The one-legged elder gave a bitter smile and said, “I’m just a servant. Do you think I would know more?”
He mocked himself. Though others might see him as someone of status, he was merely a servant, not a direct descendant of the Forbidden Zone’s lineage.
Yet, he still shared some information, whispering only to the supreme beings—though Shi Hao overheard as well, since he was also within the dilapidated hall.
“Perhaps this is the calm before the storm, the twilight before darkness descends, from which none can escape,” the elder said gravely, his expression heavy.
These words weighed on everyone’s hearts, even the supreme beings, whose eyes flickered as if witnessing the fall of great stars, their minds unsettled.
“The blood-stained twilight is not far off. This is but a glimpse of the future my master foresaw. Take care, all of you,” the one-legged elder sighed.
For, based on the visions he had seen and the sighs of his master, even the Forbidden Zone would not remain untouched. No one could stand aloof.
“How could this be? Can you elaborate?” Jin Tai Jun was visibly moved, her aged eyes gleaming with intensity, the chaos around her growing denser.
“The sun will be stained with blood, and after it sets in the west, it may never rise again,” the elder replied. This was the extent of his knowledge—words spoken by his master after divination.
What did this portend? The supreme beings in the ruined hall fell silent, their pupils reflecting scenes of mountains of corpses and seas of blood. They speculated, they divined!
The so-called twilight, the blood-stained sky, the eternal absence of the sun—all pointed to a horrific slaughter before the arrival of darkness, after which the land would be plunged into endless night, an era of boundless cruelty!
This was their interpretation. It couldn’t literally mean the sun would vanish, but rather that darkness would reign forever.
For a long time, no one spoke in the ruined hall. They meditated in silence, lost in thought.
A few soft sighs drifted away with the wind.
To divine the future had become increasingly difficult, as if some barrier had grown more impenetrable, more obscure than before. This suggested that the stakes were higher, the karma greater!
Next, the invincible ones joined forces to study the wooden chest, hoping to find a way to open it. Yet they were disappointed—it remained as unyielding as ever.
“You all should take a look as well.”
The chest was brought outside the hall and placed in the hands of the renowned elders, who examined it in turn, passing it from one to another.
Meanwhile, beyond the city walls of Imperial Pass, several figures stood coldly, like peerless demon lords!
Further on the horizon, more figures stood side by side, towering like great demon kings, their auras terrifying, all silent.
These were the supreme beings of the Other Side. They had pursued Meng Tian Zheng here but failed to capture him.
“A pity. Only Meng Tian Zheng left the pass,” someone lamented.
They had split their forces, lying in ambush along key routes, hoping to ambush the other supreme beings of Imperial Pass. But their hopes were dashed.
Had they known, they would have combined their strength, confident that Meng Tian Zheng could not have escaped alive.
This time, the Other Side had planned to ambush and eliminate several of Imperial Pass’s supreme beings in one strike. Yet only Meng Tian Zheng had ventured out.
What shocked them was that the five supreme beings tasked with restraining and killing Meng Tian Zheng had failed—two of their own had been slain instead.
This infuriated even the supreme beings!
“In a way, this shows they lack courage and are not to be feared!” someone remarked, viewing the matter from another angle.
“Soon enough, this city will fall. There’s no need to rush,” a supreme being nodded.
“Perhaps it’s not that they lack courage, but that they have faith in Meng Tian Zheng, anticipating our divided forces,” another said.
“Let’s go. This place is already a dying city. There’s no point in wasting words. Soon, we will trample it beneath our feet!” declared a supreme being.
Whoosh!
Almost simultaneously, whether before the great city or on the horizon, those terrifying figures vanished without a trace.
Within Imperial Pass, before the ancestral altar, the elders of various clans frowned. None who had examined the chest could decipher its secrets or find a way to open it.
Gradually, murmurs arose, tinged with impatience.
Everyone knew it was a supreme treasure, but what use was it if its secrets remained locked away?
“Can it truly produce an Immortal King?” Jin Tai Jun asked the one-legged elder in the hall, the most proactive among the supreme beings.
“My master once said it holds a great secret. Creating an Immortal King may be possible,” the elder replied.
Clearly, the “great secret” did not guarantee the birth of an Immortal King—it might merely be one of the anticipated outcomes.
In the end, people were disappointed. No one could unravel the chest’s mysteries.
The rotten wooden chest was returned to the hall, placed before the supreme beings.
One invincible being asked the one-legged elder if the Forbidden Zone knew how to open it.
“My master never obtained it. He only heard fragments during the middle of the Immortal Ancient Era and searched for it, but to no avail,” the elder said.
The master of the Forbidden Zone had only heard whispers, clues gleaned from ancient history. He had never seen the chest and did not know how to open it.
In truth, the supreme beings of the Forbidden Zone had foreseen that the chest would not yield easily—hints in the clues had suggested as much.
“Such great karma that even the master of the Forbidden Zone fears it? What logic is this? Can’t you just tell us plainly what calamity it might bring?” Jin Tai Jun demanded, dissatisfied.
“I do not know,” the elder answered curtly this time, unwilling—and unqualified—to delve deeper. His master had spoken with such gravity; who was he to speculate?
“Enough. Leave the chest here for now. You may go,” Jin Tai Jun said to Shi Hao, her tone indifferent, neither a command nor a request.
Shi Hao was thoroughly displeased. He had no desire to let the chest benefit Jin Tai Jun or Wang Chang Sheng. When he had been in peril, neither had stepped forward, yet now they were eager.
Moreover, he was destined to oppose their clans, harboring deep resentment toward them.
Yet, with the greater good at stake, he held his tongue, hoping someone in Imperial Pass could unlock the chest’s secrets. He rose and left.
Shi Hao wasn’t worried about them gaining much from it. He believed the chest wouldn’t open easily, and in the end, it would return to him.
“Which clan betrayed us?” Shi Hao wondered as he left. There was still no concrete evidence.
He didn’t know if the Grand Elder or the other invincible ones had uncovered anything.
Since his return, there had been no talk of rooting out traitors. Was the matter simply dropped? Or were the Grand Elder and others lying in wait, preparing to strike?
Perhaps the implications were too vast, the involved parties too terrifying.
If it was a longevity clan, it might implicate a living supreme being!
Shi Hao cast one last glance at Jin Tai Jun and Wang Chang Sheng before departing.
Their clans were his sworn enemies, always hostile toward him. If they were the culprits, it would be too obvious—was there another clan involved?
“We will study it further. Return in two days to retrieve the chest,” a supreme being transmitted to him. In truth, they still wanted to question Shi Hao in detail about his journey.
But their obsession with the chest took precedence. After learning only the basics about it, they secluded themselves, determined to open it together.
Other matters were postponed.
On his way out, Shi Hao became the center of attention. A crowd of elders swarmed him, their enthusiasm making his scalp tingle.
“Young friend, do you have a Dao companion? I have a granddaughter, peerless in beauty and wisdom, a perfect match for you!”
A bald old man grabbed Shi Hao’s arm.
“Don’t listen to him! His granddaughter is nearly thirty thousand years old—hardly your contemporary,” another elder exposed.
Shi Hao was stunned. A grandmother, peerless in beauty, wanting to marry him? The mere thought made him shudder.
“Nonsense! My granddaughter is eternally youthful, graceful and elegant, untouched by time. You’re just jealous!” the bald elder retorted.
“Thank you for your kindness, elder!” Shi Hao wiped his sweat and declined.
“My clan has a jewel of a maiden, just sixteen, a peerless beauty of your generation. You’d have much in common!” another elder coaxed.
……
Shi Hao’s triumphant return had shaken Imperial Pass. Bringing back a supreme treasure unscathed made him a prime target for recruitment.
Especially since, at twenty-five or twenty-six, he had reached the mid-stage of the Slayer Realm, breaking records for the era. His potential as a future leader was undeniable.
“Shi brat, still fooling around? Hurry back—your kid’s about to be born!” a girl’s voice suddenly shouted from afar.
This startled Shi Hao and left the elders dumbfounded.
“His kid? Who’s giving birth for him?” one elder asked blankly.
The Moon Rabbit puffed her cheeks. “Yue Chan of the Heavenly Revelation Sect.”
Pfft!
Yue Chan, who had been minding her own business, nearly spat blood at the slander.
Of course, Qing Yi was equally embarrassed—she and Yue Chan were two bodies of one being.
“Ah, my mistake. Maybe it’s the Heavenly Temptress Sect’s witch,” the Moon Rabbit rambled, causing chaos as Cao Yu Sheng and others helped Shi Hao escape.
Otherwise, the elders wouldn’t let him go.
Great Monk, Ten Crown King, Qi Gu Daoist, Lan Xian, Shi Yi, and others watched with amusement from a distance.
“Oh, let me tell you a secret—it’s actually Wang Xi of the Wang Clan,” the Moon Rabbit added once Shi Hao was free.
Pfft!
This time, Shi Hao nearly choked.
As for Wang Xi, she barely suppressed the urge to cough up blood.
The place erupted into chaos.
“Let’s go!” Shi Hao led the charge, vanishing in a cloud of dust.
A group of youths followed, thundering away.
“Ah, youth. I remember when I was a dashing young man, surrounded by beauties,” an elder sighed.
“You shameless old coot! By the way, who’s really giving birth—the Heavenly Revelation Saintess, the Heavenly Temptress Witch, or the Wang girl?”
“You’re the shameless one!” the first elder shot back.
Yue Chan, the witch, and especially Wang Xi were livid. Were these old men trying to stir trouble?!
They glared before fleeing as well.
“Watch your words. The Wang and Jin Clans won’t take kindly to this. The Heavenly Revelation Sect might also react,” an elder warned.
“So what? I’m just repeating rumors. Are we not allowed to talk?”
Clearly, the oppressive atmosphere in Imperial Pass had everyone seeking levity, knowing a great bloodshed loomed.
Unfortunately, the girls who’d been dragged into the mess were furious—especially when gossipmongers spread the rumors further.
“Where are you headed?” the Moon Rabbit asked Shi Hao as they traveled.
A crowd of youths followed, eager to hear about his exploits beyond the pass over drinks.
“I’m claiming my battle merits to reduce the Shi Clan’s sins, letting them live as normal people,” Shi Hao said. He believed his achievements—slaying countless great cultivators of the Escape Realm—would suffice.
They arrived at a vast training ground, where cultivators often sparred. Nearby stood a special palace where battle merits were awarded.
“Shi Hao?” Cold gazes fell upon him from the training ground’s edge.
“Killed a few juniors outside and now rushing to claim merits? How lacking in depth, how impatient,” someone sneered.
“Eager to prove himself, is he? Flaunting his so-called achievements to the clans of Imperial Pass?” another mocked.
These men, though in their prime, were actually great cultivators of the Escape Realm.
“Enough noise,” Shi Hao shot back.
“What did you say? Killed a few and now here to boast? A true warrior is humble. Your merits will speak for themselves—no need to rush,” someone coldly retorted.
“Spare me your sarcasm. My merits are enough to blind you. If you’re from the Jin or Wang Clans, scram back to your dens. Don’t waste my time!” Shi Hao snapped.
“You dare?! Let’s see what merits you’ve earned to speak so arrogantly!” someone roared, drawing a crowd from the training ground.
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