Chapter 1 The Graveyard Keeper?

An Qi Sheng's heart stirred.

"It's a long story. Sit down and let's talk slowly."

With a wave of his hand, the Celestial Cauldron Emperor conjured a table of food and wine identical to when they first met. "A dying man, surely Mister Yuan won't mind having a drink?"

"You are persistent, Daoist brother."

An Qi Sheng smiled wryly and sat down.

"In my life, I've known lows and highs. I've wallowed in the mud and soared through the skies..."

The Celestial Cauldron Emperor picked up the wine jug and filled two cups.

"I rose and fell with the Kings' Platform. What my fourth son said was not far from the truth."

The Celestial Cauldron Emperor's expression was gentle, tinged with reminiscence as he began to recount his past.

As the legends said, the Celestial Cauldron Emperor was the old emperor's bastard son, born out of wedlock. However, the old emperor was a libertine, and he likely had tens of thousands of children scattered across the land.

The old emperor had never kept count, nor had he ever actively searched for them. The Celestial Cauldron Emperor would naturally never do so either.

"The strong are bathed in glory, while the weak are left to die! The hidden rules of humanity are even more terrifying than the rules of heaven and earth. An old emperor who lived for only eighty years could leave behind tens of thousands of descendants, yet some families have only a single heir for generations, or their bloodline is cut off altogether..."

The Celestial Cauldron Emperor raised his cup and drained it, filled with emotion.

"Mister Yuan, do you know why so many people in the Eastern Continent, or even in the Nine Provinces, have royal or even Sacred Emperor blood in them, whether strong or weak?"

He looked quietly at An Qi Sheng, posing this question.

"Why bother asking?"

An Qi Sheng held his cup, swirling it before drinking it in one gulp. "It's merely survival of the fittest."

Having traveled across realms, he had seen too many landscapes, and with the ability to enter dreams, he had experienced too many lives.

What the Celestial Cauldron Emperor spoke of was not unique to the Eastern Continent or the Myriad Sun Realm.

In this world, not everyone could leave descendants. It was a sad truth, but humans, existing between heaven and earth, were branded with the survival of the fittest at their very core.

In the words of Xuan Xing, people were instinctively chasing excellence, and were more easily drawn to excellent qualities.

This game included, but was not limited to, physical strength, symmetrical features, tall stature, and other traits. Those who possessed these traits often had 'priority mating rights' that those without them could not even imagine.

Of course, innate qualities were not available to everyone, but they could be changed after birth. Money, wisdom, knowledge, and so on, could all play a part.

The balance of humanity was that everyone had a chance to leave their mark on the world.

This, to some extent, was also an instinct to crave one's own eternal existence.

In this respect alone, Xuan Xing seemed a little better than the Myriad Sun Realm...

But it was only a little better.

Which person, tracing their ancestry, did not descend from ancient emperors, generals, or high-ranking officials?

"The myriad races stand tall. If the human race wants to survive, it must become stronger. There's nothing wrong with that."

The Celestial Cauldron Emperor poured himself another cup.

"Ancient Celestial Venerables, Sacred Emperors, Supreme Ones, opened up realm after realm. That was hope, the hope of elevating their bloodlines and extending their existence...

Humans need to strengthen themselves. The prosperity and strength of the human race has never been the work of a few people. Throughout the past thirty million years, Sacred Emperors and Celestial Venerables seem insignificant in the face of such a long history..."

At this point, the Celestial Cauldron Emperor shook his head. "But this is getting too far ahead..."

"The night is long, and the hour is early. After a great battle, one needs to calm the mind. Just speak slowly, Daoist brother. There's no rush."

An Qi Sheng smiled, not taking it to heart.

Words came from the mouth, but they were an outpouring of the heart. Whether the words were true or false, one could discern a person's heart from them.

He enjoyed listening to others speak, especially experts whose minds he couldn't penetrate with his dreamwalking ability.

"The most desperate days of my life weren't when the leaders of the Ten Great Sects besieged me, nor was it the battle against the Departing Heaven Sacred Master a thousand years ago, nor was it the near-death escapes during the Departing Heaven Holy Land's pursuit...

But rather, it was the numb days of my youth, day after day, year after year, without seeing any slightest change..."

The Celestial Cauldron Emperor's expression was calm. Recounting his past, he no longer felt much emotion.

"Until that day, when I encountered this Kings' Platform in the mountains..."

Who built the Kings' Platform was no longer known.

Some said that it was created by the Vast Dragon Supreme, some said that it was created by the Nether Moon Supreme, some said that it was created by the Solar Sacred Emperor, and some said that it was crafted by the Vault Sun Supreme.

Even the Celestial Cauldron Emperor, as its graveyard keeper, did not know.

"The Kings' Burial Ground..."

A ripple went through the depths of An Qi Sheng's eyes.

A burial ground, and one for kings rather than a single king or marquis, could only mean that it contained a great many kings and marquis.

How many secrets did such a burial ground hold?

As the Celestial Cauldron Emperor spoke, he learned the price of controlling the Kings' Platform: the drastic burning of one's origin and lifespan.

Each time the Kings' Platform shook, whether to defend or to attack, it would burn away one's origin and lifespan.

The Celestial Cauldron Emperor had activated the Kings' Platform three times, and it had consumed three thousand years of his lifespan!

If he hadn't consumed so many life-extending pills and spiritual herbs, he would have long since died from the exhaustion of his lifespan.

Even so, he hadn't activated the Kings' Platform to kill an enemy for a thousand years.

Even then, his lifespan was coming to an end.

Like earth covering one's head, with only a single strand of hair still swaying, it was as good as being dead.

"This Kings' Platform contains more than just the traces left behind by a Sacred Emperor. I don't know much about what's inside. Shattering the vacuum is not enough to set foot deeper..."

The Celestial Cauldron Emperor drank his wine and ate his food, savoring each bite as if recalling something.

"You've said so much, Daoist brother. Are you planning to enter the depths of the Kings' Platform?"

An Qi Sheng pondered and then spoke directly.

Compared to trying his luck in the Nine Provinces, it was better to try his luck in the depths of the Kings' Platform, where there were at least true traces of a Supreme.

"Indeed."

The Celestial Cauldron Emperor nodded slightly, not concealing anything and speaking frankly, "Perhaps I will never return, or perhaps I will find a new lease on life. But in any case, it's better than waiting for death."

The Celestial Cauldron Emperor's mind was clear.

Even if he had a breakthrough, he didn't know if he would gain anything. He didn't even know how far he could go with his current cultivation.

But in the end, it was his only path to survival.

"Daoist brother, you're entrusting me with a child."

An Qi Sheng shook his head, naturally seeing the Celestial Cauldron Emperor's purpose.

"What does Mister think?"

The Celestial Cauldron Emperor put down his wine cup, looked at An Qi Sheng, and said calmly, "Mister should know that after today, you will replace me as a thorn in the side of the sects and holy lands.

Protecting the Celestial Cauldron Kingdom means that the Celestial Cauldron Kingdom can also protect you. The sects will not allow a peerless expert like Mister, without any ties, to roam freely."

Without restraints, one could act without fear.

This could be seen from his own actions a thousand years ago and the actions of this Yuan Yang Daoist today.

The Celestial Cauldron Emperor naturally knew how wary the sects and holy lands were of such people.

Not to mention that a great change was coming to the world, they wouldn't allow it even if it wasn't.

Even An Qi Sheng himself knew this.

However, he neither refused nor agreed, but instead asked, "I have a few questions. I wonder if Daoist brother can enlighten me?"

The Celestial Cauldron Emperor nodded. "Mister, please ask. I will naturally tell you everything I know."

"Since I entered the city, Daoist brother seems to have regarded me in a different light. It doesn't seem to be just because my lifespan is less than a hundred years..."

An Qi Sheng asked.

The Celestial Cauldron Emperor had the courage to fight to the death and would not ultimately activate the Kings' Platform to cut off his last chance of survival.

Then what the Fourth Prince had said was somewhat untenable.

He was a little curious.

"Taiji."

The Celestial Cauldron Emperor looked directly at An Qi Sheng. "The day Mister entered the city, I could vaguely see purple energy permeating the sky. Mister's luck was no less than any of the world's chosen, but if so, Mister's cultivation would not have caught my eye.

But as Mister came from the east, Yin and Yang were divided, and people were like lines of the Dao, dividing black and white. The Dao became Taiji, which made it impossible for anyone to ignore."

Taiji...

An Qi Sheng's eyes flickered slightly. This was the second time he had heard of Taiji in this world.

The first time was when Xuan Ji had said it in the cave, relayed by the Three Hearts Azure Spirit Child, and now he had heard it from the Celestial Cauldron Emperor.

And he could vaguely guess that all of this was related to Pang Wan Yang.

During their final battle in the Long Floating Realm, their Daos had completely converged. At that time, he had comprehended Pang Wan Yang's Dao, and Pang Wan Yang had naturally seen his Taiji Dao as well.

"When I encountered the Kings' Platform, it was in a black and white dawn, when the sun was about to rise but had not yet risen, and the moon was about to set but had not yet set..."

The Celestial Cauldron Emperor's expression was slightly solemn.

"I won't ask about Mister's origins, but since Mister has the Taiji method, you must be careful of the Hegemon World Imperial Court in the Central Province..."

Of the Nine Provinces in the world, each province had its own holy land sects, demon races, primordial remnants, dragon and phoenix races, and countless experts.

But in the current world, the most powerful force was recognized as the Hegemon World Imperial Court!

His eldest son was in the Central Province, and he naturally knew many things about the Central Province. He knew that even within the Hegemon World Imperial Court, 'Taiji' was a forbidden topic.

"The Vast Dragon Supreme's inheritance?"

An Qi Sheng's expression remained unchanged.

He wasn't even afraid of the Ten Great Sects and Holy Lands that were close at hand, let alone the Hegemon World Imperial Court in the Central Province, which was far away.

"The descendants of saints are not necessarily saints, and the inheritance of Supremes may not be reasonable. That Vast Dragon Supreme was never a reasonable person to begin with. The inheritance he left behind..."

The Celestial Cauldron Emperor shook his head.

"Since ancient times, the Central Province has always been the most prosperous place for cultivation in the world. The Hegemon World Imperial Court reigns over the Central Province with absolute power. It is said that in this generation, the Hegemon World Imperial Court has produced a peerless genius named Chu Mengyao, who calls herself the Empress and has already achieved Unity..."

"The Central Province is still far away. Overthinking is useless."

An Qi Sheng cut off the distractions in his mind and asked his second question, the same question he had once asked Xuan Ji.

Unfortunately, although Xuan Ji was a true disciple of the Nether Moon, she didn't know the secrets either.

"What secrets do the Holy Lands hold?"

Holy Land...

The Celestial Cauldron Emperor's expression changed for a moment, as if recalling some unbearable past events. He shook his head and refused to answer.

"I can't say. The words cannot leave my mouth, nor can they enter your ears..."