Chapter 371: Secrets of the Past

“What did you say?” Lin Jiufeng suspected that he had misheard and especially asked again.

“Since I guarded the Well of Heaven Ascension, a total of three people have gone out. They are the King of the Netherworld from 20,000 years ago, and the Emperor Yuan and Emperor Ming from 100 years ago,” the crocodile ancestor replied seriously.

“This… What kind of people are Emperor Yuan and Emperor Ming? Why have I never heard of them before?” Elder Universe asked curiously.

His question was unanimously agreed by all the skeletons.

“I’ve never heard of Emperor Yuan and Emperor Ming either,” the crystal skeleton of the Giant City said.

“When did these two powerhouses appear in the Death Realm and silently pa.s.s through the Well of Heaven Ascension? Does anyone know?” The crystal skeleton of the Beast King City asked loudly.

The other two crystal skeletons shook their heads, indicating that they didn’t know or recognize Emperor Ming and Emperor Yuan.

They lived in seclusion all year round and avoided being involved in the affairs of the world. They were completely unaware of the changes in the Death Realm.

After all, there were very few things that could catch the attention of the crystal skeletons.

“I know about Emperor Yuan,” suddenly, a five-colored skeleton said.

Shuas.h.!.+

Everyone looked at it unanimously.

“Tell me everything you know. What’s the background of this Emperor Yuan?” The crystal skeleton of the Asura City immediately said, because this five-colored skeleton belonged to its city.

The others, including Lin Jiufeng, were all looking at that five-colored skeleton.

For Lin Jiufeng, after entering the Death Realm, he knew that Emperor Yuan and Emperor Ming had come here. Through the words of the black and white skeleton, he knew that they had entered the depths of the Death Realm.

But as he went deeper into the Death Realm, he didn’t find Emperor Yuan and Emperor Ming.

Lin Jiufeng thought that perhaps it was because he was in a hurry to chase after the team in Giant City that he didn’t have time to investigate the matters regarding Emperor Yuan and Emperor Ming.

But from the looks of it, something that Lin Jiufeng didn’t know happened to Emperor Yuan and Emperor Ming.

Moreover, it was a huge matter, enough for them to pa.s.s through the Well of Heaven Ascension.

The five-colored skeleton wasn’t nervous despite being stared at by everyone. It explained what it knew clearly.

Under everyone’s gaze, it told a story.

A story from a hundred years ago.

“More than a hundred years ago, a skeleton appeared in the depths of the Death Realm. At that time, it wasn’t very powerful, and it didn’t become a spiritual body. It was just a small skeleton. I don’t know why it entered the depths of the Death Realm.”

“At that time, I was in seclusion for a long time, but I never found the opportunity to break through. In a depressed mood, I went out to stroll around, and then I encountered it.”

“I asked it what its name was, and it told me that its name was Emperor Yuan.”

“But when I asked about its origins and why it was called this name, it said that it didn’t know either. It seemed to be a skeleton that had yet to awaken its memories and was muddle-headed.”

“But it has its own goal. After I met it for a few days, it asked me some things about the depths of the Death Realm and then left. Its goal was very clear.”

“At that time, out of curiosity, I followed behind it, wanting to see what exactly a skeleton that wasn’t too powerful came to the depths of the Death Realm for.”

“Then, I saw a scene that I’ve never seen in my life.”

The expression of the five-colored skeleton carried a trace of shock in its words as if the scene that it saw next was difficult for it to forget.

Even when it described it now, the scenes of the past were still so clear in its mind, it didn’t forget any details.

“So, what exactly did you see?” The crystal skeleton of the Giant City asked expectantly.

The other skeletons were the same. They were all looking forward to the story. This sounded very strange.

The depths of the Death Realm weren’t a place that ordinary skeletons could enter.

Without strength that surpa.s.sed the Mystic Immortal Realm, entering the depths of the Death Realm was very dangerous.

Although the thousand plus five-colored skeletons were gathered here and looked very harmonious, this didn’t represent that the depths of the Death Realm was a kind place.

This place here was now quiet and harmonious because there was Lin Jiufeng suppressing the entire scene. No one dared to make a move.

If Lin Jiufeng wasn’t around, these five-colored skeletons would also have crooked thoughts.

To be able to become a five-colored skeleton in the Death Realm, which one of them didn’t grow up in combat and breakthrough in combat?

Hence, why were Emperor Yuan and Emperor Ming able to enter the depths of the Death Realm and suddenly become so powerful?

What was even more strange was that they were people who left the Death Realm through the Well of Heaven Ascension after the King of the Netherworld.

Who was the King of the Netherworld?

She was the King of G.o.ds of the G.o.d Race. At her peak, she led the G.o.d Race to resist the Immortal Court and the Seven Races of the Ancient Age.

When Emperor Yuan and Emperor Ming were in the mortal realm, they were just ordinary emperors, not even immortals.

But after entering the depths of the Death Realm, they instantly transformed. This change was so great that Lin Jiufeng didn’t dare to recognize them.

Lin Jiufeng even suspected if the Emperor Yuan and Emperor Ming he knew were the same ones as from the mouths of these skeletons.

What if they were just people of the same name?

After all, the gap between them was so huge, it was normal for Lin Jiufeng to have a weak suspicion.

Of course, after waking up from his shock, Lin Jiufeng also knew that it was impossible for them to be just people of the same name.

There was too much evidence to show that they were the Emperor Yuan and Emperor Ming that he knew.

Hence, even though the Well of Heaven Ascension was beside him, Lin Jiufeng wasn’t in a hurry to enter the mortal realm. He stared at the five-colored skeleton with a heavy expression, wanting to know more.

Under the questioning of the crystal skeletons, the five-colored skeleton naturally answered whatever was asked. It didn’t dare to delay and continued to tell the story from a hundred years ago.

“Back then, because I was too bored and had no hope of breaking through, so I chose to follow a skeleton that I had only known for a few days. I wanted to see where it was going. After all, it’s indeed a little strange for it to enter the depths of the Death Realm.”

“But then I saw it walking in the depths of the Death Realm. As if it had a purpose, it especially walked to a desolate nameless mountain.”

“There was nothing else on that mountain. It was so desolate that there weren’t even any trees. It was just a piece of stone.”

“But deep in the mountains, there was a spring. The spring water seeped from the core of the earth, forming a fountain that surged up. The water was orchid-like, like a mirror that could see through people.”

“I saw that skeleton walk into the spring with my own eyes, then sink and disappear.”

“With a curious heart, I walked over and took a look, but I saw a magical scene.”

“In the spring, there was a corpse with no facial features. It was fusing with that skeleton.”

“Then, a living person walked out of the spring water. He had facial features, vitality, and a life force. After seeing me, he said something.”

The five-colored skeleton explained tirelessly.

“What did he say after seeing you?” Lin Jiufeng asked solemnly.

Why did this story sound like a possession?

Emperor Yuan was possessed by a terrifying powerhouse?

But it was also Emperor Yuan himself who walked into the depths of the Death Realm from the outer area and entered the spring water.

This didn’t conform to the requirement of possession.

Lin Jiufeng had to figure it out. No matter what, those two were the younger brother and nephew that he cared about.

Being questioned by Lin Jiufeng, the five-colored skeleton said nervously, “At that time, he glanced at me and said, ‘The great era that has never been seen before in history is about to arrive. I, Emperor Yuan, have returned!’”

“He even said that his name is Emperor Yuan?” Lin Jiufeng frowned and asked.

This looked like he was possessed, but on careful thought, it didn’t look like that was the case.

If someone else possessed Emperor Yuan, would that person still call himself Emperor Yuan?

Lin Jiufeng was confused. He originally thought that even if Emperor Yuan and Emperor Ming survived in the Death Realm, they would still become ordinary skeletons.

But from the looks of it, the story wasn’t that simple.

The Emperor Yuan and Emperor Ming from more than a hundred years ago seemed to be ordinary emperors in the mortal world, but now, their ident.i.ties were shrouded in a layer of fog that could neither be seen nor touched.

“Then, where did this Emperor Yuan go after that?” Lin Jiufeng continued to ask.

“After saying this, he soared into the sky and disappeared.”

“It seems that after the fusion, the corpse had already come to life. The skeleton had also become stronger. I was already a five-colored skeleton, but I could still feel a huge pressure from him. When he glanced at me, my soul flame trembled. I didn’t dare to resist at all,” the five-colored skeleton said.

It recalled that gaze. It was a calm gaze that also carried a huge pressure that it couldn’t forget even up till now.

“After he soared into the sky, Emperor Yuan came to me,” the crocodile ancestor said solemnly.

Lin Jiufeng looked at the crocodile ancestor and asked, “100 years ago, Emperor Yuan and Emperor Ming came here and left through the Well of Heaven Ascension. What exactly happened between you and them?”

The other skeletons also looked at the crocodile ancestor curiously.

Now, everyone’s curiosity was piqued. They were very interested in the origins of Emperor Yuan and Emperor Ming.

The crocodile ancestor didn’t answer Lin Jiufeng. Instead, it asked, “Immortal King Lin, what exactly is the relations.h.i.+p between Emperor Yuan and you? You seem to be so concerned about this, even more so than the Well of Heaven Ascension.”

The Well of Heaven Ascension was at the side, but Lin Jiufeng didn’t even look at it. He repeatedly asked about Emperor Yuan and Emperor Ming. This couldn’t help but surprise the crocodile ancestor.

“Emperor Yuan is my younger brother!”

“Emperor Ming is my nephew!”

“Biological ones!”

Lin Jiufeng said solemnly.

“I see. Then, you indeed have to ask clearly about them.” The crocodile ancestor looked at Lin Jiufeng in surprise.

It turned out that this Immortal King Lin had a deep relations.h.i.+p with Emperor Yuan and Emperor Ming.

In that case, Immortal King Lin suppressing the depths of the Death Realm with the cultivation base of the Immortal King Realm also seemed reasonable.

After all, he was Emperor Yuan and Emperor Ming’s brother and uncle.

The other skeletons looked at Lin Jiufeng. They couldn’t help but recall the scene of him killing the three crystal skeletons with one strike.

They couldn’t afford to offend him.

They couldn’t afford to offend anyone from his family.

“Emperor Yuan came first. He was very peaceful. He said that he wanted to borrow the Well of Heaven Ascension and go to a place, and requested pa.s.sage from me,” said the crocodile ancestor.

“Then did you?” Elder Universe asked.

“Do I look like someone who’s easy to talk to?” The crocodile ancestor roared fiercely.

“Obviously not. You must have rejected him and then been beaten up by him. Moreover, you were beaten up terribly. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have given in.” Elder Universe chuckled and deduced the story according to the personality of the crocodile ancestor.

The soul flame of the crocodile ancestor jumped, and black smoke emerged from its nose. That smoke was the burning of anger.

Pfft pfft.

The crocodile ancestor didn’t want to speak because Elder Universe’s guess was right.

It was beaten up badly.

Then, it learned a phrase called ‘being kind to others’.

If it agreed when Emperor Yuan started to enter the Well of Heaven Ascension, it wouldn’t have been beaten so badly, would it?

“Is Emperor Yuan really that powerful? He could beat you up?” Lin Jiufeng asked for confirmation.

To be honest, if he hadn’t integrated with the Life Force Great Dao Array Formation, he wouldn’t have dared to approach the crocodile ancestor at all.

Elder Universe was an unreliable person, but he was right about one thing.

The crocodile ancestor had a bad temper and was very difficult to get along with.

Of course, this was for those whose cultivation bases were inferior to the crocodile ancestor’s.

For people whose strength surpa.s.sed that of the crocodile ancestor, the crocodile ancestor immediately transformed into just a crocodile or even a small crocodile.

It was like a turtle that could stretch and shrink into its sh.e.l.l depending on the situation. This kind of character should be learned from a turtle.

“Emperor Yuan is very powerful. I didn’t agree to him using the Well of Heaven Ascension and wanted to chase him away,” said the crocodile ancestor.

“Wait, you shouldn’t be wanting to chase him away. You want to kill him to prevent the location of the Well of Heaven Ascension from being leaked, right?” Elder Universe interrupted the crocodile ancestor and said affirmatively.

He understood the crocodile ancestor very well. After all, they had been together for a thousand years.

What was that sentence called?

I understand you, just like I understand myself.

The crocodile ancestor suddenly said fiercely, “Shut up. If you don’t speak, no one will treat you as deaf and mute!”

Elder Universe wasn’t afraid of it at all.

After the crocodile ancestor roared at Elder Universe, it turned around and saw that Lin Jiufeng’s face had darkened. It immediately said, “At that time, I wanted to kill Emperor Yuan and protect the location of the Well of Heaven Ascension. Otherwise, I would have spent a lot of effort to change the location of the Well of Heaven Ascension.”

“That’s why I acted.”

“Then, I was instantly defeated.”

The crocodile ancestor said this in a sad tone.

At that time, it was enraged. It rushed over and was about to unfold to bite Emperor Yuan.

Then, it was sent flying by a punch.

It felt dizzy and its bones were broken into countless pieces.

Then, it obediently watched as Emperor Yuan entered the Well of Ascension, not daring to stop him.

“What about Emperor Ming? Emperor Yuan defeated you easily, then what about Emperor Ming?” Lin Jiufeng immediately asked. He wanted to know if Emperor Ming had also transformed like Emperor Yuan.

When the crocodile ancestor heard Lin Jiufeng asking about Emperor Ming, it felt terrible as if it had eaten s.h.i.+t.

It dawdled, not really wanting to tell this story.

“It must have suffered a huge loss at Emperor Ming’s hands, that’s why he’s so shy to tell us about it. Moreover, it’s not an ordinary loss. It must be a loss that the crocodile ancestor can’t say.” Elder Universe instantly a.n.a.lyzed.

The crocodile ancestor was so angry that it really wanted to immediately cut Elder Universe into pieces.

If it weren’t for Lin Jiufeng, it really would have done so.

Elder Universe was really too infuriating.

“Speak, tell me the truth,” Lin Jiufeng said solemnly.

The other skeletons were also looking forward to it.

This was definitely a big embarra.s.sing matter for the crocodile ancestor.

To be able to make the crocodile ancestor so aggrieved and embarra.s.sed.

It was definitely something that was too embarra.s.sing to talk about.

All the skeletons watched expectantly.

Including the four crystal skeletons and the bone dragon, they were all looking forward to it.

The previous crocodile ancestor was so domineering, powerful, and ferocious.

But now, it had to tell them its own embarra.s.sing matter. It was worth looking forward to.

“Emperor Ming is different from Emperor Yuan. When Emperor Yuan came, he was very amicable at first. Then, when I attacked, he attacked me. But the injuries I had sustained weren’t too serious. I recovered after resting for half a year.”

“But Emperor Ming was different. When he came, he directly tied me up without saying a word. Then, he dropped me in front of the Well of Heaven Ascension and tortured me for a few days. Then, he even searched my soul flame for information and almost devoured my soul flame. In the end, I only escaped from death because I begged for mercy,” the crocodile ancestor roughly explained.

“Tell me specifically how you begged for mercy. I feel that this is the most cla.s.sic part, it’s the humiliation of your life.” Elder Universe reminded the crocodile ancestor.

Roar!

The crocodile ancestor was so angry that it directly bit down, ignoring Lin Jiufeng who was beside it.

Elder Universe was too infuriating. He specifically chose the painful spots of people to poke at.

“Enough!” Lin Jiufeng waved his hand and forced back the crocodile ancestor, but he knocked Elder Universe’s skull instead.

Clang!

Elder Universe touched his skull and let out a painful cry.

But Lin Jiufeng couldn’t be bothered with him.

“The King of the Netherworld, Emperor Yuan, and Emperor Ming all entered the mortal realm through the Well of Heaven Ascension, right? Then, can I enter the mortal realm through the Well of Heaven Ascension now?” Lin Jiufeng placed his gaze on the Well of Heaven Ascension.

In any case, Emperor Yuan and Emperor Ming had already left the Death Realm. Even if he continued to stay in the Death Realm, he wouldn’t be able to find them anymore.

He might as well enter the mortal realm.

“Immortal King Lin, how are you sure that you can definitely enter the mortal realm through the Well of Heaven Ascension?” The crocodile ancestor calmed down and asked.

As soon as these words came out, all the skeletons erupted.

They unanimously looked at the crocodile ancestor, their expressions nervous. This wasn’t something to joke about.

“You’re saying that the Well of Heaven Ascension doesn’t lead to the mortal realm?” Lin Jiufeng looked at it in shock. The Immortal Slaying Sword in his palm flickered with light, breathing in and out sword energy, and the charm of the Dao flowed.

At this moment, the Immortal Slaying Sword let out a clanging sound, fluctuating according to Lin Jiufeng’s mood.

In the very next moment, a 10,000-kilometer long sword energy rose, overturning nine layers of the sky. Each layer was like a surging sea, with waves surging into the sky. Boundless sword energy descended along with the galaxy.

Pu!

At this moment, the Immortal Slaying Sword was as heavy as a mountain. Its terrifying aura erupted. Although it wasn’t directed at anyone and was just a simple slap that smashed down, it still caused the world to collapse.

The crocodile ancestor’s body instantly stiffened. Sensing this pressure, even its soul flame felt bitter.