Shi Hao knew that the otherworld had been searching for something, rumored to be hidden within the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths. For this, they had waged countless wars, spilling rivers of blood.
Yet, to this day, Shi Hao still didn’t know what exactly it was.
Not just him—none of the living beings across the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths knew. Perhaps only the most ancient Immortal Kings could glimpse a fragment of the truth.
Back then, An Lan had seized the Sin Province precisely because he suspected that the object lay buried beneath its soil.
“What exactly is it?” Shi Hao inquired, his curiosity burning. At the same time, he seethed with hatred—the otherworld had slaughtered countless lives for the sake of that one thing.
This was the perfect embodiment of the saying, “Possessing a treasure invites calamity.”
Yet, the beings of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths themselves didn’t even know what they supposedly possessed. It was as if disaster had fallen from the sky upon those who sat peacefully at home. This only deepened Shi Hao’s loathing for the otherworld.
“It is a seed,” Burial King Huo Heng revealed. He was the same Burial King who had attempted to save Shi Hao five hundred thousand years ago. The other Burial King present was named Han Zhuo.
Upon hearing this, Shi Hao was momentarily stunned. The otherworld had been searching for a seed? This was nothing like what he had imagined!
What kind of seed could be more precious than even immortal herbs?
Or was it perhaps a Dao Seed?
As if sensing his confusion, Burial King Han Zhuo explained, “It is a peculiar seed, said to be capable of unlocking the Origin Ancient Artifact. You could also think of it as a key.”
At this point, Shi Hao’s eyes blazed with intensity, his emotions surging violently. How could he not understand the significance of such a key?
The otherworld had been searching for something of this magnitude!
The Origin Ancient Artifact had birthed the Burial Clans and empowered the otherworld. According to the Burial Kings, though the two Origin Ancient Artifacts were different, they produced the same result—creating two mighty races!
This alone demonstrated just how crucial these so-called Origin Ancient Artifacts were.
Take the Burial Earth, for example. Several Burial Kings had ascended to their status precisely because they had encountered the Origin Ancient Artifact in their youth.
“How do the two Origin Ancient Artifacts differ?” Shi Hao asked, his expression grave.
“It is said that the first Burial Clansman was once a corpse. After coming into contact with our Origin Ancient Artifact, he transformed into a Golden Burial Clansman and later grew into a Burial King,” Burial King Huo Heng recounted.
Thus, an entire race was born and flourished.
Subsequent Burial Clansmen were descendants of those first few.
Not every corpse that touched the Origin Ancient Artifact could become a Golden Burial Clansman. Moreover, attempting to do so carried immense risks and unpredictable consequences.
“Countless corpses have come into contact with the Origin Ancient Artifact, yet only a handful ever became Golden Burial Clansmen,” Burial King Han Zhuo added.
They held nothing back, divulging these secrets.
The Burial Clansmen of today were all born through natural reproduction.
“What about the otherworld’s Origin Ancient Artifact?” Shi Hao pressed. That artifact must be equally mysterious.
“The two artifacts differ in nature,” Burial King Huo Heng said.
Once, there was an ordinary mortal who, by chance, encountered that Origin Ancient Artifact. He underwent a terrifying transformation, becoming a super-evolved being.
Shi Hao’s heart pounded at this revelation. Was this the work of dark corruption?
“There was no overflow of dark matter. The artifact radiated brilliance, just like ours—sacred and serene. Yet, that mortal did indeed mutate because of it.”
In essence, the outcome was the same—both led to dark super-evolution.
Later, the mortal’s soul no longer seemed to belong to him. It was as if another consciousness had taken over. His power skyrocketed, and he eventually ascended as an Immortal King.
One artifact affected the living, while the other worked on corpses. In the end, they birthed two vastly different races—both equally eerie and enigmatic.
Shi Hao couldn’t help but glance at San Zang and Shen Ming. He had once accompanied these two Golden Burial Clansmen to that very place and witnessed the Burial Earth’s Origin Ancient Artifact.
“Burial Clansmen who survive the artifact’s radiance may one day become Burial Kings!” Shen Ming declared.
However, the process was perilous. Few could endure it, and most who dared approach met with utter annihilation.
But those who survived the ordeal possessed the potential to become Burial Kings.
Shi Hao’s eyes gleamed with realization—he, too, had once touched that ancient artifact!
“Your souls…” Shi Hao looked at San Zang and Shen Ming.
Back then, he had seen how bizarrely the two had behaved after being illuminated by the Origin Ancient Artifact. Their expressions had turned eerie, as if they had been replaced.
“There was indeed a great terror—a certain will descended upon us. We thought we would be replaced by another soul, but in the end, it was a false alarm. It was merely the laws and order at work.”
Still, that emotion had carried a will, imbued with intent. Yet, it ultimately dissipated, leaving them strengthened instead.
“You were fortunate,” Burial King Huo Heng remarked.
“Generally, the living should never approach that artifact. Even Burial Kings have faced danger from it,” Burial King Han Zhuo added.
Two artifacts had birthed two mighty races!
This alone spoke volumes about their sheer defiance of the natural order and their immeasurable value.
“The two Origin Ancient Artifacts are two chests. No one has ever opened them, yet they have still produced Immortal Kings and Burial Kings,” Huo Heng said.
Throughout the ages, supreme experts had attempted to unlock the chests, but all had failed.
“Consider this—without even opening the chests, they birthed Immortal Kings. What would happen if they were truly opened?” Burial King Han Zhuo sighed.
Even they, the Burial Kings, were unsettled by the thought and had strived to uncover the truth.
Some suspected that opening the chests might give rise to a true—Emperor!
An Immortal Emperor, a Burial Emperor—how terrifying would that be? When the otherworld’s overlords learned of the existence of such a key, capable of unlocking their Origin Ancient Artifact, they went utterly mad.
They wanted to obtain it and open the chest!
Yet, across countless epochs, all who attempted to force open the chests had perished—even Burial Kings were no exception. They met with bizarre transformations!
Whether from the otherworld or the Burial Earth, those who tried to forcibly open the chests invariably died.
Even touching the chests could lead to unforeseen disasters.
Burial Kings, Immortal Kings—none were exempt!
“So that’s it. They seek to create an Immortal Emperor!” Shi Hao murmured in realization.
The otherworld’s periodic frenzied invasions of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths were all for the sake of finding that seed—to unlock the Origin Ancient Artifact.
At the level of Immortal Kings, Burial Kings, and Immortal Monarchs, what else could tempt them?
These beings had already reached the pinnacle, with no path forward visible. Only the chance to become an Emperor could offer such a fatal allure.
After learning all this, Shi Hao’s emotions were complex. This was the root of calamity, the reason for the endless slaughter between the two realms.
“Do you know of a rotten wooden chest? Does it have any connection to the Origin Ancient Artifacts?” Shi Hao asked.
“It was excavated from the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths. At first, it was believed to be that seed—the key to unlocking the Origin Ancient Artifacts.”
But it wasn’t. It couldn’t open either artifact, nor could it even be opened itself.
Some deduced with certainty that it was not the key.
Subsequently, many rulers lost interest in it, though a few remained curious and studied it for epochs.
In the end, they found nothing. The rotten wooden chest neither facilitated super-evolution nor could be opened. It was utterly useless and eventually ended up in the Burial Earth.
“Has there ever been a Burial Emperor, an Immortal Emperor, or a Divine Emperor in this world?” Shi Hao asked solemnly, seeking confirmation of whether such beings had existed in the most ancient times.
“No. No being of that level has ever appeared,” Burial King Huo Heng stated firmly.
Of course, some suspected otherwise. The faint footprints on the dam by the shore of the Boundary Sea had once stirred the hearts of many kings.
Whoosh!
Two streaks of light flashed past. Shi Hao’s expression shifted in astonishment—he had not only spotted the White Turtle Carrying Immortal, a longevity herb, but also another one!
“It actually ended up in the Burial Earth too. The Burial Domain truly is a treasure trove,” Shi Hao marveled.
Yet, he couldn’t help but admire the sacredness of this land, surpassing even the Immortal Domain in some aspects.
The soil here was crystalline, shimmering with five-colored radiance, and in some places, even seven-colored light intertwined with chaotic mist. The spiritual energy was overwhelming.
This was the perfect environment for longevity herbs to take root.
Yet, despite being a Burial King, Huo Heng wore a bitter smile, admitting they had been outmaneuvered.
“Why do you say that?” Shi Hao asked, puzzled.
His gaze remained fixed on a distant herb—one so extraordinary it was once hailed as the number one spiritual root of the lower realm!
It was a small tree, barely a foot tall, shrouded in white immortal mist. Its branches flickered with starlight amidst the haze.
It had finally settled, ceasing its flight.
On the tree, three flowers bloomed, each undergoing constant transformations.
One dissolved into a rain of light, leaving the tree and coalescing into a tiny figure no taller than a fist. It somersaulted through the air before landing and sitting beneath the tree, deep in meditation.
The second flower emitted a soft chime, like the tolling of a bell or a cauldron.
It, too, transformed into a rain of light, leaving the tree and materializing into a weapon—sometimes a bell, sometimes a pagoda, sometimes a cauldron.
Finally, the weapon hovered above the tiny figure, shrouded in immortal mist and radiant light, bobbing up and down.
The third flower on the tree dripped with essence, cascading like a torrent onto the tiny figure and the weapon, refining them both.
It was an utterly mystical sight!
Shi Hao had seen this herb before, but he had never been able to obtain it.
Who would have thought that after five hundred thousand years, he would encounter it again—here in the Burial Earth!
“Those who don’t understand this herb fight desperately for it, but those who do know better avoid it, fearing the immense karma it carries,” Burial King Han Zhuo said, sighing.
He, too, was helpless. He had tried to send the herb away, but it stubbornly refused to leave. Out of caution, he couldn’t forcibly expel it.
“It’s just a herb. Why are you so wary of it?” Shi Hao couldn’t comprehend.
No matter how extraordinary, wasn’t it still meant to be consumed? Could it possibly kill a Burial King?
“Friend, have you heard the legend? There exists a supreme being who split himself into six parts, each sealed within a different immortal herb,” Huo Heng said.
Shi Hao’s pupils contracted as he stared at the so-called number one spiritual root of the lower realm.
“Don’t tell me…” His expression shifted dramatically.
“Indeed, this is one of those six ancient herbs!” Han Zhuo said, exasperated and troubled. That being was too terrifying—no one wanted to be entangled with him.
“Though called six herbs, they are actually one. The root was split into six parts, each becoming a separate herb,” Huo Heng explained.
Shi Hao’s gaze locked onto the tiny figure and the weapon above it. Suddenly, everything made sense.
Back then, he had found it bizarre—how could a herb manifest a living being, let alone one that meditated beneath the tree?
“The Fake Medicine Seller!” Shi Hao exclaimed.
This being was unimaginably powerful, standing alongside the Butcher and the Chicken-Raiser as one of the supreme overlords traversing the Boundary Sea.
If this spiritual root had ended up in the Burial Earth, it meant that one day, when that being returned, he might reassemble his true form here—an event that would shake the heavens.
There was precedent in the past!
Once reassembled, his needs would be immense, potentially destroying the Burial Earth.
“We’ve been played. This hot potato landed here—it’s a disaster, not a blessing!” Han Zhuo lamented.
“Can’t you destroy it now?” Shi Hao transmitted silently.
“That being is too powerful. He cannot be killed. As long as one of his six parts remains intact, he can reform his true body—stronger than ever.”
In the past, the young lord of the Immortal Palace and Yue Chan had practiced similar techniques—splitting into two bodies and later merging to achieve unparalleled strength.
This being had split into six, aiming for something far greater. When he eventually returned, he would shatter the King Realm and ascend as an Emperor!
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