Tower Defense: Public Enemy

Chapter 574 The Emperor's Corpse

"Eternal Emperor, Supreme Heavenly Dao!"

Lei Chi thought to himself that this Heavenly Mystery Tomb was truly extraordinary. So far, four "Emperors" were known to have entered this place: the Coward Emperor, the Dream Emperor, the Black Coffin Emperor, and the Eternal Emperor!

These four emperors are far more powerful than any realm lord.

But it is clear that there have been beings even stronger than the Great Emperor who have visited this place; there is at least one expert at the Heaven-Treading level.

The term "Treading the Heavens" was mentioned by Lei Chi to the 152nd Heavenly Venerable, referring to a realm higher than the "Heavenly Dao".

The Heavenly Dao essentially represents an omniscient and omnipotent being, something even stronger than that, and Lei Chi couldn't even imagine what kind of life form it would be.

"It seems that the Heavenly Venerable Yiwu Er also said that there are beings among divine beings who surpass the Supreme Divinity, called the Inconceivable. My Great Unification Divinity is recognized by it as the Supreme Divinity. Perhaps when it is fully developed and my inner universe is complete and mature, I can touch that Inconceivable realm and stand shoulder to shoulder with the Heavenly Ascension Realm..."

Lei Chi pondered silently.

He is still unable to confirm whether the powerful being who scattered them 500,000 years ago, mentioned by the Heavenly Venerable Yiwu Er, is the same powerful being who entered the Heavenly Mystery Tomb.

Furthermore, this giant snake, the snake that follows Sonic, and the fish princess in the jade coffin all seem to be subordinates of the Imaginary Emperor.

However, the Black Coffin Emperor did not die and seems to still be hiding in this Heavenly Secret Tomb.

The beings of the Floating Pagoda continued to talk with the giant serpent and learned that the giant serpent was named "Wanxiang". It was originally a fantastical creature created by the Emperor of Imagination and followed the Emperor of Imagination to fight. However, it has now merged with the black pyramid on the fourth floor of the Heavenly Mystery Tomb and has become without desires and desires, lying completely flat.

It once entered the fifth level of the Heavenly Mystery Tomb and witnessed the battles of the Great Emperors, but due to its weakness, it was blasted out.

It was unaware of the current situation in the fifth level of the Heavenly Mystery Tomb. According to it, the Heavenly Mystery Tomb also has a sixth level, which is the most core area.

Wanxiang also gave a brief introduction to the Eternal Emperor and the Supreme Heaven.

The Eternal Emperor was an ancient emperor. He was named Eternal because he possessed the secrets of eternity. This Heavenly Secret Tomb was built by him in the distant past, and its purpose seemed to be to achieve true eternity and immortality.

But for some unknown reason, it seems that this Eternal Emperor failed and ultimately perished. For some unknown reason, a celestial being, namely "Jitian", is also buried in this great tomb.

The Ultimate Heaven is the Heavenly Way of a certain universe. It manifested a physical form, but its cause of death is unknown. Its burial in this great tomb must be related to the Eternal Way of the Eternal Emperor.

This great tomb was originally filled with traps and guards, but over the years, most of the traps have been broken, and the eternal treasures and fragments of the Heavenly Dao in the first five levels have long been divided up.

Legend has it that the Dao Fruit was nurtured within this great tomb. Wanxiang believes this to be true, because the Cowardly Emperor, the Fantasy Emperor, and the Black Coffin Emperor all came for that Dao Fruit.

The sudden appearance of that celestial being was most likely also there for that Dao Fruit.

As for whether the Dao Fruit was ultimately taken away by the Heavenly Ascension Realm expert, and whether there are still Eternal Treasures or Heavenly Dao Fragments in the sixth level, Wanxiang has no idea.

He mentioned that in the past 500,000 years, the Heavenly Tomb has been opened more than 20 times, but only nine times have people come to the fourth level. The last time it was opened was 40,000 years ago. That time, Eternal Sonic and Imaginary Serpent led a group of people into the fifth level, but apart from Eternal Sonic and Imaginary Serpent, only a girl in a black dress and a boy who practiced faith magic left. The latter two seemed to have escaped, as they were injured.

Lei Chi knew that the girl in the black dress must be Yu Baichen's apprentice. She was an Angel Queen and most likely came from the Temple of Light.

The boy who practiced the art of faith was clearly Zuo Tangyu, the one who passed on the [Divergence Scripture] to him, and was also the disciple of the Ascending Heaven Grand Venerable.

"The road ahead is treacherous!"

After listening to the Thousand-Faced Serpent's account, the beings of the Floating Pagoda became serious and said to Lei Chi, "If there were only one eternal Sonic, I could barely handle it. But now it seems there's also the Black Coffin Emperor hiding in the shadows. Will he let me take away the Coward Emperor's corpse?"

Lei Chi said, "Five hundred thousand years have passed, and it's unknown whether the Cowardly Emperor's corpse still exists. Senior Brother, have you thought it through whether you want to continue?"

The beings of the Floating Pagoda hesitated for a moment, then gritted their teeth and said, "We've come all this way, we can't be scared back, can we? Junior brother, would you be willing to continue with me to the fifth level?"

Lei Chi nodded and made a "please" gesture.

Entering this Heavenly Mystery Tomb is not the same as entering the Heart of the Universe. Lei Chi's efficiency in observing the Heart of the Universe has not increased much. However, he has gained a lot along the way, and he expects to gain even more as he continues to move forward.

After all, what he sought was not the eternal treasure or fragments of the Heavenly Dao, nor any Dao fruit, but simply to observe more of the mysteries of the universe.

After making their decision, Lei Chi and Fu Tu did not delay. They waved goodbye to the giant serpent and walked into the black pyramid side by side, and then arrived at the fifth level of the Heavenly Mystery Tomb.

To Lei Chi's surprise, this fifth layer of space was a very ordinary three-dimensional spacetime. When he looked up, he felt as if he had come to the cosmos. Against the backdrop of desolation and darkness, he saw two beings that resembled the sun.

To be precise, they were two giants, each estimated to be over a hundred feet tall.

They were all dressed in ancient attire, sitting cross-legged, facing each other from a distance, their bodies radiating dazzling golden light, and surrounded by countless tiny spatial and temporal cracks.

One of them, dressed in apricot-yellow robes, had a magic ring on his back resembling a vortex of stars. Lei Chi immediately recognized him as none other than the Cowardly Emperor!

That aura, there's no doubt about it.

Although this cowardly emperor radiated golden light like the sun, he showed no signs of life, and the corpse he left behind was now a dead thing!

Lei Chi quickly discovered that the Cowardly Emperor had a large hole in the back of his head, which was empty; his entire skull was just an empty shell.

In addition, there was a similar hole in the center of his back, through which one could see his empty chest cavity and his broken spine, which looked as if it were cast in gold.

"This cowardly emperor died a gruesome death, as if some ferocious creature had ripped out his brain and internal organs..."

Lei Chi felt a chill run down his spine, and then he looked at another giant sitting cross-legged.

That was also a corpse.

There were three deep scratches on his face, his face was almost torn apart, and there was also a large hole in his chest, where his internal organs had been ripped out.

In addition, one of his arms was missing, and his sleeve appeared to have been shredded.

Lei Chi knew that this giant was most likely the Dream Emperor.

What happened to these two emperors?

The mortal beings of the Buddha also saw the two emperors. He shrank his neck and looked around nervously, as if worried that some ferocious creature was hiding.

Lei Chi did not answer; he saw a black pyramid in the void.

The black pyramid was larger than the ones in front, but it was surrounded by numerous spacetime rifts, making it seem very difficult to enter.

"That pyramid leads to the sixth level! Sonic, the Imaginary Serpent, and Senior Yu, could they have all gone to the sixth level?"

Lei Chi shook his head, no longer thinking about it. He wasn't in a hurry to enter the sixth level, but silently issued a command to the Pioneer Computer: "Pioneer Computer, create the files of the Coward Emperor and the Fantasy Emperor, and start observation."

The optical computer immediately began to operate.

The beings of the Buddha then flew toward the corpse of the cowardly emperor.

The closer one gets to the corpse of the Cowardly Emperor, the higher the temperature becomes; approaching it is like approaching the sun.

"The Cowardly Emperor inherited nine divine skills, reaching the pinnacle of creation. After his death, his body remained incorruptible, radiating light outwards like the sun—this is a spontaneous dissipation of energy. Has it been like this for five hundred thousand years?"

Lei Chi shook his head, said a few words of "be careful" to all living beings in the Floating Pagoda, and then sat down cross-legged to quietly observe the corpses of the Cosmic Emperor and the Imagination Emperor.

This is similar to observing cosmic wonders. The corpses of the two emperors are extraordinary. Their existence itself is like a miracle. Observing them will also bring great benefits.

A moment later, the Buddha statue was drenched in sweat, and he stopped walking.

He was still some distance from the corpse of the Cowardly Emperor, but at this moment he seemed powerless to move forward.

That's who he is. If he were a mortal and came here, he would probably have vaporized and disappeared long ago.

"Even corpses are this difficult to handle, no wonder he's called the Cowardly Emperor!"

Fu Tu Zhong Sheng sighed, rested for a while, then got up and continued forward. This time, he used a void technique to create a void barrier around himself.

After a while, the Floating Beings finally reached the corpse of the Cowardly Emperor. They bowed to the corpse and were about to use their abilities to take it away.

Suddenly, the Cowardly Emperor opened his eyes. He slightly turned his neck and looked at all the living beings in the Buddha statue.

Two beams of light transformed into sharp arrows, suddenly shooting towards the sentient beings of the Buddha.

"Oh!"

The Buddha screamed in fright and quickly retreated, narrowly avoiding the bombardment of the two beams of light.

"The Cowardly Emperor is still alive! He's actually still alive?"

The spirits of the living beings in the pagoda were greatly disturbed and cried out.

The Cowardly Emperor raised his right hand and grabbed at the air. The fleeing beings vanished into thin air. The next moment, the Cowardly Emperor opened his palm in front of him, and the beings were already in his palm.

The beings of the Floating Pagoda were horrified and dared not flee any further. They hurriedly kowtowed to the corpse of the cowardly emperor and said, "Great Emperor, please do not harm me! This disciple received the inheritance in the Holy Divine Palace, passed the test, and is a disciple of the secret realm, one of our own."

The cowardly emperor remained expressionless.

Lei Chi took a step forward, shifting space, and arrived on the palm of the Cowardly Emperor, standing in front of the Floating Pagoda.

"Senior brother, get up!"

He said it calmly.

The beings in the Floating Pagoda seemed still somewhat shaken, saying, "Junior brother, the Cowardly Emperor is still alive! He just attacked, grabbing me directly from the void, and I had no power to resist!"

Lei Chi shook his head and said, "The Cowardly Emperor is dead, that's a fact. As for why this corpse can still move, it's only because the Cowardly Emperor was too powerful in life. Even after death, his body still retains some will and instincts, like a celestial body, it's still functioning."

"What?"

The people in the pagoda looked on in astonishment.

Then, something even more terrifying happened.

The cowardly emperor's lips trembled, and he actually spoke: "Latercomer, could you do me a favor?"

"You're saying he's dead?"

The mortals of the Buddha stared wide-eyed, trembling as they pointed at the enormous, cowardly emperor's head.

Lei Chi remained unmoved. He quietly looked at the cowardly emperor, met his gaze, and said, "Please speak!"

"Find Muhammad Song for me and tell him to go to the Black Vulture Realm and use the Song Sect's Holy Sword to open the Gate of the Three Phases!"

The Emperor of Cowardice's voice was deep and devoid of emotion.

Lei Chi asked, "Who is Mohammed Song to you?"

"He is my only descendant!"

Lei Chi nodded and said, "Sure! I can deliver the message, but how will you thank me?"

"The Heavenly Tomb is a trap, but I can show you a safe way out!"

"Is the Heavenly Tomb a trap?" Lei Chi's mind raced. "How can we leave safely?"

"On the last level, you can safely leave by following the path cleaved open by that great man and passing through the cross-shaped spatial rift."

"Thank you for your guidance, senior!" Lei Chi cupped his hands in thanks. "When I meet your descendants, I will certainly pass on your words."

Good luck to you, the one who comes after!

A stiff smile appeared on the face of the Cowardly Emperor, then he closed his eyes and remained silent.

The Floating Beings cautiously approached Lei Chi from behind. Looking at the Cowardly Emperor's face, he poked Lei Chi's shoulder with his finger and asked, "Junior Brother, what's going on? Is the Cowardly Emperor dead or alive?"

Lei Chi said, "He's dead!"

"Then how come you can still talk to him?"

"I was merely having a conversation with a wisp of the will left behind by the Cowardly Emperor before his death."

"Has this legal intent dissipated? I mean, will the Cowardly Emperor's corpse still move?"

Lei Chi nodded and said, "Just now, it must have been you, this disciple of the Cowardly Sect Secret Realm, who activated a wisp of his will. There should still be some of his will left behind before he died..."

The Buddha-like beings immediately looked dejected: "Does that mean I can't take it with me to keep as a keepsake?"

"Senior brother, you went through all this trouble just to collect the corpse of the Cowardly Emperor?"

"Of course... no! Collecting it is secondary; my main goal is to use its corpse to unlock the seal on a sword!"

"What sword?"

"The Sword of the Coward, you've never seen it before? Oh, you're not a disciple of the secret realm yet."

"The Sword of the Coward..."

Lei Chi's heart stirred. He remembered Sun Hu, the Heaven-Breaking Sword God who had given him the sword pellet at the Holy God Palace.

Judging from what the Naga guardian said, it seems that Sun Hu entered the Holy Palace for the Sword of the Coward.

Lei Chi didn't have much interest in investigating further. He flicked his sleeve, bowed again to the corpse of the Cowardly Emperor, and then said to the Floating Beings, "Let's go, Senior Brother, let's go see the Imagination Emperor!"

"The Fantasy Emperor?" The Floating Beings' eyes flickered as they pointed at the Cowardly Emperor's corpse and said, "I figured the Cowardly Emperor must have some treasures on him, why don't we check them out?"

(End of this chapter)