple map with no trace of magic.
The furious Xu Fu began to tear the map apart, and in an instant, the huge map was shredded to pieces, the fragments falling like snowflakes. Still, there was no change; it was just an ordinary map.
"It's impossible, Your Majesty, how could you possibly admit defeat, how could you concede." Xu Fu muttered to himself, seemingly unwilling to believe the fact that this proud emperor, like the sun itself, had ultimately conceded defeat. Thus, he left nothing behind, not even his own body.
Only this ordinary map was left behind to commemorate his brilliant past.
Xu Fu looked around, and behind the darkness, it seemed that countless crimson eyes had appeared, all filled with mockery and sarcasm.
"You rabble dare to laugh at me!" Xu Fu shouted angrily.
Countless cursed scripts flowed from his body, seemingly engulfing the thick shadows, his aura becoming incredibly unstable. His heart had shattered; millennia of waiting and anticipation had turned to nothing in this moment.
"It turns out I am the biggest joke in this world!" Xu Fu murmured. His black hair instantly turned snow white, and deep wrinkles covered his young face. In just an instant, he seemed to have aged decades.
He began to attack his surroundings fiercely, his immense power causing the entire mausoleum to tremble violently. Xu Fu, not concealing his power, seemed even stronger and more terrifying, but this was also the result of overexertion.
In the process, hundreds of ghosts lingering around him began to emit various seductive and corrupt voices to entice this once talented Qi Cultivator, leading him to degeneration and fall.
Meanwhile, outside the mausoleum in the Capital City, when the violent tremors reached him, Shen Xiang, feeling fortunate and enlightened, realized that the moment he had been waiting for had arrived. Only now did he understand Lu Yu's meaning—that when the real moment came, he would understand—a profound and indescribable sensation, beyond words.
He took out a green Jade Pendant, which Lu Yu had given him. Knowing it was time to use it, he crushed the Jade Pendant without hesitation, and a light screen descended upon the world, as if a thin veil had covered everything.
Suddenly, a narrow path appeared on this veil. Shen Xiang gently stepped onto the path, gradually making his way toward the mausoleum, with sounds similar to ocean waves crashing against the shore echoing on either side.
Zhao Pu and the Rakshasa Princess noticed Shen Xiang's actions but could not reach the veil. It was ethereal yet real, a power beyond their understanding.
And so, Shen Xiang, walking on this veil, gradually approached the mausoleum, which appeared almost like an old house with its doors wide open, easily allowing Shen Xiang to enter.
The remaining Qi Cultivators watched the scene in disbelief, as if witnessing a myth. Several elders could not help but rub their eyes, doubting whether they were truly ageing, perhaps their sight was failing them.
After all, it was the First Emperor's mausoleum. The Qi Cultivators had devoted untold efforts to protect the Emperor's eternal rest from being disturbed by the Celestial Gods. This mausoleum was considered the epitome of the Qi Cultivators' essence. They had once firmly believed that such a tomb could not be reopened.
