The Human Emperor

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

Now that the battle was over, the group of four began to recover.

Wang Chong had the most severe injuries, though the Demonic Emperor Old Man, Wushang Village Chief, and Lone Silence Ancestor also had rather serious injuries. The strength of the group had plunged, and in this place covered in traps, they could die at any moment.

Moreover, there were still the martial artists, the mysterious men in black, and the callous and cruel Origin Immortal Villagers. No one knew when they might arrive.

They needed to recover as quickly as possible and continue their exploration.

Recovering energy this deep underground was definitely not easy, but with the help of the third-generation successor, the work was halved.

Bang!

A palm pressed down on Wang Chong’s shoulder, and a surge of Origin Immortal Stellar Energy entered his body. Wang Chong’s cultivation defect flare-up was suppressed first, and then with the help of a pill from the Lone Silence Ancestor, Wang Chong was able to swiftly heal more than half his wounds.

After healing his own wounds, Wang Chong had the third-generation successor transmit energy into the bodies of the Demonic Emperor Old Man, Wushang Village Chief, and Lone Silence Ancestor. With the assistance of an Origin Immortal Art successor half a step into the Subtle realm, the three of them were able to recover much faster than expected.

A few moments later, the Demonic Emperor Old Man stood up and said, “Let’s go!”

There were still people behind them, and the sooner they got into the heart of the treasury, the sooner they could get the world’s number one art.

As the group advanced, the Demonic Emperor Old Man intentionally took the rear and sent a stream of Psychic Energy into Wang Chong’s mind.

“Chong-er, did you find it?”

Wang Chong knew what his master was asking about, and replied with Psychic Energy, “No, his mind is fragmented and broken. I only managed to get the first layer of the Origin Immortal Art, but nothing else.”

In this battle, Wang Chong didn’t just gain control over the third-generation successor. With a sweep of his Psychic Energy, he could now get a rough understanding of how the Origin Immortal Art circulated through the body.

And for psychic practitioners like Wang Chong, the mental fragment in the third-generation successor’s body was an enormous treasury.

When Wang Chong was using the Beast Taming Art to control him, he also obtained some fragmentary memories. Most importantly, Wang Chong even managed to obtain the first layer of the Origin Immortal Art.

This was definitely an unexpected harvest.

“The Origin Immortal Lord was a meticulous planner, and he would have never let us obtain the complete Origin Immortal Art from these walking corpses. But it’s good enough that you’ve obtained the first layer. You should be able to use it to deal with your injuries.”

With his last words, the Demonic Emperor Old Man revealed his true goal.

The nullification power of the Origin Immortal Art was far too terrifying, and it was probably the only power capable of dealing with the nearly one thousand kinds of Stellar Energy within Wang Chong’s body.

“Your disciple will do his best to comprehend it!” Wang Chong sternly said.

The mantra for the Origin Immortal Art’s first layer consisted of more than three thousand words, and each word was so abstruse and profound that an ordinary person would be completely confused.

Time was limited, and Wang Chong studied the operation of the Origin Immortal Art in the third-generation successor to verify his understanding and hasten his progress.

Comprehending the Origin Immortal Art in such a short amount of time was simply impossible, but what Wang Chong comprehended from the Origin Immortal Art was already enough to greatly soothe his rampant Stellar Energy.

Footsteps echoed through the underground world. Behind the palace guarded by the third-generation successor was a long corridor.

Mysterious carvings and complicated pictures had been carved onto the azure walls. Each image depicted an apocalyptic scene.

All of these images exuded an air of mystery.

Even the Lone Silence Ancestor began to sense that this underground palace was not something as simple as a treasury.

After crossing half the length of the corridor, the Lone Silence Ancestor suddenly called out with a look of extreme caution in his eyes, “Careful!

“Up ahead is the area guarded by the second-generation successor. We’ve all seen the strength of the third generation, so the second generation is probably even more powerful. You can’t get careless!”

The entire corridor was plunged into an eerie silence, and an invisible tension began to saturate the air.

“Chong-er, are you ready?”

The Demonic Emperor Old Man suddenly turned to look at Wang Chong, as did the Wushang Village Chief and the Lone Silence Ancestor.

“Mm!”

Wang Chong solemnly nodded.

Buzz!

A moment later, a wave of Stellar Energy emerged from the body of the third-generation successor, transforming into a golden dome that enclosed the area for several dozen feet around him. This included Wang Chong’s group.

The auras of the group of four were immediately enclosed by the Origin Immortal Stellar Energy and disappeared.

By using the energy of the third-generation successor’s Origin Immortal Art, they could hide from the senses of the second- and first-generation successors. This was a plan the group had developed while they were recovering.

But not even Wang Chong was sure whether this plan would actually work.

Each generation of the walking corpses was stronger than the one before. If the third generation was already this strong, they didn’t want to fight the even stronger second and first unless it was absolutely necessary.

Hiss!

Wang Chong took in a deep breath and commanded the third-generation successor to walk to his side and place a palm on his shoulder.

Origin Immortal Stellar Energy surged into his body, and a moment later, Wang Chong activated his Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art, absorbing the Origin Immortal Stellar Energy and spreading it through his body.

At this moment, the supreme Origin Immortal Stellar Energy was probably the only Stellar Energy Wang Chong could absorb.

Boom! Wang Chong left only a part of the Origin Immortal Stellar Energy in his body, using the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art to send the rest into the bodies of the Lone Silence Ancestor, Wushang Village Chief, and Demonic Emperor Old Man.

Upon obtaining this Stellar Energy, their three auras suddenly changed.

Four living people and one dead all seemed to have the same energy. Only an extremely close inspection would turn up anything strange.

“Let’s go!”

After doing this, Wang Chong had the walking corpse lead the way while he and his master brought up the rear. With bated breath and focused minds, they cautiously advanced.

None of them knew whether this move could fool the second-generation successor, but if they couldn’t trick him, they probably wouldn’t be able to escape.

Several dozen feet were swiftly covered, and Wang Chong’s group reached the end of the corridor, their hearts at their throats.

An immense and spacious ancient palace appeared before them.

A vast forest of giant stone pillars filled their vision.

As one looked upward, they would see a pure moonlight coming from the azure roof of the underground palace. A massive luminous pearl had been embedded in the ceiling.

On the ground, images of swallows bearing the Mandate of Heaven and Kui dragons had been carved on the ground.

(TN: Apparently, the founding ancestor of the Shang Dynasty was born after a woman swallowed an egg dropped by a swallow that was sent down from Heaven. The Kui was a mythological beast that seemed to have the power to control water and rain. It had the appearance of an ox but had only one leg.)

Wang Chong suddenly realized what this was.

“It’s the style of the Western Han Dynasty! The second disciple of the Origin Immortal Lord was someone of the Western Han.”

At this moment, they could hear a cracking sound that echoed through the palace.

Everyone turned toward the source of this noise.

On the other side of this palace, atop a set of imperial stairs, was an ancient throne made of white jade. A ball of twisted golden light floated above the throne, shining like the sun.

A figure wearing golden armor and exuding martial might was slowly emerging from the golden light.

As they all stared at the golden light, the figure in the golden light seemed to turn their neck to stare back. The cracking sound was made by his turning neck.

!!!

An indescribably bizarre feeling welled up in their minds. No one had imagined that they would meet the second-generation successor in such a fashion.

All was quiet in the palace, the group even holding their breaths. They had long ago sealed off all their pores so that not one bit of energy leaked out.

The second-generation successor was still floating in the air, his true appearance obscured, but they all felt like they were facing a major and lethal foe.

Just the fact that the second-generation successor was able to float in the air was proof that he far surpassed the third-generation successor in strength.

None of them knew what would happen next, but they were sure that if the plan failed, they would all suffer a thunderous blow.

Buzz!

The blazing and twisted ball of golden light slowly descended. Finally, it scattered, revealing that golden-armored and dignified figure seated upon the white jade throne.

His eyes were initially shut, but his eyelids soon trembled and opened, revealing two dazzling lights.

How could this be!?

They immediately sensed that this walking corpse was completely different from the other successors they had encountered.

His eyes were not vacant and lifeless, but shone like two bright stars.

The fragment of his mind left is much stronger than the other walking corpses!

As this thought crossed Wang Chong’s mind, he felt an ill foreboding.

After the battle with the third generation, Wang Chong had basically understood the secret of these walking corpses.

They were able to maintain such powerful strength in death and continue to guard the treasury because parts of their mind had been sealed and preserved through a powerful and ancient seal when they were still alive.

With this fragmented consciousness, these walking corpses could patrol the palace and attack any outsiders.

And the stronger their mind, the greater their reaction time and fighting power, and the more they were able to deal with the changes in the outside world.

Wang Chong’s plan had been established on the premise that all the other walking corpses had a consciousness similar to the third-generation’s, but the second-generation’s mind was clearly much stronger. This also meant that their plan could be exposed at any time.

The plan was not going as smoothly as they had hoped.