Chapter 864: Drag Out and Bury

The golden gale made Jian Changsheng and Sun Bumian squint. Almost simultaneously, a line of text flashed before Jian Changsheng's eyes:

An emperor is looking at you.

Jian Changsheng froze. The next moment, all three were swept up by the golden gale, disappearing before the stone gate of the Imperial Dao Ancient Treasury.

Unlike the first group, including the linen-clad youth, Chen Ling and his two companions entered with much greater composure. They slightly adjusted their posture in the wind before landing steadily in the dark corridor, where the lingering wind scattered the surrounding dust. With a casual flick of the hem of his large red opera robe, Chen Ling used the wind pressure to disperse all the dust. He squinted slightly as he looked at the sudden golden text before him...

"An emperor is looking at me... What does this mean?"

"Huh? You saw it too?" Jian Changsheng was also surprised. "I thought I was seeing things."

"What does it say in front of you?"

"An emperor is looking at you."

Sun Bumian glanced at the two in confusion. "How come I didn't see anything?"

"You can't see it? It's a line of glittering golden characters that appeared the moment the door opened..."

As Jian Changsheng explained to Sun Bumian, Chen Ling pondered. Chen Ling was all too familiar with text visible only to the individual, just like the audience expectation value in his mind. The difference, however, was that the theater's hints appeared in the surrounding environment as various forms of illusion, whereas the Imperial Dao Ancient Treasury's hints were truly projected onto the retina. If Chen Ling was not mistaken, the golden gale that opened the door must have injected something into their eyes, causing the text prompts to appear... Was this how the Imperial Dao Ancient Treasury established contact with humans?

Sun Bumian shrugged. "I really didn't see anything then," he said after hearing Jian Changsheng's description. "But it makes sense. Even though the Imperial Dao Ancient Treasury has fallen, it likely still contains some remnants of emperors who can observe what happens here."

"Then why are they looking at me?" Jian Changsheng turned to Chen Ling. "By the way, Red Heart, you saw it too? What did you see?"

Chen Ling's expression was peculiar. He glanced at the distant emptiness, indeed feeling a sense of being stared at directly. "...Four hundred ninety-four emperors are looking at me."

"That's about all the emperors in history, isn't it...?" Sun Bumian remarked, surprised.

Jian Changsheng was utterly shocked. "Is your status that high? The moment you entered, all the emperors started looking at you?!"

Just as Chen Ling was about to speak further, the text before his eyes changed again:

Two hundred eighty-one emperors are astonished by your presence.Two hundred thirteen emperors are wary of your presence.

Seeing this, Chen Ling became even more certain that these imperial remnants had noticed him, most likely due to his Emperor's Destiny. It's important to note that an Emperor's Destiny only manifests after one has actually become an emperor. Yet, no emperors have appeared in this current era. Suddenly, however, Chen Ling, possessing an Emperor's Destiny, emerged, which undoubtedly overturned the understanding of all imperial remnants.

"This isn't good," Chen Ling mumbled to himself, feeling the direction of the gazes. He possessed the Emperor's Destiny but lacked the corresponding abilities. The moment he entered the Imperial Dao Ancient Treasury, he became the focus of all emperors. Now, he was under intense scrutiny; every action he took might provoke a reaction from the Imperial Dao Ancient Treasury. If he were to kill Emperor Ying Fu under these circumstances, who knew what unforeseen changes might occur?

"...Huh?" Jian Changsheng suddenly seemed to discover something. "I was wondering why I felt something trip me when we were blown in earlier... Why is there a corpse here?"

At the mention of "corpse," Chen Ling and Sun Bumian looked over simultaneously. In a dark corner by the edge of the stone gate, a mummy wrapped in bandages lay stiffly on the ground, most of its body covered by swirling dust, looking like forgotten remains.

Sun Bumian asked, puzzled, "Was this also blown in with us just now?"

"Probably not. It was just the three of us when we came in."

"Then it seems it died here a long time ago..." Jian Changsheng prodded the corpse's backside with his foot. "The Imperial Dao Ancient Treasury has been sealed for so long; it must have been lying here for at least hundreds of years, right?" he remarked. "The body's stiff already."

Jiang Xiaohua: ...

"Not necessarily," Chen Ling said, his gaze sweeping to the ground nearby, where some messy footprints, left not long ago, were visible. "Don't forget, someone else came in before us. The sudden revival of the Imperial Dao Ancient Treasury at this time must have a reason... Perhaps it was opened specifically for 'those people.'"

Sun Bumian, yawning, walked closer to the mummy. Just as he was about to speak, his eyes suddenly narrowed, and he began to examine the mummy carefully. Seeing Sun Bumian's sudden peculiar expression, Chen Ling frowned slightly and stepped closer as well. The three of them stood beside the mummy, staring intently at it for a long time. Eventually, Chen Ling and Sun Bumian exchanged subtle glances. Only Jian Changsheng wore a bewildered expression.

"No, what are you two doing exchanging glances?" Jian Changsheng felt somewhat excluded.

After a long silence, Chen Ling was the first to speak: "This corpse lying here... seems quite pitiful..."

Sun Bumian was startled, then understood, a faint smile flickering at the corner of his mouth. He then said, "Indeed... How about we drag him out and find a place to bury him?"

"Alright."

Jian Changsheng: ?

Jian Changsheng felt as though the world had gone mad. Chen Ling, typically cunning and ruthless, who killed without a second thought, was actually showing pity for an anonymous corpse left exposed in the wilderness, even offering to bury it. Jian Changsheng would sooner believe that Lord Wuji had a change of heart or that the Silver King had retired than believe Chen Ling capable of such an act.

"Jian Wubing, lend a hand," Chen Ling said, glancing at him.

Hearing the name "Jian Wubing," Jian Changsheng first froze, then, as if realizing something, he suddenly looked at the motionless mummy. With only the three of them present, Chen Ling had used a false name for him... This mummy was clearly problematic! Jian Changsheng immediately understood, grabbing the mummy's hands and dragging it forward as if carrying a dead pig. But the next moment, he was secretly startled because the mummy was incredibly heavy; even he struggled to drag it. This further proved that something was amiss with it!

Meanwhile, from the corner of his eye, Jian Changsheng saw Chen Ling quietly draw a chillingly sharp boning knife from his cuff...