Chapter Eleven: From Chaos to the Dark Sky!
"If I had awoken a few days later, your grave would have been dug up. You refuse to hand over the treasure as compensation, and yet you still resist?"
The Black Emperor fiercely clutched Cao Yusheng's arm.
"Do you know my identity? I am the reincarnation of the Immortal King! Countless people have begged to be my pet, yet I have never agreed!"
The Black Emperor's forelegs glowed as he stomped hard on Cao Yusheng's face.
"Do you now understand my power? I advise you to be sensible."
Having a dog step on his face was a great humiliation!
Yet, at this moment, he was no match for this wretched creature.
Cao Yusheng's eyes darted. "I came here to find the treasure left by my master. I found nothing in the other graves, which clearly means you stole it. And now you accuse me—this is utterly unjust!"
Enraged, the Black Emperor spat, "Hmph! How could I possibly steal your things? Are you daring to argue with me?"
A surge of overwhelming power gathered on the Black Emperor's foreleg, preparing to strike Cao Yusheng severely.
At that moment, a blurred figure appeared.
"Stop at once!"
Though the figure appeared youthful, it exuded an air of innate supremacy that inspired awe.
However, the figure's appearance remained obscured on the light screen.
It was as if it had been pixelated.
"..."
The celestial cultivators were astonished. What was going on?
"Who is this person? Even the celestial exposure cannot reveal their true identity?"
"Perhaps it's not unknown but deliberately concealed."
"Why is that? Does this person have significant involvement?"
The voiceover then began.
[The figure that has appeared is the innate sovereign of this world, unparalleled in aptitude, achieving unprecedented feats. His story will be exposed later.]
"Is this person to be revealed in the future? Is this a spoiler?"
"How powerful is this world, to have both a person and a dog on the list?"
"I must see why my Douluo Continent can't make the list!"
Countless cultivators were stirred. With only ten spots available, having two from this world was remarkable.
Does this imply that this world surpasses others?
This was a source of great contention among the celestial cultivators.
"Who are you, little child?" The Black Emperor, now wary, felt an odd sense of familiarity with the newcomer.
Shi Hao spoke, "Release him first."
The Black Emperor bared his teeth. "You think I will listen just because you say so? Who are you to command me?"
For some reason, an image suddenly appeared in the Black Emperor's mind.
This image, towering and imposing, made him feel as if he were returning to his naive childhood.
Yet, he had no memory of this figure.
Strangely, the Black Emperor felt a wave of sadness. Shaking his head, he said, "There is no one who can make me obey."
Despite his words, the Black Emperor released Cao Yusheng, returning dejectedly to the grave, like a pet waiting for its master.
Cao Yusheng looked at the black dog in astonishment. Why had it suddenly changed its nature?
A sense of solitude and fatigue emanated from the Black Emperor.
Shi Hao felt it too.
"Let's have a conversation, the three of us."
He had seen glimpses of the future where the black dog and the fat Taoist were present.
The voiceover resumed.
[A youth, a black dog, and a Taoist formed a bond of friendship. Until the end of the chaotic ancient period, as the Taoist and the black dog neared the end of their lifespans, the youth buried them.]
The exposure was brief and left the celestial cultivators craving more details, which were glossed over—infuriatingly so!
[As epochs changed, one era rising and falling like waves, the Black Emperor awoke once more.]
He emerged from the grave, traversing the land, only to find it utterly alien.
The world, now entirely different from his memory, even its cultivation system, was unfamiliar.
The once dazzling geniuses seemed to have vanished without a trace.
The Black Emperor shivered.
Eventually, he returned to the grave where he had first emerged, burying himself there.
"Emerging from here, I shall also rest here after death."
His time was running short.
Suddenly, he saw a familiar figure standing before the grave.
The person felt profoundly close, as if the dearest person in the world.
Yet, his fragmented memory failed to identify them.
The figure spoke.
"My name is Wushi."
Wushi!
The Black Emperor was startled!
After many years of wandering, this name was not unfamiliar to him.
Emperor Wushi was the most illustrious figure of this era, having ascended to emperor two thousand years ago, dominating an entire age.
He swept through the Eight Desolates, suppressed forbidden zones, and quelled dark turmoil.
He struck fear into the forbidden zone sovereigns and deterred the divine beings from beyond the realm.
It was because of Wushi that humanity could stand at the pinnacle in this era of myriad races.
The Black Emperor had learned much about Emperor Wushi during his travels.
Yet why did he feel such an inexplicable familiarity?
The Black Emperor was puzzled.
[Emperor Wushi rescued the Black Emperor and had him remain by his side.]
"An Emperor? Is this the realm pursued by the rulers of the Immortal Domain?"
"Shouldn't an Emperor and an Immortal Emperor be in different realms?"
"What happened between then and now? Why did the Immortal Domain and the Undying Domain disappear without a trace?"
Celestial cultivators debated fervently.
Though the cultivation systems varied, the title "Emperor" was universally supreme.
Thus, the term was highly sensitive among cultivators.
"Perhaps not. The cultivation system of this era is entirely different, so it might be merely a similar designation."
"An Immortal Emperor is the peak of Immortal Dao, while an Emperor might be a level for ordinary beings."
This world is shrouded in secrets buried by time. The river of ages seems to have fractured, with no connection between one era and the next.
...
[Over forty thousand years, Emperor Wushi reached old age and, feeling his lifespan waning, sealed the Black Emperor in the Purple Mountain. For the following millennia, Emperor Wushi's whereabouts remained unknown, with only the sound of the Wushi Bell heard.]
"The case is solved. Emperor Wushi lived for around forty thousand years and thus could not be an Immortal Emperor."
Previously, the Immortal Kings who had inquired at the gates of immortality had lived through eons, witnessing countless eras. The passage of time had not diminished their presence.