Chapter 857: Human Emperor Flag Fragments

Yan Buji stared at the bronze mirror fragment in Ji Wuxia's hand, a flash of brilliance passing through his eyes. He suddenly recalled the incident of fighting for the Huang Tian Soul in the Youming Jie.

"The Human Emperor Flag is not a flag, the Reincarnation Disk is not a disk; both are merely vessels for carrying the Dao?"

"Little friend seems to have a sudden insight?" Ji Wuxia keenly sensed Yan Buji's change of expression.

Yan Buji grinned, showing a mouth full of yellow teeth: "I've been wondering, your Ji family has guarded these treasures for tens of thousands of years, yet not a single sage has ever emerged?"

The hall fell into dead silence. Several Ji family Elders turned ashen, and Ji Xuance outright offered his life‑born celestial accumulation.

Yan Buji was unfazed, even leisurely picking his ear.

"No disrespect!" Ji Wuxia barked sharply, then gave a faintly meaningful smile, "Little friend, you jest. In fact, I summoned you today because I have a chance to give you."

She clapped her hands, and twelve maidens entered carrying jade plates stacked like fish. Each jade plate held a bronze shard of varying shape, emitting a faint glow under the lights.

Yan Buji's violet hall suddenly warmed slightly; the patterns on these shards were identical to the Human Emperor Flag he had seen in Peach Blossom Valley!

"This is..."

"Human Emperor Flag fragments," Ji Wuxia brushed one lightly, "When the twelve Human Emperors fell one after another, their life‑bound battle flags shattered into three hundred sixty pieces. Our Ji family, as the direct line of the Seventh Emperor, took ten thousand years to gather these twelve pieces."

Yan Buji mused internally. If the old woman's words were true, there must be a link between the Human Emperor Flag and the Reincarnation Disk. Moreover, the Human Emperor and the Martial Ancestor share a lineage, so he ought to claim these treasures himself!

He pretended greedily rubbing his hands: "Fine stuff! I wonder what the Ji family intends..."

"Very simple," Ji Wuxia's eyes flashed, "Just lend me a look at the Heaven‑Balancing Martial Secret, and you may choose any three of these fragments!"

Yan Buji almost laughed out loud; the old witch had been circling for a while, only to plot about the Heaven‑Balancing Martial Secret!

He feigned hesitation: "Well... my master said..."

"Add another piece!" Ji Wuxia gritted her teeth.

Yan Buji suddenly slammed the table and rose: "Deal!" The Elders shivered in fright.

He swaggered to the jade plates, seemingly casual yet precisely snatching four shards into his bosom, "That's all."

Ji Wuxia's expression shifted slightly: "Little friend, the secret technique?"

"It's here," Yan Buji pointed to his temple, "but I need a quiet place to write slowly. How about..." He looked around, "your altar? I'm also quite interested in that half‑scroll Human Emperor Scripture."

The Ji family members exchanged glances. Ji Wuxia pondered briefly, then broke into a smile, "Fits my wish. Servants, lead the honored guest to the ancestral altar!"

Passing through numerous seals, Yan Buji finally stood before the central altar.

From close range, the half‑scroll Human Emperor Scripture's illusion became clearer, yet as he expected, the missing part was the "Ming" (Life) chapter—the very Human Emperor cultivation method Yan Buji sought.

Around the altar stood twelve bronze pillars, each engraved with a Human Emperor's battle scene.

"Little friend, look," Ji Wuxia pointed to the scroll, "This is the inheritance left by our family's founder, regrettably incomplete. If it could corroborate the Martial Ancestor's lineage..."

Yan Buji abruptly interrupted, "Where is the Seventh Emperor's 'Mountain River Cauldron'?"

Ji Wuxia trembled all over, "You... how do you know..."

"The Human Emperor Scripture says so," Yan Buji patted the bronze shards in his chest, "The Seventh Emperor wielded the 'Mountain River Cauldron' to suppress the eight wilderness qi cycles. Yet on your altar, there is only a flag and no cauldron?"

The Ji family Elders' faces changed dramatically.

Ji Wuxia remained silent for a long while, then sighed, "Fine. Since you have obtained the Martial Ancestor's true transmission, I shall not conceal any longer." She waved her hand to push back those on either side, "The Mountain River Cauldron was lost thirty thousand years ago; what our Ji family guards is merely..."

Before she could finish, the four shards in Yan Buji's chest suddenly flew out, forming an incomplete pattern in the air. The scroll on the altar quivered violently, and the twelve bronze pillars simultaneously burst into light!

"So that's it!" Yan Buji realized, "Your Ji family guards not the Human Emperor Scripture, but the summoning formation of the Human Emperor Flag!"

Ji Wuxia's face showed shock, "You actually... can activate..."

Yan Buji's left eye's distorted Dao Mark fully unfolded, resonating with the Human Emperor Scripture. He suddenly understood everything: the twelve Emperors' battle flags were a single whole, and when combined could summon the true 'Mountain River Cauldron'!

And this is the secret the Ji family has guarded for generations.

At that moment, a sudden anomaly erupted. Ji Xuance abruptly rose in revolt, thrusting a spear at Yan Buji's back, "Mother, we cannot let him..."

"Get out of the way!" Yan Buji didn't turn his head, delivering a backhand punch. The mingled primordial qi and Human Emperor power blasted Ji Xuance dozens of zhang away.

Ji Wuxia did not intervene, but instead looked to the heavens and sighed, "Heaven's will... Little friend, come with me."

She led Yan Buji to the lowest tier of the altar. There stood a broken bronze cauldron, its body reduced to one third, yet the carved mountains, rivers, and streams remained clearly discernible.

"This is the true Mountain River Cauldron fragment," Ji Wuxia touched the crack on the cauldron, "When the Seventh Emperor suppressed the qi backlash, he shattered his life‑bound treasure. Our Ji family has guarded not only the Human Emperor inheritance but also this responsibility."

Yan Buji stared at a line of small characters on the cauldron: "Qi cycles are fickle; only the virtuous may reside within." He suddenly grasped the Ji family's true stance.

Though they are greedy for inheritance, they also guard a certain balance.

"Now, little friend, can you tell..." Ji Wuxia's gaze burned, "Is the Martial Ancestor still..."

Yan Buji was about to answer when the entire ancestral altar shook violently. Ji Mingyue rushed in panicked, "Mother! The Xuan Yuan family and the Jiang family have allied to assault the mountain, claiming they will retrieve their ancestral relic fragments!"

Ji Wuxia's expression darkened, "As expected, they have arrived." She turned to Yan Buji, "Little friend, today's matter..."

"None of my business," Yan Buji slapped his butt and prepared to leave, but heard Ji Mingyue hastily say:

"They carry the 'State Sword' and the 'Five Grains Whip'!"

Yan Buji halted his steps. Both items are the Human Emperor's supreme treasures recorded in the Human Emperor Scripture! His eyes flicked, and he suddenly grinned, "Old witch, shall we make another deal?"

Half a quarter hour later, Yan Buji swaggered to the Ji family mountain gate. Opposite stood a massive allied force of the two families; at its head, the Xuan Yuan family head wielded a earth‑colored long sword, while the Jiang family head gripped a five‑colored long whip.

"Old man, who are you?" the Xuan Yuan family head shouted sharply.

Yan Buji scratched his ear, "Just passing by." He suddenly raised the Mountain River Cauldron fragment in his hand, "Want this?"

The allied forces immediately stirred. The Xuan Yuan family head's eyes flashed with greed, "Hand it over, and you'll be spared death!"

"Fine." Yan Buji grinned, suddenly tossing the fragment into the sky, "Whoever grabs it keeps it!"

As the crowd fought for it, Yan Buji's left eye's distorted Dao Mark suddenly blazed. The fragment aloft resonated with the bronze shards in his chest, forming an incomplete formation in the air!

"Bad!" the Jiang family head was the first to react, "He's summoning..."

Before the words finished, a golden light descended from the nine heavens. The broken Mountain River Cauldron's illusion flickered among the clouds, while the State Sword and Five Grains Whip flew uncontrollably upward!