482: Chapter 482 The Heavenly Emperor (47)

Another three hundred years passed.

The gates to Ye Yun's secluded cultivation grounds opened once more.

He walked out slowly, his aura restrained, yet it caused the Laws of the ancestral land to resonate.

His Dao Fruit spanned five thousand two hundred zhang.

As for his Desolate Ancient Sacred Body, after three hundred years of uninterrupted tempering, it was only a single step away from the legendary 'Major Achievement'.

If he had the assistance of a supreme spiritual item, Ye Yun was confident he could push the Sacred Body to Major Achievement.

Ye Yun searched through all the records in the Desolate Palace's Legacy and found the key required for Major Achievement—a Heaven-Defying substance known as 'primordial sacred fluid'.

This substance originated from the Primal Era and was extremely rare; the Ye Family's treasury held no stock of it.

It would likely be extremely difficult to find in the entire Three Thousand Dao Provinces.

Ye Yun did not dwell too much on this matter.

He knew that some things could not be rushed, and forcing them would only cause harm.

For now, he had more important things to do.

...

Ye Family Ancestral Land, Council Hall.

When Ye Yun stepped into the hall, the phantom Divine Thoughts of the Empress and the Second Ancient Ancestor were already present.

Several resident Elders were also seated on both sides.

The atmosphere wasn't quite right.

Ye Yun noticed it immediately.

In the past, every time he emerged from seclusion, the Ye Family would be filled with a sense of joy.

After all, the advancement of the Imperial Son's cultivation was good news for the entire Family.

But today, the atmosphere in the hall was very oppressive.

The Empress sat at the head, her expression calm, but her hand was unconsciously clutching an ancient jade pendant.

Ye Yun recognized that jade pendant.

It was a keepsake his father, the Desolate Heaven Great Emperor, had left for his mother before the expedition.

Ye Yun's Double Pupils flickered slightly as he saw his mother's worry.

She was worried.

She was not only worried about the Great Ancient Ancestor, but also about her husband.

"Mother, your son has emerged from seclusion."

Ye Yun stepped forward to pay his respects, his voice calm.

The Empress released the jade pendant and smiled slightly.

"Yun'er, you've worked hard. How is your cultivation?"

"Dao Fruit is at five thousand two hundred zhang."

A flash of surprise crossed the eyes of several Elders in the hall, but it quickly dimmed.

On any other day, this news would have been enough to excite everyone.

But today, no one was in the mood.

Ye Yun looked toward the Second Ancient Ancestor.

"Second Ancient Ancestor, regarding the Great Ancient Ancestor... is there still no news?"

The Second Ancient Ancestor closed his eyes and remained silent for a moment.

"It has been eight hundred years."

Those five words were heavy.

It had been exactly eight hundred years since the Great Ancient Ancestor left the Ye Family for the Land of Expedition.

Eight hundred years without a single word.

This fact weighed heavily on the heart of every high-ranking member of the Ye Family.

The hall fell silent once more.

The Empress rubbed the jade pendant, her gaze distant.

Ye Yun took all of this in.

He did not say any words of comfort.

Because he knew that in the face of an absolute gap in strength, any comfort was hollow.

The only way was to become stronger.

Strong enough to step into the Land of Expedition and find the answers himself.

...

The third day after emerging from seclusion.

Ye Wuchen sought out Ye Yun.

After more than eight hundred years, Ye Wuchen's cultivation had also made significant progress, but the gap between him and Ye Yun had long since become an insurmountable chasm.

He had long stopped comparing his cultivation to Ye Yun's.

"Imperial Son, there is something I think you should know."

Ye Wuchen's expression was strange.

"Speak."

"A strange thing has happened in the Three Thousand Dao Provinces recently. An ancient legend is being brought up again, and it's spreading at an incredibly fast pace."

Ye Wuchen paused.

"What legend?"

"About a Heavenly Emperor."

Ye Yun's brow twitched slightly.

Ye Wuchen began his narration.

"I don't know how many eras ago, but a Heavenly Emperor was once born in the Three Thousand Dao Provinces."

"This person came from an ordinary background but rose all the way up, eventually attaining the Dao and becoming a Heavenly Emperor."

"He performed outstanding deeds during his reign and was recognized as the leader of that era by the Three Thousand Dao Provinces. The major Imperial Families and Sects were completely convinced by him, and the authority of the Central Heavenly Court reached its Peak in his hands."

Ye Wuchen's tone carried a hint of respect, as if he were reminiscing.

"And then?"

Ye Yun asked.

Ye Wuchen's expression changed.

"Later, he made a decision."

Ye Yun did not interrupt and listened quietly.

"He launched an expedition."

"The target was the Land of Expedition."

Ye Yun's eyes moved slightly.

"A hundred Emperors set out, a grand and powerful force. Everyone thought it would be a complete victory."

Ye Wuchen's voice dropped.

"But the end was a total and crushing defeat."

"Of the hundred Emperors who went, only he returned."

"The Emperor-level combat power of an entire era was almost completely wiped out."

The bedchamber fell into silence.

Ye Wuchen continued.

"In the end, it was only when the legendary 'Ancestral Court' took action that the backlash of the great terror was stopped, preventing the Three Thousand Dao Provinces from being affected."

"Ancestral Court?"

Ye Yun's heart stirred; this was the first time he had heard this term.

Ye Wuchen shook his head.

"A legendary existence; no one knows exactly what it is. There are only fragments of records in ancient books, saying it is the oldest power in the Three Thousand Dao Provinces."

Ye Yun kept this information in mind and didn't ask further, signaling for Ye Wuchen to continue.

"After the failure of the expedition, that Heavenly Emperor was no longer a hero."

Ye Wuchen's voice became somewhat heavy.

"The Cultivators of the Three Thousand Dao Provinces poured all their anger and grief onto him."

"The deaths of a hundred Emperors and the destruction of countless families were all blamed on his reckless decision."

"No one remembered his past achievements. No one cared about what he had actually experienced or endured in the Land of Expedition."

"They only knew that those who followed him on the expedition never came back."

Ye Wuchen paused.

"From then on, the Heavenly Emperor never recovered. A few hundred years later, he passed away."

"No one knows if his life ended because of the severe injuries from the expedition, or if his heart died because of the hundreds of years of non-stop revilement and accusations."

"Perhaps it was both."

After saying this, Ye Wuchen looked at Ye Yun.

Ye Yun's expression didn't change much.

"Brilliant to the extreme, and tragic to the extreme."

Ye Yun calmly repeated the words.

Ye Wuchen nodded.

"This legend had been buried for an unknown number of eras, but suddenly it's being brought up again all over the Three Thousand Dao Provinces. People are talking about it in taverns, spreading it in markets, and even in some remote small orthodoxies, Cultivators are discussing the life of this Heavenly Emperor."

"And the speed of its spread is unnaturally fast."

Ye Yun narrowed his eyes.

"Someone is pushing it."

"I thought so too,"

Ye Wuchen said, "but I can't find out who it is."

Ye Yun was silent for a moment before asking the key question.

"What is the second half of the legend?"

Ye Wuchen was stunned for a moment, then gave a bitter smile.

The Imperial Son was indeed sharp.

"The second half of the legend is the main point."

"It is said that before he passed away, this Heavenly Emperor built a mausoleum."

"He sealed his lifelong Legacy, combat experience, and even everything he saw and heard in the Land of Expedition inside it."

"A genuine Heavenly Emperors Tomb."

Ye Yun's gaze sharpened.

A Heavenly Emperor-level Legacy was a supreme Opportunity that any Cultivator could only dream of.

More importantly—the intelligence on the Land of Expedition.

If that mausoleum truly contained the Heavenly Emperor's detailed records and strategies for dealing with the great terror, its value would likely be even greater than the Legacy itself.

"But since its construction, this mausoleum has never been opened by anyone."

Ye Wuchen added.

"Why?"

"Because rumors say that opening this mausoleum requires a special key."

A key.

In Ye Yun's mind, a past event instantly flashed by.

The Great Ancient Ancestor had mentioned that the Son of the Heavenly Emperor from the Central Heavenly Court had personally visited the remote Qing Province two eras ago and obtained a mysterious 'key' from a Devil Emperor.

Since then, he had changed his previously flamboyant style and completely vanished.

But what if... that key corresponds to this Heavenly Emperors Tomb?

Ye Yun's gaze darkened slightly.

He suppressed the suspicion in his heart and did not show it.

"Does the Second Ancient Ancestor know about this?"

"It has already been reported. The Second Ancient Ancestor said this matter is of great importance and has ordered the Family's intelligence network to put all their effort into gathering all information regarding the Heavenly Emperors Tomb."

Ye Yun nodded.

After Ye Wuchen left, Ye Yun stood alone in his bedchamber.

The Heavenly Emperors Tomb.

The Son of the Heavenly Emperor.

The Land of Expedition.

Connecting these three things made him sense that a massive scheme seemed to be hidden behind them.

And at the center of the chessboard was perhaps that never-before-opened Heavenly Emperors Tomb.

...

After the legend began circulating again, the discussions regarding this Heavenly Emperor and his mausoleum grew more intense across the Three Thousand Dao Provinces.

In major taverns, markets, and even Grotto-Heaven Blessed Lands, Cultivators gathered in groups, discussing animatedly.

"I heard that the Heavenly Emperors Tomb contains Heavenly Emperor-level Cultivation Technique legacies, as well as Supreme Imperial Weapons he forged himself."

"What are Imperial Weapons? I heard it contains his detailed records of the great terror in the Land of Expedition. That is the true priceless treasure."

"Hehe, there are also rumors that it contains many supreme spiritual items not found in the Three Thousand Dao Provinces. Just taking out one would be enough for a small Sect like ours to live comfortably for several eras."

"Keep dreaming. Even if the mausoleum truly appears, it won't be our turn. Those Imperial Families and top-tier Sects are all watching like hawks."

The major Imperial Families and Sects were indeed unable to sit still.

The intelligence networks of the Ten Great Imperial Families were fully operational.

The hidden agents of the Twenty-Four Sects were deployed everywhere.

The Five Great Heavenly Courts were also closely monitoring the development of this matter.

Everyone was gathering any clues regarding that mausoleum.

Within the Ye Family, the Second Ancient Ancestor's stance was very clear after learning of this news.

"If the Heavenly Emperors Tomb truly contains information about the Land of Expedition, it will be of vital importance to our Ye Family."

"The Great Ancient Ancestor has yet to return, and the situation in the Land of Expedition remains a mystery. This mausoleum might be another path for us to unravel the mystery."

"Gather intelligence with all your might, but do not alert the enemy."

...

Ten years later.

Ye Yun continued to refine his cultivation in seclusion while putting all his effort into breaking through the final barrier to the Major Achievement of the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body.

However, lacking that 'primordial sacred fluid', he remained one step away from Major Achievement.

On this day.

A piece of news spread throughout the entire Three Thousand Dao Provinces.

"The Heavenly Emperors Tomb has appeared."