Chapter 856: with translation of chapter title

Yan Buji looked at Ji Wuxia's fluctuating expression, knowing that this old witch, though wary of the name of the Wu Konghou, would not easily let him go.

Ji Wuxia suddenly spread a smile, but the smile hid a blade: "Since the little friend is a descendant of the Wu Ancestor, why not accompany me to the Ji family as a guest? It would also let us extend our hospitality."

The words sounded polite but were in fact non‑refusable. Yan Buji felt the surrounding space sealed by an invisible barrier, even the aberrant Dao Mark was hard to breach. He silently activated the Qitian Martial Secret, resonating with the Human Emperor Scripture, and sensed a subtle resonance with a distant location—perhaps that was the Ji family's place!

"Fine then." Yan Buji suddenly grinned, baring his large teeth: "Just the chance to see the grandeur of the Human Emperor clan."

Ji Mingyue's complexion changed dramatically at the words: "Mother! He…"

"Silence!" Ji Wuxia flicked her sleeve, and Ji Mingyue was struck as if by lightning, a strand of fresh blood spilling from her mouth: "You meddle where you shouldn't; go back and I'll deal with you later."

Yan Buji watched with a cold eye, already scheming in his mind.

He swaggered over to Ji Wuxia's side, even deliberately brushing dust off his sleeve: "Show the way, old hag. By the way, is there a flying carriage? This old man's legs aren't good."

Ji Wuxia's eye twitched; suppressing her anger, she summoned a gilded flying carriage. The carriage was drawn by nine‑headed azure luan, its body engraved with twelve Human Emperor battle scenes. Yan Buji climbed aboard without ceremony, plopped onto the main seat, and crossed his legs.

"You!" Ji Xuances glared angrily.

"What's the matter?" Yan Buji tugged at his ear, "A descendant of the Wu Ancestor can't sit in this seat?"

Ji Wuxia held down her son, her face grim as she took the secondary seat. The flying carriage rose into the air, racing eastward.

Yan Buji appeared nonchalant, but was secretly studying the carriage's illustrations. In those battle scenes, the twelve Human Emperors each looked different, yet all bore distinct battle flags, matching exactly what he had seen in Peach Blossom Valley.

Three days later, the flying carriage arrived at the Ji family's ancestral lands.

Yan Buji stood atop the clouds, looking down, and involuntarily inhaled a breath of cool air.

Between the mountains, twelve bronze grand halls were arranged in a circle, each roof topped with a tattered battle flag. In the center stood a towering altar reaching the clouds, upon which floated a half‑scroll bamboo manuscript—clearly the other half of the Human Emperor Scripture!

"How is it?" Ji Wuxia said proudly, "This is the true Human Emperor inheritance."

Yan Buji sneered, "Isn't it just a counterfeit? Do they think some family is blind?" He pointed at the central altar, "That half scroll doesn't even contain the 'Life' chapter, yet it's called the Human Emperor Scripture?"

The Human Emperor cultivation method Yan Buji obtained from the Dark God Emperor should share the same origin as the Human Emperor Scripture, much like the distinction between profound skill and martial technique. Though that half‑book resonated, Yan Buji guessed the Ji family might simply lack the portion of the method he himself mastered!

The members of the Ji family changed color at his words.

A flash of surprise and doubt crossed Ji Wuxia's eyes, then she regained composure: "The little friend truly has extraordinary insight. Please!"

After entering the main hall, Yan Buji was assigned to a guest seat.

A maid offered spiritual tea, but he didn't even touch it, instead pulling a wine gourd from his waist and gulping it down.

Several Elders of the Ji family furrowed their brows, but, constrained by his status as a Wu Ancestor descendant, dared not act.

"Speak." Yan Buji wiped his mouth, "You led me here by twists and turns; what exactly do you intend?"

Ji Wuxia clapped her hands; behind a side screen, twelve maidens emerged, each holding a bronze fragment. When assembled, they formed a fragmented star map.

"It is said the Wu Ancestor once brought five priceless treasures from the Dao Realm," Ji Wuxia stared into Yan Buji's eyes: "Besides the Mixed‑Origin Pearl and the Dao Strategy Profound Chapter, there are three more. Little friend, do you know their whereabouts?"

Yan Buji felt something stir within him.

The Dao Strategy Profound Chapter was taken by the Wu Ancestor from the Dao Realm?

So this old witch was scheming this all along!

He pretended to ponder, but actually used the Qitian Martial Secret to calculate, then suddenly pointed to a spot on the star map: "This fragment is fake."

"What?" Ji Wuxia sprang up sharply.

"I say," Yan Buji sauntered to the star map, pointing at a bronze piece in the lower left, "the star pattern on this is a later imitation; the genuine fragment should be at this spot:" his finger moved to the opposite direction, "and the edge bears scorch marks."

"You use the Human Emperor's artifacts to test me, a descendant of the Wu Ancestor—what is your true intention?"

The hall fell into Silence instantly.

Several Elders of the Ji family exchanged glances, and Ji Wuxia's expression turned unusually grim.

Yan Buji smiled inwardly; he didn't truly discern authenticity, merely noting the star map recorded in the Human Emperor Scripture differed slightly from what he saw, so he was merely testing them.

"Little friend truly has insight like a spark," Ji Wuxia suddenly laughed, "Then how about looking at this?"

She produced a bronze mirror; within it appeared a scene from the Primeval Age: twelve Human Emperors standing side by side, battling a colossal eye in the starry sky.

Most striking, each Human Emperor's battle flag bore at its pole tip a uniquely shaped bronze fragment.

"Reincarnation Disk fragment…" Yan Buji squinted. He recognized one piece as the one belonging to the Xuanyuan family.

Not right.

How could the Six Paths Reincarnation Disk of the Youming Jie be in the hands of a Human Emperor?

Or perhaps the Youming Jie didn't exist in the Primeval Age at all?

The scene shifted abruptly; the twelve Human Emperors fell one after another. Blood stained the battle flags, and in the end only six flags remained intact.

An aged voice echoed from the mirror: "…Human Dao… collapse…"

The bronze mirror shattered with a crack. Ji Wuxia sighed, "This is the truth behind the severed Human Emperor inheritance: back then the Wu Ancestor, as the first Human Emperor's master, failed to intervene, causing the first Human Emperor's fall and the loss of the original Human Emperor cultivation method."

"And then?" Yan Buji asked, his face odd, "Why do the Human Emperor flags contain fragments of the Six Paths Reincarnation Disk?"

"Your master never told you?" Ji Wuxia squinted, retorting.

Yan Buji thought it didn't add up, but then slammed the table, glaring at her: "Your family is merely at the Hua Shen realm; how could you know such things? If you won't tell, I'll just go ask my master myself!"

"Little friend, don't get worked up; this isn't a major issue. According to our clan's historical records, after the last Human Emperor fell, the Human Emperor flag shattered, its fragments fused into one, carrying away the sixth domain into the void, which is the origin of the Youming Jie," an Elder of the Ji family explained.

Yan Buji's mind roiled with turbulent waves. He finally understood why the Dark God Emperor and Yan Wang placed such importance on the Human Emperor cultivation method!

"So the Wu Ancestor was the first Human Emperor's master, and the Primeval Earth comprised six regions… meaning the Human Emperor could be the key that triggered the emergence of the Youming Jie!"

All those points fit together, no wonder the Qitian Martial Secret resonates with the Human Emperor cultivation method; perhaps it's because the Dark God Emperor taught him the most primal version of the Human Emperor method, allowing it to link with the seemingly Wu Ancestor‑derived Qitian Martial Secret.

Strangely, the Six Paths Reincarnation Disk is clearly now in the Youming Jie, yet the bronze fragments the Ji family holds… what are they?

Could it be that the fragments in the Ji family's hands are the true Six Paths Reincarnation Disk?!

Yan Buji suddenly recalled the time he stole the Reincarnation Disk carvings from the Dark God Emperor's cavern, didn't it imply…

"The Six Paths Reincarnation Disk… might just be a vessel; what truly matters is what it carries?!"

It's like a container for water—whether a cup or a vat makes little difference; the symbolism lies in its capacity to hold.