Chapter 472: The Secret Treasury of the Chi Emperor, the Sovereign

Foster father?

In ordinary families, the act of taking an adoptive father is often to provide a child with a pillar of support, but as a monarch, the last descendant and bloodline of the current Chi Emperor lineage recognizes him as foster father.

The meaning behind this carries greater weight than the act itself.

Li Guanyi stared at Ji Zichang before him, who smiled calmly; Li Guanyi nodded slightly, picked up the little one, and placed him back in his original spot, saying: "Then let her become my foster daughter."

Ji Zichang laughed: "At your age, most people already have children."

Li Guanyi sighed deeply: "The world is not yet settled—how can I think of family?"

Ji Zichang said: "Excellent—'The world is not yet settled—how can I think of family?' If I hadn't known you, or if you'd said this several years ago, I wouldn't have believed it."

"I would've thought you were just like those courtiers, speaking empty words. But now, I've seen what you've done, witnessed your struggles across the land—I know your words come from the heart."

Ji Zichang smiled, raised his cup: "Come, to Qin Wang."

Li Guanyi and Ji Zichang clinked cups.

Just like the two of them beneath that great tree in the Imperial Academy three or four years ago.

Under Ji Zichang's urging, Li Guanyi reluctantly took the gift received at the Princess's birth, but wrote a note stating: "Foster father Li Guanyi temporarily 'keeps safe' the Princess of Changle's gift."

The Princess of Changle expressed her willingness and so on.

The little child doesn't understand any of this.

She simply rejoiced because her father had another large person to play with her, cooing and babbling, extending her right hand to dip it in ink, then—pam! —pressing it onto the Juan Sect scroll.

Signifying her agreement to hand the item over to the 'foster father.'

Qin Wang was overjoyed: "Good daughter!"

The little girl sat there, arms outstretched: "Yi-yi-ya-ya!!!"

Li Guanyi let the child grip his fingers with both hands and played with her for a long while; children this age may seem full of energy when awake, as if they could play forever, but soon tire and fall asleep right there.

Li Guanyi watched the little one sleep, a smile on his lips.

Consort Wen personally cared for the child.

Li Guanyi said: "Thank you, sister-in-law."

This address seemed to fluster Consort Wen; yet when she looked up and saw the young Qin Wang speaking these words with genuine sincerity, even she, raised in a great clan and long entrenched in the inner palace, was at a loss for how to respond.

Ji Zichang gently wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

Consort Wen lowered her gaze and whispered: "Qin Wang, you are too courteous."

"Leave the child to me. You two go drink outside—here, you'll worry about waking the child and won't enjoy your wine."

The Chi Emperor and Qin Wang quietly departed; outside, they strolled and chatted idly. Ji Zichang returned to fetch the Chi Emperor's seal, then led Li Guanyi to the edge of the oldest Chi Emperor palace.

The palace grounds were naturally vast.

Yet this place exuded an unmistakable, eerie desolation; even now, though the Chi Emperor lineage in the Central Plains had gradually declined from its former glory, other palaces remained well-preserved, maintaining normal use and dignified splendor.

But this palace complex carried an inexplicable chill and desolation.

Ji Zichang gazed at the palace for a long while, then softly said: "This is the very first palace built eight hundred years ago by our ancestor, the first Chi Emperor—the largest palace in the entire Chi Emperor imperial complex."

"Five hundred years ago, due to the witchcraft calamity, that generation's Chi Emperor ancestor detested this place and abandoned it. Since then, it was sometimes used as a forbidden palace, sometimes as a cold palace."

"But strange events often occurred: imprisoned imperial clan members and banished concubines, in the night, heard strange howling sounds, with faint traces of blood rising into the sky."

"It was as if countless weapons and swords were all wailing together. After further incidents, this palace gradually fell into ruin."

"I've been thinking hard just now."

"If our ancestor sealed the Sovereign's Secret Treasury and its divine weapons somewhere, it could only be here."

Ji Zichang sighed, then led Li Guanyi inside.

The palace had long since decayed; silks once hung high had, under wind, rain, and time's erosion, completely crumbled. Some barely retained their original form, but even a slight brush of the sleeve as one walked turned them instantly to ash.

A sense of desolate, merciless grandeur spread.

Though far from all palaces turned to dust, its splendor was gone.

Once, ministers and generals, beauties of the Chi Emperor court, paced here, flitting like butterflies—now, in the blink of heaven and earth, they had vanished like dust, gone with the wind, leaving one to marvel at the vastness of heaven and the bleakness of mortal life.

The two moved through the palace where time seemed frozen, reaching the main hall.

Ji Zichang pushed open the great doors; thick layers of dust fell from them. As the sealed doors creaked open, golden sunlight poured through the cracks into the long-sealed hall.

The hall's style was rugged and solemn, radiating majestic authority.

Ji Zichang said: "It's here. Look for it."

Li Guanyi arrived, still stunned by the ancient palace's grandeur and solemnity; hearing these words, he paused slightly.

Damn it!!!

Xue Shen had told him since he was a child: the Martial Sect's Secret Treasury, the Sovereign's Mystical Realm, held countless divine weapons—enough to turn the tide of the world.

One word: powerful!

Two words: awesome!

Where is it?

The Chi Emperor palace.

How to get there?

Don't know!

Li Guanyi's lip twitched: "Damn it, Xue Shen—still holding back. How clever this guy is…"

I've come to the Chi Emperor palace.

Where's the Sovereign's Mystical Realm?! Where?!

Ji Zichang stared at Li Guanyi in confusion; Li Guanyi forced a calm face and sighed: "I only know it's inside, but how to activate or open it—I truly have no idea."

Ji Zichang: "…………"

Li Guanyi cleared his throat: "Well, since we're here already…"

"Let's go in and take a look."

Ji Zichang was left speechless by those four words: "Since we came anyway."

He could only sigh and shake his head. "Fine. Since we came anyway."

"Come, let's go see."

The two entered the palace. Li Guanyi walked slowly forward, glancing left and right, finding no traces—until at that moment, a tiger's roar reached his ear, and the Bai Hu Fa Xiang appeared behind him.

Li Guanyi suddenly recalled the words of Xue Shenjiang: "The Mystical Realm of the Overlord requires the Tiger Roars Heaven Battle Spear as a key to open it, and the second seal of the Red Emperor demands the Chi Xiao Sword."

"By the way, I can't find it myself, and I don't know the map scroll."

"Then let the Fa Xiang find it instead."

He extended his hand, accompanied by a low, resonant weapon hum.

Two divine weapons materialized in his palms—Chi Xiao Sword and Tiger Roars Heaven Battle Spear, old rivals. The instant they appeared, they erupted in a fierce, deadly chorus of weapon hums.

The Chi Long Fa Xiang and Bai Hu Fa Xiang emerged within the great hall.

Both utterly lifelike.

Li Guanyi, at the Ninth Heaven Realm, possessed a Fa Xiang now as true as divine beasts—low roars echoed, dragons and tigers clashed, faint ripples stirred the void; his qi surged and flowed, subtly lifting the folds of his sleeves.

This magnificent spectacle, though not aimed at Ji Zichang, still caused his heart to pause slightly, his pupils contracting as he witnessed the dragon's roar and tiger's howl within the hall.

Li Guanyi released his grip.

Chi Xiao Sword and Tiger Roars Heaven Battle Spear flew from his palms, rising in streams of light, humming softly, shifting and swirling, their weapon hums intertwining as they moved around, coordinating with the dragon and tiger Fa Xiang, colliding in midair at specific points.

Ji Zichang originally didn't understand the purpose.

But he quickly realized.

For the battleground between the Bai Hu Fa Xiang and Chi Long Fa Xiang subtly encircled a central point—where the weapons met, where the dragon and tiger clashed—and slowly, an Xuan Gui Fa Xiang emerged, stepping forward with unwavering, deliberate strides.

Finally, the Xuan Gui Fa Xiang stopped at one spot.

The Xuan Gui Fa Xiang's pea-sized eyes widened fully.

Determined to save its dao heart, shattered to dust upon seeing Nangong Wumeng's Fa Xiang.

Its turtle claw pressed against the ground.

Li Guanyi understood inwardly and raised his hand.

With a sword hum, Chi Xiao Sword leapt through the air several times, proudly circling the Tiger Roars Heaven Battle Spear, then transformed into a streak of light and plunged straight down—Li Guanyi reached out and seized Chi Xiao Sword.

The divine weapon let out a long roar; the Chi Long Fa Xiang surged violently.

Li Guanyi gripped Chi Xiao Sword with both hands and thrust it straight down toward the spot where the Xuan Gui Fa Xiang had stood—the Xuan Gui Fa Xiang vanished instantly, dissolving into yuan qi and returning into Li Guanyi's body, while Chi Xiao Sword pierced deep into the palace floor.

The blade sank deeply, accompanied by a low sword hum.

A shockwave erupted from Li Guanyi and Chi Xiao Sword, spreading violently in all directions—a wave of qi surged like a rainbow. The palace floor's tiles, having endured for too long, shattered completely and scattered outward.

Cracks spread across the entire palace floor in an instant.

Li Guanyi exhaled slowly, withdrew the sword, faint light seeping out; thick martial killing intent surged skyward. He looked below—where a staircase, formed by arrays and arcane arts, extended downward.

"Stairs… Indeed, this is the location of the Mystical Realm."

Li Guanyi stared at it—the arms repository of the Overlord from eight hundred years ago, the power Xue Shenjiang said could stir up chaos. If he could find heavy armor and weapons capable of standing against the Tujue Tie Futu army, that would be best.

Li Guanyi clenched his five fingers and yanked sharply backward.

Within the sealed Mystical Realm, untouched for eight hundred years, he forcibly pulled out the stagnant air with immense force, exhaling a foul odor; he swept his sleeve to circulate air inside and out, preventing disaster upon entry.

He himself was unafraid—he worried about Ji Zichang.

After a while, Li Guanyi said, "Let's go."

Ji Zichang covered his nose and mouth with his sleeve, nodded, gazing at the shattered seals around him, silent for a moment, lips pressed tight—he recalled how he had already given Li Guanyi the ancestral burial gold and silver artifacts, an act of great disrespect.

Now he stood here with Li Guanyi, breaking the seal personally set by his ancestor, the Red Emperor.

They say ancestral laws must not change—but now, under him, those ancestral laws had been utterly shattered, so thoroughly that even if he descended to meet his ancestors, they'd be left gaping in shock.

Yet perhaps, because he had already committed so many "treacherous" acts before.

Ji Zichang's expectations now were far, far too low.

He'd already done it—so what difference did degree make?

Since we came anyway.

Since he'd already done it, he might as well do it thoroughly.

Ji Zichang walked straight down with Li Guanyi; dust scattered as the two descended deeper, unaware how long they'd walked—until they saw a colossal bronze gate. Ji Zichang felt his heart pound, his skin prickled like needles, red bumps rising across his flesh.

Li Guanyi remained calm.

Li Guanyi murmured: "Martial killing intent…"

Even after eight hundred years, an indescribably powerful, mighty killing intent still lingered here, swirling and surging—clear proof of how mighty the Overlord had been in his prime.

Ji Zichang gazed at the ancient, majestic bronze gate, feeling slightly dazed, as if touching legend itself. "Is this… what the Overlord from eight hundred years ago, who contended with my ancestor for the throne, left behind?"

Li Guanyi said, "Brother Ji, step back!"

Ji Zichang stepped back half a pace, thought again, then retreated several large steps before nodding. "All right!"

Li Guanyi took a deep breath, gripped the Tiger Roars Heaven Battle Spear, and thrust it straight into the center of the bronze gate. The dark-gold divine weapon met no resistance—it pierced cleanly into the gate's core.

With a clear, unmistakable mechanical click echoing in his ears, the characters on the bronze gate rapidly shifted, flowed, collided, recombined, then scattered outward—this one of the most vital Mystical Realms of the Shiwaisan Sect's Guanxing Line now opened.

Li Guanyi's eyes sharpened as he gazed through the swirling mist.

There stood an entire army!

The martial killing intent surged with terrifying reality, making Li Guanyi grip his divine weapon tighter—but he immediately saw: these were not living beings, but clay golems, each still clad in armor, still holding weapons.

One glance told Li Guanyi the style was eight hundred years old—the blades and swords were unremarkable, as armor evolved rapidly; today's armor far surpassed that era.

But—

The armor here used material far too superior.

Skills? Styles?

No need!

Just pile on the material—bigger is better, heavier is beautiful!

As long as you stack the armor's thickness, even outdated gear can still fight—so long as it shatters even the sharpest swords that cut through iron like mud, then old things have their own old-world beauty.

Li Guanyi stepped forward slowly, extended his palm to touch the armor, expression solemn.

Beneath the Starline Sect's mystic arts, the weapons and armor buried here bore not a single trace of rust, still gleaming with the same steel luster as the day they were forged.

These armors are ancient, crude, long out of step with the times.

But thick! Heavy!

Solid!

Modern standard-issue armor cannot withstand collision with armor of this level—Li Guanyi had learned sword-forging from his great-grandfather and knew the material of this tier; armor of this thickness could resist even the finest weapons.

"Take it back, recast it, and we'll have thousands, even tens of thousands of heavy armors."

"The kind that rivals Tie Futu…"

"And these weapons." Li Guanyi reached out to touch the weapons, felt a faint sting, expression darkening—these weapons' sharpness had nearly brushed the threshold of Treasure-Class.

Spears, battle-axes, swords, knives—all the same.

Top-tier weapons, top-tier armor, immense depth—Li Guanyi retracted his hand, glanced around, and saw beyond the thousands of earth golems, a raised platform, upon which floated five divine weapons.

Each had a different form, yet all radiated an indescribable divine aura—this aura had reached the peak of Mystic-Class weapons, just one step away from becoming legendary weapons passed down through ages.

These were precisely the weapons once wielded by the Five Divine Generals under the Overlord, and also the weapons of the top ten generals of that era—Li Guanyi stepped forward slowly, murmured to himself:

"General Long's spear."

"General Ying's battle-axe."

"General Ji's sword."

"General Mei's bow."

"General Yu's spear."

"The top ten of that era—the weapons closest to becoming divine." Li Guanyi stood before the platform, gazing at the five Mystic-Class weapons, then suddenly wondered—if back then, the Overlord had won the final victory, would these generals who had followed him to the end…

Have their weapons completed their final transformation?

Become truly divine.

Nearly ten thousand incredibly heavy, fully enclosed plate armors.

Tens of thousands of top-tier weapons, plus these five weapons—each with an overwhelming likelihood of evolving into divine weapons through battle—such depth truly could alter the fate of the world.

But as Li Guanyi reached that spot, he suddenly realized—it was not a 【raised platform】. From afar, the mystic arts had distorted his view; now up close, he clearly saw that the five Mystic-Class weapons were borne by a colossal divine beast!

A mighty body, white fur, and ink-black patterns.

Fierce claws pressed into the ground, as if resting, golden pupils coldly gazing downward—though a divine beast, it radiated terrifying malice and bloody killing aura.

Ji Zichang could not help but cry out: "Bai Hu!?!?"

Beneath this palace, down countless steps into this hollow, loomed a Bai Hu divine beast as massive as a mountain—Li Guanyi instantly gripped his weapon, entering alert stance—but then he realized: this Bai Hu merely lay still, motionless.

Li Guanyi sensed for a moment, then said: "No life."

"Just residual remains…"

"This Bai Hu died eight hundred years ago in battle against the Red Emperor and the Ancient Taigu Chilong. Now it seems—even dead, its body never rotted or decayed, remaining here all these eight centuries within the Overlord's Mystical Realm."

Ji Zichang finally exhaled in relief—but Li Guanyi suddenly grabbed him and hurled him violently back toward the way they came. Ji Zichang, bewildered, was flung to the ground, dazed and disoriented, before he could even speak, two thunderous sounds rang out.

The clash of weapons—the metallic shriek echoed sharply through the underground chamber, fierce, grim, reverberating violently.

Ji Zichang cried: "Master Jiang?!"

Li Guanyi roared: "Stay there! Don't come closer!"

The roar was deadly serious—Ji Zichang froze instantly, standing motionless. Li Guanyi felt his hand trembling slightly on the Tiger Roar Battle Axe—but he had endured a hundred battles. He held the divine weapon at an angle, stepped forward slowly, calmly:

"Of course…"

"When I first met Xue Shen, I was already curious."

"The Shiwaisan Sect's Witchcraft line has paths to immortality; the Fate-Reading line has similar methods—how could the Starline Sect have none? Xue Shen could bury his spirit within the 【Mystical Realm】."

"But if the Starline Sect knew such methods, and Xue Shen could do it—why couldn't the Overlord?"

"Why did the Red Emperor bury his palace atop the Overlord's Mystical Realm?"

"Why did Xue Shen always speak vaguely about how to enter this realm? He must have known—you were here."

Li Guanyi raised his weapon, pointing forward—beneath the shadows, aura surged and swirled, faintly ominous. His own aura rose in response, unyielding. He gripped his weapon tightly, spoke calmly:

"Isn't that right?"

"Eight hundred years ago."

"Overlord!"

Ji Zichang's face turned pale, then blurted:

"Brother Li, the Overlord's residual Nascent Soul is extremely dangerous—where's your Fire Qilin?!"

Li Guanyi replied: "Too bad—it's not here."

"Today's battle—I must handle it myself."

Li Guanyi gripped his weapon, watching the figure slowly emerge ahead.

……………………

Meanwhile, in the Central State Academy.

The ancient Confucian gate stood tightly shut.

Bang! Bang! Bang! —the pounding on the gate shattered the quiet sky—the Fire Qilin slammed against it, shouting loudly:

"Hey, old man, you still alive?!"

Open the door!

You dare feed me something good? Then have the guts to open the door!!!

Open the door!!!

The Fire Qilin's claws pounded against the door.

I've come to find you for—

GOOD! FRUIT!

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